Are my expectations unrealistic?

I recently began dieting and exercising (postpartum) with a goal to lose 40lbs. I have challenged myself to lose 1% of my body weight a week..I have been steadily maintaining that. I know I am capable at losing more than 1% (2lbs a week is recommended) but with my small frame I knew that would probably not happen. on my 4th week I lost nothing...not even 1 ounce...which kind of shocked me and I don't understand why...I have seriously not cheated on my diet and I have worked out 3-4 times every week (team training, kick boxing, small group training). Is there a good explanation, is this normal..Time is precious and I don't want to go another week and not lose 1%...so I want to figure out what I did wrong?

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You could be in the transitional phase where muscle gain balances your fat loss, you may even find you gain weight but if you're happy with muscle then embrace it!

Weight loss isn't linear. Follow the process and you'll lose it eventually. You may even lose 2% sometime down the road.

It would be hard to know if you're being unrealistic without knowing how much you currently weigh and what 1% of your body weight might be. For a smaller person, it might be. For instance, I'm around 120, so 1% is 1.2 lbs. a week, would be completely unrealistic. Who is recommending you lose 2 lbs. a week? Are you in the obese category? When you say "Time is precious", do you have an event that you need to lose for? The time you are spending with your new baby is also precious.

I agree with AbiBain. Seems like you are building muscle in place of fat. So you ARE loosing. Do not get discouraged. I was in the same spot as you and then.... I threw my scale away. Now I measure my body for inches lost. Turns out I gained 2 pounds.... but lost 11 inches!

Is there a deadline you're trying to meet?

Weight loss isn't linear, though it can seem to be at first when you start out and drop a lot of water weight. And there are so many factors that tie into the way our weight fluctuates from day to day--sodium intake, that time of the month, etc, etc.

I didn't lose weight all of April pretty much despite doing everything right and walking 5-7 miles a day-and in the past week or so I've dropped three pounds and now I'm back on target with my 1/lb a week average--it just didn't happen every week.

So don't panic. It's only been four weeks! Have patience and stay on track, and so will your progress.

Everyone has weeks where they don't lose even when eating perfectly and exercising. Our bodies are comlex machines and don't always do exactly what we want them to. If you are steadily losing, who cares if you don't lose your target 1% on any given week? You're still going in the right direction. Don't see this as a failure. If it continues, then maybe look at bumping up your exercise a bit.

I set a goal for my birthday this year and didn't meet it. I'm still working towards that goal and I WILL reach it, just maybe not as quickly as I had imagined. You're right - time IS precious so you should enjoy every day that you eat healthy, exercise and work towards your goals.

AbiBain wrote: »

You could be in the transitional phase where muscle gain balances your fat loss, you may even find you gain weight but if you're happy with muscle then embrace it!

Um.....what?

OP, what is your caloric goals? Can you open your diary?

When did you start your workout regimen? It's quite normal for the body to retain water weight for muscle repair at the beginning of a workout regimen, or a change in intensity.

Weight loss isn't linear, you'll have weeks where you lose more than others and weeks where you don't lose at all.

I'm going to say nothing. That sounds pretty normal. You won't lose every week. It just happens from time to time. Just keep going. Some things to keep in mind:

TOM = Water Retention for most women (can mask loss and even show a gain)
Change in exercise routine or increased intensity can cause water retention
High Sodium consumption can cause water retention

My entire weight loss track:

2012 - restricted to much, ended up gaining some back
2013 - started using MFP, but pregnancy put a pause on weight loss
2014 - started working on my weight again, lost all my pregnancy weight (42lbs) by Nov
2015 - still going

Weight loss is not linear. Any given day you might vary 3-5 pounds due to the amount of water your body is carrying. I think what you are "doing wrong" is having a rigid goal like 1% a week. It is common to show a large weight loss during the first couple of weeks (much of which is water) which then slows. Even though the scale indicated no weight loss in the 4th week, you could well have lost fat but it is masked with water. Don't freak out - if you are maintaining reasonable nutrition, a reasonable calorie deficit, getting enough sleep (yeah, new mom, right lol) the weight will come off.

