Can and experienced MFPer help me ?

kerrilucko

I've been here about 3 weeks now. My first 10 days or so I lost 3 lbs. I weighed in a second time this past weekend and there's been no change... if anything I'm up 1/2 a pound! I'm working really hard and I'm not seeing any returns... so I think maybe I'm doing something wrong. It feels too early to have hit a plateau... and everyone keeps posting about how they've lost 8-10 lbs the first week they've been here! I'm starting to feel really defeated. If anyone can suggest what I'm doing wrong, that'd be great.

I'm 5'7", 206 lbs. My caloric intake on this site is supposed to be about 1300 cals before excercise, usually 1500-1800 after excercise. I have never gone over, I'm usually a bit under but not extremely... lets say I'm usually between 1300 and 1600 cals a day. I'm doing cardio everyday for at least 25 minutes, often longer.

I think I'm making healthy food choices too.... for example, oatmeal, yogurt and a peice of fruit at breakfast, a chicken wrap and more fruit at lunch, and fish, brown rice and a side salad at dinner. I throw in snacks if I need more calories, usually fruit, crackers with salsa, a bit of cheese, yogurt, 100 cal snack packs etc.

Is it normal to hit a plateau this early? I'm depressed :frown: Please help?

kerrilucko

I've been here about 3 weeks now. My first 10 days or so I lost 3 lbs. I weighed in a second time this past weekend and there's been no change... if anything I'm up 1/2 a pound! I'm working really hard and I'm not seeing any returns... so I think maybe I'm doing something wrong. It feels too early to have hit a plateau... and everyone keeps posting about how they've lost 8-10 lbs the first week they've been here! I'm starting to feel really defeated. If anyone can suggest what I'm doing wrong, that'd be great.

I'm 5'7", 206 lbs. My caloric intake on this site is supposed to be about 1300 cals before excercise, usually 1500-1800 after excercise. I have never gone over, I'm usually a bit under but not extremely... lets say I'm usually between 1300 and 1600 cals a day. I'm doing cardio everyday for at least 25 minutes, often longer.

I think I'm making healthy food choices too.... for example, oatmeal, yogurt and a peice of fruit at breakfast, a chicken wrap and more fruit at lunch, and fish, brown rice and a side salad at dinner. I throw in snacks if I need more calories, usually fruit, crackers with salsa, a bit of cheese, yogurt, 100 cal snack packs etc.

Is it normal to hit a plateau this early? I'm depressed :frown: Please help?

alf1163

Don't be discouraged!!! I feel you, I am going through some frustrations right now...but the main thing is to be consistent. You might not be eating enough but I am not really an expert when it comes to this. Maybe keep bumping your message so you could get Banks or anyone else to answer your question. I posted not too long ago myself to get some answers...:flowerforyou: I hope you feel better today!!! Don't quit!!!

yenn

Exercise more !! Boost that metabolism. Do about 50 jumping jacks with 3 pound dumbells in each hand (don't swing 'em, just pump 'em straight up and down to shoulder height while you're jumpin) and that'll be a good start to adding a little strength training to your cardio. It's not unusual to plateau early, especially if you don't have tooo too much weight to lose. Just remember how long it took to get you to the point of being overweight ... and remember, the longer it takes to lose probably the longer it would take to put back on

doglvr_75

Forget the scale numbers and get a tape measure....see if that helps

kerrilucko

I'm doing stregth training already, but not alot. I work on my arms, abs and butt that way. And I AM working out a lot. I do 10 minutes of jogging on the spot in the morning, followed by 50 ab crunches, 20 mule kicks and 20 pelvic trusts. In the afternoons I do 20 minutes on the stationary bike at 100rpm,( followed by lat pull downs every other day) I also work on my triceps about 3 days a week. Plus I'm doing 5-8 minutes of fast jumprope (about 300-500 jumps) and I play badminton twice a week for 1 hour. As I move along I try and incorporate more cardio, but I really feel like I'm doing well with excercise.... like I said AT LEAST 25 minutes a day... sometimes its more like 2 hours a day....

