Doesn't make sense!

Mprilly
Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    When a new workout is started especially when it is intense, the muscles can swell while they undergo repair. This settles down in a few weeks as your body gets used to the new routine.

    I suggest you simply stick with it for a few more weeks.

    I'm in my 3rd month of exercising/counting calories. Is that still considered new?!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    When a new workout is started especially when it is intense, the muscles can swell while they undergo repair. This settles down in a few weeks as your body gets used to the new routine.

    I suggest you simply stick with it for a few more weeks.

    I'm in my 3rd month of exercising/counting calories. Is that still considered new?!

    And you've lost 0.4lbs in 3 months?
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    When a new workout is started especially when it is intense, the muscles can swell while they undergo repair. This settles down in a few weeks as your body gets used to the new routine.

    I suggest you simply stick with it for a few more weeks.

    I'm in my 3rd month of exercising/counting calories. Is that still considered new?!

    And you've lost 0.4lbs in 3 months?

    No. I've lost .4lbs in one month. My total weight loss is 13.6lbs since August 29th.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age

    Start weight, current weight, change in workouts recently?
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    8ryqv52vmxia.jpg

    Thank you for this! Very helpful!
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age

    5' 7", 297.2lbs, 33
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age

    Start weight, current weight, change in workouts recently?

    Starting weight 310.8, current weight 297.2. No change in workouts recently.
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    When a new workout is started especially when it is intense, the muscles can swell while they undergo repair. This settles down in a few weeks as your body gets used to the new routine.

    I suggest you simply stick with it for a few more weeks.

    I'm in my 3rd month of exercising/counting calories. Is that still considered new?!

    And you've lost 0.4lbs in 3 months?

    No. I've lost .4lbs in one month. My total weight loss is 13.6lbs since August 29th.

    13.6lbs in 9 weeks is a great rate of loss, I really wouldn't worry.

    Ok. Thanks. It just feels really discouraging to be working so hard to have basically no results in 4 weeks! [Sigh]
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age

    Start weight, current weight, change in workouts recently?

    Starting weight 310.8, current weight 297.2. No change in workouts recently.

    opening your diary would help.

    99% of the time, its a logging issue

    I use my diary religiously, and my personal trainer keeps an eye on it, too.
  • misnomer1
    misnomer1 Posts: 646 Member
    If you are weighing all food and logging correctly, give it more time. You should see a lot of weight coming off quickly at some point later on.
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    This is a total guess. There's not a lot of info here and you don't seem to want to open your diary so people can give you more specific feedback.

    But based on the little bit you've said, it seems you lost about 13 lbs in 5 weeks and have since stalled. That's suggests you changed your diet and likely dropped some water weight and probably cleaned out your system. I don't mean a cleanse, I just mean your digestive system likely cleared out during that time

    Since then you'v not lost much perceptible weight which suggests that you're currently eating at maintenance. In other words, you're taking in more calories than you realize. It's the most likely culprit.

    It could be something else, maybe related to your exercise. You're certainly not building muscle, but could have started retaining water again for muscle repair that's masked some additional weight loss in the last few weeks.

    Again, these are purely guesses but things to consider.

    I have no idea what you mean by opening my diary, but thank you for the thoughts and ideas!
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    VintageFeline wrote: »
    Honestly, stalls are not uncommon, as has been said you have lost a decent amount, I'd give it a bit longer.

    K, thanks!
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    As others have said stalls are common. To cover all your bases:

    1. Double check that the entries you are using in your diary are accurate. Many are user entered incorrectly, even the ones you get when scanning the bar code.
    2. If you aren't already, get a food scale and double check that the portions you are using (whether eyeballed, measured with cups/spoons, or trusting the package stated number of servings) are accurate. When I started using a scale, I found I was eating hundreds of cals more than I thought I was.
    3. Most PTs have no diet/nutrition training. I'm not saying your trainer has told you anything wrong, but keep in mind that when push comes to shove, they are an expert in your workout, not your food.
    4. Patience is a virtue. You still have a long way to go, and there will be lots of ups and downs. You will experience future stalls, that's just real life. Even if you do everything perfectly, every day, your body will not always react equally to your effort. Life sucks sometimes lol!

    Hang in there and good luck :drinker:

    Thank you for the ideas and encouragement! I really appreciate it!
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    Silentpadna wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    K, I'm starting to be concerned! This is my 4th week in a row that my weigh in has either been a loss of less than a pound, a gain or a maintenance. In 4 weeks I've lost .4 lbs total?! That's ridiculous with my calorie intake (I'm under on my calories 9.9x out of 10) and 5-6 day per week workouts! I workout with a personal trainer 3x/week. I exercise for 1 1/2 hours+ each day. And this week my calories were much less, so I was expecting some good results. A week ago my calorie goal was at 1940. This week they've been at 1590. What the heck is going on?!

