I started dieting a few weeks ago but feel fatter?

[renegade7]

Okay, so a few weeks ago I started on a diet. Nothing all that complicated really, just counting calories and making sure I only eat about 1800 per day (My BMR is about 2400). So it's been about 3 weeks now, and I've lost about 5 pounds, but the weird part is that I both look and feel more flabby.

Basically, it seems like my belly and arm fat seems to be more...mobile than usual. I was only slightly overweight before I started (it's mostly for appearance and athletic reasons), but now there's quite an obvious jiggle when I move (and I apologize for that imagery, I can't think of any other way to say it).

Is this normal? Or am I just more aware of my weight since I've started seriously trying to rid myself of it?

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

You might be more aware of your weight, you might also be seeing jiggle because the skin is now loose from the weight loss. If you never ate a lot of vegetables before and all of a sudden you're now eating nothing but salads, you might also be feeling bloated from gas. In any case 3 weeks isn't long enough to tell one way or the other. It might also depend on the types of foods you eat. You could try cutting down on sodium (which makes the body retain water and can also add a bloated feeling).

 

[sarkeizen]

Is this normal? Or am I just more aware of my weight since I've started seriously trying to rid myself of it?

It could be that you're simply more aware. "Jiggling" isn't a well-defined objective measure. That said your % body fat can increase when your dieting as dieting will cause the breakdown of muscle as well as fat.

The old school way of trying to figure out if this is happening is to measure your body fat with calipers. However some evidence suggests that this is hard to do accurately - even for someone who's trained in how to do it like a doctor - today it's relatively inexpensive to buy a scale that uses a mild current to infer if your body fat % has changed. Generally the scales are more accurate for some body types rather than others because it more accurately estimates the lower half of your body. IIRC at least one scale uses a two stage approach - you stand on it and get a lower body reading, then you pick it up by grips on it's side to get an upper body reading. I don't know how much more accurate that would be but last I looked such scales were the most expensive ones at your average shop.

In addition I'd recommend increasing your activity level a bit. Some evidence suggests that this may retard muscle loss.

 

[Lilani]

Okay, so a few weeks ago I started on a diet. Nothing all that complicated really, just counting calories and making sure I only eat about 1800 per day (My BMR is about 2400). So it's been about 3 weeks now, and I've lost about 5 pounds, but the weird part is that I both look and feel more flabby.

Basically, it seems like my belly and arm fat seems to be more...mobile than usual. I was only slightly overweight before I started (it's mostly for appearance and athletic reasons), but now there's quite an obvious jiggle when I move (and I apologize for that imagery, I can't think of any other way to say it).

Is this normal? Or am I just more aware of my weight since I've started seriously trying to rid myself of it?

Five pounds isn't that much, to be perfectly honest, so I'm tempted to say that's just the skin left over from losing weight (which shrinks back down with time, in most cases), but I don't feel like 5 pounds is really enough to do that. I've lost 5 pounds before and I haven't had that problem, anyway.

But just a little tip from somebody who's also trying to fit into smaller jeans--if your diet is temporary, then your weight loss is going to be temporary as well. If you want to keep it off, you have to work those better eating habits into your lifestyle. If you go back to eating more calories when your diet is "over" then it's just going to come back. The key isn't to diet and lose a bunch of weight, the key is to rework the way you eat and how much you exercise every day so that you lifestyle is already structured to keep the weight off after you lose it. It'll be slower and tougher, but once your new habits sink in it'll start to happen more naturally. A diet will lose you weight quickly, but it'll just keep coming back every time you stop.

 

[dmase]

Lose skin probably, what you should be most concerned with it's appearance or sag of your body and more about how you feel. I have no idea what your current weight is but if your the type of person that is overweight enough to have difficulty with walking up stairs or breathing at night use that as a measure of whether you feel skinnier or not.

For the loose skin I'd suggest drinking lots of water and exercise.(weight training specifically) Drinking lots of water is good for the skin not to mention it actually helps with fat loss(ignore any water weight gain). The weight training will increase muscle mass and fill out any loose skin. For me it takes about 3 weeks for the skin to noticeably contract around your new body, but if your going for a lot of weight loss over time it will obviously take much longer.

 

[Galletea]

Your body also needs time to adjust to your new diet. It might be loose skin, it could also be your body's reaction to your limiting your calorie intake depending on what you're cutting out. Either way, you should be getting used to it in a few weeks.

 

[Luca72]

Okay, so a few weeks ago I started on a diet. Nothing all that complicated really, just counting calories and making sure I only eat about 1800 per day (My BMR is about 2400). So it's been about 3 weeks now, and I've lost about 5 pounds, but the weird part is that I both look and feel more flabby.

Basically, it seems like my belly and arm fat seems to be more...mobile than usual. I was only slightly overweight before I started (it's mostly for appearance and athletic reasons), but now there's quite an obvious jiggle when I move (and I apologize for that imagery, I can't think of any other way to say it).

Is this normal? Or am I just more aware of my weight since I've started seriously trying to rid myself of it?

The body is kind of funny - the calories in, calories out model isn't as accurate as people used to think. If you've lost 5 pounds already, congratulations! Taking account of your body in any form is a great start.

However, if you want to keep the weight off, and lose it consistently, watching your calories might not get you much further. Let me ask you this - have you purposely removed certain "high calorie" foods, like certain types of meat, from your diet, and replaced them with low calorie alternatives?

A lot of people will take out meat and fat, and replace it by snacking on low calorie "health food". The problem is that a lot of this health food contains sugar - enough that, over a few days, can offset the other nutrients you're taking in. When you take in sugar, insulin is released. Insulin gives your body the command to convert glucose stores, which are normally burned for energy, into fat cells. It's believed that insulin goes a step further and blocks leptin, the hormone that tells your body that you're full.

Find out how many carbs your body needs daily, and really try not to go above that limit. And try to take in as many calories as your body needs, not less. I'm just going to assume you're a twenty-something male - if that's the case, 1800 calories is most likely too low. You should be at least over 2000. Limiting your calorie intake can edge your body into starvation mode, where it starts to conserve as much fat as it can.

It sounds complicated, but once you start watching your diet, it actually gets really easy. If you take one thing from what I've written, it's that you should avoid carbohydrates as much as you can - even fruit can be easily abused. If you've got any questions feel free to PM me, but it sounds like you've got the ball rolling. And that's the most important part!

 

[Connor Lonske]

you should consider doing more walking/running. if you don't keep your body fit you'll lose muscle mass and when you're at a healthy level you'll still look like shit. cardio is the key to stopping this because if you can carry your own fat weight easily then your muscles will have enough work done to maintain themselves and as you lose weight you gain running ablity and you'll be more in shape when you're thin.

you could also mix weight lifting (including body weight stuff like push ups pull ups squats and all that jazz) and should be worth looking into.

just make sure you aren't just walking and are running as well. cycling works too.