I have been measureing too, no changes since last week except for a 1/2 in lost in my bust.... greeeat. lol

doglvr_75

Sorry about your loss :noway: that's where most of my inches have gone as well...but, I have lost a lot more inches than pounds...just stick with it, you'll see results soon....:flowerforyou:

edyta

One or two weeks without loss is not yet plateau so don't give up :flowerforyou:

Exercise more, especially do more weights, but eat your exercise calories!

sbacon1203

It sounds like you weigh more often than once a week. Pick a day and time and only weigh one time a week.
I am not very active but when I do excercise I don't log it on this site but on word. The reason is if I see those extra calories I'm to tempted to eat more. I try and stick to around 1100 cal a day (in case I've made an error). I'm averaging 2 lbs a week, total since Jan 7th 34 lbs (lost more the first 2 weeks). This has been working for me.

Another thing you might try is figure out what you ate in a day prior to this site. It may shock you, then it is said for every 500 cal less a day ='s 1 lb, so if you are taking in 1000 cal less a day ='s 2 lb in a week.

I wish you the best and please don't get too down, try and be positive, it has to work

kerrilucko

I'm only weighing once a week, every Sunday morning.... and I thought entering excercise and getting excercise calories was part of the process?

MontanaGirl

Every one is different. You may need to tweak your plan a little - try a week of making sure you eat all your exercise calories. If that doesn't work, maybe try adding more exercise, or being consistent with the amount - say 45 minutes EVERY day. Not all plans work for all people, but I'm convinced that you can make MFP work for you, you just may have to do a little tweaking Congrats on your progress so far!! Any progress is good - certainly better than none :happy: also - give it time. Some of us lose several lbs one week, hold there for a while, then lose several lbs again. Sometimes, our body just is stubborn until you convince it you mean business, then there is a dramatic change. Keep it up - you will see more progress!!

banks1850

I'm in agreement with Montana here. Kerri it could be as simple as the calories you are entering for your exercise aren't right. Do you have a heart rate monitor? I wear mine all the time. You can confirm your exact daily calorie consumption by wearing one for a full day. That will give you a much more accurate calorie count for the day then doing a calculation on this or any site.
I would choose a day not to exercise (I know, that's hard for me too) and wear the HRM all day, check it the next morning at the same time and see where you are. Just make sure not to take it off. It should be ok to get a chest strap wet (mine is ok in the shower), but I wouldn't put your watch in there, just keep it close enough to still register the monitor.

If you can do this, it will give you an accurate number for your daily calories. Then wear it only for times you are exercising, that will give you accurate calorie burn during each exercise. at the end of the day, if those don't look close to what you have been recording, well....there's your problem.

Remember, every person has a unique Metabolism, your's may need some different tweaking then someone elses.

Good luck!

lotusfromthemud

Patience, patience, patience!

(I know. . .it sucks)

Weighing less often is very good advice.

Be patient with yourself. Try to concentrate on how you feel, not what the scale says.:flowerforyou:

kerrilucko

Thanks guys, I will keep this up until next week and if its still nothing, I'll try some tweaking....... Don't worry, I'm not giving up, I want this WAY too badly for that! :flowerforyou:

greekgyrl02

You need to do some resistance training not just cardio. Do at least 30 min of resistance training then hit the cardio hard. This is a common mistake in ppl trying to lose weight. A person doing a bike for 30 min may burn more calories intially but the person weight training is going to burn 3X as many in the long run. So combine both and you should see great results. Let me know if i can help Im a personal trainer. -Jen

pmkelly409

Repeat after me "I am making a Lifestyle change".

This is NOT a race it IS a marathon.

Change your mentality - healthy change is slow and steady.

It takes 21 days to make/break a habit.

Think of this as something you need to do for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!

and I agree with everyone else has said, everyone's metabolism/tolerance is different, be patient and find your balance.

sbacon1203

It is, but it hasn't worked that way for me as of yet, not to say it won't in the future