(I am sorry if a thread like this might already exist, I looked and didn't see!)

So I am new and on day 3 of calorie shifting. I am doing really well, been under my calorie allotment all 3 days and have burned about an average of 300 each day on the elliptical, not counting walking/casual burning of cals from living.

I am wondering what a realistic weight loss would be to expect or aim for in a month from now.

I am 180 and I am sure I am still 180 after 3 days of cal shifting. I ultimately want to be around 130 (my former weight!) but I am not even going there right now. My current goal is to go down a pant size or ten lbs, which ever comes first.

I am not working out hard because I hate working out, I am just making sure I count my cals strictly and do at least 30 min on the elliptical every day.

Surely its unrealistic to think I will lose 10 lbs by Jan 1st without extreme exercise?

Wondering what other people's experiences have been in their first month of calorie counting and what I might expect.

Thanks!

How many calories are you allowing yourself to eat each day?

10 pounds in one month is definitely doable. Especially because when you first start off you will naturally lose a bit of water weight.

Welcome to 3fcs!

My shifting plan for this week is -

Monday allowed 1440, ate 1340, burned 343
Tuesday allowed 1440, ate 1043, burned 324
Wednesday allowed 1728, ate 1290, have not gotten on elliptical yet.
Thursday allowed 1440
Friday allowed 1440
Saturday allowed 1585
Sunday allowed 1440

I will absolutely stay under the cals allotted for the rest of this week.

I am sure I really need to step up the cardio. I am not excluding, just working in to it. Maybe this is a TOTAL excuse but in my mind I just imagine working out being easier if I were skinnier. I also assume when I lose 10 lbs I will be like, HECK YEAH IM WORKING OUT! Because I will be thirsty to burn more cals!

I am so glad to hear you think it is doable! Thank you for the welcome and I am supppppper inspired by your weight loss! Time to get on the elliptical!

I thought with calorie shifting you eat up to the calorie limit, otherwise you aren't calorie shifting you are just setting random goals you aren't meeting.

That might be true and was wondering about that. I figured at least I wasn't eating over the amount allotted. Maybe I am just cal counting then and not shifting?

When I have shifted in the past, which worked, I ate up to to the top limit for the day. And exercised for an hour a day or so.

Just to make things easier, I wouldn't count the exercise calories burned. I'm not telling you to not exercise, but just don't count that in any formulas for weight loss. This is because calories burned is WAY off track on the machines and for me at least it helps to think of those calories as a "bonus" and not something I'm banking on.

I'd suggest that you shoot for 1200-1400 a day. If some days you are a bit higher and some days a bit lower, that would be fine. With that plus bonus from any exercise, I think you could lose 10 pounds.

You can lose weight without exercising at all, but it's good you're incorporating it into your schedule because it's good for you!

10 lbs a month is definitely possible, especially if you're just starting out.

Awesome! Thanks guys! I am glad I asked because I really thought it was crazy, wishful thinking to lose 10lbs this month. I promise myself I wont get upset if I don't, haha, just have to try my best!

I am not subtracting the cals I burned from the cals I ate, I just think of it like a bonus, exactly like you said Matt.

Game on - heres to losing 10lbs in the next 30 days!

10 pounds in a month is awesome. I've lost 1 pound in 10 days which is not awesome.

Dear "water weight", what's the deal? I thought you were supposed to come off fast. Feeling lied to. Sincerely, Seagirl.

Here's a sample of mine. I am a SLOW loser despite my best efforts.

January 1st - 207.6
February 1st - 203 (-4.6)
March 1st - 198 (-5)
April 1st - 195.6 (-2.4)
May 1st - 188.4 (-7.2)
June 1st - 184.8 (-3.6)
July 1st - 177.0 (-7.8)
August 1st - 170.8 (-6.2)
September 1st - 168.8 (-2)
October 1st - 161.6 (7.2)
November 1st - 159.4 (-2.2)
December 1st - 158.8 (-.6)

I know I say this all the time, but I caution against setting any kind of numerical goal at all.

Instead of aiming for 10 pounds in a month, aim for sticking to your plan for a month.

The reason for this is that how many pounds you lose in a month is really beyond your control. Sure, you could lose 10 pounds in a month, but you could also stick to your plan like glue and only lose 8, or 5. It's out of your hands - it's just up to how your body works, when it decides to stop losing and rest for a while, when it decides to retain fluid for no reason you can discern, etc.

Whether you stick to your plan for a month, though, that is completely within your control, and if you do it - if you do it for a month and then the month after that and the month after that - the pounds will follow on their own.

I'm not saying don't measure weight loss - in fact I weigh daily. But for me, I try to focus on making the measure of success what goes into my body, not what comes off of it.

I feel so much better!

I'm sticking with this until my birthday in April. Maybe I will have lost 5 pounds by then!

Uh yeah...mine's pathetic. LOL! And I definitely stick with it like glue! To be fair to myself I lost 30 pounds straight off in two months at the start, but since then it has been a fight.

They say you should lose 1-2 pounds per week. I think that's hogwash! I wish they'd say "4-8 pounds per month". It's the same thing, really. But saying 1-2 pounds per week says to me we should lose weight linearly and we don't, not at all. Out of eleven months, I've missed 4-8 goal only five times, and honestly the past two months don't count. I'm nearing my healthy weight and I'm trying like mad to break a wicked plateau.

I really agree with this. Stick to your plan, make not of how much BETTER you feel just exercising (and 30 minutes a day is GREAT! if you're consistent about it) and eating right.

I loose about 2lbs/month and am happy with that because it's going away at the very least and I never want to see it again! Eventually I will get to my goal even if it takes awhile but in the meantime I'm learning better habits along the way and am doing a plan that I can stick to.

Also, if you weigh yourself during your period don't be surprised if you have a lot of water retention, it's completely normal! I'm also a daily weigher and I find it really good to keep me on track.