Not losing anything. Nada. Not a bean.
Oliveciabatta
Posts: 294 Member
Been doing this for 3 weeks now and tracking everything. On the minimum 1200cal and running 5k per day not really hungry but also not losing any weight. Not even a pound. Expected to see an initial dip of even just water loss and maybe some muscle gain cancelling out fat loss weight but unless my scales are seriously broken I've not gained or lost a thing apart from motivation seeing those stats on the scale. What am I missing?
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Replies
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Three weeks is a bit early to get worried, especially if the running is a new routine for you. When your body is adjusting to a new exercise, sometimes we will retain some extra water to help our muscles repair.
It's unlikely that you are gaining actual muscle from running 5k per day.
So a couple of options:
1) Things are going well, you're just exercising harder than usual and your body weight is reflecting that stress.
2) Your estimate of calories in isn't exactly accurate and you're accidentally eating more than you think you are (I can't see your diary to evaluate this possibility, but it's very common).
3) There are other factors confounding your weight -- people who menstruate will often see temporary water weight gain during parts of the month, for example. For people cutting calories, constipation is sometimes a concern too.
4) Maybe your scale is broken -- it happens.
Not enough information here to really narrow down what is happening, unfortunately.4 -
1, patience, 2, try harder! It’s a maths thing... depends on how much you have to lose also.
Make sure mfp stats and your goals are set, log accurately and the scale should budge or your body composition will change.
As I say, depends on how much fat you are carrying on the first place.
Personally I lost 2-3kg in 7-10 day’s which was pure water loss from carb reduction.
Try, try again!0 -
Thanks daily running is new for me but only since the clocks changed as was cycling an hour or more a day when it was lighter in the evenings so I'm sure the exercise is kind of balanced out from before. I want to lose 2 to 3 stone in total. I dont think I'm that far off on cal count either afterall an egg is an egg and an apple an apple right? If I'm unsure I pick the higher option so might even be under 1200 dome days. Just feel a bit demotivated that the scales haven't even twitched.1
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Don’t be demotivated, that’s the difference between those who do and don’t. You just have to trust that the change will come.
It’s very difficult but the magic happens. I sometimes get on the scale and expect to see a far greater number as I’ve been there for 10 years plus. Set your mind and off you go. Weigh in fortnightly btw or even better monthly.1 -
Eating 1200 (if that's accurate) AND running 5k every day is too little. Your body might be holding onto water weight from the stress you're putting your body under. Why so few calories? Have you entered your stats and goals into MFP?2
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Thanks daily running is new for me but only since the clocks changed as was cycling an hour or more a day when it was lighter in the evenings so I'm sure the exercise is kind of balanced out from before. I want to lose 2 to 3 stone in total. I dont think I'm that far off on cal count either afterall an egg is an egg and an apple an apple right? If I'm unsure I pick the higher option so might even be under 1200 dome days. Just feel a bit demotivated that the scales haven't even twitched.
An egg is an egg and an apple is an apple. But items aren't all the same sizes. 100 grams of apple is different, calorically, than 150 grams of apple. If you're choosing lots of database items like "1 apple," "1 piece of bread," etc, it is possible the differences could be adding up over time.6 -
Yes that's why I said if I'm not sure i go for the higher estimate of cal. A lot of things are clear as they are marked on the pack like on cup soups but eating one small banana and marking it up as a large one I doubt would put me much over 1200 call a day.0
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I've entered my height weight etc and that i want to drop 3 stone and yes it says 1200 a day us my target.0
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Yes that's why I said if I'm not sure i go for the higher estimate of cal. A lot of things are clear as they are marked on the pack like on cup soups but eating one small banana and marking it up as a large one I doubt would put me much over 1200 call a day.
Pre-packaged foods have an allowable margin of error. You can't take for granted that each one will weigh exactly what is stated on the package. For example, I have found a degree of variance in protein bars, as well as some other snack foods.
I'm not saying the issue is your logging. I am saying there are a high number of people asking "Why aren't I losing weight?" who turn out to be roughly estimating their intake and then begin to see the results they expect when they begin logging more accurately.
If roughly estimating is what you prefer, you can still go with that. Just be aware that your progress may be less predictable than it would be if you were estimating intake more accurately.
As far as the difference between a small and large banana, that can absolutely be relevant especially for people with lower calorie goals. When I weigh my fruit, even pieces that look the same size can have relevant calorie differences.0 -
I've entered my height weight etc and that i want to drop 3 stone and yes it says 1200 a day us my target.
