I am only in week two, and I am loving how I feel and not about to jump ship or anything, but I am extremely bummed. Looked forward the the good numbers at the beginning
Last week I lost 3 pounds, and so far this week I appear to have put on 4? I have been on plan (calorie counting and between 1,300 and 1,700 calories a day) and exercising. I've been exercising since February, but just last week added weights a la the New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. Can I blame that? Sheesh. It would be nice to be moving in the right direction.
Oh well. I will look forward to measuring myself in two more weeks. Hopefully that will tell a better tale.
you might be retaining water because of the lifting, but to be honest, i started the new rules this week and have stayed the same-- but i was running 25 miles a week before that.
i usually give myself 6 weeks of doing something new before i rule it out-- i.e. keep on going! when i first started running/counting calories nothing seemed like it was changing but then bam! my body got used to it and i've actually lost, so i can tell you it works.
I understand that it seems like it should just be dropping off once you start your diet. Your body is adjusting to a new set of rules. You just took calories away from it... starting those weights is gonna help a ton. You'll turn fat into muscle and burn those pounds off quicker than you'd know.
Don't give up, it's just the beginning. =)
I understand that it seems like it should just be dropping off once you start your diet. Your body is adjusting to a new set of rules. You just took calories away from it... starting those weights is gonna help a ton. You'll turn fat into muscle and burn those pounds off quicker than you'd know.
Don't give up, it's just the beginning. =)
I agree It's only your second week. This happens! I've now stayed on my current weight for almost a month with losing nothing but also not gaining. Don't feel demotivated, just keep going.
I agree, stick with it.. I did not weight myself for the first month of my diet/exercise change. I was afraid I would not see any change, and would give up. When I finally did weigh myself, I had lost 10lb!! It will make a difference, you just need to give it time.
Same goes for plateaus... I think I lost maybe 2 lb in the last month and a half... its discouraging, yes.. but imagine what the scale would have looked like if I were doing nothing at all. Stick with it, and you will see results. I promise.
PS: Don't forget to drink lots of water! (this is something I am bad at). Water retention is a killer.
Weight lifting can definitely cause gains/plateaus. It might be too early, but bust out that tape measure and see if you lost inches. You may notice that your weight may stay the same or even increase, but you are losing inches.
When I began weight lifting (about two years ago, when I was at my starting weight), my weight stayed the same but I lost inches and dropped a dress size.
Thanks for the encouragement guys, that's exactly what I needed. I am REALLY hoping the weightlifting does the trick. In all honesty, I don't give a toot what the scale says if my size goes down. I don't want to bust out the tape measure just yet in case it's too soon, but I am looking forward to doing it later.
I have PCOS, so my cycles are bizarre. I wish I could blame it on that, but I am neither near ovulation OR AF.
I did however just do a random, evening weigh in, and think perhaps some of it has come off and my weigh in tomorrow will be OK. Of course, I am lifting tonight, so who knows, that might throw it off agin.
Side note: I'm sure you already know this, but when you're doing weights - changing up a little can alter your results dramatically. More weights/less reps gives you more "muscle", whereas less weight/more reps gives you that lean/tone look. Oh, and avoid do the same muscle group two days in a row. =)
I would highly recommend the book The New Rules of Weightlifting for Women. It kind of lays to rest a lot of those old myths about bulk vs. tone. Really it echoed what my husband has been telling me for years, and I hated admitting he was right.
On my weird gain, it all fell off overnight before weigh in day and I weighed in at almost the exact same weight as the week before. NOT what you want to see after a week of hard work, but at least I didn't feel like the previous week's 3 pounds had been undone! I've been making lots of really great choices recently, especially at restaurants, and that makes me feel really good. Played racquetball with my hubs today and then really pushed myself on weights, which nearly killed me, but was good. I WILL make the scale move (or at least the tape measure!)
I've noticed since doing more weight and resistance training that my diet has had to change. When I was doing aerobics, just reducing my calories was enough but now if I'm not eating enough protein or calories, my weight won't budge.
I guess it's a miniature version of body builders who eat like whole chickens and raw eggs.
Also, I've had that overnight weight loss too (Friday morning I weighed in at 242, this morning I was 237) and I think it's because I wasn't eating enough calories this week, so when I made up for it eating too much on Friday (oops) my muscles were grateful.
I'm not losing
It's only your second week. This happens! I've now stayed on my current weight for almost a month with losing nothing but also not gaining. Don't feel demotivated, just keep going. 
