In Tears And Beyond Frustrated

wwollenb

It seems the more exercise I do the less I lose. Everyone tells me its because I am gaining muscle. Keep trying! I was told to eat 5 small meals a day with some kind of protein in each. Hope this helps. Dont give up on yourself!!!!

ladyraven68

It's possible that you are gaining muscle and losing fat (and muscle weighs more than fat) with the circuit weight training. Do your clothes fit better or even feel loose? Maybe ask a friend who hasn't seen you in a week if you look like you've lost weight? Personally I've lost 10 fat lbs but gained 5 muscle lbs so the scale only shows that I've lost 5 lbs. However my clothes are fitting much looser than before and I even bought a pair of pants today that were a size 12 (a snug fit but I did it!) instead of 14 or 16.

A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up less space and is less compact than fat, but it does not 'weigh more' than fat.

She never mentioned a lb of anything - she meant by volume. A few cubic inches of muscle do actually weigh more than a few cubic inches of fat.

The semantics are irrelevant anyway, nobody is going to be gaining muscles on 1200 calories and doing so much cardio.

delilah47

It's possible that you are gaining muscle and losing fat (and muscle weighs more than fat) with the circuit weight training. Do your clothes fit better or even feel loose? Maybe ask a friend who hasn't seen you in a week if you look like you've lost weight? Personally I've lost 10 fat lbs but gained 5 muscle lbs so the scale only shows that I've lost 5 lbs. However my clothes are fitting much looser than before and I even bought a pair of pants today that were a size 12 (a snug fit but I did it!) instead of 14 or 16.

A pound of muscle weighs exactly the same as a pound of fat. Muscle is denser than fat, so it takes up less space and is less compact than fat, but it does not 'weigh more' than fat.

It takes a long time to replace the fat one loses with muscle. A few weeks? No.

Lozze

AS others have said you're not eating enough. Are you eating your exercise calories back?

If you've been a Very Low Calorie Diet for years you could have potentially damaged your metabolism. It's fixable but you NEED to eat more.

Is there any reason to be at the gym for two hours? (doing I'm assuming cardio)

To be brutally honest if you're doing the same thing you've done previously why do you think it will work this time? You've clearly got the willpower to do it, but like every other person who tries this weight loss method (low calories, lots of cardio) it doesn't work.

If you open your diary people will be able to give better advice too.

My main bit of advice is a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Certain calories might make you feel better than others, but there is no perfect combination of calories. As long as you are eating the correct amount of calories for your body you will lose weight. I keep seeing people on here state over and over again that if you eat processed food you won't lose weight. I'm living proof that's not true. I've lost significant weight eating Jenny Craig foods (which are full of sodium. I drink more water to counteract that) Having rules like the ones you're stating aren't going to guarantee weight loss.

castlerobber

No, you aren't hopeless, just not eating enough. 1200 calories is way low with that kind of workout schedule.

The carbs are good, though you might want to add a small carb+protein snack right before a workout. The protein may be a bit high. Add a little fat--olive oil on salads and veggies, for instance, and allow more fat on your meat/fish/poultry.

Try cutting back on the cardio. Change it up by switching a couple of those long,steady sessions to 20- or 30-minute interval training sessions. Take at least one rest day a week if you aren't doing that already.

Remember, the body changes over time, so what worked when we were younger might not work now. Just keep after it.

p0pr0cksnc0ke

Measure. Measure. MEASURE.
Ditch the scale and go by measurements.. go by how your clothes feel, how your body feels.


Oh, and did I say measure? DO IT.

chrishgt4

No extra input really other than to concur that from the look of it you are definitely not eating enough.

All that exercise, you should definitely be on more than 1200.

Don't let your brain trick you into eating less because you aren't losing weight.

Here is a great post to have a look at. It is about plateaus in actuality, but there is some interesting stuff in there I think.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing

Rdahl2

Sorry if this seems brutal, just trying to be honest.

It seems like you're looking for a quick, easy fix. Permanent weight loss is neither. Permanent weight loss, that which you can maintain is going to take healthy eating and healthy exercise. You're going to have to eat more calories - good, nutritious calories - no fast food junk, not diet crap - real food. It has to be a lifestyle, routines that you can live with for the rest of your life.

Don't give that multi-billion dollar diet industry another dime. They do not want you to lose weight and keep it off. If you do, that's one less person they can scam into coughing up hard earned money to line their own greedy pockets. Live for yourself, think yourself!

I so agree! It does seem like your looking for a quick way to loose. Its all about eating clean and eating enough cals. 80% of your weigh loss has to do with the way you eat, then comes the exercise. Dont give up and beat yourself up, it has only been 3 weeks. Like others suggested, it doesnt sound like your eating the right amount of cals.

aliciapenny

plain and simple....eat more. I eat 2000 calories a day

Lane1012

I know others have said it but with the amount of exercise you are doing you are basically starving your body so it is saving up all the nutrients it can. You should have AT LEAST a NET of 1200 calories a day. Meaning if you burn say 500 calories exercising you should be eating at least 1700 calories that day. It's as simple as that. Don't starve your body, it needs the fuel, and you'll start seeing the sustained results you are looking for.

hanna6774

You are most definitely not eating enough. Also, with the ridiculously low caloric intake with the HCG diet you have slowed your metabolism even further. Sounds like you are in starvation mode - you weren't eating enough before, now you are not eating enough to fuel your body for all the exercise you are doing (you really don't have to work that hard unless you love it) and your body is holding on to everything. I have not lost a pound in over a month but I did take my measurements before that and I am losing inches. A plateau can be a good thing too - I haven't gained anything either, just maintained. Time to move more (something I haven't been doing of late), and probably eat more. It's not all about the weight - we want to lose fat. Too much too fast and you will lose muscle mass too and you can't get that back. And by the way, Muscle Does Not Weigh More Than Fat!!!!! 1 lb = 1 lb. Muscle is leaner, denser than fat so it looks smaller.

