No weight loss

Footballbevvie

I have been logging my food and exercise since 1st Jan. I have had no alcohol as I'm doing dry January and I used to drink a lot! I'm exercising at least 3 times a week and walking most days. I haven't lost a single ounce! Starting to wonder why?!

diannethegeek

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

malibu927

How are you determining how much you're eating? How are you determining how much you burn exercising? How many, if any, of those calories do you eat back?

Footballbevvie

Everything is weighed and I have an activity wristband tracker. Even when I exercise I don't eat more than 1500 calories.

cathipa

Take pics and measurements. Scales can fluctuate daily depending on many factors (food intake, water retention, bowel movements, etc). I had to divorce the scale and I only see for once a month visitation because it had a problem with mind games
Don't worry. Its only been a few weeks.

SisterSueGetsFit

Be sure you're drinking lots of fluids. I don't really like plain water so I'm drinking hot tea. I'm also doing Dry January (I was a pretty heavy drinker) and I've lost about 7 pounds. I think it helps that I'm flushing out my system from all the poison. Try hot tea, it works for me. I drink about 10 cups a day. Feel free to add me as a friend too for Dry January support. Best of luck in your journey, don't give up yet.

auddii

Honestly, if you're logging accurately and you know you're eating less than 1500 calories a day, adding in exercise, and walking more, you're likely retaining a lot of water. You're essentially putting your body through a ton of stress that it normally doesn't have, which can raise cortisol levels.

Does MFP actually give you 1500 calories as your calorie goal? That's pretty low, especially for someone who exercises. Getting to goal faster isn't always the best way. There are a lot of side effects of eating far less than you need to fuel your body, but a major one is sacrificing muscle instead of burning fat. I'd log accurately, aim to hit your daily calorie goal that MFP gives you and eat back half of your exercise calories.

Another key is to make sure you get enough rest at night.

Oh, and patience. The scale will often have a lot of fluctuations.

strong_curves

Footballbevvie wrote: »

Everything is weighed and I have an activity wristband tracker. Even when I exercise I don't eat more than 1500 calories.

Weighed with a food scale or cup/spoons?

Also, sometimes for some people it takes longer than 18 days for the scale to move.

Footballbevvie

Food scales

Footballbevvie

My normal intake should be 2200. I'm 5ft 8. I chose 1500 as a doable target and it seems fine. I'm eating well and don't feel hungry. I drink lots of tea with no sugar and I sleep well. Maybe just need to persevere!

Equus5374

You do need to persevere. Have patience. When I first started, I didn't see a whole lot of change for a couple months. Then all of a sudden, bang. I stepped on a scale at the gym and could not believe the number. Sometimes it happens that way. I recommend staying away from the scale on a daily basis. The number will move up and down - that is NORMAL. Keep on keepin' on and be a persistent and accurate as possible. One of these days you will get a nice surprise if you do not GIVE UP!!!

gabbo34

I think the patience part is the hardest. Like the OP, I've been stuck despite completely eating clean since the beginning of the year. No lbs or inches lost. I'm working out more than I did when I originally lost weight (added 3 days of boot camp to the 3 days of running.)

It's frustrating when you do everything by the numbers and just don't see any results. I'm hoping that it just takes a few weeks to get on track.