Can't lose the weight!

rcadogs

I weighed myself this morning and I'm still 149 pounds. I want to reach my goal weight of 130, but I can't lose the weight! I lost 3 pounds at one point, but I've gained them all back! I've tried being within my calorie limits on MFP and exercising at least 3 to 4 times a week, but no results!

Also, now I'm getting confused about how many calories I should consume in a day.

Any advice to help me achieve my goal and how to lose all the weight and keep it off?

kr1stadee

You don't give enough information to be able to give advice.

How long have you been at this? What is your calorie goal? What do you mean you've tried being within your goal? What are you doing 3-4 times a week, and how long have you been doing that? Do you log, weigh and measure everything? How tall are you?

Might want to open your diary, it'll help us help you

rcadogs

I've been at this for almost a month and my MFP calorie intake is 1,410 daily. I'm 5'4" and I now weigh 148.4 pounds. I do cardio dance as exercise 3 to 4 times a week, the length of exercise changes every now and then. Now I'm facing the same problem again, I lose a pound and then gain it back!

ecdce

Give it more time. Especially if you happen to be pms-ing. I know a 3-4 lb fluctuation right before your period is normal, but I've also heard some women say they gain as much as 6-8 pounds. But its not really a gain, in the sense that its gone a week or so later. Also, it may be helpful to only weigh yourself rarely, and go by the fit of your clothing instead. Especially if not seeing the numbers on the scale go down makes you feel discouraged.

jacksonpt

I've been at this for almost a month and my MFP calorie intake is 1,410 daily. I'm 5'4" and I now weigh 148.4 pounds. I do cardio dance as exercise 3 to 4 times a week, the length of exercise changes every now and then. Now I'm facing the same problem again, I lose a pound and then gain it back!

Sounds about right. Are you weighing/measuring your foods? Logging everything you eat/drink? Do you eat out very often (or get take out)?

altoney2012

What I've learned:

1. Resistance training is a MUST.
2. Cardio should be hard. Dance classes like Zumba usually won't get you the results you're looking for.
3. Calorie counts don't matter as much as WHAT you are eating.

In more detail:

1. Lift weights 3-4 times per week for 20-30 minutes at a time. Search for simple weightlifting schedules or check out simplyshredded.com or bodybuilding.com for easy options. 2 days arms/chest/back, 2 days legs/butt/back. Oh and lift HEAVY. It should be difficult to complete 10 reps with the weight. If you'd rather use your bodyweight, then do squats, push-ups, pull-ups, abs (crunches etc) which don't require equipment.
2. Do cardio AFTER you lift to burn more calories. Cardio should be difficult enough that you cannot talk, you are sweating, your heart is pounding. The more you push yourself, the better the results. See this great article: http://www.stupidgym****.com/2010/10/20/cardio-queens/
3. If you eat processed foods and sugary drinks etc, it doesn't matter if you hit calorie targets every day. Your body doesn't want that stuff. To get toned and fit, you have to eat plants. I eat 6-10 different kinds of vegetables a day, and a couple pieces of fruit. Protein is critical too. Lean chicken, ground turkey, tofu, eggs, fish like tuna and tilapia, protein shakes, are all great. I eat about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. And carbs--I stick with sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, couscous, plain oatmeal, and whole wheat bread when I want bread. Nothing saying you can't have a treat now and then, but the key is cutting out processed food, sugar, and excess salt during most meals.

Best of luck!

bajoyba

Right off the bat, I notice that you are often over on your sodium levels and sometimes over on carbs. Both can cause you to retain water, and water is heavy. Additionally, it looks like you don't drink very much water throughout the day. With high sodium and carb levels, your body is going to hold onto any water you give it.
I can't speak for everyone, but my body is sensitive to high sodium levels. If I go over on salt, it will take me a few days to get rid of the water weight - and I drink at least 10 cups of water a day!
It may sound counterproductive, but drink more water. If your body is well hydrated, it won't feel the need to hang onto extra water. And try to cut down on the sodium. Sodium definitely doesn't cause true weight gain, but it can certainly hide any real progress you may have made.
Also, be patient. I know it's hard not to see results, but sometimes our bodies need a little time to catch up after we make a big change to our diet and exercise routines. Stick to the calorie goal that MFP gave you, and eat back some or all of your exercise calories.

rcadogs

I've been buying products like Healthy Choice and Bird's Eye steam packets with vegetables in them and I get fruit every once in a while like apples, I know that doesn't sound good. As someone said earlier here about PMS, I do tend to eat more when the time of the month gets closer and I sometimes eat unhealthy foods, which is about now.

I admit breaking old diet habits is pretty hard, but I can't help myself. Does this happen to anyone else? Anyway, thanks for the advice, I'll try to cut down on certain things and add on exercises and drink more water every day.

_xXJennXx_

I don't think I saw much results until I got into my 2nd month of exercise. It'll get there just got to give it a little more time.

haymancm

What has worked for me the last 3 months:
-decrease sodium to 1500 mg/day
-drink more water than 1/2 my body weight in oz
-my macros are set to 30/30/40 for carbs/protein/fat
-increase potassium w/ a goal of 40x my ideal goal weight, 130 lbs 5200 mg of potassium/day (I've only reached it once!)

Both potassium & water counteract the sodium, dealing with water retention.

cingle87

For me it took my body 2 weeks before i started to notice weight coming off, it takes time for your body to adjust to your new lifestyle. Ive got to second an above poster, lifting is a must if possible for any weightloss in conjunction with cardio.

rcadogs

I hate to sound like a whiner, but I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster, I lose a couple pounds then I gain them all back! Now I'm adding on weight-lifting and resistance training as exercise on top of cardio dancing and I'm starting to keep track of how much carbs and sodium I consume, but no real progress.

Any additional advice on what I'm doing wrong and how to change this?

Showcase_Brodown

If you eat processed foods and sugary drinks etc, it doesn't matter if you hit calorie targets every day. Your body doesn't want that stuff. To get toned and fit, you have to eat plants...

Calories are going to predict the weight loss, whether they come from lettuce or cheeseburgers.