Hi everyone!! Sorry if this is the wrong sub (if so please let me know where I can post If possible). I began my journey on 2/17 weighing in at 206lbs, I lost 5lbs within the first couple of days (water weight duh) and slowly made my way down to 200 even. Since 3/15 I have continuously stayed around 202-198 with my biggest dip being 196.4. I weighed in this morning at 200 and I’m just feeling defeated. Am I losing weight ? I heard some advice about looking at averages which I guess would make my average around 198 but still, I’m discouraged seeing 200 on the scale all the time. I just want to know if I’m wasting my time. I weigh all my food so I know for sure I am not over eating, and I workout between 3-5 days a week. Any advice would be appreciated!
Note: I did not start using this app to track my weight until 3/7 so take that into consideration with my starting weight being 206 on 2/17
by Far-Campaign-7454
17 Comments
Make sure you weigh yourself at the same time every time. Ideally in the morning (after bathroom is what I usually do). What calorie deficit are you in for losing weight?
I liked using the app “Lose It!” to track weight and calories all in one place
Also give yourself more time, it’s barely been a month and you need to build good habits that’ll help you maintain weight after reaching your goal weight
So the timeline is:
2/17 – 206lbs
3/15 – 202-198
So 4 weeks you lost 4 lbs and you call it “water weight”
Hard to help when you don’t post your daily intake & activity levels.
zoom out
Ahh muscle weighs more than fat. With muscle building you want to take a photo first thing in the morning on the same day every week and weigh in that day. Just once a week. Then take measurements of your waist.
Track all three of those over a month or two and you’ll see your progress. The scale can seem discouraging when you lose fat but gain muscle because it doesn’t show with the number on the scale the way that you think that it will.
Cardio and strength 3x a week at the gym and 10k steps a day is very helpful. If you do the treadmill for cardio and do a 12% incline for 30min at 3mph you’ll walk around 4,500 steps so you just need to do the remaining. If you take a 15 min brisk walk after every meal it’s surprisingly easy to get the steps.
What are your macros? Are you drinking enough water? Sleeping enough? If you’re a woman are you considering weight from bloating during PMS?
Overall though you are losing weight if you started at 206 and are at 198. Daily weight can go up and down by 5lbs. It’s usually water weight, you can’t lose and gain fat that quickly. That’s why once a week is a much better thing to do for your mental health while you’re trying to do this cause it’s very discouraging to watch the scale jump up and down every day.
I would say not… maybe make sure you’re weighing your food and have the correct TDEE
If you are a female, it is even harder to tell because it is normal for your way to fluctuate up and down, especially around a period.
I think you’re really the only answer we have is that it’s more of a long-term thing and you just can’t tell. Many people get frustrated with this answer and resort to a cloth tape measure in order to measure certain parts of their body. Especially if you work out because that fat can be replaced by muscle which weighs more and can make it seem like you’re not losing weight when really you are gaining muscle.
It’s not just about the number on the scale. I always take into consideration NSV.
https://preview.redd.it/cymcwtshgfrg1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a159ededcee96a91d1b766ecb78421d6a4281fdf
Here’s my 2 year journey with weight loss. There are a ton of ups and downs over short intervals, what matters is consistency in tracking calories and gathering weight data.
Every one of those points is weighing myself in the morning after the morning bathroom visit, before any food or liquid intake.
A one month sample is enough to notice some weight loss but you really have to stay consistent with your habits around portioning and weighing yourself to get a good idea of if your process is working for you or if you should add / subtract something.
Try to be objective about it and remember that the results don’t always come at the pace we expect, but staying consistent will be your best bet at getting there.
Just keep at it you’re doing fine, I had the same issue as you one month despite being super diligent about tracking. Don’t obsess with the scale- everything can impact it: water retention, time of month if you’re a woman, if you pooped or not, fiber intake or lack thereof (sudden high intake without enough water will make you retain like crazy), how intensely you worked out etc. Try to weigh yourself only twice a week, it’s too soon to tell if something needs to be tweaked. I am assuming you’re eating at the right deficit and logging everything you’re eating. Also don’t forget that your TDEE shifts as you drop weight so account for that as well.
Maybe. Check the trend next week. Keep the faith.
Have you lost weight since you started in February? Yes!
Have you lost weight in the past couple of weeks? No.
Have you done a quick TDEE calculator? Then, minus up to 500 while not going below 1200. Whatever number you get should be the lowest you eat at to lose up to 2lbs/week.
Are you weighing your food in grams on a food scale?
Are you using an app to track every single item you eat and drink?
Are you meeting your calorie goal? Going too low can have a lowering effect on your metabolism as you’ll burn through your muscle instead of maintaining it.
Are you drinking enough water every day? Your body needs to be hydrated to be able to properly move wastes.
Are you eating too high of salt? A lot of prepackaged foods and sauces have so much sodium. It causes fluid retention at the very least. You may want to cut back.
Did you pick up more movement or exercise since starting your weight loss? Even a little more movement may have caused more muscle development. Muscle has weight to it and the additional muscle weight could be balancing out the weight from fat loss. This would be very, very good and you’d see the scale move lower, faster over time.
Do you have a known health condition? Diabetes? PCOS? Heart, liver, kidney, or gallbladder issues? Maybe the condition involves metabolic problems too. Maybe medications are causing weight control problems. It may be an idea to check in with your doctor.
Do you have any injuries, new or old ones that have recently flared up? Injuries cause fluid retention too.
Are you taking new supplements? Do any of them, like creatine, potentially cause bloating?
Are you a menstruating female? If so, the 1-2 weeks before your period can be linked to bloating, or fluid retention. It’s normal to experience during some cycles and your body will naturally get rid of that during your period. You would see the scale drop during or after your period ends.
Are you eating heavy, salty, greasy, or fatty foods before your weigh-in? It could be short-term fluid retention.
Are you weighing at the same time in the morning, before any food or drink and under the same clothing conditions (same clothing or nude)?
as long as your habits haven’t changed since you hit the lowest weight i think you are on the right track
don’t quit & reaccess in 7 days
I mean weight fluctuates a lot. I’ve been eating sub 1400 cal since Jan usually somewhere around 1-1.2k and even within the same week I go up and down a pound or two. You need to give yourself like a couple months to see the big picture. When I look at a week … it’s baaaaad. I easily go up and down a pound or two daily … which makes me feel like no progress but there is
Also if you are a period haver then those hormones really mess with weight too.
What app is this? I need it
You are losing weight but not at the rate you’re supposed to if you’re eating 1200 calories, you could be eating more than that. You may still be in a deficit but not 1200 calories!
are you eating your active calories back? that could be why.