Eating right / no results

smgolf

Hi, my name is **** and I have been using myfitnesspal now for over 2 weeks. I have dropped 3 pounds and have exercised almost everyday and kept the calories under 1900 calories each day. I started out weighing 241 pounds.....went down to 238 and this am I weighed in at 240. That's crazy, yesterday I X-country skied for 11/2 hours and ate 2000 calories. How does that happen. I have eaten a balanced diet and thought 2 pounds/week would be easy. I'm 65 years old and my metabolism is not what it used to be, but I need some advice. I used to run marathons and weight was never an issue, but all the good wine has taken it's toll. How do I balance the calories with lots of exercise?

oohitsmalinda

The older you get the harder it is to lose weight. That's just the way it is unfortunately. Keep up the hard work and it will pay off. I would suggest maybe for you to try to eat 5 small meals a day and drink more water. Both of these should help boost your metabolism and help you to lose weight faster. Keep up the good work and don't get discouraged!

shannon128

I sometimes find that after a big workout I kind of bloat up a bit, i think it has something to do with swollen muscles and water weight or something. (Idk don't quote me on this) But it does happen to me a lot when I workout harder than normal- the scale jumps up a bit the next day but then will fall much lower within the next day or two.
Just keep with it and the weight will eventually start melting off!

smgolf

OK, thanks for that. I will try your advise.

ahertel0214

For me the trick was sugar. My calories and fat were always on par, but I wasn't paying attention to sugar - and it pops up in foods you wouldn't expect! Maybe take a peek at your sugar intake?

CLebon

When I trained for a 28 mile breast cancer walk, I lost hardly any weight but was slimmer and more toned than I'd been for years. I do think when you do a lot of exercise you don't lose as much weight, but the results are even better.

kellygirl5538

Weight loss is over a LONG period of time. You can do it, don't give up!!! Your doing great.

melanieann48111

What's your sodium intake look like? Also, you need to realize that muscle really does weigh more than fat and initially we're losing water weight. It's normal to see what you're seeing right now. I remember when I started running and instead of losing I actually GAINED. I was so mad but all my clothes were fitting better and everyone was commenting about how I looked like I had lost weight.

smgolf

I appreciate your comments and agree that I know exercise makes you feel better when it is all over and done.

MacMadame

When you exercise, your muscles retain water. It's part of the process of muscle repair.

Scales are not a good way to measure your progress in the short term. All you care about is how much fat you are losing but scales tell you everything including how much poop is in you, how much water you are retaining, how much you ate recently, etc. All those things create small variations that cause your weight to fluctuate on an hourly basis. That's why weighing at the same time and place is important.

You should also only count the weight every week or so. If you can work it without daily weighing and only weigh once a week, that's best. But daily weighing does have advantages for some. I weigh daily but only record the weight on Mondays.

neno13

Your gaining muscle, it is frustrating at first. Stick with it, over a couple of months you will begin to look leaner

ckmama

We women have suffered with this issue for years.


WATER WEIGHT sucks and it will drive you nuts.

Try not to weigh daily that will also drive you crazy, and be aware of how your body actually feels...If I work out heavy or do lots of weights I won't weigh until 2 days after to give the fluid time to move on.

Good luck and although muscle doesn't weigh more than fat it does retain more water so that might also be your issue since men tend to form muscle quicker than women.

See below for more:

Does Muscle weigh more than fat

This commonly cited gym cliché is somewhat misunderstood and misused. The rationale that muscle weighs more than fat is often cited as an explanation for why a person might find that they aren’t losing weight, or are gaining weight, when they kick off an exercise regimen. The idea seems to be that if you are exercising—and theoretically losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time—the effects cancel each other out. So, in theory, you won’t see desired weight loss as measured by pounds on the scale, even though you may be improving how you look.

Why Doesn’t Exercise Always Affect Body Weight?

If someone is working out and not losing weight, or not losing as much as they want—or if they’re actually gaining weight—the first place to look is the type and amount of exercise.

Weight loss boils down to burning more calories than you normally use in a day. Cardio exercise burns more calories than muscle-toning or the average resistance-training workout. So dialing down the stretching and core work to just once or twice a week, and replacing it with more cardio should produce more weight loss. And the more minutes the better when it comes to weight loss: An hour to 90 minutes of aerobic activity per day on most days of the week will affect body weight.

Some people get overly obsessed about numbers on the scale. If you are happy with the way you look and feel, and you feel like you are improving your fitness and strength, then continue doing what you are doing. Exercise works, and every minute of movement helps your health in some way. Weight loss through working out may be slower than you want, but it’s likely to be longer term solution and a healthier way to trim down and shape up, or at the very least to stave off weight gain over the years.