    Are those figures net or gross?

    What are your stats?

    Those calorie figures are gross. What do you mean by my stats? Sorry...I am not a fitness buff by any stretch of the imagination!

    Height, weight, age

    5' 7", 297.2lbs, 33

    So here is some context for you.

    Your stats indicate a TDEE (based on my conservative setting on regular exercise, i.e. light exercise) of 2891, meaning that if you were eating 1940, you should be losing close to 2 pounds per week. If your setting is sedentary, i.e. little to no substantial exercise, then your TDEE would be at 2523. That means that your intake of 1940 would net you about a pound per week.

    Neither of these scenarios is bad, particularly since, as you might have now realized, your loss will not be 2 pounds or 1 pound per week every week. It simply does not work like that.

    Now with all that in mind, you should also realize that each side of this CICO (calories in - calories out) "equation" are really just estimates. There are complex variables on both sides, but they should be reasonably close. The only way to know (or at least have a decent idea) is by measuring as accurately as you possibly can and then tweaking what you based on results (over at least a 6-week period because of fluctuations). That's the one place where you have the most control. It is also the one place where you can be way wrong if you are not measuring things correctly. Things like weighing everything in grams if possible.

    Even doing all of that, your body reacts to the things you do. When you exercise, you not only burn calories, but you release stress hormones. Cortisol is one of those hormones. It is believed to slow the metabolism - although not significantly enough to create a "starvation mode", which is not a thing. It can, however, mean that you're not burning as much as you think. Remember, you will still lose weight if you are in a deficit. The other thing that releases cortisol is dieting over time. What this means to you is that you should focus primarily on making sure your logging is accurate. When it comes to losing weight, that is far more important that exercise - it's not even close.

    Eat less (but not too much less) for weight loss.
    Exercise for fitness - not for weight loss (although it helps).

    Do both to be healthy.

    Be patient.

    Wow! Thank you for your expertise and help! I appreciate the time you took to explain it to me!
  • Mprilly
    Mprilly Posts: 56 Member
    misnomer1 wrote: »
    If you are weighing all food and logging correctly, give it more time. You should see a lot of weight coming off quickly at some point later on.

    Thank you!
  • monica182
    monica182 Posts: 60 Member
    edited November 2017
    I have found that adding exercise in the mix makes my weight loss a lot less linear. Calorie counting alone I have always seen a pretty predictable loss of weight. This time around I have started going to the gym daily and training pretty aggressively and my weight has been dropping in stages. I would lose .25 lb a week for a few weeks then lose 4 lbs in one hit. This is week I have lost 8lbs after only losing 1lb the rest of the month. No idea what is going on and I have lost (and regained) weight many times and never had it happen like this before.

    If you are accurate with your logging (picking the correct entries) and don't over estimate your calorie burn, stick with it and it will eventually come off. In the mean time it helped me to take measurements as I could see the cms were coming off even though the scale wasn't moving. Though I was ready to throw my scale out the window every morning! If you still aren't losing cms or weight in a few weeks you may need to have another look at your logging.

    Btw TMI but my large loss this week come after a high fat meal, though still within my calories. I believe it helped eliminate some waste! So I have increased my fiber, fat and water intake to help keep things moving along.

    Edited to add that after all this my weight loss over the last 8 weeks averages out exactly what mfp is set for me to lose. I eat around 75% of my exercise calories back.
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
    maryprillwitz wrote: »
    ladyhusker39 wrote: »
    This is a total guess. There's not a lot of info here and you don't seem to want to open your diary so people can give you more specific feedback.

    But based on the little bit you've said, it seems you lost about 13 lbs in 5 weeks and have since stalled. That's suggests you changed your diet and likely dropped some water weight and probably cleaned out your system. I don't mean a cleanse, I just mean your digestive system likely cleared out during that time

    Since then you'v not lost much perceptible weight which suggests that you're currently eating at maintenance. In other words, you're taking in more calories than you realize. It's the most likely culprit.

    It could be something else, maybe related to your exercise. You're certainly not building muscle, but could have started retaining water again for muscle repair that's masked some additional weight loss in the last few weeks.

    Again, these are purely guesses but things to consider.

    I have no idea what you mean by opening my diary, but thank you for the thoughts and ideas!

    If you change the settings on your diary to public, members can see your diary and maybe help if there are any issues with your logging technique

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