Confused about why I'm not losing weight... please help!

SkinnyMsFitness

There is a few things I believe that every new MFP person should be told right off.... You need to get a HRM to accurately track the calories burned during your exercise or walks, You need to get a set of scales and keep your measuring cups, spoons and scales out on the counter... use them.. do not GUESS it. The First thing.... Talk to your doctor about your journey.. if you have real struggles or are honestly keeping accurate records and nothing works... This is what you should be sharing with your doctor! No one here can eliminate the possibility of any of the three things I suggested as to that being the problem or not being the problem... I know until I started measuring... I had NO idea what 3 oz of taco meat looked like... or one tablespoon of peanut butter... I could only guess.. and could not keep an accurate count of calories in and calories out. I just know its hard to get healthy.. its even harder when we think we are doing things right to find out we have not and that's why wee see no progress. The HRM.. will give you an accurate count of the calories burned on your walks... do not guess at these... DO you really know how much one mile of walking at my quick pace burns for me?

This is me trying to help.. I hope you view in a positive way! THanks!

I agree HRM is ideal!! I never bought one yet, but hope to soon. My treadmill tracks my burned cals of course. Well, before I entered my weight, I was burning "210 cals" at 4 mph 5% incline. Once I entered my weight, I'm really burning 365. This may be the opposite to your problem, but it shows how inaccurate you could be....

Also, are you eating back the cals you burned? If not, try doing so. If yes, try not doing it. You need to play with your regimen to see what works for you...and you need to switch it up. Moderate eating and exercise must be consistent, but in the forms you obtain those should be mixed up to confuse your body. )

Charliejl82

Hi, you need to be brutally honest about what you're eating. I would go back to basics. Use a calculator online to work out your bmr then take 500 calories off it. Set you fitness pal to 40% carbs 40% protein and 20% fat. Scrap hours of cardio and get lifting! Tag 15 mins of HIIT on the end 4 times a week. On non training days eat 50grams less carbs. Watch the weight melt off. You can also eat 'normal' and the odd treat foods as long as you stick to your macronutrient intake (protein carbs and fats).

There's a piece of research I read recently which looked at 3 groups of dieters. All 3 groups reduced calories by 500 a day, 1 group did no exercise, 1 did 4 hours of aerobics a week, one did aerobics plus weights. The aerobics only group on average only lost 1 more lb than the no exercise group and the weights group lost 7lbs more during the period. Get lifting.

aetzkorn14

So, I don't understand why I am gaining (a little) and not losing any weight!

A typical day's eating consists of:

Breakfast:
Spinach and Egg White omelette (no cheese)
1 cup of fresh strawberries/blueberries mixed
2 cups coffee with nonfat milk and truvia

Lunch:
1/4 cup dry quinoa (3/4 cup cooked) with curry powder
1 zucchini
1/2 chopped onion
Either 5oz of smoked salmon or 6 oz chicken

Dinner:
1/4 cup dry quinoa (3/4 cup cooked) with curry powder
1 zucchini
1/2 chopped onion
Either 5oz of smoked salmon or 6 oz chicken

Snacks:
2 plums
1 cup berries
2 cups cut celery

I drink at least 80oz of water every day.

I exercise 200 minutes a week on average. I do stationary bicycling, Zumba, and Pilates.
In addition to those 200 minutes, I walk an average of 2 miles per day.

I take GNC's Ultra Mega Green Women's Multivitamin and an Omega Vitals supplement.

I feel like I'm being pretty darn healthy, and I am planning on upping my working out time to 300 minutes per week.

I currently weigh 175.4 pounds. I started recording everything 3 weeks ago at 173.6. I have stuck to the above eating and exercise patterns very solidly for these 3 weeks (and most time before then, but I've only been tracking it for 3 weeks - these are not brand new eating/exercise habits). I am 5'5 and not very muscular. I already had testing done on my thyroid, and the results were normal. I am 22 years old and a woman. During the 3 weeks I have only deviated by 1 bowl of pasta for dinner, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 french macarons. My average calorie consumption is between 1500-1700.

Should I be gaining weight?? My clothes don't feel any looser, so I don't feel like I've gained much muscle mass. Could there be something else wrong?? My goal has been to lose 1-2 pounds per week, and any advice that would help me get there would be great!

Sound like you may need to change the type of workout you are doing. You said you wasn't very muscular...therefore I would start weight training 3x's a week. It will increase how many calories your body burn s every day and will increase you metabolism. Your weight may not go down at first but you will burn lbs in fat and slim down more in the process. Muscles make weight loss happen a lot faster especially when combined with a little cardio. happy lifting!!

rosellasweet

Well, based on what you put in your post (your diary is not public) about height, weight, and age, your BMR is approximately 1600. and you're eating 1500-1700 calories. This to me says you're eating in maintenance, not at a deficit. Yes you're exercising, but you're likely overestimating calories burned. If you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories, only eat back a portion (1/2 seems to work well) instead of all.

