Doing it right, not losing at all!

kristalee83

I lost 2 lbs my first week, and now three weeks later I gained it back. I am excercising (not a lot but more than i used to 2-3 days a week) and eating at or near the 1200 recommended calories a day. I don't use caffiene so I only drink water and get the recommended amount (well between 6-12 cups a day) I eat smaller meals more often..... Am I eating the wrong foods? Do I need more cardio excercise? I want to give up again when I never see results, its disheartening. HELP!!!!

chandanista

What are your stats, and could you open your diary?

str8bowbabe

Everyone is different. It took me almost a month to see any kind of loss. Stick with it. Really watch your portions and you will do it. I know it can be really disappointing and as you said disheartening but it will happen if you stick to the plan. Good luck!!!!

kristalee83

185 lbs 5'4" I dont know how to open my diary, but I havent been keeping it up with it on here mostly at home on paper.... One thing I noticed is my sodium intake is high, but I would think I even that out with the water? Maybe not though...

kyleekay10

Sounds like you've only been trying to lose weight for a month, right? It's entirely possible (if you are in fact eating at an appropriate deficit and exercising) that you weighed in the second time on a "bad" day. Meaning you could've been retaining more water, could've been near your time of the month, etc. If your exercise is more rigorous than you're used to that can cause water retention as well as your muscles try to heal themselves.

Other than that advice, it's nearly impossible to help without looking at your diary and knowing your activity level, etc.

ETA: Also... the first 2 pounds you lost could've just been water weight, not fat.

MB_Positif

Maybe you are doing it wrong.

Mia_RagazzaTosta

What you need is a food scale so you can accurately weigh and measure your intake and see how much you're really eating, a heart rate monitor to see what your exercise burn really is, and patience.

Fullsterkur_woman

Yeah, you've got to give it more time. It took 6 weeks of sticking to weighing everything and logging everything I put into my mouth before I started seeing changes on the scale that weren't just fluctuations of water weight. And if you're a woman of child-bearing age, congratulations, you get to deal with an upswing of temporary water weight every month.

Ely82010

I lost 2 lbs my first week, and now three weeks later I gained it back. I am excercising (not a lot but more than i used to 2-3 days a week) and eating at or near the 1200 recommended calories a day. I don't use caffiene so I only drink water and get the recommended amount (well between 6-12 cups a day) I eat smaller meals more often..... Am I eating the wrong foods? Do I need more cardio excercise? I want to give up again when I never see results, its disheartening. HELP!!!!

If you are not keeping your diary in MFP then you don't really know how many calories you are eating, Paper doesn't cut it! Start logging consistently for a month and then re-assess your results. We can't tell you if you are eating the wrong foods if they are not shown in your diary. This may not be what you want to read, but it is the blunt truth. If you are eating only 1200 calories and not eating the calories that you burn exercising, then you are probably eating too little. That is the way that MFP works. If you have doubts about logging, check this article.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1084800-no-buts-start-a-food-log

Ready2Rock206

You're not logging, expecting instant results and you're eating less than 1200 - so not exactly doing it right. Log, have patience and realize this is not a race, and eat a proper amount of food to fuel your body - then you're closer to doing it right and can properly evaluate your progress.

Mokey41

It's really, really important to know exactly what you are eating. Start logging all of your food on here and you need to weigh and measure all of it. 1200 calories probably isn't enough but with your stats if you were really eating 1200 calories there is a good chance you'd be losing.

SkimFlatWhite68

It's hard to say without seeing your diary.

Start weighing your food to make sure you are accurate. Log everything you eat in your diary, open it in privacy settings, and in a week, ask again and you will get some more advanced answers.

Also track your exercise. Eat back at least half your exercise calories, as they are not included in the initial 1200.

It's pretty simple, eat your allocated amount of calories. You can get into macros later when you at least have the logging part covered. Read the threads here for general HOW TO advice. I think there is one called ... Great collection of info for for beginners... Use the search function and read that thread.

Good luck!

SpeSHul_SnoflEHk

You're not logging, expecting instant results and you're eating less than 1200 - so not exactly doing it right. Log, have patience and realize this is not a race, and eat a proper amount of food to fuel your body - then you're closer to doing it right and can properly evaluate your progress.

^Yep. Why are you set at 1200. It may be right for you, but I am leery whenever I see a post like this where someone is set at 1200. That is the lowest MFP will let you go, but it's not always the best for what you need. What are your other settings?

tonynguyen75

You're either doing it wrong, or you ARE losing and not weighing yourself correctly.

Be exact in your calorie counting, include ketchup and other garnishes if you want to really have an idea of how many calories you're eating.

kristalee83

Thanks guys! I am going to try eating healthier, and weighing the food, tracking everything, and giving it more time. Not sure why it's set at 1200 calories a day, maybe because I started at 185 lbs which is a lot of weight on a short body? Maybe because I am not very active so my body doesnt burn a lot on its own? It's set for 1.5 lbs a week, I am a mother of 2 and my baby is 19 months (stopped breastfeeding about 9 months ago and gained all that back....) I will try to go back to weighing at a regular time everyday/ week.... I am taking your tips to heart and apparently am not doing it right, yet.

alyhuggan

High sodium and inconsistent logging. Rename thread to "not doing it right, not losing at all!" please Do more cardio and eat back your calories so you get at least some more nutrients.

CoderGal

All I have to say is if you're logging as 1200 calories don't forget to log activities that aren't in a sedentary lifestyle, particularly if you have to run around with kids, because they definitely do not take that into account.