All This Work for This?

I personally think 5lbs in a month is awesome! It took me 3 months to lose 8, and I'm ecstatic. :bigsmile:

It took me a month and a half of working out before my weight even started to show up on my scale. I'd say you're doing well enough. But you need to realize it's going to be a life-long change, not an instant fix. You'll gain it all right back if you don't make changes you can live with the rest of your days.

It makes me nervous, because I know every choice I've made wasn't one I'd be proud of, but my diary is now public. I appreciate the feedback so far. I'm going to keep reading and trying to take in what everyone says.

Don't be nervous, you're being accountable to yourself first and foremost, what everyone else thinks is secondary - though hopefully very helpful!

My advice is to keep at it.... I think there comes a time in any activity where the initial novelty wears off and you realise that you are in this for the long term. I know it doesn't seem like a lot of weight to lose at this stage, but I'm betting that the changes you have made to your diet and lifestyle are major and that is what is going to get you to a healthy weight.
Every time you eat a healthier snack instead of an unhealthy one or go for a 15 minute walk instead of sitting on the couch - you've taken a positive step towards getting healthier.
It's not the big things that count in the long term, it's those tiny little choices that you make each day. We get really fixated on the scale but it is a fickle tool and doesn't always reflect the positive changes that are happening. Looking at your weight loss progression, I'd take a guess that the gain was hormonal - if you track this over a few months you will probably see a pattern developing.

Hang in there, good luck!
Hang in there, keep making small choices in the present minute and you WILL see results in the long term.

I find if I eat and exercise, and I am under my caloric allowance, it backfires. What happens is your metabolism slows down. It is best to eat what it gives you, and make sure you are drinking at least 8(8oz) of water. Try that and see if it makes a difference. but be sure to eat your calories. If you are exercising to get way under the allowance it could be causing the problem , try to stay as close to your calories as you can.. Hang in there! Also, it is best to lose around a pound or two a week. you are learning how to eat healthier, and it may take longer but once you hit your goal it will stay off longer because you have learned how to eat and what it takes to keep it off. Patience my dear, it will come

"I have been under my caloric goal all but 3 days "

that tells me you are not eating enough....you need to eat ALL of your daily calories and then eat back some of your exercise calories

i sabotaged myself a while back staying just under 1500 WITH exercise....it was pointed out to me that i need to eat ALL of that 1500 PLUS eat back some of the calories i burned off...and poof i started loosing weight again!

Your doing a wonderful job!! Keep up the good work!

5 pounds sounds pretty darn good to me. When I get discouraged I start measuring and weighing my intake. I can really surprise myself on portion control. Weighing and measuring portions helped me.

Record your intake and perhaps increase your exercise. I increase my walking when I am discouraged.

Wish I could be more helpful. The emotional strain of all this hard work is difficult. Think about it instead of gaining you lost!

I've started running every other day, and on the morning after the 'running day' i am typically 2-3lbs heavier than on the morning before. I think it has to do with muscle recovery and water retention.
But even before I started running, my weight would go up 2, then down 3, up one, down a bit - all throughout one week.

5lbs tells you you've made progress. Any way you turn it, that's 5 lbs closer to your goal. I agree with the other posters - inches will tell. I'm actually going to start a spreadsheet for my measurements right now...

Be patient..........you will have some of those weeks where nothing happens and you have exercised yourself to death. Once
I increased my calories up to 1300 I started losing again. Only .6 lbs a week, but something is definitely better than nothing.
I also backed off my amt of time exercising daily, which helped with me not burning out on that end of things. Remember it
really is the inches that you will see that counts and you will be thrilled to find a change in your clothes size. That in itself
motivated me and it will you also. Good luck on your journey !!

Every five pounds, I visual the weight I've lost as a bag of sugar.


You're lugging around that much less this month than last month.