Why isnt this working?

amyelle

21 days in and lost just under 2 pounds and 1 inch lost from my chest (which isnt surprising as i finished bfing 6 weeks ago).

i have been training 4-5 times a week for 6 weeks and nothing is happening.,,,


please help!

and to be honest the projected weight loss you get once you complete the diary is really annoying me. it says i should be 150lb in 5 weeks, therefore I have 16pounds to loose in 2 weeks!!! At first I thought it incredibly motivational at first but now its sole destroying, as each passes I find it harder to resist all the delicious chocolate bars I have given up!

amy

JLeeAlton

I may be totally wrong but here is what I am thinking....

From looking at your food diary it seems your calorie intake for a day is high.. If your starting weight was 168 which mine is sort of around when I started up again my calorie intake for the day was only 1200.. and as far as your exercising I would use an HRM (as refered to by many people on here) that can count your calories as while you do the sit ups and pushups and what not. I sometimes don't trust the calorie burned counter on here. Are you doing any cardio? if not that might kick it up a notch. I only veiwed one diary entry so I only saw the push ups and sit ups. Just some thoughts I had... just don't give up!!! It will come off soon enough !

championnfl

No pressure! Take the stress off, not helping. Some one be happy to be losing 2 lbs in 21 days.Not how you start but how you finish. Remember muscle weighs more then fat! So just toning up will gain a few lbs at the start, once muscle starts to help burn off some cals you will be off and running.
Its a healthy lifestyle your shooting for not quick weight loss so you can out it back on! You will do this!!PROMISE!

maurierose

First off, great job on the 2 lbs and the 1 inch!!! :drinker:

Next, let's figure out some details. How tall are you? How many calories are you eating per day? Are you eating your exercise calories? Are you eating "crap" food, or trying to get as much nutritional, healthy food ("good" carbs, healthy fats, lean meats, lots of veggies/fruits, etc) into yourself as possible?

Don't despair, lots of info and help to be had! :flowerforyou:

EDIT: Took a brief look at your food diary, I would recommend cutting out some of the junk (sugary cereals, sugary popcorn, etc) and shuffling those calories into a larger, healthier breakfast. A couple of eggs (or egg whites) with whole wheat toast, or yogurt and fruit, with a small amt of granola, etc may serve you well. Just some ideas!

JLeeAlton

I just noticed something on your diary cause I went back to peek.. your daily calorie intake changes everyday... do you know why that is? I thought they were set at a certain number by the statistics you give... you might want to look into that as well.

nanberube

Please do not give up. It will work in time. I know time has passed and you are asking, how much more time do I need? Go back and look over your food diary for patterns that may be preventing a quicker weight lose. I am losing slowly as well. I am usually under my calorie goal, but consume a lot of carbs. I have to rethink my intake to decrease carbs and increase fiber and my water consumption. Keep on keeping on, your patience will be rewarded.

hjsyndrome

Hello, I dont know what your excercise or meal routine is, but I will say that is where it will depend. Try changing up your exercise routine. If you are running, try power walking; if you are doing fitness classes, trying doing a different class - yoga. Try doing a week of cardio, then the next week do circuit training, then do a mix of it, then do a yogo and fitness class, the rinse and repeat that routine for a while. Plateau's do happen, you just gotta be patient and work through it.

Well I just looked at your diary. Sometimes your are not eating your exercise calories. Plus, you may want to pick up the exercise regiment. Your exercise calories at day is mostly low, so your weight loss is gonna be that much slower. You can loose weight just by eating healthier, but you need to have that mix of a good exercise. I was always told your burn nothing the first 20 minutes of a workout, everything after that is where it actually starts burning the bad stuff.

katbass

Ugh, girl, I feel ya!
In August, I had my heart set on losing 10 lbs. I did the 30 Day Shred every. single. day. without fail. My BMR (according to MFP) was about 1540, so I ate 1500 plus my exercise calories. Not only did I NOT lose one single pound in those 30 days, but I didnt lose any inches either. I felt defeated and deflated. Like i'd really put forth the effort and worked hard and stayed focused, and by day 16 I was sooo frustrated, i wanted to give up. i just had to keep telling myself that it WOULD eventually fall off.

Unfortunately, when the weight didnt budge after day 30, I gave up. And now, 2 months later, I am out to lose 20 lbs. Those 10 lbs I wanted to lose suddenly ballooned to 20 lbs. This time, I am eating 1400 cals a day and half my exercise calories. Im focusing on cardio (running on the treadmill with a "Learn to Run" program I've had success with in the past), and eating filling foods. I literally watched the scale drop 5 pounds in a matter of 2 or 3 days, and I KNOW its from drinking a ton of water and flushing out the sodium I was retaining.

Will it work this time? I hope! I know Im not giving up til I am my pre-baby weight and til my clothes actually FIT! I just have to remember that it didnt pile on overnight, so it wont come off overnight. And when these stupid plateaus hit, you need to really look at EVERY piece of the puzzle to figure out where to tweak your routine. Are you drinking half your weight in water each day? Are you eating high-sodium foods? Are you eating late at night?

I also rely HEAVILY on my heart rate monitor. It tells me exactly how many calories I burn during a workout, based on my height, weight, gender, and heart rate. I am addicted to that little watch and all the useful info it gives me!

Good luck, know that youre not alone, and just dont give up on your goal! Its a marathon, not a sprint

amyelle

Hi feel re-motivated already, thanks guys.

