Still not losing weight

MyiahRose

I posted this 2 days ago with little responses.
I started working out 3 weeks ago. I go to the gym 3 days a week. I do 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes strength training.
I weighed myself today and im up 3 pounds.
Yes i weigh my food, watch my sodium intake,calculated my bmi, i eat 1500 calories and i eat back half or a little more.
I heard it wasnt possible to gain muscle weight this quick.
What am i doing wrong?

Mr_Knight

Your diary isn't open.

fittoday14

Do you have an HRM? If not, get one so you can track the actual calories burned from exercising. Also, What are your stats? You may be over-eating or under-eating.

ThatSoundsHard

If your body's not used to working out there is a good chance that you're retaining water.
When I started working out and eating less/better I didn't lose any weight for almost two months.

Be patient, log consistently,measure and weight everything you eat and the weight will start coming off. It just rarely happens as fast as you want it to.

RGv2

Your diary isn't open.

^^This.

And yes, you didn't gain muscle weight. Gaining muscle weight is EXTREMELY hard and require more lifting.

Without being able to look at your diet, I'll take a guess that there is probably some water weight gain. When a person starts a new workout regimin or increase intensity the person can/will retain water for muscle repair until the body adjusts.

Are you eating exercise calories back, if so, how many? How do you calculate it.

JuliRamone

It's probably not muscle, but water.
I started weight training again this year and I only lost 1 pound so far, but inches.
Do you take measurements?

LizL217

9 times out of 10, the answer is that either you need to be more patient and give it time, or you're eating more than you think you are. See this forum topic:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think?hl=eating+more+than+you+think

MyiahRose

Do you have an HRM? If not, get one so you can track the actual calories burned from exercising. Also, What are your stats? You may be over-eating or under-eating.

I eat back only half of my exercise calories.
i eat around 1400-1500 a day
im 5'9 22 years old.

MyiahRose

9 times out of 10, the answer is that either you need to be more patient and give it time, or you're eating more than you think you are. See this forum topic:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think?hl=eating+more+than+you+think

Even if i was i still would be at a deficit.

MyiahRose

It's probably not muscle, but water.
I started weight training again this year and I only lost 1 pound so far, but inches.
Do you take measurements?

No but i plan on doing so soon.

bradXdale

Open up your diary.

Have you taken before & after photos?

Have you taken measurements?

Do you weight & track 99.9% of everything that you eat?

I know it can seem militant to some but when you really want to burn stubborn *kitten* fat off your body you have to do things like this. I have been doing this & toying with my calories to see what will work and believe I have found my correct numbers. It's a waiting game too. You can't expect to lose 2 to 3 pounds each week. If you only lose .5 a pound be proud of that .5 pound and keep on trucking. Some weeks are better than others. It's a life long journey, not a 30-day quick fix makeover.

fittoday14

Do you have an HRM? If not, get one so you can track the actual calories burned from exercising. Also, What are your stats? You may be over-eating or under-eating.

I eat back only half of my exercise calories.
i eat around 1400-1500 a day
im 5'9 22 years old.

I really don't think you're eating enough (not including exercise). Be aware of what foods you're eating as well. I ate so much soy sauce the other day that it gave me a 1 pound gain in one day!

Hornsby

Betting it's water weight. I would wait it out for another couple weeks and reevaluate then.

An HRM won't help with your 30 minute strength sessions, but will help you be more accurate with the cardio you are doing.

fittoday14

Also, I had a personal trainer a few years back who told me it's best to do cardio and strength training on different days. Why not switch up your routine and see what happens?

tracydr

Do cardio daily or at least 6 days a week. At least go for a thirty minute walk once,maybe twice a day. Weigh/measure and record as you eat, not later, when you might forget. Are you measuring fruits and veggies? How about enough sleep and water?
If this all fails, you may need to cut your calories a little more.

cidalia1973

Be patient. Assuming you're at the correct level for calories and are not overly loading up on carbs (we need some carbs, but too many carbs, even within a calorie budget make it harder to lose weight), it will come off. I don't believe a calorie is a calorie, especially when trying to lose weight unless you were seriously restricting calories (which is bad).

Give it time. The last time I did this, I was so frustrated. Didn't see a change for 6 weeks and then suddenly, day by day the weight was coming off until I had "caught up" to a 1 pound per week weight loss for the previous weeks in a couple of weeks.

Stage14

Do cardio daily or at least 6 days a week. At least go for a thirty minute walk once,maybe twice a day.

Please ignore this. There is zero reason to kill yourself with cardio and overdoing it can lead to more muscle loss than fat loss and the dreaded "skinny fat" look.

I'm also going to say be patient. When i first started I didn't see any changes for almost 6 weeks. Even now, it's spurts and stops of weight loss, but I'm seeing visible results more steadily. Definitely measure and take pics, and give it some more time. Don't Give Up!

sck2008

Maybe eating back your calories is the issue?? You may be eating too many calories and not burning enough when you work out

jamesalytle

I just went for 1 month straight without losing a pound. I'm a big guy and I dropped 40 pounds my first months so I was really disappointed when I stalled. That said, I switched to using a measuring tape which tells the true story. That and all the shrink marks on my stomach lol. Stay strong, you can do it!

weber22c

Even if i was i still would be at a deficit.

Exercise machines (and MFP) often vastly over-estimate the calories you're burning. If you're really only burning 200 kcal but eating 300+ because the machine says you burned 600-700 kcal, that could certainly be a contributing factor and often is for people who are just getting into exercise.

