Exercise and no weight loss?!

quichebradford

Soooo I've been working out 6 days a week for the past 3 weeks and staying under my calorie goals. I'm a little concerned because I've been weighing myself and have not lost ANYTHING! One day when I weighed in, it was actually a few ounces more. What the?? I don't understand what's going on. Initially my calorie goal was too low and after I did some research on the "starving your body" thing, I realized that I needed to up my calories. I did that, still exercising, should be losing...what am I missing? I feel like I should have at least lost the pound and a half I'm shooting for and I'm still at the same weight I was on June 3rd! What gives???

shreddingit

Im guessing ur diet is not helping, focus on food more than cals, exercise comes 2nd to diet and it helps shape u up more thaN lose lbs. Good luck

1nkpen

What are you doing at the gym? How much cardio vs. strength training? Both are great - but remember muscle weighs more than fat so maybe things are just distributing a little better

Keep up the good work!

busywaterbending

diet diet diet

eliminate your starches, keep exercising.

good training!

ChazzyBe

I was the same way last summer. I reliezed that I had to focus more on my cardio and less on other exercises. Also I had to watch what I was eating. Not only are you watching calories but you want to make sure your eating and snacking healthy as well. i try to stay away from sweets, juices and sodas. Also remember slow weight lose is the best because its easier to keep off.
Stay focused... You can do it

quichebradford

Humn, I hadn't considered the starches. I've been counting calories not really thinking about the food itself. I'm going to try that and see what happens. Thanks!

biznurse

Open your diary so we can see it hon and there are TONS of people here that can give you suggestions... I was eating 1200 daily, NOT losing, upped it to 2000 and KNOW it's going to be better as I've dropped a size...

Linda/RN in San Antonio

biznurse

I was the same way last summer. I reliezed that I had to focus more on my cardio and less on other exercises. Also I had to watch what I was eating. Not only are you watching calories but you want to make sure your eating and snacking healthy as well. i try to stay away from sweets, juices and sodas. Also remember slow weight lose is the best because its easier to keep off.
Stay focused... You can do it

AMEN!!!!

MaryRose84

THE BODY RETAINS WATER WHEN THE MUSCLES ARE RECOVERING. UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS WORKING OUT TOO MUCH OR TOO HARD. 6 DAYS IS FINE BUT TAKE IT EASY TWO DAYS AND DO YOGA OR SOME OTHER RECOVERY EXERCISES LIKE A BRISK WALK INSTEAD OF A RUN. ALSO MAKE SURE YOUR WATER INTAKE EXCEEDS YOUR REGULAR 64OZ BY ANOTHER 16 OZ OR SO.

PEACE AND BLESSINGS!

MARY ROSE

milaxx

Humn, I hadn't considered the starches. I've been counting calories not really thinking about the food itself. I'm going to try that and see what happens. Thanks!

Review your diary. Those macros count. I know many people ignore them but i don't. They are there for a reason Look for spikes, especially those spikes in sodium and sugar. Then look at the foods that may have caused it. Are the fiber bars or protein bars you love so much crazy high in sugar? It may be time to find another one lower in sugar or cut them out except for occasionally. I review my diary nightly and it really has helped me to learn to make better food choices.

amymeenieminymo

It's possible to work out too much. Like the above poster said, when it comes to losing weight, nutrition is actually more important than fitness. Of course they're both important, but you can lose weight by altering what you eat, but you can't lose weight by only working out and eating like crap (not a lot anyway).

In fact I was just telling my husband how when I first started here and just walked, I had more success than when I started spending an hour at the gym doing intense work outs. Since MFP already builds in a calorie deficit, you can work out and burn 300 calories for a modest burn, or you can do an tense work and burn 1000, but a lot of people find it difficult to eat that many calories back. Exercise is important to tone and sculpt your body and improve your cardio health and strength, but eating the right amount and nutrition is important for weight loss and maintenance.

I've found that if I stick to lower intensity/more enjoyable work outs, I'll stick with the overall program more easily. But if I force myself to work out hard and spend a lot of time at the gym, I do good for a while but then I dread it and stop doing it at all.

ladybug2020

Bump for suggestions too

Lola0422

That happened to me few years ago. I truly believe its connected to water retention, muscle gain and your body's need to conserve calories that you might have drastically cut. Increasing calories through good sources of nutrition (especially protein) and taking more time to relax might help restarting the burn.

good luck!

em1976

I spent a great deal of time last year doing strength/weight training.Sets and reps of increasing weights that were painful(to put it mildly).I did not eat the required calories/foods to support this type of training and I never lost the areas in my body that retained the original weight/fat,eg,thighs etc.My body literally refused to part with them and I weighed considerably more as I progressed with this program(more muscle=more weight).After being told off by my little sister I started counting calories and changed my exercise to cardio/yoga.The results weight wise are better,I weigh alot less, Ive also lost some of the bulk muscle I had but overall I feel better.Less hair pulling as to why I was constantly gaining weight even though I was literally busting my gut at the gym:)Also the yoga is fantastic for me,relaxing and I feel invigorated.

For me now,its now 90 percent diet and 10 percent exercise.

beccarockslife

I wrote a blog post a while ago about exercise and gaining weight initially. Might be of help.

http://weightwars.co.uk/2011/03/10/exercising-and-gaining-weight/