Not losing like I think I should be. Help?

KellyDeitrick

I need some help! I am watching what I am eating, walking 30 minutes at lunch most days, doing a 30 minute cardio work out most nights (Cize, YouV2, some Core de Force).

My diary is open. I am trying to watch portions and calories. I am not eating back my calories burned vs. my allotted calories. My calories are set to lose 1.5lbs a week approx. I use the calories burn for exercises on MFP. My MapMyWalk app gives me more calories for my walking. My Fitbit has been logging between 2600-3000 calorie burn a day.

I do not have macros or anything else set up (too complicated). I need it to be "easy" to log and keep up with it.

Since March 12, I have lost 12.8 lbs and around 12" overall. I weighed today and went up by almost 2 lbs from yesterday!

Getting kind of frustrated and I guess need reassurance that I am on the right track. Any suggestions and advice would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you.

inertiastrength

Your diary seems to be closed to me but 12lbs since March 12th means you're doing something right. Your deficit isn't as great as you think, but you do still have one! Weight loss isn't always linear and if you weigh every day (like me) get the Happy Scale app which will track your trends. You're doing great. How are you measuring food?

KellyDeitrick

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

Your diary seems to be closed to me but 12lbs since March 12th means you're doing something right. Your deficit isn't as great as you think, but you do still have one! Weight loss isn't always linear and if you weigh every day (like me) get the Happy Scale app which will track your trends. You're doing great. How are you measuring food?

I just changed my settings on my diary. Sorry, it was set for friends. I am using measuring cups and scoops to measure veggies, fruits, carbs, etc.

rheddmobile

Deep breath, you didn't really gain 2 lbs in one day unless you ate 8000 calories, it's not possible according to the laws of physics. Those temporary water weight gains can be really frustrating but they don't have any connection to reality.

All sorts of things can cause temporary gains like that - time of the month, drinking more water before you went to bed, sleeping different hours, stress, or even working out more. I started doing weighted squats and gained 2 lbs in one day, because my muscles were holding onto water to repair themselves. It's normal, and it went away after a couple of days.

Right now you are losing, what, more than a pound a week? That's reasonable. If you want to lose faster, you probably need to start weighing and logging your exact intake.

inertiastrength

Get a food scale. It's way more accurate. I'm easily off by 20% using those to measure. I got a cheap food scale for 15$

stanmann571

KellyDeitrick wrote: »

I need some help! I am watching what I am eating, walking 30 minutes at lunch most days, doing a 30 minute cardio work out most nights (Cize, YouV2, some Core de Force).

My diary is open. I am trying to watch portions and calories. I am not eating back my calories burned vs. my allotted calories. My calories are set to lose 1.5lbs a week approx. I use the calories burn for exercises on MFP. My MapMyWalk app gives me more calories for my walking. My Fitbit has been logging between 2600-3000 calorie burn a day.

I do not have macros or anything else set up (too complicated). I need it to be "easy" to log and keep up with it.

Since March 12, I have lost 12.8 lbs and around 12" overall. I weighed today and went up by almost 2 lbs from yesterday!

Getting kind of frustrated and I guess need reassurance that I am on the right track. Any suggestions and advice would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you.

12 pounds in 9 weeks is pretty good. It's fairly close to 1.5 lbs per week.

roselee2014

The best advice I can give you is to not give up!!! As long as you are eating healthy and exercising properly, this alone should make you feel great. Don't focus on the scale. That is the #1 problem for people's failure when deciding to change there lifestyle. Personally for me I see the change in losing inches verses weight loss & im ok with this, as I know my weight will eventually start to drop. I don't know if you have taken your measurements, but I would suggest you do so. Just keep your patience and confidence as each individuals body is different.

Silentpadna

rheddmobile wrote: »

Deep breath, you didn't really gain 2 lbs in one day unless you ate 8000 calories, it's not possible according to the laws of physics. Those temporary water weight gains can be really frustrating but they don't have any connection to reality.

Excellent answer...minor quibble (not a big one - I rated your post awesome), though I understand the intent. Those water weight gains are reality and they are weight, but they are not fat gains. The reason I point that out is that I think it's important (especially for those who are new or returning to a weight loss program) to understand that the scale is a crude measurement tool for tracking fat loss over short periods of time. Because of fluid fluctuations, we cannot know in the short term whether it is fat loss or fat gain. We rely on the scale number too much. I would also point out that if you are dehydrated when you weigh yourself, that water loss can exaggerate a fat loss, but the weight would still be "real".

Bottom line, and why I brought this up, is that I notice many folks focus solely on what the scale says and not why they are using it in the first place: to track fat loss. Our impatience gets the best of us.

All that said, OP you need to be using a food scale. I would venture that although you have decent estimates, volume measurements are not the same.

inertiastrength

After Mother's Day I was up 2lbs too... I definitely didn't eat a 7K cal SURPLUS but I did eat 2500 calories when I'm used to eating 1500 (most of which were carbs that will replenish your glycogen stores - taking 3g water to store 1g glycogen) I just kept on with my regular calories this week and I'm down those 2 I "gained" plus the 1 thermodynamics owed me for my deficit. I agree with the PP that the scale is a good tool (over TIME) but day to day it's quite crude.

Silentpadna

mrsnattybulking wrote: »

I just kept on with my regular calories this week and I'm down those 2 I "gained" plus the 1 thermodynamics owed me for my deficit.

Love this! This is what I was saying in about five times as many words. If readers get nothing else out of this thread, that illustration is everything! Notice the water fluctuation is twice as big as the thermodynamics we are searching for on the scale!?

cee134

Jthanmyfitnesspal

Sounds like things are going great, congratulations!

As for a sudden increase of 2lbs: happens to me every once in a while. It will disappear just as mysteriously.

Keep calm and on program and things will go your way.

KellyDeitrick

Thank you everyone for the suggestions, advice and ideas. I just need to stay away from the scale for awhile. I will also break out my scale at home to measure my food intake more accurately. Thanks again!!

Luna3386

You can't freak out over one day on the scale. This is why I weigh daily. Now the fluctuations don't freak me out anymore. Us women can gain several pounds overnight​ for many reasons. I can't lose it overnight, but it always leaves again.