Gym & 1500 calorie diet - no weight loss?

kellyrose1903

Hi everyone, I am 5'8" and 290lbs. I started going to the gym four weeks ago and I'm absolutely loving it, wish I had joined years ago! Since day one I've done cardio (either elliptical or bike) for 30 minutes 4 times a week, and then I've been doing weights twice a week.

I've also made a complete to change to my diet - no take aways, no bread, no cheese and upped my fruit and vegetable intake to 5 a day. I used to have take away at least twice a week, could plough through 8 slices of bread a day with a pint of milk to wash it down and then eat dessert!

So considering from what I was eating, and now with what I eating and how much exercise I've done, shouldn't I have lost a bunch of weight by now? I've literally lost 3lbs in the four weeks, and my neasurements are exactly the same. I asked a trainer to just see if I was going hard enough with the cardio and he said yes and to keep at it.

Does anyone have any advice or explanation on why my stupid body it not behaving how it should be?! I'm trying not to let it dishearten me because I do now genuinely enjoy exercising now I've discovered it, but I had hoped I could get down to 160lbs by summer next year and I just don't see how I can if this carries on Thanks for any help you can give.

edisonsbulb

Are you actually logging the 1500 calories you've said you're consuming, or is that an estimate?

kellyrose1903

I log on here when I remember, but I have a paper journal that I put everything down in. God I'm an old lady! lol

SergeantNarwhal

First of all, eliminate what "my body SHOULD" be doing from your thoughts. Don't worry about the should, focus on the present and the reality.

- buy a food scale, weigh everything
- consider a fitbit to track calorie burn
- drink more water than you think necessary
- calculate BMR & TDEE before choosing "1500"
- take your measurements as often as you weigh
- be patient and love yourself and your joinery, it's about the journey after all.

You got this.

edisonsbulb

I log on here when I remember, but I have a paper journal that I put everything down in. God I'm an old lady! lol

The paper journal is fine, as long as you're logging honestly. People will ask about your diary in order to help you on the forums. Do you know approximately how many calories you're burning on the elliptical or bike each time?

QuietBloom

First of all, eliminate what "my body SHOULD" be doing from your thoughts. Don't worry about the should, focus on the present and the reality.

- buy a food scale, weigh everything
- consider a fitbit to track calorie burn
- drink more water than you think necessary
- calculate BMR & TDEE before choosing "1500"
- take your measurements as often as you weigh
- be patient and love yourself and your joinery, it's about the journey after all.

You got this.

^This!

serindipte

First of all, eliminate what "my body SHOULD" be doing from your thoughts. Don't worry about the should, focus on the present and the reality.

- buy a food scale, weigh everything
- consider a fitbit to track calorie burn
- drink more water than you think necessary
- calculate BMR & TDEE before choosing "1500"
- take your measurements as often as you weigh
- be patient and love yourself and your joinery, it's about the journey after all.

You got this.

I second (or third) the above and offer the following links for more information:

1. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

2. If you aren't already using one, get and use a food scale. Weigh all solids. Measuring cups/spoons are not accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

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

4. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1235566-so-you-re-new-here

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

6. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

kellyrose1903

I've never taken a note of it, which is probably a really stupid thing to say! I was sticking to my 1500 calories and then not taking the exercise into account. I've actually just gone through the guided calorie counter on here and it said to lose 2lbs a week I should be eating over 2200 calories which blows my mind!

kellyrose1903

Blimey, I've seen some mean posts on here so I was a bit worried about posting about this in the first place...but you're all so elpful! Thank you I will look into all of this and hopefully get on the right track. I think I was I just so excited to be exercising and successfully controlling my diet that I didn't really look at everything and tailor it to my own body. Thank you again for all of your help.

Dbchristensen

Sorry to hear it's been frustrating. I really am, I know what that is like. Also know that I am not a trainer/fitness guy, or even really that nice.

If everything you say is correct, then I would consider the accuracy of the measurements, and type of measurements.

So maybe consider the following measurements:

Weight - Since you're up at ~290lb at 5'8, then it looks like your primary goal is loosing weight from fat. but you are only measuring your total weight. Maybe an accurate body-fat measurement would be better for you than just measuring weight, especially since the amount your body can weigh fluctuates ALOT with water. This can be a little hard to get an accurate measurement from a machine, so you may have to get with a person for this. (measure at the same time of day too, like when you first wake up)

Food - MFP is good at food logging, but you have to be diligent, and not just guess (or just go with the lowest).

Exercise - MFP always overestimates my calories burned, when I work-out my hardest, I'm pretty sure I'm never burning more than 100 cal for every 10 min... so when I see MFP giving me a bigger answer, I really question that, and change it to be no more than 100 cal for every 10 min of heart-pounding exercise. BUT THAT'S JUST MY BODY, find-out somehow what yours is.

Here is a little piece of advice too, is that you can't beat physics. If your measurements are accurate, then you WILL lose body fat, no way around it. If you do find a way around it, then message me back, and we could solve alot of energy problems and be filthy rich.

Last I'd have to say is, in the end you have to find the thing that keeps YOU motivated. Maybe that's not going it along, or doing a mirror check, just something.

grangernyc

I'd think about the amount of carbs that you are eating. Increasing the fruit may be increasing your carb/sugar load which could create insulin demands and overload your body. And contrary to what we've been told exercise is not a *critical* factor in weight loss. Not all foods are created equal. I'm doing a paleo/atkins diet which is very low carb. I'm 6'2" eating about 1500 cal or less and never feel hungry. Check this link, http://www.dietdoctor.com/science or get the New Atkins for a New You book. The clinical studies have been done and this stuff works and is healthy. I've gone from three pills for hypertension down to 1!

thankyou4thevenom

I'd think about the amount of carbs that you are eating. Increasing the fruit may be increasing your carb/sugar load which could create insulin demands and overload your body. And contrary to what we've been told exercise is not a *critical* factor in weight loss. Not all foods are created equal. I'm doing a paleo/atkins diet which is very low carb. I'm 6'2" eating about 1500 cal or less and never feel hungry. Check this link, http://www.dietdoctor.com/science or get the New Atkins for a New You book. The clinical studies have been done and this stuff works and is healthy. I've gone from three pills for hypertension down to 1!

First post and already selling something. Ignore this guy. You don't need to cut out carbs to lose weight and you only need to worry about insulin if you're diabetic or have another medical need to.

First of all, eliminate what "my body SHOULD" be doing from your thoughts. Don't worry about the should, focus on the present and the reality.

- buy a food scale, weigh everything
- consider a fitbit to track calorie burn
- drink more water than you think necessary
- calculate BMR & TDEE before choosing "1500"
- take your measurements as often as you weigh
- be patient and love yourself and your joinery, it's about the journey after all.

You got this.

Go with this. Much better advice.

meltedsno

I am going to suggest not weighing on the scale for awhile. Not seeing the scale drop the way I wanted it to only made me miserable and I would "give up". I figured if I wasn't going to lose weight while watching my food intake, why bother?

So I decided to just not weigh on the scale...I let my clothes monitor my progress as well as other people taking notice. Since July 1, 2013, I have stepped on the scale once -- at the end of Nov. and only because I had a pre op physical for surgery on my wrist. I actually chose not to know what I weighed in that day, but did inquire while in recovery. Imagine my surprise when I found out that I had lost 52 lbs..... that, in itself, was the motivation that I needed to continue my journey.

If you feel the need to weigh on the scale, to do so every time you drop a clothes size. :-) That way, even if the scale doesn't reflect the numbers you would like to see, you KNOW you are on the right path when your clothes are getting too big!

ChangMiike

Calories are too low simple !