Didn't even lose 1 pound this week!

shaleah77

What gives? I actually started to lose weight in the beginning of May, just through dietary changes. I've only been on MFP for 2 weeks. I started working out 6 days a week on July 2nd. My food and exercise diaries are public. So if any of you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. I realize that mostly I am not burning as many as it is counting, but you'd think 80 min of cardio X 6 days would at least take off one friggen pound! I was on pretty much the same diet back in 2001 and was able to drop 35lbs in 7 weeks! I am the most impatient person I know. So in order to see results I do go a bit on the low side of caloric intake. I am only 5'2" and according to the charts and calculators I should weigh approx 111 'or' in the range of 105-136. I will say at 130lbs. I wear a size 3. Or did looooooong ago :laugh:

So any help would be greatly appreciated! TIA!

I weighed 175 when I started MFP and lost 5lbs last week, what's the deal this week :sad:

Bella151

Are you incorporating any strength training into your routine? While cardio is wonderful and essential to weight loss, strength training is needed as well. The more lean muscle you build, the more fat you will ultimately lose, because muscle burns fat. Plus, it makes you tone. Also, you say you go a bit low on the calories, try adding another 100 a day and see if that boosts your metabolism, because right now, it sounds like your body has hit a plateau. By the way, congrats on losing the 35 lbs. in 7 weeks! You have done it before, so I know you will do it again, keep your head up AND BE PATIENT!:happy:

Iceprincessk25

Are you using a tape measure?? There are some weeks that I don't lose ANYTHING but I've lost inches. That keeps the motivation up and keeps me going.

It can take up to 6 weeks for ANY changes to occur that you can actually see on the outside of your body. Right now it's all happening on the inside so it looks like not much is happening. Just keep with it and don't get discouraged.

amymeenieminymo

Well first, your daily goal is too low, 1000 calories. Unless you are under doctors care, you should never go below 1200 calories a day. Second, you aren't eating your exercise calories....when you add exercise, it adds those calories back in and you should be eating them, or at least most of them. MFP already gives you a calorie deficit to lose weight, so not eating back your exercise calories severely depletes your calorie intake. Your body is like a car, it needs fuel to run.

Those are your two biggest problems. Up your calories to at least 1200, if not more, and eat most or all of your exercise calories. You may also actually be working out too much. Sometimes too extensive of a workout could cause a problem.

Are you drinking a lot of water a day? If not you should be. What are your goals? How many pounds a week are you trying to lose? 1.5-2 pounds a week is only recommened if you have a lot of weight to lose, like over 100 pounds. One pound a week is recommended. The 5 you lost in the first week was most likely water weight, or most of it....so don't expect to lose 5 pounds every week. I am set at 1 pound a week and while some weeks I lose 1.5-3 pounds, setting your goals to one a week is the best way to go.

KatWood

5lbs is a lot for last week. That could be part of the reason the scale isn't showing results this week. What did you put in for your weekly goal? You should really measure your success over a longer time period -- perhaps monthly. That will help to smooth out the normal week to week fluctuations. I weigh myself weekly, always the same day and time, and naked :blushing: but in terms of tracking my weight I only do that monthly.

My other piece of advice, and I know this is hard to hear, but patience is really key. If you are eating healthy and exercising the weight will come off and you will reach your goals. It just takes time when you are doing it the right way. But on the positive side, by doing it the right way and maintaining this new lifestyle you will never gain it back.

Good luck:flowerforyou:

shaleah77

Yesterday on top of the 80 min of cardio (bicycle and eliptical) I did that 30 day shred. My arms are sore today and I'm going to try to do it again today. I'm actually shocked my arms are sore. In June I was able to kayak (in a tandem with my daughter) on Lake Superior for miles and wasn't even sore! Hubby was LOL The reason for the focus on cardio to begin with was to get me moving and also to drop weight so I could see what I needed to work on most. Does that make sense? I've always been a rather muscular person and I know there are places I don't want to build any.

As for the tape...