1200 kcal is the lowest MFP will go for a woman. It means you've chosen a weight loss rate that is too aggressive.
On top of that, MFP gives you a goal based on your daily activity level not counting exercise. The MFP system intends for you to log your exercise separately and eat back (a reasonable estimate of) the calories burned through exercise.3 -
Yes that's why I said if I'm not sure i go for the higher estimate of cal. A lot of things are clear as they are marked on the pack like on cup soups but eating one small banana and marking it up as a large one I doubt would put me much over 1200 call a day.
And why don't you get a digital scale, weigh everything and know for sure? You use a scale to weigh yourself.5 -
See snowflake i still don't understand how much difference that would make. Weighing a cup soup that says 100 cal on the pack isn't going to change how its recorded. I only have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day and even wide of the mark on a guess an apple isn't going to be out by over 100 calories. I'm constantly eating what calculated cones in at around 1000 cal so I can leave an allowance f about 200 anyway for miscalculation. I dont know what I'm missing when so many others post about losing up to 8 pounds in their first week. I haven't even lost a pound?0
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If you open up your diary and we can see what you are logging - it might give us a better insight to help you.3
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See snowflake i still don't understand how much difference that would make. Weighing a cup soup that says 100 cal on the pack isn't going to change how its recorded. I only have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day and even wide of the mark on a guess an apple isn't going to be out by over 100 calories. I'm constantly eating what calculated cones in at around 1000 cal so I can leave an allowance f about 200 anyway for miscalculation. I dont know what I'm missing when so many others post about losing up to 8 pounds in their first week. I haven't even lost a pound?
Then what difference does it make if you weigh everything scrupulously for a week? You can come back and tell us how wrong we are. Try it. That's usually where the problem lies. I've been on here over 7 yrs. I'd like you to be a success.3 -
I dont know how but I can tell you an average day. Normally breakfast is 2 eggs boiled or poached, today I treated myself and had a poached egg, 2 gosh! Sweet potato veggie sausages, done on my George foreman, a grilled tomato and some steamed spinach. A mid morning snack pink lady apple and can of coke zero. Lunch was a mug of lentil soup and a banana after a 5k hill run. Dinner was a small chicken breast seasoned with paprika and garlic and grilled on the George served with mixed salad leaves, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a level teaspoon of hellmans mayo. And a can of irn bru extra sugar free to satisfy my sweet tooth. Might have an options hot chocolate later as my treat. Mfp calculator says that's about 1000 cal. So should n theory have 500 left if I was counting my run?0
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I dont know how but I can tell you an average day. Normally breakfast is 2 eggs boiled or poached, today I treated myself and had a poached egg, 2 gosh! Sweet potato veggie sausages, done on my George foreman, a grilled tomato and some steamed spinach. A mid morning snack pink lady apple and can of coke zero. Lunch was a mug of lentil soup and a banana after a 5k hill run. Dinner was a small chicken breast seasoned with paprika and garlic and grilled on the George served with mixed salad leaves, a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and a level teaspoon of hellmans mayo. And a can of irn bru extra sugar free to satisfy my sweet tooth. Might have an options hot chocolate later as my treat. Mfp calculator says that's about 1000 cal. So should n theory have 500 left if I was counting my run?
Very nice--but take a look at my diary (it's open to all), and you'll see the weights in grams on everything. I've been doing that for 7 and a half years, except for the summers. I also went for a run this morning, but I don't log exercise anymore. I've set my calories to be the same everyday.
Another question--how much are you trying to lose? If it's 20 lbs or less, the scale will move very slowly and that apple that you think won't make a difference, will.2 -
Yeh I've not counted my run calories as I dont trust fitbit to give an accurate number. The only things I could gave weighed today would gave been the chicken breast and my apple and banana. Those would not gave been 500 calories more than mfp suggests. For me weighting my food religiously would put me off more than anything anyway I dont weigh myself daily for the same reason.0
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Yeh I've not counted my run calories as I dont trust fitbit to give an accurate number. The only things I could gave weighed today would gave been the chicken breast and my apple and banana. Those would not gave been 500 calories more than mfp suggests. For me weighting my food religiously would put me off more than anything anyway I dont weigh myself daily for the same reason.
