My weight won't budge :(

Ash_danielle

So here's the quick and dirty version. I lost about 30 lbs got down to within 3 lbs of my goal weight fell off for a month or so and gained about 15 lbs...I've been working out eating right drinking plenty of water for about a month and no movement on the scale. None zip zero. Here's a few stats. I workout cardio and strength about 1-1.5 hrs 5 days a week , I'm a vegetarian (not vegan), and I drink lots of water (usually 2-3liters a day at the very least) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Except maybe not eating enough. I recently (2 days ago) started eating every 3 hrs again which has worked wonderfully in the past for my metabolism. But I'm so discouraged help !

LaneB89

Not eating enough can cause any number of problems health-wise. Unfortunately though, none of those problems includes not losing weight. Meal timing is also largely irrelevant, so eating every 3 hrs is unlikely to make any real impact. If you've recently started hitting the gym hard again, water weight may be masking fat loss on the scale. But really, without being able to see your food log or daily calorie intake, I can't really comment on anything specific.

Ash_danielle

Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!

vismal

Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!

None of that is factually correct. Starvation mode as you are describing it is a complete myth. Also there is, to use your words, none zero zip evidence to support the notion that eating several times a day boosts metabolism. That is another complete myth. It has been debunked for a good deal of time. Calories in vs calories out is what determines weight loss. Starvation only occurs when you actually starve yourself. You would need to eat next to nothing for months. Even then you would still lose weight.

Branstin

You are eating too much food. If you are tracking in MFP then set your activity level to match your life before exercises. Since you have 13 lbs. left to lose then set your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. a week. Next add your exercises and eat back portion of your exercise calories. Do you best to meet your macros (carb, fat, protein) because otherwise your body will not get the proper amount of nutrients needed to achieve and maintain good health while losing weight.

As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:

More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

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

carrieous

since you a vegan. do you eat a lot of soy? soy messes your hormones up and that may be the issue

ASKyle

Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!

None of that is factually correct. Starvation mode as you are describing it is a complete myth. Also there is, to use your words, none zero zip evidence to support the notion that eating several times a day boosts metabolism. That is another complete myth. It has been debunked for a good deal of time. Calories in vs calories out is what determines weight loss. Starvation only occurs when you actually starve yourself. You would need to eat next to nothing for months. Even then you would still lose weight.

This. If you're not losing weight, you're not counting your calories correctly.

psuLemon

OP, do you use a food scale? Also, are you new to logging, I only see a few entries filled out. Also, with only a few lbs to lose and working out 90 minutes a day, 1300 is way too little.

njitaliana

You haven't been tracking every day. Start tracking everything you eat each day to give yourself a more accurate idea of exactly what your intake is.

Ash_danielle

If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals

Ash_danielle

I've been calorie counting for years. That's not the issue

Ash_danielle

I'm not a vegan. I'm a LACTO/OVO vegetarian

FoxyLifter

Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!

Meal timing is personal preference. It is not directly responsible for weight loss. If eating more often helps you stick to your calorie goal, then great! It's not a requirement, though.

Starvation mode in this sense is false. When you lose weight, you lose fat and muscle. When the calorie deficit is too aggressive (and you don't meet your protein needs), then you will likely lose muscle at a higher rate. This means that your body fat PERCENTAGE could go up when compared to your LBM, but your actual body fat in grams will not stay the same or increase.

Water is good. It keeps you hydrated. When you're hydrated, you're less likely to confuse thirst for hunger, therefore more likely not to overeat.

Are you using a food scale and weighing all solids? If not, I would suggest you start ASAP. You can get great scales online or at Wal-Mart for $10-$20. I recommend getting one with a tare button and weighs in gram and ounces.

psuLemon

If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals

Since you haven't consistently tracked your calories, then I would suggest you are eating more than you think.

And no, eating more meals isn't benefical for weight loss outside of personal preference

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/873411-myth-eat-frequently-to-stoke-the-metabolic-fire

Rogiefreida

So here's the quick and dirty version. I lost about 30 lbs got down to within 3 lbs of my goal weight fell off for a month or so and gained about 15 lbs...I've been working out eating right drinking plenty of water for about a month and no movement on the scale. None zip zero. Here's a few stats. I workout cardio and strength about 1-1.5 hrs 5 days a week , I'm a vegetarian (not vegan), and I drink lots of water (usually 2-3liters a day at the very least) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Except maybe not eating enough. I recently (2 days ago) started eating every 3 hrs again which has worked wonderfully in the past for my metabolism. But I'm so discouraged help !

Eating right =/= calorie deficit. You only have 2 or 3 days of food logged so it's hard to know how much you eat off that. But you lose weight from a calorie deficit, not from "eating right". You can overeat on healthy foods and still gain weight.

Try weighing everything for a month and see what happens. It comes back to a logging issue, every time.

ETA: I counted calories for years too. Its' not the same as weighing everything. When I started weighing everything, I realized that I wasn't counting accurately. Try it.

allykir

I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.

vismal

If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals

Again wrong. Data on people who do alternate day fasting or intermittent fasting show insulin levels equally as stable or even more stable then those who eat frequently. Eating multiple times a day is not scientifically proven to "better stabilize" insulin levels. In fact, there is data to prove the oppisite is true and that eating all of your food in a shorter time frame will indeed cause insulin resistance to decrease.
http://jap.physiology.org/content/99/6/2128
http://www.jnutbio.com/article/S0955-2863(04)00261-X/abstract

You keep stating things you seem to believe are facts. Do you have any evidence? You are just quoting many old fitness myths. Also how do you know you are in a calorie deficit. Your logs only show a couple of days worth of counting. Are you weighing your food on a scale or using things meant for liquids to measure solid foods (cups, tablespoons, etc)?

vismal

I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.

This is almost never the case. Gaining muscle is a very slow, difficult, process. It also requires you eat more calories a day then you burn. Most females in there first year of weight lifting can at most gain 12 lbs. That's 1 lb a month. She is not gaining enough lbs of muscle to mask fat loss. Not even men, who gain muscle at twice the rate of women, can gain it fast enough to mask fat loss. Gaining muscle and losing fat are competing goals and no one other then maybe teenagers and those on PEDs can do both at once very successfully.

LadyBos

I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.

Actually, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is just more dense. So, if you have lots of muscle, you may weigh more than you used to, but be smaller in size. OP, do your clothes fit differently? The scale is not the only measure of fitness.

albayin

My weight hasn't changed for years. no matter what I have done...As much as I wanted to believe my body has done some recomp work, per Lyle McDonalds and the experts on this forum, I have to be eating more than I should or I was a snow flake...because average Jane like me, how could I lose fat without losing weight? it's just impossible...

Anyway, I am at loss too. I wish I had answer for you. good luck~

albayin

Actually, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is just more dense. So, if you have lots of muscle, you may weigh more than you used to, but be smaller in size. OP, do your clothes fit differently? The scale is not the only measure of fitness.

As much as I agree with you, this statement of "muscle not weigh more than fat" does get old...I think people do know what it implies...