New diet - how soon should I see weight loss?

MsFifers

I've never really dieted before having been lucky enough to have been fairly slim all my life, but in the last year I've put on over a stone in weight and I'd love to shift it before summer.

Trying to just be sensible about things rather than going on a major DIET diet - so a typical day I'm eating:
BREAKFAST: Glass of berry smoothie, porridge & almonds & skim milk or maybe a toasted english muffin with honey.
LUNCH: Soup - or - chicken/fish & salad
DINNER: Chicken,fish or steak with vegetables, usually without any potatoes/pasta etc, but if I'm starving I'll have a small portion of rice or quinoa.
SNACKS: Lots of fruit, oatcakes & peanut butter, low fat yoghurt.

I'm also going for a walk or a run every couple of days, & doing yoga. (I wasn't really exercising at all before & was eating a lot of crisps, chocolate etc and drinking wine a fair bit.)

Despite my efforts (and its been HARD!) I haven't lost any weight at all after 2 weeks! I thought I'd see at least a couple of pounds going by now. Would that have been realistic?

What is the usual experience for diets? Do you have to be on it for a while before seeing any difference?

If I don't get some results soon I reckon I'll just give up! Maybe I'm just eating too big portions, but if I reduce any more I'll be starving all the time. I'm pretty peckish most of the time now! Any advice welcome.

Lux23

Have you tried on a pair of jeans that may have being a bit tight?

MsFifers

Can't say I've noticed any major change in jeans either!
I was able to tighten my belt in a notch though - but I'm not sure was that because the belt has stretched cause all my other clothes feel the same on me!

poconnor16

MsFifers wrote: »

Can't say I've noticed any major change in jeans either!
I was able to tighten my belt in a notch though - but I'm not sure was that because the belt has stretched cause all my other clothes feel the same on me!

Last time I did weight watchers (currently re-started it) I too did not see anything for 2 weeks. And I was sticking completley to it, playing heaps of soccer etc. It was the start of week 3 when I felt the difference. Clothes were so much loser! And then at the end of week 3 the scales had moved. All bodies are different and therefore will lose weight at different paces.
Are you drinking lots of water? I find lots of water keeps my appetite at bay, that migth help. And it obviously stops you from retaining fluid.
Just my two cents.:rolleyes:
But please do not give up - how long did it take you to put on a stone? I bet it didn't happen in two weeks....;)

shellerz

Maybe try cutting some carbs from your breakfast and snacks and replacing with good fats. Refer to carb curve below..

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/

davyjose

MsFifers wrote: »

Despite my efforts (and its been HARD!) I haven't lost any weight at all after 2 weeks! I thought I'd see at least a couple of pounds going by now. Would that have been realistic?

What is the usual experience for diets? Do you have to be on it for a while before seeing any difference?

I went low carb two and a half weeks ago and have lost 13 lbs. I don't think it's muscle loss either, because my numbers in the gym haven't changed. Except chin-ups, which are now easier.

In fairness, I was drinking a good 8-10 pints a week before this, and i've not touched a drop since, which would account for a decent drop in weight. There could be some water weight in there too, but still ... 13lbs!!!

Either way, I'm never hungry, and my meals taste delicious (I'd just kill for a beer ).

Darkginger

In order to see weight loss results, you have to identify your problems, if any, before you can begin to address them. Basically, you need to work out what your daily calorific intake is, and then adjust your foods to make sure you are taking in less than you need to maintain your weight. At least, that's the simplistic view of it.

Calorie counting is one type of diet - but it's not the only way. You can go low fat, or low carb, or low GI - there's a lot of options out there - but they're all based on an awareness of the contribution each food makes to your daily 'allowance'. Your allowance should be calculated on the basis of current height, weight, activity level, and age - plus of course, it depends on your chosen way of dieting.

So, what I would suggest is that you start by using an online site like fitday.com to track what you're eating, and analyse your daily intake of protein, carbs and fats - and calories. That way you can see where you need to change things in order to lose weight.

Once you're aware of your average everyday consumption levels, then you can think about how you'd like to manage weight loss - you might find it easiest to just count calories (you'll need a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb of weight - so reducing your weekly intake to 3,500 calories below the number required to maintain your current weight will result in a 1lb a week loss).

Many people find a low carb diet is easier to follow, since it involves less counting - but again, there are several ways of low carbing! It is vital that you educate yourself about how low carbing actually works before embarking on such a diet, because it's very easy to make mistakes if you're not fully informed.

One thing I would say - do NOT go on a diet that's going to make you feel deprived all the time - not only will it be a struggle to stick to it, once you've lost the weight you're likely to rebound - we all do it, it's like giving yourself a reward for being so good for so long - and before you know it, the weight comes back. The secret is to find an enjoyable way of eating that results in initial weight loss, and which is easy to maintain after you've reached your goal weight.

I'm sure others here on the boards will be happy to advise on their own chosen way of losing weight - I'm a confirmed low carber, but it's not for me to say it's the way for you - only you know your own food preferences and 'must haves'. The key to it all is awareness though - you have to know what you're eating, and how your diet looks, what might be contributing to any weight gain - BEFORE you can address the issue.

Best of luck!

MsFifers

God you could spend forever on that fitday.com site!

It says I'm consuming fewer calories than I'm expending, so I really *should* be seeing some minor weight loss I reckon!! So I'll just keep at it for another week and see whats the story - I really dont want to get into calorie counting or restrictive diets. I don't think that would be good for my head and as I'm still in a healthy weight range on the BMI measurements I'm not panicking (yet)!

I'll try cutting back some more on the carbs and having some nuts as snacks instead of the oatcakes etc.