A little discouraged...

I only lost 3 lbs this past week. I have been strict on counting my calories and loggin EVERYTHING in. I did have one night where I did go all out and yet still stayed under 1500 calories...but my goal is 1200 for three weeks in the challenge I joined, so that might have been the problem. A good thing about doing this is I now fit in all my clothes, but at this rate I won't get to my goal for a LONG LONG time!

First, three pounds in a week is a lot - it's aggressively fast, in fact.
Second, don't be upset by the idea of slow, gradual weight loss. The weight wasn't added overnight, and it shouldn't come off overnight. The faster you lose, the more likely you are to lose lean mass instead of fat, and to slow down both your resting metabolic rate and your total daily energy expenditure - all of which will make it easier to regain the weight once you reach your goal. Remember too that you'll probably be happier with the way you look when you're done, the more of your lean mass you retain. Skinnyfat isn't a great place to end up.

So no need to be in a big hurry. You're doing well so far.

Skinnyfat? I've never heard that before. This is the first time I am trying to do this in a healthy way. Before I just wouldn't eat if I wasnt hungry. Most days I would only have one meal a day and not the most healthy meal either. Then during the holidays I ate everything and anything in sight. I am substituting bad food for good food now and eating three times a day with snacks here and there, I just thought I was suppose to be losing more since I cut down A LOT in calories intake...thanks for the heads up

Remember that your weight can vary a lot day to day, you might be retaining weight that wasn't there last week (water and err other stuff) particularly if you have recently changed your diet radically.

Water retention particularly is far worse for women than for guys. I've heard reports of up to 5lb for blokes and 7lb for women, though I can't cite the source right now so that's from memory.

I've seen it where I've had a few large but low cal meals (veggie stew with cauliflower "rice" & huge salads) in the days preceding a weigh-in, and had less "loss" than I expected but the next week had a much larger loss...

Which is why I prefer to focus on other metrics and only use the number on the scale to keep score.

My main focus has up till now been my waist size. Now I'm getting more interested more in my following my chest size now I'm closer to my over-all target.

Keep track of your measurements! It's amazing what a difference this makes. I had a month where I only lost 2 pounds in weight but lost 8 inches on my body (almost 2 on the waist alone).

Thanks MeatBaby! I just need to get a measuring tape.I'm not very equiped for this losing weight program I have going on. I don't have a scale yet or measuring tape...sigh...

Skinny-fat is where your lean muscle mass is so low that even though you look thin in appearance, a body fat percentage measurement would put you in the obese range. Even a fashion model can have that little lean body mass.

I was losing weight quickly and not getting enough protein, and my thighs started to look crinkly and saggy. I look much healthier with leg muscles.

I agree with meat baby. I only lost 3 pounds since the beginning of the month but have lost 2 inches in my waist!

Wow! Thank you iamachristianjesusfreak! I needed that and thank you eKatherine...it's weird to think that even super models can have that issue.