5 weeks dieting and exercising, no weight lost. HELP!

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Replies

  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    shanika88 wrote: »
    ^But OP you didn't state if you eat back your exercise calories or not and how much of those calories you do eat back if you don't.

    I still didn't see her age listed. The reason I ask is that TDEE for a 21 year old female, 5'6" tall, 165 lbs doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days a week can be as high as 2113 calories per day. A 1lb deficit per week would put her at 1613 calories per day. However, the TDEE for the same female with the same stats who is 50 years old is about 1947 calories/day, and a 500 calorie per day deficit would be 1447 calories/day; closer to what she's attempting. Again, assuming her recipes/calories are accurate (some still don't seem that way) she should be losing weight if she is 50 years old, and possibly losing weight faster if she's much younger. Those calorie estimates are different depending on the calculators you use, I tend to use iifym.com.


    I don't eat back any exercise calories and I'm 29 years old :). I'm going to recalculate and re-weigh everything once again (sigh, so fun) when I do my meal prep tomorrow just to make sure everything is on point. But I just can't see myself eating much less, I start to get dizzy and don't feel good when I've cut out a snack or missed a meal. On top of the workouts I've added (Kayla Itsines 3 days per week and 2 runs for 30+ minutes), I also work 6 days a week and I'm generally standing all day or chasing children. So if I have to cut more calories I'm going to have to figure out a diet that will also keep my blood sugar really stable.

    You're getting dizzy because you're not eating back your exercise calories. You aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs to sustain the level of activity you're doing.

    It sounds to me like you're losing weight in a normal, nonlinear way, but are undereating.

    Your solution would therefore be to consistently weigh and measure your food accurately, eat your exercise calories, and be more patient with the weight loss process.
  • soniaf
    soniaf Posts: 106 Member
    That sounds really really frustrating OP. Sounds like you are really doing so well but not seeing it on the scales. Can I suggest something that has helped me, trendweight.com cos then you can see the trend above the little fluctuations. Sympathies! Hope the measurements are good.
    I feel like I'm in the same position as I should be losing more than a kilo a week cos I am eating really well, weighing stuff, exercising heaps, but I am losing 0.2 kg a week. I am really hoping for a whoosh soon.
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    shanika88 wrote: »
    ^But OP you didn't state if you eat back your exercise calories or not and how much of those calories you do eat back if you don't.

    I still didn't see her age listed. The reason I ask is that TDEE for a 21 year old female, 5'6" tall, 165 lbs doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days a week can be as high as 2113 calories per day. A 1lb deficit per week would put her at 1613 calories per day. However, the TDEE for the same female with the same stats who is 50 years old is about 1947 calories/day, and a 500 calorie per day deficit would be 1447 calories/day; closer to what she's attempting. Again, assuming her recipes/calories are accurate (some still don't seem that way) she should be losing weight if she is 50 years old, and possibly losing weight faster if she's much younger. Those calorie estimates are different depending on the calculators you use, I tend to use iifym.com.


    I don't eat back any exercise calories and I'm 29 years old :). I'm going to recalculate and re-weigh everything once again (sigh, so fun) when I do my meal prep tomorrow just to make sure everything is on point. But I just can't see myself eating much less, I start to get dizzy and don't feel good when I've cut out a snack or missed a meal. On top of the workouts I've added (Kayla Itsines 3 days per week and 2 runs for 30+ minutes), I also work 6 days a week and I'm generally standing all day or chasing children. So if I have to cut more calories I'm going to have to figure out a diet that will also keep my blood sugar really stable.

    You're getting dizzy because you're not eating back your exercise calories. You aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs to sustain the level of activity you're doing.

    It sounds to me like you're losing weight in a normal, nonlinear way, but are undereating.

    Your solution would therefore be to consistently weigh and measure your food accurately, eat your exercise calories, and be more patient with the weight loss process.

