Did any of you, when first starting your new lifestyle change, not lose any weight the first few weeks and then hit a woosh? Im about 1.5 weeks into my diet and I havent lost anthing on the scale. That concerns me because I hear the first few weeks is when you lose the most and then it slows from there. Anyone have a similar experience to mine?

OH and I am doing calorie counting and working out cardio 6 times a week!

How many calories are you eating a day?

I tend to lose weight in short random bursts. Nothing for a week or so then three pounds at once, nothing for a few days then a pound, etc. I wouldn't worry about it too much. I don't know your weight or what kind of cardio or how many calories your eating. It's possible you are doing too much cardio and not eating enough which could put your body into starvation mode. I suggest working in some weight lifting as well since muscle burns more then fat in long run and without strength training you will lose muscle mass after awhile.

I do the ebb & flow thing, too! I will do everything right and not lose a pound for a while, and then suddenly I'll drop several lbs with no huge effort. It is weird, kind of frustrating during the "ebb" and exhilarating during the "flow."

Are your muscles sore? If you're building muscle mass then your body holds on to more water so that it can repair the muscle. If you're not eating too little (or too much, for that matter) then you will see it eventually....unless there's a medical reason (e.g. hypothiroid).

Yeah, I had that exact thing happen to me. It's honestly because (for me personally) my body had to get use to working out and eating more healthy, because I went without any of the above for several years.

I just recently started losing weight regularly.

All seem like possible scenarios. I am 23, 5'5 and 138. I have been eating around 1500-1800 calories. I had one really bad day and messed up (ended up at 3000) that day. Although I am not eating really low calorie, its a lot lower than I normally eat in a day. I have been doing 40 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. While my carbs are a lot lower than normal, I still am eating around 180g a day. Could that be it? Or do I just need to be patient and let my body adjust? My legs are sore from running so maybe I am still retaining water. I eat a good amount of sodium a day as well. If you check out my fitday, you can get an idea..

Thank you everyone for your help!

I checked out your fitday and I would recommend limiting your calories or your fat...

I'm a rarity around here and I typically only eat about 1200-1300 calories a day and bump it up on the weekend to more depending on whats going on.

I personally don't find 1200 calories too little but a lot of people around here would say that I'm wrong.

I also limit my fat intake and typically most of my fat is from healthy fats.

this is just what works for me but it might work for you as well

I'm with ya - I'm starting week 2 today and I only have lost 5lbs so far. Ticker is wrong because I found out my scale is wrong. I'm going to leave my ticker like it is until I lose 10

I agree with Haley's suggestion...limit your calories. I eat between 1200-1350 everyday. Any higher, I gain. Any lower, I gain because I'm so freaking hungry that I over eat.

Try doing 1300 for one week and see what happens. Keep up with your exercise though! That'll give you some extra calories to eat.

Thanks everyone!

The thing is, I feel too deprived on 1200-1300 calories. I am going to try this out until 3 weeks hit, if I havent lost any weight, I will then take your advice and lower my calories to 1300. Thank you again!

you know I've been only diet for three weeks now (where i haven't even messed up or anything) and I've only lost six pounds. everyone's different. and from your height and weight, it'll be a bit harder for you to lose the weight unlike people who have more to lose. You don't have that much to lose really, so it'll come off more slowly.

Thanks Mickey! That makes me feel a little better. I really do enjoy healthy food and exercising now. This alone is a victory for me; where as before I would NEVER like the taste of healthy food. I just wish I knew if I could lose weight on an average calorie day of 1800. I guess trial and error is all I can do! Its been 11 days and I think I have only lost .2 pounds lol But really, I am trying not to stress becuase I have been working out more so maybe my muscles are still swollen..

Weird observation though; I have noticed my face is noticeable A LOT more bloated. I almost look like I am swollen in the face. It doesnt seem to go away. What could this be from?!

I eat 1200/1300 too, and I don't find it hard at all. I fill up on really low calorie things, usually snacking on veggies here and there throughout the day. Usually my weekends are 1700 - 1800 and I don't find that hard either.

I limit my fats, too. If they are from good things like avacados and certain cheeses or whatever, I'll allow them, because of the other beneficial things!


I'm in agreement with a lot of the ladies here, you might want to change it up a bit. I was not loosing as often only doing my cardio stuff.. Once I started my C25K/30DS/P90X mix, it started coming off faster and more regularly. GL and HTHs!!