Why am I not losing weight? I need a smart explanation please

BinaryFu

Wow.

Okay, so...
1) Accurate calorie counting is necessary.
2) Make sure your water intake is good (8 cups is a good goal daily) because if you're light on your water, your body will collect every drop it can and store it - which means you get water weight gain. It sounds counter-intuitive, but if you want to lose water weight, you have to drink more water!
3) Workouts = muscle growth. Muscle growth = weight gain.

It is realistically possible for the average female to gain .5-1lb per month when becoming active after a more or less sedentary lifestyle. The more sedentary you were prior, the more likely you're at the higher end of that range.

When you're a body builder or trying to max out your body's muscles, trying to gain muscle weight is an agonizingly slow process.

But, for the average normal person who isn't trying to look like Hulk Hogan and doesn't look anything near like him to begin with - your muscles have a lot of untapped potential - muscle gain is easier and quicker at the beginning.

As for gaining muscle while eating a maintenance diet? Completely doable provided you have a high enough source of protein and you're calculating in your workouts accurately.

In fact, it's possible to gain muscle while on a calorie DEFICIT if you're overweight, provided you have a high enough source of protein and you're calculating your workouts accurately.

I would attribute your "not losing weight" to:
A. You have lost weight, just not a lot.
B. You have gained roughly 5lbs of muscle.
C. You have water retention.
D. All of the above.

D.

I hope that's a smart enough answer for you.

Maxematics

singingflutelady wrote: »

cerise_noir wrote: »

I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).

pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »

It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.

Read below.

pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »

It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.

I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...

This, especially women!

Agreed. A lot of women, including myself, work very hard on their body composition. Every time I see a thread where it's implied that a woman's weight loss is being masked by muscle gains, especially if the woman is doing exercises like walking or HIIT, it really gets on my nerves. That "beach" body is hard to obtain because it takes time, patience, and dedication. A few months of eating healthier and going to the gym isn't going to get you what other people spend years working on.

Stephania1313

Keep up the good work. I am new to mfp but not so new at tracking my food intake. I am pretty sure you would be surprised by the numbers if you check. I certainly was when I started. I also wear a fitbit Alta on my wrist to track my steps. It does so much more than that too. I would recommend this device because it has interchangeable bands and is the first one that really looks kind of pretty. I bought the gray leather strap and love it. Of course it is not free and I am certain that you could find something that is free. I also tend to think that you may be storing some water which definitely effects your weight. I hope that after four months I am still working on it like you are doing. Thanks for the inspiration.