Not seeing a change in weight!

jess_1993

I workout 5-6 times a week for 1-2 hours at night doing mostly jillian michaels dvd's so I do cardio with strength training. I eat to satisfy my appetite anytime I'm hungry and I really try and eat nutritious stuff that I also enjoy. I was seeing results but lately I feel like I'm stuck on the same weight. Am I doing something wrong with my eating habits?? I know I probably need to up my calorie intake but I feel it's hard since I don't starve myself at all, I feel completely satisfied with my meals and snacks. My diary is open and i'm open for suggestions

anku08

if you are losing inches then do not worry about your weight.... it will get down.. but see if you are losing inches or not..

ßlackSwan

Always take measurements. You may not have lost weight, but you may look/be more toned. If you do a lot of strength training it's probably muscle. That, or you've hit a plateau. If you've hit a plateau, making one or two tweaks to your eating plan might help.

donna_glasgow

the last few pounds are difficult to move and as you only have about 10 to lose you wont see massive changes in the scale week in week out .... Some ppl will tell you to up your cals some will tell you to stick at it ... but the bottom line is its up to you and how you feel ..... maybe try a change of exercise as perhaps your body has gotten used to the same routine .... wishing you luck on your last 10lbs xx

run2jeepn

5 days a week 60min a day. Is all you need. Sounds like you hit a wall from overtraining. Also your Protein is way to low. You need at least 100g. I would suggest 115g. Eat your goal weight in protein daily. Your overtaining on top of not feeding your muscles any protein. Bad combo.

niknak2308

Hi,
Just had a quick look through your last week and I think you're right with the "I need to up my cals" idea. You're netting way below 1200 which MFP suggests as an absolute minimum to eat each day. Plus you're estimating your exercise around 500 per day - well I imagine you'll be burning that in just one hour if you're putting in the effort, and you say you do 1-2hrs pretty much daily. So combined with eating "low cal" healthy foods and underlogging your exercise, you are way below what you should be eating.
Your body needs those calories to have the energy to gain muscle and provide you with energy throughout the day so you don't feel like rubbish. If you consistently eat under, you will lose weight to start with but long term it's not sustainable (unless you have a significant amount of weight to lose which from your ticker I can see that you don't).
I really would make sure you are eating at least half your exercise cals back( if you can't manage them all to start with), and make sure that the "Net cals" figure at the top of your home page is never under 1200, personally I'd recommend a little higher but that's me.
If you're struggling to up your cals, try real fruit juices, peanut butter, an extra portion of toast with breakfast, bananas... google high cal healthy foods and you'll get the idea.
The closer you get to goal the slower your losses will be, so try changing your goals to losing 0.5lbs a week, as those extra cals will help you!
Hope that helps x

Amy_nz

Your diary makes me happy! You have happy things in there!

But yeah, a few more calories wouldn't hurt. But what do I know?! You're waaaay closer to your goal than I am!

jarrettd

When the scale doesn't move:

A: you are underestimating your food intake. Do you weigh or measure everything? If not, time to start.
B: you are overestimating your calorie expenditure. Do you use a heart rate monitor? Get one with a chest strap. I use a NB4.
C: you are retaining water due to excess sodium, normal hormonal fluctuations, or glycogen uptake to repair stressed muscles. Cut back on processed foods, drink plenty of water, and make sure to take rest days.
you aren't eating enough, and your body is stubbornly refusing to release anything due to the "famine" it is experiencing. Yes, sometimes you have to eat more to lose.

The math works. If you are totally 100% honest with your food and exercise diary, you will lose. You may need to be patient, but it will happen.

If you are sure your logging is correct, and you are eating the recommended amount of calories to be at a sensible deficit for your calculated BMR and TDEE, give it some time.

Also, the scale is only part of the picture. Did you take measurements? Pictures? How are your clothes fitting? Weight is just a number that only you know....work for feeling how you want to feel.

Good luck!

run2jeepn

The last 2-3 days you have logged look fine Calorie wise. But your Carb's are high and your Protein is low. Shoot for 50-75 Carbs a day. 1000-1200 Calories and day and 115g of Protein.


Here is a normal day for me.... And I'm 5'10 and 185lbs

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d133/run2jeepn/myfitness/may14.jpg

jess_1993

Thanks guys these suggestions all really helped! I will be sure to add more protein to up my calorie intake, i dont eat a heavy dinner so I should probably add some protein in there!

foxbat2828

Quick way to add protein without a lot of food is nuts. I use almonds specifically for this purpose, protein and calories without a lot of "bulk" having to be shoved down my throat. Each ounce is about 170-180 calories. They also come in MANY different flavors now like chocolate mint and butter toffee as well as traditional smoked and chili lime, so I can usually find one type that hits me whether it's something sweet like a dessert or savory for a midday snack. The fiber won't hurt either.

I was stalled out for the last month at a plateau and I just added some additional fiber, more liquid, and actually took a couple of days off from exercise to mix up the routine. I made sure to stick to my calorie limit, which is 1900 plus exercise calories which I eat back. One thing that I'm sure was impacting me and put me into my stall was, right after my surgery, I couldn't do any real exercise so, while I was able to eat the suggested calories that MFP suggested, I wasn't eating more than my BMR. I'm completely convinced, after doing much reading and looking at several of the success stories on MFP, that focusing on eating at least BMR, but less than TDEE, is the better way for me; however, in order to eat my BMR, I have to get in some additional exercise calories into the mix. I also make sure to measure all of my portions using my scale ... I found out, in the very first month of starting MFP last year that, while I was eating healthy, I was underestimating my portion sizes and thus, while I thought I was under my calorie limit, I was ending up over by 200-300 calories or so a day. Once I got that figured out, the pounds started dropping off. I'm down about 48 lbs. since December 2011 and that includes a month of almost no exercise after surgery. After breaking my plateau last week, I I'm down about 4 lbs. in just one week and I've been eating at least 1,900 calories a day on non-workout days.