Exercising and counting calories - not losing weight.

jaz050465

Check out the libra weight scale in the app store on your phone... I use it and it's pretty good about showing the overall trend... It has helped me to see that I am making progress, even when it's only .5 lb in 2 weeks.

Can't find this app. Is that the exact name?

asinadinos86

http://chrispowell.com/carb-cycling-101/

I just started carb cycling and lost 2.6 pounds the first week! I did the Turbo cycle. It takes me a long time to lose as I have a slow metabolism. I have just now hit 30 lbs lost and I started in July of 2013.

Also, measure yourself! You might be toning and getting tighter but not losing actual pounds. Sometimes the scale isn't the most important. You should be able to tell in the way your clothes fit.

SassyCalyGirl

I weigh all my foods by the way. Some days I go crazy and just sort of give up and eat another bag of chips or whatever. But generally I try to be as accurate as possible. Maybe that's why I'm not losing?

ah ha!

Tempestt43

I gave up gluten and grains. I have tried for years to lose weight counting calories and switched to 30-50 carbs a day (my calories seem to follow suit) This might help, but it is only a suggestion. Take a look at the Wheat Belly book by Dr. Davis. Good Luck!

Kenazwa

I think its those days that you "go off the rails" that are keeping you from reaching your goals. I remember a time in the past when I thought I absolutely was doing 1200 calories most days consistently, then I looked deeper into it and saw there were days when I didn't log everything, and there were days when I logged going considerably over 1200 calories. Also, I knew there were extra bites and sips that never made it onto my log because I thought they were insignificant. They're not.

You really need to keep good, honest records (logging) if you want to fine tune weight loss. Estimates like MFP gives you are a great place to start, but you may need to tweak the numbers a bit. Maybe you can't (for example) lose weight at 1460, but you could at 1400.

genas1975

Same here, but I am bad on weekends. So I am now trying the cabbage soup diet. I feel if I could just loose a few pounds, I will be more motivated to keep eating healthier once I am done the cabbage soup. I was 125 two years ago and I am now at 143
For the past 2 months I have been exercising twice a day, my pants are getting tighter and I am fustrated. I am 38 so I wonder if it is harder as you get older to lose. It used to be easy for me to lose pounds even when I did slack on weekends.

Blokeypoo

Hi. Losing 30lbs seems a lot. I appreciate that we're all different but I am 5'2.5 and am thin enough at 133lbs (lost 28lbs) although maybe at 46 I can't get away with thinner!

sammylin13

I agree with most on here. But most of all, log everything or don't take that little bite/sip. Going off the rails for even one day can make it so you dont lose for sure. But just remember, at least you didnt gain.

Also, I do not think you have unrealistic goals but just remember to stick with it 100% or you may disappoint yourself, just a thought!

Good luck! If you put your mind to it, you will succeed!

AliceDark

Some of the calorie counts on your diary entries look off (like 5 cups of pork congee for 400 calories). Are you making food yourself or eating out? If you're preparing food at home, use the Recipe Builder tool. If you're eating a lot of restaurant food, it's likely that you're underestimating the number of calories you're getting. It might be a good idea to cut back on the restaurant food for awhile until you get your intake dialed in and start losing again. (Not to say that you can't lose weight and incorporate restaurant food -- because you can -- but you're getting too many calories from somewhere).

timrpm

Restaurant food is almost always killer high calories.

Also, running on the treadmill - do you vary your run intensities? Try intervals, tempo runs, long steady runs and so on. Are you logging your running progress? If not, the body adapts quickly to steady low intensity exercise. Another nice idea: -try running in the real world for some of the time. It's more effective and way less boring.

kmglennie

I'm with the people who are saying that it's way underestimating the calorie-counts on restaurant food, and the chinese food in the logs can be very tricky to estimate, and often has loads of hidden calories.

You should try setting macros, with higher protein intake, and weigh and count everything, no excuses. Stick to meals that are easier to measure, such as chicken breast + broccoli: there's less room for error in the calculations of calories there.

Good luck, and congrats on the progress so far!

TeaBea

Btw my goal is to reach 130 lb by June. Is this achieavable?

Um....not likely

http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/weight-loss-calculator.php

cajach

Thank you everyone. I will try to eat cleaner and be more consistent with my calories. I feel much less demotivated now by reading everyones advice!

mdallas6

Thanks for you answer. I want to lose 30lb eventually but not before June. I am aware that is unhealthy. My aim is to lose at least 15lb by then :-)

Have you looked into low carb? Low calorie is a slower weight loss as well as working out. Muscle weighs more than fat so your scale wont go down as fast but you are losing inches. Are you measuring your self? Its a better indicator if you are working out. Low carb works fast and you dont need to excercise. I am the same way when it comes to the scale. I need to see it move to continue eating better. I suggest trying low carb for two weeks and see how you feel. You will lose around 7-10 lbs your first two weeks!

cajach

@mdallas6 I will try the low carb technique! Thank you for recommending it. And I never thought of measuring myself. I am exactly like that, if my scale remains the same or worse, goes up, I lose all motivation. But now that I've learnt that it's because of water retention, I will definitely give it a go.

JessievilleMom91

::Treadmill advice:: 6mph is my favorite pace to burn the maximum amount of calories at the easiest stage. I usually burn about 350-400 calories in a 30min workout, *take into mind, when I become too short of breath, I walk at 4mph to regain control of my breathing*. I focus on endurance as well so I push myself.