Stalled weight loss

joelleb1

Hello,

Im new here. Ive been on the site since January 2009. I lost 8 lbs my first week on the program, and then 4 lbs the second week. But for the 3rd and 4th week Ive lost nothing..infact gained .2 lbs. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I stay around 1200 cals a day, and exercise 5-6 times a week, 30 minutes on the elliptical, and 15-30 minutes of weights. I used to eat like 3000 cals a day, and my dr said a loss of 250 cals a day will make 1 pound of weight loss a week. Im not even seeing that? Im really getting frusterated! What should I do differently? I read online that it take a month or so to gain a pound of muscle, so that really cant be it? Any suggestions? Thanks!!!

joelleb1

Hello,

Im new here. Ive been on the site since January 2009. I lost 8 lbs my first week on the program, and then 4 lbs the second week. But for the 3rd and 4th week Ive lost nothing..infact gained .2 lbs. I dont know what I am doing wrong. I stay around 1200 cals a day, and exercise 5-6 times a week, 30 minutes on the elliptical, and 15-30 minutes of weights. I used to eat like 3000 cals a day, and my dr said a loss of 250 cals a day will make 1 pound of weight loss a week. Im not even seeing that? Im really getting frusterated! What should I do differently? I read online that it take a month or so to gain a pound of muscle, so that really cant be it? Any suggestions? Thanks!!!

MissNova

Hello,

You seem to be doing really good your first two weeks were really good. I do think you might be doing too much weights for now. Only do weights 2-3 weeks to give your muscle time to heal, everything else seems to be good. When I was doing weights I noticed that my arm were getting firm and I didn't lose weight that week so honestly it might be that you are gaining muscle instead of losing fat. It might be too soon but that could be what it is..

Good luck

MattySparky

are you drinking water all day long?

joelleb1

I drink probably 5-6 glasses a day. What Im wondering too is, if MFP tells me to eat 1500 cals a day, do I always eat that, or only the days I exercise? Then the days I dont exercise do I just eat 1200?

jaydanna

3000 to 1200 is too big a drop. You need to up your cals or else your body will think you are starving it. When your body is straved it hangs on to all your fat stores by slowing down your metabolism.
Your body starts cope on those few calories you are eating and makes losing weight a very slow process burning musclle tissue before fat which is not what you want. Muscle tissue burns calories, so the more muscle you have the more cals you will burn even when your not exercising.