I must be doing something wrong...

cindyangotti

The past 14 days I have been burning all the calories I eat plus calories I haven't eaten. (I have a polar heart rate monitor so I know exactly what I burn) I have been eating lots of veggies, fruit, chicken, and drinking lots of water. I have cut my carbs down and have had no junk food.

So WHY have I lost only 3 pounds in 2 weeks?

July24Lioness

How much weight do you need to lose?

And 3 pounds in 2 weeks is averaging 1.5 pounds per week. That is pretty good to me.

Mirlyn

Well you're burning thousands of calories a day with exercise, possibly you're not eating enough to keep up with that kind of burn. Body needs fuel just like a car.

SarahNicole317

Are you using the HR monitor for exercise, or all day long? The accuracy goes way down when you use it for longer than just working out.Also, do you weigh or measure your food? Guesstimates can be way off. Like someone else said, 1.5 lbs a week is good. You don't want to lose more than 2 lbs a week because the faster weight is lost, the fast it is gained back.

lisadonachie

i have done all that and gained 2lbs im gutted thinking about just giving up im exercising loads and eating real healthy just found out that wholemeal bread is bad thu as it converts to sugar as it pasta so now im gonna try 1 week n cut those out

jeniam

First of all, 1.5lbs a week is really good!
Secondly, use the basic calorie math to figure out how much you should be losing. First, make sure you calorie base is high enough (1200-1500 calories per day based on how much you need to lose and what types of food you need to eat to up your metabolism and not feel icky) then make sure your burning more than you eat. 1 pound = 3500 calories so a deficit of 750 calories per day (3500/7) = 1.5 lbs lost per week. Since you have a way of knowing how many calories you burn even when sedentary (your PHRM), It shoud be pretty easy to keep up with it. Good luck and honestly, congratulations on losing 1.5lbs per week! 1.5lbs per week is actually my weekly goal and fitness experts say 2lbs per week should be your realistic max so enjoy your success! You're losing weight and making a healthy lifestyle change!!

BlackBeltLife

I wouldnt beat yourself up. 1-2 lbs a week is healthy weight lose (I know we as Americans want everything microwave fast) Here is another question what type of workouts are you doing and are you taking measurements. I workout with P90X and there will be 2-3 weeks I do not loose anything on the scale, but drop an inch off my waist. Just a thought. Keep up the good work (its a marathon not a sprint.......................Only the diciplined are truly free"

sagithia

Muscle weighs more than fat.... so that could be it. And your body may think that it is in starvation mode so eat a bit more and go from there....

cindyangotti

Are you using the HR monitor for exercise, or all day long? The accuracy goes way down when you use it for longer than just working out.Also, do you weigh or measure your food? Guesstimates can be way off. Like someone else said, 1.5 lbs a week is good. You don't want to lose more than 2 lbs a week because the faster weight is lost, the fast it is gained back.

I only use the HR for exercise. The exercise I do is rollerblading. I burn between 1000-1400 calories each time (depending on how long I can take the Florida heat) Usually 50-65 minutes. I do not guess on my food weight and measurements. I have a good food scale and make much use out of all my measuring cups and spoons. This is why I feel I should have lost more. I'll give it another two weeks and see what happens. It's funny though... I was losing more when I wasn't working out.

AnneElise

3 lbs in 2 weeks is good. be patient. this is a lifestyle change... it takes time to be healthy.

cindyangotti

(its a marathon not a sprint.......................Only the disciplined are truly free"

Thanks for the quote! Love it.

lilolite

I have been working out and eating health as well. I have not lost any wieght, however I have lost 3.5 inches from my waist in 1 month, and 1 inch from each arm and each thigh. I am more tone and feel great. You may not be losing mad weight, but take your measurement and check your body fat. You might be surprised.

katie30

It sounds like you are just noticing a slow down in the scale. This happens. With the exercise you are doing your gaining muscle mass, so you may be loosing inches without loosing weight. You'll see this happen several times before you loose all the weight you want to. Remember, its not all about the scale. Are your clothes still getting bigger?

DrBorkBork

Dude, I'd punch people to lose 3 lbs in 2 weeks! Look at you go! I wish I was still losing that much.

Sunsh1ne

i have done all that and gained 2lbs im gutted thinking about just giving up im exercising loads and eating real healthy just found out that wholemeal bread is bad thu as it converts to sugar as it pasta so now im gonna try 1 week n cut those out

All carbohydrates convert to glucose, or blood sugar, when you digest them. This isn't bad, it's the fuel you need to function. And as carbohydrates go, whole wheat bread is actually pretty good, because the extra fiber slows the conversion into glucose, so you don't get a fast spike and drop in your blood sugar.

If you gained two pounds it could be a lot of things, but the most likely is that you're retaining water. After you turn carbs into glucose, your body turns some of that into glycogen, which is stored in the muscles. You burn glycogen when you work out, and afterwards, it replenishes those stores from what you eat. If you're working out a lot more than usual and eating a lot less than usual, your body has probably increased the amount of glycogen it stores in your muscles - and it is stored in water, which makes the number on the scale go up. This is part of the process of making your lean muscle work for you. It's a good thing, it's just numerically frustrating.

Please don't give up! If you work out regularly and make smart food choices, you will lose weight.

