When will all my work start paying off?

jelloabz

I've been killing it this week. Working out at the gym for almost 3 hours a day, staying under my calorie intake goal, getting at least 7 hours of sleep.... and the scale hasn't changed one bit this whole week. When will all my hard work start to show? If I don't start seeing results I tend to fall into a rut and start to not care any more and just pig out and lay around all day. I really don't want to fall into that again. HELP!

allystone

It will come off when you least expect it. seriously. just hang in there!

reddcat

bumping to see what you find out. I went from couch riding to working out everyday.....I GAINED this week. Grr. Keep at it though. The changes you are making on the inside are soo much more valuable than the ones on the outside.

elizabethblake

It sounds to me like you're overdoing it in every area. Three hours a day is likely to result in injury, and you definitely should be eating all your calories!

Losing weight/getting in shape is a marathon, not a sprint. I know we all want to be there NOW, I do too and struggle with impatience, but we have to be smart about it. It's a lifestyle change, not a three month change.

Your scale probably hasn't moved because you're building muscle - but if you don't eat enough calories, you could be burning muscle too.

Good luck! Hang in there!

Solat37_Neil

You can't predict it, but it will drop off at some stage.. I get discouraged too when the scale doesn't shift, then it's a nice surprise when it does

bebe3232

I feel your pain I am in the same boat! It is frustrating. Don't have any advice but just try to keep sticking with it and don't give up. This is like my 5th real weight loss attempt in the last 2 years and I've given up numerous times because of just this, but this time I am trying to stay off the scale and not focus on the numbers and just keep giving it my all...never going to quit!

RTricia

I didn't see any results at all until after day 105.

I had been exercising well, but my sodium and carb count were still high and I wasn't eating enough protein.

Took me that look to get into the hang of things and for my body to understand what I was doing.

Also, I initially hadn't been eating before my workout. I thought that I'd burn more fat that way, but I was wrong!! I needed to eat to tell my body it was ok to release a few pounds because I wasn't going to starve while pushing myself that hard.

Every body, literal BODY, is different. I hope you find what works for you. In the meantime, push through obstacles and know that this road is worth it because YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!! :flowerforyou:

xoTLCxo

I was working out, burning 1000 cal/ day, and the scale never moved..I wasnt eating my exercise cals back.. That was the prob..Once I started doing that the scale is moving again

srp2011

I find the scale doesn't move when I first start exercising after some time off, but then it will suddenly drop. If you have sore muscles, or are building muscles, they tend to retain some water as part of the healing process. Without being able to see your diary, it's hard to tell if that's it or it may have something to do with what you're eating.

vodkaswigger

It has took me a few weeks to start losing and now its coming off easy,i think it takes your body time to adjust sometimes to new eating and exercise. hang in there,you will see changes, if in a few more weeks you dont it may be time to try different exercise, i was running for half hour a day and nothing, now ive added odd 30 min cardio its doing the job xx

Heatherbelle_87

**PLEASE NOTE: YOU said it only been a WEEK**

Your body takes time to adjust, if you went from sedentary to 3 hours of working out a day your body is freaking out right now! General rule is 3-6 weeks from pattern change to START seeing results

kimmerroze

They say that your working out results are delayed about two weeks and I have found it to be true...

If I bust my @$$ one week doing sprints to improve my speed, I really wont notice my improvement in speed until about two weeks later. My training program for the Ragnar Relay kinda reflects this too, about two weeks before my race, is my HARDEST week before the race. And that is because that practice and training will pay off at just about race time.

So I would say that you should give it another week or so, before you start seeing results.

albull

What kind of work out have you been doing? Remember that muscle weighs more than fat so if you're gaining muscle then it can balance out weight loss or even increase weight even though you are loosing fat.

kimmerroze

What kind of work out have you been doing? Remember that muscle weighs more than fat so if you're gaining muscle then it can balance out weight loss or even increase weight even though you are loosing fat.

AFter one week of working out she didn't gain any muscle. you don't build muscle that quickly.

CVOkafor

I do have to say that working out for 3 hours a day can also be detrimental depending on how you work out. Recovery is just as important as working out.

caseygrimley

There's something called the compound effect, we've all heard of the magic penny. Take a penny a day rather than $3 million and you'll end up with over $10 million after 31 days. It's the same thing with exercise, the little things will add up, it just takes consistency over time. Have patience and stay consistent and you will achieve your goals.

Frankenbarbie01

It is. You just dont see it yet!
Everyday you continue to work out and exercise you are building a better you!!! You are building self esteem, a strong will and determination!
Everyday you make healthy food choices the cells in your body thank you for the QUALITY choices you are making!!
Hang in there! Your work IS paying off!!!

jamie1888

3 hours per day? I think you are over doing it and not eating enough to support it all. I would suggest eating your daily allowance of calories, don't shoot for "under" and cut back on the workouts a bit. What are you doing for 3 hours per day? I suggest 3 days of hard core strength training (shouldn't take more than an hour at the gym) and 3 days of some cardio. And very important to take a look at your diet and make sure you are eating enough protein, veggies, fiber, water & healthy fats.

Egger29

It sounds to me like you're overdoing it in every area. Three hours a day is likely to result in injury, and you definitely should be eating all your calories!

Losing weight/getting in shape is a marathon, not a sprint. I know we all want to be there NOW, I do too and struggle with impatience, but we have to be smart about it. It's a lifestyle change, not a three month change.

