Burning calories, exercising etc, but no weightloss?

Lets_Do_It

Well I have been eating on average 1700 calories a day, but burning a lot of them by walking, swimming, etc. Well last week I didnt exericse at all and ate 1200 and under and lost .4 lbs a day. Why is it now that I am exercising I am plateauing? I actually gained weight. What should I do? You can look at my food diary if you want to.

soccersam

You are probably plateauing because you are gaining muscle mass. Muscle weighs a lot more than fat so don't get discouraged! Try changing up your workouts too

spaingirl2011

It's actually pretty hard to gain muscle mass that makes a changenon the scale in the timespan of a week. More than likely, the sudden increase in activity is causing you muscles to retain water-- which is causing the gain. Keep yourself hydrated, keep on track with eating, keep exercising and you should see the scale go down next week.

mcmoosehall

I have been burning it at the gym on 1500 a day and really minimal loss. Got a personal trainer and now doing interval training and hoping to see a difference. Don't get me wrong it is affecting my motivation but I know I need to do this. Got a tip about upping the amount of protein and not dropping overall calories so going to try this also. Do your totals balance e.g. carbs, prot fat etc? Just a thought.

naomi6891

I'm experiencing something similar in that I have never bothered to exercise while losing weight before, I've always just cut food. This time I'm doing 5 workouts a week and the weight loss is slower than ever. I thought the same about increasing muscle but when I mentioned it to my doc he said unless I was doing heavy duty weight training I wouldn't be building enough muscle to make a difference! So now I'm confused - which is right?

microwoman999

Not always 100% sure why it happens but I know that when I stop exercising I loose weight because the water lets go of the muscle. When you run your muscles get hot and need water so they don't burn up that is what I say LOL. If you are working out and not loosing weight then I would suggest fluctuating your calories 200 lower for a bit then 200 higher for a bit. Go buy a ton of fruit and veggies when you up your calories and that will help you loose as well. You could also be gaining muscle if you just started doing this and that is why I always say start measuring! Good Luck feel free to message me to ask anything at all and I will do my best to help answer.

BuggaJr

Hi! I lost weight quickly at first then stopped or even gained. You probably did plateau and what you need to do is make sure that you don't give up. Just keep eating your necessary calories and keep up the exercise and you will push past that plateau. My biggest problem with my weight is that I don't eat enough calories. That means that every time I do eat my body thinks it has to store it since it doesn't know when it will get food again. So you have to make sure you don't eat too little because you aren't losing. It also helps to do a different kind of cardio exercise now and then. Our bodies are designed to adapt so it will get used to one particular kind of cardio and you will level off from that, too, so change it up to keep your body guessing! There is a great book about that called "Sculptint Her Body Perfect" and it was written specifically for women. Hope this helps and keep going. You will get there!!! Good luck! :happy:

spaingirl2011

I'm experiencing something similar in that I have never bothered to exercise while losing weight before, I've always just cut food. This time I'm doing 5 workouts a week and the weight loss is slower than ever. I thought the same about increasing muscle but when I mentioned it to my doc he said unless I was doing heavy duty weight training I wouldn't be building enough muscle to make a difference! So now I'm confused - which is right?

It's hard to build muscle on a calorie deficit. Get a measuring tape and see if you're losing inches. Though it might nt showup on the scale, your hard work may be showing up on you!

jls1661

When I altered my excercise routine to be a bit more intense, I was either not losing weight at all or actually gaining. But, people were noticing I was losing weight and my clothes were getting loser even without pounds coming off. I definatley agree that it's probably a bit of muscle gain. Have you tried measuring as well as weighing in?

fteale

If it's only a week, you just haven't given it enough time yet. Your weight can fluctuate by 8 lbs throughout the month. What you do or don't lose in one week is irrelevant.

tameko2

Hmm - I just looked at your diary, and I think you aren't getting enough nutrients when you exercise. Your body needs more than M&Ms and doritos to work out. It needs protein and some slightly more complex carbs that pure refined sugars. I am not a nutritionist or anything but I think you might have been putting your body in a kind of starvation mode -- not that you weren't eating enough pure calories, but that so many of your calories had little to no nutritional value.

For the record, after college I lost a LOT of weight - 20 - 30 pounds - eating basically a soy latte, a pack of madeline cookies, and a pastry or cheesecake. Probably like 1200 calories a day or less. (I was sleeping or vegetating a LOT so I didn't feel hungry beyond that stuff) I looked ok actually - I was 143 and had more fat to lose but I looked cute. But I would never have been able to get really slim because all I had on me was LESS fat.

