Scale hasn't budged for almost six weeks!

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  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    For what it's worth....

    When you starve your body of calories you lose weight. That's called dieting (or starvation mode).

    Dieting is not starvation mode, and you don't have to starve your body to lose weight.

    You're starving it in the sense that you're not giving it enough calories that it needs to function throughout the day so it has to dig into stored fat to make up the difference. And you're right, dieting is not starvation mode because the so called "starvation mode" that supposedly causes people to not lose weight if they eat too few calories for a short period of time DOES NOT EXIST...
  • GuyIncognito123
    GuyIncognito123 Posts: 263 Member
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    For what it's worth....

    When you starve your body of calories you lose weight. That's called dieting (or starvation mode).

    Dieting is not starvation mode, and you don't have to starve your body to lose weight.

    Please, explain to me how you can lose weight eating twice your daily calories? You can't. You lose weight cutting out calories.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    For what it's worth....

    When you starve your body of calories you lose weight. That's called dieting (or starvation mode).

    Dieting is not starvation mode, and you don't have to starve your body to lose weight.

    Please, explain to me how you can lose weight eating twice your daily calories? You can't. You lose weight cutting out calories.
    Of course, to lose weight you need to at less than you burn, but, I've never looked at as "starving" my body. I
  • claudineer
    claudineer Posts: 144 Member
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    I think everyone is giving great feedback. I also would say that 1300 is to few. I agree that you are replacing fat with muscle. I will also agree that you should take before and after pictures. Yes, open up your food diary for better advice.

    Now…here is where I add something to the post.
    (1) mind your drinks. A good deal of extra calories come from our non-water liquid intake.
    (2) change up your cardio routine. I got the impression that you have been doing the same workouts. Time for something new. This will shock and rock your body.

    For 7 weeks I have been at the same weight. However, I did eat out 2 days at a restaurant and I did go and eat tons of movie popcorn 4x.

    I had to increase my workout routine and today I am 5LBs less.

    Don't restrict you calories. You are already pretty low. And that is my 5 cents

    Best,
  • janatarnhem
    janatarnhem Posts: 669 Member
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    ........ I lost three inches around my waist, and I notice a difference in the mirror, and every week the weights I can lift go up -

    Sounds like you are doing great to me...but I am not an expert, but a beginner!
    Patience and keep on what you are doing? :smile:
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I think everyone is giving great feedback. I also would say that 1300 is to few. I agree that you are replacing fat with muscle. I will also agree that you should take before and after pictures. Yes, open up your food diary for better advice.

    Now…here is where I add something to the post.
    (1) mind your drinks. A good deal of extra calories come from our non-water liquid intake.
    (2) change up your cardio routine. I got the impression that you have been doing the same workouts. Time for something new. This will shock and rock your body.

    For 7 weeks I have been at the same weight. However, I did eat out 2 days at a restaurant and I did go and eat tons of movie popcorn 4x.

    I had to increase my workout routine and today I am 5LBs less.

    Best,
    iI's doubtful she's gaining muscle, especially if she's been eating at a deficit. As for the workouts, you don't have to change up your routine at all to lose weight. All you have to do is eat less calories than you burn.

    If you were the same weight for seven weeks, that's because you were eating at maintenance, or perhaps retaining water from all the sodium in the wonderful movie popcorn (which I love).
  • Taymolly
    Taymolly Posts: 21 Member
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    Ok, I'm really confused now. So I shouldn't eat my calories back that I burned while exercising? Or is it because I eat out, and eat popcorn at the movie theatre? Because I do cheat sometimes by doing that, but I work the amount of calories into my diet. Also, I posted a topic about why I wasn't losing weight around two weeks ago, and the response was I was burning too many calories (900 calories (walking to the gym burned 300, walking my dog burned around 150, and the activities I did at the gym burned the rest) and thus I was in starvation mode. About four people said this was the reason, so I believed their advice. But even toning down my exercise hasn't worked, so I'm just really getting frustrated. I do see a change in the mirror, but maybe it's just me wanting to believe something's changed....
  • WisheeNY
    WisheeNY Posts: 72 Member
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    Yeah this thread is really confusing
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
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    Bump
  • sweetnlow30
    sweetnlow30 Posts: 497 Member
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    I strongly suggest eating back only half of your exercise calories if you are going by the calories burned according to exercise machines. Investing in a heart rate monitor with chest strap is a great idea if you want a more accurate idea of your actual burn. Until then, eat back half and try to be as accurate as possible when weighing and logging your food. Don't rely on cups for food that isn't liquid or eyeballing fruit like "medium banana". Don't get discouraged. The weight will eventually come off!
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
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    You are seeing changes, just not on the scale yet. From your OP it sounded to me like you have:

