HELP I am not losing weight **TEARS UP**

liberty741

I weighed in this morning and gained 2 lbs! I am SICK over it and don't understand. I haven't even logged it yet, because I am too upset.

This week I made sure to stay UNDER my calorie goal and I worked out for 5 days in a row! (Which, I never do!) I don't understand what I am doing wrong!!! I am going to be around junk food and beer all weekend so I doubt I will lose any weight next week and god knows I can't afford to gain anymore!. :-(

These are the only solutions I've come up with:
Eat cleaner
Work out harder
Don't eat all my exercise calories

Any advice?!

PinUpMommy

Without seeing your journal, I can't really give you any advice. It really depends on what your calorie goal is, and how much under you're eating. If you're set at 1200, you need to NET at the very least 1200 per day. NEVER EVER go under that. That means that if you work out, you have to still eat at least 1200 cals. Eat more veggies if you're not getting enough of those, and drink TONS of water.

I also wanted to say that you need to make sure you're eating 2000mg or less of sodium per day. Sodium can REALLY screw up your weight.

Jconner30

My advice... THROW THAT SCALE OUT THE WINDOW!!!

Judge your weight by how your clothes fit. I get pissed when I look at the scale and it goes up but then I remember how much I weighed and how much I lost (60 pounds). Look at your TOTAL weight loss as a VICTORY!!!

Also, in order to gain 2 pounds, it means you have to eat and store 5000 calories in fat cells. 1 pound of fat is 2500 calories

IdaMoreno38

Maybe try ZIG-ZAGGING..
It worked for me..
Don't give up though!
Keep On Keeping On!

MichelleF81

I've also worked out every day this week and kept under my cals and I've gained a pound. I'm going to try and up my water intake and the intensity of my work outs and leave alone at least 100 of my exercise calories and hope that next week is a better week. This week I'm putting my gain down to water retention as I've been moody and bloated all week and think it may be pmt which usually makes me gain. It could be a similar thing with you or else have you checked you're accurately logging all your cals and not over-estimating your exercise calories? I'd give it another week and if you're still not losing then re-look at your diet/exercise.

cydonian

Without seeing your journal, I can't really give you any advice. It really depends on what your calorie goal is, and how much under you're eating. If you're set at 1200, you need to NET at the very least 1200 per day. NEVER EVER go under that. That means that if you work out, you have to still eat at least 1200 cals. Eat more veggies if you're not getting enough of those, and drink TONS of water.

I also wanted to say that you need to make sure you're eating 2000mg or less of sodium per day. Sodium can REALLY screw up your weight.

Agreed, I'm at 1,200 right now and I'm careful to try and accurately count my calories because going under 1,200 is actually unhealthy for your body. You go into 'starvation mode' and your metabolism plummets, so you end up putting on weigh from what fat and unused carbs your body is storing. Be sure to eat at least 1,200, you may want to give yourself 50-75 calories of leeway (that's what I do) just to be on the safe side.

Also, DO NOT fret about 1-2 lbs, even up to 4-5 because in a single day, a human can gain and lose that much, usually it's water weight. And, being female, you know that we fluctuate up and down a lot. Don't beat yourself up too hard and make sure you're getting your 1,200 calories!

jen_marie_1976

I never eat my exersize calories, i am on a 1200 calories a day diet, and pretty much am eating right at that.. i workout everyday, on my treadmill. add me as a friend and we can help eachother..remember to log your food everyday too, thats how ive been doing so good !!! Good luck

talysshade

Keep in mind that if you suddenly starting working out so much you are retaining water because of it. Your body needs it to repair your muscles, especially if you did some strength training, too.

It might even be because of the time of the month.. before my period for example i always gain a few pounds. Don't give up, as for the junk food.. eat some of it, don't deny yourself some, just don't go crazy on it and you'll be fine!

mystiedragonfly

Think of other things that could add 2 pounds (ONLY 2 pounds???) IS it a week before your period? Did you drink a lot of water the night before? Eat anything with lots of salt?

If you work out 5 days at a time... you could also be gaining muscle. Shedding fat and gaining muscle means the scale WILL go up and down as well.

Also... stress. It causes your body to go into primal need mode. Which means it will store whatever you do eat as fat. Have you been under a higher amount of stress lately?

jody0912

I feel like I wrote this post myself! we have similar stats, I'm also a lawyer (and gained a bunch of weight during law school), and gained two pounds this week despite working out more than normal and staying under my calorie goal. I'm going to keep trucking though, hoping it will balance out in a week or two if I just keep doing what I know I need to do. And I'll take my measurements in hopes there's some success there to keep me motivated...
friend me if you want - we can encourage each other to stick to it!

