I'm not losing. Something is wrong here - HELP!

kmarsack618

Ok I am really at a loss on what to do. I have been religiously tracking my foods and activity for 6 weeks plus (yes, I skip a few days here and there when I am busy with the kids). Comparatively speaking - I eat really well. I consider myself to be a primal eater (low carb, low sugar). On top of that, I work out 5 or 6 times a week (running, strength / interval training, yoga - only 1x a week for yoga) and I get on average 7 hours of sleep a night.

Yes, I do have a cheat meal once a week. I know I am honest about my food diary. In fact, I even add 10% of my calories at the end of the day to quick add calories just to keep myself honest.

I have not lost a single pound. I know its not only about "the number on the scale" but I also am not seeing any type of changes with the way my clothes are fitting me, etc.

I am starting to get concerned that I have an underlying health issue. I am 32 years old, 5'6 and weigh 145 lbs. I am not trying to lose a lot, maybe 10 lbs - but I never expected it to be so hard. Its very discouraging.

I would love to get anyone's opinion on what I should change, maybe view your food diaries as well so I can see what you are eating to lose weight. I am planning on going to my doctor to test my thyroid, just in case.

Thanks everyone for your input - I look forward to suggestions and motivation to keep on pushing.

SezxyStef

weigh your food...

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

kshadows

Are you weighing and measuring everything you're eating? If not, you're probably not eating at a deficit like you think you are. What is your daily caloric goal?

kshadows

Are you weighing and measuring everything you're eating? If not, you're probably not eating at a deficit like you think you are. What is your daily caloric goal?

I just quick checked your diary and it looks like your intake is pretty low... you either should be eating more, or eating back your exercise calories. Did you calculate using your TDEE and BMR? Or let MFP do it?

ETA: If you're not tracking EVERYthing, EVERYtime, you don't have an accurate picture of your intake.

DavidSTC

First thought: How are you tracking the calories you burn during exercise? Those calories can be over-inflated in online calorie trackers.

lindsey1979

Ok I am really at a loss on what to do. I have been religiously tracking my foods and activity for 6 weeks plus (yes, I skip a few days here and there when I am busy with the kids). Comparatively speaking - I eat really well. I consider myself to be a primal eater (low carb, low sugar). On top of that, I work out 5 or 6 times a week (running, strength / interval training, yoga - only 1x a week for yoga) and I get on average 7 hours of sleep a night.

Yes, I do have a cheat meal once a week. I know I am honest about my food diary. In fact, I even add 10% of my calories at the end of the day to quick add calories just to keep myself honest.

I have not lost a single pound. I know its not only about "the number on the scale" but I also am not seeing any type of changes with the way my clothes are fitting me, etc.

I am starting to get concerned that I have an underlying health issue. I am 32 years old, 5'6 and weigh 145 lbs. I am not trying to lose a lot, maybe 10 lbs - but I never expected it to be so hard. Its very discouraging.

I would love to get anyone's opinion on what I should change, maybe view your food diaries as well so I can see what you are eating to lose weight. I am planning on going to my doctor to test my thyroid, just in case.

Thanks everyone for your input - I look forward to suggestions and motivation to keep on pushing.

Do you have any other symptoms that may indicate a problem? Fatigue? Intolerance to cold? Constipation?

I ask because I had a very similar situation to yours -- same diet and everything (though Primal was the one thing that helped the fatigue, even though it was still there sometimes). And after religious food tracking and exercise for 3 months (and a whopping 2.2 lbs loss), I finally got my doctor to look into it more -- that eat less and move more wasn't working for me for some reason (I was literally averaging over 700 daily calorie deficit and should have lost 15-18 lbs based on the deficit).

Some blood tests and a few specialist later, and we found the cause -- I have both a thyroid condition (Hashimotos) and insulin resistance (believed to be caused by the long time untreatment of the thyroid issue). We got those sorted out and I'm finally starting to lose weight/fat like a normal-ish person. And I had probably 30 lbs or so to lose -- nothing super dramatic as I'm 5'9".

Shuuma

I agree with the weighing and measuring food. If your budget will allow it, a digital scale at WalMart is about 20 bucks. Weigh everything. Measure butters, oils, peanut butter, mayo--anything that you put in your mouth, on your food, and in a pan--and log it all.

A few other things I consider when my weight stalls (that have worked well for me):

Most people overestimate the amount of calories burned and underestimate the calories ingested, so a Heart Rate Monitor is a good step toward getting a closer idea about your burn. Used with the food scale, I feel I'm getting a more accurate accounting of my food choices for the day.

My personal preference is to avoid quick add calories because, again, I underestimate the calories I'm adding. I have zero perception about portions. Measuring and weighing everything will eliminate the need to do it, anyway.

Then, take measurements and pictures. Sometimes, we lose inches without losing weight.

I am apparently very sensitive to sodium so I watch my intake very carefully. It may be your sodium intake is causing water retention.

I am an emotional eater and cheat days trigger everything in me that says "ALL THE FOOD, NOW!" so I avoid them. I eat the same way every day. If I want a treat, I budget it in my food choices for the day. I don't deny myself, I just make sure it fits into my goals. (Again, this is just me, but I'm trying to throw everything out there.)

Drink lots of water. You can't imagine how much it helps until you do it. It's really amazing!

Every time I start a new type of exercise, I stall on my weight for a week or even two. I do Jillian Michael's Body Revolution right now (almost done!) and Monday, I start P90X3. Each new workout causes my body to readjust and hang onto water to repair. Once I saw the connection between weight and workout, I stopped freaking out so much.

I log everything in the morning for the whole day. That way, I can see where I'm over-doing or under-doing it calorie- and macro-wise. It works really well for me, so maybe that's another option.

