How much did you lose your first month at this?

Ive been here for a little over a month and I cannot seem to get the first 5 lbs off.  Im bouncing back between 150-153.  Its driving me nuts.  Ive been doing spin class and did a salsa class last night.  My cals are around 1500. 

What was your first month like?  anything similar to what Im experiencing? 

Are you eating more on the days you are exercising or compensate for the lost calories?

I believe in my first month I dropped 5-6 lbs.

Yeah I do try to eat more on workout days.  Usually a protien bar or some extra fruit.  My cals are usually around 1300 on non workout days and 1600 on workout days.  Im never below 1200 or above 2000 (which is what cc says I use doing nothing)

What is your background before starting up?  Were you eating too few calories?  If that is the case, your body may of been in "starvation" mode, and it can take some time to come out of there.  After starving your body, it will take some good / hard work to convince it to let go of some of the weight.

Are you watching your other nutrients?  I'm thinking mainly of salt.

On the same level, are you drinking enough water?

Are your clothes fitting differently and its just the scale that is not going down to your liking?

All in all, it can be normal when you start something that it takes a little while for your body to get going.  All our bodies are different, some take longer to react.

I definatly wasnt starving myself .. lol.  But I do understand what you are saying.  I am watching my H20, sodium & fiber intake.  I usually get a B'ish in my grades.  Im sure my body is just adjusting but its just frusterating.  I have noticed a difference in my face (one place I gain wt first) and my clothes are a little looser.  I just want that scale to be showing something!!

Don?t get so hung up on the scale.  It is just a number.  Your body is a very complex thing and has many ways of losing weight without it showing on the scale.

While it is a good indicator of how you are doing, the scale is not the be all, end all of weight loss.

Most of all, you are on the right track, so keep up the good work!

Thanks!! I know its true and I am on the right track.  Its just hard because I want to see results.  But I am doing this the healhty way and I will eventually get to my goal:)

this is my second week and i'm down 3.5 lbs....   i track everything i eat (one lifesaver, 2 tbs salad dressing), everything.  my calorie count has been between 1200 and 1400.   you might want to review your calories, sounds like you should be dropping.

Just keep going at it.  I'll bet your body is adjusting since you were trying to eat so little before. 

My first month I lost 8 lbs, but I had been eating anything that walked by before I started.

I was considered overweight when I started; since I am in a normal weight range, my weight loss has slowed down.  so if your BMI is normal, I think it will just take longer.

I added you to my friends, because I too gained a ton after I got married (esp on the honeymoon, hubby gained 7 lbs and I was too scared to weigh myself!!!)

Good luck on your journey to a healthier life!  I guarantee it will be worth it!!

I was the same way - I started at 157 lbs.....for the first 2 months, I kept losing and gaining the same 3 lbs. It was making me crazy! My original approach was to get the exercise going and try and make that routine before changing my eating habits. I was worried that if I tried to change too much too soon, I wouldn't be able to keep with it. So, after the first 2 months, I found that going to the gym became enjoyable - something I looked forward to every day. With that under my belt, it was time to start really looking at how much and what I was eating. I discovered that I wasn't eating enough calories to support my workouts, and probably eating too much of the wrong things. I upped my calories and changed my proportions of carbs/proteins/fats. I'm not losing weight at the speed of light or anything, but I am losing. Between November and today, I've lost a total of 10 lbs.

Keep at it....and work at making small changes, one at a time. I know it's slow going, but it will happen!

Before trying to become lean, I used to take in 2300-2800 calories per day. Lots of junk food and unnecessary crap. But I have been taking in 1200-1600 for a little over a month now and have also been doing exercises every day(pushups, curls, crunches, squats, etc.). I have paid special attention to taking in as much protein as possible, possibly more than I did before. Lean meats, green tea, vitamin c drinks, and protein bars have all made up a large part of what I have been eating.

I started at 164. Now I am around 144. I am a 5'9"-5'10" tall narrow framed 18 y/o male.

Actually thats what I lost in the first month too. 5LBS. 

Sometimes you have to gain (or stay at the same) weight before you lose it. Especially if you are exercising, you may be building muscle. If I were you, the best way to gage success is by how your clothes feel. You said your clothes are feeling a little less tight, so I would say you sound like you are on the right track!

i have been here 11 days and already lost 3 lbs my calorie intake is 1300 give or take a little i am really happy with the progress i am making i weigh 145 and wabt to get down to 120 by july the rate im going i am defo gonna make it. well i hope so.

I lost 6 pounds in the first ten days here, but then a couple days later I was back up 3 pounds, and I haven't managened to lose any more.  In fact, yesterday it was up another pound, and then down again today.  I probably worry too much about what the scale says every day, but I'm afraid that if I don't weigh then I won't catch a bad trend. 

Of course, you know that the more you weigh, generally, the easier it is to lose at first. I don't know how tall you are, but unless you're very short, 153 doesn't sound obese, so you may have to work at it longer to get going on steady loss.

I have also read that you need to wait a few weeks before you can see a true trend; water weight fluctuates drastically.

I am 5'2", and I started dieting (again) 10 days ago. I have lost about a pound overall, but I've gone up and down on the way there. Plus, I try to pay more attention to body fat % (my scale measure that) and how my clothes fit than I pay to the number on the scale. The less body fat and the more muscle you have, the better your clothes will fit and the more calories you'll burn.

As my kids say, "It's a fact; look it up."

Good luck.

Gosh, I just started Jan 9 and I am so glad I am reading what you guys have written.  My biggest calorie consumer I believe was alcohol, I only ate one meal a day but was putting on the pounds regardless.  I gained 12 pounds just last year and knew I had to do something.  I have learned so much from you guys and want to thank you for all the information because I was beginning to become discouraged.   I think my toughest fight will be trying to get my body out of that "Starvation" mode.   Thanks 

I've been doing this for about 4 weeks, and have lost 13 lbs.  But I know that I cannot expect that to continue and would actually prefer to only lose 1-2 lbs a week. 

I think the reason that I have had such a loss is that I was consuming like 2500+ calories a day with minimal exercise and now I am at 1500-1600 a day with 30-45 mns exercise 6 x week.  I think the change has jolted my body and am anticipating it to slow down very quickly !