Getting started with exercise - does it really take this long to see results?

Renzi27

Hi - Let me start out by saying that until 3 weeks ago I have never followed an exercise program before. Not that I didn't' need it - I was just in denial that I didn't need exercise to lose weight. Now that I know better, I am just finishing up my first round of the 21 day fix workouts. Also, I have not followed the coordinating meal plan for 21 day fix, I've just been eating under 1200 calories and logging meals on MFP. So here's my dilemma:

I have lost NO weight - at some point the scale has actually gone UP. I keep reading about sore muscles retaining water to help heal, muscle weighs more than fat, etc. Also other comments (internet and MFP message boards) just say to keep going and the weight WILL come off. Forgive me but after three weeks I'm really feeling frustrated that I'm not seeing it yet. Does it really take this long - once the weight starts coming off will it drop off significantly or is every one different? Is it taking longer for me because my muscles have never been worked like this? I just feel like I've been killing myself for no reason. Maybe I'm just impatient - maybe I'm focusing too much on the scale.

I'm interested to see if anyone else took a while to see results and if you've felt the same and what you did to get yourself past it. TIA!

PositivelyFlawed

how do your clothes feel? Any looser? Are you weighing yourself in the nude at the same time of day? How much do you have to lose?

Answers to the above may help sort it out. Sometimes the scale doesn't budge but you notice your clothes fitting better. Also water weight, scale variation and clothing can amount for 5-10 lbs even. Make sure you weigh the same each time. If you have less to lose it may take more time for the scale to really shift.

I am somewhat curious about exercising and eating less than 1200 calories and how that could affect your weight loss. Maybe someone else more knowledgeable will chime in.

queenliz99

Fitness is a lifelong endeavor. Enjoy the process.

thiosulfate

Are you measuring your food with a food scale and nonzero calorie drinks with a measuring cup?

dramirez2007

ellivort asked some good questions and I'm curious to hear the answers as well.

In addition, how confident are you in the accuracy of your calorie tracking? Are you weighing all of your food, or making rough estimates? Underestimating calories consumed and/or overestimating calories burned during a workout could be the culprits.

MommyMeggo

You eat UNDER 1200 AND workout? Or do you eat more and workout and NET around 1200??
Sheesh. Id be a miserable pile of goo doing that. But I dont know about the program you are doing.

I would think in 3 weeks there should be some variation either to your body or your scale... or your intake/output calculations are off.

talialinn

Exactly what Ellivort said. Also, this isn't The Biggest Loser, this is real life. It will sometimes take 4-5 weeks for you to notice visible results. Also, you're not eating enough calories. Despite what the popular opinion is, you need to nourish your body more on workout days to lose weight. At 1200 calories a day, if you do anything more than just sit on the couch, there is a possibility that your body with fight against your goals and desperately cling to your fat reserves as your system thinks you are starving. Make sure you are getting enough fat. If you are not getting enough dietary fats (for you cell membranes, your brain, etc) you will also hang on to your old stubborn body fat for longer. If you are eating good fats like fish, olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc., then your body will see it has new fats coming in and will easier release your body fat; not only will you release subcutaneous fat, but any dangerous visceral fat will burn easier as well.

Are those calories that your logging good, healthy unprocessed calories? Are you eating lots and lots of veggies, lean proteins and a few whole grains? If so, good, keep it up! If not, maybe reassess your diet and figure out a way to give your body the whole foods it needs.

Three weeks is nothing. How long did it take you to put on the weight? Probably a lot longer than three weeks. Give yourself some credit. You're working out to improve your life, not just to lose weight. Focus on how you feel for at least another week and keep it up, girl! You should be proud of yourself for making this commitment to health.

Renzi27

I don't have a food scale..so I've been doing my best to estimate ounces for meat, as an example. Other things I've been using measuring cups for - like veggies and such.

Not going to lie - some days I'm over my calorie goal but not every day and it's usually not by much - and I eat all the extras I get from exercise. I count the 21 day workouts as 30 minutes of cardio so I think it shows a burn of approx. 250 calories each workout, at least that's what I get when I put it in the exercise calculator thing here on MFP.

I weigh in the morning before my shower..not every day but a few times a week...

I have about 50 lbs to lose. My pants aren't cutting off my circulation as MUCH as they were before, just thought I'd be able to buckle them by now without the inhale...

middlehaitch

ETA; sorry cross posted. But will leave my post as it is. Get a food scale, you have no idea how much you are eating estimating. h

1. if your calorie goal is 1200 you should eat all of that.
2. MFP is set up for you to eat your exercise calories back. Eat back 50-75% of exercise calories (MFP over estimates burns) yor deficit is in your basic cals.
3. Use a digital scale and liquid measuring cups and spoons.
4. Weigh everything you eat, and double check the entries.