Im doing 2 spinning classes a week, both are the advanced classes. the instructor said how many calories had been burned and i overheard a lady with a weight wathchers calorie counter thing on say the same figure. i also do body pump which is a resistance class with a bar and weights. I also do a dance class, swimming and pilates everyother week. I also do body conditioning exercises at home, maybe once in two weeks.

I had read on here that you should eat your exercise calories, even though I find that pretty impossible! I would be eating constantly!

I am home with my 24 week old baby and three year old, so days are long and involve alot of sitting around during this awful weather! Sometimes a little sweet thing and i mean little is the only thing that keeps me going when the days are long, husband is away, and stops me bingeing on chocolate.saying that other than chrunchy nut cornflakes and sugar in my coffee I dont have too many sweet things on average over the last three weeks.

AMy

katbass

Also, I just peeked at your diary for the last few days (that feels creepy...sorry! I know folks allow them to be public, but i just feel bad lurking haha), and it looks like you arent eating nearly enough for your body. Maybe you arent entering some foods? But you had a few days where you entered less than 1000 calories consumed. If that's the case, then you arent eating enough. Your body will hang on to alllllllll the sources it can if you arent giving it enough to keep going.
Again, maybe you are like me and just not entring every single morsel you eat, but if the numbers in your diary are an accurate representation of what you actually ate....then EAT!

KarenBorter

Yeah, you do have to eat your exercise calories or most of them at least ... if you have a 1200 calorie/ day goal and burn off 400 calories you are only really surviving on 800 calories. You will either stay the same weight or gain weight. Also, track your sodium if you aren't already .I didn't peak at your diary but did read your "I would be eating all day" comment. You can eat high caloric snacks like almonds and peanut butter or almond butter to make up calories

sara_xo

If you drasticly cut you calories then this could be a reason.. your body is not used to an "ALL OF A SUDDEN OMG WE'RE GOING TO DIE" kind of change.. I would take your body weight, x15 (so for example I weigh 168lbs and this would be 2520.) then this number -500 as a first time diet deficet. Make sure you encorporate cardio that makes you sweat. now here's the hard part.. GRADUALLY reduce the calories by 100 per week to a MINIMUM of 1200 if you don't see results.. this won't slow your metabolism..

Be very careful about slowing your poor metabolism.. if you have a history of not eating enough.. it could already be slow.. I'd go to the Dr. to get a blood test.. I did and found out I was Hypothyroid.. kinda sucks.

amyelle

Thanks Katbas, Im 167cm and 166pounds, (Oh my god that looks like im spherical!!)

the worst thing is that I have been 168pounds for 20 weeks after losing 28 pounds in two weeks. I didnt put any weight on no matter how much I ate, so thats why its so disheartening that Im trying really hard and exercising like crazy.

Im going to up my water intake as from tomorrow. lets hope that helps!

amyelle

Katbat, I think the days it says below 1000 are the days I doing spinning classes where I burn 900 calories (its a ridicilous class!) and I just cant seem to be able to eat the calories back. Especially if I also go for a walk with my girls.
I do enter everything in to the diary, as I ve lied to myself before and wont do it again!! :sad: :blushing:

JLeeAlton

I just realized your daily goal changes when you add your exercise.. now I feel like a goof!

Anyways.. just keep up the good work and I am sure you'll see results soon.

edorice

You're starving your body. The days that you are burn 700-1000 calories you should INCREASE your calories. Your body thinks that you are trying to harm it. increase your calories on these intense workout days to 1700 clean calories and I bet your body will release the pounds.

alantin

Please, read this!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

It'll explain the whole concept of exercise calories.

Cheers! :flowerforyou:

amyelle

Thanks alantin!! Now I need to find lots of nice food to eat to boost my calories. Who would if thought eating enough was so difficult!! Sham I can't eat mars bars, that would be lovely...

alantin

Well.. Just try eating more often or buy more calorie dense products. Regular milk for example instead of fat free.
I train a lot a often face the same problem. I often add olive oil to food to add more calories when I can't seem to get enough. It's really healthy fat and stays the best if you don't heat it!

katbass

Literally, two weeks ago, I was practically in tears when I would read posts here saying "I dont know HOW I will EVER eat that many calories!" I was half jealous that these folks were "allowed" toooo many calories, and half laughing while thinking "There is NO WAY I could EVER have 'too many' calories left over at the end of the day...NO WAY!"

That was two weeks ago.
Now? I have 575 calories left to eat today if I dont want to starve my body...and I simply cant think of decent ways to make it happen. Its 7:45 at night and sure I could grab a rice cake and some peanut butter, but my mind has this mental block.....should i really eat peanut butter this close to bed? should I really even TRY to eat that many more calories? Im drinking so much water that I am full...and I have eaten a lot today! (WEll, in comparison to 2 weeks ago, I am eating 'nothing'...but thats sorta the point. Im just eating better foods that keep me full longer.)

I KNOW the feeling (now) of "HOW can i eat that much?!" but the proof is on this board. If we dont feed our bodies, they will shut down. I know I have wrecked my metabolism by starving myself...and sure I lost weight eating 1200 calories and burning 400+ , but I gained it all back, and then DOUBLED it. Im totally with you, Amy....its starting to click and make sense, but its just not easy to switch my brain from "eat less to lose weight" to "Eat MORE, exercise MORE, eat RIGHT, and lose weight".