OK. Then, good luck!3 -
Sorry not trying to rain on what works for you but 20 odd years ago I was a competetive athlete and every gram I ate was diaried, every minute of training and I had to weigh myself twice a day. It messed me up mentally 😪 I was very underweight back then with so little body fat my periods stopped for a time but still under daily pressure to record everything to eat and weigh that few grams less to go that bit harder and faster. Friends used to comment that I virtually lived on air. I can never do that to myself again. And those demons are still with me.3
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Sorry not trying to rain on what works for you but 20 odd years ago I was a competetive athlete and every gram I ate was diaried, every minute of training and I had to weigh myself twice a day. It messed me up mentally 😪 I was very underweight back then with so little body fat my periods stopped for a time but still under daily pressure to record everything to eat and weigh that few grams less to go that bit harder and faster. Friends used to comment that I virtually lived on air. I can never do that to myself again. And those demons are still with me.
If you've decided that more accurate methods of estimating your intake aren't good for your mental health, that's perfectly valid. There are many who have made that same decision. But what that means is that your progress may be less linear and predictable than the progress of someone who is more accurately able to log. With not a whole lot of weight to lose, most people need to be really precise on their calorie goal because they don't have much room for error.
The truth is that "small chicken breast" or "a banana" aren't terribly accurate methods of measurement. That doesn't mean you have to give in and count calories more accurately if you know that isn't the best thing for you. It just means you'll have to take a longer term view and not become too frustrated when you see a few weeks without the progress that you expect.3 -
Yeh I've not counted my run calories as I dont trust fitbit to give an accurate number. The only things I could gave weighed today would gave been the chicken breast and my apple and banana. Those would not gave been 500 calories more than mfp suggests. For me weighting my food religiously would put me off more than anything anyway I dont weigh myself daily for the same reason.
With 3 stone (42 pounds) to lose, a moderate target would be 1-1.5 pounds a week. (The goal weight you put in MFP has no effect on your calorie goal. The goal depends on size, activity level, and loss-rate goal.)
You're right, with your running, and something even reasonably near 1200 calories (but not eating the running calories), it's unlikely you're eating over maintenance calories.
A think to consider is that an aggressive loss rate, for some people, can increase the water retention weirdness on the scale. (If you actually are eating 1200 or less, and running without fueling it, you could be in that realm - hard to know, except by experimenting.)
Beyond that, a trade of running for former biking doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't see new-exercise water weight. It's about muscle repair, and conditioning can be remarkably sport-specific. Again, hard to know, but water retention from new exercise remains a possibility.
Then there's the "being female" thing. Your profile says you're female, and if your profile photo is you and reasonably current, you look young enough to still be having monthly hormonal cycles (a thing that can be true even after hysterectomy, BTW, if ovaries still present). Most women see fluctuations around the cycle, and the timing can differ from one woman to the next. (I've seen women here say they'll gain 5+ pounds of water at certain points, maybe even as many as 8-10, though smaller numbers seem more usual.) Since you don't want to weigh frequently (and I understand why, and am not arguing), it will be a little more challenging to understand what your personal pattern is. For sure, if hormonal cycles are a factor for you, you should compare the same relative time-point in two (or more) different menstrual cycles, to get a better idea what's going on with fat loss.
Finally, it can matter how your eating patterns have changed, not just the calories, when it comes to short-term scale weight, especially at the start of a new routine. If someone is eating more veggies/fruits than before, maybe "eating cleaner", that can mean more carbs or fiber, either of which can increase scale weight through water retention (to metabolize the carbs) or average digestive system contents (the fiber). People who see a fast loss at first have frequently reduced their carb intake - not necessarily by intentionally going low carb, but just from reducing "filler foods" like bread, rice, pasta if those aren't important to their happiness; or they may have significantly reduced sodium (which also will typically reduce water retention) by reducing take-away or snack foods or the like.
So, there are *a lot* of things that could be going on here. With you already having a pretty low calorie goal, and not fueling the exercise calories, I wouldn't encourage you to make a change yet. I'd encourage you to wait for *at least* one full menstrual cycle, perhaps 2, to see what your true trend is, once your changes in routine net out on the scale. Beyond that, the "open your diary" advice might produce some other advice, but that's hard to know in advance.
Wishing you the best, for longer-term success!5 -
Sorry not trying to rain on what works for you but 20 odd years ago I was a competetive athlete and every gram I ate was diaried, every minute of training and I had to weigh myself twice a day. It messed me up mentally 😪 I was very underweight back then with so little body fat my periods stopped for a time but still under daily pressure to record everything to eat and weigh that few grams less to go that bit harder and faster. Friends used to comment that I virtually lived on air. I can never do that to myself again. And those demons are still with me.
