40+ days and nearly nothing!

lydstil

Hey guys! I've been dieting for 6 weeks and exercising for 4. I've lost 7 pounds but I haven't lost anything for the past 3 weeks, I've just been fluctuating 1-3 pounds. These past three weeks, I have had 2 bad days of out 7 but I don't think that that's so bad that it would cause me to not lose or gain .5ish pounds. I'm exercising a lot, I just started week 4 of BeachBody's Slim in 6. I see some results, such as some muscle definition in my arms, my collarbones are a little more visible, I think my legs might look a bit slimmer, and I think my butt has gotten bigger/more shapely. I'm just frustrated at the lack of weight loss. I've got around 35 more pounds to lose and I don't think I should be reaching a plateau at this stage, or just gaining muscle and not losing weight. I'm vowing to not have any more bad days. Cheat days should come once a month, not twice a week. I'm just hoping to see some results on the scale soon!
Has anyone ever experienced something like this?

karimonahan

have you taken your measurements? my first month working out i lost 10' in total but my weight did not change....not even a pound! so far i've only lost like 12 pounds but lost 26' in total. so sometimes the scales lie lol. look for the inches lost, how your clothes fit and how you feel! Pictures can also help to see the difference. don't give up!!

tjthegreatone

You need to be more honest about what you're eating, especially the 'cheats'. People routinely underestimate how much they are eating especially on a no-holds-barred 'cheat' day coming off the back of days of perceived deprivation. Two cheats a week can easily reverse any calorie deficit you had over the preceeding five days.
Your diary is not open so I can't comment on the specifics, but until you are logging ALL your intake consistently for at least a month including every morsel on a so-called cheat day you'll continue to fall short as you won't be able to work out what you're doing wrong.

tjthegreatone

PS my view is that your diet is primarily responsible for weight loss. Do not expect your increased activity to show up on the scale as weight loss unless you are maintaining some kind of caloric deficit. So if you aren't seeing results your first port of call should be your food diary.

Mischievous_Rascal

You'll have to provide a little more info, and open your diary to get some helpful advice.

BTW: Read this awesome post first, maybe, just to prepare yourself for what's to come.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1088600-dear-mean-people-of-mfp

And then check out this one - it changed my whole plan for the better:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

Best of luck.

lydstil

Honestly, the two bad days I had this week weren't that bad. I try to eat 1200 cals a day and I probably only had around 2000, but since I didn't record the two days this week, I'm not positive!. And I normally do try to record on my bad days (even if they are just educated guesses). But I am getting rid of these cheat days, for sure!!
My diary is open to friends, feel free to add me if you are curious
Also, I have not taken measurements, but I wish I had at the very beginning! I'm going to take them tomorrow, and then again at the beginning of each month. I can't see a difference yet, but you never know!!

sdauback

From my personal experience, a "bad" day of 2000 calories will knock you right off your game and completely wipe out any gains you may have had for the week. I did the same thing at first, consoling myself that one "bad" day a week was okay. For me, it wasn't okay. I had to learn to modify my "bad" days.

I have gone through various nutrition plans....not "diet" plans, but nutrition plans to find what works for me. I lost weight and, more importantly, feel so much better since I increased my protein intake and significantly lowered my carb intake. Look at various nutrition plans, play with them, and find what works for you.

The best advice I can give you is to accurately record EVERY thing that passes your lips, even on a bad day. I think you will be shocked at how much you actually are consuming and how bad the foods are for you.

Most importantly, hang in there! Don't give up. If you have to gradually wean yourself from two bad days a week to one bad day a week over the course of a month, and the next month drop it to one bad day every two weeks...etc. Make that a goal for about four weeks and STAY OFF THE SCALE. The scale is the quickest way to get discouraged while you're trying to break a bad habit (sugar habit, carb habit, fat habit, etc). Plus, if you wean yourself gradually, you're more likely to stick with it.

Changing how you look at food is goal number 1. Depriving yourself, and viewing it as depriving yourself, is a sure-fire way to fail at changing your relationship with food.

Good luck!