Help, I am not losing weight

momgorz

Well, I have been off and on MFP for a few months now. But I was very religious the last few weeks, tracking food and exercising almost every day (30 minutes eliptical or treadmill fast walk). And guess what? I gained a pound. My net calories are where they need to be accoring to MFP. I am so discouraged. And I know if I stop tracking, I will gain even more, but I thought for sure if I tracked every day and honestly, I would at least lose a couple of pounds. Any ideas?

RunTheDay

It has only been a few weeks! Dont give up . If you are working out daily, you are building muscles. Muscles will hold on to water for a while before they let it go. If you continue to build the muscle, it will eventually start eating up the fat . How do your clothes fit? And how do you look and feel? I guarantee there are results in other areas! Keep up the great work!

Fit_2013

Same boat your in 49 years old and difficult to lose weight but increasing protein by eating fish few days a week seems to be helping me a slight bit.

sarahthecamper

I'm right with you! Two weeks of being SO GOOD and I'm up a pound. I'm hoping the muscle theory is correct.

Dnc2Luz

I have found that there seems to be many more components to weight lose than just what I eat. Consider factoring in stress and how much your workload has been. Think also about the types of food ie was the balance of food what you should be taking in. Consider adding morning exercise that is something that boosts me when I find a stretch that I am not losing.
Sheila

Ldubb007

Don't give up. We workout for our health as well as to lose weight (in some cases). Exercise is a fact of life. Just remember you are doing your body good by working out. Keep working out and eat right. You'll see a change. Also, if you have time work out a little longer and crank up your power walk a little. Hang in there!

PoochPottery

Throw out the scale and get out the measuring tape!!

hottottie11

AHHHH...it's NOT muscle!!! lol Sorry just had to let that out. Stay persistent. Weight loss trends should be tracked over a long period of time (week to week or even better month to month).

amoore1960

There are variables not spoken here so that makes it difficult to fully address these concerns. I can tell you that it will take a good 4-6 weeks on adhering to a good plan to see some good solid results. 2 weeks is not a reasonable amount of time to expect results. Patience. There is no instant fix.

AllergicToExercise

If you are exercising regularly are you consuming enough net cals?

momgorz

Thanks so far. BTW, I am 49 and have been working out almost daily for a long time, so do have alot of muscle, but also alot of fat. I am trying some different workouts, as I don't think the old ones are helping me lose (if I stopped, though, I would gain). I do drink alot of Diet Coke (probably 3-4 per day) and probably not enough water, so need to get on that bandwagon. Maybe less carbs and more protein??

the_dutchess

The first of the year I made a goal to lose weight like so many people who are trying so hard on MFP, After the first week of working out and eating healthier I gained four pounds, I don't only use this site I write down what exercises I do everyday! I looked back and noticed that I had done some kind of strength training all week. Last week I only did strength training once and lost pounds. Like others have said its probably muscle! My Grandmother suggested that I take measurements of my body. You might not see progress on the scale but you might in inches, Good Luck to you and everyone on MFP!

misti458

don't give up, are you drinking the proper amount of water? that can play a big part, the water is very important as well as making sure you are not going to low on the calories. if you are to low then the body will tend to hold on to the fat , it goes into starvation mode and holds tight to the fat. I use to be a fitness instuctor and one of the things we found was that sometimes when you are working out you may even need to up the calories for a short period of time to wake back up the motabolism and get things burning again. if you are on target with water and calories, then it could very well be some muscle gain and you will start to drop soon, take your messurments and see where they are. i bet you will see a differance. but most of all, hang in there and do not give up, we are all here to support and help each other.

grmpy1

I asked this same question to some of my group friends just yesterday. That is exactly what they suggested...less carbs and more protein. I am going to give that a try and hopefully my scale will move...and in the right direction, DOWN!!

sarahsmom1

It takes a long time to build muscle (sorry) you body just may be adjusting to what you are doing. Open your diary and maybe someone with some knowledge can help you. I may take you awhile trying different combinations of food and exercise to see what your body will respond to everyone is different. Best wishes

mumbuki

It is definately muscle gain, it happens to me everytime I start working out again. The important thing to focus on is the fact that you are getting more toned. Gaining muscle is actually a good thing, it allows you to burn more calories all day, even while resting, so be happy about it Also, remember to switch up your workout routines, doing the same thing day after day allows your body to get used to it and you don't get the same benefits as you did when you first started it. So if you usually walk 45 minutes a day, try swimming one day a week to totally throw your body for a loop. I like using the on demand feature on my cable box, just pick a different workout each day and it is totally free. Good luck and keep it up

determinedsocialworker

I think mixing it up at the gym is an excellent idea... try some interval training, or something different..confuse your muscles a bit and keep moving forward...

Espressocycle

Assuming you are indeed logging every calorie, it would seem the only thing to do would be to cut your calorie goal. Eating more vegetables and whole foods might help, since it takes more energy to break those down. I'm in the same boat - after losing 20 lbs I'm stuck. I probably need to add weight training, but I don't like doing it.

auntv77

I could not agree more! The measuring tape should be a major factor in your tracking. That said, MFP tends too give me too many calories from workouts. maybe try not to eat all of your workout-earned calories this week?
And forthe love of all things good for you - put down the Diet Coke and run from it! Most nutritionists etc hate the stuff for a reason. it makes you want more sugars (carbs). I know it i hard but in general you should try to cut as many artificially sweeteners out as you can! They are chemicals!