Take a breath, slow down and relax. Take your measurements, weigh your food, reduce your fat and sodium, drink water and move! You will have to adjust your caloric intake along the way, and that is normal. Be honest and accountable with yourself and again, be patient, slow and steady wins the race. No easy quick fixes but if I can do it so can you!

erickirb

Eat more 1200 cals or less is not enough if you don't do any exercise, once you add exercise you need even more. I would suggest anywhere from 1500 to 1900 cals/day with all the exercise you are doing.

buzzcogs

I also think 3 weeks is WAY too soon to be frustrated. Weight loss is not linear..you will not always lose the same amount each week. Eat healthy, exercise, eat some of your exercise calories back if you need to, COUNT ALL your calories and DON'T backslide. If you still aren't losing after 2 months (yes, 2 months) then go see a Doctor and see if you are retaining water.
Stick to a program and don't expect results after 3 weeks. You are in this for the long run.
Good luck! You will lose! You will feel better! It just takes longer than you want it too!

tkirkes

Have you kept up with inches lost? I've been working out the last two weeks putting in 4miles of walking per day plus lifting weights, also did a 1400 cal diet & have been drinking only water (atleast 8-8 oz glasses). Today was my weigh-in day and l lost nada, nothing, zilch, but I had lost some inches. I'm still kinda bummed about the 0lbs but I guess atleast some inches are disappearing. Anyways... Keep up the hard work, hopefully we'll see results soon!

davcro

I felt the need to reach out to you. Don't give up! I worked for a weight loss doctor for 4 years and I've lost and gained weight back so many times in my life and I can tell you that diets do not work. I can also tell you that the scales alone, your weight alone, does not give you an accurate account of your success or failure. Look at the big picture! How you fit in your clothes, how you feel, compliments you receive from others, how healthy you are eating and how healthy you are. You are exercising a lot and exercise builds muscle, which weighs more than fat. Muscle weighs more but will help you burn fat. Don't overdue it, give your body some rest, listen to what it's trying to tell you.

My doctor told me this week that you have to cut out 500 calories a day just to lose one pound a week! That came as a shock to me. Losing a pound a week is normal, not lack of trying or an example of failure. You won't lose a pound every week, you have to look at the overall losses so plotting your progress on a graph would be a good idea!

Plateaus happen and we all have to deal with them. Try something different, something new to jar your body out of its routine. It's normal for the body to work to find homostasis or balance. When losing weight, your body goes into a protective mode because it's not a normal state of being to be starving yourself. Work with your body instead of against it.

Hope this helps. I am newly beginning on this website and have 20 pounds to lose and 6 months to bariatric surgery. Every situation is different but I'm in the same boat as far as being frustrated. The only way you can fail is to quit so keep going!

Dare2Believe

Your an idiot for not doing the research on this crap!

Really? Do you think that was helpful? OP, you are not an idiot, there is no such thing as a dumb question, and as you can see from the above quote not everyone on MFP knows what they are talking about.

I agree with the other posters that you are not eating enough. I started out eating only 1200 calories (some days a little less) thinking that was going to help me lose weight. It didn't. When I upped my calories to between 1450-1500 that is when I started losing the weight. It was very scary for me at first to listen to this advice but I read so many posts where it worked for people that I decided to give it a try for a couple of weeks. Am glad I did.

You are not hopeless! You just haven't figured out yet what works for you. Trial & error. You will get it if you stick with it and make this a lifelong change in habits and not a quick fix diet. Good luck to you on your weight loss journey.

zgdsmith

Measure. Measure. MEASURE.
Ditch the scale and go by measurements.. go by how your clothes feel, how your body feels.


Oh, and did I say measure? DO IT.

^^^^THIS - I would definitly recommend measuring. In the past 6 weeks i've only lost about 4 pounds but i've lost at least 11 inches!! It's very frusterating to see the scale stay the same but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my measuring tape!!

Linbo93

I have nothing to say that everyone else hasn't already said, so I'll just say this. There is this amazing podcast available for free on iTunes called Fat2Fit Radio. The 2 guys that do this talk about weight loss that is permanent, safe and cut through the bullsh*t of fad diets. They give you all the information you need and THEN SOME! They have almost 150 episodes, and they're all worth listening to!

Give these guys a listen...they have revolutionized how I think about dieting and health. They have made such a huge impact in my weight loss journey, and it sounds like you could benefit from the information they give.

Good luck to you, and listen to these people responding, there's a lot of great advice here!

Andrianne83

That diet is a scam for real. I would increase my water intake to half of my body weight everyday. I would eat the calories that are allotted. I usually do not less than 60 minutes of cardio five days a week and 45 minutes of cardio on the weekends. I stop all food intake after 7pm. Do not give up! !