Stuck in a Rut....already

sbox11

I started this weight loss journey two weeks ago. I do t25 every day, water aerobics twice a week, and started doing some crossfit workouts this week. I'm not losing any weight (granted, every now and then I have poor meal choices). Should I be concerned? I'm always under my calorie goal.

We are in a biggest loser contest at work, and I'm really driven to win. The contest ends at the end of the year with quarterly payouts. I thought for sure by now I would've lost SOMETHING! Am I doing something wrong here?

Ninkyou

Are you new to exercise? If so, you could be retaining water from exercise for muscle repair, which could mask any weight loss you do have. Give it more time. If after 4 weeks there is still no change, then you can reevaluate from there.

lookinggoodkel

I started 47 days ago and only exercise i do is at work running around a hot building looking after elderly. I have made myself not go over -10 on any of my goals etc fat, carbs etc but not calories and i've lost 16lbs so far.
Maybe look at your food and see where you can cut things out or down and add other things to your diet. I am looking at labels all the time and making sure i get as close as i calories as i can and as said not over -10 and stay under

Hope this helps

UmmSqueaky

You lost 5 lbs in 2 weeks? Congrats, that's more than many people lose in a month!

editorgrrl

You could be underestimating your food &/or overestimating your burns. Weigh your food. If you still aren't losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Edited to add that I didn't see your ticker, and took you at your word that you aren't losing. A healthy weight loss is .5–2 lb. per week. No one in the real world loses at the rate they do on "The Biggest Loser" TV show.

Read the Sexypants link.

AmyRhubarb

I started this weight loss journey two weeks ago. I do t25 every day, water aerobics twice a week, and started doing some crossfit workouts this week. I'm not losing any weight (granted, every now and then I have poor meal choices). Should I be concerned? I'm always under my calorie goal.

We are in a biggest loser contest at work, and I'm really driven to win. The contest ends at the end of the year with quarterly payouts. I thought for sure by now I would've lost SOMETHING! Am I doing something wrong here?

What is your calorie goal and how far under are you staying? Do you eat back exercise cals? Are you taking rest days?

Peeked at your diary - there are many days where you're waaaay under goal. With all the workouts you've listed, you need to be sure you're not selling yourself short by under eating while putting all these new demands on your body. Food is fuel! Also keep in mind that new exercise can cause water retention for a bit, and your body is adjusting to new workouts and eating habits in general, and can take several week or even a month to sort of even out and start showing losses.

Also if you haven't yet, take measurements and progress pics - often you will see progress there that the scale doesn't show.

Other than that - eat your calories, drink water, exercise, take rest days, get good sleep - good luck!

sbox11

Thanks, but it was 5 pounds in 4 weeks. But starting from logging and exercise, there hasn't been any weight loss.

sbox11

I started this weight loss journey two weeks ago. I do t25 every day, water aerobics twice a week, and started doing some crossfit workouts this week. I'm not losing any weight (granted, every now and then I have poor meal choices). Should I be concerned? I'm always under my calorie goal.

We are in a biggest loser contest at work, and I'm really driven to win. The contest ends at the end of the year with quarterly payouts. I thought for sure by now I would've lost SOMETHING! Am I doing something wrong here?

What is your calorie goal and how far under are you staying? Do you eat back exercise cals? Are you taking rest days?

Peeked at your diary - there are many days where you're waaaay under goal. With all the workouts you've listed, you need to be sure you're not selling yourself short by under eating while putting all these new demands on your body. Food is fuel! Also keep in mind that new exercise can cause water retention for a bit, and your body is adjusting to new workouts and eating habits in general, and can take several week or even a month to sort of even out and start showing losses.

Also if you haven't yet, take measurements and progress pics - often you will see progress there that the scale doesn't show.

Other than that - eat your calories, drink water, exercise, take rest days, get good sleep - good luck!

Daily calorie goal is 1400. Because I have a significant amount of weight to lose, I need lower the calories a different rate than others. I don't eat back my calories that I've "earned" from working out as I wouldn't lose any weight that way. Maybe I am overestimating my calories burned in comparison with my food. I bought a Polar Loop this week to help track the calories burned, but it's not the same as the Body Media. However, since it was so expensive, I will continue to use it to get a general idea (plus it's safe to use for water aerobics).

Also - for my food diary, I really only log through the week. I'm horrible about weekends as I don't use a computer at home. The biggest trouble I seem to be having is my carb intake. I've always been over on that!

I took some pics and measurements earlier this week. I only want to take them once a month or so, otherwise I feel like I will drive myself crazy (kind of like I am with the weight since I've been weighing myself every day)!

