Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

DanaDark

Your first week, the 9 pound loss, was mostly water weight you lost, not fat.

Water weight will fluctuate depending on sodium intake, "that time of the month" and exercise intensity.

What is happening to you is you lost some fat and a lot of water on your first week. Now, you continue to lose some fat, but have regained some water, so it looks like nothing happened on the scale.

Be patient.

_Resolve_

Ill just leave this here

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

Serah87

Good gracious lady, you lost 9 pounds!!! Be grateful!!! :grumble:

spmcavoy1

So last week (Thursday) I started a diet and exercise plan. In the first four days (Thursday-Sunday), I lost nine pounds just dieting. My diet plan is as follows:

Breakfast: Egg whites (either scrambled or in an omlette) with veggies and seven triscuts
Snack: Some type of fruit (If I went to the gym, protein bar)
Lunch: Salad (sometimes with tuna, sometimes without) with oil and vinegar
Snack: Some type of fruit
Dinner: Chili with brown rice /or/ Salad topped with a plethora of veggies
Snack(only if I'm really hungry) Nuts or a vegetable.

Then on Monday, I started doing cardio and strength training (on alternating days) in addition to my dieting. However,my weight has already plateaued? I'm not sure why this is. Am I not eating enough calories maybe? I don't know. I'm constantly eating, so I can't see how that is. I work out for 30-60 minutes everyday (that's not including walking around the gym) and I don't eat back all of my calories. Only some. And I mean, I'm pretty overweight. About 100 pounds, if the internet is right (I'm 5'11" and weigh 280 thanks to Lexapro not being compatible with me. I'm usually around 245, but now I have more to lose and the ideal weight for someone as tall as me is apparently 170 or so) Shouldn't the weight be falling off?
I hope that's enough information for someone to help me out.

What do you mean, "falling off"? You got rid of your water weight - great!

Now, getting rid of fat takes a bit more work. You say you need to lose 100 lbs - use MFP or another calculator to figure out the amount of calories you should be eating to lose 1.5-2 lbs/week. You didn't get to your current weight by one week of binging, you won't get to your goal weight through one week of dieting.

I just went 3 weeks and actually gained a little bit. Today I finally saw a shift down again.

Only weigh once per week, or if you REALLY want to weigh every day, only log the average weight once per week. This will help you see a pattern. If you go more than, say, 3-4 weeks without any drop THEN you are hitting a little bit of a plateau.

You're doing great! Keep up the good eats.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I'm sorry but... holy, jesus actual %&^$-$%*&, people, did any of you read her post? She's been 'dieting' for a week and has lost 9lbs. This is NOT a plateau. It's not muscle. It's not a need to change up carbs or switch things. It's a friggen WEEK with a 9 POUND loss.

This. 100X this.

100000000000X this.

deksgrl

Plateau?

bcattoes

If you are new to exercise or new to a particular type of exercise, your body may be holding onto water. Someone on here can explain it better than I can. Also, are you eating enough calories? That's also an important consideration since your body needs a certain quota to function.

Keep exercising, dont give up!

This ^^

The fast initial weight loss was mostly water. Now you are retaining water. Just stick to the plan and be patient.

Hellbent_Heidi

Just stick to the plan and be patient.

ummm, yeah.....9 lbs lost in a week and she's already frustrated. I think patience is going to be a problem....

OP....you really need to relax and give it time!! STOP weighing yourself every day too...:ohwell:

sfbaumgarten

if you're strength training then you may be gaining muscle mass (which is heavy) while losing weight, causing you to plateau. if you can see a change in your shape then that's another sign. keep going!

No.

I'm sorry but... holy, jesus actual %&^$-$%*&, people, did any of you read her post? She's been 'dieting' for a week and has lost 9lbs. This is NOT a plateau. It's not muscle. It's not a need to change up carbs or switch things. It's a friggen WEEK with a 9 POUND loss.

Yes.

GiveMeCoffee

TheRealJigsaw

if you're strength training then you may be gaining muscle mass (which is heavy) while losing weight, causing you to plateau. if you can see a change in your shape then that's another sign. keep going!

If she gained muscle mass after a week of eating at a deficit, I want what she is having.

rekite2000

Shows like the Biggest Loser distort what we think should lose in a week. Losing 20lbs in a weeks isn't reality.

Adaniel65

I'm sorry but... holy, jesus actual %&^$-$%*&, people, did any of you read her post? She's been 'dieting' for a week and has lost 9lbs. This is NOT a plateau. It's not muscle. It's not a need to change up carbs or switch things. It's a friggen WEEK with a 9 POUND loss.

THANK YOU!!!

rose313

What you are experiencing is normal. Weight loss is not linear, it can be sporadic, and water weight has a lot to do with fluctuation. You are doing fine, do not worry about it. Do not expect to lose 9 lbs every week, but you WILL get to your goal eventually.

leggup

Weight loss is not linear. I weigh myself every day. Some days I have a 3 lb gain in 24 hours. Some days I have a 3 day loss in 24 hours. Sometimes I am the same weight for 4 days and then BOOM, 1 lb weight loss. A plateau is 4-6 weeks at the same weight.

As for your diet, I am not seeing weights on things. If you want to control for as many variables as possible with weight loss, you can weigh your food. That way you can get an accurate understanding of how many calories you are eating and what your weight loss is like at different calorie ranges. Also- it's more realistic to plan for a 500 or 700 calorie lunch rather than eating the same thing every day (we humans get bored pretty easily). Also, you'll have more flexibility when the real world hits (snacks are everywhere- build them in to your calories for the day).

tl;dr: Keep on going!

natstar26

Haha ccome on 9 pounds in ONE WEEK is awesome ..... I am 100lbs overweight and its taken me 2 weeks to lose 5 pounds..... so don't complain lmao It takes usuualy anywhere from 1yr to 2 years for people to put on 100lbs + so why do you think you will lose it very quickly.... Losing it too quickly will result in yummy lose skin lol

RBXChas

if you're strength training then you may be gaining muscle mass (which is heavy) while losing weight, causing you to plateau. if you can see a change in your shape then that's another sign. keep going!

No.

I'm sorry but... holy, jesus actual %&^$-$%*&, people, did any of you read her post? She's been 'dieting' for a week and has lost 9lbs. This is NOT a plateau. It's not muscle. It's not a need to change up carbs or switch things. It's a friggen WEEK with a 9 POUND loss.

Yes.

^All of this plus this:

Ill just leave this here

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

rosa_weston77

Hi Brianna. If you have lost that much weight in just one week that is pretty phenomenal but alot of it could have been water weight and you will most likely not see the same results after that first week of making a change. The safest way to loose weight is 1-2 lbs a week. I know that seems minimal but if it is too much greater than that your body is probably in Starvation Mode, not Fat Burning mode and it thinks you are starving so it thinks it needs to hoard fat just in case. It is generally best to eat small caloric meals 4-6 times a day with lots of water to keep you body in fat-burning mode.


I hope this helps!

Rosa

Veil5577

Not the Starvation Mode thing again...:yawn:

HfxJMac

So you have lost 9 pounds in a week and are worried that you have plateaued. Err Sometimes words fail me.

^^ THIS ^^