Hello everyone! I am sure this has been asked and discussed before but I can't find the thread on this topic. So currently I am at 195 lbs. I used to weigh 270 lbs and lost almost 90 lbs with no exercise in 8 months. I got down to 180 back in November and gained back like 20 lbs on the course of four months or so because I totally let go. Anyways this time around I joined the gym and I have noticed that with working out my weight loss has gotten really slow. If anything I gain 1-2 lbs here and there. In past two weeks I have lost 3-4 lbs and I realize that's still 3-4 lbs but I am so used to losing faster than this. I am used to dropping 3-4 lbs a week and with working out this has slowed alot! I have been at this weight now for 4-5 days now and with working out I would think I would lose faster. IS this normal? I am going on a vacation in a month and trying really hard to get down to 180 lbs so I can comfortably fit into my nice express jeans. Should I be worried or should I keep doing what I am doing?

I eat 1200-1400 calories and do elliptical for 30-40 minutes and weights 3 times a week.

Thanks so much for the help in advance!

Yes, this is normal. When you are very overweight, you drop a lot faster in the beginning. When I first started to lose weight a couple years ago, I dropped 11lbs in 10 days. Exercise is your friend! Exercising builds muscle, & muscle burns fat. Healthy weight loss is losing 1-2 lbs per week & that's with exercise. It sounds like your body is doing that now. I know it's upsetting when you go from losing big numbers at a time, but that's the reality of weight loss.

Celebrate your losses!! Much much better than gaining!

it gets slower... the closer you get to a healthy goal weight.. your body kind of knows where to put its self and you have to work for it. Working out can make it slower to lose weight BUT you might find you actually are losing inches the whole time! Your muscles are building, repairing themselves and are keeping water so drink tons of it. It helps.

Keep doing what your doing... I think of it this way : Would i rather be a low weight and "fat" or a higher weight and fit/tight? I vote for the higher weight and fit.

Losing weight without exercise means you lost muscle as well as fat and that is not a good thing. Healthy weight loss is .5 - 2 pounds a week and the closer yuo are to goal, the slower it will be. How much exercise are you doing? Are you just doing cardio or have you also added weight training?

^Exactly. Who cares what the number on the scale says if you look just as fabulous (and are healthy) at a higher weight? You don't need to exercise to lose, but at least in my experience, those who seriously exercise on the way down tend to look better than those who don't.

awww thankyou so much ladies!!! This is exactly what I needed to hear!!!!

I hope I fit into my size 12's by end of April though yikes!!!!!! My only concern right now lol!!!!!

I think I am going to keep doing what I am doing. I am actually loving working out! It's so much. So what if I am sore every night and can't move my arms in the morning lol. It's worth it.

Good luck to everyone!

I have a scale that gives me fat and muscle %'s.. which is nice, because one week I gained but my muscle % had gone up . It was also a good way to see that the low carb diet I was on was making me LOSE muscle mass so I switched to another routine. Anyways... I think you should be PROUD proud proud of those 86 lbs you lost. Forget about the numbers on the scale, take a look at all you've gained.. well lost... focus on how the exercise is making you feel and how great it is to get into shape!

I think you'll find that working out will help you with your size-related (vs. weight-related) goals even more than just dieting. Getting toned will help your body lose weight where you need to the most - and even if you're losing fewer pounds than you think you should, you'll be into the size you want sooner!

I don't think I've ever even seen size 12s....I went from the largest kids' size to a size 14 in middle school! I would be so happy to be in a size 12 too

It's totally normal. Don't sweat it

Awww girlie, thankyou so much for the advice and looking at your progress I am sure you will fit into size 12's real soon too .

Thankyou so much for the advice ladies. Though I have to be honest I have been the same weight since past Sunday I think now and I was super frustrated this morning. I almost wanted to eat like a pint of ice cream but I didn't.

I think that you dropped a lot at first from being over weight. and now with the gym you are also gain muscle in place of fat. I would see if you can check your body fat %. If you are not see the results on the scale you may see them in you body fat %. Check with your gym, my gym has a machine and I get mesured all over one a month. I started in October 2010 but did look at the number until March 2011

I think I'm in the same spot as you.. I've recently really increased my workouts but haven't seen any changes on the scale. I have been losing inches, though, and I can tell that there's a big difference in my overall appearance. I just hope the scale follows eventually because I'm so close to no longer being obese!!

Oh my gosh you guys still at 194. Okay I think my belly fat is going down but I need to see numbers to believe it. Sad I know! I have been doing elliptical for 45 minutes and eating 1200 good calories!!! Anyways fingers crossed! It will be two weeks this Sunday with no weight loss. Hope for a big whoosh one of these days.

Runningfromfat- Please keep me updated if the scale starts to move to the left lol.

Good luck everyone!

I feel you Virgo! I am a calorie counter who has been losing/gaining the same 10 lbs for a couple years. I'm getting married in September so I decided to get serious this time and just started the c25k program along with a little weight training 3x a week, plus just trying to be more active overall (taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work, etc). Anyway, I have been calorie counting (1400-1600 cals/day) for about 4 weeks, started at 165, got down to 161 then started working out and am back up to 166! I'm freaking out a little, but I know working out is great for me. It's just tough feeling like you're doing everything right and then not seeing any validation on the scale. I really need to start taking my measurements and stop relying on the scale I think.