Not lost anything

scully82

I’ve been trying so hard to lose weight and get fit. I’ve logged all my calories on MFP and I’ve been going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. The first week I lost 6lbs but this week I haven’t lost even a pound. Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong?

tiptoethruthetulips

How tall are you and what do you weigh?

If you haven't got too much weight to lose, you may have lost to0much fluid in the first week and your body could be rehydrating the second.

But really without knowing height and weight, daily calorie allowance vs what you are actually eating we won't be able to say what is happening.

sijomial

I'm struggling to reconcile that you have lost 6lbs in two weeks but the title says "Not lost anything".

As you haven't given any details about yourself then being too impatient and having a far too short perspective might be the answer to the "what am I doing wrong?" question.

Leafi55

Don’t be disheartened - just keep going! I always lose a lot the first week of dieting, followed by a poor loss the next week.

snowflake954

More information is needed, but realize that weight loss just takes time and patience and consistency. Losing a lot the first week is normal especially if you're low-carbing. You'll lose water weight first. You need at least a month to 6 weeks to see a trend. Are you using a digital food scale? How much do you want to lose? All of these questions, plus your stats, will give you a better answer. But for now, it's a little soon. Just keep going.

LivingtheLeanDream

Well done on 6lbs loss, that doesn't sound like doing anything wrong. As others have said, water loss happens first and quickly, from then on loss does slow down and some weeks it will look like you haven't lost according to the scales but if you keep being consistently at calorie deficit you will lose.

You might want to adjust your expectations, weight gain didn't happen over a couple of weeks so we can't expect it to go quickly either.

bethjl96

I’m in the same boat except I did not have a 6 pound loss. I don’t have a lot to lose but it’s just Frustrating to work out as much as I do and not see the results on the scale. I feel like my clothes might be fitting a little better so I am trying to not obsess over the numbers on the scale.

candylilacs

Stay hydrated!

apullum

candylilacs wrote: »

Stay hydrated!

Hydration is great, but it isn't directly relevant to weight loss, which is 100% about consuming fewer calories than your body burns.

OP, how much weight have you actually lost, and in what period of time? If you've been trying for 2 weeks and lost 6 pounds in that time, then you need to keep in mind that a) it's very common to lose a lot of water weight quickly at the beginning of a weight loss plan, b) you will not lose fat at that pace, and c) weight loss is not linear; you will not see the scale go down every week. One week with no change on the scale is normal and is not an indication that you're doing anything wrong.

candylilacs

apullum wrote: »

Hydration is great, but it isn't directly relevant to weight loss, which is 100% about consuming fewer calories than your body burns.

Hydration is directly relevant to weight loss. I was working out 4-5 times a week (those pre-stroke times) and I had gained 8 pounds. I hadn't over 1,600 calories in two weeks. Your CICO mantra is going down in flames.

a) Your body responds to the micro-tears and inflammation in two ways that cause temporary water weight gain.

b) Glycogen or sugar that your muscle cells convert to glucose is the energy source for your muscles. Stored in water, glycogen has to bind with water as part of the process to fuel the muscle. That water adds a little water weight.

OP needn't worry about it. Stay hydrated and take it easy. I lost those 8 pounds (and lost more 3 pounds) the following week.






.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

scully82 wrote: »

I’ve been trying som hard to lose weight and get fit. I’ve logged all my calories on MFP and I’ve been going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week. The first week I lost 6lbs but this week I haven’t lost even a pound. Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong?

1. Being impatient
2. What they said.

scully82

Hi all. So weighed in this morning and haven’t lost a single pound again. Stayed below my calories every day and been to the gym 4 times. I have roughly 3 stone to lose, so it’s a lot. And I need to do it relatively quickly as we’re having fertility treatment next year. I’m on 1400 calories a day but try and keep under that. Hydration is not an issue, anymore liquid and I’d drown!

Lietchi

Patience is definitely a virtue when trying to lose weight, just keep at it! How many calories are you actually eating? When you say you're staying below 1400 (how much below?), that seems quite low, certainly if you are doing a lot of exercise.

