No Loss in September - Why?

mgobluetx12

I'm so frustrated and discouraged. I thought I was on a plateau in September, but then I lost 2lbs in the 3rd week and last week I gained 3. How is this possible? I'm eating 1700 per day. My TDEE is 2848 and my BMR is 1960. I did lose almost 7 inches from all over, but why am I showing a gain on the scale? I work out 3-5 times per week, using my HRM and burning between 400-600 cals per workout. Mostly Jillian Michaels dvd's and walking. I eat healthy, 95% of the time, it's not my sodium and I drink at least 12 glasses of water a day. People have said I might be eating too little, but if there is no such thing as starvation mode, why wouldn't the scale show a loss? I'm eating 40% carbs/30% protein/30% fat.

I've decided to stop weighing myself for the month of October, but I'm working so hard at this every day and seeing such little results. I've been at this for 4 months and am only down 25lbs. I see people on here losing 10lbs a month EVERY month. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

DaphneAtx

Sounds like you're doing everything right. ANYONE????????????

underwater77

I think your decision to avoid the scale is a wise one. Try to think of all the other amazing benefits you are getting from your habits and don't focus on the scale. I know it's hard - my scale and I are sworn enemies, yet I still try to make friends on a daily basis, much to my chagrin.

7 inches lost is amazing though!

Switch up your workouts maybe?
That is the only thing I can think of.

And sadly, perhaps cut out some of your refined starches, etc.
I am the last person to agree with a low carb diet, but sometimes it gives you the kickstart you need to stay motivated.

Pixi_Rex

I've been at this for 4 months and am only down 25lbs. I see people on here losing 10lbs a month EVERY month. What am I doing wrong?

I have been at this for 25 months and I have lost about 14... don't complain about 25. Stop comparing yourself to everyone around you and be happy with the success you have had.

2hobbit1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Take a look at the link
You should eat above your BMR and about 20% less than your TDEE.
You are not eating enough to fuel weight loss.

ChristyRunStarr

I've decided to stop weighing myself for the month of October, but I'm working so hard at this every day and seeing such little results. I've been at this for 4 months and am only down 25lbs. I see people on here losing 10lbs a month EVERY month. What am I doing wrong?

I'd love to lose 25 pounds in 4 months! You've lost 7 inches-that's awesome and you should be proud! sure, some people can lose 25 pounds a month but have you looked at how much they have to lose? Speaking of which, how much did you have to lose? People that have to lose 100 or more pounds are going to lose a lot more to begin with than someone that has less to lose.

Like another poster said-don't compare yourself to others, you're doing great and you should be proud

virichi08

I don't know it all, but i will tell u that the body is weird. I didn't lose any weight in the last two week but quite a few inches. The body does this and i personally couldn't tell you why. but keep working out, keep doing your workouts and eating right. If you want try increasing the intensity of your workout. It's possible your body has simply gotten used to the level of fitness you are at now. Try walking an extra mile, or an extra 10 mins. If time is an issues, try walking for 5 minutes, then run (jog or sprint) for 30 seconds. something fun and a bit different for you.

Peteshaped

If you have lost nearly 7 inches from all over and working out frequently I would suggest you're swapping fat mass for muscle mass. Seems to me that you'll keep doing that until you plateau at the amount of muscle you can make for your incoming calories and then your fat loss will start to register on the scale.

Scales are just 1 way to measure, they don't tell the whole story.

DaphneAtx

I have a friend with a similar problem. Why wouldn't she be able to see the same losses that seem average - 2lbs per week?

deadlights

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Take a look at the link
You should eat above your BMR and about 20% less than your TDEE.
You are not eating enough to fuel weight loss.

Thanks for sharing this. Excellent info here.

rinny107

I've only just started using this this week really although I've been a member for ages. A while ago a lost a fair bit of weight and Im not really overly interested in losing much more, I would just like to be healthy and stay on track with a healthy lifestyle.

