OP: It's now three weeks and I've lost 4 lbs so feeling a bit better. Stopped weighing myself more than once a week since my weight seems to vary so much by the day. Have found that it's important to keep track of everything including the tablespoon of oil i put in the pan to make vegetables, etc.

Anonymous wrote:What have you been eating? Describe a typical day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though you don't have a lot to lose, you should have lost something.

Doesn't matter, a calorie is a calorie.

Look up the twinkie diet.

Are you sure you are only eating 1400 calories a day? Are you measuring ALL of your food, as in taking out the scale and weighing it, or using measuring cups or spoons?

I know some people will pour themselves a full bowl of cereal and consider that a "serving"--and it says on the box 1 serving is 150 calories....but if they were to actually measure it out they would find their "serving is actually 2 or 3 servings worth...kwim?

Depending on your activity levels pre-diet, you could have gained muscle first. Give it time! I have exercised and somewhat restricted my junk food intake and it took me 6 months to lose 3 lbs, and I am 34.

Try Spark people.com

I did that at the beginning of the year. Calorie King tracking with a 1400 a day. It will not fall off you, if that is what you are looking for. it is far more gradual. So if you are looking for a miracle in a week, you either need to starve yourself or exercise A LOT.

The 1400 is healthy, but more gradual.

What have you been eating? Describe a typical day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though you don't have a lot to lose, you should have lost something.

Anonymous wrote:How much do you need to lose?

I'm a big fan of eating clean, primal, paleo, Whole 30, etc. Anything that gets the processed foods out and real foods in.

But that rules out beer. And wine. And yogurt. Blah.

Use a tape measure instead of a scale. Time of day, amount of liquid you have consumed, etc etc may play part of the scale amount. I did a big race, and I gained 8 lbs the next day, and then it went away three days later. By using a tape measure (and my pants), I can actually track changes. Also measure less. I measure once a month. I'll check the scale twice a month.

Anonymous wrote:OP: Need to lose 10 I seem to have put on over the past year or so. Would like to lose 20 really.

Have been eating very healthy diet, usually do anyway. Just eat too much healthy food.

Will keep it up.

Just turned 45 and do think this is harder than it was 10 years ago.

ah don't feel bad I am 35 and have the metabolism of a rock. I need to eat 1200 calories and exercise a ton to lose anything.
Try adding in some weight training. Heavy weight low reps to build muscle not 3lbs for 20 reps. Putting on muscle helps some.

OP: Need to lose 10 I seem to have put on over the past year or so. Would like to lose 20 really.

Have been eating very healthy diet, usually do anyway. Just eat too much healthy food.

Will keep it up.

Just turned 45 and do think this is harder than it was 10 years ago.

Trust me, it gets harder as you get older. I wouldn't put much stock in your results after only a single week. Any diet that causes rapid weight loss will also likely be immediately followed by rapid weight gain after it ends. What worked for me was making smaller changes in my normal eating habits, combined with increasing the amount of exercise I was doing. Some of my changes include eating healthier lunches with fewer calories, skipping the combo in favor of just a single sandwich(Or whatever the equivalent is at any particular place I eat), more salads as opposed to other side dishes, and just generally trying to reduce all of the portion sizes that I was eating before. Individually, these changes only amount to a small difference, but combined they are a significant reduction in my caloric intake. I'm probably averaging a little under a pound of weight loss a week since I started actively trying to lose weight, so on many weeks, the changes aren't that noticeable. But on the positive side, the weight is still coming off(Getting close to 20 pounds lost so far, and still going), and I don't feel like I'm really depriving myself of anything in an effort to lose the weight.

I think a week is not enough to see real progress, esp at 1400 calories. I've been dieting (really just healthy eating - low fat low carb and very limited white carbs) for 4 months and have lost over 20 lbs but can be at the same weight for a week or two then drop 3 lbs. then plateau again. And I am probably more like 1200 calories, but not much exercise.

How much do you need to lose?

I'm a big fan of eating clean, primal, paleo, Whole 30, etc. Anything that gets the processed foods out and real foods in.

have used a weight loss app (lose it!) for a week. really stuck to the 1400 calorie a day plan and also exercised. just weighed myself and i have lost no weight. very discouraged. wouldn't you tend to lose more at the beginning?

never used to have trouble dropping a few lbs!