DestinyDarbi

Don't get upset yet, everybody has those weeks. I worked really really really hard this week and gained a pound. But then next week I'll probably lose 2 (or that's what I tell myself, anyway!). Just keep your head up and don't get frustrated. It took longer than a week to gain the weight, it'll take more than a week to lose it. I wouldn't change anything this next week, that way if you lose you'll know what you're doing is working. If not, then you can change it up a bit. But don't freak out! You're taking control of your life--that's HUGE in itself!

yanicka

If it can help you, few weeks ago, I gained 2 pounds....but at the exact same time lost 1 inch at my hips and half aan inch at my waist. The scale is an imperfect tool and can't really tell you exactly what is going on. So you gained 2 pounds.....2 pounds of what? Unless you over ate by 7000 calories in the week, it can't be fat. Is it water since you asked more of your muscles.....big chance. Are you near TOM?

Stop using the scale to mesure how good you are doing. You know your did good this week. Trust your body it will give you the resutls you want

nuttyfamily

Folks say and I have experienced slight gains on the scale when increasing exercise. Your muscles are repairing themselves and supposedly retain water while doing that.

Do not eat under 1200 calories a day. I eat that minimum then I eat 1/2 of the exercsie calories I burn. I do not eat them all as then I do not lose as well.

Everybody is different.

Some folks eat 1200 and no exercise cals, some 1/2 some all. You have to play around and see what works well for you.

Our body weight can flucuate a few pounds during a week. If you truly being honest journaling and working out, it will reflect in the long run.

P90XCertifiedCoach

I had a bad week 2 weeks ago, You just gotta suck it up and drive on, Don't give in to the weekend, Have fun, but remember your goals. and what you are doing this for

littleraab

Don't beat yourself up too much. It could be water weight. I have to keep this in mind every time I get on the scale. If I have gained a few pounds that seem to have come out of nowhere, the first thing I need to look at is what time of the month it is. If it is water weight, it will come off as quickly as it came on (although if there is a lot of beer involved this weekend it will take a little longer). Be sure to eat most of your calories. If you are not eating enough, your body will go into survival mode and conserve as many calories as it can. That will be counter productive to weight loss. Remember that this is a process. It will have ups and downs. The priorty needs to be consistency.

kellyrorie

If you worked out and you usually dont, your muscles are trying to build themselves (they are literally "scabbing up" and using more blood) . Also, if you don't eat enough calories to work out with, your body will store fat. You have to give your body time to catch up to the "shock". You are doing great, dont freak out (stress makes you gain!) If you continue to work out, you may see a larger number on the scale for a bit...then you literally wake up one morning lighter and more tone. I lost 98 lbs a couple years ago and had that exact thing happen to me numerous times. When you work out, it is a good idea to measure your inches too. that way even if your weight levels out for a bit or gets a little higher, you can see taht your inches are going down. It really helps moments like these. DONT GIVE UP! I hate that feeling like it's hopeless. It's not honey. You're doing great, keep it up! And don't cry!

sla0814

I am now realizing the importance of eating your exercise calories back!! It's SO important...Try doing that for a couple weeks. Your body needs that fuel to function normally.

See your body as a wood burning stove...The more (healthy, clean calories) wood you give it, the more it burns!! The more you use the stove to cook, the more wood it needs. You can't overwork the stove without getting adequate wood or it will not produce the results you want.

Don't be discouraged...I hope this helps!!:) God bless

cpumeu

Advice #1: Hard one to take in...don't let it get you down!
Advice #2: Some of us take longer to see results....don't give up
Advice #3: Eat ALL your calories: This is where alot of people end up messing up. if you worked out all week and gained lets say 300 calories burned per workout...you GOTTA eat those calories
Advice #4: Check your fat intake...make better choices....when I first started I ate whatever I wanted, thinking so long as I only eat
my 1200 I am ok...what I found later was that the choices of what I ate made all the difference!
Advice #4: Go ahead and cry and get mad, but then wipe your tears....pull up your big girl panties and don't let this defeat you. we've all done that before and that is WHY we are here on MFP.
Advice #5: If your gonna drink.....which is not a good choice...drink light and as for being around food, make choices that will not take you too far off track....take a veggie or turkey burger with you if your going to a bbq and ask the bbq master to throw it on the barbie for you....

Friend me! here to encourage and support you!

breyn2004

I'm with both earlier post......

While I do weigh every morning, I try to judge my success by the way my clothes fit. Even though that's often times easier said than done. Muscle weighs more! But I'm still guilty of the dreaded scales!

As far as your calories go, depending on your daily goal and how many under, you may not be taking in enough. The more strength you do, the more calories you'll need. Or so I've been told along the weigh. Play with your calorie intake a little bit. Not drastically, but find what best works for you. MFP set me at 1200 calories.... I chose to do 1500 calories and I've lost 40+ pounds. I've gotten down to the last 15 or so I need to lose and it's like it just stopped. So this week, I've worked harder at less carbs and more protein. Tuna salad...actually on lettuce rather than bread. Fruit and yogurt rather than bagels or english muffins for breakfast. Simple changes. It's been a good week so far!

