What am I doing wrong?

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jessjess210
jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi MFP community. I see so many posts like mine and I think I'm doing everything all the successful members suggest, but I guess something isn't being done right. I've been on here since January and as of today only lost 5.3 lbs. Which would be great but see like the past 10 days I've put on 2 lbs, and then scale has been going up consistently. I have a food scale so I weigh every thing that goes in my mouth. I don't nibble here and there. I workout with my trainer twice a week and do stronglifts twice. I'm 33 years old, 5'3". I've got mfp set to lose .5 lb/week. Goal weight is around 125 for now.

I am on levothyroxine for my thyroid, as well as Effexor and adderall for post partum depression. I don't know what else I could do to make the scale go down. Or at the very least keep it from going up! I know it's just a few pounds but at this point it's so frustrating to see it go in the wrong direction. I work so hard to lose every pound, yet it comes back on and then some! My diary should be open. Any help would be appreciated.
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  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
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    Well five pounds a week is very high. 1 pound a week is reasonable and reachable. Maybe try drinking more water see if that helps.
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    laurielima wrote: »
    Well five pounds a week is very high. 1 pound a week is reasonable and reachable. Maybe try drinking more water see if that helps.

    It's actually .5, so 1/2 lb
  • klkarlen
    klkarlen Posts: 4,366 Member
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    In my experience, with only 20 pounds to lose, it takes longer. It took me over a year. And water weight is definitely a factor in the gain/loss department. Keep up the logging and exercise. You might not see that .5 pound loss every week, but it will happen.
  • VBallEmilyK
    VBallEmilyK Posts: 1
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    You can do it! Water helps and you might be putting on muscle weight but you do you boo!
  • cocobongo
    cocobongo Posts: 186 Member
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    Keep measuring and taking photographs! There is "only" 7lbs difference in me on the pics below.

    mk4s9kpkm8xp.jpg

    Seriously do all three, it really helps to keep you motivated. One week the scale might not budge but the tape measure might. This week was the first time my tape measure didn't budge and my weight loss in general is really slowing but looking at photos I look completely different to even 3 weeks ago. So if one thing isn't showing progress, chances are one of the other two things will.
  • Nanoosh92
    Nanoosh92 Posts: 12 Member
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    exercising twice a week is not enough, you should try 3 times a week
  • cocobongo
    cocobongo Posts: 186 Member
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    Technically you can do no exercise at all and still lose weight so long as you're in a deficit - it's your diet that has the greatest impact not the exercise.

    That said it certainly doesn't hurt to up your exercise and will give you more cals to play around with, plus give you more definition.
  • CountessKitteh
    CountessKitteh Posts: 1,505 Member
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    Nanoosh92 wrote: »
    exercising twice a week is not enough, you should try 3 times a week

    You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight if you're truly eating in a calorie deficit. Working out just lets you eat more.
  • usnotu
    usnotu Posts: 4 Member
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    I have hypothyroid and feel your pain, my doctor laughed at me when I asked him about losing weight, but that said I did do it almost 30 pounds last year. I work hard to keep it off, with clean eating, portion control and a mix of cardio and weights, feel free to add me!
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
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    jessjess210 wrote: »
    laurielima wrote: »
    Well five pounds a week is very high. 1 pound a week is reasonable and reachable. Maybe try drinking more water see if that helps.

    It's actually .5, so 1/2 lb

    o sorry i misread it.

  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,416 Member
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    Oh, honey. With hashimotos and pernicious anemia, I feel your pain on the weird weight fluctuations.

    The thing that works the absolute best for me, isn't so much reducing my calories, as it is adding cardio. I got a Fitbit and started walking my 10,000 steps a day, and It fairly reliably results in a pound a week of weight loss - with the exception of when I am STILL SICK.

    When I am counting my calories and logging my exercise and my weight is still mysteriously going up, then I know something is WRONG. The first time I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing weight, I found out I had pernicious anemia, and the lack of b12 was (killing me, literally) preventing me from processing my thyroid meds. As soon as they put me on shots, I started dropping a pound a week again. The second time something was mysteriously wrong, I had a problem with my IUD. Turns out, I have an autoimmune response to silicone. (So... no boob job for me. Bummer.) As soon as I had it out, I started dropping a pound a week instead of GAINING it. I'm pissed that I have to re-lose 20 more pounds to be where I was last summer, but at least I'm not sleeping 15 hours a day and gaining a pound a week anymore.