And OP - 1.5 pounds a week is good. I know it seems really slow, but that's right in the healthy range for weight loss (or gain) speed. Remember that when you lose weight you are getting rid of actual body tissue. A pound and a half is about the volume of six sticks of butter, so that is quite an accomplishment!

iRun4wine

3 pounds in 2 weeks is great! You're probably losing inches, and feeling better too

charis2032

What others have said here is right, 1.5 - 2 pounds per week is GREAT!!! It is also possible that you are not consuming enough calories based on the number you are burning. I'm just starting on this journey and finding that some days it is hard to eat enough of the right kind of calories because I'm just not that hungry. You'll figure out the right balance in time. Between now and then, give yourself a break and don't quit trying!

LadyLorax

Do you take measurements or just weigh yourself? When I lift weights, I don't lose any weight but I drop inches relatively quickly. At the end of the day, I don't care if the scale says 200 pounds as long as the tape measure says 26 inch waist

I once read that your body becomes accustom to a certain body weight and will "fight" to stay there until it gets use to the new lifestyle changes and starts to see that as 'normal' and not the old weight. It takes time to get your body on the band wagon, I guess

aippolito1

That's a great rate of weight loss! If you have a lot to lose and that's why you think it should be quicker...think about increasing your bsae calories, because you may not be eating enough, as someone else posted.

barresa

I agree. I think your food intake may be low. If you're burning 1000-1400 cals You should be eating A LOT more than when sedentary. Are you eating back most of your exercise calories?

Your rate is pretty good though, so "if it ain't broke why fix it?"....

Akasha13

When I first started trying to lose weight (in early 2009), I was watching everything I ate - cut out carbs, pasta and breads - exercised 3 times a day, every day. The most I lost in 1 year was 7 pounds. I got frustrated and gave up because I was doing everything "by the book" (if you will) and the results were not what I had expected. I started back on losing weight about 6 months ago. I went into it with the attitude that I WILL stick with it this time no matter what.

I will admit that I do not go out of my way to exercise. The exercise I do get comes from getting off of my butt and doing things for myself instead of having others do it for me, stair climbing (we have 1 bathroom and it's upstairs ... I spend the majority of my time downstairs), grocery shopping, going out and shooting photos, go for an occasional walk, going and hanging out at the park (we walk around a lot there too ... plus there's a dam that has 2 zillion steps (okay, maybe not that many, but it seems like it), and just every day stuff.

My daily calorie intake goal is what I go by. I do not read anything on the label except for how many calories is in what I'm getting. My goal is 1640 a day, but I try to keep it under 1200. If I do, great ... if I don't, I don't stress out about it. Sometimes I do go over 1640 calories a day ... again, no stress. And in this time around, I've lost 12 pounds so far.

I'm not saying my "slacker" approach will work for anyone else. It's working for me and that's all I can attest to. I just got frustrated (before) with putting all of my efforts into losing weight and nothing happening. So this time, I decided that I will lose the weight and I will stick with it until I get to my goal ... but I'm not going to let the occasional setback be a problem. It's just not worth the stress.

Losing 1.5 pounds a week is great (in my opinion). Pushing yourself too hard can actually be counterproductive (as I'm sure you're aware by now). You push your body too hard and it's going to push back. Not getting enough calories is just as bad as getting too many.

Sorry for the babbling up there ... that tends to happen from time to time.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

studentRN

Your diary isn't shared so I can't see how many calories you're eating but I suspect you're not eating enough. How many calories a day do you have your goal set to? Are you finding yourself hungry an hour or two after you eat a meal? (If you're not then your metabolism may be slowing... listen to your body... if you're hungry... EAT!)

lovebrittnie

you're doing good!! And don't stop the exercise because you aren't losing as much because you're gaining much more... you're creating a habbit to exercise, (one that will last beyond the goal weight loss) you're gaining endurance (to keep you active) and ultimately it's 3 pounds you didn't gain! But instead was loss... and that's not a little achievement... one pound of fat is about the size of those little butter containers, and you burned off 3, so great job!

cindyangotti

I have read every response and I thank you all. I see that I probably could add more calories to my breakfast and lunch. I don't know, it just seemed to make sense if I ate less and exercised a lot the pounds would melt off. On the happy side... the scale isn't moving much but my butt is lookin' good! lol

Precious_Nissa

STRESS adds weight...sounds to me like you are stressed because you are doing and doing and doing and not focusing on the bigger picture...

relax
take a deep breath
try changing some of your foods that you are eating
try changing up on the exercise and
RELAX

Precious_Nissa

3 lbs is good by the way...keep up the good work

barresa

it just seemed to make sense if I ate less and exercised a lot the pounds would melt off.

I hear you, it's hard to believe because it's not something people talk about, unless you're at MFP. Who Knew you're supposed to eat MORE calories to lose the weight if you are burning alot with exercise. That seems to be messing me up too. I started burning mega calories and the scale has not moved. Can't seem to find the sweet spot (right amount) to eat back since it's different for everyone. I'm actually trying for the next 7 days to not exercise at all and just eat 1200 calories for the day to see if the scale moves. Then take it from there. It's been one day and I already lost 1 lb, in 1 day.

canstey

I only use the HR for exercise. The exercise I do is rollerblading. I burn between 1000-1400 calories each time (depending on how long I can take the Florida heat) Usually 50-65 minutes.

I think you are overestimating your calories burned during exercise. 600-900 an hour is more typical of someone who is in very good shape. The first thing I would check is your max heart rate setting on your HRM and see if that actually makes sense given your actual heart rate during exercise. Some people and it seems especially women, can have a much higher max heart rate than the standard 220-age predicts. If your HRM is saying you average 85%+ max heart rate for an hour then likely your max heart rate is set too low for you.