My Scale Won't Budge!

heart4sole

I always walk 3-5 miles or more everyday. I have started using portion control for a week now, healthy eating as well,and very seldom have sweets. I always weigh in on Monday's. This week I only lost 4 ounces. I expected at least 1 pound weight loss in a week. Any suggestions for a greater weight loss?

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.

ElJefePerron

You'll be asked a few clarifying questions by people wanting to help you. The biggest one is, "by portion control, are you weighing food using a scale?"

Also, are you logging everything? The walking will help your general health and fitness, but the weight loss is based on CICO.

Good luck

positivepowers

diannethegeek

ElJefePerron wrote: »

You'll be asked a few clarifying questions by people wanting to help you. The biggest one is, "by portion control, are you weighing food using a scale?"

Also, are you logging everything? The walking will help your general health and fitness, but the weight loss is based on CICO.

Good luck

The OP's diary is open if you're curious. It might help answer some of your questions.

emdeesea

You gotta start logging your calories. That's the only way to be sure that you're in a deficit.

Christine_72

diannethegeek wrote: »

ElJefePerron wrote: »

You'll be asked a few clarifying questions by people wanting to help you. The biggest one is, "by portion control, are you weighing food using a scale?"

Also, are you logging everything? The walking will help your general health and fitness, but the weight loss is based on CICO.

Good luck

The OP's diary is open if you're curious. It might help answer some of your questions.

Her diary has only 1/2 a day logged..

diannethegeek

Christine_72 wrote: »

diannethegeek wrote: »

ElJefePerron wrote: »

You'll be asked a few clarifying questions by people wanting to help you. The biggest one is, "by portion control, are you weighing food using a scale?"

Also, are you logging everything? The walking will help your general health and fitness, but the weight loss is based on CICO.

Good luck

The OP's diary is open if you're curious. It might help answer some of your questions.

Her diary has only 1/2 a day logged..

And one day back around May 5. The fact that it was mostly empty answered a lot of @ElJefePerron's questions for me. Did it not for you?

heart4sole

When measuring my food portions, I use a measuring cup, or go by the portion size on the package. Also, I just started logging my foods. Thanks everyone,for the advice.

Christine_72

The first thing I'd do is invest in a food scale

https://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

heart4sole

I did not realize the difference in calories using the measuring cups and using a food scale. I thought I was doing the right thing. Thanks for the info. I definitely need to get a food scale.

Christine_72

heart4sole wrote: »

I did not realize the difference in calories using the measuring cups and using a food scale. I thought I was doing the right thing. Thanks for the info. I definitely need to get a food scale.

yaaay Plus you'll save on all the washing up of those cups and spoons

Queenmunchy

Christine_72 wrote: »

heart4sole wrote: »

I did not realize the difference in calories using the measuring cups and using a food scale. I thought I was doing the right thing. Thanks for the info. I definitely need to get a food scale.

yaaay Plus you'll save on all the washing up of those cups and spoons

Yep! It's so much easier. Weigh, rare, weigh, tare. No washing needed!