    Keep track of your eating and your exercise and find a sustainable pairing that works for you. (I really suck at eating less than 1600 calories a day. I just can't do it - so I get enough exercise to justify eating that much. I love cardio, so it works out.) If you've double checked your food amounts by weighing everything you eat, and you know you're not over-estimating calories burned with your exercise - go through your lifestyle and see if something else isn't wrong. See a doctor and show them what you're doing. It's possible something really isn't right.

    All cautionary statements aside, my Fitbit has made it very easy for me to stay on target with both my cardio, and my daily calorie requirements.

    Keep at it, and don't give up!
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    You aren't logging your water--liquid intake. It could be sodium, going back a few days in your diary you have Indian foods which can have more salt. Drink more water. With not much to lose, it takes more patience. Try a few new things. People are giving you some ideas. Good luck. :)
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    At 0.5 lb/week, that's going to be pretty easily masked by fluctuations in water weight. It would be tough to wait like, 2 weeks before knowing you might be down a lb, only to find you're up 2, because you're retaining water. Hard to know for sure you're doing everything right, etc.

    But if you've been on since early Jan, that's about 10 weeks. Which IS about 0.5 lb per week. Which is what you have MFP set to.

    So the probable water weight aside, I think you're losing right on schedule, and the scale is just not going to be as validating for you at this pace. I second the suggestions to take photos, measurements, etc.
  • Nanoosh92
    Nanoosh92 Posts: 12 Member
    edited March 2015
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    CountessKitteh wrote: »
    Nanoosh92 wrote: »
    exercising twice a week is not enough, you should try 3 times a week

    You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight if you're truly eating in a calorie deficit. Working out just lets you eat more.

  • Nanoosh92
    Nanoosh92 Posts: 12 Member
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    Nanoosh92 wrote: »
    CountessKitteh wrote: »
    Nanoosh92 wrote: »
    exercising twice a week is not enough, you should try 3 times a week

    You don't need to exercise at all to lose weight if you're truly eating in a calorie deficit. Working out just lets you eat more.

    i do agree with you but exercising helps in increasing your metabolism and prevents any weight gain. The only reason you feel like eating more is because of the increasing metabolism. Say for example you eat a total of 1200 cal/day, and then you do the 1000 calorie workout, that doesn't mean you have to eat the 1000 calorie that you have burned, it just means that if you want to eat more than the 1200 cal/day because you burn 1000 in exercise , its okay , but if you dont eat its a no problem. Besides you can never feel the desire to eat more if you eat well enough within the calorie zone. for eg you can eat 1500 cal/day instead of 1200 , and burn 1000 by exercise.

  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice everyone. I don't log my water intake, but I drink a minimum of 80 ounces of water daily. I have water bottles all over my house to remind me to drink. I've even stopped drinking alcohol all together. Not even an occasional glass of wine on the weekends. All the indian food you see is home cooked (I'm indian
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    jessjess210 wrote: »
    Thanks for all the advice everyone. I don't log my water intake, but I drink a minimum of 80 ounces of water daily. I have water bottles all over my house to remind me to drink. I've even stopped drinking alcohol all together. Not even an occasional glass of wine on the weekends. All the indian food you see is home cooked (I'm indian
    The rest of my post got cut off....so my food is very low in oil and salt. I've also got the Fitbit charge hr linked to my account and have only been over my goal once or twice. Used to run a lot, but since I started taking the adderal as a stimulant for depression, my resting hr has been 110, and cardio sends it skyrocketing, making me very dizzy. Not making excuses, just trying to figure this out. Hopefully it's just water retention. Just gotta keep doing what I'm doing
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Hey, I'm 5'4" and was set to lose .5 a week as well. MFP gave me around 1600 and I just wasn't losing. I think maybe you're more strict than I am, but I know I wasn't careful enough on the weekends. It's a tiny deficit, and there is no room for error. I dropped mine down to 1500 last week and saw movement on the scale immediately. I would try it if I were you, or eat a little less of your exercise calories back.
  • Derpes
    Derpes Posts: 2,033 Member
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    Keep following the process and take measurements. Since you are eating at a calorie deficit, you are not gaining fat.
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Hey, I'm 5'4" and was set to lose .5 a week as well. MFP gave me around 1600 and I just wasn't losing. I think maybe you're more strict than I am, but I know I wasn't careful enough on the weekends. It's a tiny deficit, and there is no room for error. I dropped mine down to 1500 last week and saw movement on the scale immediately. I would try it if I were you, or eat a little less of your exercise calories back.

    MFP was giving me 1610...I also dropped it to 1500...keep the suggestions coming. Lol. Maybe there will be something I haven't already done

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