Water! Water! Water!

Keep your head up! There's highs and lows, but you can do it! Best of luck to you!

breyn2004

Well said cpumeu!

emmaleigh47

How about --- eat more and exercise less.
It sounds like you might have broke your metabolism by not eating enough.

Go to www.fat2fitradio.com/bmr and figure out your BMR and this is the calories you should never eat under. Put in your goal weight and follow the plan.

I love the eat more lose more diet ... I eat about 2400 calories a day and Im losing!

rea1980

Drink tons of water and eat back your exercise calories, if you set up MFP correctly with your weight and your goal each week it will build the deficit in for you. If you are not consuming enough calories your body will be in starvation mode.

When you eat make sure every calorie counts. Don't eat those 100 calorie snacks, that is an empty 100 calories, eat a banana, a medium one is 105 calories and is full of nutrients. Just make sure those calories you are eating are ones that are good for you.

Make sure you have breakfast everyday and try to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Doing this will tell your body, that you are at no risk of starving and so it is ok to burn stored calories. This is when your metabolism will start to go up. this doesn't happen overnight, you have to be patient.

Change your workout routines. Our bodies adapt to become more efficient. If you do the same workout all the time your body will figure out how to do that process and not spend as much calories doing it. It is a great survival tactic of our bodies but not so great for weight loss. Also if you are not doing any resistence or weight training you should be doing some. Muscles burn calories. If you are only doing cardio 25% or so of your weight loss could be from muscle loss, this will make it harder to keep losing.

Hodar

I NEVER weigh myself on any given day. I always do it the first thing in the morning, well - the SECOND thing. Because our weight fluctuates, and IMHO the fluctuation is a percentage of your total body weight - the more you weigh, the more fluctuation you have. This is especially frustrating when we are trying to hard to lose. And women, by virtue of being women - well, you folk fluctuate both in mood and weight - and oh, us poor men-folk ... PMS (Poor Man Syndrome, as in "Oh, that poor man).

So, what I do; and will always likely do - is take my lowest weight in any given week - and record that. We are looking for the downward trend - the daily fluctuations don't matter. What matters is that you are seeing a downward trend. If I go 2 weeks or more, and don't see at least 0.2 lbs loss - on any given day during that time ... then I get bummed.

HartJames

Only worry if it stays that way for a week. My scale will say I gained 6 lbs in 5 minutes sometimes! Digital and spring loaded scales are not all that accurate or consistent. Get on your scale with a 5lb weight or something and check it.

SWEET31

hi I dont eat my calories from exercise and Im doing the yoplait diet ,and I lost 7 pounds is the first time that I lose and maintain my new eating habits ,dont give up .......and maybe you are gaining muscle that why you gain 2 pounds....

amoffatt

I find myself with the same issue so I dont personally weigh in everyday since our weight fluctuates day to day. Keep possitive!

liberty741

wow, thanks for the outpour of support!!! It's so nice to know that other people go through this too. I am frustrated because i really did make an effort this week and i don't want to gain!

but to answer some questions, my TOM is not coming - in fact, i just got over it. and i am NOT eating under 1200 calories, i set my goal at 1400 NET calories and have been sticking to that. i previously had my calories at 1200 and always went over by like 600 calories, so i changed it to 1400 and stuck to it.

dad106

My advice... THROW THAT SCALE OUT THE WINDOW!!!

Judge your weight by how your clothes fit. I get pissed when I look at the scale and it goes up but then I remember how much I weighed and how much I lost (60 pounds). Look at your TOTAL weight loss as a VICTORY!!!

Also, in order to gain 2 pounds, it means you have to eat and store 5000 calories in fat cells. 1 pound of fat is 2500 calories

1 pound of fat is 3500 calories... not 2500 hundred. So she'd need to eat and store 7,000 calories. Highly doubt that happened.

In reply to another poster, muscle does not weight more then fat. They weigh the same but muscle is more dense and compact then fat.

To Op: Try drinking more water and changing up you're exercise. Also try eating only a little bit of your exercise calories and see if that helps.

Contrary03

Like others said~ about retaining water after strength training...i find it to be so true!.. i started exercising more than usual, finally made myself rest one day, did absolutely nothing!.. and lost 2 lbs. I want to lose so bad, that sometimes i tend to over do it and feel guilty if i don't exercise everyday. We have to let our body recover... it's better in the long run.

liberty741

Thanks SOOOOO much everyone! I feel alot better after reading all of these comments and listening to everyone's advice. This is a learning process for me and this REALLY helps!!!

Thanks!!!! XXOO

Balishdear

Well, if your hitting a plateau, I just read in the "fitness" mag that Jillian Michaels suggests taking a day off, so that your body gets rest, something like that. Its in the most recent fitness mag, I can't remember exactly what it said.