Currently do not have one. I do however have a pair of pants that FIT, been kinda gauging any change with those. I try them on and there is no difference. I know its not the same as taking measurements... But it give's me some idea of measure.

lettuceb

I agree, it sounds odd but yes you need to increase your calories and mix in some strenght training. It looks like your body is going into starvation mode. Now, I am not saying make those calories junk food but you need to eat more. Good luck and hang in there! You can do it. :happy:

stormieweather

Hey, I upped my calories because I wasn't losing on 1200. Now, I've started losing again. Also, I'm eating almost all of my exercise calories. Try it!

chgudnitz

Look, Kat is on to something. Let's just say, hypothetically that last week when you weighed yourself and it said you lost 5 pounds. Well, maybe you really lost 2 - 2.5 pounds of fat and the other 2.5 - 3 were just part of the normal human daily weight flux. Now this week when you weighed yourself, you lost that other approx. 2.5 pounds and your body fluxuated up to its normal balance weight.

So to you looking at it on the scale it seems like you didn't make any progress, but the changes internally are still happening. If that makes any sense to you like it did in my head when I thought it, then cool :drinker:

That's just my take on it though.

shaleah77

Well...as I said I'm impatient as all get out. I know myself well enough to know if I don't make progress I'll give up. I do drink 8 a day. 3 of which while I'm working out. Don't know how people work out and not drink!

I realize I need more patience and I've also been driving myself crazy weighing daily. Last saturday I woke up to a 3.1lb loss from the day before. How does that happen? I don't think it was water, as I said I drink a decent amount and I don't eat lots of sodium either.

From day to day I'm up a little, down a little etc.

Thanks to all of you so far...I'm taking it in and figuring it out

BrendaLee

You're absolutely not eating enough. Your body thinks you're starving it, so it's holding on to every ounce of fat that it can. Ya gotta eat to lose.

Take a look at this:

http://fitness.families.com/blog/fitness-tips-too-few-calories-can-be-a-problem

hiddensecant

Wow, you're not eating nearly enough ... you're playing tug-of-war with your metabolism. I made the same mistake when I started P90X and ended up gaining.

Start boosting your calories about 100-200 per day until you're eating at least 1200 plus half your exercise calories. You should be eating every 2-3 hours. If you're not already, that will help fire your metabolism back up.

amymeenieminymo

Well...as I said I'm impatient as all get out. I know myself well enough to know if I don't make progress I'll give up. I do drink 8 a day. 3 of which while I'm working out. Don't know how people work out and not drink!

I realize I need more patience and I've also been driving myself crazy weighing daily. Last saturday I woke up to a 3.1lb loss from the day before. How does that happen? I don't think it was water, as I said I drink a decent amount and I don't eat lots of sodium either.

From day to day I'm up a little, down a little etc.

Thanks to all of you so far...I'm taking it in and figuring it out

You probably know this, but you really should weight yourself everyday. I believe I read that there can be a fluctuation of 1-5 pounds daily. It all depends if you have eaten or drank anything recently, whether or not you have to use the bathroom, etc.

The best is once a week, same day each week as soon as you get up, after you use the bathroom and before you eat or drink, and naked.

I know it's hard to be patient, but that's really the only way you'll have success. I always used to give up when I couldn't lose 20 pounds after just a few workouts. But when I started here, seeing that first pound gone, then the second, then the 10th, and feeling a difference in how my clothes fit really gave me the encouragement to keep going.

Up your calories and tone down your workouts and I promise you if you just be patient, you WILL see results.

shaleah77

Yes I know I've been naughty with weighing daily. I even told my family I wasn't going to do it because last time I lost that 35lbs in 7 weeks I didn't even weigh myself 1 time for the duration. I hadn't even realized how much I lost until my mom bought me a new pair of jeans and I insisted they wouldn't fit........she said they will too "you Jack A**"! LOL

I guess the math is kililng me ....burn 3500......should be a pound less on the scale! I guess it really doesn't work exactly like that! Good Grief!

I realize, like I said, my intake is on the low side. I started this with a lifestyle change, but I wanted to make some headway and surprise the family next month when I get to go home and see them! :flowerforyou: Never even had it in my thick head that I would make goal weight by then, so I was being realistic.

This is pretty much the same diet as before (between my first kid and second) - the only difference being this time I cut sugar from my coffee.