    So I should eat all my exercise calories? How do I know exactly what I burned? I'm confused. I thought exercising was to create a larger deficit? I don't know how much more patient I can be. I mean 7 weeks to lose 1.2 pounds seems a little ridiculous, but I'll keep chugging along I guess.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited February 2018
    shanika88 wrote: »
    apullum wrote: »
    shanika88 wrote: »
    ^But OP you didn't state if you eat back your exercise calories or not and how much of those calories you do eat back if you don't.

    I still didn't see her age listed. The reason I ask is that TDEE for a 21 year old female, 5'6" tall, 165 lbs doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 days a week can be as high as 2113 calories per day. A 1lb deficit per week would put her at 1613 calories per day. However, the TDEE for the same female with the same stats who is 50 years old is about 1947 calories/day, and a 500 calorie per day deficit would be 1447 calories/day; closer to what she's attempting. Again, assuming her recipes/calories are accurate (some still don't seem that way) she should be losing weight if she is 50 years old, and possibly losing weight faster if she's much younger. Those calorie estimates are different depending on the calculators you use, I tend to use iifym.com.


    I don't eat back any exercise calories and I'm 29 years old :). I'm going to recalculate and re-weigh everything once again (sigh, so fun) when I do my meal prep tomorrow just to make sure everything is on point. But I just can't see myself eating much less, I start to get dizzy and don't feel good when I've cut out a snack or missed a meal. On top of the workouts I've added (Kayla Itsines 3 days per week and 2 runs for 30+ minutes), I also work 6 days a week and I'm generally standing all day or chasing children. So if I have to cut more calories I'm going to have to figure out a diet that will also keep my blood sugar really stable.

    You're getting dizzy because you're not eating back your exercise calories. You aren't giving your body the nutrients it needs to sustain the level of activity you're doing.

    It sounds to me like you're losing weight in a normal, nonlinear way, but are undereating.

    Your solution would therefore be to consistently weigh and measure your food accurately, eat your exercise calories, and be more patient with the weight loss process.

    So I should eat all my exercise calories? How do I know exactly what I burned? I'm confused. I thought exercising was to create a larger deficit? I don't know how much more patient I can be. I mean 7 weeks to lose 1.2 pounds seems a little ridiculous, but I'll keep chugging along I guess.

    Many people eat back half of their exercise calories if they don't have a super accurate calculation of how much they burned. This is because they don't want to overeat, not because they want a larger deficit. MFP's database for exercises is notorious for overstating calorie burn, so the "eat half" advice is just an attempt to fix that problem.

    The goal of exercise is a) to achieve other health and fitness goals in addition to losing weight, and b) to be able to eat more. Your deficit is already built into your MFP calorie allowance. If you feel dizzy, or are afraid that you might get dizzy, then you are either undereating and/or have a medical concern that should be addressed. Given what you've told us, undereating seems very likely. It isn't safe to undereat in order to lose weight faster.

    Although 30 pounds may seem like a lot depending on your starting weight and goals, many people find that they can't sustain rapid weight loss at that point. When I was within 30 pounds of my goal, my weight loss happened in fits and starts. It took me over a year to lose the last 30 pounds, and I only saw any movement on the scale once every 4-6 weeks. When my weight did go down, it tended to drop suddenly by a couple pounds. So what you're describing in terms of pace of weight loss doesn't seem unreasonable to me because it sounds similar to what I experienced.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    I weighed a tbs of almond butter once and was shocked at how easily I could be off by 20 calories. I also think with only 30# to lose you might lose a pound or two a month. Finally, what is your activity level set to in mfp? If sedentary, then something is off. If active, then that might be giving you the calories that you aren’t recording in your exercising. Hang in there. This is a process, with a big learning curve. I’ll be interested to see how things work out for you.
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    Hello, Here are a few things you can do when you get stuck in a rut, if you have not tried them already:

    1) Include high intensity interval training during your cardio session. For example: 1 min sprint on level 7 on the treadmill/2 min jog at a 5.5 (use speeds that work for you this is just an example!). The key here is to really get your heart rate up on that one minute sprint. It's not something you could hold for longer than a minute. Repeat for a total of 25 minutes. You can duplicate this type of workout on any cardio machine, on a trail or at a track. Stick with this style of training from now on. Steady state exercise is not very effective when you are trying cut fat.

