So - I decided to get back on the calorie counting this week. I have made DRASTIC changes this week. I stuck to about 1700 calories a day and a little exercise (hectic week). I know this was a HUGE calorie deficit from what I have had in previous weeks. I know my 1700 calories is accurate. Yesterday I was down 1.6 pounds for this week. This morning, I was up 1.4 of those pounds. So - for a week of drastic changes and absolute monitoring - I lost a whopping 0.2 pounds. HOW FRUSTRATING!!! I feel like such a failure and wonder if this is ever going to work for me. I haven't even felt great this week - because I have been so hungry - so I know it has been a huge difference in calories from what I am used to. I have cried all morning - becuase I feel like I am never going to be successful...........

You will be successful if you persevere. Did you eat something with a lot of sodium ? That is notorious for causing fluid retention which will show on the scale.

I know that can be so frustrating and disheartening! Have you been drinking enough water? Sometimes that makes the difference. Are you close to TOM? Cause that can throw everything out of whack. The thing with calorie counting is that one week you can barely have a loss and then the next week you might have a big loss. They go through this on the biggest loser too. I know how upsetting it can be to not see any reward for your work. It also helps if you don't weigh every day.
One thing also is: have you been eating at too much of a deficit? You might have shocked your body. If you're hungry, that means you're not eating enough calories. Could you post what you've been generally eating this week?

There's nothing wrong with you. You will start seeing results soon. It takes a few days to start seeing results.Drink plenty of water and get in some exercise. Keep smiling

You are starting pretty close to where I did. It has been a long road but the weight has mostly come off. Please don't make yourself go hungry. Find some low calorie foods that you like and eat them. Be good to yourself. and know that you can do this.

I am right there with ya. Don't lose hope, Mine is coming off TERRIBLY SLOW but, it's coming off slowly.. I keep seeing that trend of going down then I know it's all ok.

It could be any number of things... I've been calorie counting now since the end of last year and I have weighed myself EVERY day just to track. So, it could be ovulation, it could be your menstrual cycle, you could've had too much sodium or not enough water... Not to mention, our weight naturally fluctuates day to day. So, what I do is I weigh daily for tracking, but I only COUNT the weight once a week or once a month. That way, when I am comparing I'm not comparing those little day to day changes but the weekly or monthly ones.

Last but not least... looking at your weight, I think you've cut your calories TOO much. 1700 intake minus any exercise means that daily, your calorie deficit is probably more than 1000. As a result, you've freaked your body out and it's holding onto every pound as if it's life depends on it. It's suppose to do it for survival. Great for the end of the world, not so great for weightloss! My suggestion would be to keep up the exercise, but try not to over-do. AND, up your calories to about 2000. Once you've lost some, THEN drop it down another 100 and so on. That way it's gradual and consistent. In reality, most people should lose no more than 0.5 to a max of 2.0lbs. per week contrary to what shows like Biggest Loser show. So, don't be too hard on yourself. Being too hard on yourself is probably what is stopping it. Just don't give up and keep going. It WILL happen!

Dont get discouraged!
This happened to me when I switched from meal replacements to pure calorie counting. I gained first week and then showed a big loss the next week (gained 1, lost 5, total 2 week loss 4lbs)
Just make sure you keep at it, keep your exercise up, keep hydrated and the will move. It has no choice.
And water retention could be a cause. I gained major this week because of too much sodium and not enough water. (up 4 lbs) and TOM is a wicked evil catalyst too.
Keep up the good work! (try using a calorie counter or consulting with a nutritionist about your calorie intake. Im over 280lbs and my nutritionist recommended 1200-1400 cals for me until i started exercising heavily, then she upped it to 1800)

Thank you, thank you for all the responses. It is nice knowing there are other women who share my pain and truly understand.

I have been saying I will weigh myself and start tomorrow for months now! Give yourself credit your on your way! Thank you for giving me a push.

Thank you, Mystyblue85, for sharing what your current calorie allotment is. Like the original poster, I'm new to calorie counting and MyFoodDiary tells me my calorie range to lose around 2 lbs. a week is 1400. I'm starting to exercise (3 days in a row -- yay!) but it will be a while before I work my way up to significant exercise. I certainly haven't been hungry the last 3 days -- as a matter of fact yesterday I got a frownie face for too few calories -- but I will admit I look at that 1400 figure and think, gosh, I weigh 285 ... is that all I get?? A case of my eyes being too big for my stomach ... as I said, I have NOT been going hungry.

You may be weighing yourself too often. Your body weight goes up and down a few pounds and it means nothing. I think you may want to pay less attention to the scale and more about doing the right things each day. If you do, you'll get to where you want to be.

I agree! If you're really hungry, sometimes you need to take a look at what exactly you're eating and tweak it. Protein, volume from non-starchy veg, and healthy fats can keep you satisfied more than sugars and carbs.

Are you on your second week of dieting? I'm on my second week of calorie counting and I'm having a hard time losing any weight. I don't know how active you're being, but that may mess with the scale too. Don't worry so much! Don't worry about what the scale says - pay attention to how you feel. Make a commitment to not give up, no matter what the scale says. The pounds will fall off as long as you stick to it!!

Oh! I mentioned the week 2 question because I'm just thinking it may be the "week two curse" where your body is freaking out wondering what exactly is going on. Give your body time to adjust! Don't be so hard on yourself.