Is it your menstrual cycle week? That can make you retain water even if you're doing everything else right. When they say weight loss is easy, CICO, thats true, but doesn't mean our bodies actually release the exact amount of fat that our calorie deficit says it should every week. Some weeks I've lost 2, some 3 and some 4lbs all eating at the same 1000 deficit. And I haven't gone over my calories since Easter.

Take comfort in what others have said in regards to weight loss not being linear. I vary from day to day. Due to this I only weigh myself weekly. It can vary so much!

Read this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear

Yes, you are being unrealistic. You cannot 100% control how much weight your body loses from one week to the next. When you set your mfp goal to lose 1 pound per week, for example, that doesn't mean 1 pound each and every week. It means that you are aiming for an average of 1 pound for week over an extended period. Focus on the overall downward trend.

schmermund wrote: »

I agree with AbiBain. Seems like you are building muscle in place of fat. So you ARE loosing. Do not get discouraged. I was in the same spot as you and then.... I threw my scale away. Now I measure my body for inches lost. Turns out I gained 2 pounds.... but lost 11 inches!

That is highly doubtful, especially after OP has been steadily losing for 3 weeks.

I'm not sure trying to lose a specific percentage each week is realistic. I've lost 9.3% of my starting weight since January but that's 16 weeks. I only know this because I'm in a group at work all working together to lose weight and 10% is a first target for us all but with no timescale attached. You won't consistently lose the same amount each week, it will be up and down.

AbiBain wrote: »

You could be in the transitional phase where muscle gain balances your fat loss, you may even find you gain weight but if you're happy with muscle then embrace it!

Highly unlikely. Its just broscience when people say that. So you maintain a caloric deficit, lost a pound of fat and gained a pound of muscle? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Without religiously writing down everything you do, its hard to say what happened. Your weight can change several pounds over the course of day depending on what you ate, drank, and how you exercised. Gaining a pound of weight from one day to the next is not gaining fat. It could be anything from water, to glycogen, to just extra matter in the old pipes. Big meal the night before etc.

Personally, I weigh myself everyday so I know my patterns. I know that on Monday morning morning I tend to be a bit lower as I have usually down long rides and runs over the weekend. A bit dehydrated, and glycogen depleted. Monday is a rest day, so Tuesday AM am usually 2+ pounds heavier, glycogen restocking etc

When I am up a few pounds, I do not get worried unless I am carrying that for a week or more. Remember, its the trend. My trend is maintaining a flat line week over week.

My advice, when you do your weekly weigh ins and you see no difference, don't sweat it, weigh yourself the next day and see if there is a difference. Still no difference, wait until your next scheduled weigh in. You might have held steady that week. Still no difference, might be time to adjust your calorie and exercise. As you lose weight, your bmr decreases, and you become more efficient at exercise. So you end up burning less calories for the same. Don't sweat it until its been a plateau for a couple weeks.

(sorry for the long post)

Someone once gave me the advice, "Ignore the numbers on the scale, focus on your nutrition and your work-outs, aim for being healthy and feeling good about yourself and the numbers on the scale will work themselves out." Kind of a "Zen" Archery approach.

Oh, and yes after a few weeks of working out your increase in muscle mass will begin to offset your losses in body fat. Remember for a given volume muscle is five times heavier than fat.

Except from some slight newbie gains from starting resistance training, you're not going to put on muscle at that kind of calorie deficit. You have to actively work to add muscle to your body through eating near maintenance (recomp) or with a calorie surplus, plus dedicated weight lifting. You can get stronger but that's a different thing than building muscle.

JeraldTX wrote: »

Someone once gave me the advice, "Ignore the numbers on the scale, focus on your nutrition and your work-outs, aim for being healthy and feeling good about yourself and the numbers on the scale will work themselves out." Kind of a "Zen" Archery approach.

Oh, and yes after a few weeks of working out your increase in muscle mass will begin to offset your losses in body fat. Remember for a given volume muscle is five times heavier than fat.

Um, no.....no it won't.

JeraldTX wrote: »

Someone once gave me the advice, "Ignore the numbers on the scale, focus on your nutrition and your work-outs, aim for being healthy and feeling good about yourself and the numbers on the scale will work themselves out." Kind of a "Zen" Archery approach.

Oh, and yes after a few weeks of working out your increase in muscle mass will begin to offset your losses in body fat. Remember for a given volume muscle is five times heavier than fat.

No it won't and no it isn't.

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