Why can't I lose weight?
nygr8guy
Posts: 77 Member
I'm baffled. I walked approximately 5 miles on my treadmill every day this week, ate within my calorie allotment plus I ate some of my exercise calories. The scale didn't budge. It's not like I'm eating crap either, pretty much all healthy foods.
I'm not on medication, I drink lots of water.
This just kills my motivation because I work so hard to eat right and exercise, and I get no results, so I think why bother?
Anyone have any suggestions? It would be much appreciated!
I'm not on medication, I drink lots of water.
This just kills my motivation because I work so hard to eat right and exercise, and I get no results, so I think why bother?
Anyone have any suggestions? It would be much appreciated!
0
Replies
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when did you start?
the first week i started, i gained 5lbs due to started new exercises.
then the following weeks, it melted off. it takes time for your body to adjust.
just keep at it.0 -
Wait longer than one week0
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do you measure your food? It is very easy to go over if your not.I'm baffled. I walked approximately 5 miles on my treadmill every day this week, ate within my calorie allotment plus I ate some of my exercise calories. The scale didn't budge. It's not like I'm eating crap either, pretty much all healthy foods.
I'm not on medication, I drink lots of water.
This just kills my motivation because I work so hard to eat right and exercise, and I get no results, so I think why bother?
Anyone have any suggestions? It would be much appreciated!0 -
Your diary is private. If you change the setting to public, people can take a look at your food and maybe give you some suggestions.
Edited to add how long have you been at this (as someone above asked)? One week isn't long enough.0 -
Unfortunately, weight loss isn't always an instant thing, even right when you're starting out. It sounds like you've really upped your work-outs, so your water retention will be a serious issue. When I started working out seriously every day, I gained nearly four pounds. Keep drinking that water, and watch your sodium intake! You'd be surprised by how much sodium is in things we would consider healthy. The flatbread sandwich that I've always had at Subway has almost an entire day's worth of sodium in it alone! My advice would be to keep working out, watch your sodium and drink even more water! Also, be sure to take your measurements. You may see a decrease in inches before you see a decrease in pounds.
Keep up the good work!0 -
Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
I find 6 smaller meals works better. Everyone is different.
Plus, water is not the only liquid you need. Coffee is good for the soul!0 -
Maybe your muscles are toning up? So losing fat, but replacing with muscle mass0
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Hang in there. One easy thing you can do that might speed up your metabolism is to speed up your walk every five minutes [push it hard without running, unless you want to run]----just one minute every 5 minutes. Try it for a few weeks and see.
Good luck!0 -
:huh: So much NO here:Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
No. Is eating more healthfully wise? Sure. But cut out enjoyable foods, or view enjoying food as a bad thing? No. Not sustainable in the long run. Learn now how to incorporate them into your usual eating.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
No. Eat however many meals you want. Eat snacks if that works for you. The number of meals and their timing makes no difference. What matters is how many calories you take in over the course of the day, or week. Determine how many calories you need to consume to maintain a reasonable, moderate deficit, weigh and measure your food, and you're good to go.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
No. Do you mean white sugar? No need to give it up, but you might want to reduce it if only because it'll eat up your calorie alottment pretty quickly, making it more difficult to hit your other more important macro targets (proteins, fats). But there's tons of sugar in other "healthy" food, including fruits. "Giving up" sugar is silly.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
No. Exactly the same meals every single day? Are you kidding me? Snoozefest. :yawn: Variety is the spice of life! Enjoy your food, be creative, make delicious things! Frozen dinners? No. Just...no. Eat real food.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
No. Weight loss is not linear. You cannot reasonably expect a predictable pattern of loss. It will go up and down, fluctuate wildly from day to day and week to week. Weigh in once a week, or once a day if you like. Track it, and look for a long term pattern of loss over weeks or months. Also, any old scale will do. Yeesh.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
No. Enjoy variety NOW. Learn how to do it NOW. Do it NOW, so you're set up for success LATER.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
Ok, yeah, I can get behind that. Exercise is good for you. It also lets you eat more. Yay.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
OP, my guess is that either you're (a) retaining water from all the new exercise - this will pass; (b) overestimating your calorie burns from your workouts (you should use a heart monitor, don't rely on the machine to be accurate; (c) underestimating your calorie intake (you need to measure everything with a food scale); or (d) some combo of the above.
