Hi All - I am relatively new around here. I am so, so, so frustrated this morning. I have been counting calories like crazy this week, three days of the Couch to 5K program and other exercise. In four days I have only lost one pound. While I know that weight loss is supposed to be slow and gradual, one pound after Weds-Sat of working so hard and making such drastic changes, I just don't get it!

1 lbs is great actually!!!

A healthy loss is anywhere between 1-2 lbs per week. I bet that if you keep at it you'll see that other 1 lb gone before the end of the week!

I can relate, MamaJessica. I started at around the same weight as you, and it has been slow going since I started Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. But, I took my measurements and found that I had lost a total of 8 inches in only 2 weeks, even though I had only lost 2 lbs!

A poster on another thread suggested that it could be because when we start more intense exercise, the muscles retain water. You might want to track your measurements (I measure the fattest part of my thigh, hips, waist, chest and bicep), because you might start seeing results there before you see them on the scale.

I also count calories and have to remind myself that all calories are not equal. I still consume too many calories from sugar. If some of those sugar calories were from protein instead, I would probably see a better result. BUT, I am focussed on a lifestyle change that I will be able to maintain, so for me, I am trying each day to look at where my sugar intake is coming from and make changes where I want to. It's a trade-off.

I have also been telling myself that if I am only losing 1-2 lbs a week, these are more likely lbs that won't come back, unlike the days when I was taking extreme measures and losing 5-8 lbs a week- which all came back with a vengeance. Every time I lose 1 lb, I consciously say "goodbye" to it forever and allow myself to acknowledge that it is not welcome to come back. It might sound silly, but it helps me to honour the loss and the change (however small) to my body and to entrench the feeling that I am on the right track.

Keep up the good work. You WILL see the impact of your efforts as long as you sustain them!

You've only been at this four days. You need to be patient. 1 pound in four days is very QUICK.

I understand that it sounds like a little, but it probably took you more than 4 days to gain that 1 pound. So it's aleady a win situation Besides, as others have mentioned - 1 lbs is actually pretty decent. That's gonna be about 1.5lbs a week. Around 6 to 8 lbs in a month is great! Goodluck to you.

When I first started exercising, I put on 2.5 pounds within a 3 day period. It freaked me right out. However, after research, I found out it was just my muscles holding water due to the increased strength training and cardio. Within a couple days after that, that 2.5 pounds disappeared and I lost another pound.

Also, 1 pound in LESS then a week is fine! I know the feeling of after one eating great and working out, you feel like its been forever and you want to be WAY closer to your goal, but this is a LIFESTYLE change!. Keep it up!

Don't rush it: If you do, you'll probably become discouraged, and discouragement leads to giving up---and that leads to NO weight loss. If you keep eating right (i.e., eating less, eating healthier) and moving more, you WILL lose weight. Keep pluggin' away.

Thanks! I was just frustrated because I have read so many articles where people lose 5 or more pounds the first week (which I know is a lot of water)and I found myself discouraged!

It is very frustrating! I know in the past I would work out a few times (and eat junk to "reward" myself lol) and get mad that I hadn't lost 5lbs by the end of the week

Slow and steady is the way to go. BELIEVE me, I wish that it was faster at times, but trust your plan and hang in there.

Someone asked me the other day if when I started my current weight loss, if I thought I would make it this far. I realized that although I did have the final goal in mind, it was SO far out there that it wasn't really conceivable. So, I focused first on TODAY. I will meet my calorie goal *today*. I can do that today. Sure, there have been a handful of days along the road where I didn't do it, but as they say, tomorrow is another day, and when I turn around and look and the past 10-11 months, it really has gone by fast.