You can lose weight eating 1200 calories of junk per day, but if you want to really look good you need to build strength and if you want to be healthy you need cardiovascular health. And I think you just cannot workout on junk food.

I am not anti-junk food, I love my treats and I lose weight eating potato chips (one ounce at a time and not every day) successfully. But since I have started working out seriously I have found that a) I need to eat a lot of protein and some carbs and b) I ALMOST look better now at 181 than I did at 143, seriously. I *WILL* look better at 170 or 165 than I did at 143, I am sure of it. Muscle looks SO much skinnier than fat does. Oh and I guess c) I'm never ever too tired to workout or go shopping or go to the zoo anymore. Sometimes I don't WANT to work out, but I'm never too tired anymore.

Stuartm1

Well I have been eating on average 1700 calories a day, but burning a lot of them by walking, swimming, etc. Well last week I didnt exericse at all and ate 1200 and under and lost .4 lbs a day. Why is it now that I am exercising I am plateauing? I actually gained weight. What should I do? You can look at my food diary if you want to.

You do not always have to eat back the calories gained by excercise try alternating days / weeks etc and excercise type. The body can get used to a set pattern but if you keep it guessing you should see results good luck

naomi6891

Thanks for that tip! I am actually attending Rosemary Conley classes and they give a special tape with little markers to chart your inch-loss progress so I am doing that but the inches aren't really changing either. Its quite annoying!

naomi6891

I'm experiencing something similar in that I have never bothered to exercise while losing weight before, I've always just cut food. This time I'm doing 5 workouts a week and the weight loss is slower than ever. I thought the same about increasing muscle but when I mentioned it to my doc he said unless I was doing heavy duty weight training I wouldn't be building enough muscle to make a difference! So now I'm confused - which is right?

It's hard to build muscle on a calorie deficit. Get a measuring tape and see if you're losing inches. Though it might nt showup on the scale, your hard work may be showing up on you!

Thanks for that tip! I am actually attending Rosemary Conley classes and they give a special tape with little markers to chart your inch-loss progress so I am doing that but the inches aren't really changing either. Its quite annoying!

grandpabiker

Has your non-exercise activity lowered?

servilia

hon I looked at your diary. One thing I noticed is that there are no beverages included. If you really drink nothing but water, that's fine, but if you're drinking coffee with milk/cream/sugar, juice, pop, milk, or anything other than water, you need to include these in your diary, otherwise you can be way over your daily goal and not even know it. For example, yesterday, 400 of my cals were in beverages!

I also noticed that you are eating back your exercise calories, which is not a bad thing in itself, but if you're at all overestimating the time you spend on exercises, or if the cals burned is overestimated by the site or the exercise machines at the gym (if you use those machines - they often do overstate the cals burned) then that could also throw it all off.

I also noticed that (and I could be wrong on the frequency) you are often over your calorie goals for the day. I may be wrong on that, I didn't take notes or anything but did notice a lot of days with red... but just try not to be over too often. You might try to compensate by being under the next day but keep in mind our bodies are a lot better at storing cals than at releasing them, so compensating in this way won't necessarily work.

Good luck!!

Lets_Do_It

Okay, I'll make sure to eat better and I'll check to see if I lost inches. Thanks so much for all the advice!!!

servilia

By the way I forgot to congratulate you on your loss so far! Great job, you should be proud!!

foremant86

you're eating a lot of processed food and junk food.

try changing to more healthy options like lean meats and veggies.

i also think MFP is probably over estimating the calories you burn. wii bowling and walking at a 2mph pace aren't really going to burn that many calories.

servilia

you're eating a lot of processed food and junk food.

try changing to more healthy options like lean meats and veggies.

This too. I didn't even really look at what you were eating the first time I looked (just the cals - oooops) but this is true. There are days where the majority of your cals come from M&Ms, doritos, etc. That is definitely not helping you. Try to eat more fresh and home cooked meals.

bentobee

I don't often look at people's diary's, but I did just take a look at yours... and Wow... sweetie, that's a lot of junk. And you NEED to be eating breakfast every single day. It's what gets your metabolism going in the morning. It literally means "BREAK the FAST" - breakfast! Eat it. Every day.

I see you eating only two meals most days - lunch and dinner - with a junky snack thrown in. Try making some healthy substitutions... swap in almonds for the Doritos, raisins for the M&M's, grapes for the Skittles.

You are getting in adequate calories, but the nutrients are sorely lacking.

Congrats on your loss so far, but you really do need to treat your body right by fueling it properly.