You only have about 10 pounds to lose, so it will go much slower than if you had 100 or 50 to lose. Keep fighting the good fight and it will happen!

kmarsack618

RE: Weighing and measuring: No, I do not weigh and measure everything. But I used to - and I am very good at eyeballing and I have educated myself enough previously that I don't feel its necessary to weigh and measure everything. But maybe I'll start again.

kmarsack618

First thought: How are you tracking the calories you burn during exercise? Those calories can be over-inflated in online calorie trackers.

So, I do wear a fit bit, but I don't think that is exactly accurate either. It is more accurate for activities like running. However, when I strength train and circuit train it is not as accurate. It will say I burned 45 calories in an hour workout.
When I put it in MFP, It will read like 615 for an hour of circuit training, which I know is not accurate either. I typically edit the calorie burn to about 400 for 60 minutes of circuit training. So its not an exact science, but I am doing my best.

4legsRbetterthan2

I went through the past 3 weeks and basically you log m-Th, halfway most fridays, and not on the weekend

If you don't know what you are eating you don't know what you should be losing

until you log accurately MFP will not be helpful for you, sorry

LoraF83

I have been religiously tracking my foods and activity for 6 weeks plus (yes, I skip a few days here and there when I am busy with the kids).

Fix this issue. Be 100% consistent for 4 weeks and see if your results don't change.


If you still don't lose weight after 100% consistency, then talk to your doctor. But as it stands right now, you're not adhering to the program so you can't expect results.

3dogsrunning

I have been religiously tracking my foods and activity for 6 weeks plus (yes, I skip a few days here and there when I am busy with the kids).

Fix this issue. Be 100% consistent for 4 weeks and see if your results don't change.


If you still don't lose weight after 100% consistency, then talk to your doctor. But as it stands right now, you're not adhering to the program so you can't expect results.

I would also like to add this to this post.

RE: Weighing and measuring: No, I do not weigh and measure everything. But I used to - and I am very good at eyeballing and I have educated myself enough previously that I don't feel its necessary to weigh and measure everything. But maybe I'll start again.

See above advice.

LoraF83

I have been religiously tracking my foods and activity for 6 weeks plus (yes, I skip a few days here and there when I am busy with the kids).

Fix this issue. Be 100% consistent for 4 weeks and see if your results don't change.


If you still don't lose weight after 100% consistency, then talk to your doctor. But as it stands right now, you're not adhering to the program so you can't expect results.

I would also like to add this to this post.

RE: Weighing and measuring: No, I do not weigh and measure everything. But I used to - and I am very good at eyeballing and I have educated myself enough previously that I don't feel its necessary to weigh and measure everything. But maybe I'll start again.

See above advice.

And to add to her add to my post, I'd like to say that you are only aiming to lose 10lbs. That means you should have your goal set to about a half pound/week. Your deficit is very small, so accuracy is your best friend. A small logging mistake means no loss. A small surplus means no loss. You have to weigh and measure and log everything.

tariksehovic

If you really want to use the weight get out of the habit of eyeballing...

Step 1 weight your food
Step 2 Add some Incline walking 10%-20% in your workouts
Step 3 Drink lots of water
Step 4: Add 3 Cardio Only Session to your Week (250-400Cals)
Step 5: Tell US out much weight you have lost and how great you feel

DavPul

RE: Weighing and measuring: No, I do not weigh and measure everything. But I used to - and I am very good at eyeballing and I have educated myself enough previously that I don't feel its necessary to weigh and measure everything. But maybe I'll start again.

NOBODY is good at eyeballing. nobody. Obese people underestimate intake by 50-60%. Fit people underestimate by 15-20%. No one overestimates, not even professional nutritionists.

what figure are you using for your exercise calories?

MariaChele85

AT 5'6'' AND 145 lbs you should be close to a normal weight. Have you considered concentrating on lowering your body fat % rather than the number on the scale? Pick up heavier weight training. This maybe the change you need. But again this also requires attention to diet.

LeslieB042812

I am in agreement on the measuring/weighing everything and am only chiming in to share my personal experience. For me, having one-2 "cheat days" (without pigging out, but also without rigorous tracking) is maintaining. That is a very livable way to maintain your weight, but it will not work for losing because your body does not want to lose. It will make up any calorie deficit you have--even if you only eat healthy foods (veggie calories add up too!).

hastingsmassage

you are not that good at eyeballing then

silken555

Can't stress the measure/weight everything enough.

Can't stress the take pictures and measure yourself enough.

Can't stress the incorporating weight training for fat loss enough.

Also...please don't blame the kids. You are not busy with them for 24 hours straight. Even if you were, you are the parent and you can decide to set 10-20min aside to prelog your day. You can do it when you wake up or if you truly can't while they're up you can prelog for the next day before going to bed.

Where there's a will there's a way is so very true!

erickbrian

I've got a solution. I hit a plateau a little while ago....

START JUICING. Clean your system.



Oh, want to really drop weight? CALORIE DEFICIT + NUTRITION BLAST!

During the week, I typically have 1 meal of food a day. I choose lunch, to socialize with coworkers, but the rest of the day conists of 2 green juices and 1 fruit smoothie.

I took my calorie consumption from 2300-2400 a day, to 1780'ish a day. If I work out, I burn an extra 500-1000 calories, and I DO NOT eat additional meals. Keep that burn, if you're hungry, snack on some nuts or drink a protein shake. (Weekends I have healthy meals,)

I'm down nearly 18lbs since January this year. (All of January, I didn't do much working out either.)



My mom has nearly dropped 30lbs from the same diet and my stepdad lost 25lbs.