Why am i not losing?

cooky_monster

I have only been trying to lose weight for a week so maybe I am not giving it a chance :ohwell: But I have stuck to my calorie limit all week and done some exercise (albeit not a lot, but bear in mind I never used to do ANY, so im building up to it) and im still exactly the same weight as when I started.

And yes, my scales are fine and fully functional and I do use them to weigh out my portion sizes.

I am 5ft2in and weigh 204 pounds, and have been sticking to 1300 calories. (I did start at 1200 but raised it a little afterwards because I was still hungry).

So should I be exercising more? Or should I go back 1200 calories? My diary is open so please feel free to take a peek and give me your verdict

lucan07

Read this it could be you have gained water weight if you have exercised a lot more than normal but accuracy is the key

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

Greenrun99

Patience.

LeanButNotMean44

You didn't gain a bunch of weight in one week, did you? It doesn't come off in a week, either. Be patient and keep up the good work!

Ready2Rock206

A WHOLE WEEK?!! Clearly things are massively wrong in the world if you haven't lost all your weight in one week. Maybe you should weight more than I week before hitting the panic button. Patience is your friend.

CassaJ23

Patience.

Yup. Keep at it! Also, keep in mind that you're HEALTHIER if you're exercising when you weren't before

Francl27

Give it some time. If you didn't exercise before, your body is probably adjusting.

You can definitely eat more than 1300 calories though! I started at 1690 with light exercise (208 lbs, 5'5") and lost 1.5 lb a week pretty fast (at the lose 1lb a week setting but not eating exercise calories back because I had no idea how much I burned). You don't have to starve yourself.

stealthq

Basically, you just need to be patient. Some people take a couple of weeks to start seeing scale weight drop when they go on a new diet and exercise program. I did.

Don't go back to 1200 cals. For your height and weight, you should be able to eat more than 1300 and still lose weight at 1 lb per wk (average). That said, be sure you're weighing and measuring as much of your food as you can, and log every bite so you know you're eating what you think you are. If you're eating back exercise calories (you should be), you might not want to eat all of the calories MFP recommends - they're notoriously estimated on the high side. Most people seem to find success with 50% of MFPs estimate.

Good luck and welcome

cooky_monster

Well I read the article, and it would seem I am eating too many calories :ohwell:

I have been weighing out my food all week on my Salter scales, and I THOUGHT I was being CCURATE, but seemingly not :embarassed:

I will just have to be extra careful with my weighing this week and give it some more time I guess

diannethegeek

I agree wtih the others that patience is key right now, but looking through your diary I'd recommend two things. 1. Your protein looks fairly low. MFP sets their default protein goal low anyone and I'd always recommend treating it as a minimum rather than a maximum. 2. You may need to check the accuracy of the foods you're logging. I don't know what "Hairy Bikers (Dieters - Moist Carrot & Sultana Cake, 1 portion" is, but it has to have either carbs, fat, or protein in it if it has calories.

jennegan1

First off you are still in week 1, going into week 2...It takes 4 weeks to see any changes really....so patience is a virtue

BUMPSTEAD

Eating too little calories will put your body in starvation mode and you won't lose. In the begining you need to do alot of twerking your diet. Make sure you are eating those 5-6 small meals try every three hrs. And of course drinking water only. Just keep pushing it will happen.

cooky_monster

A WHOLE WEEK?!! Clearly things are massively wrong in the world if you haven't lost all your weight in one week. Maybe you should weight more than I week before hitting the panic button. Patience is your friend.

I guess I should be more patient right :laugh: I don't expect it all to drop right off, of course not. A pound for my efforts would have been nice though.
But you do make a good point, I should wait a bit longer than a week

Lesa_Sass

Holy cow, you are not over eating you are UNDER EATING. Please find out your BMR and at least eat that.

sweetpea03b

Ok... so I'm 5'2, 174lbs and my minimum calorie intake is 1500. I think your calories are too low. That's #1... I didn't see what kind of exercise you're doing so I don't know about that... people tend to lean towards all cardio. I would strongly suggest doing weight training as your primary form of exercise... supplementing with cardio. check out New Rules of Lifting for Women. I've been at this (this time) since March... doing mostly cardio and eating about 1300 calories for the first couple months with very little to show for it. In October/November I started NROLFW and I've lost consistantly every week since then and my clothes are fitting looser. That's #2.... #3... its only been a week... be patient. Sometimes it takes a week or 2 for your body to get the picture. Feel free to add me if you like. Good luck!

ETA: When I upped my calories and started NROLFW... I started losing.

jennegan1

Are you weighing your liquids correctly? Well measuring....I thought that whole milk has alot more calories then 40.....I pre measure my creamer for my coffee and one tablespoon is 35 calories

cooky_monster

. I don't know what "Hairy Bikers (Dieters - Moist Carrot & Sultana Cake, 1 portion" is, but it has to have either carbs, fat, or protein in it if it has calories.

I have a recipe book from the Hairy Bikers and its called "The Hairy Dieters" because it is all low-fat recipes. Well this cake is meant to be low-fat so I baked it for my family so we all could have a slice and I wouldn't be left out . But im not sure of the nutritional info apart from the calories because the book doesn't provide them :frown:

__freckles__

Eating too little calories will put your body in starvation mode and you won't lose. In the begining you need to do alot of twerking your diet. Make sure you are eating those 5-6 small meals try every three hrs. And of course drinking water only. Just keep pushing it will happen.