    2) Track the amount of weight you are lifting so you can properly progress your weight. One of the keys to losing fat is progressively increasing the amount of weight you lift. Key exercises like barbell squat, barbell deadlift, barbell chest press are great additions to your workouts. These may sound intimidating but you can always youtube them and try them with just a bar and no weight. I know that Kayla uses weight in her workouts so track that as well. Challenge yourself to increase the weight by 5lbs every time an exercise starts to get too east. 10 lbs if it's a barbell.
    Include work outs that are heavier weight than you are used to(but can control) and do fewer reps. 8 to 10

    3) If all else fails, try eating about 500 calories more than you would for one day, spread them throughout the day. Eat healthy carbs like brown rice, sweet potato etc. Especially before a cardio session! Carbs fuel our workouts especially, endurance exercise. Only do this for one day and then go back to eating your regular diet.

    4)I'm taking a sports nutrition class with the head registered dietician at Kaiser, and I can promise you carbs are not your enemy. You need healthy carbs to fuel exercise. Not processed refined carbs like what you find in muffins, cookies and cakes. You need the whole foods mentioned above, brown rice, legumes, sweet potatoes and so on. It looks like your diet is a bit low in that. If you want to really bring the intensity up in your workouts to make them more effective don't cut the carbs!

    5) Obviously check with your Dr. Always good to get labs done, and see if you can learn more. If you are healthy I would try out the above and really stick to it for four weeks. You will see progress as long as your calories are correct and you are really pushing yourself in your workouts.

    6) Two great resources are: Sport Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark and Thinner Leaner Stronger by Micheal Matthews These are based on solid academic research and are most trusted books when it comes to nutrition and weight issues.

    Best of luck,
    A

    Hi, thank you for the advice!

    1. The reason I do just straight cardio, walking or jogging is because that is what the routine I'm doing recommends. The three workout days are HIIT and then you're supposed to do two days of lower intensity workouts :). I will consider switching up those days to include some HIIT as well, but I like having those days as "recovery days" but still getting some exercise.

    2. That's a great idea! Right now I've been lifting usually 8 pounds each arm depending on the number of reps I'm doing and what kind of lifting. My arms are kind of weak right now. I'm trying to strengthen them and get 12 pounds to be my new normal, and then move up to 15. I don't currently have a regular gym membership, though I just started Orange Theory yesterday, I'll have to look up bars and see if they're inexpensive to buy.

    3. Another great idea, I'll try that!

    4. Okay, I'm glad to hear that because I was feeling a little attacked for eating veggie/fruit/rice carbs. I never (at least not in the last two months) buy refined carbs or processed foods. I was thinking I was eating a good amount of them because I have sweet potato, rice, etc every day but maybe for those 500 extra calories I'll incorporate some more healthy carbs and see if anything changes.

    5/6: Thank you! I actually think I have the Sport Nutrition Guidebook that I borrowed from a friend and never got around to reading. I'll have to see if I still have it. I'm really anxious to see some changes so I'm going to try and follow all of your advice! Thanks again!
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    edited February 2018
    measuring cups can be off by a lot. so can 2 pieces of meat,cheese,fruit,.etc the same size. two apples the same size can be different in weight and calories. I learned the hard way by not weighing everything. I started gaining weight I lost back. I was using measuring cups. and rice is high in calories so rice should be weighed dry.. a cup of something dry tends to be more than a cup weight wise.even packaged food can be off by up to 20%. it is easy to eat more than you think without even trying.


