I know I shouldn't judge my progress on this but why is dial on the scale not moving?!

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Forge411
Forge411 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am starting week 3 of my "getting back in shape" and I started weighing in at 213. Now my exercise routine is 3x a week I am doing "StrongLifts" which isn't the biggest fat burner program (especially in the first 6 weeks) However I am including HIIT 2x a week along with stretching sessions and some mobility training for the upcoming golf season. So I get it, I am more interested in burning fat even if doesn't result in weightloss BUT I assumed with eating "cleaner" and at a deficit I would have expected a loss in some weight, but as of today I am 213 still. I encourage to look at my diary and see if you see anything wrong with my eating the past 14 days. I do see I am a little heavy on the protein and light on the carbs and my other problem is that even though my goal is a deficit I am still coming under my goal, calorie wise, so I don't know if that plays into it.

However I am feeling better, less bloated, more energy, and stronger so those are positives I don't want to give up. And I am not steering away from my workout program either. Its only been a couple weeks and its a plan I have done before and have felt great doing it so I believe in the program. I am just surprised that there hasn't been that move at all on the scale. I am 33 and in my 20s when I was in shape my ideal weight was 175-180lbs and thats what I eventually would like to get back to.

Any opinions or suggestions?

Replies

  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    If you just started with the excerise routine, you may be retaining water used in muscle recovery. Water retention will mask any weight loss you may have experienced.

    Also, your diary isn't open so we can't review it to see if there are any obvious issues. If you aren't weighing your food (on a scale), you may be overeating which could completely void the deficit you think you're eating. Also, make sure you are using accurate entries. I've seen many entries that are user-generated that are way off on calories, protein, fat, carbs, or all of the above.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    I can't see your diary because you haven't shared it. However, I probably don't need to. If you aren't losing weight, it is because you aren't eating at a deficit. You may think you are, but you aren't.
  • louiseabigail208
    louiseabigail208 Posts: 1
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    Don't know I'm having pretty much the same problem so as on from today I've lowered my cal to 1200.
  • Lose25now
    Lose25now Posts: 27 Member
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    Hi, with weight training there is some water retention because the water buffers your muscles. If you keep going with all the healthy stuff including the water your body will let go of the extra water = weight loss. I didn't look at your food but I can tell you that some people need to really look at protein and healthy carbs to make sure you are eating enough. May be join a lifting group here to ask for better help. Don't give up.
  • bkerr30
    bkerr30 Posts: 131 Member
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    Did you take beginning measurements?? I find measurements more helpful than the number on the scale, in fact I rarely weigh myself. Get a tapemeasure , and do measurements once a week. Especially if you're doing more weights than cardio this could be helpful
  • jillby6666
    jillby6666 Posts: 13 Member
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    I had the same problem when I first attempted MFP about a year ago. This time I was determined to find the right balance for my metabolism. I have been careful to eat back at least half of the calories burned exercising and it has worked this time, eating too little really worked against me. Balance in your macros is also very important (in my opinion). So keep adjusting until you find your way. Reading the info on Eat More to Weigh Less has been helpful, even though I am sticking with the MFP recommendations for calories, its good nutritional info. Hang in there!
  • MrCoolGrim
    MrCoolGrim Posts: 351 Member
    edited January 2015
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    It takes time! You have to allow a 2 to 4 week buffer period in order to find what works best for you. I had to play with my calories for the first few weeks to find the rite combination for me. If your doing weights it is crucial that you meet your macro requirements especially protein. Since you are trying to cut weight and maitain muscle mass protein is very important. Just keep doing what your doing and eventually the weight will come off.
  • Forge411
    Forge411 Posts: 8 Member
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    Not giving up and no I don't use a scale to weigh my food, I just use the "fist size" portion size. I use measuring cups for serving sizes when available so I do my best. I am just wondering if my deficit is too much. I am working out 5 days a week and I just calculated my TDEE and it says to maintain with working out I should be consuming 2600 calories a day, so if I want a fat loss I should really be doing 2000-2100 calories. So is going under 1900 calories too much (I got that goal from MFP's goal suggestion).

    My diary is now open to the public so please view if you can. And thanks for all the help already. MFP has a great community!
  • Forge411
    Forge411 Posts: 8 Member
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    sandman1000 wrote: »
    It takes time! You have to allow a 2 to 4 week buffer period in order to find what works best for you. I had to play with my calories for the first few weeks to find the rite combination for me. If your doing weights it is crucial that you meet your macro requirements especially protein. Since you are trying to cut weight and maitain muscle mass protein is very important. Just keep doing what your doing and eventually the weight will come off.
    Macros are important and it's something I haven't taken the time to figure it out. Any guidance?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    forgechris153 wrote: »
    Not giving up and no I don't use a scale to weigh my food, I just use the "fist size" portion size. I use measuring cups for serving sizes when available so I do my best. I am just wondering if my deficit is too much. I am working out 5 days a week and I just calculated my TDEE and it says to maintain with working out I should be consuming 2600 calories a day, so if I want a fat loss I should really be doing 2000-2100 calories. So is going under 1900 calories too much (I got that goal from MFP's goal suggestion).

    My diary is now open to the public so please view if you can. And thanks for all the help already. MFP has a great community!

    I'm not sure about your calorie goal, but start weighing your food and let us know how it goes.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    forgechris153 wrote: »
    Not giving up and no I don't use a scale to weigh my food, I just use the "fist size" portion size. I use measuring cups for serving sizes when available so I do my best. I am just wondering if my deficit is too much. I am working out 5 days a week and I just calculated my TDEE and it says to maintain with working out I should be consuming 2600 calories a day, so if I want a fat loss I should really be doing 2000-2100 calories. So is going under 1900 calories too much (I got that goal from MFP's goal suggestion).

