First of all I want to say thanks to all of you guys for the support that has been given thus far. I am new to calorie counting but not to dieting. I have been exclusively counting calories for the past three days and so far I seem to really like it. Right now my calorie goal has been set to 1700 per day. I dont feel hungry and Ive been preparing my meals and planning them out. I know its early on but I just feel like I should have been started doing this a long time ago, and now I see what you guys have been saying all along when you say that "IT GETS EASIER"

Anyways have you been losing each week as long as you have stayed within your calorie limit? I workout as well but not nearly as much as I was about to in the summer time but so far this week Ive worked out for three hours.

In a perfect world we would all lose every week! I started out about 3 months ago and I've lost 20 pounds in that time. But I've stalled at 130 the past 4 weeks despite staying at about 1200 calories a day on average. I cycle calories so it could be more one day, less the next. I also have an 80-90 minute workout 4-5 times a week. (cardio and weight training).

I'm very close to goal weight though so I understand the slowdown. I've decided to up my calorie intake. It's almostpainful to do though because I struggle as it is to fit 1200 into a day! But I'm making an effort to go up a 100a week from this week and we'll see how it goes

But hang in there. You've just started so the weight will come off. 3 hours of exercise is fantastic - you're definitely on the right track there. It does get easier and at the end it's all so worthwhile. Let us know how you do - we're all rooting for you

So far yes, but there have been a few weeks where it was less than a pound. I know the week will come where I either stay the same or gain, but I'm not going to let it get me down.

I'm so glad this is getting easier for you!!!!

I don't lose every week consistently but I have kept a consistent 8-10 pound loss per month in the past few months that I have actually been tracking all that, heh.

Since I've gotten closer to goal I definitely don't lose weight every week. I was stuck (and then actually went up) for three weeks. It was tough because I was doing everything right, but I just kept reminding myself that it was better to maintain than to gain weight. After the third week I dropped 2 pounds, so that was a huge boost.

Another thing that keeps me going when the scale doesn't comply is the realization that exercise and healthy eating are life-long commitments. I may not drop 1-2 pounds every week, but in the next few months of this life-long journey those last pounds WILL come off. In the meantime I'll continue to enjoy exercising and eating healthy, yummy food.

The first two weeks were my highest weight loss but that was probably water weight. Since then I've evened out to about 2-3 lbs a week. My weigh in on Monday was only 1.5 lbs but it was still a loss and I chalked it up to the fact Ive had a very stressful past week. Stress can play a roll in weight loss even when I was eating right and exercising. I know in the future there will be some weeks I may only lose a half of a lb... or maybe none at all but the objective is to not get discouraged and look back at what Ive done so far and keep pushing through.

As Long as I do my part yes I do lose each week, I don't think that I can remember not losing in a week unless I did not do my part. if I stay within my calorie limits, exercise, drink enough and sleep enough I lose weight. if not? not so much

As Ever
Me

So far, yes, I've lost each week. Being a diet veteran, however, I know that will change, especially as I get closer to goal.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to go ga-ga when it happens, but I "do" know it's coming.

Sherry

Nope. Not even close. Some weeks were no loss. Some weeks were even a slight gain.

Overall, I averaged 1.71 lbs. per week. But, it definitely wasn't linear.

Hang in there - you can't control the scale, but you CAN control whether or not you are OP.

I gotta tell you, it matters not one little bit NOW what happened week by week. It only matters that I reached my goal and I am successfully maintaining.

No. Weight loss is not linear and even if you do the same thing every week you wouldn't have exactly the same loss. So many other factors affect our weight!

But that's a hard lesson for us to learn, as so many of us (self included) tend to rely on the scale to measure our progress.

During the losing portion of my journey, I lost weight all but 2 weeks. Those 2 weeks I stayed the same. And each of those times it was because I went over my calorie budget. I did have quite a few 1/2 pound weeks though and numbers all over the place, even though I did the same things.

And yes, it DOES get easier. You get more used to it, more accustomed to it. It becomes more habitual. You discover different things to make it simpler, different foods to enjoy, different ways of planning. It's all good. Before you know it, this will be your new "normal".

Stick with that plan, being open to tweaking it if need be and there is no way that you can't NOT lose. In however long it takes. As long as you don't stop - you'll get there. You most definitely will.

Interesting. So what's the best way to deal with a plateau?

Not even close. On average, I lose 1/2 to 1 lb of actual weight (energy storage) per week. Since I can go up several pounds with TOM, and another several pounds from water retention if I eat a lot of salt (e.g. Vietnamese pho), plus other fluctuation factors (undigested food, extra exercise causing water retention), a confluence of factors hitting at once can offset several months of actual weight loss.

But when that happens, I usually know the cause(s) and though it is always disappointing to see bigger numbers on the scale, they have always averaged down over time when I was POP.

That depends on your definition of plateau....

For me I did my best to avoid it - by staying faithfully to plan in the food & exercise department..

But again, every one has a different definition. Not losing any pounds for a few weeks while staying faithfully on plan is not really a plateau. It's just your body not working like a machine. You stick with that plan and the weight WILL come off. Of course if things aren't moving for a longer time, it's time to re-adjust that plan.

Then there are others, that if they're being brutally honest will realize that they're allowing a few extra nibbles here and few extra crumbs there sneak into their day. A splurge meal once a week or something like that which wipes out their calorie deficit. Start tracking every bite, lick, taste and crumb and staying within your calorie budget, kick up the exercise - no more plateau. But then again was it really a plateau at all, if one wasn't adhering 100% to plan????

Me too! I lose weight very slowly. Sometimes nothing for a month or more than only 1/2 pound.