My Good Choices Aren't Working!

kristlynngirl

I've been trying to do everything right. Drinking my water, logging everything, not drinking soft drinks, walking or doing Zumba or both everyday, especially the last few days watching my sodium, getting enough sleep....and I snuck on the scale a day early and my weight has gone UP.

This is the best week I've had yet as far as exercising and logging, and the scale and my tape measure don't reflect it. This is right about where I get frustrated with every single diet or lifestyle change I try --- when it quits working.

leilani♥

If nothing is working I'd go see your doctor and see if you have a medical condition stopping you from losing.

cessnaholly

You could also try taking a break between exercise days, change up your exercises, or zig zag your calories. Maybe you even need to eat more perhaps?

deverajeanne

Hang in there! There are sooooo many factors that effect weight. Stress. Where you are at in your 'cycle'. And sometimes your body just 'freaks out' when you make changes and holds on to weight for a little bit as a survival mechanism. Keep doing the things you are doing right and your body will respond. Watch your calories, keep exercising everyday, drink lots of water and get your rest. In a month if the scale and tape measure still don't reflect any changes (and I highly doubt that will happen) you will still feel 10 times better than you do today and then maybe you should ask your doctor or another professional for advice. One week is just a drop in the bucket. You can do it!!

laneybird

Just keep doing what you are doing. If there is no change in a few weeks, then I would consider going to the doctor. My first week of weight loss I lost 8lbs (of water weight) then it was close to a month before I lost anymore... I was even up some. But, since then I have had a steady loss of 1.5-3lbs per week. I started May 10th and as of this morning have lost 45lbs. It hard to not get discouraged, believe me I know, but just stick with it. Good luck to you!!

kevin3344

Make your log public so we can see it. Keep in mind your weight will go up/down, not strictly down, as you go through the week. Depending on how much water you drink even. So unless it's way out of wack, like 5lbs up, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just keep plugging away.

starwhisperer

do you do a hard workout the night before you weigh in? If i have hit the weights the day before I won't weigh because the retention of water by your muscles will up your weight a bit.

Kirabelly

That's when I get fed up too. That's when the hard work REALLY happens. Push through another week and I will bet you see a change. Consider that you are maybe building muscle too... sometimes the weight is redistributed instead of lost. A pound of flab leaves your butt, but a pound of muscle grows elsewhere.

DKBelle

Don't quit instead change the exercise! Sometimes you have to trick your body because it gets used to it that you always move same muscles.
Try these free workout sites:

www.bodyrock.tv
www.myomytv.com
www.diet.com

trelm249

When things aren't working don't freak out and panic. Do a hard critical eval of what you are doing. There may be something you are overlooking. Also, sometimes we just plateau. Don't forget to supplement your efforts with vitamin P2. That would be "Patience and Persistence".

leilani♥

Hang in there! There are sooooo many factors that effect weight. Stress. Where you are at in your 'cycle'. And sometimes your body just 'freaks out' when you make changes and holds on to weight for a little bit as a survival mechanism. Keep doing the things you are doing right and your body will respond. Watch your calories, keep exercising everyday, drink lots of water and get your rest. In a month if the scale and tape measure still don't reflect any changes (and I highly doubt that will happen) you will still feel 10 times better than you do today and then maybe you should ask your doctor or another professional for advice. One week is just a drop in the bucket. You can do it!!

ah yes forgot about TOM! One week before I got TOM I barely lost anything. Some people gain up to 5 lbs because of it.

kristlynngirl

Thanks guys! It's only like, 1.6 lbs so maybe I'm totally overreacting.

dorairwin

Don't quit instead change the exercise!

Rae6503

Are you eating ENOUGH?

kristlynngirl

Are you eating ENOUGH?

I usually don't go OVER my calories, but I get pretty close to my goal most days. I have trouble with sodium but make sure to drink a lot of water.

nsblue

Explanation on water weight fluctuations:
"Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.
As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored."

dustyhockeymom

I weigh everyday because it works for me, and I know that many times I will be up 1.5 pounds at some point during the week. I have learned it's a normal part of my body fluctuations. I would only know that because I weigh everyday. If it happened to happen on a day when I only weigh once a week it might be frustrating. Don't stress such a small amount. Keep up with your healthy habits and you will keep going down overall.

Autumn15

Don't give up that will never make you happy or get you any where. You have to try to stay positive and play around until you find what works for you. Make sure your information you enter is correct. If you are eating all your exercise calories back then maybe try only eating half of them back. Make sure you are definetly eating the 1200 each day so your not setting yourself up for your body to hang onto fat due to starvation mode. Try different things with exercise until you find what works for you, what works for one may not work for another. I discovered I have to workout 7 days per week any less doesn't work for me and I have to do it first thing in the morning doing it in the evening doesn't work at all for me. It will happen you just have to give yourself time to figure out what works for your body...Best wishes on your journey!

kristlynngirl

Explanation on water weight fluctuations:
"Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when you are not getting in enough food, your body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. And when you use up 2 lbs of glycogen, you also lose 8 lbs of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs that most people lose in the first week of a diet.
As you stay in caloric deficit, however, your body starts to realize that this is not a short term problem. You start mobilizing fat from your adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But your body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy -- like, to outrun a sabertooth tiger. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. And as it puts back the 2 lbs of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though you might still be LOSING energy content to your body, your weight will not go down or you might even GAIN for a while as you retain water to dissolve the glycogen that is being reformed and stored."

I had no idea.

servilia

I weigh everyday because it works for me, and I know that many times I will be up 1.5 pounds at some point during the week. I have learned it's a normal part of my body fluctuations. I would only know that because I weigh everyday. If it happened to happen on a day when I only weigh once a week it might be frustrating. Don't stress such a small amount. Keep up with your healthy habits and you will keep going down overall.

I agree with this. I weigh everyday, sometimes twice, and it is sooo easy for weight to fluctuate. But you don't notice this if you just weigh once a week or whatever so it can be frustrating. Just keep at it and don't give up!!!

christine24t

Rome wasn't built in a day, nor a week!!

GrammyWhammy

I recently discovered that my sodium intake was off the charts. This week I started monitoring my daily sodium and make a concerted effort to keep it under 2300 mg. It's working! My clue that sodium was a problem--my blood pressure, which used to be low to normal, suddenly was 140-160/ over 70-80. All the processed foods, like my fav deli chicken, diet frozen meals, soup, etc., are high in sodium. The wake-up came when I noticed my sodium was three times the RDA the day I ate a "lite" meal at a popular chain restaurant!!! My weight loss seems to be more steady now.

smaday

This is normal for some of us, Don't panic. Same thing happens to me. I weigh in every Friday morning and only lose every 2nd week. No matter how much good I am the scales only seem to move every other week. As long as the numbers are going down I'm not too worried. This is how my body works..

rachelleahsmom

Thanks for posting everyone. I'm in the same boat as the OP. This past week, I exercised every day, only ate my 1200 net calories and did not lose one ounce. I'm depressed and frustrated.

kristlynngirl

Thanks everyone. I guess I just keep doing what I'm doing, drinking my water, keep moving, and hope for the best.