What am I doing wrong????

aberkdaber

Ok I need help bad. I have been on a serious diet and exercise routine for 7 weeks now and I cant seem to lose any weight. I have uped my calorie intake three times. I started at 1200 then 1300 and now I try to eat 1400 but I struggle to eat that many. I also go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I do 30 mins of intense cardio and about 30 minutes of weights. I dont know what im doing wrong and why all the sudden I cant lose. Im getting extremely discouraged and want to quit. PLEASE HELP.......
I posted this in the motivation and got nothing so I will try here now! : )

Terriberry

You need to look at what your eating. And are you eating back your exercise calories? If not, your body is in starvation mode and is storing everything you eat. If you havent lost any weight in 7 weeks, it sounds like you need to really look at what your eating and how much. Friend me and let me look at your food diary. Maybe I can help.

Jessica5000

I would move from processed to fresher foods. (If you haven't already). And If you are doing the exact same work out every time, I would switch it up. The boday gets bored and stops changing. Soduim is could be a part. Try not to consume to much. How I do that is make my meals vs. eating out. Ummmmm. You probably are getting smaller inches wise. Did you measure or take pictures to check your progress that way? Whatever you do, don't give up. You don't want the scale to move up.
Good Luck, Jessica

joymeg1

If you are doing weights 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes you may be building more muscle mass which will weigh more. Did you take starting measurements (waist, hip etc.)? Do your clothes feel different? Just don't give up. All that new muscle mass has got to kick up that metabolism. Good luck!

aberkdaber

ok to both of you I am doing everything that you are both saying. It doesnt make sense. I even met with a trainer last week and told him my problem and told him about my diet and exercise routine and even he is stumped....

joymeg1

Can you get your thyroid checked? Its a simple blood test, but in know it can affect your metabolism.

aberkdaber

My doctor checked it two months ago. I thought of that too.

ladybug1620

Can you open up your diary? You'll probably get a lot more advice if you do.

joymeg1

hmmmm....Are you weighing and measuring ALL of your food? Calories can creep in there. Maybe its time to revisit the doctor and see if he has some suggestions.

JDMPWR

Ok I need help bad. I have been on a serious diet and exercise routine for 7 weeks now and I cant seem to lose any weight. I have uped my calorie intake three times. I started at 1200 then 1300 and now I try to eat 1400 but I struggle to eat that many. I also go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I do 30 mins of intense cardio and about 30 minutes of weights. I dont know what im doing wrong and why all the sudden I cant lose. Im getting extremely discouraged and want to quit. PLEASE HELP.......
I posted this in the motivation and got nothing so I will try here now! : )

Let me see your food diary....also what is your water intake a day?

lanie25

I agree with most of the other posts---muscle is replacing fat, eat fresher, less processed foods, weigh your portions, vary your exercise, don't eat after a certain hour at night (that food just sits in your tummy and doesn't do much to help you), and my tip is---hire a personal trainer. It it is too costly, split the cost with a friend. Their tips and input can help you change your ways to better ways. And no, I'm not a trainer, but I use one at my chiropractors. Best money I've spent on me. I'm worth it.

aberkdaber

diary is open and I forget to enter my water a lot but I know I drink over 100 ounces a day. I have taken measurements and they are staying the same as well.

dls06

Are you eating healthy? No processed or fast foods? Are you limiting you junk food? Are you drinking a lot of water? If you are eating enough and exercising as much as you say and nothing is happening. You may want to talk to your Doctor and have some blood work done to check for Thyroid or Diabetes.

Garae

Maybe you have a thyroid problem?

MrsRadder

Read the book, Body for Life, it helped me though a rough time. Found I was over training... Good luck. Stick with it!

minnie86

your might want to go see your physician to clear any thyroid, insulin resistance...problems. make sure you mention this to him

ladybug1620

Alrighty, reviewed the diary for a few days. Way too much processed and packaged food. Lean pockets, frozen dinners, cookies, ice cream. You need to try to clean up your diet. You might be at or under your calorie goal, but they are empty calories.

