Increased excercise stalled my weighloss!? Help

laurasprogress
laurasprogress Posts: 35 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have lost 60 pounds since January 1st of this year. A few weeks ago I added running 3-4 times a week. 5 miles. Now don't get me wrong, I walk jog run walk jog run, but am getting better and love it. MFP has me set at 1200 calories to lose 2 pounds a week. Since I started the excercise... Nothing.. Not a pound. Help! I could cry and am feeling so discouraged when I thought I was doing a good thing for myself. I'm still heavy.. 205.. And am 5'7" so why is this happening?
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Replies

  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 550 Member
    Do you measure your food intake using a food scale? tracking food in a diary here or elsewhere? Exercise is awesome, but if we're eating at maintenance calories or a surplus, we're not going to lose any weight.
  • laurasprogress
    laurasprogress Posts: 35 Member
    I weigh what needs to be weighted and scan in the rest. It is all logged here. I stick to between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. It seems like simple math of course but why isn't the scale moving? Am I retaining water? It's sure discouraging
  • drrkhanna007
    drrkhanna007 Posts: 1 Member
    In weight loss, Diet plays 80% role and exercise plays 20% role.

    Measure your intake strictly,

    Say no to high glycemic index foods,

    Also do strength training and cardio on alternate days.
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 550 Member
    It's possible you could be retaining water, how long have you been stalled?
  • laurasprogress
    laurasprogress Posts: 35 Member
    Two week stall now.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    Fursian wrote: »
    It's possible you could be retaining water, how long have you been stalled?

    I agree. It could be to jacking up your inflammation level in your body. I only walk a 1/4 mile a day but it is not to just burn calories.

  • CharleezAngel1
    CharleezAngel1 Posts: 11 Member
    A lot of times when you're eating so low calorie, your body will hang on to the weight, especially when you're exercising so much. I'd say increase your calories or look at cutting back on the activity. Personally, I'd go for the calorie increase. There's lots of data out there to support this if you do some digging.
  • Fursian
    Fursian Posts: 550 Member
    It is too early to say either way, though it is good to stay vigilant. You've done the weighing/measuring part, so my advice is to hang tight.

    Personally, I got into weighing weekly, then daily (using sites like trendweight), smoothed out fluctuations, ended up helping me get a grasp on daily/weekly, time of the month fluctuations (basically what's normal), helps immensely.
  • cwang125
    cwang125 Posts: 76 Member
    It's more than likely that as you increased your daily energy expenditure you've also increased how much you're eating. You've lost 60lbs (congrats) which means your maintenance is a lot lower than it used to be. You'd need to eat less or expend more through physical activity, which you say you have. So, if you've stalled and hit a plateau it means your intake has increased to match and you're now just maintaining.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Maybe it isn't stalled, but you are changing the composition of your body. Track your measurements right now. Are your clothes fitting better?
  • ulcaster555
    ulcaster555 Posts: 1,150 Member
    looks like your building muscle mass, i'm going through the same thing
  • cwang125
    cwang125 Posts: 76 Member
    edited June 2016
    ulcaster555 wrote: »
    looks like your building muscle mass, i'm going through the same thing

    Unlikely. She said she's mostly jogging and walking. Unless you're doing sprints you're not going to be building any significant amounts muscle. In fact, too much cardio is catabolic. If she were also doing strength training I'd agree it could be increased muscle.
  • ammo7
    ammo7 Posts: 188 Member
    laurasprogress wrote: »
    I weigh what needs to be weighted and scan in the rest. It is all logged here. I stick to between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. It seems like simple math of course but why isn't the scale moving? Am I retaining water? It's sure discouraging

    Your stall has only been 2 weeks, and you have added exercise in that time. This makes it most likely that your muscles are retaining water. Your body will flush that extra water out naturally eventually. Stick to your plan, and have patience :)

    I would also like to add: if you were experiencing a stall for longer, then it would be important to point out that everything needs to be weighed. Packaged foods are often 10-20% higher than their stated serving size (for example, you could be logging "1 serving" of something that is meant to be 50g, but the food is actually 60g. These little differences can easily add up over time, to erase some of your deficit accidentally. If your stall continues, try weighing these foods (especially bread, if you don't already).
    ulcaster555 wrote: »
    looks like your building muscle mass, i'm going through the same thing

    A female eating around 1300 is not building muscle. A calorie surplus is required.
    CharleezAngel1 wrote: »
    A lot of times when you're eating so low calorie, your body will hang on to the weight, especially when you're exercising so much. I'd say increase your calories or look at cutting back on the activity. Personally, I'd go for the calorie increase. There's lots of data out there to support this if you do some digging.

