Exercising but small weight loss?

A couple things:

My main problem is this - I took a week or two off and ate what I liked... Bad idea I know! On the back of this I decided to stop and joined up to WW. In the past I have lost 2-7 pounds in the first couple of weeks however I jumped on the scales today (my weigh in being monday) and I have only lost 2.5 pounds.

Usually big initial weight losses are water weight, that's the first thing. Second, It sounds to me like you started the new program including fitness after a week or two off- that is not the same thing as starting for the first time. You can't take 2 weeks or less off and expect the same results as if you were initially starting a new program. Two weeks is a good amount of time to take off if you have stalled in your weight or fitness program as it is just long enough to allow a sort of metabolism reset, but its too short of a time to expect brand new initial losses.

This past Monday I decided that I was going to embark on a fitness change as well as a lifestyle change and so I have exercised every single day this week ranging from 20 minutes to an hour.

When you start a new exercise program, your muscles swell with water. Its a protective reaction to help repair microscopic muscle tears- but it shows up on the scale as water weight. It will go away with time- it is not "real" weight (meaning fat), its just swelling. Its probably contributing to what you consider less than impressive initial losses (which are mostly water- and this is holding water) . Keep it up- you will ultimately be happy with the results of adding exercise!

My main goal is obviously to drop pounds and it seems I do this better without exercise....

You can lose weight without exercise by creating a calorie deficit. But when you're done, you won't be nearly as healthy or look nearly as good as if you had done it with exercise- so in my eyes, what's the point?

Perfect answer

Thank you for your help.

Obviously I don't expect massively losses everytime. I'd be happy with between 1-2 pounds a week just not sure whether to lay back on the exercising for a bit to drop weight or no?

Good old water weight hey lol. My poor body x

I would not suggest holding off on exercise to speed up weight loss- I don't see the logic of it. The initial muscle swelling will go down whether you keep up the exercise or quit it- it's temporary either way. The only caveat is I wouldn't suggest going overboard with exercise- 30-45 mins of cardio 3-4x a week and resistance training 2-3x a week, which should take you roughly a half hour is plenty for a well rounded fitness program for a beginner- and you don't have to start out with that much even- start wherever you are and work up to it as your body allows. It averages out to about a half hour a day, which is doable for most people.

The best part is, exercise allows you to eat more food! You still have to be mindful to track your intake and follow your program- but it will give you more energy (after the initial hump of getting started) and make you feel much better.

ETA: I should add that one pound of FAT equals a 3500 calorie deficit per week. If you are losing weight at a rate FASTER than predicted by your deficit, either your deficit is wrong, or the weight your losing is water and muscle. One pound of muscle only equates to about 600 calories- so people who consistently lose weight fast without the math working out to 3500 cals=1lb are typically cannabalizing their muscle tissue. Not good. The way to prevent this is by eating a moderate deficit, eating plenty of protein, and resistance training.

Forgot the link.

http://tksinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Fat-vs-Muscle.bmp