LivingtheLeanDream

scully82 wrote: »

Hi all. So weighed in this morning and haven’t lost a single pound again. Stayed below my calories every day and been to the gym 4 times. I have roughly 3 stone to lose, so it’s a lot. And I need to do it relatively quickly as we’re having fertility treatment next year. I’m on 1400 calories a day but try and keep under that. Hydration is not an issue, anymore liquid and I’d drown!

Maybe then you are hydrating too much..

I know its disheartening when that happens but I promise you, if you're in calorie deficit you will lose - sometimes it can take a month before we can see scale movement (been there and I'm not alone in that either, used to only see the scale go down every 3rd week - the joys of being a woman and having a monthly cycle).
Keep going, it will happen and please do come back to keep us updated.

Ruth

Muscleflex79

scully82 wrote: »

Hi all. So weighed in this morning and haven’t lost a single pound again. Stayed below my calories every day and been to the gym 4 times. I have roughly 3 stone to lose, so it’s a lot. And I need to do it relatively quickly as we’re having fertility treatment next year. I’m on 1400 calories a day but try and keep under that. Hydration is not an issue, anymore liquid and I’d drown!

are you weighing every single thing you eat??

ReenieHJ

Years ago when I did WW, I weighed near 190#, First weigh-in I'd lost 10#; I thought wow, great!! It took me another month to lose 2 more #. How often do you weigh yourself? Is it before you take anything in during the day? Try hard to not get discouraged!! The cal. deficit and exercise truly works. Be patient, or at least try?

julanig612

Keep at it. You are working to correct your metabolism and it will take time. Don't eat too few calories in an attempt to speed things up. I have had times when I have plateued for a month, then increased my calories and lost weight. Even if you don't lose "weight" it doesn't mean that you are not losing fat. Hang in there and good luck with the fertility treatment.

CaitlinW19

That's really normal. You lost a lot of water weight in the first week (though probably some fat too) and your activity would increase muscle (which weighs more than fat). So it's not only possible, but likely that you lost fat but gained lean muscle which means the number on the scale doesn't change or even goes up a little.

Weight loss isn't linear. You won't lose weight every week, though you will be trending downward overall if you keep at it and will be losing fat if you are eating at a calorie deficit. It's just math, not magic.

maureenkhilde

Scully82, I have been following your struggles here.
So I have a few suggestions that are pretty much like what others are saying.
Do you have a food scale to weigh your food? Not the scale you weigh yourself, but one to weigh food you are going to eat.
Because you will find, serving sizes on packages are often wrong, as well as things that say 2 T, if you actually instead weigh them out. It is often a surprise to actually see the true size of the serving.

Also be very suspect of many of the food items entered on the database. I often open and look at the nutrition to see if reasonable some are totally insane, but others maybe not too much but still not accurate that is why it is a good idea to look until you have really built up your own foods you know are accurate.

When drinking beverages, are you making sure to drink things that are not loaded with calories? Not saying no to them but sodas, juice have lots of calories in an 8 oz serving. Just something to be aware of. Or even a nice looking Starbucks is loaded normally with tons of sugar, fat and so on. Again not bad, if you have allotted it into your amount of calories for the day. But if you have not, then it is sneaking in on top of your regular calories.

Another area to remember to count, preparing food, Olive Oil, salad dressings, marinades, all of those need to be counted, and they can be sneaky and really add up quick.

I would suggest really making sure are you accounting for all calories accurately. Good Luck, it will come off.

scully82

maureenkhilde wrote: »

Scully82, I have been following your struggles here.
So I have a few suggestions that are pretty much like what others are saying.
Do you have a food scale to weigh your food? Not the scale you weigh yourself, but one to weigh food you are going to eat.
Because you will find, serving sizes on packages are often wrong, as well as things that say 2 T, if you actually instead weigh them out. It is often a surprise to actually see the true size of the serving.

Also be very suspect of many of the food items entered on the database. I often open and look at the nutrition to see if reasonable some are totally insane, but others maybe not too much but still not accurate that is why it is a good idea to look until you have really built up your own foods you know are accurate.

