Why am I not losing Weight?!!!!

nm212

I need to lose 15-20 lbs and I've been working out every day and eating 1200 cal a day, sometimes more if I worked out alot, but usually eat less . Why am I not losing weight?!!!!!

Brunette122

I'm going through the exact same thing. It's frustrating Be prepared for people to say you need a food scale....I did and its still not working lol. I'm not giving up but at the same time I'm going to stop being so hard on myself. I've been obsessing over it. How long have you been at it?

Phoenix_Warrior

How long have your been at it? Opening your diary would help as well. How accurate are you logging?

whitech

Try avoiding food combinations - really gave me a kick start!

nm212

Well, I've been seriously doing this for a month now. I lost 2 lbs in the beginning and have not been able to lose since. I've been working out ALOT more though, so maybe I'm building more muscle? I still want to lose the weight though. I'm supposed to be 135 for my height and I'm 153 right now. ((

sklebar

Open up your diaries and we could tell you.

Phoenix_Warrior

You're not building muscle but if you've upped exercise recently, you could be retaining water for muscle repair. Make sure you're drinking lots of water. That's helped me.

OneThrone

I'm having my own struggles, but just as a word of encouragement, you will see the results of your hard work. Just don't give up. Also, what has helped for me is drinking more water and lowering my carb intake per meal to no more than 35 per meal and no more than 15 carbs for a snack, total no more than 100 carbs per day. There is also a great nutrition website through an organization dedicated to health and wellness called Nutritional Weight and Wellness. They have articles, recipes, and podcast about all kinds of things to help with nutrition, wellness and weightloss. http://www.weightandwellness.com/

No fads, everything is based on extensive research by scientists, nutritionists and doctors.

nm212

Hmm thanks. How do I open up my diary?

nm212

Wow thanks One Throne. I will check it out. I do eat alot of carbs...been trying to cut back on that.

TeaBea

I need to lose 15-20 lbs and I've been working out every day and eating 1200 cal a day, sometimes more if I worked out alot, but usually eat less . Why am I not losing weight?!!!!!

You are at the absolute lowest calorie value that MFP will give you...so eating less than that is a bad idea.

Look up your BMR (basal metabolic rate) ....these are the calories your body would use if you staying in bed all day....unless you are extremely petite your BMR is above 1200. Which means your body is likely using muscle mass for fuel.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html

MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise....so you are expected to eat those calories back. Again, an extra large calorie deficit will have you losing fat+muscle.

Unless you are "guesstimating" your portions....you are likely eating too little....and your body is trying to hold onto every calorie it can get. Try eating back a portion of your exercise calories (calorie burns can be "generous"). Start with 50% of exercise calories & see if you don't start losing.

silverraiyne

Hi, I'm same age, same weight, same problem. But I noticed that when I stopped focusing (and stressing!) on the weight and instead just made sure I was eating clean and exercising regularly (and not skimping out on it, I have to feel proud of the work I put in before I'm done) then the weight seems to start coming off. It's not nearly as fast as it was in the beginning, but as long as you don't give up you'll eventually get there.

Phoenix_Warrior

Settings> Diary Settings should give you the option to make it public.

If youre logging accurately and honestly, including condiments, etc. then I would think it's water retention and daily flux. How often do you weigh and when? I typically weigh once a week in the morning.

TeaBea

Well, I've been seriously doing this for a month now. I lost 2 lbs in the beginning and have not been able to lose since. I've been working out ALOT more though, so maybe I'm building more muscle? I still want to lose the weight though. I'm supposed to be 135 for my height and I'm 153 right now. ((

1/2 pound a week is good progress for someone that is close to goal. You are NOT building muscle on 1200 "gross" calories.....retaining water...maybe.

Pounds per week
75+ lbs to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range

InForBacon

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
Go here ^^^ Read all the info and benefit.

Phoenix_Warrior

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
Go here ^^^ Read all the info and benefit.

+1. This group has helped me tremendously!

nm212

Thank you Teabee . That's interesting. I didn't know that.

climbing_trees

You should take body measurements! Once I didn't lose anything for nearly three weeks, I got so frustrated! When I finally got around to checking my measurements, I had lost over an inch off my waist and an inch off of each thigh.

