On May 7, already a couple months into my low-carb way of eating, I set a weight goal of 215 pounds by Labor Day 2011. At that time, I weighed 241 pounds. Today, I weighed in at 219.8 pounds.
Five weeks ago, on July 3 when I gave my last progress report, I weighed 227.6 pounds. Thus, I lost a touch under eight pounds in those five weeks, an average of 1.6 pounds per week. My weekly weight-loss average since May 7 is 1.63 pounds.
Before setting my goal, I had already lost about 20 pounds.
So altogether, between early March and early August 2011, I have lost 40 pounds by eating low-carb. My long-term weekly weight-loss average is 1.82 pounds.
It’s not a spectacular average. I am tempted to call it “slow and steady,” but it is more accurate to call it “slow and varied.” Consider this line graph, provided by the Fitday program that I have been using to track my progress:
The red line represents a straight line from my weight of 241 pounds on May 7 to my target weight of 215 pounds on September 5. The blue-gray line and boxes represent my actual weight on given dates in May, June, July and August. You will note that the boxes are mostly on or below the red line, which is good. It means I’m on track to achieve or exceed my weight-loss goal. But you will also note that the blue-gray line is bumpy. I’m losing weight overall, but not in a straight-line fashion. Over any given week, my weight rises or falls in a range of roughly two pounds.
Longer-term, the trend is downward. I’m less than five pounds from my weight goal, with a month to go.
Since my July progress report, I have eaten an average of 1,931 calories per day; that’s still about a thousand fewer calories than I burn in a day, but it is an increase over my previous average by 140 calories per day. My average daily net carb intake for the last month has been 30 grams per day. At that level of net carbohydrate intake (“net” means total carbs minus fiber), I can eat fewer than 2,000 calories a day without feeling hungry and deprived.
The lesson I take from my experience so far is that a person should not believe hype about quick, easy, meaningful weight-loss — no matter what the plan is. To me, a meaningful change in your weight is one that improves your overall health and well-being, and that can be sustained.
Meaningful weight loss takes time, and requires a permanent change in the way you eat.
Awesome, how good you must feel to have shed those pounds! I noticed in your graph that you did not seem to hit any plateaus, and you were very fortunate. I went through several plateaus and that can be so darn frustrating.
“a meaningful change in your weight is one that improves your overall health and well-being, and that can be sustained.”
That is the core of LC eating and sums it all up so beautifully.
wow, congrats. I think that the best thing about a slow and steady loss is that (hopefully) by the time you reach your goal the changes you have made to get there will be ingrained. Great job.
Wow, you are making great progress! Congratulations.