    I'm not measuring everything in cups. I measure 2-3 things out of my entire diet using cups and I'm 100% certain it is not enough off to cause weight stall. I don't eat packaged food or cheese either. I know I'm probably seeming belligerent about this, but it's because I refuse to believe that not weighing a few things out of my entire diet is causing weight stall to this degree. At most the deviance is less than 100 calories. Those things I measure rather than weigh, I don't even fill the measuring cups up to the top.
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    fiddletime wrote: »
    I weighed a tbs of almond butter once and was shocked at how easily I could be off by 20 calories. I also think with only 30# to lose you might lose a pound or two a month. Finally, what is your activity level set to in mfp? If sedentary, then something is off. If active, then that might be giving you the calories that you aren’t recording in your exercising. Hang in there. This is a process, with a big learning curve. I’ll be interested to see how things work out for you.

    But here's the thing. The only things I don't weigh are the almond butter, rice (but I measure it), carrots (I eat 10 of them), almonds (I eat 7 of them), salt, and lime juice (squeezed from 1/8th of a lime). At MOST I find it hard to believe that I'm off by more than 75 calories. Even with the almond butter and rice, I measure slightly less than the recorded amounts. When I have 1/2 cup rice, I don't fill the measuring cup up fully and the same for the almond butter.

    I don't know if I've set my activity level, I have to check. I work out 5 days a week.
  • jumpsquats
    jumpsquats Posts: 19 Member
    What is the intensity of the current exercise you are doing? On a scale of 1-10, how hard is it?

    Also, I’d strongly recommend including more resistance training in your programme. Rely less on the weighing scales and more on body measurements such as hips/waist. Sometimes it’s just a case of fine tuning things that you’re doing already, so don’t feel demotivated, keep on going!
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    edited February 2018
    ... Are you weighing using grams? Don't trust measuring cups.

    I'm wary on the calories listed for half a cup of rice. That seems to be waaaayyy too low. (Note: 1/4th cup/45g of my rice is 155 calories)

    Edit that doesn't have to do with my bad spelling:
    The error on that item alone would move me from a deficit to maintenance, so I'm wanting to make sure. Rice should be measured dry, uncooked, by the gram.
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    jumpsquats wrote: »
    What is the intensity of the current exercise you are doing? On a scale of 1-10, how hard is it?

    Also, I’d strongly recommend including more resistance training in your programme. Rely less on the weighing scales and more on body measurements such as hips/waist. Sometimes it’s just a case of fine tuning things that you’re doing already, so don’t feel demotivated, keep on going!

    1-10, usually 6 or higher for the Kayla Itsines program I'm doing and 4-5 for my low intensity recovery days. And I just started Orange Theory fitness and that was an 8 or higher in intensity. Both Kayla and Orange Theory include weights and resistance training, should I still incorporate more? Do you have any good recommendations for how to incorporate more resistance training at home? I don't have a regular gym membership, so I only have access to my dumbbells and kettlebell at home. Thanks for the suggestions!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    shanika88 wrote: »
    fiddletime wrote: »
    I weighed a tbs of almond butter once and was shocked at how easily I could be off by 20 calories. I also think with only 30# to lose you might lose a pound or two a month. Finally, what is your activity level set to in mfp? If sedentary, then something is off. If active, then that might be giving you the calories that you aren’t recording in your exercising. Hang in there. This is a process, with a big learning curve. I’ll be interested to see how things work out for you.

    But here's the thing. The only things I don't weigh are the almond butter, rice (but I measure it), carrots (I eat 10 of them), almonds (I eat 7 of them), salt, and lime juice (squeezed from 1/8th of a lime). At MOST I find it hard to believe that I'm off by more than 75 calories. Even with the almond butter and rice, I measure slightly less than the recorded amounts. When I have 1/2 cup rice, I don't fill the measuring cup up fully and the same for the almond butter.