It would have been helpful to know this. As Jane said above, then it's going to be very slow. It all depends on how much you want to lose. So many things can throw you off, as Ann mentioned above, that calorie counting eliminates some of the uncertainties. That's why many of us push it. You will need a lot of patience and trial and error. Sincerely wishing you good luck.2 -
See snowflake i still don't understand how much difference that would make. Weighing a cup soup that says 100 cal on the pack isn't going to change how its recorded. I only have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day and even wide of the mark on a guess an apple isn't going to be out by over 100 calories. I'm constantly eating what calculated cones in at around 1000 cal so I can leave an allowance f about 200 anyway for miscalculation. I dont know what I'm missing when so many others post about losing up to 8 pounds in their first week. I haven't even lost a pound?
If that cup soup is supposed to be 150 g, but you weigh it and find it's 180 g, then it's 120 calories, not 100 calories, and you need to log it as such. It will change how it's recorded if you weigh and record appropriately.2 -
Sorry not trying to rain on what works for you but 20 odd years ago I was a competetive athlete and every gram I ate was diaried, every minute of training and I had to weigh myself twice a day. It messed me up mentally 😪 I was very underweight back then with so little body fat my periods stopped for a time but still under daily pressure to record everything to eat and weigh that few grams less to go that bit harder and faster. Friends used to comment that I virtually lived on air. I can never do that to myself again. And those demons are still with me.
It wasn't the weighing and logging that made you underweight. It was eating too little in comparison to what you were burning that made you underweight.
If all that left you in a situation that you can't dissociate the two things (weighing food and undereating), then this probably isn't an approach that's going to give you the results you want. Maybe look into a behavioral approach to eating?2 -
Sorry not trying to rain on what works for you but 20 odd years ago I was a competetive athlete and every gram I ate was diaried, every minute of training and I had to weigh myself twice a day. It messed me up mentally 😪 I was very underweight back then with so little body fat my periods stopped for a time but still under daily pressure to record everything to eat and weigh that few grams less to go that bit harder and faster. Friends used to comment that I virtually lived on air. I can never do that to myself again. And those demons are still with me.
I totally understand what you're going through. I too was an athlete in my teens. I didn't have to track food but I had weigh ins. They mess with your mind. I ended up with a hunger induced migraine last week because I was logging my food and wow that messes with my mind. When I do that my mind basically tells me I don't need to eat anything. It's bizarre but I guess are these demons you speak of.
For now I have decided to ignore the scale (I know the high numbers are because of PMS) but my clothes feel looser and I feel healthier. I worked out for 2 hours today because it just feels good to really work my body. Luckily the calorie burn covers whatever food I want to eat
Good luck! It's tough especially when there are some demons that most people just don't understand.4 -
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Try weighing food for a while to test yourself. You may be shocked at how wrong you can be estimating.
How tall are you and how much are you trying to lose?0 -
I'm 5.7 and want to lose around 2 stone by spring. If this site relies on weighing every gram of food and myself daily rather than just food diary tracking then its not for me. I dont think people understand how dangerous anorexia demons can be if let loose.0
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I'm 5.7 and want to lose around 2 stone by spring. If this site relies on weighing every gram of food and myself daily rather than just food diary tracking then its not for me. I dont think people understand how dangerous anorexia demons can be if let loose.
It's a calorie counting site, so the average user will lean toward doing that with exactitude. Loose logging can work, even if it's not the mainstream.
You have choices: Use the diary as you wish, ignore the forum; participate in the forum but understand that many use the tools differently; and other options between or beyond.
Many like to weigh foods and themselves routinely, but don't fall into obsession or anorexia when they do so (that's me, for one). That doesn't make it the only way to succeed.
Only you know whether the tool can help you on your path, or not. Sadly - but realistically - advice in the forum will mostly be based on the mainstream of use.
Wishing you success on *your* course, sincerely!1 -
I'm 5.7 and want to lose around 2 stone by spring. If this site relies on weighing every gram of food and myself daily rather than just food diary tracking then its not for me. I dont think people understand how dangerous anorexia demons can be if let loose.
This is a calorie counting website. When users encounter difficulties achieving the results they desire, advice is generally going to trend towards directing you to use that specific strategy more effectively. Keep in mind that most treatment experts probably would recommend that people with a history of anorexia at minimum exercise caution about using calorie counting to control their weight and may even recommend that they avoid it all together.
That we are a group of people who have achieved success with calorie counting doesn't mean it's the only way to manage your weight or even that it's the best strategy for you. You and your treatment team are probably the best people to determine that. But people here are going to be less familiar with alternative strategies for you because self-selection of users here has resulted in a group who have found success using this particular strategy.3
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