Your scale probably hasn't moved because you're building muscle - but if you don't eat enough calories, you could be burning muscle too.

Good luck! Hang in there!

Agreed! Sounds to me like you're overtraining in every sense of the word.

Bear in mind that while a little is good, more isn't necessarily better. Exercise is a stress so while you'll peak at around 30-45 mins in your workouts....after that you're flooding your body with Cortisol (stress hormone) which will actually work Against you.

Your 3 hour workouts would be better cut back to an hour. Remember, it's not how long you spend at the gym, it's what you do when you're there.

I've taken professional athletes and regular people through intense workouts that took 30-40 mins tops (Not including stretching, warmup and cooldown). But they'd need 2-3 days recovery between workouts.

Most people neglect the most important part of fitness which is rest. That doesn't mean sleep....but meaning rest between workouts. When you're training your muscles of energy stores, you need to take time between workouts to allow your body to recover. So if you're going hard every day, you're not going to see any progress as you're not giving your body time to repair itself. General rule is 48 hours between strength training sessions and at least 1 day a week of nothing at all.

Case in point, I was injured all of last week and was unable to workout in any way shape or form. I checked the scale yesterday and I've gained 1.5lbs of lean mass and lowered my body fat by 2%.

Why? because I allowed by body to rest and rebuild from the training stresses I was putting myself through.

Less is more! :-)

Cheers!

KayakAngel

It's hard to be patient when you've worked really hard for a week. But that's the reality of it. Keep posting and getting support, maybe add some MFP friends, and try to take a longer term view of it. You know eating reasonable portions of healthy foods and getting a reasonable amount of activity WILL cause you to lose weight and tone up - hang in there! :flowerforyou:

jaystacers

I did the same thing. Where I live I have a fitness center. I was going out and working out every day for an hour each day and sticking to the calorie intake and everything. It didnt help. I didnt lose not one pound and if I did it was right back by the next day. I gave up and packed on another 5lbs. Finally, I told my hubby. You know im just going to start cutting back a little on what im eating. So I did. Instead of eating 2 packs of instant oatmeal in the morning I eat one. then I decided to replace all of my red meat with ground turkey. Then i replaced mayo with mustard. I gave myself 1 cheat day where I can eat what i want. Since I started up with this 2 weeks ago ive lost 10lbs. and I havent gone to the fitness center once in the two weeks. Instead I have been going swimming 3 times a week for about an hour. Dont give up I know how you feel to work so hard and not see any results. If what you are doing isnt working try something new.

fteale

I saw no improvement at all for months, then suddenly after about 4 months the weight started falling off, and I lost 11 lbs in a few weeks. Then it stalled for 5 weeks. I am hoping it's started coming off again now. Am going to weigh on Sunday, but my clothes are loser again.

AngelsKisses75

The pay off starts when you start and stops when you stop. So don't stop. :flowerforyou:

For me this about changing my life up, keeping track of things, and changing old habits for new ones. I will not give up this time because this is not a 'diet', this is life. I can get frustrated, but I cannot and will not give that up. :drinker:

...not to mention hypothyroidism is not a fun battle to fight, but it is one worth fighting.

1sisrat

It seriously will start coming off. I was in a 5 week plateau and feeling pretty discouraged. I stuck to it, started zig zagging a bit and bam... 2lbs off in the last 2 weeks. awesome. be patient, and just focus on living.

MsTamzyK

It takes a while for your body to adjust to your new routine. I don't believe you can change your metabolism in 7 days. If you eat healthy on a consistent basis, make sure you reach your calorie goal and get some rest, I'm sure the scale will turn in your favor. Weigh in on Monday and see if anything has changed.

P.S. 3 hours a day seems a bit much....slow down :-) Make sure that you are eating enough calories to cover all the exercise time you're putting in.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Cristy_AZ

It will pay off for sure, but it takes time! As they say you didn't gain it in a week, you won't lose it in a week!! But hang in there. I agree with the others, 3 hours seems like a lot, so you'll have to be making sure you are eating back your exercise calories for sure. Your diary is not open so I can't really speak on how you're doing there!! Hang in there though!! Keep at it and you'll get there!! I gave myself a year to lose 80 pounds, and in six months I'm 1/2 way there... so it does happen. I know the feeling to get frustrated too, I plateau, lose, plateau, lose, gain a little, plateau, lose... it can drive you crazy if you don't look at the big picture!! :flowerforyou:

milaxx

This is why I can't be a scale junkie. it took me 47 years to get this fat, I cannot reasonably expect to see it drop off in 1 week.

TourThePast

It might take a while to see the results, but on the plus side by exercising and losing weight you're dramatically increasing your life expectancy.

So, for the last few years of your life the results will be truly awesome - you'll be alive for a start! :bigsmile:

jelloabz

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just try to be patient. I still don't understand the whole "eat your calories back". Doesn't make sense to me cuz I figure the 'bigger the deficit in calories, the more pounds lost'.

As far as my exercising, I've mostly been doing classes at my gym. Spinning, Yoga, Zumba, sculpting (toning with weights), walking/running with my dog. Each class is an hour. Going to try and start swimming too. Also play basket ball, and if it ever stops raining here we'll start pick up soccer too. Signed up for a boot camp that starts next week.

I've been trying to watch my portions. Trying to get a lot of protein. Trying to eat more fruits and veggies. (ordered myself a bountiful basket and get it today. excited about that.) Trying to watch carbs as well....

Just gotta stick with it and not get frustrated. But it's hard.