Your weight isn't the be-all end-all description of your fitness.

nm212

Thanks! You guys are great!

geekyjock76

Make sure you selected 0.5 lbs or 1.0 lb (at the most) for your weekly weight loss goal. Also, eat about 50% of your exercise calories so that you are not further increasing the deficit beyond your intended goal. Exercise and dieting place stress on the body. And for those with not much to lose, the extra water retention that results from excessive stress can mask fat loss.

b3st

Thanks! You guys are great!

Use the mirror, and measurements to track your weight loss.

nm212

Monday I ate like a pig haha so a little hesitant to open my diary. I do log EVERYTHING though, so good or bad days...I'm sticking to that so far.

dlkingsbury

Going through the same thing... I've been tracking for a few weeks (very accurate, i have a food scale, etc.) and working out and have only seen a 2lb loss. I do think I see small changes in my stomach, butt and legs though (been doing a lot of cardio). I used to eat so badly and not really work out consistently at all, so I expected to see a much larger loss by now and that is frustrating, but I know if I keep working at this eventually I'm going to see the loss. I just have to keep working at it.

nm212

Hmm thanks Geeky. You're cute! LOL I'm gonna open my diary...

mitchiemo

You're not building muscle but if you've upped exercise recently, you could be retaining water for muscle repair. Make sure you're drinking lots of water. That's helped me.

Why do you say she's not building muscle? Muscles repair is muscle growth!

CamillaHerold

As much as your water intake and food choices, it might be your exercise. Again if you open your diary, we can see exactly what you are logging and be better able to offer help.
Regarding keeping the diary up each day, be sure you are committed to 100% honesty and logging everything. If you aren't committed to that, then the diary is worthless.
As far as exercise, you may not be working out hard enough, or you may be working out too hard. Let's say your 1200 is not putting you in starvation mode. Do you exercise enough to sweat hard? does your heart pound and can you maintain that for 20-30 minutes? If these are not happening, you may be overestimating the benefit you think you are going to get from your exercise. It takes work to burn 500 calories in an exercise session. A heart rate monitor would be a good investment, especially if you are new to regular exercise. But even if you are not new to exercise, you need to know when you are in the best fat burning zone for your age/weight. As a general rule, to burn fat calories efficiently, you need to be in that heart rate zone where you can breathe well enough to talk and keep going. If you are breathing so hard you can't talk and you are tiring quickly, you are probably way above the fat burning zone and its not going to contribute to weight loss.
So if you would log your water intake, food, and exercise, I am sure that you will get some good help from this site. Maybe some crap too, but just ignore it. : ) The answers are out there, just keep looking.

PS: just saw that your diary is open. Looks like you are exercising often and good variety, especially lately. Foodwise, you have a really good day on Oct 12 and then really bad between Oct 15-21 and the 24. By bad I mean high carbs 200+ and high sodium 2500+ , a bad combination. Both cause water retention. Sugar intake was bad here and there too. Several days recently there was no food data, so without that its hard to know whether its the food choices or not.
You said you are ready to cut back carbs and increase water intake, and if you do those things and decrease sodium, I think you will start losing. IMHO. Best wishes, and keep working and looking for solutions!

briandahawaiian

Your probably not eating enough eat some or all of your workout cals back

missomgitsica

Are you measuring or just weighing yourself? Just because the number on the scale stays the same doesn't mean your inches do.

sadalldo

I know exactly how you feel. I am at the same weight. It's frustrating that a person tries so hard and fails on the scale. I think I have been so obsessed with the scale that I am losing focus on the important things like my clothes fitting looser and a difference in my shape. I am starting to focus on macronutrients to make sure I am getting enough protein, carbs, and fat into my diet along with more fiber. Along with more water, I try to drink a gallon a day.

Warchortle

-You're incorrectly logging food

-You're not in a caloric deficit

-You're not eating the proper foods so that your body wants to burn fat (I'm not say there are fat burning foods, but you can't build a fire with no wood)

Bretto

I know for me, when I exercise between 7-10 hrs a week I had to increase my calories to 1600-1750 per day. When you eat healthy that is alot of food. I also really cut back on my carbs, so I was only eating about 100 carbs per day, but I bumped my protein up to 150 per day. I also added in a low carb, low sugar protein drink 10 min before bed. This way my metabolisn had something to work off of during the night. I drink around 100 oz of water per day. These few tricks helped me push through my plateau. Also eat every 2-3 hrs no skipping snacks or meals or it slows your metabolism down.