Not losing weight

MichelleAnnH85

Hi All,

I'm trying to lose 9lbs and have been following MyFitnessPal for months, but since getting married two months ago, I have not been able to shift a thing. If anything, occasionally the number goes up.

I've got my stats set up to lose 1lbs per week and regularly keep under that calorie goal. I don't specifically eat 1500 calories per day, but I make sure my whole weekly average is that or below.

I also exercise several times a week. I play hockey twice a week and run three times a week with two rest days so I don't get too over tired. I do a bit of strength training as well. However, I am still 13st 8lbs.

Admittedly, I am a size 10-12 in clothes so I am quite small but my BMI is currently 30 and this is really disheartening me. I don't understand what I am doing wrong when I'm trying to get everything right.

diannethegeek

Would you be comfortable opening your diary for us?

How carefully are you tracking your intake? You're counting everything? Including veggies, condiments, cooking oils, cheat days, etc?

Are you using measuring cups, a food scale, or eyeballing portion sizes? A food scale would be the most accurate, but anything is better than eyeballing.

Are you eating back any of your earned exercise calories? If so, how are you estimating them (HRM, gym machine readouts, MFP estimates) and what is your activity level set to (sedentary, active, lightly active, etc)? It's possible you're eating back more calories than you should be.

Unknown

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aagdon

I am having exactly the same issue. I am recording everything as accurately as I can. My issue may be that I have 2 or 3 alcohol drinks during the cocktail hour. I do post those as well, but suspect that I may have to give that up for a time to see if that is the culprit. Feel free to take a look at my stats.

Don

diannethegeek

I am having exactly the same issue. I am recording everything as accurately as I can. My issue may be that I have 2 or 3 alcohol drinks during the cocktail hour. I do post those as well, but suspect that I may have to give that up for a time to see if that is the culprit. Feel free to take a look at my stats.

Don

Starting your own thread might help us to answer both you and the original poster more specifically.

Your diary is also closed and you don't give us a lot of information to work from. For instance, have you been stalled for a couple of weeks or a couple of months? A week or three without a drop on the scale is fairly normal and you may not be doing anything wrong. If it's been more like 4-6 weeks then it's time to reevaluate.

I'll give my generic advice for stalls here. It may or may not be applicable to your situation, but it's where I always start when we don't have a lot of information to work from:

Log everything as accurately as possible. That includes all the little things like the oil you cook in and the veggies on your sandwich. Most people can be off in their estimates by several hundred calories when they eyeball portions. Measuring cups are better, but a food scale is going to be the most accurate. Little inaccuracies can add up to be enough to wipe out a deficit for some people.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1290491-how-and-why-to-use-a-digital-food-scale

And make sure that you've calculated your calorie goals appropriately. Remember that these are just estimates. You may need to play around a little to find what works best for you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

If you're exercising and eating back your earned exercise calories, be sure that you're using accurate estimates of your burn. MFP and gym machines have a tendency to overestimate certain activities, which can cause you to eat back more calories than you need to. Even a heart rate monitor isn't 100% accurate. If you're eating those extra earned calories it might be a good idea to eat only 50-75% of those.

And remember to give any changes to your routine a few weeks to work before you decide it isn't working or make changes again. Our bodies have a tendency to hold onto a few extra pounds of water weight anytime we change our routine, which can look like a small stall or even a gain on the scale for a week or two.

Kalikel

If you haven't seen a doctor, you should do that now. Every weight loss journey should be overseen and a yearly physical is the smart thing to get, anyway.

But assuming there isn't a physical problem, don't worry about the problem, because after the investigation and detective work has happened and all that jazz...at the end of the day, the solution is the same, no matter what the problem is.

If you want to lose weight, you have to eat less and/or exercise more.

Good luck!

MichelleAnnH85

Thanks All, I've opened my diary for everyone to have a nosy at.

I've got my levels set as sedentary because I am bloody lazy outside of my training. I'm wondering if I need to set my levels at 'Lightly active' then only track my running and hockey sessions. I realise that HRM's aren't 100%, it's better than tracking via time spent doing something based on averages, which is what I was actually doing until a week ago.

I'm planning a visit to the GP tomorrow, because I'm getting disheartened. I was considering going back to Slimming World, but I just don't cope on SW now that I am training so much more.

Any thoughts, I would be grateful.

girlviernes

You may want to take measurements, as you could be putting on some muscle with the activity and thus staying the same but getting a bit smaller. Are you eating back exercise calories?

Just looking at your diary it seems like you are eating a lot more than 1500. I would say try out more consistent calorie amount, maybe with a 300 calorie range. Eat at higher end on days you exercise and lower end on days you don't. E.g. 1500-1800. If you are more consistent it will be easier to decide if you need to make further adjustments.

diannethegeek

Thanks All, I've opened my diary for everyone to have a nosy at.

I've got my levels set as sedentary because I am bloody lazy outside of my training. I'm wondering if I need to set my levels at 'Lightly active' then only track my running and hockey sessions. I realise that HRM's aren't 100%, it's better than tracking via time spent doing something based on averages, which is what I was actually doing until a week ago.

I'm planning a visit to the GP tomorrow, because I'm getting disheartened. I was considering going back to Slimming World, but I just don't cope on SW now that I am training so much more.

Any thoughts, I would be grateful.

Yes, the first thing that stands out to me is that you're getting a lot of calories for walking. I have mine set to "lightly active" and then I only log heavy exercise on top of that. You might try it for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.

MichelleAnnH85

Yes, the first thing that stands out to me is that you're getting a lot of calories for walking. I have mine set to "lightly active" and then I only log heavy exercise on top of that. You might try it for a couple of weeks and see if that helps.

Thanks for those thoughts. I've changed it, and killed my walking calories for today. I was going to go for a run today but I'm a bit flu-ish today so don't want to push it. I've got Hockey training tomorrow, so I can try and run on Wednesday instead.

SLSBurn

You need to keep your defecit consistent, then once a week eat at your maintenance level, also it doesn't hurt to do some sort of bodyweight exercises for at least 10-20 minutes every other day. That will help your body constitution, so that when you lose that weight you won't have loose skin. You could also change your eating schedule so that you skip breakfast and just eat around 12-8 if that will help. Because your BMR raises if you fast. Also, try keeping your carbs around 100 grams a day, it's hard but remember once a week to eat your favorite things at your TDEE level. And also use IIFYM.com, I've been using that and losing weight, it will be slow sometimes, but that's because your body naturally wants to keep fat, you trick it by having a refeed day once a week, I had one yesterday and pigged out on my favorite junk. Anyways there ya go!!! Good luck! And be consistent!!!