no weight loss first week???
 

hi all - this is my first time being a part of an on-line support group - i'm glad to have found such a wonderful resource. here is my question:
i have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. after my first child i was okay with never losing the last 10-15lbs. of pregnancy weight since i knew i would have another child and gain weight again. so i started out with #2 about 12 lb. heavier than my ideal, wonderful weight of 125 on my 5'5 frame. now that i am no longer breastfeeding #2 i am determined to get back down to 125...i am currently 136. i started the south beach diet last week at 137. i waited an entire week to weigh myself and was really frustrated to see that there had been only 1 pound lost!!!!
i am following phase one of the diet and have been consuming about 1400 calories a day with 500 burned through exercise (treadmill running,followed by lunges (60), push-up (30), and 100 sit-up's).
any thoughts? advice?
i feel like i went form a pretty nutrient dense normal diet to phase one of south beach for 1 pound??? i'm discouraged.
thanks for listening:)!

Breath, dear...*inhale*...*exhale*...

1 week is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Safe, healthy, and sustainable weight loss is generally only .5-2 pounds per week. Saying "no weight loss" and that you lost 1 pound are two very different things--1 pound lost is great!

In additiona, you're doing quite a bit of strength training (sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, etc.). While you did not likely gain actual pounds of muscle mass, muscles that have been worked require additional water to rebuild. This often leads to some short-term water retention. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water to support these workouts, and don't give up!

I agree with what Jillybean said about the strength training.

Also, you say you went from a "nutrient dense" normal diet to South Beach. Diets such as SB that emphasize whole foods are more likely to produce substantial losses in the first week when you go from eating to junk to eating SB. If you were eating lots of simple carbs and processed foods before you started SB, you probably would have shown more loss in the first week, but it wouldn't have been fat.

Your one pound is a good solid loss and you should be proud of it. You are doing it the right way. Just keep doing what you doing are and have faith that it will work over the long term. :)

I agree with the others -- you lost 1 pound, and that's great!

Compared to some of us, you don't have a lot to lose, and you may lose it slower as a result (you aren't far from your goal). You are more likely to lose 1 pound a week or less. So, don't give up even if on a given week the scale doesn't move -- weight loss isn't linear and lots of issues (such as water retention) can slow the apparent fat loss.

CONGRATS!!

Hey, yeah, I know we all want to see that big drop the first week, but it doesn't always go that way. Give it more time. If you don't see any change after 3 or 4 weeks, then something is off--either portions or food choices. But it can take that long for the body to catch up with the change.

Jay

Keep with it!! 1 pound is great. The Other posters are all correct, you will lose, it just takes time and paitience. Keep going, you will soon see the difference.

I agree-one pound is great!

Most new people who have large losses their first week or two, start out at a lot higher weight than 137/136 pounds. The smaller you are, the slower the losses will be.

You can't expect to lose a lot the first couple weeks, or you'll set yourself up to giving up. I don't know how many times I've tried "starting over" because I'd give up and pig out after seeing no loss the first couple of weeks. It took me a good couple weeks to start losing weight this time around. Just stick with it and you'll get there!

thanks for all of the feedback - everyone had important and helpful things to say. i am reminded how easy it is to get in the "results now or give up" mindset. i need to remind myself that lasting effects take time and lots of energy.
wish you all the best in your health.
one other question: do you all agree that a calorie is a calorie regardless of where it comes from - and that the bottom line for any weight loss is calories out have to be more than calories in?

All calories are not created equal, whole foods are the best. (fruits and veggies, whole grains are much better than refined foods) But the secret to losing weight is no secret, It is All about calories versus calories out.

A calorie is a calorie, but you have to think health as well as the scale. I just got finished answering a similar question in another part of the forum:

You can have 100 calories worth of chips, or a small banana for 100 calories. The calories are the same, but your body can actually USE what is in the banana-fiber, potassium, vitamins, etc. where the chips provide little, if any, nutrition that the body can use.

Well done on the 1 pound gone! I think you have a good plan and will see results, but I agree....patience! Do you like the South Beach meal plans? Find something you can live with. Great job on the exercise!

Just wanted to basically repeat what LaBonita said. This time round I only lost one pound the first week and was really upset. I posted about it here, decided to follow the advice of those who said don't give up already etc and the following week I lost 3. Keep going and it'll come off but remember that the closer you are to your ideal weight (and you're not far off it) the slower the weight comes off so don't be disheartened.

This is a topic that comes up a lot. The simple answer to your question is yes. But I think you are asking the wrong question.

Is "weight loss" your ultimate goal? After all, inmates in concentration camps lose weight successfully. But are you striving to look like a concentration camp inmate? Do you want your hair to fall out, and to have saggy skin, muscle loss, a distended abdomen, and other symptoms of malnourishment?

I'm guessing that you wish to look more like an athlete or a dancer or a bodybuilder. And it takes high-quality fuel to get and keep your body looking like that. It isn't going to happen on a diet of junk food, be it low-calorie or not. Your body has specific nutritional requirements, and it's not going to look or function at its best if those aren't met.

:)

again - thanks for all the feedback. specifically in the response to "fiddler" - the reason for the calorie question is mainly to try and better understand the underpinnings of the south beach approach. although i read the introduction prior to starting phase one, there were still some questions i had - one of them was about going from a balanced, nutrient dense approach to eating to such a restricted phase one in south beach. by restricted i mean no whole grains, brown rice, or fruit. hence my question about calories bring calories. i do plan on finishing out this phase - mainly because i think it's giving my body a rest, although from what i'm not quite sure because i really don't eat processed foods - i will be curious to see where i am at this time next week - the end of phase one. in terms of my ultimate goal - to be healthy, strong and lean.......
thanks for listening.