At 5' and wanting to lose 50 lbs set your goal to 1 lbs a week. Faster and you lose more muscle than needed, and are more likely to burn out because your food restriction is too aggressive.

Get your food logging in order and you should start seeing a loss.

Cheers, h.

thiosulfate

talialinn wrote: »

Exactly what Ellivort said. Also, this isn't The Biggest Loser, this is real life. It will sometimes take 4-5 weeks for you to notice visible results. Also, you're not eating enough calories. Despite what the popular opinion is, you need to nourish your body more on workout days to lose weight. At 1200 calories a day, if you do anything more than just sit on the couch, there is a possibility that your body with fight against your goals and desperately cling to your fat reserves as your system thinks you are starving. Make sure you are getting enough fat. If you are not getting enough dietary fats (for you cell membranes, your brain, etc) you will also hang on to your old stubborn body fat for longer. If you are eating good fats like fish, olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc., then your body will see it has new fats coming in and will easier release your body fat; not only will you release subcutaneous fat, but any dangerous visceral fat will burn easier as well.

Are those calories that your logging good, healthy unprocessed calories? Are you eating lots and lots of veggies, lean proteins and a few whole grains? If so, good, keep it up! If not, maybe reassess your diet and figure out a way to give your body the whole foods it needs.

Three weeks is nothing. How long did it take you to put on the weight? Probably a lot longer than three weeks. Give yourself some credit. You're working out to improve your life, not just to lose weight. Focus on how you feel for at least another week and keep it up, girl! You should be proud of yourself for making this commitment to health.

To be honest, that doesn't really matter. It's all about Calories in vs. Calories out. I eat a LOT of processed food. I'm still losing weight.

kbmnurse

Rome was not built in a day. Patience.

RoxieDawn

Working out to loose weight is secondary to the calories you consume each day.

You should be netting the 1200 calories a day. Eating under/less calories like you do and exercising daily will not promote a lot results, it will just make your body fight harder to keep what you have..

You have to weigh your food and I say this religiously because at 1200 calories I predict you are a short person and your deficit may be small such as 1 pound per week or even .5 per week to keep you in a healthy range of calorie intake to loose weight. Missing calories (over eating) by not honestly logging can eat into your deficit (no pun intended) making the loss even slower.

You should lift weights and exercise to maintain your current muscle mass, as you will not gain muscle eating at a deficit and even below the deficit.

You should give this time, and yes it does take this much time, but you need to adhere to the recommendations everyone is saying and even follow the MFP rules to loose.

Read the stickies at the beginning of this forum on getting started, etc... and get a scale.

upoffthemat

Measuring is so important. Over time I have got pretty good at knowing things by sight, but even items I am confident it I will put on the scale more often than not to make sure I am right. A decent scale doesn't cost that much. When I first started weighing I know I way underestimated what things weighed or measured. It is actually kind of fun to try to guess the measure right and then put it on the scale or other measuring device. A little personal skills challenge.

GsKiki

When I first started exercising I actually gained weight as well, so I know it can be frustrating.
If you are sure you are entering your calories correctly, and eating properly, you need to continue and results will come. How fast it does depends on person.
Also I would advise you to track how your clothes fit, and focus less on the scale. Muscles and fat weighs the same, but muscle has less volume.

must_deflate

Three weeks is not very long.
When I first began weight training, I gained weight over the first six weeks and then suddenly I began losing. This was all without changing my diet.

Keep at it-- regardless of your weight, you will never regret having built up a good base of muscle. I built up my muscles more than 30 years ago and even though I have taken a few long breaks from the gym over the years, I never completely lost them during the breaks.
It's not just how you look, it's what you can do with your body and how you feel.

marinagraber

I think that a little more time may be what you need to see results. Did you measure body parts before you started to see changes there? Maybe there are areas that are decreasing along with toning and strengthening.

talialinn

thiosulfate wrote: »

talialinn wrote: »

Exactly what Ellivort said. Also, this isn't The Biggest Loser, this is real life. It will sometimes take 4-5 weeks for you to notice visible results. Also, you're not eating enough calories. Despite what the popular opinion is, you need to nourish your body more on workout days to lose weight. At 1200 calories a day, if you do anything more than just sit on the couch, there is a possibility that your body with fight against your goals and desperately cling to your fat reserves as your system thinks you are starving. Make sure you are getting enough fat. If you are not getting enough dietary fats (for you cell membranes, your brain, etc) you will also hang on to your old stubborn body fat for longer. If you are eating good fats like fish, olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc., then your body will see it has new fats coming in and will easier release your body fat; not only will you release subcutaneous fat, but any dangerous visceral fat will burn easier as well.