Eating at maintenance would be TDEE, not BMR.

^ This. I'm 5'4" and my BMR is 1600. I eat 1655 every day and I've lost 13 pounds these past 3 months. There is something else afoot. We need to figure out if it's 1500-1700 net or 1500-1700 actual.

shinkalork

reduce your carbs... Change macro....more protein than carbs....I've checked your diary....your carbs are high that could be it.

Try to not go over in sugar too.

This should help

herblackwings39

You're weighing and measuring and logging consistently. Did you get your calorie goal from MFP? If so consider eating a portion of your exercise calories back since they weren't figured into your deficit. It may just take time.

Charliejl82

Sound like you may need to change the type of workout you are doing. You said you wasn't very muscular...therefore I would start weight training 3x's a week. It will increase how many calories your body burn s every day and will increase you metabolism. Your weight may not go down at first but you will burn lbs in fat and slim down more in the process. Muscles make weight loss happen a lot faster especially when combined with a little cardio. happy lifting!!
[/quote]

Soooo true!

jen4relient22

i took a look at your diary and read all of your follow up posts, and it really seems like you're doing everything right.

from my personal experience, it took me about a month of exercising regularly and watching my diet before i saw any results. i spoke to my personal trainer about it, and she said that it was often the most frustrating time for people because you gain muscle and even if you're losing weight you might not see it. how do your clothes fit? i know mine started feeling a little loose.

around the month mark i decided to up my calories because i was frustrated. i was only eating 1200/day and when i upped it to 1400/day i started losing weight very quickly. maybe you just haven't found the right number yet. sometimes just doing 100 calories less or 100 calories more can make a huge difference! definitely worth a shot if you don't start seeing results soon.

excitedaboutfitness

We need to figure out if it's 1500-1700 net or 1500-1700 actual.

It's 1500-1700 actual, not net :-)

So far I am thinking that if I shoot for 1500 per day specifically and add in weight training, that could help. I know Pilates has helped some with my core, but that's about it. If I'm doing it 3x per week, how long should I be doing it? Is a kettle-bell enough? Should I be shooting for like 15 mins or 1 hour? :-) I'm pretty unfamiliar with weight training.

Thanks!

peachfigs

Metabolism is a personal thing and different for everyone; and weight loss is far more complicated than calories in / calories out.
Perhaps better questions to ask should be am I healthy? Am I eating nutritious food? Can I move my body as much as I want without pain?
~Goth Bunnyy
Health At Every Size!

It's refreshing to see that some people do see that cals in/out is not the be all and end all.

It's most of the equation but it's still incomplete.

'Calories' are a human invention to describe units of energy. But bodies don't run on 'calories' as such, they react to the different types of foods you put in your body. If OP is struggling to lose weight (and I can't really see what is going wrong) it may be best to consult a doctor and consider changing the diet. Cutting out refined carbs and sticking mostly to lean protein can really help.

Tim Ferriss' 'Four Hour Body' book is a good read if you'd like to know more (with scientific evidence) about why a calorie isn't just a calorie, and why some of us need a little more help than just eating at a calorie deficit.

nomeejerome

It has only been 3 weeks....
Log accurately.
Weigh your food.
Stick to a plan for more than 3 weeks (think 4-6) and re-evaluate if you do not see any changes. (does not have to be on the scale weight either, track your measurements too)
You do not need to do things to 'trick' your body. Your body is pretty smart.
Consistency is important.
Keep in mind that it is quite difficult to gain any type of muscle while eating at a deficit, especially for women.

WxLLe

1-2 pounds a week shouldn't be too hard at all and looking at your routine it seems like you should be seeing results.. Try this out. It's a diet solution known as Smack Fat. Guaranteed to have you losing weight in 30 days or less. There's detailed video proof on their site that will help you out too. Check them out here http://goo.gl/y4bN55

bruinschick13

the scale is evil.
try measuring instead of weighing yourself but only do it every 30 days. if you want to weight yourself only do it once a week or less.

excitedaboutfitness

Hey, this is the OP again!

I wanted to thank you all for the advice, I followed a lot of it (picked 1500 calories per day, and tried to stick to that number as closely as possible!). I also started weighing some foods instead of measuring.

Your advice worked, I went from very little success to dropping 4.6 pounds in the last week! I assume that number will drop closer to 2 pounds per week as I progress, which I am down with :-)

Thank you all so much!

nomeejerome

Hey, this is the OP again!

I wanted to thank you all for the advice, I followed a lot of it (picked 1500 calories per day, and tried to stick to that number as closely as possible!). I also started weighing some foods instead of measuring.

Your advice worked, I went from very little success to dropping 4.6 pounds in the last week! I assume that number will drop closer to 2 pounds per week as I progress, which I am down with :-)

Thank you all so much!

Congrats.