Nothing is happening :-(

Hisservent

So, today marks 6 weeks back on the wagon. I initially started out with MFP. I've used MFP for several years but after 2 weeks and no progress, a friend told me about a diff. site, so I was kind of using both. MFP had me consuming 1200 calories and the other site had me at 1400. I tried sticking in the middle for the past 4 weeks and all I have to show for it is a 2lbs weight loss and 1" gone in my butt, hips and thighs. I am exercising 4-5 days a week. MOn, Wed, and Fri I do an hour of power walking which includes squats, weights, lunges once a week. I use Leslie Sansone's walking dvds. On Tues and Thurs, I get on my manual stepper for 30 mins while watching tv. I do intervals...moderate pace, fast pace during commercials. I don't know why I'm not showing much progress. I know muscle weighs more than fat, so I'm trying not to rely too much on the scale, but I was certainly hoping to see better results in the measuring department. I eat right and drink lots of water. There's gotta be something I'm NOT doing right.

blobby10

All you are NOT doing is being patient!! 2lbs in 4 weeks PLUS an 1" is great - well done. Keep it up :-)

ahamm002

Do you use a food scale? It's possible that you're not accurately estimating your "calories-in."

SezxyStef

oh all you have to show is 2lbs..and 1 inch. 1/2lb a week is a good thing.

Adjust your expectations.

Probably what you aren't doing right is logging. Do you use a food scale? log everything accurately and consistently? do you eat back exercise calories? and if so how many?

Archon2

Sounds like a good start to me. Make sure you are counting accurately. My guess you are consuming a little more calories than you think. It is probably the most common problem. You are obviously eating at a loss, but may need to adjust things a little.

Holly_Roman_Empire

blobby10 wrote: »

All you are NOT doing is being patient!! 2lbs in 4 weeks PLUS an 1" is great - well done. Keep it up :-)

Yeah this. Calm down. Keep doing what you're doing. When you have no progress over a prolonged period of time, then it's time to reevaluate.

astrampe

The only thing that is not right is your unrealistic expectations.......

1shauna1

If you're working out that much, are you eating back any exercise calories? Maybe you're not eating enough. You could try eating back 50-75% of them and see if that helps.

365andstillalive

Also, if that increase in physical activity is new (which I suspect it is) then welcome to the world of water weight. You have potentially lost more, but can't see it on the scale.

Be happy with your progress, slow and steady wins the race (or at least finishes it). Good luck!

elliej

If I'd lost 2lb and an inch off my butt in less than 2 months I'd be celebrating. Great work, you're seeing positive change! Weight loss is a marathon not a sprint

cynthiarenee64

I'm proud of you for sticking with it. 2lbs and 1 inch is great, keep up the good work! It sounds like what others say about a scale may be helpful. Are you perhaps taking any medications that may be working against you?

StaciMarie1974

What are you overall goals? Your profile is private so I'm not sure if you are needing to lose 20 pounds or 200.

On one hand, if you have a high # of pounds to lose I can understand you expected to see more than 2 pounds in a month. But part of the struggle is getting started, and even if you 'only' lost 2 of 200 you have made the important step of making an improvement for your health. If you keep going the reward is better than if you quit now.

On the other, if you have 20 pounds to lose, then expecting to lose a huge # per month is not realistic. There are many sites with online calculators. Use them to get an idea of what you burn in a day. From BMR to regular activity to move thru your day to exercise. From there, you eat at a deficit (eat less than you burn) to lose weight. For me, having an idea of what I burn in a day helped the whole process to make sense.

Last, there is more to gain that just pounds gone. Look for improvements in the way clothes fit, in your ability to do more and go further, and to take pride in the good things you are doing for your body.

Mischievous_Rascal

Are you new to exercising? Your muscles will hold on to water weight for the first month or so as they adjust to the new demands being placed on them, so a 4 lb loss is something to be proud of.

And make sure you're logging as accurately as possible.

Soopatt

I have not lost more than 1lb a week since starting this and I am sticking to 1200 (pretty darn well actually).

We have been conditioned by drastic crash diets and celebrity propaganda into thinking that weight should just fall off our bones. The only time weight has dropped off my bones was when I climbed kilimanjaro, but considering the intestinal parasite I caught and my mucked up knees and that you can't climb a mountain every week, I would not recommend that as a strategy.

I am not sure if you are or not, but I would suggest not eating back any exercise calories you are earning. Get a bonus deficit rather and stick to the 1200/1400. It is the food reduction that gets the weight off, not the exercise.

tephanies1234

holy....1 inch from your butt is huge progress.....

Hisservent

SezxyStef wrote: »

oh all you have to show is 2lbs..and 1 inch. 1/2lb a week is a good thing.

Adjust your expectations.

Probably what you aren't doing right is logging. Do you use a food scale? log everything accurately and consistently? do you eat back exercise calories? and if so how many?

No I do not eat back those calories. I think that would be counterproductive lol

BWBTrish

do you weigh your food on a food scale?

Hisservent

1shauna1 wrote: »

If you're working out that much, are you eating back any exercise calories? Maybe you're not eating enough. You could try eating back 50-75% of them and see if that helps.

I have not been eating back those calories. TO me, that sounds counterproductive. I did bump up in my intake just a bit (readjusted my calorie intake) just in case I wasn't eating enough. We'll see if that helps.

Hisservent

StaciMarie1974 wrote: »

What are you overall goals? Your profile is private so I'm not sure if you are needing to lose 20 pounds or 200.

On one hand, if you have a high # of pounds to lose I can understand you expected to see more than 2 pounds in a month. But part of the struggle is getting started, and even if you 'only' lost 2 of 200 you have made the important step of making an improvement for your health. If you keep going the reward is better than if you quit now.

On the other, if you have 20 pounds to lose, then expecting to lose a huge # per month is not realistic. There are many sites with online calculators. Use them to get an idea of what you burn in a day. From BMR to regular activity to move thru your day to exercise. From there, you eat at a deficit (eat less than you burn) to lose weight. For me, having an idea of what I burn in a day helped the whole process to make sense.

Last, there is more to gain that just pounds gone. Look for improvements in the way clothes fit, in your ability to do more and go further, and to take pride in the good things you are doing for your body.

I'm aiming for 10lbs right now. I'd like to get down to 140. 2 yrs ago, I was able to lose 34lbs after having my 3rd child. IT took me 15 months using MFP, to get down to 141.8 from 177.4. But I was also breastfeeding. Once I stopped nursing, it seemed like it started to come back over the past year. I nursed him til he was 22.5 months! I also stopped documenting so I know that contributed to the weight gain.

callsitlikeiseeit

you have unrealistic expectations and unless you are using a food scale to measure everything you eat, you are likely eating more than you think you are.