MrsRadder

I looked at your diet... It doesn't seem like you are getting enough food. You are eating enough calories...but it seems there is a lot of processed food. Eat clean foods if you can fruit, veggies, and stuff with only a few ingredients on the label. Your body cant break up foods that are made up of hormones and sugars which are in almost all processed foods. Good luck!

neotiger

My take and my suggestions use them if you like. Your sodium intake is through the roof. You need to eat lower sodium foods and drink more water. I would stay away from processed meals. Buy fresh vegetables and steam them. Cook your own oatmeal don't use instant. The best way to diet is to stay away from processed foods, it is garbage. If you must then use frozen vegetables like the ones you steam in the microwave. Do weight training and cardio at least 3 days a week I personally would do 5 to 6. Do your weight training first and you will burn more calories when you do your cardio because your heart rate will already be up. Do at least 45 mins to an hour of cardio. Don't give up and get discouraged. We all have those days.

cstelzer

I looked over your food diary and it appears that you are very carb heavy and you're not eating enough protein. Carbs energize the body (much like what gas does for a car) and protein repairs and rebuilds. I would suggest bringing your carbs and protein to a more equal balance and lower your fat intake. Try the 40/40/20 approach with fat being the lower of the two. Are you recording every single thing you're eating...if not, you're only cheating yourself. If you are then there are days when you are not even eating 1,000 calories and your body is going into starvation mode. You need to eat to lose weight. I am a NASM certified personal trainer and I have clients that utilize myfitnesspal.com and have been having tremendous success. I monitor what they take in and they work out with me three days a week for 30 minutes and an additional 20 to 30 minutes of cardio after our resistance training. your workouts should be challenging and you have to keep changing things up to keep the body confused in order to see change. If you are doing all these things and you are not seeing any results then I would suggest a visit to your doctor to have your hormone levels and thyroid levels checked out. Good luck to you and I will check back in with you from time to time.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

Looking at a weeks of food: you are eating a huge amount of processed foods (chocolate chip cookie dough is not a dinner), don't seem to be getting any vegetables, and aren't eating back all of your calories. Food is important, it's not just about the calories, but about the source of the food. You want your foods to be more whole or raw rather than processed. You seem to be getting a lot of sugars or simple carbs that turn quickly into sugars.

To add to the muscle confusion, you should be switching up your work outs at least every 6 weeks, but probably even more often then that. The variety alsom keeps things interesting for your brain not just your body.

Funny, I've always do my cardio first because that gets my hr up so when I do my weight training I burn more calories (per my hrm). Then again, I do group classes, so that may make a difference too, but I find my total calorie burn is higher when I cardio then strength than when I strength then cardio.

cstelzer

I totally agree with Neotiger. Sodium levels are way too high....you have to be retaining alot of water. Your foods are all processed. Start eating fresh fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Listen to how your body feels after you fuel it with good things. See how your body responds to giving it good nutrition. You WILL have more energy, your skin will glow and your hair will shine. Being skinny and making healthy life changes are all about the choices we make on a daily basis. Teach yourself how to lose weight the correct way and the weight will come off and stay off. I don't mean to sound harsh but I do preach the truth because if you continue to sugar coat everything, you will never make the changes it is going to take to lose weight for the last time!!

aberkdaber

Thank you Thank you Thank you....Ok so I need to work on my diet and I will admit the last week I gave in a lot Because Im tired of eating healthy and it not paying off. I do try to get fresh fruits and veggies in but its also hard I am on a very tight budget... I know these are excuses but its so freakin hard : ) And here is another problem I hate meat. Dieting SUCKS! But I keep telling myself it will eventually pay off but its not so I will take a lot of your advice and see what happens. Again Thank you to you all. I think I needed that reality check about my diet.

cobaltis

So I would like to help you out and some are going to disagree with my advice but I would refer you to Alan Aragons blog, Google him, he is a nutritionist with more than a decades experience, earned his masters and phd with top honors etc etc etc.

Calories are calories so my first thought is make sure you are accounting for everything. Drinks, snacks, everything. Secondly make sure you verify what MFP and say a USDA nutritional value states for calories. (Such as grilled chicken on here is about 28 calories per ounce but that is an uncooked weight despite being labled as grilled. Grilled chicken cooked is about 46 calories an ounce.)

So with that said, you can not gain significant weight in muscle when on a calorie deficit and even a natural bodybuilder struggles to build more than a few pounds of muscle when new and eating at a calorie deficit. Some weight is gained when first starting to lift weights but that is due to the cells storing more glycogen and water for energy.