Are those calories that your logging good, healthy unprocessed calories? Are you eating lots and lots of veggies, lean proteins and a few whole grains? If so, good, keep it up! If not, maybe reassess your diet and figure out a way to give your body the whole foods it needs.

Three weeks is nothing. How long did it take you to put on the weight? Probably a lot longer than three weeks. Give yourself some credit. You're working out to improve your life, not just to lose weight. Focus on how you feel for at least another week and keep it up, girl! You should be proud of yourself for making this commitment to health.

To be honest, that doesn't really matter. It's all about Calories in vs. Calories out. I eat a LOT of processed food. I'm still losing weight.

With all due respect, yes, for weight loss, you can eat processed food and lose weight, but you shouldn't. Your body creates new cells out of the nutrients it receives from the foods you put in your body, so you are literally made out of what you eat. Do you really want to be made out of processed garbage "food-products"? Yes, you do need to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight, but WHAT you eat will potentially determine what tissue you are getting rid of. You want to lose fat and retain any muscle you have. Diet is critical for this. You want the least amount of muscle wasting as possible.

For example, when you eat too many hydrogenated fats, your body creates rigid membranes for your cells that make it a lot more difficult for your cells to communicate and increases the likelihood of early cell die off. This can create issues like arthritis type aches in your joints, headaches, brain fog, skin problems like acne, eczema, psoriasis, etc. If you are eating "good" fats that stay fluid, like omega-3s from fish and seeds, your cell membranes will be more fluid as well. You will have less brain fog, release fat from your body easier, have less aches and pain and recover from exercise faster.

ssaar85

the program actually says you will gain muscle weight so if you are weight training you may be gaining muscle weight but you should be losing belly fat depending on how long you have been on the program. Also eating meat any larger than a playing card is too much so I agree with everyone else get a scale and watch the processed foods and meats.

Renzi27

Thanks for the feedback - looks like I need a food scale. Since I'm just starting a new round of 21 day fix I should see if weighing this time provides any different results. I'm thinking I'm way overestimating how much volume I'm eating.

BTW I stay away from the pre-packaged stuff like NutriSystem or Lean Cuisine frozen meals. Ick! I made small changes to things like going to coconut oil, natural PB, fat free milk, etc. that my whole family loves so that helps too.

Patience is a virtue, as mom always said. Guess I need more of it. Not quitting this time!

Louie1956

Thank you SO MUCH for your encouraging post on January 20. Thought I had a good week - but - gained .2 at my weigh in. I am a Senior Citizen and MUST loose 25#. You all gave me some different guidelines to focus on:
exercise (difficult but can do something), constantly watch portions, eat more veggies, keep tracking and absolutely - - - - - KEEP TRACKING HONESTLY AND BE PATIENT!!!!!
THANK YOU - I VERY NEEDED YOU IMPUT TODAY!!!!!!!!

catruledquilter

Renzi27 wrote: »

I don't have a food scale..so I've been doing my best to estimate ounces for meat, as an example. Other things I've been using measuring cups for - like veggies and such.

Not going to lie - some days I'm over my calorie goal but not every day and it's usually not by much - and I eat all the extras I get from exercise. I count the 21 day workouts as 30 minutes of cardio so I think it shows a burn of approx. 250 calories each workout, at least that's what I get when I put it in the exercise calculator thing here on MFP.

I weigh in the morning before my shower..not every day but a few times a week...

I have about 50 lbs to lose. My pants aren't cutting off my circulation as MUCH as they were before, just thought I'd be able to buckle them by now without the inhale...

Another thing that has helped me...I weigh only once a week. Our bodies have a normal day-to-day fluctuation which can be frustrating for those trying to lose!! I agree with the comments about monitoring how your clothes fit rather than just a number on a scale. I'm 5'2" and 64. I still have 45 pounds to go to hit a healthy and realistic weight. It is an ongoing process. I sure didn't get this heavy overnight and I know it will take time to get the weight off in a healthy manner.

I have a nice digital scale that wasn't terribly expensive. I am anal retentive so I weigh everything in grams since that is a "finer" measurement (28 grams to an ounce shows that grams are a smaller and more accurate unit of measure, IMO). Things I eat daily...the "handful" of nuts for example...get weighed out and packaged once a week. I invested in some small reusable containers for this. When I buy meat, I weigh out portions before freezing. Each portion has the weight on the package...it's easy to fine tune ground meat but less so with chicken, roasts, chops, etc. I weigh them and have a pretty good idea of how many servings I should get from the roast, etc.

