[levoguette]

Hello all!
I recently joined the site but have been lurking on here for the past few months for information and motivation to start my weight loss journey! Reading so many of your stories and seeing how many of you have been in the same boat I am right now and have worked so hard to get to your goal weight has been so encouraging and inspiring! Thank you for that!!

So a little bit about myself, I'm a 20yo college student. I've been overweight for all of my teen years and have never been a very active person either (never did sports growing up). I was a very picky eater growing up as well (still kinda am.... ). And have quite a few food allergies that has made finding "safe" foods a little bit tricky (I think this even furthered the picky-eating!!!).

I tend to google everything like a maniac () so I have been researching and trying to learn about weight loss since May, but officially started on June 22nd with calorie counting, healthier eating, and doing 15-20 minutes of cycling a few days a week. Although I didn't have a scale when I first started (I bought one the second week), according to what I had weighed at a then-recent doc appt, I've estimated that I started at 280. Today will be a month and so far I've lost 8lbs and am currently at 272/size18!
Although I wish I could say it's more (don't we all!? ), I'm happy to see some progress!
For those who started at a similar weight and never really having dieted or exercised before starting out, did you lose more or less lbs the first month? I'm slightly worried the amount of calories I may be eating is incorrect or that I'm not eating enough of the right nutrients to keep up my metabolism? Sooo confused about what I need to be doing to make sure my metabolism is at its best....

[Tuscany]

Hi there and welcome! You're doing really well so far...congratulations on the 8 lb loss!

I didn't start off at the same weight as you, but I think most people lose a bit more/faster when they initially start a diet (although by that I mean the first week or two), since there's a fair bit of water weight lost at the outset. For example, I also lost 8 lbs in my first month, although it was lost as follows: 4 lbs (Week 1), 2 lbs (Week 2), 1 lb (Week 3) , 1 lb (Week 4). Since then I've lost at an average of 1.5 lbs per week on a 1,200-1,300 calorie diet...although I'm a lot older than you (I'm 55) and my metabolism is a lot slower and my calorie requirement a lot lower. So, I suspect you will lose more quickly and/or will be able to eat more calories than I.

FWIW, my son (who's a personal trainer) tells me I should not skip breakfast and I should try to eat something (healthy) every 3-4 hours. He compares my metabolism to a fire...saying you have to put wood on a fire every few hours or it will fizzle out. He says your metabolism is the same...you have to give it fuel every few hours or it too will fizzle. I don't know whether or not that's true...but that's what I'm told. Quite frankly, sometimes I follow his advice and sometimes I don't, and I don't find much of a difference either way.

[levoguette]

Originally Posted by Tuscany

Hi there and welcome! You're doing really well so far...congratulations on the 8 lb loss!

I didn't start off at the same weight as you, but I think most people lose a bit more/faster when they initially start a diet (although by that I mean the first week or two), since there's a fair bit of water weight lost at the outset. For example, I also lost 8 lbs in my first month, although it was lost as follows: 4 lbs (Week 1), 2 lbs (Week 2), 1 lb (Week 3) , 1 lb (Week 4). Since then I've lost at an average of 1.5 lbs per week on a 1,200-1,300 calorie diet...although I'm a lot older than you (I'm 55) and my metabolism is a lot slower and my calorie requirement a lot lower. So, I suspect you will lose more quickly and/or will be able to eat more calories than I.

FWIW, my son (who's a personal trainer) tells me I should not skip breakfast and I should try to eat something (healthy) every 3-4 hours. He compares my metabolism to a fire...saying you have to put wood on a fire every few hours or it will fizzle out. He says your metabolism is the same...you have to give it fuel every few hours or it too will fizzle. I don't know whether or not that's true...but that's what I'm told. Quite frankly, sometimes I follow his advice and sometimes I don't, and I don't find much of a difference either way.

Thank you so much for your response, Tuscany!
I believe I lost my weight similarly, although I didn't keep quite as close track as I am doing now. I know that one week (I believe the 3rd) I didn't lose anything at all, which I thought was strange so early on! I think that's what prompted me to be worried about my metabolism not working at its best. I'll keep your son's tips in mind!

I've been eating 1200-1500 calories a day.
When I started I would just eat when I found myself hungry and averaged at about 1400/day. For a week or so I ate 1700/day (thought I should up them after checking my recommended calories on a few sites), but didn't notice any weight loss and it felt strange to eat more while not being hungry just for the sake of making my daily calories, so I switched back to 1200-1500 daily and I've been seeing results again.

[penmage]