Weight training no weight loss or inches

lauz322

So I've been training for about 8 weeks. 1 heavy weight session a week with a trainer and 3 lighter full body sessions. I've cut my food back to 1400 cals only eating clean foods but I'm not losing any weight. I've lost 1 inch on my waist and that's it. My progress pictures shows no difference at all. Please help

Ready2Rock206

How accurate is your diary? Are you weighing all solids, measuring all liquids? Logging every thing you put in your mouth? Are you eating back exercise calories and if so are you logging those accurately? Do you have your calories set accurately? Where did the 1400 come from?

If you've lose an inch that is something - don't discount your progress.

Sued0nim

Open your diary

erickirb

Do you weigh solid foods and measure liquids? If not you may be eating much more than 1400 cals (10-50% more).

could be some water weight to to training, maybe a tiny bit of muscle (newbie gains)

lauz322

Yes I log everything, I cut all tea and juice out I only now drink water. This app seems to tell everyone that wants to lose weight to only eat 1200 cals. If i eat that little I get constant headaches. I've took my calories from other websites I can't remember what the method is called but it took some calculation and asks for a lot more information than here. I do eat back my calories mostly but I'm still down about 1000cals a week. It's a lot less than what I was eating, I'm training more than I ever have but my progress is next to nothing. I'm not big I'm only 60kg but I defiantly need to shift some weight.

RGv2

It would be really helpful if you open your diary. How do you measure everything you log? What is your weight loss goal per week set at to get 1200 cals? With only 8lbs to go, you should be set at .5lbs per week.

ndj1979

most important question - do you use a food scale to weigh your foods?

Kida_Adeylne

1000 cals a week isn't very much. Assuming complete accuracy, that's only slightly more than a pound a month and I fluctuate that much day to day.
Also, the accuracy of MFP in terms of exercise calories is very poor. I only eat back about half of my exercise calories.
An inch in 6 weeks isn't anything to sneeze at, especially for someone 60kg, but if you want to shift the pounds I would suggest a bit of cardio added to your strength. How much depends on how much you want to shift (half a pound a week is generally suggested for people who don't have much to lose, so that would be a deficit of 1750cal a week).

lauz322

I have no idea how to open my diary but I will tell you what I eat it's very repeatative. 1200 cals is too low as I've said it gives me a very bad headache. For breakfast I have 25g protein shake, 40g oats with 40ml milk 20mm water (over night oats not cooked) lunch is precooked 1kg of chicken 500g mixed frozen veg and 400g of brown rice makes up 5 meals. I have one meal each day for lunch. Before I train I have a slice of wholemeal bread with a hard boiled egg, no butter. When I return from training it's another 25g of protein, a chicken breast 150g or fish with brocilli and sweet potato mash 150g-200g or salad.

lauz322

My weight loss is set a 1lb a week. I've lost nothing in 7-8 weeks. I know muscle weighs more than fat but I believe you can only build about 1lb of muscle a month. Most of my training is dead lifts, squats, clean and press, bench. With 20 mins of light cardio usually an uphill walk. I'm trying to push my cardio but unfortunately it's a slow progress as I smoked for 15 years and although I've quit the damage is pretty much done

lauz322

The 1000cals is under the 1400cal a day over the week, the formula I used on line to calculate my cals said to maintain I need 1600cal a day. So I'm already 1200 Dow and then the extra 1000 I don't down on top. I don't use the cal diary on here for working out. I just use 120cal for my weight training I do on my own and 350cal from my training with my pt. It's possibly more than that. I did ask my trainer and he said its so hard to tell. He's a powerlifter who competes at world's so he knows his stuff. My pt session I'm about passing out by the end but I know you don't burn as much lifting as cardio

ndj1979

again, do you use a food scale yes, or no??

and just because your trainer is a "powerlifter" does not mean that he is an expert in nutrition...

lauz322

Yes I use kitchen scales.

veganbaum

lauz322 wrote: »

