Hello,

I started my workouts on 21st January 2015. I am 5'6" and weigh (currently) at 203 lbs. I have been doing strength training exercises (pretty vigorous) for 1/2 hr and then walking (maybe at 3.0 miles/hr) for 20 min. I eat around 1200 - 1300 Calories a day. I noticed that in the first week alone, I lost 2 lbs weight. Then past week, its been an absolute stand-still no matter what I did. This is very surprising to me as there is a major change from my dietary and workout patterns. I feel discouraged already -- as someone suggested that I might be retaining water, I am inclined to ask, if you noticed same results like me at the beginning of your workout sessions? If it is water retention, how long can it last?

I don't think you're eating enough.

Most people your height could lose weight eating about 1500 calories per day. I lose weight eating 2100 per day and I don't even exercise.

Especially with exercise, you should probably be eating more. 1200 is supposed to be a minimum but your body might need more than that. You don't want to start losing muscle mass... and it's possible your body is just building and then burning that.

I'd say, go see your doctor if you can, and just check in about your diet and exercise.

All that said: It's only been a week, and water retention can definitely last that long. I fluctuate a lot from day to day (see graph below)—sometimes as much as 6 pounds in a day—but my weight is trending downwards. You won't really be able to tell what's working until you've kept it up for over a month, and preferably 3.

Best wishes and I hope you find the best healthiest option for you.

IMO it's probably best not to worry about it. Water retention happens all the time. Maybe you had a lot of sodium, maybe your muscles are holding on to water to recover, maybe it's hormones.There are just too many variables to guess at why the scale does what it does in the short term. As long as you continue to watch what you eat and exercise, it will move in the long term.

I know it's hard not to get discouraged when the scale doesn't respond, but it makes losing weight so much easier when you let go of expectations about rates of weight loss and stop trying to dissect the reasons behind routine fluctuations . When my weight won't move, I give it at least a month before I make any changes. This allows me to go throughout the whole monthly hormonal cycle and see how that plays out.

Hang in there! You can do it!

I had that happen to me for three weeks the scale stood still and would jump up and around. I knew that I was doing pretty good because inches were coming off. The day that I saw a significant drop was the day after my period and the day that I changed up my cardio routine

I agree with the suggestion to stop trying to out-guess the scale and just carry on with what you're doing. If you see a drop in weight one day and happened to stand on your head the day before, you might conclude that standing on your head promotes weight loss and NOT standing on your head leads to a plateau. This type of thinking is responsible for much of the misinformation out there. You will not defy the laws of physics. If you keep a caloric deficit, the scale will eventually show it.

F.

Thank you all for the replies, members!

Upon reading glory's reply, I suddenly remember that last year when I tried to lose weight, all my weight loss seemed to happen only after my periods. Also I think I have to get more cardio in.

Thanks again.

Whenever I started using weights the scale didn't budge for an agonizing 3-4 weeks. Keep at it. Soon enough the scale will catch up to what you're doing.

Same here, but I usually have 6-8 weeks of nothing. Just keep at it!