At this for 3 weeks never lost a lb what am I doing wrong??

harlylena

The thing I'm finding for myself is that if I go way under my calories, I gain weight. Body must think it's about to starve... Don't give up. If you're feeling better that's a good sign!

jayb0ne

I don't think anyone's said it yet so I'll throw it out there... Don't get sucked in by the 'I'm gaining muscle' thing...

Gaining muscle is damn hard. It requires intense weight lifting and a calorie surplus, and even then it's bloody hard to gain 2 or 3 pounds a month. Nobody accidentally gains muscle and it's virtually impossible to grow new muscle mass on a calorie deficit, particularly if your protein is coming under the default that MFP sets - it's really not enough to stimulate muscle synthesis.

However, when beginning an exercise routine that your body isn't used to, you pull fluid around the muscle fibres to aid repair and regeneration, which leads to a scale gain. This subsides over time as your body gets used to whatever you're doing to it.

Good luck!

Jay

trustmyself

Track your food - it's amazing what you learn and amazing how you will start making better choices automatically. Took me about 8 weeks to really understand what foods did what to my body... Good luck

dls06

Get yourself a food scale. It was the best investment I made. You will be shocked to see how much you are over estimating portion size. Believe me. :drinker:

gazzajam

It's important to track everything, I didn't realise until I made a chilli just how much actually goes into things, by the time you add the minced beef, onions, sauce, beans etc. it really makes a difference. I'm just getting started so inputting the food is time consuming, but the longer I use it and build up my data base I realise it;ll get easier. Good luck.

matteonyc

I lost 6.4lbs in 10 days, just keeping carbs and fats low and proteins high, I am cooking my own food and tracking ingrediants and quantities

maryjay51

i looked at your past food days .. if you want a suggestion, get rid of the slim fast .. a drink with more protein in it is better for you and some days you dont have enough protein.. for breakfast i try to get in a good supply of protein and healthy carbs ..alot of times egg white omelet and oatmeal..when im lazy i have a protein shake. sometimes greek nonfat plain yogurt with fresh fruit like berries .. never more than one piece of fruit at a meal. most of my snacks have some sort of protein in them.

it appears that you use alot of condiments. try living without for a while to wean yourself off of that. i used to hide the flavor of food in condiments all the time ..i went to a fitness camp for a week last year and we had NO condiments.. except franks hot sauce. i was pretty taken aback at how much condiments i used in my life and its all calories ,sodium and sometimes carbs that gets added to your diet that you do not need if you are trying to lose weight. i learned to enjoy the flavor of food for what it is and use herbs, alot of onion,garlic,red bell pepper and ...yes i use the franks hot sauce ..i just dont use so much of it like i would ketchup,mayo or mustard. its too spicy but it adds just enough zip for me to eat plain egg whites or a turkey burger .

are you exercising? cardio is important if you are trying to lose weight.. if not try to do 20 minutes at least four times a week to start. hope this helps! good luck and keep moving forward! i hit a plateau for three months last year and i still stuck it out ..80lbs later i made the right decision to keep up the work

jayb0ne

Get yourself a food scale. It was the best investment I made. You will be shocked to see how much you are over estimating portion size. Believe me. :drinker:

This! Try this out to see how out you are. Pour a portion of cornflakes out and add milk. Then next to it, weigh 30g of cornflakes and measure 125ml of milk. The second bowl contains a recommended portion with the nutrition info detailed on the side of the box.

Most people are massively surprised at the difference between the two.

I didn't realise until I made a chilli just how much actually goes into things, by the time you add the minced beef, onions, sauce, beans etc. it really makes a difference.

Try making your chilli with Quorn (or whatever vegetarian mince substitute you get in your part of the world). Same high protein but a fraction of the fat. Of course fat = 9 cals per gram whereas carb/protein is only 4 cals per gram, so eliminating a lot of the fat eliminates a LOT of the calories. I do a Quorn bolognese for 128 cals per serving (plus pasta calories) and it's delish!

Good meal planning is as simple as including all three major macronutrients in every meal. Every meal should contain a lean protein source (meat, fish, poultry, egg white, dairy etc - if it had a mother it's protein), a healthy carb source (wholegrains and low GI high fibre veggies), and a fat source (fat usually comes in with your protein so keep the protein pretty lean and vary the sources and you shouldn't have to worry about it too much. Stay away from high sat fat foods). Plan your meals around this theory, drink plenty of water and you can't go too far wrong.

