I can't figure out what happened!!!

risskie

Three weeks into this fit plan... and this week no weight loss. I have been SO faithful to the caloric goal, even 200 cals below on some days, that I'm in shock! I burst into tears at the MD's office when I saw 0 weight loss. How is it I work so hard at following a goal, eat: very low fat, lots of vege's and fruit, drink skim, no sweets (I'm down to 1 tsp in my coffee from 4), keep protein in check with only chicken (3oz at dinner) and organic PB (2tbls) at lunch. To me it doesn't make sense. I guess I need to reevaluate the caloric goal? Drop it down further. One thing is for certain, my strategies for exercise - like parking a long walk from the front door at work, taking the stairs, etc need to be stepped up too. How do you get past this bump in the road? How do your get your mind set back in focus? How do you not become depressed when you are working so hard at something and it failed? HELP!:frown:

maidentl

Do you always weigh in at the doctor's office?

janiebeth

Do you always weigh in at the doctor's office?

Good question - I am a good 5 pounds heavier at the doctors office. Probably because I weigh first thing in the morning with only my underwear. Don't intend on doing this at DR office.... lol


Another thought, make sure you drink water - more than you think you need to... it really works...


Hang in there...

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating to enough? Are eating back your exercise calories, oh and water , water, water!

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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


This is just a part of it! please read the link above


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 tone, and reducing fat. This means 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)


Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat



Good luck on your journey

cynephen

unless you consistently weigh yourself on the doctor's office scale, you can't rely on it. use the same scale you always use and go by that.

CJK1959

It would help people give you better advice if you make your food diary public so that we can see what you are eating. Maybe you are not eating enough and need to up your calories....your body may think it's in starvation mode and won't let go of any of the weight. Or have you looked at your sodium intake?

bethvandenberg

I would stick with it and make sure that you're eating enough. Check out multiple articles on BMR and reset your caloric goals to match that number (I think MFP is pretty general and takes your cals too low). Then drink a ton of water. Then if you've really treated your body confused and screwed with your metabolism during your life it may take awhile for your body to get used to the new routine and that your not going to starve/binge it anymore.

Hang in there and also take measurements. I swear my scale didn't move for 3 months but in that 3 months I lost over 10 inches.

Glad you're here.

ElementalEscapee

It didn't take you three weeks to put it on, so it won't take three weeks to get the weight off. Sometimes you don't lose weight for several weeks, but if you keep at it the weight eventually goes down. Low fat?? Noooo....I mean, great job if it's, say, the saturated fat in a McD's burger, but you NEED healthy fats to lose weight! Think avocado Also, you want a balance between protein, carbs and fat.....depends on how much you're exercising. Whatever you do, DON'T EAT LESS THAN 1200 calories daily!! Regularly don't at least. A lot of people find out that they are in fact eating too FEW calories. Don't get discouraged!

Bonny272

You reap what you sow, later than you sow and more than you sow. Number one I hate hospital scales and anything you do to help yourself get healthy is going to be worth it! If you've ever watched Biggest Loser they always dread the third week because your body starts getting used to what you're doing and tends to pause so it can adjust. The best thing to fight that is to get your heart rate up. If you're used to walking try a short jog for a minute or two. If you're used to jogging try to throw in a sprint here and there. You have to keep your body challenged. Don't kill yourself with a huge work out that leaves you sore and discouraged just try to do something that is challenging for you.

rufflestx

I started out hoping to loose 30% of my body weight, began working on an inclined treadmill. For 3 months I worked 40 minutes a day on that treadmill. My lord in heaven, my legs and butt started shaping up and felt so great having to take in a couple pair of slacks I wore to work. But I didn't lose an ounce for 4 months. Everyone tried to be supportive telling me "muscle weighs more than fat"... its all turning to muscle... ... ... ... ... I still felt so darn down all the time cause my scale refused to budge. Keep up with the activities, My doctor told me he didn't care a flip about weight, he wanted to see inches coming off. That made me feel better.

love22step

Don't feel bad! You're not the only one! My husband suggested I stop weighing when I complained about no weight loss two weeks in a row! This week, I finally lost another pound. The encouraging thing is that my waist and hips have continued to narrow each week. I'm interested in being strong and firm, so if strength training slows down weight loss, I will live with that. I keep hearing that muscle burns fat, so I'm counting on that. We'll get the pounds off in due time.

Meanwhile, keep track of the inches lost, how much better you feel, and how much easier it is to do stuff. I know you're seeing some victories here, regardless of what that stupid scale says. Smile! Be happy! :-) Don't give up, and be patient with yourself.

risskie

Really helpful advice, everyone. To answer a few questions, NO I haven't been drinking enough water - I prefer skim milk... but there's the cals & carbs!!! Yes I weigh in at the MD office every Thurs. His scale counts. My bmr is over 40 and my cal plan is set at 1850. As a rule I've been keeping it around 1650.

Yup I know I've gained weight steadily thru my life and I'm expecting miracles! Everything I've read about not skipping, no starving, eating healthy, reduce portion size by measuring - I've done it all and I've been faithful. I can't cheat myself. That is why I'm so stunned, disappointed, stressed..... I'm trying to keep track of everything.... I don't want to get discouraged - it's like applying for a job, having a great interview and then not getting the job! You wonder what the F#@K happened. What sabotaged it?:grumble:

maidentl

Well, all I can tell you is that weight loss is not linear. I lose for a couple of weeks, then stall, lose, stall. I have just had to make up my mind to keep powering through those weeks when I lose nothing.

TequillaLover89

You shouldn't replace water with skim milk, this is probably part of the problem.

PamelaLavender

Morning Risskie,

Just a bit about me first - I'm new to this site but not to weight loss. I have successfully lost 150+ lbs and have kept it off for over 2 yrs and am down to my last 60 lbs. (no surgeries, nor diet pills - plan ol' healthy eating and exercising)!

From my experience not all weight loss success is seen on the scales every week. You can do everything you're suppose to do but the number on the scale just doesn't budge - this doesn't mean that you have done something wrong. Our bodies are very trickly things specially as we get mature (okay older). So you may not see the success on the scales this week and that is okay, really.

Remember success isn't just the numbers dropping on the scale. We tend to get focused on seeing the numbers drop on the scale and not notice the other success were achieving. Such as your clothes fitting looser, being able to take the stairs and not being out of breath when you get to the top or being able to stop taking med's that you had to take due to being over weight - such as blood pressure med's, diabetic med's or even being able to run a 5k.

If you have not taken your body measurements I would strongly suggest you do. I re-measure every 30 days and it's amazing to see the change that my body has and still is going through.

Just a few tips to consider:

Make sure your getting in all your daily recommended nutrition - inclding Water, Healthy Oils everything. Don't skip.
Journal everything - bites, licks, sampling.... if it goes into the mouth it goes onto your journal.
Exericise & Be Active
Set one day & time aside each week as your offical weight in day.

There are always going to be ups and downs on our weight loss journey, just remember the scale isn't the only thing that measures our success.