Using a scale has been second nature for me for years. An old cat I had to have euthanized 2 years ago was having trouble maintaining weight. I would weigh her daily portion of food to make sure she was getting enough calories and give a bit to her every couple of hours. If she ate too much or too fast, she would vomit. A 5.5 ounce can of cat food is 156 grams...1/4 of a can is 39 grams. The cats I have now all have different dietary needs. The scale helps keep them healthy. I also have a baby scale for weighing them every couple of weeks. It was something I invested in with my elderly Pixel to help monitor her weight. It also helped with getting extra weight off my now 15 yr old cat, Pipsqueak. When I have foster kittens, they get weighed regularly...in grams. When they are real tiny, a small basket on the kitchen scale works great...they "graduate" to the baby scale pretty fast!

Good luck on your venture to better health!!

dolliesdaughter

Gaining muscle is not easy, check bodybuilding discussion boards. You need a food scale.

47Jacqueline

1200 calories is too low if you are active. Developing strength takes more time to see results than cardio, and burns less calories in a workout.

I weigh myself every other week. I lose by going up and down daily. It took a year to lose 30lb but I never gained it back. It took another year to lose two more sizes at goal and to show good muscular definition.

Enjoy your life. Stop making the focus what, how much, when, where, why you eat.

blues4miles

Renzi27 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback - looks like I need a food scale. Since I'm just starting a new round of 21 day fix I should see if weighing this time provides any different results. I'm thinking I'm way overestimating how much volume I'm eating.

BTW I stay away from the pre-packaged stuff like NutriSystem or Lean Cuisine frozen meals. Ick! I made small changes to things like going to coconut oil, natural PB, fat free milk, etc. that my whole family loves so that helps too.

Patience is a virtue, as mom always said. Guess I need more of it. Not quitting this time!

You are on the right track! Calories in / calories out. Don't worry about all this 'don't eat pre-packaged' 'don't eat x/y/z' stuff unless YOU want to, it won't make a substantial difference to the math.

Take measurements.

If you just starting working out, it's highly likely you're having some water retention issues. It's possible your 1200 calorie days are more like 1400 or 1500 if you aren't measuring well (or are going over some days). So you might have lost 3-4 lbs but the scale isn't going to show it if your body is hanging on to water. Keep at it, you have a great attitude. Hopefully you FEEL better from the workouts, and sometimes those are the kinds of goals you need to have. As ladies the scale does not always cooperate.

brb_2013

To be short, yes you are worrying too much about the scale. If you're logging as accurately as possible the fat will come off, exercise or none.

edack72

The formula is simple calories in calories out fuel your body don't starve it get your 1200 hundred calories pack in the protein limit the carbs banish alcohol and artificial sweeteners and you will see the scale go down

fiddletime

I've been on 1200 calories for 6 months. I eat back my exercise calories, but I never trust MFP and use a heart rate monitor which is pretty accurate for steady state cardio. I lose 3# a month.

Before I tightened up my logging I didn't weigh my food. I also forgot to count milk for my coffee, ketchup, Sriracha, vitamins, calcium, etc. That stuff really adds up (100 calories for those) and made the difference between me not losing weight, and losing weight. The other thing I did was cut my wine consumption by 80%. Once I did that, even though I thought I'd fit it into my calorie count, I starting losing weigh with no major plateaus.

AliceDark

Any time you make a change, you should give it 4-6 weeks for everything to adjust so you see the full effects. (So not seeing a change in 3 weeks is normal). Once you get your food scale, you'll be much more confident about your intake. Give it 4-6 weeks with your food scale, and try to be consistent.

After that, if you're still not seeing as much downward movement on the scale as you'd like, I would consider eating back only 50%-75% of your exercise calories, because MFP can over-estimate them. That's only after you've fully adjusted to using your food scale and netting 1200 every day, though. Weight loss is basically a science experiment (I change X and see Y effect; what would I need to do to see Z effect?), so if you change too many variables at once it's hard to tell what was effective and what wasn't.

AliceDark

One more quick note: unless you're using the Recipe Builder tool and entering your own recipes, be very careful about using any entries in the MFP database that are labeled "homemade." They're based on someone else's recipe, so those totals will be wrong for you.

thehoss316

@Renzi27 Not familiar with 21 Day Fix, but I am familiar with several of the Beachbody workouts. I find I need more calories than what they recommend. Stick with the workout, try around 1500 calories, and see what happens. I feel Beachbody underestimates calorie needs for the workout programs - think about it, most of their business is driven on shocking workouts that deliver "quick" results, not a long term marathon strategy.