(Also, reported that post for spam
) 0 -
Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
No. Just no.0 -
Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
I find 6 smaller meals works better. Everyone is different.
Plus, water is not the only liquid you need. Coffee is good for the soul!
I'm with you! If I had to eat like this person, I'd be so bored and off my diet within days if not hours. Sounds like a rather "military" way to lose weight - might work, but only if you've got that mentality. My weight loss is taking a while, but I have just changed my diet gradually, still enjoy foods I love, but in lesser proportion and I enjoy life - just in lesser amounts!
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Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
What everyone else says... No.0 -
Just keep doing what you're doing and eventually the weight will come off. I was stuck in a weight plateau for 2-3 weeks and it just broke this morning. Granted, I had consistently been losing inches during this time. Have you been taking measurements? Sometimes the biggest and best results are seen from loss in inches and progress photos.
But I also agree, give it more than a week. Patience is key when it comes to weight-loss. All that weight didn't pack on overnight, let alone in one week, so it certainly won't come off in that amount of time either. Just give it time. 0 -
:huh: So much NO here:Do this and you *will* lose weight:
1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.
No. Is eating more healthfully wise? Sure. But cut out enjoyable foods, or view enjoying food as a bad thing? No. Not sustainable in the long run. Learn now how to incorporate them into your usual eating.
2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.
No. Eat however many meals you want. Eat snacks if that works for you. The number of meals and their timing makes no difference. What matters is how many calories you take in over the course of the day, or week. Determine how many calories you need to consume to maintain a reasonable, moderate deficit, weigh and measure your food, and you're good to go.
3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.
No. Do you mean white sugar? No need to give it up, but you might want to reduce it if only because it'll eat up your calorie alottment pretty quickly, making it more difficult to hit your other more important macro targets (proteins, fats). But there's tons of sugar in other "healthy" food, including fruits. "Giving up" sugar is silly.
4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.
No. Exactly the same meals every single day? Are you kidding me? Snoozefest. :yawn: Variety is the spice of life! Enjoy your food, be creative, make delicious things! Frozen dinners? No. Just...no. Eat real food.
5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.
No. Weight loss is not linear. You cannot reasonably expect a predictable pattern of loss. It will go up and down, fluctuate wildly from day to day and week to week. Weigh in once a week, or once a day if you like. Track it, and look for a long term pattern of loss over weeks or months. Also, any old scale will do. Yeesh.
6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.
No. Enjoy variety NOW. Learn how to do it NOW. Do it NOW, so you're set up for success LATER.
7) Maintain your exercise program.
Ok, yeah, I can get behind that. Exercise is good for you. It also lets you eat more. Yay.
I've written an essay about losing weight on my blog that talks somewhat more generally about how to lose weight. Here's a link to that essay: http://bobday.net23.net/?p=27
OP, my guess is that either you're (a) retaining water from all the new exercise - this will pass; (b) overestimating your calorie burns from your workouts (you should use a heart monitor, don't rely on the machine to be accurate; (c) underestimating your calorie intake (you need to measure everything with a food scale); or (d) some combo of the above.
Yay!! Much prefer the amended version! So much common sense and much more sustainable! :drinker:0 -
We all are different and respond to different food choices. There is no one right way! it takes time to figure out what works for you and it changes as you lose weight. Hang in there, we all on our own journey and can lend support and advice but it is your body and part of the trick is to figure out what works for you.0
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do you measure your food? It is very easy to go over if your not.I'm baffled. I walked approximately 5 miles on my treadmill every day this week, ate within my calorie allotment plus I ate some of my exercise calories. The scale didn't budge. It's not like I'm eating crap either, pretty much all healthy foods.
I'm not on medication, I drink lots of water.
This just kills my motivation because I work so hard to eat right and exercise, and I get no results, so I think why bother?
Anyone have any suggestions? It would be much appreciated!
get a food scale and use it for everything!0 -
bump0
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portion your food, weigh/measure everything.
