Help- Advice

kbolin
kbolin Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
hey guys- i joined my fitness pal about a month ago, but im feeling a tad bit discouraged. Ive been on between 1200-1400 calories a day for last 40 days. I eat 5/6 times a day about 200 calories each time. Complex carbs, lots of fruits and veggies, and protein.
I am also exercising 5x a week for a hour or more with a mix of cardio and strength. I thought that the weight would be melting off me but ive only lost about 6 pounds and this morning when i weighed i gained one back!? ive significantly decreased my alcohol intake to only the weekends. I've probably only ate fast food maybe 3 times in the last month which is HUGE for me! been making everything at home.

I'm very much a math person so i understand the whole calories deficit and exercise equation. and I am burning the calories (3500) to lose the pounds, but they're just not coming off.

Opinions? Thoughts? Comments??

Replies

  • Lisa1971
    Lisa1971 Posts: 3,069 Member
    I'm in the SAME boat (except for the fast food...makes me sick!) I'm also curious as to the answers. I lost 60lbs and now nothing! Ugh. Hang in there and know that I am suffering along with ya! :sad:
  • kls13la
    kls13la Posts: 380 Member
    You lost 5-6 lbs in 40 days? That's about a pound a week, and seems very normal and healthy to me. How much do you think you should have lost by now?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    If there's one thing I've learned after 11 months of dieting it's this: bodies are weird. The pound you gained back is likely just water retention thanks to hormones or sore muscles or too much sodium or any number of things. That's going to happen from time to time. Drink plenty of fluids and you'll see the scale start to move in the right direction.

    I agree with kls13la. 5 or 6 pounds in less than six weeks sounds like you're right on track to me. We all want it to come off as fast as possible, but you're are losing the weight and you're losing it at a healthy rate. Stick with it and you'll start to see the changes.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    I agree that pound is very likely water retention... Could be you had too much sodium recently (add that to your food diary if it's not already there) or it's that time of the month or you worked out really hard in the last few days so your muscles are swollen.

    Also agree that the rate you're losing now is probably perfect for you - here's a guideline for healthy weight loss that is passed around here on the message boards.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

    Patience is probably one of the hardest things to learn in this whole process. No need to be in such a big rush..just keep eating right and being active and drinking that water and it'll come off.
  • diemodemdie
    diemodemdie Posts: 37
    Two things here.

    1. Everyone plateaus. It's normal. It happens. It sucks, but it will pass as long as you keep at it. You will lose weight.

    2. I am unsure of your weight, but a friend of mine used what's called the "paper towel" analogy.

    Think of your body as roll of paper towels. Each pound is a sheet. So when you start your weight loss journey, the pounds strip right off! 10 pounds! Gone!

    And you dont' look any different.

    Well, how about 20? 20 pounds! That should make a difference, right?

    But you still look pretty much the same.

    Thing thing is, as you get closer and closer to the core, the paper towels go further. 2 paper towels don't go around the outside. Soon enough, it's only one. Then that one starts to overlap itself. And each pound lost makes a greater and greater difference, is more apparent to the outside of the roll. So 10 sheets lost near the end of the roll is a hell of a lot more noticeable than 10 in the beginning.

    Keep at it - your roll is thinning with each passing pound. :smile:
  • kbolin
    kbolin Posts: 4
    I was hoping to lose at least 10 pounds by now- having a deficit of 7000 calories a week is 2lbs a week.
    Thanks for all the advice though- i'll try to keep it in mind.

    Its just that this is not the fist time i have tried losing weight and its so easy to just go back to my old habits and Not care anymore- trying to avoid that this time around!!!

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