First Week - Disappointing

Hi All,

I was a fad diet junkie.  I have tried them all just to have minimal success and to gain it all back.  I decided that this time I will try to follow a healthy plan, excercise and do it right this time. 

I must admit, I am really discouraged.  I walk 3 miles every morning, do weight training 3 days a week, and even tried jogging/walking for 2 days.  I log and measure the foods correctly, and keep getting A's and A-'s in my nutrition score. 

The real news is after all that hard work, I have gained 2 pounds.  Now, I can't believe this is a plateau since I am well over 80 pounds overweight.  Since I feel better, I've decided to stick with it, but was wondering if anyone can provide an explanation as to why nothing is happening on the scale?

How many calories are you consuming???

I am averaging around 1200 to 1400

Did you weigh yourself on the same scale each time?

Are you drinking water?  LOTS of water?

are you male or female?  cause girls..um... gain weight once a month.

Aslo to add to what sandy said, are you weighing yourself at the same time of day on the same scale wearing the same clothes (or no clothes! nekkid weigh-ins!)

Hi, yes I weigh myself before my walk in the morning. 

I am probably not drinking enough water - so I will try that.

I am female and 50 years old but still have those nasty monthly issues.  I am wondering if it has something to do with menopausal symptoms - which haven't happened yet (but I wish they would!).

It also sounds like you're very active, you may also want to bump up your cal intake by about 100 or so!

Are you being very accurate in your calorie counting?  Are you counting every bite that goes into your mouth?  Are you getting hidden calories that you're not accounting for?  Science can't be wrong, can it? You've got to be eating more than you're adding up.  Unless you have some sort of medical condition.  A doctor's advice might help.

Weigh at the same time every day.  I like to weigh in the morning because I will gain 5 lbs a day in water, then lose it overnight.

Champykk - first of all, congratulations on choosing to lose weight the right way. It's sounds like you're doing everything right.

The reason you're having trouble getting started is because, as you put it, you were a "fad diet junkie." Most diets focus on WEIGHT loss, not FAT loss. There's a huge difference. When we lose a lot of weigh on fad diets, a significan portion of that weight isn't fat but muscle. Having a lot of muscle increases your metabolism, so losing that muscle on a fad diet is really really bad and absolutely kills your metabolism. This is why most people who go on a diet end up gaining the weigh back - after losing all that muscle, your metabolsim is completely shot.

Since I don't know how much you exercise this may not apply to you, but if you'd been on a lot of diets, chances are it does (I would know - it happened to me on Weight watchers). Your weight loss is going to be a little slow in the beginning as your metabolism recovers, but you can help it along by making sure you're eating 4-5 small, healthy meals a day and doing some sort of strenghtening exercise several days a week along with your regular cardio. If you're doing things right, you shouldn't lose more than 1.5-2lbs a week (any more than that and it's probably muscle). Good luck!

Thanks.  I really am counting calories and measuring every bit.  If anything, I am logging more calories than I probably am eating.  I think that maybe my body is simply adjusting to all the weird diets of the past. 

Tell you what, I will report back in a few days and see if the scale moves in the right direction.  Goodness knows, it has a long way to go!!!

What is your weight and height?

embarrasing - but I am 5'5" and I weigh 227 (I cringe whenever I admit that)

I am a "newbie' and I have a question for anyone that can help..
I am looking for suggestions for "late night snacks" I am an extreme night owl and I get famished at night I have tried low fat popcorn but am looking for any other ideas

Terrilyn63--Although this might be evil, I've found Kellogg's Rice Krispie Squares, which are rated as a B on the nutrition scale. They satisfy my evening sweet tooth and have only 90 calories per square.  If I've been good all day (below 1600 cals for me!), I'll let myself have one. YUM!

Champykk--It sounds to me as if you're starting down the right path--I understand what you mean about the needle not moving much in the first week--for me, (in January, at 5'2" and 196, *cringe!*), the first few months were about getting used to the idea of counting calories and how to do it.  I only lost 10 lbs in the first 4 months, painfully slow! 

But after finding this site on April 18th, I've lost another 5lbs! The ideas and encouragement from this community just astounds me! :)

Good luck, and read coachdee's posts--she's really onto the fact that  you don't need to starve yourself to lose weight!

Denise

Hello everyone, I too am a newcomer.

Just had a baby who turned 4 months, and have decided to count calories and run 5K 5X a week.  In saying that - discouragingly I have gained 4lbs.  I know it is "fat" turning to muscle, but it still does not look pretty on the analysis ( ha ha)

I have a question though, I keep reading you have to burn more than you consume, I burn approx 400 cals running, to lose weight my cal intake should be 1500 - what am I missing - the suggestion can't possibly be to only consume 400 and burn 400 - can anyone clarify.

Cheers and good luck to all!

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/4815 .html

here's the post with all the info on calculating what you should do to lose weight the healthy way.  and remember, it takes time to get used to all the changes!!

WONDERFUL!  Wow, those posts are extremely informative and helpful!  Thanks and I am super encourgaged again.  The scale is only one measure, and heck, I am feeling a so much better which counts for alot!

Well - a little update.  It has been two months of frustration and discouragement.  I finally said "to heck with it - the scale is not important" and I continued to count calories and exercise.  I got on the scale today and lost my first 5 pounds.  Needless to say, it was slow but it is the most rewarding 5 pounds ever!

I am not a doctor, but my thoughts are this:  My body reacted to the change in life style and took some time to realize this was not temporary.  I am looking forward to moving the scale in the right direction, but I am more encouraged with my attitude and endurance.  I couldn't even walk well when I started, and now I can run (very slowly) 2.5 miles every morning.  I don't crave the junk food anymore and I just plain feel better.  Isn't that what it is all about?  I have a long way to go, but at least I know the direction this time.  Thanks everyone for your encouragement!

Well done! So good that you didn't give up.
Keep positive!

Remember: Muscle weighs far more than fat.


And it sounds like you're building up those leg muscles quite a bit, not to mention the weight training.