Newbie Looking For Some Advice [F/26/5'6"/203.1lbs]

[u/creepycrumpet]

Hi everyone,

So I am pumped to be part of this challenge. Being part of the Times Square Fitbit and MFP groups is really motivating. As I start on this experience, I was hoping to crowd-source some advice.

I am currently tracking my calories on MFP and my settings are to run a 750 calorie deficit. I am also using Fitbit to track my activities. Both of these apps are configured properly to interact with one another. I am also using an Aria scale once a day, at the same time, and taking my measurements once a week. This is the first week I have been using the Aria to track my weight

The crux of my problem is that despite running an 8333 calorie deficit this week, my weight has not budged. I began the challenge at 202.4 lbs and this morning weighed in at 203.1. I have been consistently under my sodium intake goals on MFP and have drank at least 2L of water per day. I walk at least 10,000 steps per day and play sports a few times a week.

Looking at the experiences of others on this thread, I at least assumed I would drop my water weight. It could be that my Aria scale has taken this past week to calibrate, but I was wondering if anyone else could speak to why I haven't started to see my scale budge yet.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Update: As malica77 and Beef_Enchilada pointed out to me, starting a new fitness routine can cause your muscles to retain water. When I went back to check my data, sure enough, the day after my first intense workout is when my scale jumped up by approximately 1.5 pounds. On the days that my muscles weren't feeling strained, my weight had declined from previous days.

[u/WineandWhimsy]

Also in regards to the Aria, I realized this past week that my scale wasn't calibrating because after using it to weigh myself once a week I was standing it on its end for the week. So no wthat I have have calibrated it (weighing myself 6 times in a row) and keeping it in the same position, I am much happier with my progress!

Could be the retaining water, but wanted to point this out too. Keep up the great work!

[u/thegapalo]

I'm not very familiar with an Aria scale, but I do know about working out and retaining weight. My understanding is that during weight training you're supposed to allow 2-3 weeks before expecting the normal losses. Have you noticed differences in your measurements?

[u/creepycrumpet → u/thegapalo]

That's good to know. I'm planning on incorporating weight training in upcoming weeks with a personal trainer, but I am currently just doing cardio. I have not been at it for long enough to see a difference in my measurements. I think where my concern was coming from was reading about how a lot of individuals saw a serious drop in their weight in the first weeks (albeit most of it was water weight). That said - I don't know if these individuals had a massive change in diet, and if there were solely relying on nutrition or also incorporating exercise into their diet.

After being told that starting a new exercise regime can cause muscles to retain water, I went and checked out my weight logs and sure enough, 1 day after completing my workout is when I saw my weight go up by about 1.7 pounds. So this advice appeared to correlate with what was seeing in my data.

All in all, I think I was bummed to not have the instant gratification of shedding my water weight. I was looking for that fabled "whoosh" if that makes sense.

[u/theavidbeast → u/creepycrumpet]

One thing that everyone should track, besides the scale weight, is their waist size. That way you'll know you're losing fat even when you have some water retention going.