SO I survived a week. I didn't binge, I counted calories and I went to the gym everyday. I certainly didn't starve (keeping my cals roughly 1700-1800) and I got in the scale this morning and 3.5 lbs lost???! Wtf? I know generally that would be a GREAT loss, but this was my first week. In the past, I have lost 2-5 lbs just in water weight and that was without ANY excericse! All I can say is I am SO SAD right now. I have such a long way to go and I just can not believe after all my hard work this is all I get.
Gosh no, I wouldn't lower your calories if this is working for you. Because admit it girl- it really IS working!
If it makes you feel better I only lost .5 pound my first full week of dieting in January (and I'm heavier than you) only to lose way more later in the month.
I also wanted to add, that like you I expected these huge results the first week, because I've had them in the past. It certainly didn't happen for me with just a half pound loss but I tried not to let it get to me. I'm glad I didn't because I'm now 35 pounds lighter!
Be proud! Don't let it get in your way because you ARE on your way!
Last edited by FB; 03-08-2008 at 10:03 AM.
Reason: spelling. again. :(
And by the way, adding exercise will make the scale a little more stubborn at first. Give it a little time though because those numbers are only an itty bitty part of the reason you're doing this -- right??
Loosing more than 3.5 pounds would be quite bad, I can understand you must feel frustrated but it takes time to lose weight and if you want to keep it off you should take it easy! People should aim to lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week and losing it at this rate means it is more likely to stay off! Did you know that there are roughly 3500 calories in a pound of fat? So, as you have cut down to a maximum of 1800 then you must be burning say 200-400 extra calories a day? Say its about 200 and times that by 7, thats 1400 so not even a pound of fat.
Don't lose heart, that was really good for the first week and you may have not lost as much as you may have gained muscle from going to the gym!
Good luck with the next coming week!
SO I survived a week. I didn't binge, I counted calories and I went to the gym everyday. I certainly didn't starve (keeping my cals roughly 1700-1800) and I got in the scale this morning and 3.5 lbs lost???! Wtf? I know generally that would be a GREAT loss, but this was my first week. In the past, I have lost 2-5 lbs just in water weight and that was without ANY excericse! All I can say is I am SO SAD right now. I have such a long way to go and I just can not believe after all my hard work this is all I get.
Should I lower my cals?
you could try lowering your cals, but the big thing is, people hit platos. i would hang in there for another week. you could also be building muscle, which is heavier than fat. regardless, congrats on the wieght lost! i am sure that more will come off, so stick to it!
I definitely would NOT lower your calories just yet. You lost 3.5 lbs! That's great! You said in the past that you've lost up to 5 lbs your first week without any exercise... I believe that's the key here. When our muscles are sore from exercising, they hold on to extra water causing them to swell slightly. Therefore, it would make sense that you would lose less water weight when exercising. The main point though is that you don't want to lose water weight. You want to lose fat. So, don't resort to anything like cutting calories until it's been a few weeks with NO LOSS whatsoever. Then it might be time to change things up a bit, but for now 3.5 lbs is SPECTACULAR! Like others have said, normal weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week, a little more if you're a larger person. So, take the loss this week and give your self a huge pat on the back!!!
Ummmm, you're disappointed over 3.5 lbs? I'm sorry. I just don't understand this. At all. 3.5 lbs is FANTASTIC!!! You should be thrillled. Just stick with it and there will be many more FANTASTIC weigh-ins for you. Losing weight, all the weight needed, is not going to happen immediately. It WILL take time. It's not instant gratification. But really, before you know it another week will be gone and then another, then a month and so on and so on and those lbs lost will add up.
I wouldn't lower my calories at all. I would do exactly what you did to get that 3.5 lbs gone. Cause it WORKED. Just keep at it. Keep going.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 03-08-2008 at 11:27 AM.
You should feel fantastic about 3.5lbs - don't let the hype from weightloss ads and TV's show set unrealistic expectations for you.
Remember this is about losing the weight for good and sticking with your weightloss journey over a long run. I started close to the same weight as you and never really had much more than a 3.5lbs weight loss even at the beginning. But here I am 51 weeks later and still going strong which is the important part.
So smile and feel good about yourself - you are doing great.
Ok I joined LAWL one week ago.I have followed the plan. I do 30-45 mins of cardio every night. AND NO WEIGHT LOSS What am I doing wrong. All week my energy has been low because of my anemia. Do you think that could be the problem?
Any weight you may have lost has probably been put on in muscle gain and retained water to help your muscles. Your lack of energy is probably caused by the anemia and probably not helped by your exercise!
I really appreciate all the support. It really made me feel better. I understand I did not put on all this weight overnight and it's not going to come off overnight... It really makes sense about the excercise and the muscles holding water. I didn't think of that. I am going to stick to what I am doing and I will let you know how it goes next week. Another thing I might be thinking is I eat a lot of Soy products (the frozen ones) and they probably contain a lot of sodium... Thanks again!
It is hard to give you feedback without more information. How many calories are you eating? What is a typical day for you in terms of food.
I assume LAWL is LA Weight Loss. If you have special medical needs such as anemia is LAWL the best plan for you. Did you discuss this with your physician.
Most of us on this thread follow basic calorie counting and not prgrams such as LAWL.
Diva, also there is a section of the forums specifically dedicated to LA Weight Loss/Pure Weight Loss. They might be able to answer your questions with more knowledge considering most of us over here count calories and probably don't have a lot of experience with LAWL.
Very Disappointed
Very disappointed
Another thing I might be thinking is I eat a lot of Soy products (the frozen ones) and they probably contain a lot of sodium... Thanks again!