    This is false. Your body cannot hold on to fat without you supplying it with excess calories. Your body can, however, hold on to excess water because of a new exercise regime.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    drrkhanna007 wrote: »
    In weight loss, Diet plays 80% role and exercise plays 20% role.

    Measure your intake strictly,

    Say no to high glycemic index foods,

    Also do strength training and cardio on alternate days.

    why?
  • laurasprogress
    laurasprogress Posts: 35 Member
    I'm not eating any more than I was before. I log all calories. The only thing I changed was adding the jogging. I'm going to try staying the course. I hope my body will catch up with my efforts. I do feel good although I'm ready for bed at 9 o'clock these days lol. Thanks for all of the assurance
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    Second the poster saying that your body is retaining water to help with aches and pains. When I started adding exercise I even went up in weight a bit for a while but it averaged out in the long run. I wouldn't worry about two weeks at all.
    Make sure you are drinking enough. It seems counter intuitive, but one way to help with water retention is to make sure you are properly hydrated. You may need more hydration with more exercise.
    I would guess you have a really nice weight loss week in store soon.
  • laurasprogress
    laurasprogress Posts: 35 Member
    ammo7 wrote: »
    laurasprogress wrote: »
    I weigh what needs to be weighted and scan in the rest. It is all logged here. I stick to between 1200 and 1300 calories a day. It seems like simple math of course but why isn't the scale moving? Am I retaining water? It's sure discouraging

    Your stall has only been 2 weeks, and you have added exercise in that time. This makes it most likely that your muscles are retaining water. Your body will flush that extra water out naturally eventually. Stick to your plan, and have patience :)

    I would also like to add: if you were experiencing a stall for longer, then it would be important to point out that everything needs to be weighed. Packaged foods are often 10-20% higher than their stated serving size (for example, you could be logging "1 serving" of something that is meant to be 50g, but the food is actually 60g. These little differences can easily add up over time, to erase some of your deficit accidentally. If your stall continues, try weighing these foods (especially bread, if you don't already).
    ulcaster555 wrote: »
    looks like your building muscle mass, i'm going through the same thing

    A female eating around 1300 is not building muscle. A calorie surplus is required.
    CharleezAngel1 wrote: »
    A lot of times when you're eating so low calorie, your body will hang on to the weight, especially when you're exercising so much. I'd say increase your calories or look at cutting back on the activity. Personally, I'd go for the calorie increase. There's lots of data out there to support this if you do some digging.

    This is false. Your body cannot hold on to fat without you supplying it with excess calories. Your body can, however, hold on to excess water because of a new exercise regime.

    Who can still eat bread? Haha just kidding! Thank you for the encouragement! I appreciate it so much! Going to try drinking more water to get more out
  • Wicked_Seraph
    Wicked_Seraph Posts: 388 Member
    laurasprogress wrote: »
    I have lost 60 pounds since January 1st of this year. A few weeks ago I added running 3-4 times a week. 5 miles. Now don't get me wrong, I walk jog run walk jog run, but am getting better and love it. MFP has me set at 1200 calories to lose 2 pounds a week. Since I started the excercise... Nothing.. Not a pound. Help! I could cry and am feeling so discouraged when I thought I was doing a good thing for myself. I'm still heavy.. 205.. And am 5'7" so why is this happening?

    Have you recalculated your TDEE? Your maintenance calories are going to be much lower now than it was 60 lbs ago (congrats!). As such, your deficit when eating at 1200 cal/day is going to be smaller than it was before. You have two options:
    1) Continue at a 1000 calorie deficit and dip below 1200 calories (not recommended)
    2) Adjust your weight loss goal to 1.0-1.5lbs/week.

    I experienced this firsthand. 1200 calories now will yield 1.5lbs/week of weightloss - 35lbs ago, it was appropriate for 2lbs/week.

    Also consider that several things can be going on. My understanding is that a new exercise regimen can encourage the body to hold onto water for muscle repair. If you're not tracking calories and weighing food, perhaps you're eating more than you think you are. Furthermore, consider if you've been eating more sodium or carbs - both things cause the body to hold onto water.
  • wandajnevills
    wandajnevills Posts: 56 Member
    An extremely important thing to remember is that muscle is very dense and weighs a lot more than fat. That means 5 pounds of muscle is a fraction of the size of 5 pounds of fat. 5 measly pounds of fat is literally bigger than a football. Fat is fluffy. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle and maintaining the same weight. You could even be gaining weight and getting thinner if you're building muscle. You should go by your size, measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror more than the scale if you're exercising a lot.