AmyRhubarb

Daily calorie goal is 1400. Because I have a significant amount of weight to lose, I need lower the calories a different rate than others. I don't eat back my calories that I've "earned" from working out as I wouldn't lose any weight that way. Maybe I am overestimating my calories burned in comparison with my food. I bought a Polar Loop this week to help track the calories burned, but it's not the same as the Body Media. However, since it was so expensive, I will continue to use it to get a general idea (plus it's safe to use for water aerobics).

Also - for my food diary, I really only log through the week. I'm horrible about weekends as I don't use a computer at home. The biggest trouble I seem to be having is my carb intake. I've always been over on that!

I took some pics and measurements earlier this week. I only want to take them once a month or so, otherwise I feel like I will drive myself crazy (kind of like I am with the weight since I've been weighing myself every day)!

As far as not "eat back my calories that I've "earned" from working out as I wouldn't lose any weight that way" - if you're using MFP correctly, yes you will. Your daily goal already has you at a calorie deficit - meaning eat ALL your calories every day, do zero exercise and you'll lose weight. Burning off more cals through exercise and then not eating any extra is creating a cavernous deficit, which might seem like a good idea, but it's really not, and over time is a recipe for disaster. MFP adds those cals back into your goal because you are supposed to eat them back, at least a good portion of them, bringing your deficit back to what they have it set at, and you'll still lose.

And accurate logging is key - all day every day. Doing well during the week and then half-a$$ing your logging on the weekends can set you back. Measure and weigh (get a food scale if you don't have one - excellent tool to have) all your food, everything that goes into your mouth. And then look back over your days and weeks, see where you did well, when you might have gone over or come in way under, and see where you can make changes and better choices. But log everything every day - your body is keeping an accurate record of what you eat even if you don't. If you don't have a computer at home, or the app on a smart phone, do it the old fashioned way with pen and paper!

But don't sell yourself short by under eating - can't stress that enough. We see it all the time here at MFP -people want fast results, don't eat enough, and within a few weeks they are crashing and burning and wondering what went wrong. Lack of energy for workouts, tired, suddenly overeating and binge eating, grouchy - keep this up and eventually the posts become about hair loss, brittle nails, complete stalls in weight loss, and a slowed metabolism to match the low intake, which leads to needing to eat less and less in order to lose weight.

You don't want to go down that road! Eat your calories - no really! It sounds like you work out a lot, and you need to fuel those workouts. I'm nearly twice your age and not as active and I've had my best success while eating 1800-2000 calories a day.

Have a read through this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13 Great info there.

Good luck!

LVCeltGirl

I'm similar to you in the sense that I started off not eating exercise calories back, trying to be under every day and all because I have (still do) a significant amount of weight to lose. Read the forums that you were given information on especially Path to Sexy Pants. They have a lot of good hints.

I peeked at your diary too, although not terribly in depth. I agree, I think you're stalling yourself out by not eating enough. Also, I don't know what your water intake is, or if your body is similar to mine and needs the water (rather than Coke Zero, Unsweetened Tea, Unsweetened Coffee). Drink your water and a good guideline especially with exercise is at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces daily. Using myself as an example, current weight 238 lbs so that would be 119 ounces of water daily. I drink 1 gallon daily which is 128 ounces so I meet my goal.

Also, I noticed how high the protein is, great job except that you're not reaching that goal. Protein is great especially with toning and muscle retention. But if you have it that high, you need to attempt to reach it. A higher protein lower carb diet isn't going to hurt. If you don't have a medical reason to go low carb, then I'd only suggest trying it out and see if it's for you. When all's said and done, you're going to need to live with your food choices for the rest of your life. I know that while I'm sensitive to wheat, I cannot completely give up my bread or pasta (and I don't like the gluten free stuff) so I've cut it back and not out.

Weigh and measuring everything will get results. I will admit I don't weigh everything. I still do measurements whenever possible but there's no guarantee that my one cup measurement is the same as what someone else did. I know that makes a difference too.

You can do this! Again, I suggest going back to reading the forums that were suggested. And realize that you're going to need to give it time. You'll have days perhaps weeks where it's stalled. Every once in a while, you'll have a gain for no reason. Don't get discouraged by it.

editorgrrl

I really only log through the week. I'm horrible about weekends as I don't use a computer at home.

If you don't log, then you have no idea how much you're eating. If you're not losing, you're not eating at a deficit.

The best way to guarantee success is to log everything you eat accurately and honestly. Every. Thing. Weigh your food. Learn to find reliable database entries.

The biggest trouble I seem to be having is my carb intake. I've always been over on that!

The easiest way to eat fewer carbs is to use the MFP protein goal as a minimum.

Daily calorie goal is 1400. Because I have a significant amount of weight to lose, I need lower the calories a different rate than others.

Weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. 1,400 is not working for you. Use the MFP defaults, and get your logging under control.