The 1000cals is under the 1400cal a day over the week, the formula I used on line to calculate my cals said to maintain I need 1600cal a day. So I'm already 1200 Dow and then the extra 1000 I don't down on top. I don't use the cal diary on here for working out. I just use 120cal for my weight training I do on my own and 350cal from my training with my pt. It's possibly more than that. I did ask my trainer and he said its so hard to tell. He's a powerlifter who competes at world's so he knows his stuff. My pt session I'm about passing out by the end but I know you don't burn as much lifting as cardio

Wait, if you used an online calculator (going with the TDEE method, right? You added in your exercise for that calculation?) that told you to eat 1600 to maintain, you should NOT be eating back your exercise calories. Based on a previous post, it seems this is what you are doing?

Also, with fewer than 10 pounds to lose, you should set your goal at .5lb/wk, not one pound.

Enter .5lb into MFP and see what goal it gives you. If that looks good to you, then use that, add your exercise calories in, and eat 50-75% of them back.

Or, use the TDEE method, include your exercise into the calculation, and do not eat your cals back.

Choose one method and follow it correctly. See how it goes for 6-8 weeks. I know you said you still have a 1000 cal deficit during a week, but I question this when you appear, based on your posts, to be confused on the numbers. If I'm misreading this, I apologize.

lauz322

Yes i believe thats the one. It said 1600cal to maintain 1400cal to lose so I eat 1400cal if I change my fitness pal to 0.5lb a week it gives me 1520cal a day which is still more than I eat yet I'm not losing anything
I don't eat all of them back so at the end of the week it shows I'm 1000cals under my weekly target.

lauz322

I think I did add my excercise in but that was a few weeks ago when I was only working out twice a week. I'm new to all this. Never had a problem losing weight till I hit 30

ndj1979

wait - are you doing MFP method and TDEE method combined or something???

Francl27

I'm confused. If you use TDEE, you should not eat any calories back. Calculate your TDEE for lightly active and use what it tells you, without eating calories back.

For what it's worth, if you didn't exercise at all before, it's normal for muscles to hold onto water for a few weeks, so it could explain why you're not losing.

lauz322

Do you have any recomend for hiit? I can jog for only 4 mins I'm supposed to be building that up to 12 mins. It's pathetic but that's what happens when you abuse your body for so long.

lauz322

My bmi is 27 I know bmi is pretty poor but it's the only way I can track it at the moment.

lauz322

I clearly know nothing about all of this. OK scrap the tdee I just used that as mfp gave me 1200 cal which wasn't enough. I've done what people said above and changed mfp to .5lb a week and that's gave me 1520cal a day. Which is more than I have been aiming for.

lauz322

O I like the idea of muscle holding on to water.

veganbaum

lauz322 wrote: »

Yes i believe thats the one. It said 1600cal to maintain 1400cal to lose so I eat 1400cal if I change my fitness pal to 0.5lb a week it gives me 1520cal a day which is still more than I eat yet I'm not losing anything
I don't eat all of them back so at the end of the week it shows I'm 1000cals under my weekly target.

Personally, I think you should redo your numbers, using one method or the other, be really certain you're tracking food correctly by weighing solids, take measurements to see if you're losing inches, and do this for 6-8 weeks and see how it goes. But, that's just what I would do. You only have 8 pound to lose. It may take a while.

I lift heavy three times a week. For whatever reason, I have found I will not lose weight/change body shape unless I also have some cardio. I think my deficit is so small that, even though I weigh my food and try to track it as accurately as I can, I need the cardio to ensure I'm truly in a deficit. I don't know, but I just keep going and make changes, have patience, and see how it goes.

lauz322

I've re entered all my information in to mfp and started my goals and aims again. This is what gives me the 1520cal maybe I'm expecting too much too quickly as I've never had an issue losing weight before and this is the heaviest I've ever been.

cwolfman13

lauz322 wrote: »

Yes i believe thats the one. It said 1600cal to maintain 1400cal to lose so I eat 1400cal if I change my fitness pal to 0.5lb a week it gives me 1520cal a day which is still more than I eat yet I'm not losing anything
I don't eat all of them back so at the end of the week it shows I'm 1000cals under my weekly target.

