Depressing first week

So I worked really hard this past week. I ate between 1400 and 1700 calories a day except on Friday and Saturday. I worked out 5 days this week. Then I got on the scale this morning for my first weigh in and I didn't even lose one pound. I had some friends visiting this weekend and did end up drinking and overeating a little but I didn't think that would undo my entire week's progress. I'm trying to lose a total of 90 lbs so this was pretty disheartening. I almost didn't work out this morning because I was so bummed.

Did this happen to anyone else their first week?

This has happened to me when I first started and it was very disheartening.

I tried to examine where I might have gone wrong, and I purchased a little digital food scale for weighing portions.  I was way way out on my portions, especially carbohydrates, and so I was eating a lot more than I thought I was.  Once I got really accurate about my portions / calories, the I started losing. I was also underestimating my treats and cheats - and it was hard to get honest with myself about those.

Hope that helps,

Ax

In my first few days I gained 1 1/2 pounds somehow... I dont know how...but as soon as I became much more diligent aout recording what I eat I'm doing much better... I've only been doing this for a little over a week and I lost 2 1/2 pounds- only 5 more to go!. Last night I went to UNOs with my husband and a friend for a post birthday dinner and after finding out HOW many calories are really in one single breadstick I was sure I'd screwed myself over roayally eventhough I was good all day long. (210 calories if you are wondering). I put me way over my 1200-1300 calorie limit and I was depressed (and hungry still). But much to my surprise the rest of what I ate helped me greatly and I saw another half pound gone this morning.

KEEP AT IT!! You CAN do this and the weight will come off. Take a look at what you are eating- even if you are eating between 1400-1700 calories- if its junk and fat.. well its not going to help you. Try more lean protiens (meats and fish) and lots of veggies. Try to take in more water and if you can stand plain water 4C had this great drink called 4C totally light and they'vegot lots of flavors. Best part is.... its made with Splenda (had NO CALORIES!! drink all you want) instead of the sachhrine in normal diet drinks. This is the only diet drink I can have because I have a sensitivity to whatever is in the diet stuff.

Good luck... and be good to yourself! You'll see the weight come off sooner or later.

Sometimes it takes a while for the weight to come off.

High levels of sodium can make you retain water, as can starting a new exercise program.  Give it some time.

Remember, even if you don't lose any weight, the exercise and healthy diet are making you a healthier person.  Find other measures of success, such as keeping to your calorie goal or getting better at whatever exercise you like to do.  That will keep you going during these "stuck scale" times.

I understand!  I seem to be stuck right now, too.....trying to do all the right things but the weight is not coming off like I would like it to.  One thing I know, we will never get where we want to be if we do not continue.  You did not gain weight last week!  That's a small victory.  Keep it up!  Make sure it's a program both food and exercise wise that you can stick with and then do it as faithfully as you can, but don't be toohatd on yourself. 

I have to laugh because this is exactly my problem today! I got on the scale this morning to find out that I didn't lose a single pound! I started my diet and exercise program last Monday and today I woke up hopping to see that I had at least lost a pound. but that was not the case. In fact, I didn't even lose .1 lbs lol... However, I'm not going to allow this to stop my motivation. I'm going to continue on and see if the scale goes down a bit next week. All I can tell you is that you're definitely not alone and continue on =)

p.s. I'm hoping that my scale is broken and if it's not it's definitely going to be broken next Monday if it shows me that I'm still at the same weight =)

Yep, if you are new to exercise, your muscles could be retaining fluids, and if you indulged a little over the weekend (alcohol and/or salty foods) it would also be due to that. 

Just remember this is a marathon not a sprint.  Making big changes can sometimes take a while before they show up on the scale.

My advice is to take measurements and consider carefully you weigh in schedule.  Some people weigh once a week, and some weigh daily.  I think daily is better if you can handle the fluctutations. 

But at any rate if the weekend is generally when you are going to indulge a little, then maybe Friday morning would be a better weigh in schedule. 

Yes, it happened to me too!  In fact, for the first three weeks, I lost less than a pound total.  I was totally depressed and wanted to quit, but the great folks here told me to keep at it. 

Magically, the weight started coming off on week 4.  I'm down 7 pounds in 6 weeks now, just not smoothly at all!  Bodies are weird.  I do know that drinking green tea definitely helped kick start the weight loss because I dropped a couple of pounds of water weight once I started having a glass of green tea every morning.

So don't be discouraged, your body is probably just adjusting to your new lifestyle still.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. It's nice to know that I'm definitely not alone. It's easy to get impatient sometimes and yeah, at least I didn't gain anything.

The alcohol and crappy food over the weekend probably didn't help, haha. The weekends are always tough because friends want to go out to eat and drink. I never eat out during the week but it's very hard to not indulge a bit on weekends.

In that case, maybe Monday morning isn't the best day for a weigh in.

I feel your pain.

I started on the 17th and wen up 2.5 pounds by the 22nd. On the 26 I was up .6 from start and 31 I'm down .8. (I have one of those digital scales)

So overall, I'm only down .8 (in 3 weeks) but I'm down almost 3 pounds from last week! LOL look at the bright side.

