Ive only lost/kept off 2.4lbs in a month

In December I went to the Dr for a cold and was at 311lbs and my BP was way up so I started making some small changes but nothing dramatic.
On Jan 5 when I started really counting my weight on my scale at home was 301.

I really did the best I could. Cut the pepsi completely out. Started drinking water. Using TDP and was never over 2400 calories and ussually around 1900-2000. It avereaged right about 2200 or a little lower. According to TDP even being completely sedentary 2200 calories should get 2lbs a week off.
Cut out the eating out. After 1 1/2 week cut out the 100 cal packs and low cal treats because I was relying on the sugars and overeating them. Been eating a ton more vegiges and fruit. Eating things I bever ate before like baked fish. I honestly thought I was doing pretty well. I did have one day on week 2 where I ate at Olive Garden with my sister. But since I generally enjoyed those type of meals 2-3 times a week and fast food daily I figured that would be ok.
Then this week we had no electric and I had to go to my moms. I made really bad choices Thursday and Friday but again dont really think 2 days is going to erase an entire month.
Ive also been moving and excercising more. I have a muscle disease so this is a big accomplishment for me.

So in one month Ive had 3 total "off" days and maybe 2 other meals that were a little higher than I would like but still a BIG difference from the calories I had been eating a day.

So week 1 299
week 2 297
week 3 297.6 but it was TOM so ok
today end of week 4 298.6

UGH!

I started doing a 1500 cal plan yesterday and intend to do that all week. And no processed junk. I had 80 oz water yesterday. Going to see how this goes.
I know my thyroid is messed up b/c my neuro doc told me so but I cant afford to go to the Dr. so I know that is working against me but come on. Ive worked really hard! I want to see some results!

Im just whining! I know! I also know I just need to do better and keep at it.
I guess I just need a

I think your doing fantastic! You have made ALOT of healthy changes in your life in one month, which is very difficult. Plus, you lost weight! You have gone from 311 to 298. You should be so proud of yourself.

Personally I think 1500 calories is way to low for you, and would cause you to lose to fast, which results in muscle loss. With your muscular illness you can't afford that, plus it is so unhealthy. I did this two years ago, and literally gained weight back because of all the muscle loss. My suggestion is that you eat 2000 calories a day. Your weight X 7 = 2000 (rounded). Stay away from anything processed, as it is unhealthy plus has alot of sodium which can result in maintaining fluid. Also do more walking, which is a great exercise and then as you lose more you can incorporate strength training.

Sandy

blog = www.mygritsconfessions.com

is what you get...

I've been losing/maintaining weight for 5 years and I can tell you weight loss certainly isn't linear and sometimes the scale just doesn't reflect fat loss.

My advice is be proud of what you've accomplished, you've lost 14 lbs total? Give your body a couple weeks and see what happens.

Are you exercising? I'd recommend adding in some exercise as well.

Congrats on the changes you have introduced so far. The beginning is always very hard. Are you doing any exercise? If not, I would recommend walking for a start - you don't any equipment and it will good for your heart. You may not be able to walk very fast at first but that will change. The important part is to keep going. I am sure your weight loss will speed up over time, but don't worry if it is slow - every pound counts!

I agree 1500 is way to low- with my formula 297X10X.75= 2228. So eating 2200 calories is a good area for you- sometimes our bodies hit plateus- mine has I can't seem to budge right now- BUT I've also heard that January is the worst time of year to lose weight since it gets dark so fast- not enough serotonin I guess.

Be proud of your weight loss so far- don't give up and don't go crazy starving yourself- start some workouts and the weight will come off again.

That is amazing! My friend was just diagnosed with a thyroid problem and she had incredibly low losses but she kept LOSING and NEVER, ever gave up.

Thank you all! I truly appreciate every single word!

I know atleast it is a loss but its just frustrating when you give it so much and get so little back.

I guess the first 10lbs doesnt seem real since I didnt weigh much at home in Dec. I know my scale and the DRs were the same b/c I did check that but I dont know I guess since it wasnt being monitored and since it was weight I had recently put on I dont feel like its real LOL


I think you may be right that 1500 may be too low though yesterday I felt really good. I do want to do it in the most healthy way and have said time and time again I dont care if its slow as long as it is consistent. But I really expected to see more than 2lbs after a month.
I figure if I aim for 1500 and I hit 1700 or 1800 thats better than aiming for 2200 and going up. I think to I want to see if Im really strict if it makes a difference. Like kinda proving that its not me but the diseases. I dont know. Rationalizing can be silly when your emotional I know.

And it doesnt help that my husband who was not as strict as I was is like I lost 12lbs this month! Well whoopie for you LOL Men lose faster and he doesnt get that.


As for excercise: Yes I have added more movement in my life.
As far as hard core excercise regimine no. I do the wii fit a few times a week and try to move to the ipod and be more active with my son ect.
But I physically can not do too much excercise b/c overuse of any muscle group will cause that group not to work the next day. There are days I do nothing at all and the next day I cant move so overuse for me vs a normal person is very different. And things like cleaning and going to the store are overdoing it with this stupid disease so too much excercise will actually hurt me rather than help me. BUT I am moving as much as I physically can and doing a lot more than I was a month ago.
Its too cold to walk here but I will sometimes just walk back and forth in the house. So yes Im getting more activity but increasing it is a delicate process.

It's taken me a year to lose 40 lbs. I still keep feeling that at my weight, I should be losing so much faster, especially because I did lose much faster when I was younger. I keep wanting to compare my weight loss to the younger days. Heck on what I'm eating now and not losing on, I would have been losing 6 lbs a week on in my 20's. I was also more active, and well, just younger.

One thing that helped me a lot was my doctor telling me that even 1/4 lb a week is more than most dieters of any weight acheive (because most give up), so the longer I am succeeding, even if the average weight los is a lot slower than I want it to be, it doesn't mean I'm not doing fabulously. Part of it is knowing what is normal. I think we think that if we don't lose at least 2 lbs a week, we're doing worse than everyone else, when the fact is just staying in the game puts us in the lead.

It takes as long as it takes, but remembering that we are doing better than average (a lot better than average) just by trying, I think puts things in perspective for me.

Your body may take a while to catch up with your new changes. It looks like overall you are losing except around TOM and some poor choices which could just be sodium and be flushed out in a few days. I'd keep plugging along with what you are doing for February, try to add in walking or some sort of exercise, and see what happens before changing calories.

This past week when you were at your Mom's, you may have taken in water weight from salt? You might want to really push the fluids and make sure you are sticking to your actual salt needs and see if you might have actually lost more, but are retaining water.

I understand the frustration...when you put that much effort into it, you really want to see results. It's so easy to be discouraged, but try to change that message in your head that slow is discouraging...because slow and steady is what wins this race.