    I don't know if I've set my activity level, I have to check. I work out 5 days a week.

    not weighing rice and using a measuring cup, not weighing almond butter can add up to 75 calories or more if you are off. your 2 tbsp of almond butter can be more like 3 or more. the rice can be a LOT more if you arent weighing it and are only using measuring cups. trust me on that note it can make a big difference. why dont you try weighing these things for a short time and see how close you are compared to using a measuring cup/eyeballing portions just to get an idea. a serving of almonds if its 7 and you weigh them out could mean 5 or 6 is a serving. sure that may not be a lot of calories ,but since the almond butter and rice are higher in calories then yes it could mean you are way off.

    not to mention making sure you have correct entries for these foods. some of the entries on mfp are way off so that could have an impact. activity level is just for your daily activities such as your job. activity level doesnt include exercise.The more exercise you do the more water you will retain as well which can mask weight loss.
  • nmjordan
    nmjordan Posts: 37 Member
    Maybe your scale is broken? Is it a digital or just a regular one? My regular scale broke and stopped being accurate so I bought a digital scale that measures by two-tenths.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    edited February 2018
    I know it sounds ridiculous but try weighing out your rice and almond butter every day. I found my 2tbsp of peanut butter was always about 50-100 calories over and I didn't overfill the measuring thing. I also found cereal when I measured it (1/2c) and then weighed to compare, it was actually about 50-75 calories over. Might be similar for rice especially because rice can vary greatly depending on how packed it is in the measuring cup. I've found baby carrots are usually more than 4 calories per carrot. 10 for me is usually around 50-60.

    If you are off by a few hundred calories it could easily cause this stall since you are sill losing albeit at a slow pace. It makes sense that you are just losing slowly if you are eating a few hundred more than expected. It sounds like you are doing great but you are just losing very slowly right? I know how frustrating it must be but I really think if you weigh out all your food for awhile you can figure out if you are a bit over and if not, then eliminate that as a possibility you know.

    This is a very eye opening thread http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10543923/why-should-i-use-a-food-scale/p1
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    shanika88 wrote: »
    I know it sounds ridiculous but try weighing out your rice and almond butter every day. I found my 2tbsp of peanut butter was always about 50-100 calories over and I didn't overfill the measuring thing. I also found cereal when I measured it (1/2c) and then weighed to compare, it was actually about 50-75 calories over. Might be similar for rice especially because rice can vary greatly depending on how packed it is in the measuring cup. I've found baby carrots are usually more than 4 calories per carrot. 10 for me is usually around 50-60.

    If you are off by a few hundred calories it could easily cause this stall since you are sill losing albeit at a slow pace. It makes sense that you are just losing slowly if you are eating a few hundred more than expected. It sounds like you are doing great but you are just losing very slowly right? I know how frustrating it must be but I really think if you weigh out all your food for awhile you can figure out if you are a bit over and if not, then eliminate that as a possibility you know.

    This is a very eye opening thread http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10543923/why-should-i-use-a-food-scale/p1

    I’m being belligerent about the whole while weighing thing because I’ve done this exact same diet before (except I ONLY measured foods) and had a lower level of activity where I worked out 2-3 and lost weight at a rate of 1-1.5 lbs per week. For me, I work 7 days a week and even though I prep most foods at home, I have to prepare or measure some of my food on the go, so it’s much more feasible for me to bring a measuring cup rather than a scale and start weighing out foods while I’m at work.

    I’m getting frustrated because I’m more precise than I was before. Yeah, okay okay I’ll weigh the stupid rice and freaking almond butter if people really think that’s the problem, but I’m having Hard time believing it’s the reason I’m not losing. I actually gained back that 1.2 lbs so I’m a little grumpy.

    weight loss is also not linear so if you lose one day and are up 1.2 lbs it could be water retention or waste retention or a fluctuation from that time of the month.some weeks you will lose,some you may gain and some the scale wont budge at all. as you get older your body changes so what might have worked before may not work now,you may have to be more accurate.