Anyway, as you said, it's great to see you are not alone because it is very discouraging when I'm working very hard at additional exercise and watching my food. I'm finding it very hard to keep less than 1400 (almost imposssible, actually) AND cutting out drinking almost completely

*sniff* I miss wine.

Original Post by amethystgirl:

In that case, maybe Monday morning isn't the best day for a weigh in.

Yeah, you're probably right, haha

Original Post by nikyniky:

I feel your pain.

I started on the 17th and wen up 2.5 pounds by the 22nd. On the 26 I was up .6 from start and 31 I'm down .8. (I have one of those digital scales)

So overall, I'm only down .8 (in 3 weeks) but I'm down almost 3 pounds from last week! LOL look at the bright side.

Anyway, as you said, it's great to see you are not alone because it is very discouraging when I'm working very hard at additional exercise and watching my food. I'm finding it very hard to keep less than 1400 (almost imposssible, actually) AND cutting out drinking almost completely

*sniff* I miss wine.

 I find that it's almost impossible for me to drink no alcohol at all. It's such a nice way to unwind but I used to allow myself a few beers every other night or so. Now I'm limiting myself to drinking once or twice a week max. Alcohol can be so bad though because it also makes it easy to eat more food and not give a crap.

Yup. 

First week, nothing happens. 

My body is always difficult with me, I just stay firm with it.  After a week or two it will bow in submission and I'll drop 2-3lbs. 

I end up losing a pound a week, just, my body stubbornly refuses and then relents.  All. The. Time. 

Week 1 - nothing
Week 2 - nothing
Week 3 - lose 2 to 3 lbs
Week 4 - back to nothing
Week 5 - nothing
Week 6 - lose 2 to 3 lbs....   and so on and so forth.... 

At least it works...

Overindulgent weekends will ruin my best weekdays every time.  It's very difficult to take weight off and keep it off, so easy to put it on, and so much more enjoyable too.

Sadly even moderate eating in today's society is usually more than is needed.  

First of all the first 2 weeks need to be pretty intense.  During this time you need to be really strict with the sodium and sugar intake.  1 Tbsp. Sugar can set you back for a couple days.  The alcohol will blow your whole week.  You need the first two weeks to detox the system, this sounds rough, but trust me it will work, you can work out all you want and eat really good for 5 days and all it will take is a bad weekend to screw it up.  Doesn't mean you can't get back up, Noone says its easy in fact its one of the hardest things in the world. But, if you want to see loss you need to be strict with yourself.  You only cheat yourself when you give in to temptation.  Everyone needs pick me ups but you had a great weekend now forget about it and go kick your butt. You can lose the weight just stay focused.

The first week or two I lost steadily, then off & on again for a couple of weeks, then steadily for a week or two again, and on and on...Everyone is different. I do know that, like alot of people, I was totally misjudging the amount of food I needed to function every day ~ but for me, it was sometimes too little, or too much all at once, with nothing the rest of the day. It all depended on the daily schedule. Now my family knows that I am committed to losing this weight & I make a point of getting in my workout as soon as I finish that first cup of coffee each morning, whether or not we have to get somewhere or not. They can just wait til I am done!

Not everyone here has the luxury of making their own hours, tho' ~ we all do it the best way we can ~ but for me, this works...and so far I've lost about 1.5 lbs per week on the average. But there have been a few times when I got on the scale & thought it would never go down again...then, suddenly, there it would be: another pound lost!

Don't worry, Animsteve, it will happen for you, too. You just have to give your body time to adjust to the new mindset, the new schedule. Before you know it, you will be posting that you have lost "x lbs." and you'll be giving pointers to others here @ CC, lol...

Many others here have given great advice & encouragement...just give it time. You'll get there!

Amisteve,

hello, nice to meet you!

I had a week (not my first week, though) I was good all week and then had a mini-binge that weekend.  I gained 7 pounds that week.  It took 2 weeks to take off that weight.

Demerara,

Hello, nice to meet you.

I have to measure most of my portion, still, after a couple of months.  If I don't, I tend to pile it on a little thick or slice the butter a little wider, etc.

I think this is why the food log is so very helpful.  Logging every single bite keeps me honest about those little treats and snacks. 

I have to remember that 5--100 cal snacks would be almost half a day's calorie target!!!

Amisteve,

You are going to have to put your foot down.  If they are really your friends, they will want you to do well.  Alcohol will absolutely wreck your diet, they are full of calories and they cloud your good judgement of what you should eat.

Eat before you go out to party.  Choose lower cal foods, Drink diet coke, bring your own snacks to parties...whatever you can think of to keep your munchy count down!

Remember that high carb and high sodium stuff are enemies of your diet.

Thanks for all the encouragement guys. I think I'll start weighing myself on Wednesdays and trying a bit harder on weekends. I don't mind having a decent amount of carbs in my diet but I'm making sure they're healthy ones. I'm trying to tackle this as more of a lifestyle change than a diet but significantly more restrictive than what my normal diet will be when I reach my goal. I'll give it a month and I'll have to let everyone know how it worked out. I'm sure it will also help to set small goals and try not to think of the total I want to lose as often. That can make me very impatient, haha