Hi Everyone,
I am starting my 4th week of weight lose and calorie counting. So far I have lost 12.5 pounds and I am very happy!

When I share this with people they continue to tell me that I should not expect to continue to loose this kind of weight per week/month. Is this true? Will the weight lose dramatically slow down?
Please share your experiences.
Thanks and here's to a great week for all!

There can be exceptions, but for the most part it's true.

It has been true for me most of my life, but not "this time," only because I'm dieting "backwards" . Instead of choosing a calorie level and sticking with it "til the end" I have been gradually reducing my calorie level and gradually increasing my exercise.

As a result, I'm losing faster now than when I started. However, when I come to the point of being unable or unwilling to further cut calories and add exercise, then I'm sure I'll be seeing the usually weight loss slow-down.


....so if you're sticking with the same calorie and activity level, then yes - the weight loss will probably gradually taper off (and sometimes not so gradually).

Thanks Kaplods for your response. Currently I am calorie cycling, but since I have never had to loose this much weight and have not dieted before I am "new" to this. It is ironic since I am so heavy (I gained weight over the course of 8 years without trying to loose it until now).
I suppose I will just need to move forward and see what happens : )

One thing that slows down losses after a period of time is that one pound gradually becomes a larger percentage of your body weight. Right now if I lose a pound it is immediately noticeable. When I was over 200 pounds it was not, because it was a small percentage of my overall body weight. It is also much harder to lose that pound at 115lbs than it is at 200lbs.

When I started again last year at 182 I lost 13 pounds that first month and never quite had a month like that again. I got stuck here and there but ultimately I kept moving forward and eventually got to where I am today.

It happens. It happened to me. The first few months the weight flew off. Now I'm lucky with 5 and 6lb loss months! (And sometimes 1 and 2, lol)

And I agree, that 1 or 2lbs is WAY MORE noticable under 200, and the lower I get the easier it is to see.

Thanks ladies for your responses. It is great to hear other people's experiences.

For me, it was the water weight I lost at first. I think I lost 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks (15 lbs the first month) and I've been pretty consistent with 2 lbs a week since then as long as I haven't cheated

Yup. My weight flew off at first.

I'm having to do a lot more tweaking to even get a lb. a month now.

Alitorry and Valrock, what approach do you take (calorie counting, a program etc)?

Oh shoot, I've done it all.

I'm down to intermittent fasting, Low carb (really Paleo + Dairy), and lots of heavy lifting now.

I've done South Beach, Atkins, Calorie Counting and everything in between. I've settled here because I feel best with this way of eating/life. These last 17 are really vanity... so I'm more focused on what makes me feel great, than losing more lbs.

Valrock,
Can you explain intermittent fasting?: )

Emama, since the beginning I have done calorie counting. I have mostly been at 1200 since January, until just recently, which I upped to 1300. But, I still have the days where I am not getting enough calories and others where I'm slightly over the amount. I guess this is a sort of calorie cycling. I don't think my calorie level is really recommended. I think others would suggest at least 1400-1500. But, I have been successful so far with my program and I'm terrified to change anything

I know this was not directed at me but IF (intermittent fasting) is a form of controlling your calorie intake by eating your calories in a short window and it varies from 4 hours to 8 hours. You can tweak it to your lifestyle and you can use any eating plan you like on it. I currently do 14-16 hours of fasting and 8-10 hours of eating. Some IF plans like Eat Stop Eat include fasting for 24 hour periods 1 to 2 times a week (not consecutively.) Some people even do it in reverse, eat in the morning then fast for the rest of the evening until next morning. There's also the Fast 5, Leangains and some others I can't think of right now.

I took up this WOE (way of eating) because a few months ago or so, I started getting late night cravings and nothing would help it until I started IF. I still eat the same calories, just in a short window as opposed to any time during the day. Even though I am eating the same calories, I noticed I have started focusing more on protein/fat and less on carbs because it makes me full longer.

Admittedly when I first heard of it, I thought, "My gosh, doesn't that slow down your metabolism if you "starve" yourself for a long time?" But apparently if you fast more than 48 hours, that's when it starts to slow down so this does not have an effect on your metabolism.

I can't think of anything else to add. Anyone else, please feel free to chime in. Also feel free to correct me if I made a mistake anywhere in my post since I'm not really well versed with IF.