did not lose any weight this week? why?

If you go into the forums you can look up just about every question you would ever have and find a hundred answers.

I just thought my first few weeks i would lose. It was so frustrating. Should i always eat my calories i earn from exercise?

Yes, you should! Well, I guess I should say that's just my opinion, because some people around here swear by not eating them... but I feel very strongly that the most effective and healthiest way to lose weight is to give your body the fuel it needs, and that includes exercise calories.

Also, I hear it's very normal to lose weight the first week and then slow down with the loss. I think it's because the first week your body is confused by the healthier choices you're making so you drop a couple of pounds, but then your body settles into it and the weight loss gets much slower. If you upped your water intake, that could also have just been water weight you lost.

Don't give up! My first week here (at the beginning of this month) I lost 3 pounds, then for the past two weeks the scale didn't budge - well it did, but I was gaining and then going back down and then gaining, back and forth. FINALLY today I'm down another two pounds. It can be frustrating but you will move in the right direction.

I suggest eating part of them, in case of errors in calculation.

And yes, be patient :flowerforyou: . One's body doesn't know that it's supposed to release that 1 pound prior to weigh in day. Sometimes, it holds on to the fat for an extra few days or even weeks and then you'll drop a bunch at once. I graphed my weight loss last year and the average loss was exactly what my deficit worked out to be. IT just didn't happen all nice and even with 1 pound every Sunday at 9 am. Hang in there and trust this...if you are weighing and measuring and logging everything and absolutely sure you are eating at a reasonable deficit without cheating, then you WILL lose the weight. One thing that helps is to take measurements, often they reflect what the scale is not.

Good luck!

Weight loss is not linear. The human body doesn't understand "days" or "weeks." It doesn't care that you arbitrarily choose to weigh in on whichever day you happen to weigh in on, and doesn't conform to magically shift weight on that day. Some weeks you lose 2 pounds, some weeks you gain a pound, some weeks you might lose 5 or 6 pounds, and you might go a month with no change. That's how life works.

Also, sorry, you do NOT gain muscle in two weeks, it is biologically impossible.

And ALWAYS eat your exercise calories. You should always eat more on days you work out compared to days you don't. Without proper nutrition and enough fuel to survive, the body will NOT burn any fat, until you are literally in danger of starving to death. All you do by not eating them back is ensure that you lose muscle instead of fat.

Also, first week's loss is almost always just excess water weight. When you cut calories, you use glycogen, and store less, since storing glycogen takes a lot of water, you lose water by storing less glycogen.

Oh and welcome! This is a great place to find support!

Weight loss is not linear. The human body doesn't understand "days" or "weeks." It doesn't care that you arbitrarily choose to weigh in on whichever day you happen to weigh in on, and doesn't conform to magically shift weight on that day. Some weeks you lose 2 pounds, some weeks you gain a pound, some weeks you might lose 5 or 6 pounds, and you might go a month with no change. That's how life works.

Also, sorry, you do NOT gain muscle in two weeks, it is biologically impossible.

And ALWAYS eat your exercise calories. You should always eat more on days you work out compared to days you don't. Without proper nutrition and enough fuel to survive, the body will NOT burn any fat, until you are literally in danger of starving to death. All you do by not eating them back is ensure that you lose muscle instead of fat.

Also, first week's loss is almost always just excess water weight. When you cut calories, you use glycogen, and store less, since storing glycogen takes a lot of water, you lose water by storing less glycogen.

I was going to say the exact same thing - weight loss is not linear. And I agree with the rest as well.

Don't worry about it. Weight is a fickle thing, and should be only one of MANY reasons why you are eating right and exercising. Don't be discouraged, because even if the scale isn't moving, your body knows what you're doing, and is appreciating the good work you are doing.

Thank you for your comment! I was wondering about the same thing. My weight keeps fluctuating 5lbs and the weight doesn't stay off!!! ugh! But today i decided to measure instead and i've lost 2 inches of belly fat since December.....so that's something i guess!! I'm just gonna keep doing my thing and not pay too much attention to the scale. I feel better and i'm losing inches....so that's what i'm going with! :-)

Sometimes, the results on your scales seem to bear very little relation to the week you've just had.

Maybe you've been really good - but not lost anything. Or you've had a couple of meals out, and eaten more than a few candy bars - and yet you've dropped a pound.

What the heck's going on?

If you weren't dieting and weighed yourself every day, you'd still find that your weight wasn't steady: it might fluctuate by as much as several pounds.

These fluctuations in body weight are commonly due to 3 factors:

Water retention
Glycogen stores
The amount you've eaten

Water Retention

Water retention is caused by drinking too little water, or eating too much salt.

If you don't drink enough water, your body will cling onto its water supplies; make sure you're drinking enough. And if you eat too much salt, your kidneys hold onto water instead of excreting it.

Women commonly retain water during the few days of the month just before their period. This "phantom" few pounds will drop off as quickly as it went on. Some medications can also cause water retention.
Glycogen Stores

Glycogen - sugar - is carbohydrate stored in the liver and muscles; usually more than a pound in total, along with three or four pounds of water. This is your body's energy reserve, and gets used up during the day if you're not taking in enough carbohydrates to supply your energy needs.

When you eat, your body replaces the glycogen store and the water that goes with it - leading to a weight gain on the scales, even if you've only eaten a moderately-sized meal. This is absolutely normal and should not put you off eating carbohydrates!
The Amount You've Eaten

Don't think about the meal you've just eaten in terms of calories - think in terms of weight.

You could stuff yourself with pounds of fruit or salad for under a few hundred calories - but these pounds will show up if you stand on the scales straight after a meal. (Just imagine weighing yourself with all that food in your hands.)

Once your body's had a chance to digest it, that food will disappear. The same applies with water - which has 0 calories, but definitely weighs something!

Welcome to my world. I WISH I could lose weight as quickly as you have!

Us women are funny creatures......don't analize it, just go with it as long as you are happy with your hard work, pat yourself on the back. Our bodies go up and down, there are many different reasons, sodium intake, water intake, weighing in the am vs pm, and oh yeah can't forget that time of month....as log as you are happy with the effort you are putting in, you'll do great! don't expect rapid results, or even start off working out really hard 5 days a week....YOU"LL GET BURT OUT and give up easier, remember you are doing a lifestyle change.

Diamonds aren't created overnight, they take time......