If you are feeling hungry, then you may want to up your calories. Everybody is different and for some people 1400 would be enough, and for others (me) it wouldn't.

And I want to reiterate what some other posters have said: bread is not bad! You need carbs for your body to function. Humans have subsisted for tens of thousands of years on grains and it did not make them fat.

but i am eating carbs.... yesterday i consumed 207g of carbs. isn't that plenty. i just get them from fruits and vegetables and whole grains, like bulgur wheat, rather than bread slices.


and no i'm not hungry per se. i mean i'd love to eat pizza or candies, but i'd definitely not hungry. the salad that i ate last night was so big i could barely finish it.

i only started my blog a few days ago, but i've been trying to lose weight since september 11th. originally i started doing south beach diet, and i lost 10 pounds really fast, but since then i haven't even lost 1-2 pounds per week. sometimes it seems like nothing at all.

so maybe in the past 2 weeks, i decided to really start measuring out everything, and keeping track of calories more strictly.

I think you're expecting too much, too fast.

It's normal for some people to lose a chunk of weight right away (10lbs or so) due to water weight, and the drastic change of diet. But after that your weight loss should taper tdown to a healthy rate, which for you would be about 1.5 lbs per week ON AVERAGE.

That "on average" part is really important. You might be one of those poeple who loses in fits and starts - 3lbs one week, nothing the next, etc. Also you have to keep in mind that your period, the weather, all kinds of other things will affect what the scale says. It doens't necessarily mean you're not losing fat, it just means that the scale is being influenced by other things.

I mean ... seriously. Look at the numbers. In a little over a month you lost TEN POUNDS. That's an excellent rate. You shouldn't worry about not losing again just yet. Just keep eating healthily and let your body adjust to this new way of live.

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I am assuming that you probably lost the first 10 pounds in the first 2-3 weeks? Then, you lost the next 4 pounds over the course of a month to 6 weeks, correct?

This is NORMAL. Almost everyone loses the first 5-10 pounds rather quickly, because part of that is water weight.

Also, you must take into consideration that you are in the 140's. You are not very overweight at all...so your weight loss is going to be MUCH slower than someone who started at the same time as you, who weighs in the 140's.

The more you weigh, the more calories your body burns doing the same thing. If you were taking a walk with someone who weighed 100 pounds more than you, they are going to burn many more calories doing the same thing-because they are dragging an extra 100 pounds with them.

This is why someone who is 300 or 250 or even 200 pounds is going to see larger losses on the scale than you are. The smaller you get, the more it slows down. It is very common for it to take MONTHS for someone to lose the last 5 pounds.

At your current weight, you might not see a 1 or 2 pound loss on the scale every week. You might see a 1/2 a pound loss one week, nothing the next, and a full pound the week after that.

I know that for me, personally, once I hit 170 pounds (for some reason, this it is always at around this point) I am going to have to WORK for each and every pound. REALLY work. I don't know why, but it always happens at this point after every baby. It's like the personal setpoint that my body has, where it decides that it is going to start resisting. I can fully expect 1-2 pounds lost every week if I stay on plan...UNTIL I reach that weight range...then after that, it might be a pound one week, nothing, then a pound a couple weeks later...

Don't get frustrated because it has slowed down. Try to think of it in a more positive light-it is slowing down because you have come SO FAR, and are so much closer to goal. It will happen, though, if you are persistant.

My recommendation would be to maybe set up some NON-SCALE goals for yourself, so that you have something to aim for besides just the scale. Maybe set something up for yourself, like getting a manicure or buying yourself a little treat (a new dvd or something) if you stay on plan with your food and exercise over the next 2 weeks. Check online and see if there are any 5K run/walks or something in your area. Sometimes we have to make little victories for ourselves to keep us motivated that don't revolve around the scale.

A couple things. As has been said, you lose more at first, then it slows down. Especially as you are close to ideal weight. We're a similar height and weight. I'm losing about 4 pounds a month. But ... that 4 pounds a months *shows* about as much as 8 pounds a month used to.

Second, it's a great idea to try measuring and tracking everything strictly, at least for a while. You learn a lot, and then you have a much more accurate idea of what you're working with. Great job.

yeah no i definitely see what you mean. i think also to myself, if i'm so close to an ideal weight, then why am i still wearing size 10 or even 12 pants. ideally, i'd like to wear a size 6 or even a 4 if i can swing that.

also, with the weight that i have lost, my size has not decreased that much. my pants are a little looser, but not so much that i need to buy new clothes just yet.

i will definitely try not to get discouraged though and just keep doing what i'm doing. thanks for all the advice, ladies!