When drinking beverages, are you making sure to drink things that are not loaded with calories? Not saying no to them but sodas, juice have lots of calories in an 8 oz serving. Just something to be aware of. Or even a nice looking Starbucks is loaded normally with tons of sugar, fat and so on. Again not bad, if you have allotted it into your amount of calories for the day. But if you have not, then it is sneaking in on top of your regular calories.

Another area to remember to count, preparing food, Olive Oil, salad dressings, marinades, all of those need to be counted, and they can be sneaky and really add up quick.

I would suggest really making sure are you accounting for all calories accurately. Good Luck, it will come off.

Thanks for this. I weigh anything “loose” like rice or cereal etc. Some things are easier to find the calories of (porridge pots or soups or sachets for instance). For anything I can’t weigh (if out or at work etc) then I always take the highest estimate in the closest thing I can find on MFP. Good point about oils I’ll start to track those although always count low fat mayo or tomato ketchup. Also I’m a good 200 calories under a day so surely that’s accounting for the odd discrepancy?

Don’t drink coffee really, I have two teas a day so just count the milk. I don’t drink fruit juice, any fizzy drinks are 0 calories (like Diet Coke) but I barely have one a week. No alcohol since one beer last Saturday night.

scully82

AnnPT77 wrote: »

jer029 wrote: »

1400 calories seems higher than necessary to me. Although my daily target is at 1500 - I often try to keep my calories down to around 1000-1200 most days, and that's before subtracting exercise calories. I sometimes even go a day or two below 1000 calories depending on how hungry I am. Your body will adjust to being satisfied with fewer calories before feeling hungry.

Pick foods that are filling but low calories like plain oatmeal, egg whites, and other foods that have low calories that are filling. Don't waste calories by drinking beverages with calories - stick with water - it's better for you anyway. Fruit juices are full of calories but not filling. Soft drinks and alcohol are simply a waste (although I love a glass of wine or two at dinner - this really slows my weightloss and I stop or serverly curtail when I have to get serious about losing weight more quickly).

Don't try to figure in your exercise calories into your daily calorie allowance. "Calories Burned" calculations for most exercise equipment I find to be very unreliable - and often exagerated. Try to do your exercise shortly after eating. You will have more energy and feel more like working out. Make your larger calories meals in the morning and afternoon with a much lighter meal at night before sleeping. Don't go to bed with a stomach full of food.

I regularly work on losing 20 lbs or so each winter - as I don't worry about my food intake all summer, so I know this system works - as I've been able to consistently drop 20-25 lbs each winter using this website and phone app.

So - my personal suggestions in summary:

-It's all about calories (keep them as low as possible per day - try for 1000-1200/day and lower if you feel well).
-Exercise regularly but don't subtract any calories burned from you daily allowance
-Don't waste calories (all calories should be for healthy food choices that are filling).

I'm currently on my seasonal weightloss program and have already dropped 14 lbs since October. I've been taking it a bit slower this year because I have extra time before my goal weight is desired. Lastly, expect weightloss to slow as you get in better shape because your body is benefiting from your efforts and getting more efficient.

Good luck - and enjoy the challenge.

Hmm, that's funny. And not funny ha-ha.

Starting at something like OP's size (I was 5'5" and 183lbs, which is (I believe) 13 stone 1), I lost most of 50 pounds in less than a year eating 1400 or more and all exercise calories, as a sedentary (outside of exercise) 59-60 year old woman, and have sucessfully stayed at a healthy weight since (I'll be 64 on Sunday, and was 133.6 pounds (9 stone 7.6, BMI 22.2) this morning).

I admit I'm mysteriously a good li'l ol' calorie burner, so OP may differ from that. But it sounds like you're either a mysteriously low calorie burner, or losing weight unhealthfully fast (14 pounds since October sounds like the latter, unless you're still over 300 pounds or so).

Either way, MFP's estimates are a better starting point for OP than either your experience or mine.

OP, the others are right. Hang in there, monitor for another few weeks, then re-assess based on average weekly losses.

Thank you! And congratulations on your weight loss.