only lost half a pound last week. I have been recording everything (well, almost everything) on My Fitness Pal for about 3 weeks and I have only lost in total 3 and a half pounds. My calorie count has been below 1400 4 out of 5 days. There has only been two blips in the past 3/4 weeks/ What is going wrong? And this weird thing with my waist slimming down. I have been exercising - walking lots and Pilates and all in all my clothes are fitting a lot better - but I really want to lose weight and it is happening very very very slowly....
Any top tips....
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nomoremuffin
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Three and a half pounds. Took some time to write that! Yeah go you!
Logically it's better that your clothes are fitting and you're loosing inches. It's a mantra of mine, keep on keeping on. It is working but your body is perhaps just a bit reluctant to give up the pounds yet. But come on ...three and a half pounds. If it comes of gradually it's more likely to stay off? What do you think?
It's hard to know why exactly, but you are still loosing which is the main thing, and 1-2lbs a week is the recommended amount to not regain the weight so you are doing well with that!
I would make sure you log absolutely everything in myfitnesspal - you suddenly realise how the little bits here and there add up! Do you eat the calories from your exercise? I leave them be.
Do you do any strength training? Once muscles builds up it burns calories from just being there - I love the idea of just sitting down and burning calories! I've read somewhere that it takes 3-4 weeks of consistent strength exercises to build muscle before this happens.
I know other people will give you loads of other tips. Stick with it - you are going in the right direction!
An average loss, be glad you've done so well! Maybe your portions are a bit too big?
Dig in nomoremuffin for this tome -
To lose 1lb requires a calorie deficit of around 3500 calories or put another way a deficit of 500 calories a day for a week. When put like that I think it is fantastic to lose at a rate of 1lb a week. As nomorejunk points out a loss of 1-2lbs is recommended and you have achieved, so good on you. I therefore beg to differ that weight loss is slow!
As for the waist - pilates is such a fantastic way to strengthen the core muscles and change the shape of the body and posture, it is likely you are starting to see the benefits. I left yoga last night feeling taller because I had really worked at extending the spine and the space between the front hip bones was almost hollow as a result of the poses practised. Not quite so impressive today but the point is our bodies fluctuate perceptibly over quite a short space of time. You only need to weigh yourself at intervals throughout a single day to appreciate this.
I am not a one for being a slave to the scales and PortlandPrincess and I agree that clothes fitting is a better way to go. I think weighing once a week is too frequent but I am certain others will knock me down for that. I personally have what I call the "awful warning" wardrobe. When those clothes look awful - then is the time to take myself in hand. Treating myself to something new in my aspirational size is a much better motivator I find than numbers on the scales. At the end of the day, weight is just a snapshot for a moment in time.
So, in short. Be kinder to yourself, keep active and eat healthily. Make treats/rewards non-food and inevitably you will succeed. Be cautious about the measure of calories consumed and exercise calories in apps. I use MapMyWalk and given my vital statistics the basal calories to support my body is set automatically and is ridiculously low, yet for some activities it overstates energy used! It is a wonder I have not disappeared! You may ask why do I use it - I just like to see what I have done and dream about what I could be capable of. Wholly positive and not threatening.
With MyFitnessPal don't take everything to be gospel truth - especially where the food data is not verified. Do habitually record EVERYTHING though till you have an intuitive feel for what is right for your body and weigh food and check portion size! There is a tendency to understate food consumed and exercise performed - it is human nature - I read that somewhere else but do think it is accurate.
Taking a realistic, less demanding longer term view may also be more constructive - it is certainly kinder and more likely to be sustainable in the long term.
My top tip would be . . . . . . . get some better scales!
Seriously - how old are your scales and how accurate are they. I started off with the usual tatty old bathroom scales and they ere hopeless. Didn't give me any real feedback. Became a calorie fascist and the weight didn't shift. I went our and bought a set of the weight watchers ones from Argos - they have a fantastic review (about £30) but they are consistent, accurate and show even the smallest fluctuation in weight. They also show Bone mass, BMI, Body Fat %. Now if I have a good day I can see the results pretty quick and Ive found it really motivating.
I have great scales the only do weight, salter I think, they measure small amounts of weight and that is encouraging
You are doing just fine hun. You are losing weight as you should be, slowly. As you are toning you are obviously building muscle which weighs more than fat, so this may be why your weightloss and body shape don't seem to equal out in your mind. Keep doing what you are doing, it is working.
Sounds to me like your body is toning up beautifully and replacing fat with muscle. A pound of muscle takes up about 50% the space of a pound of fat so thats probably why your clothes are getting baggier but you are not seeing the same loss on the scales.
Thanks - had another Pilates class today - you're right it is intense but I definitely am looking more toned. There are huge mirrors at the studio so there is no escaping the self scrutiny! But it is motivating too.
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Weight Reducing Diet 
5 weeks ago I started the NHS 12 week diet programme counting calories of 1400 per day. At the same time I started the Couch to 5K podcasts
Bit late but ....
50 but no longer frumpy
