Seriously???? No Gain No Loss Since July! What Gives?!?

sonoransweetheart

Ok, starting to go a little nutso here and really, REALLY ticked off at my stupid body for not doing as it should. I've been working out hard 4-5 days a week (lots of running) Usually burning somewhere around 450 cal before breakfast. I have good healthy snacks all day long and I also limit my carbs quite a bit. I'm staying within my calorie goal almost every day.

Seriously NO gain and NO loss since July. So frustrated and starting to get upset. I'm sure that I'm doing something wrong but I just can't figure out what.

Any ideas???

pattiann603

have you been measuring your waist and hips? sometimes your shape changes before your weight actually goes down, thanks to the muscle that you're building

mrmanmeat

Ok, starting to go a little nutso here and really, REALLY ticked off at my stupid body for not doing as it should. I've been working out hard 4-5 days a week (lots of running) Usually burning somewhere around 450 cal before breakfast. I have good healthy snacks all day long and I also limit my carbs quite a bit. I'm staying within my calorie goal almost every day.

Seriously NO gain and NO loss since July. So frustrated and starting to get upset. I'm sure that I'm doing something wrong but I just can't figure out what.

Any ideas???

Define w/ in calorie goal?

Flyntiggr

I haven't lost a pound since well before July, but have lost inches and another 2% body fat. It isn't all about the poundage. Hang in there!

eheinze12

My suggestions would be:
drink more water per day
change up your exercise, you have to shock your body every month, it gets used to it and doesn't pose as a challenge anymore..
do you do any strength training, i swear by it!

morganadk2_deleted

hard to say with out seeing your diary

Are you eating your exercise calories? you may need to eat more -When you exercise this puts you at a deficit. It seems like a lot of people do better when they eat their recommended allowance PLUS their exercise calories.

So now we can figure out where your goal should be.
Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

rtmama

No one will be able to give you specific advice unless they can see your food diary. It sounds like you aren't eating enough

bwesser

Try switching it up. If you have been doing the same routine for the past few months, your body has probably gotten used to it. Give it a little more carbs one day and exercise hard, then lay off and maybe do 2 - 3 days of exercise... It usually helps me lose if I mix it up and don't do the same exercises as well as choosing one area of my diet to not care so much about (like carbs on one day of the week).

Hope this helps... it's more so from my own experience.

sonoransweetheart

nearly always under what mfp says my daily goal should be (I do have a tendancy to not eat enough) I really try to eat around 1400 cal every day which I know doesn't sound difficult but for me it seems to be.

stef_3

I agree with the others. My weight has been the same since June (frustrating to not see the scale change.) I have continued to work out and eat right though. I have lost a pant size and I look thinner, but just no scale change. Probably losing inches, but gaining muscle. Last month I started on this site to help keep me on track since I was getting frustrated and I also started the 30 day shred to try to mix things up. Good luck and don't give up!!

AdAstra47

*When* you're eating can make a big difference. Don't believe the people who say it's a simple matter of "calories in / calories out." Your body is a little more complex than that.

1. Try spreading out your calories and eating something (with protein in it) at least every three hours; that has made a big difference for me. I'm not hungry that often, I have to set the alarm on my phone, but that keeps my metabolism going steadily all day long.
2. Only eat carbs right before a workout or before you do something active like running errands. Don't ever eat carbs when you're going to be sitting in front of a computer or going to bed; eat protein at those times. Carbs provide quick burst of energy, but if they're not used immediately they get stored as fat. Protein, on the other hand, takes longer to digest & process, and provides steady, slow-burning energy for your day.
3. Make sure you don't have a medical problem that's limiting your weight loss. Thyroid issues are the most common culprit, but there's also hyperinsulinemia, PCOS, hypoglycemia, etc. Do NOT let your doctor just do a simple thyroid test, then dismiss you and tell you that you're "fine." Doctors did that to me for 20 years before finally doing some more extensive glucose tests and discovering my metabolic disorder.

Good luck to you!

Andyrun

Is your routine comprised of mostly running? if so thats probably one of your biggest problems, The older we get we lose muscle mass (muscle burns calories even at a stand still) thus the reason we cant eat like we used too....you are going to have to incorporate muscle building, perhaps replacing some cardio a few times a week...you will gain muscle weight but you will slim down and your body will jump start and start to burn more calories....and like someone previously said you have to shock your body, but instead of once a month its need to be every week....instead of running, try spinning one week and then swimming another

same with muscles, they adapt very quickly so you gott do new moves to keep them constantly suprised!!! Good luck! ( also at 1400 calories you may need to lower just for a few months, perhaps to about 1200-1250)

sonoransweetheart

Ok, shock the body (gladly at this point!) and eat more.....does anyone else think it's totally insane that we have to make ourselves eat more in order to lose weight?!?!? And it is true that my clothes all fit more loose so I probably have been losing inches even though my legs have....well, my legs are all muscle which I'm actually not terribly thrilled about either but that seems to be what my body does.

....back to the drawing board.

sonoransweetheart

yeah I def have the whole PCOS thing going on but but I was kind of hoping to be able to kick this whole thing w/o my dr's input....she seems to want to give me drugs to take and I'm not a big fan. I've been working on it since January though and I have lost 38 lbs which still kind of shocks me. This stall has been very frustrating though and I don't want the dr to say "I told you so" LOL....I'm stubborn like that

christinairun

hello, here are some of my suggestions for you:
if your running before breakfast make sure you eat somthing, i like apple sauce becasue its not to heavy. Your body in the morning is still fasting and will burn more muscle than fat.
also take your measurements, the scale doesnt give an accurate reading of body fat loss compared to mucsle gain...more muscle will make you look smaller....lift those heavy weights!! I promise you will not look "buff", you need more testosterone for that

Andyrun

well maybe you need to eat more, maybe you need to eat less...it will just be trial and error on your part...(as far as your legs it could just be your build...(plus your running) try some pilates its supposed to help with building leaner muscle not bulk...just a tip...i love it!!

HarrietSabre

Fast for 18-24 hours once a week and give up some of the snacks. It's an unpopular opinion on here, but research shows that actually, intermittent fasting really helps with weight loss (it's a good tip for anyone, and it's not that hard). The 6 small meals a day theory has been slowly phased out by the medical and nutrition journals, it's just going to take a while before it reaches the internet and penetrates the psyche.

TMcBooty

eat more.....does anyone else think it's totally insane that we have to make ourselves eat more in order to lose weight?!?!?

Not really. If you don't eat enough your body will store what you are eating because it doesn't know when it will get it's next meal. Same with drinking enough water!

TMcBooty

zig zagging may give your body what it needs to break the cycle too.