Nope, nope and nope. You're not in starvation mode eating 1300 calories. You don't have to eat 5-6 meals a day, you can eat 1 meal a day if it fits within your calorie goal. And you can drink things other than water, again just make sure you stay within your calorie range. After 1 week don't expect much - this is a lifestyle change, so no need to rush things. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will eventually happen.

meshashesha2012

you've only been at it a week. i would say give what you're doing another 2 weeks and then see.

there's no need to panic and start changing up all kinds of stuff based on week 1.

SailorKnightWing

Eating too little calories will put your body in starvation mode and you won't lose. In the begining you need to do alot of twerking your diet. Make sure you are eating those 5-6 small meals try every three hrs. And of course drinking water only. Just keep pushing it will happen.

Nope, nope and nope. You're not in starvation mode eating 1300 calories. You don't have to eat 5-6 meals a day, you can eat 1 meal a day if it fits within your calorie goal. And you can drink things other than water, again just make sure you stay within your calorie range. After 1 week don't expect much - this is a lifestyle change, so no need to rush things. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will eventually happen.

And also, the phrase is "tweaking" your diet, not "twerking." Two completely different things. :smokin:

jkowula

Well I am no expert, but here goes... just a quick peek at your diary and i would say cut out the white bread (rolls), crackers, processed sugars. Add a ton more fresh fruits and vegetables. This is what I did in and it seems to be working for me, in 2 months I lost 20 pounds. I also did a lot of walking. Mind you I didn't track over the holidays or weigh myself and I am sure I put a few pounds back on, but I am back at it and will see where it takes me.

brandi712

Patience.

THIS

__freckles__

Read this it could be you have gained water weight if you have exercised a lot more than normal but accuracy is the key

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

Love this blog. Yes, make sure you're measuring everything correctly, but again, after only a week it's hard to tell. Give it a month and if you haven't lost anything perhaps you need to read the article again.

LVCeltGirl

First off, like everyone else is saying, Patience. Other thing I noticed right away was the items on your diary that didn't have carbs, protein, sugars, fats and/or sodium. A lot of things out there have one or more of those "macros" in addition to calories. Also, are you tracking the zero calorie drinks like water, unsweetened tea (hot or cold), etc? You might not be getting enough water (or liquid) which will help you retain water which will keep you from showing a loss.

Want more about macros, exercise, how to work this to your best check out this forum (I believe I got the right one with a lot of explanation)?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=how+to+get+into+your+sexy+pants

It's very helpful and I often see it recommended.

billsica

its only a week. relax.

When you start a new exercise routine, expect to gain some weight. (water, etc)

Low fat is a myth. Try to aim for a 40/30/30 (protein/fat/carbs)

Figure out your BMR and TDEE. Go 20% under TDEE, it should line up fairly well with what mfp recommends for 1 pound a week loss. 1300 is still to little for you to eat.

sweetpea03b

. I don't know what "Hairy Bikers (Dieters - Moist Carrot & Sultana Cake, 1 portion" is, but it has to have either carbs, fat, or protein in it if it has calories.

I have a recipe book from the Hairy Bikers and its called "The Hairy Dieters" because it is all low-fat recipes. Well this cake is meant to be low-fat so I baked it for my family so we all could have a slice and I wouldn't be left out . But im not sure of the nutritional info apart from the calories because the book doesn't provide them :frown:

Enter the recipe into MFP... that way you can get all the info you need.

__freckles__

Eating too little calories will put your body in starvation mode and you won't lose. In the begining you need to do alot of twerking your diet. Make sure you are eating those 5-6 small meals try every three hrs. And of course drinking water only. Just keep pushing it will happen.

Nope, nope and nope. You're not in starvation mode eating 1300 calories. You don't have to eat 5-6 meals a day, you can eat 1 meal a day if it fits within your calorie goal. And you can drink things other than water, again just make sure you stay within your calorie range. After 1 week don't expect much - this is a lifestyle change, so no need to rush things. Just keep doing what you're doing and it will eventually happen.

And also, the phrase is "tweaking" your diet, not "twerking." Two completely different things. :smokin:

OMG...just noticed that.

sassyjae21

*twerks*

cooky_monster

Thanks everybody who has replied, you are all being so helpful and I am taking note of all the advice :happy:

Losing_Sarah

A WHOLE WEEK?!! Clearly things are massively wrong in the world if you haven't lost all your weight in one week. Maybe you should weight more than I week before hitting the panic button. Patience is your friend.

Clearly she isn't wondering why she hasn't lost ALL of her weight in one week. Geesh, rude much?

LaurenAOK

Well I read the article, and it would seem I am eating too many calories :ohwell:

Nonono, you are NOT eating too many calories. You are almost certainly eating too little.

Using this calculator, I estimate your TDEE at around 2379 calories. That's with "light exercise."
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

This means that your body is burning close to 2400 calories a day. You want to subtract somewhere around 500 from that to lose about a pound a week, or a little more. So, you could easily eat, say, 1800 a day and lose weight. I would strongly suggest you do this, especially since your tag line on here says you are "looking to get strong, not skinny." Eating enough will help you lose fat AND retain muscle, so you'll end up with the lean body you want!

I'm the same height as you and weigh less, and I eat 1800 a day to lose weight. Since you weigh more, you can definitely eat that much or more and still lose. Definitely increase your intake!