I'm stuck...

bianchigirl

Just thought I'd say hello...

Well, here I am trying to loose the 20+ lbs I've gained over the last couple of years... I've joined a health club and worked out with a trainer three times a week for the last 4 months, and have religiously put in 5 hours a week doing cardio. I have yet to loose 1 lb.
So, here I am tying out myfitnesspal. I've updated my logs everyday now for 15 days. For the most part I have been slightly under my allotted 1200 calories. MFP keeps telling me in 5 weeks I'll be down weight. Well, after 15 days I haven't lost a single lb. Hopefully I'll see some drop in the near future.

soccermom004

If you open up your diary people will be happy to take a look and give you some suggestions.

heyitsmekatie

i was just reading an article another MFP member posted when I stumbled upon something that might help explain what's going on. seemed interesting to me, so here you go...

http://www.leighpeele.com/water-retention-and-weight-loss-2

bjberry

Have you measured yourself? A cubic inch of muscle weighs 1.5 times what a cubic inch of fat weighs. Are the clothes getting baggy?
Have you been drinking lots of water? Great for rinsing the toxins out of the body. You need to eat at least 1200 calories, but only have 30% of your calories from fat. Are you eating lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains and lean protien?
These things worked for me, in fact, I kept my fats at 20-25% of my daily foods.
Have fun! :drinker: (lots of water)

dhayter28

What are you eating? I would suggest cutting out most carbs you eat. I start out my day with a low carb yogurt and egg whites, for lunch a Lean Cuisine or Salad with Chicken, Dinner (always hard for me) Either fish, chicken, steak with a veggie. Then for snacks try South Beach Diet Peanut Butter Bars, or Think Thin Mini Bars (both low carb and balanced protein). Throw some fruit in there whenever you can for the sweet tooth. Also, I always indulge in a couple squares of 72% Cacao or higher Dark Chocolate. Make sure to get 40 mins of cardio in a day (break a real sweat) then take a protein drink after that. Most are very high in carbs and calories. Try Premier Nutrition Chocolate Protein Drinks 3.5 Fat, 5 Carbs, 30 Protein and about 160 calories. Best one I've seen on the market. If you want more advice let me know. I'm full of ideas

hooma

I had a similar experience. I'm also very new to this site (and being dedicated to losing weight) and went about 2 weeks before losing any weight...I feel your frustration! This week, all of a sudden, I dropped 1.5 lbs over the weekend, 1 lb the next day, .5 lbs the next day, and then 1 more lb. Unfortunately, today I was 1 lb heavier than yesterday but I know it's not for lack of exercise or cheating on my diet so I'm confident I'll be back to losing next week!

I've been reading all about how your body may take time to adjust to your new routine - it may be "shocked" at all of the intense exercise and reduced calories and may not want to let go of anything yet, in case you're starving! But once it realizes that you're not, you WILL lose weight. Read all about "starvation mode" - there are a bunch of helpful posts on this topic on here. To that end, I hope you're including your exercise in your log so that you can "eat them back" - it is very necessary that if you burn 300 calories exercising you eat 1,500 that day so that you net 1,200.

Good luck!

hooma

Didn't see that you've been doing this for 4 months, but if you've only been logging for 15 days then diet could've been the issue before.

absolament

One of the biggest mistake people make is thinking that if they eat the lowest calories possible they will lose weight. Not true. You need enough calories for your body to pull from fat storage and build muscle to burn even more fat. Make sure you are eating close to your suggested caloric intake after factoring in exercise. (about 100 more or 100 less) Invest in a HRM. You can purchase one for $60 at Target (NB N4) and input your age, weight, height.

On a side note: when I started eating closer to my daily calories after exercise I started decreasing my fat percentage (I have a body fat scale) and began losing a pound a week without losing muscle. Before I was eating only 1350 calories a day, even on days when I exercised. 1350 calories made me feel full enough, but obviously it wasn't enough because my fat percentage didn't drop until I ate a little more.

bianchigirl

Thanks for the comments... I drink plenty of water although I don't usually enter in in MFP. I drink 72 oz on a non workout day and 96 on a workout day and I've given up all soft drinks... Over the last 4 months I did loose 3 in. on my waist, but nothing on the scale. This is soooo frustrating... The trainer at the gym said guaranteed, if I worked out with him I'd loose. So, I've worked my butt off, and I've definitely got much stronger. Well, I guess for now I'll watch my protein and carbs... I don't know what else to do...

absolament

In looking at your diary, you're doing pretty good. Keep eating close to your suggested intake after adding the exercises. Since you are losing inches, I am certain the reason is you are building muscle. Muscle is great! It'll start melting away the fat in no time. Keep going. You'll get there.

bianchigirl

After doing some research I believe the weight came on because of the anxiety/depression meds I was taking… At first I didn’t’ mind because the good far outweighed the side effects, but now I’ve had enough…. I went cold turkey off the meds 5 weeks ago, thinking/hoping the weight would drop but the scale hasn’t budged. Talk about depression, but I’m not giving up yet…