:bigsmile: I'm going to give the batteries in the scale to hubby to hide!!!

SHBoss1673

Wow, is this accurate? are you really eating around 900 calories a day? You are absolutely torturing your body you know. You're metabolism is probably in an outright panic! You really need to eat something. Put it this way, I weigh 183 lbs and my maintenance calories is 2750, the lowest I ever ate was about 1900 PLUS exercise calories.

It's DANGEROUS to eat so few calories, you're putting your organs, bones, and muscle at risk by doing this. There is only one way to lose weight correctly (other than surgery), that's a healthy, reasonable diet that has a moderate deficit coupled with good healthy exercise.

Please read the articles in the link below, it explains everything.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/55796-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

shaleah77

Yes, it is very accurate. Even counting the flax, fish and borage oil supplements, when I remember to take them. It was a little rough the first few days but I have been feeling good and believe it or not my energy has greatly improved.

Thanks for the article. There is just so much contradictory information out there. It's hard to know what is what.

I'll up my intake and carry on with the exercise

stormieweather

Shaleah,

I did that for nearly 4 years after the birth of my last child. I ate between 700 and 900 calories a day and wondered why in the HECK I wasn't losing any weight. It had always been easy for me in the past with much the same style of eating, so why wasn't it working this time?

Well, I was starving myself. Whether it is my age or changes to my body after the birth of a child, I don't know, but I had to spend a good month eating differently (ie: more!) before things started working. Even then, at 1200/day and working out 3-4 times a week, nothing changed. I have a thread somewhere around here about it. So for the last week, I started eating a BIG breakfast, right after I get up, going slightly over my daily calories instead of slightly under and eating at least half, if not most of, my exercise calories. And what do you know? It's finally working! The measurements are finally changing and the scale is dropping..woohoo!

gemiwing

Don't forget that rest days are VERY important to your weight loss. Six days a week is extreme if you're working the same muscle groups every time.

The body is an amazing machine. When we push too hard- it definitely let's us know!

I was working out six days a week and my weight loss wasn't really going anywhere. I now work out three or four days tops and the change is pretty darn incredible.

Here's a good article about why more isn't always better:
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/RestandRecovery.htm

Sebidian

Listen to everyone else - they are correct! The only thing I have to add is that your body will not react today in 2009 the same way it did in 2001 (unfortunately!) Aging and any "failed" diets between then and now will have altered your metabolism. Especially if those previous attempts to lose caused you to lose muscle.

shaleah77

Thanks for all the advice everyone

I splurged a bit this evening ...hubby was craving some pizza! I've actually eaten more today (collectively) than I normally would without a diet, most of which was healthier.

I do have a couple more questions....

The exercise: I always understood that daily cardio is ok? Strength training should be done no more than every other day?

I am going to up my intake but also 'zig-zag'...anyone out there currently doing it?

SHBoss1673

Thanks for all the advice everyone

I splurged a bit this evening ...hubby was craving some pizza! I've actually eaten more today (collectively) than I normally would without a diet, most of which was healthier.

I do have a couple more questions....

The exercise: I always understood that daily cardio is ok? Strength training should be done no more than every other day?

I am going to up my intake but also 'zig-zag'...anyone out there currently doing it?

I wouldn't go with the zig zag until your body is stablized. by that I mean maybe a month or so of gradually, GRADUALLY, increasing your calories until you are around 300 calories from maintenance, that means eating exercise calories too. As to cardio, even with that, you still need to rest your body, usually it's recommended to take at least 1 day a week off from exercise, your body needs recovery time, otherwise you are working fatigued muscles, which does nothing for them, and it increases your chance of injury.

shaleah, I know you want this to work NOW, but you have to do this slowly, get your body used to your routine, then once it's stable, you can begin lowering your calories again, if you do it right, in about 2 months you should be able to be at your max deficit (by I mean probably 600 or 700 calories below maintenance NET, which means eating exercise calories too!)

That's my advice, don't try to do it all too fast, you'll just end up stressing your body, which causes metabolic fluctuations, and is a major reason why many people can't stick to an exercise/diet regimen.