[snowflake0408]

.

[lovtolaff]

Hi there. I started eating healthier in January of this year and here is what I did. I weighed on the day that I started and I didn't weigh again until February 1st. I had lost 7 lbs but it felt like so much more. However, I was THRILLED with the 7 lbs and just kept going. I didn't weigh again until March 1st and I had lost 7 more lbs. I weighed tonight and I'm down 2 more! I wasn't even disappointed with this because I haven't done my best this past month so I was happy to see a loss at all.

The trick for me is to NOT weigh often at all. I become a slave to those numbers and have found that if I weigh every few days and haven't lost anything than I take on the attitude of well screw it - I'll just eat what I want. That hasn't happened this time.

I will tell you that if I gauged my weightloss by the fit of my jeans alone - I would have guessed that I'd lost ALOT more weight than 16 lbs. You see - for me that is what I go by - how my clothes fit and how much better I feel. I'm more energetic, I feel good mentally and physically and my clothes feel good.

Some will say to measure and log your inches before you start your eating journey but I'm not very precise when I try to measure myself - so I just go by how my clothes feel.

I too used to be able to drop weight pretty quickly but it was most always because I was practically starving myself or depriving myself of everthing that I love. I am not doing that this time. I eat what I want but I'm more aware of how much to eat and how often. This time has been so much easier for me.

Best of luck to you - and hang in there.

[lovtolaff]

It's me again - I thought of other things to say:

Would you mind posting how many calories you are eating a day? Are you exercising regularly?

My stats: 5'7, started out at 255.5 and tonight I'm down to 239.5. My caloric intake ranges from 1200 - 1800 and it seems to be working. It's slow - but it's coming off. And yeah I get very frustrated sometimes too. I try to walk at LEAST 4 days a week (sometimes 5) for at least 25 minutes (sometimes 40) and I should be doing my exercise ball and my hand weights but I'll admit I haven't gotten into a regular routine with those yet. I tend to be lazy sometimes.

Anyways - anxious to hear your stats.

[lovtolaff]

Wow - you seem to be exercising quite a lot. I bet that you are building muscle. Have you noticed ANY loss at all? I know that gets discouraging but I'll bet if you hang in there you will notice a big loss all at once.

One thing that works for me - is to "switch it up" calorie wise. For instance, if I eat 1200 calories one day, than the next day I'll eat maybe closer to 1600, than maybe the next day 1400, etc. I think this tricks your body into not really knowing what to expect.

And boy I know what you mean about not expecting the weight to come off THIS slow - I too am struggling with that but I've decided that however long it takes it's better than staying fat and feeling terrible. I didn't gain all this weight in a week or two - it's definitely not going to come off in a week or two either. I guess that has been the hardest thing for me - wanting the lbs to just drop off NOW! I still struggle with that.

[Shopaholic]

snow, I did hear that it's never good to eat under 1,200 calories a day unless you're tiny or have some kind of medical problem. Especially for someone who is 220 pounds. (I'm over 300 so I'm not judging you.)

You might want to sign into ediets for the free profile to see how many calories they recommend to lose weight, you don't want to send your body into starvation mode.

[MorticiaAddams]

I think it was a good two months before the weight started to really drop and start to show. I made small changes as I discovered the heathly way to eat more and exersise for better results.
Got any old clothes. Try them on and in a few months and when you try them back on and see and feel the diffrence its like you want to give some hi fives.
Reading alot of articles and magazines and putting together some really good ideas from a lot of diffrent areas is also a good help and sometimes insipration.
It does come off and your body does change and the changes are amazing.
One change my husband has pointed out to me is that little hump I had above my booty is now flat and he keeps touching me there because he cant believe its gone. Neither can I.
Changes will happen and they are worth every sweat and tear.

[KTna]

My doctor told me to never go below 1200 calories per day. He said that if you eat lower than that it could have an effect on your heart. I eat around 1300-1500 calories a day. I have a hard time whenever I first start a diet (due to some bad dieting in the past) so it typically takes a few weeks to a month to see any loss, and even then its a small loss of maybe .5 lb. Don't dispair, stick with it! I have since seen losses up to 3 lbs in a week, once you get your metabolism working properly it will start to come off. I know it is hard to wait, and it will get harder - but eventually the scale will catch up to your efforts.
Recently I have been having a really hard time with my scale. I am trying to lose 20 lbs by the middle of June, and I am struggling to lose it. I have been up and down 1 pound for almost 3 weeks. I have felt like cutting my calories to try to speed up the weight loss, but I know that this won't work - and it is the behavior that has helped me fail in the past.
Stick with it, I like to write down what I eat if I don't see any scale losses - just in case I am estimating wrong.