Are you eating processed foods? What does your sodium intake look like?
Give it time for your body to adjust.
One thing I have found, is that I just had blood work done a couple of months ago after being on a plateau since November... following the same routine food/excercise (changing up exercise every few weeks), my bloodwork showed that not only am I deficient in Vitamin D, but I have NO Vitamin D. Something worth looking into.0 -
I have neglected my cardio for a few months so last weekend I started again. 5 miles per day.0
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Yes, I forgot to mention that I weigh most of my food.0
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I have neglected my cardio for a few months so last weekend I started again. 5 miles per day.
Water retention is a strong contender here, then. Your muscles retain water during the repair process. Keep doing what you're doing (provided your food is in check and your burn estimates are reasonable). Give it a couple of weeks; your body will catch up 0 -
measure your food, drink lots of water, watch your sodium, and most importantly: eat at least 80% of your exercise calories (or figure out your TDEE and eat that).0
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Weight loss takes awhile. Especially if this is a new change from your past regular routines. Wait it out Don't be discouraged! Give it at least a month.
See it as a lifestyle change, and gauge progress through other means i.e. measuring parts of your body, how your clothes fit, your stamina, how well you are breathing, etc. Very often, the scale is quite unreliable.0 -
[/quote]
do you measure your food? It is very easy to go over if your not.
[/quote]
This. Measure everything. Measure with measuring spoons, measuring cups, weigh things on a food scale.0 -
How are you measuring, just weight scales. It is possible that you are losing weight, Body Fat and gaining Lean Mass hence you weight is the same or increased. How do you feel? How are you clothes fitting?
The only way to know, do some measurements, waist, chest, neck, legs, arms. Get a body fat monitor and record your current fat levels and BMI then work out your lean mass.
Like this you be able to see if you gained weight, what was it: Fat or Muscle?
Also check if you getting a good balance of protein, fats and carbs.
Check my blog for example: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/rodrigs2013
Hope this helps
Sergio0 -
How are you measuring, just weight scales. It is possible that you are losing weight, Body Fat and gaining Lean Mass hence you weight is the same or increased.
<snip>
Like this you be able to see if you gained weight, what was it: Fat or Muscle?
Sorry, you can't gain muscle on a deficit (nothing substantial, anyways).0 -
Sorry but there are exceptions ie. noob gains. will build some muscle on a deficitHow are you measuring, just weight scales. It is possible that you are losing weight, Body Fat and gaining Lean Mass hence you weight is the same or increased.
<snip>
Like this you be able to see if you gained weight, what was it: Fat or Muscle?
Sorry, you can't gain muscle on a deficit (nothing substantial, anyways).
thats why its always good to regularly take measurements and not just rely on the scale.0 -
I just looked at your food diary for the past 4 days and it looks like you eat about the same thing at the same time of day. Your body may be use to it and it might help to add variety to your meals and life. You are also way over in your sugars everyday; might be something to look into as well.
Perhaps you are not eating enough .. you are under daily on your calories; so try eating a few more of those exercise calories.
This is a tough journey for all of us. Keep going it will happen.0 -
Sorry but there are exceptions ie. noob gains. will build some muscle on a deficitHow are you measuring, just weight scales. It is possible that you are losing weight, Body Fat and gaining Lean Mass hence you weight is the same or increased.
<snip>
Like this you be able to see if you gained weight, what was it: Fat or Muscle?
Sorry, you can't gain muscle on a deficit (nothing substantial, anyways).
thats why its always good to regularly take measurements and not just rely on the scale.
Noob gains, sure. "Nothing substantial", like I said.0 -
Hi sorry but I have proved this wrong, in these last 4 weeks doing IF, my body fat loss in 1 week, was 0.4% (1.1lbs) bringing my body fat to 26.1% but gained total weight too.
Lean gains i made this week. I gained 2.21 lbs in Lean mass bringing my total weight to 241.40lbs.
so you see it is possible to lose body fat and gains lean mass on a calorie deficit
BMR: 2259 calories
BMR+Activity: 3502 calories
Target BMR with Nutrition: 2802 calories
Fat - 202g
Protein -196g
Carbs - 49g
Cheers
Sergio0
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