Frustrated with my slow weight loss

Hi PT's,

I am young and overweight. The frustrating part is that I have a very active lifestyle! I workout almost everyday, eat pretty healthy (especially for a student), and stay active anyway I can. I've cut my calories to about 1,000-1,300 per days, spread out over three meals, lots of snacks, lots of veggies, lots of water and coffee, etc. This is a good target for me.

I feel like at my age and fitness level, I should be losing much quicker! I've only lost about 2 pounds in three weeks. YEs, I have toned up a whole lot, but the scale is still the same (well, not the same, but close-ish) It's odd, because in the past, I could drop like five in a week. Same diet.

In the past, things didn't work because I was too rigid, etc. Now I'm doing this the right way, and it feels like its sooo slow. I'm frustrated. Any words of encouragement? I just want to look the way I feel.

Thu. Sep 27, 10:50am

Wow you're frustrated over 2 pounds in 3 weeks? That is still good weight loss. But I think perhaps what is happening is that you're not eating enough. For one thing you're still young and you're active. For me, I multiply my goal weight by 15. So 120 times 15 = 1800 calories. And I've been able to lose about 3.5 pounds thus so far (my official weigh in is every month so this Monday I'll see how much I've lost total). Often I ate more than 1800 cals too. I'm a student too so now that school starts I'm taking 2 PE classes (I'm not fond of my gym) so that'll help me increase my weight loss. Good luck.

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 10:58 AM

You may not be eating enough. Especially if you have an active lifestyle and work out a lot, you probably need more than 1000-1300 calories/day. Your body may be in starvation "shut-down" mode and you'll have to fight for every ounce you lose. Instead, try increasing your intake to 1500 calories/day (by eating more healthy foods -- protein, whole grains, fruits, etc.) and I'll bet you'll see the scale move. Especially protein, protein, protein. Try to get some protein at every meal/snack. Eat every 2-3 hours so your metabolism "furnace" stays stoked and keeps burning fat all day long. I'm middle-aged and I've lost 30 pounds in the last 3 months by eating this way. (I'm getting about 1600 calories/day.)

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 11:08 AM

I wouldn't automatically assume you're not eating enough, although it's certainly a possibility. 1.5 lbs a week is a perfectly reasonable weight loss - you didn't put this weight on at the rate of 5 lbs per week, why would you assume you can take it off that way?!? It looks like you're doing the right things (although it's hard to know without looking at your log!), I would just keep on and try to stay positive. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint!

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 12:29 PM

OP Here

Wow, thanks you guys. This is a great reminder of how cool PT can be. You know what would be great? Could you guys look at my log? It's public, and you can find it under OCGirl949 . Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Thanks!!!!

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 1:28 PM

OP - I checked out your log, and it's entirely possible that you're not getting enough. You have lots of fruits and veggies, which is awesome, but remember that your body NEEDS protein and carbs and even fat! Trust me. Every cell in your body needs healthy fats to function. I would work at building a more balanced meal plan - I know it's tough when you're a student, but you'll feel better and likely lose weight. Especially if you're working out every day, you need to fuel that bod! Definitely keep your fruit and veggie intake up though! Good luck!

Thursday, September 27, 2007, 3:30 PM

The most obvious reason you wouldnt be 'losing weight' is simple.
Muscle is heavier than fat.
What you are doing is replacing the fat in your body with muscle which is a heavier component but a much healthier one. Dont panic about the weight so much. Keep instead an eye on your measurements and you should be seeing some great changes in your size. Oh, and good for you!!

Friday, September 28, 2007, 4:48 AM

10:58 poster here

Hi again. Yeah I completely agree with 3:30. I looked at your log yesterday but did not have the chance to reply. It's good you have produce in your diet but you should add more things like healthy fats, protein, whole grains. Just eat healthy balanced food and you'll shed the weight. Plus, during the first month of weight loss, you tend to carry water weight.

Friday, September 28, 2007, 1:43 PM

Don't try to lose more

I don't think you should be trying to step up the weight loss. You've lost 1.5 lbs a week, which is pretty good. More than 2 lbs a week can sometimes be unsafe ... it's better to lose it gradually and keep it off with a more sustainable lifestyle.

Think about this: your goal is 37 pounds in 6 months (or 26 weeks) ... that's 1.4 lbs a week. You're doing even better than your goal pace! Just stick with what you're doing (or even increase cals a bit) and you'll be fine! It takes patience.

Saturday, September 29, 2007, 3:47 PM

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