Please read - 4 week no progress

Options
According to my weekly weigh in (and one day early weigh in) I have put the measly 2lbs I lost in the last 3 weeks back on. Totally don't get it! I track everything I eat and lift heavy min 4 x per week (don't log exercise calories but go over 100-200 a day when working out). I get that muscle weighs more than fat and certain areas are looking/feeling more toned but surely the numbers on the scale have to drop eventually?? I have 14lbs to lose before "healthy" weight so it's not like I only have a little to lose. Min 35lbs to goal. Help! (5ft8 178lbs uk size 12/14)
«13456710

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    do you weigh everything you eat with scales?
  • fattymcfatterson2121
    Options
    Yes
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    Yes

    whats your calorie goal? opening your diary might help.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Options
    sodium, TOM, ovulation, change-up in exercise, dehydration

    - add to the weighing - are you careful with the entries you choose, double checking them, never using other people's 'homemade' versions etc
  • jbwillcock
    Options
    I have found that I was fooling myself about my portion sizes. Maybe have a rethink about those and also try a variety of exercise options, go for a walk etc, I keep reminding myself to keep moving and my fitness will build up. Go swimming, anything, but don't set unrealistic exercise expectations for yourself otherwise you won't be able to maintain this. Hope this helps. Best of luck.
  • Ooci
    Ooci Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    Disappointing for you, though great that you're noticing muscular progress. I was the same when I took up tennis - a lot of weeks of the scales not shifting.

    I have to be honest with myself though and say that all of my plateaus have been due to not logging properly and actually telling myself I was eating less than I really was. 100 cals per day not logged correctly could make the difference ( especially in the short term) Every drop of milk, every gram of spread, every bit of fruit and meat, every portion of rice, potatoes and pasta - weighed and measured - not guessed at, not estimated in cups. It's a big ask but it does work if you are completely rigid with this, and give it time.
  • jimbmc
    jimbmc Posts: 83 Member
    Options
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited January 2015
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.

    Oh I completely disagree with this advice .. quite strongly actually

    Lifting is great when at a calorie defecit, helping to preserve LBM .. save as much as possible as you lose body fat - cardio is for fitness and the burn depends on the stats of the person and the intensity of the exercise it's not a given
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.

    WHU????
    OP ignore above, continue to lift (retains muscle). I don't know what planet one would burn 1000 calories during cardio, but we're on Earth here.
    Remember, it's normal to retain water during a new exercise program. Also, with the exception of the newbie gains you'll get, one doesn't build muscle in a deficit.
  • acmanna
    acmanna Posts: 200 Member
    Options
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    sodium, TOM, ovulation, change-up in exercise, dehydration

    - add to the weighing - are you careful with the entries you choose, double checking them, never using other people's 'homemade' versions etc

    This.
    Keep going and don't get too down. Are you weighing yourself at the same time, ie, in the morning after you use the bathroom?
    Personal experiences
    TOM can add 5 pounds! (for me at least..)
    If I do some heavy strength training routine, the next day I almost always gain weight..it comes off plus some a day or two later
    Same with being dehydrated...your body will hold onto water if you aren't drinking enough
    and always...your food intake, make sure you are being 100% honest with yourself. Did you weigh everything, did you forget to log something, was there a night out with friends where you guesstimated your food/drink intake?

    Keep up the good work, see if there are some small changes you need to make and then see what progress you made at the next weigh in.
    Also take measurements of your body, that will help too for the days that the scale doesn't move!
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.

    giphy.gif
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, .

    i wish that was true, but no!

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.

    Absolutely awful advice!
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
    Options
    jimbmc wrote: »
    Why are you lifting?...Do you weigh/log everything? Are you sticking to a 500Cal minimum daily deficit?

    Best advice: Stop lifting. Do 30 days of cardio (30 Day Shred is a good place to start), Stick to a Calorie deficit Diet. Eat balanced. Eat every 2-3 hours. (Bfast>Fruit snack>Lunch>Fruitsnack>Dinner>Protein Shake>Snack). Train for 4 days, take one day off. Rinse and repeat.

    If you are trying to get a toned athletic look, then you need to reduce your body fat percentage before you start trying to build/improve muscle definition, otherwise your never going to see any real difference. And as for Calorie Burn, 60 mins of Cardio will burn about 1000 calories, whereas 60 mins of intermittent Lifting will burn about 400 Calories. High Intensity Cardio Interval Training is the best way to Burn calories/fat/energy and improve heart/lung function as well as toning muscle.

    Do not feed the troll, kids.
  • benghozi
    Options
    Not seeing progress leads to loss of motivation.Since you workout a lot I recommend buying a scale with body fat percentage info. If you are losing fat and building muscle That's GREAT. Good Luck and don't give up
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    Options
    benghozi wrote: »
    Not seeing progress leads to loss of motivation.Since you workout a lot I recommend buying a scale with body fat percentage info. If you are losing fat and building muscle That's GREAT. Good Luck and don't give up

    Body fat scales aren't accurate. At all.
  • Spocky
    Spocky Posts: 62 Member
    Options
    I think maybe you should check if you are overtrained. +1 vote for lifting here. Btw I weigh myself daily maybe you should try that.
  • benghozi
    Options
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    benghozi wrote: »
    Not seeing progress leads to loss of motivation.Since you workout a lot I recommend buying a scale with body fat percentage info. If you are losing fat and building muscle That's GREAT. Good Luck and don't give up

    Body fat scales aren't accurate. At all.

    It's more about seeing progress then the actual value displayed :)
  • Kieta64
    Kieta64 Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    I found I was not showing any difference on the scales after 3 months. TOM does make a difference. I use a combination of straight cardio (walking, treadmill etc) and a combination of lifting with cardio. Try some squat presses with hand dumbbells, not super heavy and quite a few repetitions and a rower if you have one at the gym . I also had to adjust my kj/calorie intake in my settings and now I am losing a few hundred grams per week. Enough to see progress and I am getting fitter and stronger.

    Accurate recording and plenty of water (and in need a multivitamin if you are not eating balanced diet) is a must.

    Perservere, you will get results. :)
  • Therealobi1
    Therealobi1 Posts: 3,262 Member
    Options
    Hiyah 5 ft 8 here too. and i remember when i was getting closer to the healthy weight, movement got alot slower and it got frustrating but you can see changes in your body so you are making progress. You really need to get tighter with your logging as you get closer there is little room for errors. DOnt give up.