PaPenguin

I didn't start exercising till I lost 30 lbs. Then I felt like I had the energy to exercise.

bada_bing

I do drink alot of Diet Coke (probably 3-4 per day) and probably not enough water, so need to get on that bandwagon. Maybe less carbs and more protein??

In my honest opinion, yes, you need to cut the diet coke and get more water. And change up you equation, I cannot lose weight on low cal, I have to go low carbs and more protein. Remember weight loss is 90% what goes in your mouth and 10% exercise (even though some will say different)!

Try low carb...it's really quite easy!

CharmCityBella

Don't give up! I went through the same thing and then, out of no where, the weight started to fall off. Keep doing what you're doing, make sure you eat enough and drink a ton of water. Just hang in there and know that even if the scale doesn't show it, you're doing something good for yourself!

DKBelle

I am not sure what kind of food you eat, but what I do is that I avoid sugar, salt, carbohydrate and eat pretty healthy, but almost everything.
If you need some fast, easy, healthy recipe idea check my site: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooking-ideasHomemade-Healthy-Foods/179121125503371
I am also using fish oil, c vitamin, calcium supplements and because I don't eat enough protein I also use protein shakes.
Hope it helps. Workout matter only 20 % main thing is to eat healthy 80% of the time. Its more like a lifestyle challenge not a diet.

H_Factor

your diary isn't public so its difficult to give you any sort of specific advice, but these are things that might be hindering you:

1. if you are using MFP's estimate for exercise calories burned, then you are probably overestimating calories burned since most folks who acquired a HRM have reported that MFP's estimates are 30-50% high on average. soooo, if you are using MFP's exercise estimates AND eating back all of those calories, then you are probably eating too much for weight loss. Either eat back only half of the calories or get a HRM for accurate burn totals.

2. For me, the whole calories in/calories out equation doesn't always work so well. I'm not a proponent of low carb, but I am a fan of certain carbs being better than other carbs. Specifically, I aim for carbs with a low glycemic index value to keep insulin spikes minimal. See, when there is insulin roaming around in your body, things get stored instead of burned. Most/all processed foods have refined sugar of some sort....and that has a high glycemic index value. breads/grains don't help either. For me, I have better results in weeks where I largely cut out the breads/grains/pasta and refined sugars. I prefer my carbs coming from berries, apples, pears and veggies. Your body might work the same way.

3. High intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to trigger fat loss. Since you have been working out for a while, you could probably handle some sprint interval training. Here's my blog with HIIT that I do. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/H_Factor/view/short-and-efficient-work-out-ideas-156906

4. With respect to your daily intake, do you record everything that goes into your mouth...and I mean everything? A few unrecorded bites can add up...especially if your exercise burns are miscalculated.

patski2011

I am glad to read someone is having the same problem as I am. I will continue the fight and hope to win the battle soon. It was great to read all the comments though, very helpful to know I am not alone.

jaxCarrie

Without seeing your diary and your exercise log, I'd suggest switching up the exercise a bit (if doing the treadmill switch to include inclines or speed intervals or try a new exercise DVD) anything to break out of an 'exercise rut'. I think you said you drink a lot of diet coke, why not try to limit it to 1-2 a day and then up your H2O intake....I know (for myself) if I drink a lot of soda the scale doesn't move as easily...maybe it doesn't 'flush' everything out as good as H2O? Regardless, you are on the right path, don't get discouraged. I always like to remind myself that the pounds didn't come on overnight or even over 1-month, so I shouldn't expect them to come off overnight! Good Luck.

Scatterdragon

Ditch the soda, and drink water water water!

H_Factor

I do drink alot of Diet Coke (probably 3-4 per day) and probably not enough water, so need to get on that bandwagon. Maybe less carbs and more protein??

In my honest opinion, yes, you need to cut the diet coke and get more water. And change up you equation, I cannot lose weight on low cal, I have to go low carbs and more protein. Remember weight loss is 90% what goes in your mouth and 10% exercise (even though some will say different)!

Try low carb...it's really quite easy!

I agree that 80-90% of fat loss is made up of what goes into your mouth. exercise brings other benefits (i.e., cardio health), but its important to get the eating correct. I spent the first 2 1/2 months of this journey just focusing on eating and I lost 21ish pounds without a single lick of any exercise. I then started doing some cardio, added resistance training a couple months later, then HIIT, then increased the intensity of everything over time.

but, as I said above, I don't believe you have to go low carb to be successful...but I do believe which carbs you eat makes a difference (see above post of mine). What's important is choosing a meal plan that you believe you can follow long term. If low carb isn't something you think you can follow long term (I can't), then I don't recommend doing that.

Idabud

I am going through the same thing. But everyone keeps telling me to give it time and that you gain muscle.
Even though the scale is not moving, my clothes are fitting slightly better.
Just keep going and don't give up!
Also, try to stay away from processed and fast food.

russellma

Sometimes, women have hormonal imbalances after having a baby or in peri-menopause that affect weight loss.

I had some pretty serious imbalances, and, like you, was very discouraged with eating right and some exercise with no results.

I lowered my carbs to about 150 grams per day and raised my calorie limit by about 200 calories per day (by setting my goal to 1/2 lb per week) and it has done wonders. I also try to eat back all but 100-200 of my exercise calories, and I have consistently been losing ever since.

Good luck to you!

kayti2020

2 to 4 quarts of water are essential. Cut down the diet coke. Do not use the NET calorie guidelines. You think you can eat more. Even with exercise, for a woman if you are eating more than 1200 calories a day, you are going to have a hard time taking off the weight. You have to burn over 3500 to loose 1 pound.

I agree with limiting your carbs and perphaps increasing your protein.

Best wishes