Jay

kevin3344

I didn't see anything in your log prior to January 3rd? So I would say log consistently for at least a month, come back and let us know of any changes.

Also, you might want to try something like 30 day shred to tone up. It's a great program by Jillian Michaels that a lot of had success with.

TriciaLB

Make sure you aren't underestimating your portion sizes. When you actually start measuring and weighing things, you'll be surprised how fast the calories add up! Don't just try to 'eyeball' it.

tigersword

It's only been 3 weeks. [/thread]

It takes time. It takes patience. Nothing will happen overnight. You need to track everything, everything you eat, and all your exercise, consistently, and 100% accurately. The results will happen, as long as you stick to your plan.

My recommendation for a plan?

Eat MORE than 1200 calories, 1200 is a very low number, and is usually not healthy for anybody, unless you're very short (like, under 5'2" short.) Then incorporate REAL strength training, and limit cardio. Cardio is good for heart health, but overdoing it is bad for fat loss.

trudibus

Make sure you aren't underestimating your portion sizes. When you actually start measuring and weighing things, you'll be surprised how fast the calories add up! Don't just try to 'eyeball' it.

I have cut my portion size in 1/2 .....that is my biggest accomplishment so far...by using a smaller plate and I ahve been measuring...i think Iam being too hard on myself

ninerbuff

maybe I am adding muscle...hopefully that is the case

You don't add muscle running. In fact, cardio only exercise catabolizes muscle (if you do no strength training) and that leads to much slower fat loss.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

trudibus

It's only been 3 weeks. [/thread]

It takes time. It takes patience. Nothing will happen overnight. You need to track everything, everything you eat, and all your exercise, consistently, and 100% accurately. The results will happen, as long as you stick to your plan.

My recommendation for a plan?

Eat MORE than 1200 calories, 1200 is a very low number, and is usually not healthy for anybody, unless you're very short (like, under 5'2" short.) Then incorporate REAL strength training, and limit cardio. Cardio is good for heart health, but overdoing it is bad for fat loss.

I am 5'3....:) my biggest issue is stomach fat

hperowl

If you are under your calories, your body may be going into starvation mode, try to up your calories,

This is definitely true!! If your body isn't getting enough calories then it will horde the calories it gets especially if you're working out more. Also, water, water, water! It will help flush the sodium and help process fiber.

Other than that, keep logging all of your food and get some supportive friends on here to help. You can add me if you want Just don't give up!!!!!

smplycomplicated

I have been going strong for over 30 days now and i have only lost 5 lbs. it's 5 lbs less than i did weight, but it does get discouraging when i work out for atleast an hour each day and thats all i have to show for it, scale wise. BUT i have lost 6+ inches, So i am focusing on the inches more than the scale. My problem is i don't take in as many calories as i should. I am very busy with my kids..homeschooling my daughter, girl scouts,2 dogs..one of which is a 6 wk old..3 bearded dragons which needs alot of care..and the normal everyday things you have to get done..i forget to eat..i know that sounds weird, but it happens. I will wake up and by the time i get done with my morning routine i realize it's already almost lunch time and i skipped breakfast..

The lack of calories is the reason i haven't seen the scale move as much as i would like. I am getting better though. the first couple of weeks i was terrible about eating..i just didnt have an appetite, and had to force myself to eat anything...

Keep at it! Feel free to add me if you'd like. we all can use more cheerleaders!

gazzajam

I didn't realise until I made a chilli just how much actually goes into things, by the time you add the minced beef, onions, sauce, beans etc. it really makes a difference.

Try making your chilli with Quorn (or whatever vegetarian mince substitute you get in your part of the world). Same high protein but a fraction of the fat. Of course fat = 9 cals per gram whereas carb/protein is only 4 cals per gram, so eliminating a lot of the fat eliminates a LOT of the calories. I do a Quorn bolognese for 128 cals per serving (plus pasta calories) and it's delish!

Good meal planning is as simple as including all three major macronutrients in every meal. Every meal should contain a lean protein source (meat, fish, poultry, egg white, dairy etc - if it had a mother it's protein), a healthy carb source (wholegrains and low GI high fibre veggies), and a fat source (fat usually comes in with your protein so keep the protein pretty lean and vary the sources and you shouldn't have to worry about it too much. Stay away from high sat fat foods). Plan your meals around this theory, drink plenty of water and you can't go too far wrong.

Jay
[/quote]
Thanks for that Jay, actually looked at quorn mince today, but opted for turkey mince, I will experiment with alternative and welcome any guidance.

Gaz