    My diary is now open to the public so please view if you can. And thanks for all the help already. MFP has a great community!

    MFP numbers are estimates based on some super complicated calculation. They are relatively close to true numbers though, close enough that you should be losing if you've only been on here for a few weeks and following the numbers.

    From what you've said, I believe you are overeating and don't realize it. If you are using the fist measuring method or measuring cups, you may be dishing up more than you believe. Measuring cups are great for liquids, but they are garbage when it comes to solids. Think about it, how easy is it to measure a cup of broccoli, or pasta, or french fries? It doesn't work very well because these are all items that are odd shaped. And the fist measuring guide is a guess, and sometimes it can be off by quite a bit. You should only use this method in the "one off" circumstances, like when at a restaurant where you don't take your kitchen scale.

    As for entry issues, here are some common things (some of which I noticed in your diary):
    -Homemade items (like beef stew), did you input that or did you find that entry in the database? The database entry may have used more or less beef than you did, more or less veggies, etc.. You should create that as a recipe if you are going to eat it often.
    -Fruits and veggies should be weighed then logged. Logging a banana by measurement is highly inaccurate. I used to log my "medium" banana as 80 calories because it fit in the medium measurements. WHen I stated weighing my banana, I realized i had been underestimating those calories by 30-70 calories based on weight. That doesn't seem like much, but it adds up over time if you eat a banana everyday.
    -Peanut butter: you should weigh this then log it. You'd be surprised how off your tablespoon can be. I used to log peanut butter as 1 or 2 tablespoons, then actually started weighing it. What I was logging as 2 tablespoons was equivalent to 3 tablespoons weight wise. Again, doesn't seem like much, but that's an extra 100 calories each time I ate peanut butter.
    -The "Chicken, rotisserie" that you're logging is probably inaccurate. It might be accurate for someone, but what is a serving that you're logging? (You've logged 2 servings today and yesterday). If you don't know what the serving size is for the entry you use, you shouldn't use it. That serving could be 3 ounces or 6 ounces. You have no way of knowing. -Almonds: make sure you weigh them. Measuring them out can give you a serving and a half to two servings, while it will only look like one per the measuring cup. If you were to weigh it, you would see that a serving size is actually smaller than you can scoop with a measuring cup.

    Hope that helps to get you started!
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    Macros make up your calories.

    1g carbs = 4 calories
    1g fat = 9 calories
    1g protein = 4 calories

    It's good to find a balance between the three that works for you. A lot on here do a 40/30/30 split (c/f/p). It's a good way to get a grasp on what you put into your body and how it impacts your health/energy/etc.

    That said, if you're not weighing your food, you're not being as accurate as you could be, which may be the reason why you're not losing. I highly recommend a food scale (they are around $15). It's really eye opening.

    Good luck.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Yeah, I agree with ^. In all probability, you're eating too much, not too little.

    See if you can pick up a little food scale (usually $15-$20 on Amazon) and weigh everything solid that you eat for a few weeks. You might be surprised at how inaccurate the fist measurement method actually is.
  • MrCoolGrim
    MrCoolGrim Posts: 351 Member
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    I do a 40/30/30 split - protein/carbs/fat. I don't do any cardio it's all strength based with weights. I try to get in the gym for 1 hour a day for 6 days and 1 day rest. I also allow my self a 200 calorie buffer because you'll never be 100% with your caloric measurements. My maintenance is 2300 calories a day and I try to have a deficit of 500. So I try to eat 1800 a day but I use my buffer of 200 to bring it down to 1600 as a precaution so far so good my energy levels are stable and I'm loosing 1 lb per week as a result. I hope that makes sense☺
  • MrCoolGrim
    MrCoolGrim Posts: 351 Member
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    And sometimes not all the time I will eat back my calories from training.
  • mollyhammar
    mollyhammar Posts: 6 Member
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    Sorry to hear that you're frustrated. I've been there!

    I agree with the others who suggest being as accurate as possible with measuring. Also, be sure you're not overestimating the intensity of your workouts. (Overestimating the calories burned.) If you're in the mode of getting back in shape, it's possible that your workouts feel harder than they actually are. For example I felt like I really kicked it into gear last week when I dragged my out-of-shape butt on a 60 minute run. But at the speed I was going (realistically) I only burned 500 calories, not the 800 that it FELT like because it was so tough for me! Stretching and mobility don't really burn calories in my experience.

    Hang it there. You'll start losing soon!
  • Forge411
    Forge411 Posts: 8 Member
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    Just an update 2lbs down and withouts body measurements the eye test and clothing test shows improvement.

    I think scales are important and I actually spoke with a nutritionist. I'm upping my calorie goal to about 2100-2200 since my maintence intake should be around 2700. A food scale shall be in my future soon.

    My frustrations ordinated because I started this journey a year ago using this app and I saw weight progress at a faster clip. However injuries plagued me this year and took me away from goals. So starting up again I expected a similar start but I know that is naive. I'm sticking with my workout for 12 weeks then will see how I want to progress from there. I want to lose about 25lbs while retaining muscle by the end of the year. So really all I'm looking at is a half a pound a week.

    Toughest part is getting that "long road" mindset. That's why I love communities like these to help stay focused when you start to losing sight of what your goals are and what it's going to take to achieve them.

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