To keep inspiration, I find it good to weigh and measure yourself but only once every week or 2 weeks. Different things can tilt the scales either way such as the time of day, water retention etc. So it's handy if one isn't changing and the other is, at least u still feel like you are making a change.

The people u r seeing with drastic drops each week are probably bigger than you to start with and everyone will lose weight differently, so it's important to not compare yourself to everyone else. Plus you are probably building muscle mass from all the exercise you are doing.

Sounds like you are doing a great job, keep at it and stay strong. Your body will thank you for it and not only will the weight loss come again, u will look good and feel more energised and confident

Ke22yB

you said you lost 7 inches all over sounds like something is working The scale thing always remains a mystery since August I have been shrinking literally I had a new suit last week in April tried it on recently was swimming in it no loss on the scale in 5 weeks went on vacation doing laps swam out of my suit and had to grab it at knee level ( 7am noone else in pool) no loss on the scale
new pants and shorts 38s some 40s 1 or 2 sizes down no loss on the scale
Monday after 5 weeks 1.5 pounds tuesday 1 pound Wed 1 pound today 1 pound I cant explain it but I have learned to live with it stick with it you will lose the weight as well as the inches

Adc7225

I know just how you feel. I started with very little lose then gain and now 3 months later I see a steady lose. It was hard to not get discouraged but I knew I was doing the right things because I felt much better. I did lose inches and for a while tried not to weigh myself but for me weighing myself daily works, I think if I did it weekly I might catch myself on a bad day While I know weight lose it the primary goal sometimes we need to think about what might be happening on the inside that just has not shown itself on the outside.

liesevanlingen

Often, when you work out hard, this sort of result is quite typical. You are gaining muscle mass and muscle weighs much more than fat. It takes up a lot less space, being much denser than fat, which is why you are losing inches rather than pounds. In the past four or five months I've lost approximately 30 pounds of fat, but I've put on 12 pounds of muscle mass, which means a total weight change of only 18 pounds. So that might be what is happening with you. You could try investing in one of those scales that measure muscle mass, fat percentage, water weight, etc. That way you would be able to track the decrease in fat percentage and the increase in muscle mass.
I don't have a weight goal--I have a size goal. I want to be able to fit into a size 12 again. Currently I'm a 14. (When I started working out, size 16 clothes were getting tight!) I don't really care what I weigh, I just want to look good and feel good. If you feel good about the way you look, it doesn't matter what the scale says.

Congratulations on your progress so far! It sounds like you are doing everything right, so keep up the good work!

mgobluetx12

I have a LOT to lose!! 60 more pounds to go, so I thought 10lbs a month or at least 2lbs per week wouldn't be that hard at 1700 cals per day, plus working out.

I've read that roadmap post and even emailed with Dan and he didn't really have any suggestions for me except to only eat leafy greens as my carbs.

Thanks for all your input and I know I've made some progress, but when you're trying to lose weight, you really want to see that number on the scale go down and mine's just not budging.

Dudagarcia

Great NSV on the inches! You're doing great and stop weighing yourself. The scale isn't the only way to measure wgt loss. I too need to remember that.

Congrats :flowerforyou:

Big_Daddy6

I feel your pain.........I've been stuck myself for about a month.

mgobluetx12

Thanks, I guess I'll just continue to be patient, but it's hard not seeing that number move.

liesevanlingen

That's why I suggest the scale that measure body fat% and muscle mass. I bet you'll see those numbers moving in the right direction! I found that very motivating, even if the weight didn't change much, because I could see the fat% going down and the muscle mass going up.

mgobluetx12

Good idea. I will definitely look into that. Anything to show that I am making progress!

SorchaRavenlock

Wow, I'm having the same problem, with similar numbers!
I'm really tempted to drop my daily calorie amount lower but I know I'll feel miserable on less. I fully know how you feel though, I had hoped to lose enough in September to move from "obese" to "overweight" but that just didn't happen

I'm sorry I have no wise words to offer, I just wanted to let you know you're not alone!