Maddalen101

Believe it or not, you might not be eating enough. When I plugged in my numbers on MFP, I was astounded at how high the number of calories was for me to lose. However, it does work. when I tried to eat 1500, I kept sneaking up to 1700, and didn't lose a pound. At 1800? Voila! Weight loss. I know, it seems weird. Try it.
Also, keep an eye on your hydration and fat intake. Exercising a lot will deplete your cells of water - drink! And yes, watch those fat grams. Even if your calories are tracking correctly, too many fat grams will mean no weight loss.

4daluvof_candice

Even if i was i still would be at a deficit.

Exercise machines (and MFP) often vastly over-estimate the calories you're burning. If you're really only burning 200 kcal but eating 300+ because the machine says you burned 600-700 kcal, that could certainly be a contributing factor and often is for people who are just getting into exercise.

^^THIS^^ and open your diary...:huh:

1princesswarrior

If you really want inputs you need to open your diary.

At 5'9 and 22, I would wonder if 1500 is enough. This is some general advice.

1. Get a food scale. Weigh all solids and measure all liquids. Measuring cups and spoons are not correct for solids. Think about 1 cup of rice and how much rice that may actually be, I can pack a lot of rice into 1 cup. Another good example is brown sugar, 1 teaspoon does not always equal 4 grams, if you really pack that teaspoon you can fit 6-8 grams in it. I've done it as an experiment. If you don't believe me just try it.

2. Don't rely upon MFP, machines or other online calculators for calorie burn. You need a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. For example, I burn around 500 calories an hour running 5mph per my hrm, MFP will have me at 800 calories as hour. That adds up through the week.

3. Figure out your BMR and TDEE. Set your goal in between those numbers depending on how much weight you have to lose. The TDEE method already incorporates your exercise so you don't eat those calories back. There are a lot of good calculators online but I like this one: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ because it is based on the hours of exercise you do per week.

4. Drink a lot of water, a gallon a day is what was suggested based on a wellness class I just took at work in December. The exact term used was "if your pee isn't clear then you are dehydrated". I've also been told that by my primary care physician. If plain water is not your favorite then add some unsweetened tea, Crystal Light, etc. This is necessary to help your muscles after a work out and help your body's natural detox system work at it's best.

5. You need to eat to support your activity level. If you're really active you need to eat more, of more sedentary then eat less. This is where you need to experiment. Thus the need for the food scale and hrm or an activity tracker. I'm 40, 5'4 and eat 1900 on a non-active day but on many days I need to eat around 2100 to net around my RMR.

Finally don't expect to lose 2 lbs a week unless you have a lot to lose. As you lose more weight your losses will slow down. I really suspect if you are gaining at this point you are probably underestimating calories and overestimating burns. It's really easy to do. Even if you are only eating half of your calories back if you are underestimating food you could still be over. Weight loss is about 80% diet and 20% exercise.

I may be repeating others but it's worth repeating.

animatorswearbras

99% sure this is water weight (otherwise you need to see a doctor), your body retains water to repair muscle so if you have not exercised like this before your muscles will need a lot of repair. Do your muscles ache?

Get out the tape measure, don't worry you have not defied human biology by gaining weight at a calorific deficit. xxxx

Hopefully you'll see the scales move more next month.

ReturnToRunning

The first thing that sticks out to me is your weight training. Depending on how much you have to loose, you are more than likely going to put on a bit of weight first. I'm betting that despite the times when you look at the scale, you are feeling a bit better and you are feeling lighter. Remember that fat weighs significantly less than muscle, so while you are getting going, if you have not worked out a lot in the past, you will see some weight gain because that fat is turning into muscle. If you are looking to just loose weight quicker, I would drop your strength training down to 2 or 3 days a week and continue to run or do cardio everyday (make sure to take a rest day)! The cardio is what will burn the most fat.

Hope this helps.

1princesswarrior

Read this thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1200588-measuring-cup-vs-scale


A whole lot of examples

jargarbo

I have experienced the same a year ago when I was starting to do my work out. I did doubles of P90x and insanity back to back. After a month it seems like I wasn't losing weight and at the same time watching out my diet using MFP. I became frustrated that I recalculated my recommended calories in and thought I starving my body so much that it went to starvation mode. To be honest even though the scale is not showing any incentive or pat on the back... I felt good, energy level was great, clothes seems a bit loose.

What I'm trying to say is.... The important thing when you start your journey of losing fat, the best thing that you have to guage is not only the scale.... But what you feel and how your clothes feel when you wear them. After my 4th week.... Everything followed... My weight suddenly dropped continuously that made me feel much better on top of seeing the fat slowly melt away.

Just continue logging in and do your workouts and you'll see the next time you check your weight and look at yourself in the mirror... You're already there.

Good luck in this journey!

tracyowens22

I had this same problem for MANY months and when it came down to it, I was making excuses for myself and grossly underestimating my portion sizes and over estimating my exercise and most days not logging 100% of what I ate. Three weeks ago, I started pre-packaging all my meals and snacks so my macros are spot on (40-50% carb, 30-40% protein, the rest in fat) and it seems to be working for me. Twelve lbs have fallen off in 3 weeks and 2 pants sizes. So even if you're measuring your food, be sure to log 100% of it. As far as exercise, I do about 8 hours of cardio a week, hitting target heart rate zone between 80-90% max heart rate. 30 minutes is great but if you're not getting your heart rate up high enough for long enough, you're just wasting your time. Invest in a heart rate monitor or some other type of monitor. I use a bodymedia. I also do at least 4 hours of strength training (some hours are mixed cardio/strength) a week and I don't skimp on the weights I use. Make yourself uncomfortable. It's only for a short period of time, you are not going to die. Try doing intervals, like a Tabata type workout where you mix cardio with strength/core. You'll see results. Keep your chin up. Your weight didn't get there over night, it won't go away over night. And be sure to take measurements. How do you know how far you've come if you're not tracking all results.