    Side note: Another great thing about muscle is that the more of it you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    wandajnevills wrote: »
    An extremely important thing to remember is that muscle is very dense and weighs a lot more than fat. That means 5 pounds of muscle is a fraction of the size of 5 pounds of fat. 5 measly pounds of fat is literally bigger than a football. Fat is fluffy. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle and maintaining the same weight. You could even be gaining weight and getting thinner if you're building muscle. You should go by your size, measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror more than the scale if you're exercising a lot.

    Side note: Another great thing about muscle is that the more of it you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.

    As has already been pointed out in this thread, a female eating 1300 calories and doing only cardio will not be building muscle. It is extremely difficult for a woman to build appreciable muscle mass. In ideal conditions with a proper lifting program and calorie surplus, a woman can really only gain .5-1lb of lean mass per month.
  • wandajnevills
    wandajnevills Posts: 56 Member
    Fursian wrote: »
    Do you measure your food intake using a food scale? tracking food in a diary here or elsewhere? Exercise is awesome, but if we're eating at maintenance calories or a surplus, we're not going to lose any weight.

    True about eating less calories than we expend, but weighing food doesn't give us any idea of its caloric content. Green beans weigh a lot more than whipped cream, but it's the whipped cream that's going to pack in mass calories. In fact, the fattiest foods are the lightest by weight. Oils (fat) float to the surface of water because they're light. You'd have to eat 5 pounds of green beans to get the same amount of calories as virtually zero pounds of whipped cream.
  • wandajnevills
    wandajnevills Posts: 56 Member
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    wandajnevills wrote: »
    An extremely important thing to remember is that muscle is very dense and weighs a lot more than fat. That means 5 pounds of muscle is a fraction of the size of 5 pounds of fat. 5 measly pounds of fat is literally bigger than a football. Fat is fluffy. You could be losing fat and gaining muscle and maintaining the same weight. You could even be gaining weight and getting thinner if you're building muscle. You should go by your size, measurements, how your clothes fit and how you look in the mirror more than the scale if you're exercising a lot.

    Side note: Another great thing about muscle is that the more of it you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest.

    As has already been pointed out in this thread, a female eating 1300 calories and doing only cardio will not be building muscle. It is extremely difficult for a woman to build appreciable muscle mass. In ideal conditions with a proper lifting program and calorie surplus, a woman can really only gain .5-1lb of lean mass per month.

    I know when I was sick and stopped working out for three months i gained zero pounds in the first months but got noticeably fatter, and all l normally do is the elliptical. It is possible to build muscle doing "cardio" especially if you had very little muscle to begin with.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    wandajnevills wrote: »
    Fursian wrote: »
    Do you measure your food intake using a food scale? tracking food in a diary here or elsewhere? Exercise is awesome, but if we're eating at maintenance calories or a surplus, we're not going to lose any weight.

    True about eating less calories than we expend, but weighing food doesn't give us any idea of its caloric content. Green beans weigh a lot more than whipped cream, but it's the whipped cream that's going to pack in mass calories. In fact, the fattiest foods are the lightest by weight. Oils (fat) float to the surface of water because they're light. You'd have to eat 5 pounds of green beans to get the same amount of calories as virtually zero pounds of whipped cream.

    What? Weighing your food and looking at accurate database entries is how you get accurate calorie contents. That is why weighing food is helpful--it gives you an easy way to be precise with your calories, especially with calorie-dense foods like oils.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    wandajnevills wrote: »
    Fursian wrote: »
    Do you measure your food intake using a food scale? tracking food in a diary here or elsewhere? Exercise is awesome, but if we're eating at maintenance calories or a surplus, we're not going to lose any weight.

    True about eating less calories than we expend, but weighing food doesn't give us any idea of its caloric content. Green beans weigh a lot more than whipped cream, but it's the whipped cream that's going to pack in mass calories. In fact, the fattiest foods are the lightest by weight. Oils (fat) float to the surface of water because they're light. You'd have to eat 5 pounds of green beans to get the same amount of calories as virtually zero pounds of whipped cream.

    I think the person is suggesting weighing as a way to accurately measure food intake -- to be used in conjunction with the database on this website to understand how many calories are truly being consumed as opposed to using a less accurate form of measuring (like measuring cups).

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