help with weight loss

samalatte

Hello!
I started my MFP about 2 weeks ago. The first week i lost like i was supposed to. Since then i have started lifting weights every other day (only 5 pounds for about 10 minutes) and using a treadmill about 4 days a week for an hour. Since starting to exercise i have not lost anything, just maintained. is this normal? i thought i would lose like i was supposed but im not and im starting to get discouraged. Im very careful with what i eat and stick to my calorie intake. I do not use the calories that i burn working out thinking that i would only lose more wight. what am i doing wrong??? Please help! I may just have my expectations too high, like i said it has only been 2 weeks since starting the program but since i had such a major lifestyle change compared to how i used to eat i thought i would lose instantly Any helpful information would be greatly appreciated!!!

sunsnstatheart

Usually when this happens, something is not being calculated correctly. Go back through and calculate your TDEE and make sure that you're accurately weighing and measuring your food. Weight loss is much more about diet than exercise.


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

samalatte

Thanks for the advice but i have been very careful and measuring everything

Songbird1104

I don't know much about this stuff, but maybe you're building muscle tone and that's keeping the pounds on, while toning up? Just a guess.

urastupidchimp

Try eating back your exercise calories.

LindseyLinea

It has only been 2 weeks... give it some time. Your body takes a while to adjust and you also might be gaining muscle and losing fat.

hollyjo01

I am having the SAME problem! I have been working out 5-6days a week and eating 1400 calories a day like MPF tells me 2 and only every now and then eating back the calories I burn and I havent lost a lb! I feel your pain and want to give up as well! I've doing this for over a month now.

Greenrun99

Your body needs time to adjust to your exercise routine and shed weight.. Patience.. Make sure your eating correctly you mentioned compared to what you used to eat you should be losing like crazy... And if your eating 1200 or so calories, that is probably too low for your level.. and its not muscle.

catjrow3

I dont think its muscle building ....women are lucky to put on 2 lbs a YEAR of muscle... but I do think you need to give it more time. You could be retaining water in the muscles to repair from the "new" workouts. If you lost fine the first week, wait at least a couple more weeks doing the same things to see what results you get. I know its very disheartening to get on the scale after being good for a week and seeing nothing, but our bodies dont move down like that, and a little more time might prove to show you what you want to see. Keep up the good work!

fab50G

It has only been 2 weeks... give it some time.

I agree. You need to give yourself some time. Slow and steady wins the race! Hang in there.

crystalflame

If you've just started adding in exercise you may be retaining water in your muscles, masking any weight loss. Give it a month and take body measurements instead; the scale doesn't tell the whole story. Also, eat back your exercise calories. MFP has already built the deficit in for you. If you don't eat enough, you may lose weight faster, but it will pile back on easier when you're done due to a slower metabolism.

MaraDiaz

Starting or increasing the intensity of workouts can cause water weight gain which your body uses to repair muscles. I have noticed that it can stay on you for quite some time so you might have lost more than you think. Check measurements and clothing fit.

If that fails and you happen to be eating back all your exercise calories your HRM or online calculator could be off so maybe leaving a little cushion that isn't eaten back and see how that goes.

Failing that, go to the doctor and get your metabolism checked if you can.

astrampe

If you've just started adding in exercise you may be retaining water in your muscles, masking any weight loss. Give it a month and take body measurements instead; the scale doesn't tell the whole story. Also, eat back your exercise calories. MFP has already built the deficit in for you. If you don't eat enough, you may lose weight faster, but it will pile back on easier when you're done due to a slower metabolism.

This.....It's two weeks, you are retaining water, eat enough....You did not pick up the weight in two weeks, your body does not work according to your expectations or a calendar....

trogalicious

Thanks for the advice but i have been very careful and measuring everything

and have you measured your BMR/TDEE?

UnoDrea3732

Please don't get discouraged. Give your body a little time to catch up. You know there is that saying "you didn't gain it over night and you're not gonna lose it overnight".

I'm not sure if you are already but try drinking 1/2 your body weight in water. Also, you may want to open your food diary so others may better assist in the future. Good luck!

BurtHuttz

I know this might not sound right to you but you can actually have a harder time losing weight if you eat too little and exercise too much. It's one of the most frequently-experienced problems around here, one of the easiest to solve, and yet the number one reason people give up.

They exercise more and more, and starve themselves more and more until they're completely miserable, then they decide that if they still can't lose weight doing all of those things, then they're just meant to be fat; it's too hard to go on.

Believe it or not you've already been given the answers you need to turn around this rut.

now_or_never13

It has only been 2 weeks... give it some time. Your body takes a while to adjust and you also might be gaining muscle and losing fat.

Lifting 5lbs weights and eating at a deficit will not give any muscle gains.

To the OP, you are most likely just experiencing water retention. When you eat high sodium, don't drink enough water or change your exercise routine your body will retain water. Also, weight naturally changes and goes up and down for no real reason sometimes. Two weeks is not enough time to judge progress. Stick with it and the weight will eventually come off.

Akimajuktuq

Discouraged in two weeks? How are you going to deal with when you get close to the end and are going weeks without a loss? Find a healthy lifestyle that you can do forever. Enjoy the losses without having expectations of exactly what the scale should say every time you get on it. Find other meaningful goals, such as going down a size in clothes or a fitness goal.

There's a lot of factors that affect what the scale says. For instance, I am still very over weight, but some weeks I might not even lose half of a pound, sometimes the same the next. Then suddenly I'm down 2.5 in one week. Later on, when I only have 20 pounds left, weight loss will go at a snails pace and sometimes I might gain. So what? I found a lifestyle that I love and there is no "finish line".

samalatte

Thanks for all the help and helpful words!!! I will keep on keeping on