It is possible that your body is in starvation mode if your calories are being acurately accounted for IF you were eating the same calories for months prior to these 7 weeks and losing lots of weight. If this is the case which seems next most likely then it is often recommended you do a refeed, or replenish your bodys glycogen stores by eating your maintenance level for a week.

Also people use the word "clean" far to much, I did at one point in time but what does it really mean? The difference between brown rice and white rice wont make a bit of difference in your lifetime unless it was the only thing you ate. With that said "healthier or cleaner" foods that are less processed etc will tend to make you feel better but dont play a role in weight loss otherwise.

You should make sure you get an appropriate amount of protein in a day to prevent muscle loss (your body will burn it instead of fats if it doesnt get enough, and enough fats as they regulate your hormones as well as other things like lubricating joints etc.

If you have more qustions I will try to help.

Dont give up, keep up the hard work.

P.S. Your sodium also will not effect weight loss but it can cause high blood pressure. If you dont have hypertention problems then you dont need to worry about this as much.

Edit: I would also like to say dont just take anyones word for it, I dont refer to Alan Aragon just because I agree with him, its because he analyzes the research and makes informed decisions, even changing his own opinions as new research comes out.

flamnfrekelz

i would def suggest switching your am oatmeal from the maple/brown sugar to jstu a plan instant oatmeal..its loaded in fiber and has WAY less sugar....it will keep you full longer also. I usually add a few chopped pecans or almonds to mine but NO sugar allowed! you can even eat it with a piece of wheat toast for some added flavor. I know it is not the best tasting choice but i usually consider it a "vitamin" and shovel it down.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

If you hate meat look for others on here who are vegetarians (there were some great posts yesterday looking for friends, do a search) and embrace that lifestyle. Being a vegetarian may be a great option for you, and having resources will help you do it right. Also, if you have a farmers market in your area (we have a few where I live) you can get produce very inexpensively, especially if you eat what's in season and not just what you're craving.

cuckoo879

sometimes your body gets bored and go into starvation mood. To keep your body interest, lower sodium intake and increase protein intake. It takes a lot more energy for the body to convert protein than simple carbs.

neotiger

As far as which way burns more calories you hear it both ways from different people. I know for me personally I feel way more exhausted when I do weights and then cardio but I've had good results the other way as well. If you are doing both either way as long as it's getting done is the key. Endeavor to persevere through all the ups and downs. Persistence will pay off. Also, I'm circuit training right now with the Men's Health Spartacus workout. If you want to try something different it has done amazing things for me over a few weeks. I highly recommend it.

juscallmeb

Just my 2 cents here, you aren't dieting.. you are changing your lifestyle. Getting yourself healthy is a lifestyle change.
Eating healthy and losing weight will not happen overnight. Sometimes it takes your body alittle longer to lose weight, that doesn't mean it's not working.
Like everyone has said though, definitely take away the processed foods. Also, incorporate some fiber in your meals. Protein is great too. Those will help you stay full and give you fuel to work out harder and longer.
I see you eat protein bars - for breakfast or a snack. Try to find natural protein and fiber to incorporate in your meals. If you eat a protein bar, sometimes it has all that other processed stuff.

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. You said you don't like meat? But you are eating cheeseburgers.. i'm a little confused.

If you don't like meat, then you need your iron and protein from other sources. Eat beans - all kinds, boil them, put them in your salad. There are great recipes out there for people who don't like meat. Broccoli is a good source of iron too.


Don't get down on yourself and stay focused! You can do it! You are already on the right path because you want to do it.
Keep up your hard work and you will see how much it really pays off.

Hope that helps.

neotiger

I'm a vegetarian and have been vegan on and off for the past five years. I started out as what I would call a junk food vegetarian thinking that being a vegetarian was a good thing. It is for me.. but not if you live off garbage. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

cobaltis

So the benefit to lifting weights when trying to lose weight is mostly preventing muscle loss. Muscles require more calories to sustain than fat and without the right "motivations" your body will burn muscle. The best two things you can do is lift heavy weights (a relative term but meaning you can only lift it about 8-10 times before needing a break) for all muscles (when not muscular as most women arent full body workouts are often plenty) and also eat enough protein to promote protein synthesis for your muscles to repair themselves and not be broken down for energy.

To look lean and fit you need low body fat and a solid muscle base.

Additionally more muscle means you burn more calories when doing anything (though no benefit when sitting on the couch).

Edit: Refer to above post about weight loss...