You do NOT eat back exercise calories with the TDEE method...with that method you include an estimate of your exercise in your activity level...so your 1600 calories should be the calories you would consume to maintain with all of your activity, including exercise.

If your maintenance is truly 1600 calories and you were consuming 1400 calories, that is only a 200 calorie deficit...right around 1/2 Lb per week..actually a little less...it's really slow weight loss and isn't going to show up readily on the scale for a number of weeks due to natural weight fluctuations.

If you get your calorie goals from MFP you are supposed to eat back calories because exercise isn't accounted for in your activity level.

You just need to pick a method and stick with it.

neaneacc

While lifting do you go until failure? I know this sounds odd, but what I've learned is that the last few reps should really make you struggle. If you feel like you could do more reps at the end of your sets you are not testing the muscle well enough. I recommend at first trying to add more reps with the same weight. If that is too easy add more weight. Don't be afraid that you will bulk up like a man. It is virtually impossible to add significant muscle without significant time and work. Also, this is key, get enough protein. How much is enough? You should eat 1 gram of protein for each lean pound you weigh. If your trainer hasn't used a caliper on you yet they should so you know how lean you are. This determines what part of you is muscle and organ, and what part of you is fat to keep this simple. Great sources are eggs, meat, tofu if you can stand it, beans, and even Greek yogurt. Most women don't get enough protein and it make a huge difference when trying to add muscle to your frame.

lauz322

I eat a lot more protein than recomend I eat about 120g a day and only weigh 60kg. When I train with my pt I train to failure. My legs are weak due to an opp so I can only squat 40kg on my last set I always fail. My deadlift again I fail my final set. My other training in the week is lighter training. I have no one to spot me in the week and with my leg if I give way I'm going to be out of action. My reps are higher so I train to failure. We haven't used the calipers yet, I still have handfuls of fat. So I know it's pretty high. After I feel a little more toned I will defiantly use them. My arms are doing really well and my butt lol I've built them up its just mainly my stomach that holds the fat.

StaciMarie1974

I know this isn't what you're asking about - but you mentioned wanting to build up your running/jogging time.

One tip: don't worry about speed. If endurance is your goal, go slower and you may be able to go longer.

Second thing to try: 3-4 days a week, alternate: 3 minutes walking/1 minute jogging: repeat til you've done the total cardio you intended. Week 2, decrease the walks and increase the runs by 30 seconds. So 2.5/1.5. 3rd week, try one long run (4-5 minutes) followed by 2.5/1.5 intervals. Always start by warming up for at least 5-10 minutes brisk walking.

There are other things you can do to work on speed. Such as short sprints at a faster pace, hills, etc.

lauz322

Thank you, I did think about something like this the other day. Unfortunately I've had a pounding headache today so I didn't make gym to try this out. I jog very slowly I just can't jog for long. I will defiantly give this a try to increase my cardio

StaciMarie1974

Another tip is that part of the ability/inability is mental. (Personal experience, have figured this one out.) You mentioned above asthma, and I don't know if you meant it literally. Of course if you deal with asthma you may not want to push your limits too much. But if not, when you think you can't go on: challenge yourself for another 5-10 seconds.

When I first started training last fall, I did the short run/longer walk routine. Thinking about running for just 60, 90, 120 seconds at a time really helped. Both to build up endurance, but also to overcome the mental aspect. Seems much easier to handle in shorter chunks. And running outside is different than on the treadmill. As I've gotten in some 'outside time' that's allowed me to increase my treadmill speed as well.

ndj1979

lauz322 wrote: »

I clearly know nothing about all of this. OK scrap the tdee I just used that as mfp gave me 1200 cal which wasn't enough. I've done what people said above and changed mfp to .5lb a week and that's gave me 1520cal a day. Which is more than I have been aiming for.

so basically you have been eating at about a .5 pound per week loss for the past few weeks so that coupled with water retention is why the loss is not showing up ..

just be patient and keep eating to that number and training hard.