So this past week I've worked out TWICE as hard as I have all year doing something active everyday and weight training every other day and eating right. I go in to weigh myself today...I only lost 1 pound this week /: Now, I know I should be grateful for any sort of loss, but I expected better results than this. Anyone else been in this position and what did you do about it?

Yesterday you said you were sick. You've said you're stressed. You've said you reach for things like Pizza when you're stressed. All of these things can contribute to numbers being lower thank you *think* they should be. And a lot of times it just is what it is. It IS a loss! And ya, that's wonderful!!!

Yes, this happens to me all the time. Some weeks I work harder than others and lose less, in fact, the weeks I workout more and eat less I ALWAYS lose less. This week I upped my calories, no cardio, just weights, and I've lost more. I have no explanation for the way bodies work, I have decided to stop trying to figure it out.

If anything I think you need to stop over thinking everything. Treat your body nicely. If you are sick, take care of yourself. Eat enough calories, eat nutritious foods! You are doing GREAT!

What do you do about it? You keep on truckin'! That's all you CAN do! I have weeks I lose nothing for no apparent reason at all, I just keep going.

Plus, if you're more active than usual you will retain water.

When I'm sore, I usually see a GAIN... but it's not fat, it's water.

Take a deep breath, have a big glass of water, get some rest, keep on truckin'.

Thank you both very much. I do tend to over think things a lot..and I had no idea that working out makes you retain water. I should probably take it easy for a while. Thanks <3

Take it easy because you are sick, not because your muscles are retaining water. The water retention is a good thing--it is one of the things your body does to recover from all the work you've been making it do and in the long term, it is completely awesome.

Kassie,

Sometimes the loss sneaks up on you. Not much to show when you expect it, then whosh! I sometimes find the opposite, too. After WAY overeating on Thanksgiving, I weighed that weekend & was delighted not to have gained. Then, days later: what's this? a 5 lb gain?! Arrgh.

I think metabolism one way or the other just takes longer to register on the scale. Hang in there, don't let it discourage you or trick you into any bad habits because if you keep up what you are doing, you WILL lose.

Our bodies don't run on a weekly calendar like we do. Nor are they very good at math, or logic. I think I've seen at least 4 posts like yours today. Just keep steady with your plan. Keep making good choices every meal, every day, every workout.

Also, yes, when I lose weight one week, I keep doing what I did that week. 1 pound is great weight loss!
Repeat your actions from that week every week!

I can do everything right and still not have a loss (it happends a lot). I can do everything wrong and still not have a gain (this is much less likely, but it does happen enough to amaze and confuse me).

In the end, the more I do right, the more I lose, and the more I do wrong, the more I'm likely to gain - but as to the schedule I can't control it. Sometimes I'll lose nothing for six weeks or even longer and then suddenly I'll have a whooshing weight loss of 4 to 5 lbs overnight.

Weight loss is like having a boss who promises you a paycheck, tells you it's going to be based on your performance, but you never know exactly how much, when or how often you're going to get a check. You can be assured though that you're not likely to "get paid" if you don't do any of the work - but that's about all you know for sure. You don't know if the paycheck is going to be regular or random and you don't know when the pay rate is going to change. You just have to trust that if you keep making positive changes, something is going to change for the better (and sometimes the paycheck isn't going to be in pounds lost, it might be in better health but not weight loss.... yet).

Don't try to force your body onto a weekly schedule. It's not likely to work, and it'll just drive you nutty. This is why I weigh every day, but I try to compare today's weigh-in with last month's weigh-in or even two months, because that tends to work much better for me. My body definitely seems to run on a more monthly schedule than weekly, so comparing today to yesterday, or even last week will get me into trouble every time.

Nice post Kaplods, great way to explain it!
Kassie-great job on your weight loss so far, keep up the good work!

Ah Ha!!! I couldn't figure out why my rings were stuck on after working out, and why I looked & felt extra puffy- I have worked my butt off for 2 weeks with minimal loss, like 1# loss. So I should actually drink MORE water? Can you tell I am a newbie?

Only & Lost shouldn't be used in the same sentence. You lost weight. You should be happy.

I lost on average 1lb per week and after a year I was 55lb lighter. Be patient and keep it up. The slower you lose it, the better it is for you anyway.