    I lost weight using measuring cups at first and moving more. but then after several months I started gaining the weight back,couldnt understand why. I was eating the same amount of calories for a higher weight and eating more calories than I needed. once I came here and entered my info and started using a food scale the weight started coming off. its really easy to be off on food and eat more than you think,I have been there and done that.
  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    shanika88 wrote: »
    I know it sounds ridiculous but try weighing out your rice and almond butter every day. I found my 2tbsp of peanut butter was always about 50-100 calories over and I didn't overfill the measuring thing. I also found cereal when I measured it (1/2c) and then weighed to compare, it was actually about 50-75 calories over. Might be similar for rice especially because rice can vary greatly depending on how packed it is in the measuring cup. I've found baby carrots are usually more than 4 calories per carrot. 10 for me is usually around 50-60.

    If you are off by a few hundred calories it could easily cause this stall since you are sill losing albeit at a slow pace. It makes sense that you are just losing slowly if you are eating a few hundred more than expected. It sounds like you are doing great but you are just losing very slowly right? I know how frustrating it must be but I really think if you weigh out all your food for awhile you can figure out if you are a bit over and if not, then eliminate that as a possibility you know.

    This is a very eye opening thread http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10543923/why-should-i-use-a-food-scale/p1

    I’m being belligerent about the whole while weighing thing because I’ve done this exact same diet before (except I ONLY measured foods) and had a lower level of activity where I worked out 2-3 and lost weight at a rate of 1-1.5 lbs per week. For me, I work 7 days a week and even though I prep most foods at home, I have to prepare or measure some of my food on the go, so it’s much more feasible for me to bring a measuring cup rather than a scale and start weighing out foods while I’m at work.

    I’m getting frustrated because I’m more precise than I was before. Yeah, okay okay I’ll weigh the stupid rice and freaking almond butter if people really think that’s the problem, but I’m having Hard time believing it’s the reason I’m not losing. I actually gained back that 1.2 lbs so I’m a little grumpy.

    weight loss is also not linear so if you lose one day and are up 1.2 lbs it could be water retention or waste retention or a fluctuation from that time of the month.some weeks you will lose,some you may gain and some the scale wont budge at all. as you get older your body changes so what might have worked before may not work now,you may have to be more accurate.

    I lost weight using measuring cups at first and moving more. but then after several months I started gaining the weight back,couldnt understand why. I was eating the same amount of calories for a higher weight and eating more calories than I needed. once I came here and entered my info and started using a food scale the weight started coming off. its really easy to be off on food and eat more than you think,I have been there and done that.

    Fair point, but even if I’m off by 500 calories, which I don’t think I am, I should still be at a deficit. And I understand weight loss isn’t linear, but that 1.2 pound weight gain put me right back where I started meaning I haven’t lost any weight at all in nearly two months. I’m only 29 and this diet worked for me last year, not a decade ago or something like that. I simply have a hard time believing that weighing rather than measuring two things is going to magically make the weight start to fall off. I’ve also stated earlier that when I miss a snack I feel dizzy so if I am somehow underestimating my calories, I don’t see how I can possibly cut any out. I’m hungry half the day as it is.

    Someone also suggested eating my exercise calories back since my activity levels have gone up but I don’t really know much about that and with my body not shedding any weight, I’m concerned I’ll just gain weight.

  • renee8865
    renee8865 Posts: 61 Member
    Anyway, I know I’m seeming grumpy and not open to suggestions, but I really am. I’m just concerned that if if weighing the rice and almond butter results in eating even less, I’m going to feel sick. I’m just discouraged.
  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
    shanika88 wrote: »
    Anyway, I know I’m seeming grumpy and not open to suggestions, but I really am. I’m just concerned that if if weighing the rice and almond butter results in eating even less, I’m going to feel sick. I’m just discouraged.

    I am sorry you're feeling so discouraged. I have similar stats to you, except I started a bit lighter and my goal is a bit lower, and I am a whole heck of a lot older :)

    I hope you can see that what people are trying to offer here is the only help that we, distant from you on the internet, can offer. If you eat at a deficit, patiently and consistently, you will lose weight. That's how our bodies work.

    Good luck and whatever you do, don't give up. You are the only one who can figure this one out, and I encourage you to experiment until you do. What have you got to lose? <<-- see what I did there