    1. Just recently started lifting weights
    2. Just recently increased your calorie intake to accommodate your weight lifting

    If it's only been six weeks since you added in the weight exercise and two weeks since you've upped your calorie intake, and add to that possible TOM issues, it is entirely possible that the weight loss that is occurring (as proven by the fact that you've lost inches) is being masked by water retention etc. Weight lifting, increasing your calorie intake, TOM, and high sodium intake are ALL factors that are known to increase water retention. I strongly advise you to take a deep breath and just give it more time. I really think you are panicking for no reason.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Ok, I'm really confused now. So I shouldn't eat my calories back that I burned while exercising? Or is it because I eat out, and eat popcorn at the movie theatre? Because I do cheat sometimes by doing that, but I work the amount of calories into my diet. Also, I posted a topic about why I wasn't losing weight around two weeks ago, and the response was I was burning too many calories (900 calories (walking to the gym burned 300, walking my dog burned around 150, and the activities I did at the gym burned the rest) and thus I was in starvation mode. About four people said this was the reason, so I believed their advice. But even toning down my exercise hasn't worked, so I'm just really getting frustrated. I do see a change in the mirror, but maybe it's just me wanting to believe something's changed....
    How far is the gym? And the dog walk? And did MFP give you the calorie estimates?

    Forget starvation mode.

    I plateaued for months when I started lifting weights but my body changed. Hang in there. The scale will catch up eventually if you don't overeat. Changes in the mirror and in your strength are way more important than what the scale says.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Without opening your diary everyone is just guessing.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Without opening your diary everyone is just guessing.

    ^^This

    It would also be helpful to know a few more things as well.

    -How are you measuring your portions?
    -What kind of entries are you choosing? Are you using generic food entries that are in the database?
    -Do you have any missing entries?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    According to my nutritionist, if you follow the same routine every day your body kind of gets used to what you are doing to it, both food wise and with exercise. Her suggestion for getting off a plateau is to mix it up. Work out at different times of the day from what you had been doing. Do a different kind of exercise. If you run, bike. If you walk, swim.

    The one ting she said that you should not do is start eating less if you are already at a deficit. Mix up your macros. If you are at 40 protein, 40 carb, 20 fat, maybe go 50, 20, 30 or whatever. You just need to do something your body is not expecting for a little while, then go back to your routine.
  • SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish
    SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish Posts: 831 Member
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    Ok, I'm really confused now. So I shouldn't eat my calories back that I burned while exercising? Or is it because I eat out, and eat popcorn at the movie theatre? Because I do cheat sometimes by doing that, but I work the amount of calories into my diet. Also, I posted a topic about why I wasn't losing weight around two weeks ago, and the response was I was burning too many calories (900 calories (walking to the gym burned 300, walking my dog burned around 150, and the activities I did at the gym burned the rest) and thus I was in starvation mode. About four people said this was the reason, so I believed their advice. But even toning down my exercise hasn't worked, so I'm just really getting frustrated. I do see a change in the mirror, but maybe it's just me wanting to believe something's changed....

    First off, relax a bit, if you are losing inches, that is still progress. Next both of what you say above are things to improve: you should probably not eat back ALL the calories the estimators say you burn because they are very likely telling you you burnt more than you actually did (this is extremely common). This could be enough to start to lose right there. Then, eating out and eating popcorn from the movie theater could erase the ENTIRE week's work if you are not paying attention to the calories.

    Since you are losing inches, which is progress, if you make rather small adjustments of eating back say 60% of your caloric burn from exercise, and strictly counting the calories of your meals out and popcorn (and reducing them slightly) you should be on your way to losing weight.

    Thats pretty much all anyone can give you with the information you provided, since nobody can see any details about your size, weight, how much you eat, what you are eating, exercising, from your diary. Don't listen to any specific calorie numbers/solutions from anyone who gives them without seeing your information...
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    According to my nutritionist, if you follow the same routine every day your body kind of gets used to what you are doing to it, both food wise and with exercise. Her suggestion for getting off a plateau is to mix it up. Work out at different times of the day from what you had been doing. Do a different kind of exercise. If you run, bike. If you walk, swim.

    The one ting she said that you should not do is start eating less if you are already at a deficit. Mix up your macros. If you are at 40 protein, 40 carb, 20 fat, maybe go 50, 20, 30 or whatever. You just need to do something your body is not expecting for a little while, then go back to your routine.
    Your nutritionist is wrong. You do not have to mix up your routine to keep your body guessing. Consistency and progressive overload is more than enough.

    You also do not need to mix up your macros. That makes no sense. If you need to adjust your total caloric intake therefore adjusting macros slightly then that's one thing but simply mixing up macros alone is unnecessary.

    And where did you get your Masters Degree in Nutritional Science from?

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