Eating less and exercising. No weight loss

aimeys

Hi,

I have been doing this since about Jan 20th. I have been adding all my food (no cheating) and exercising. I have yet to lose any weight at ALL. Can anybody give me any tips or clues as to what is going on? I am 42 years old and female. If it matters.

cmriverside

You have 18 lbs to lose as your Goal. That's going to be slow going if you are only 20 lbs over your goal weight.
Set your goals here to "Lose 1/2 pound per week"

Or: Read this to better understand: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

melsinct

You have 18 lbs to lose as your Goal. That's going to be slow going if you are only 20 lbs over your goal weight.
Set your goals here to "Lose 1/2 pound per week"

Or: Read this to better understand: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

Agreed. Also, it has been 10 days, Be patient.

samnco

I have about 25lbs to lose. I first started in October and ive been kinda off and on. For that first month I worked out everyday, sometimes twice and ate my goal of 1200 calories. End of the month I had zero weight loss. From there I decided not to weigh myself.. I didnt and I could see the change. Clothes fit better etc.
I just weighed myself and I lost .08 lbs! What the hell!

All I can say is keep on keepin on.Even though the number hasnt changed, I feel better about the way I look and feel and thats whats important.

silmarilliane

if your exercise involves increasing muscle, you can stay the same weight but still get smaller - i recommend taking measurements and seeing if you are losing and it's just not showing on the scales. i put loads of extra measurements on mine - belly, thighs, arms etc. it makes me feel better to know i'm decreasing in size even when the scales show no change.

alanlmarshall

It takes time. More than 9 days. Also, your scale can be off by 5 pounds if you eat a meal or think heavy thoughts . thats 25% or your goal. For you wieghing is essentially useless. Consider using measurements instead. Don't get caught up in scale tricking strategies, wieghing when dehydrated etc. Just eat healthy and feel your clothes get looser. If you stick with it, it will happen. good luck.

lambchristie

Before you can lose weight, your body will build muscle which you are accomplishing by exercising.
How often do you exercise?
Do you get your heart rate up to help burn the calories?
Do you go to a gym and use just equipment? Or do you have a personal trainer who will push you beyond what you think you can do?

I started (or should I say re-started) my journey Oct 23 ... and it was 3 months before I saw the number on the scale move down!
BUT, in the mean time, my muscle is being built up (and it weighs more) and my body is changing my inches lost over pounds lost. I am down almost 2 sizes in pants already.
It all works hand in hand ... so as others have stated ... its been 10 days be patient.
It doesn't take us over night to become over weight and out of shape, its not going to fall off over night either.
Good luck in your journey.

cmriverside

:laugh: - no, she's not gaining appreciable muscle in nine days of 30 Day Shred.....especially in a calorie deficit.

TR0berts

10 days? Welcome to the world of retained water weight. That just happens when you start exercising. If you don't see any change in a month, then question things. Until then, don't worry about it.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

rm7161

Hi,

I have been doing this since about Jan 20th. I have been adding all my food (no cheating) and exercising. I have yet to lose any weight at ALL. Can anybody give me any tips or clues as to what is going on? I am 42 years old and female. If it matters.

Like others have said, the scale isn't your friend when you have that little to lose. Most scales can vary up to 5 percent of your body weight, making it hard to see any changes.

Take measurements with a tape measure and measure your bodyfat percentage with calipers, that's going to be more precise.

cwolfman13

1.) 10-20 Lbs of needed weight loss is slow going. It's really not all that much and the body wants to retain it's surplus of fat. With only that much to lose, you should only be looking to lose .5 Lbs per week...maybe 1, but .5 would be better. When you have that little to lose and you go into a big deficit, your body goes into metabolism stall pretty quickly to preserve it's fat stores for leaner days ahead. Also, what you do lose at a big deficit with not much fat to lose is lean body mass...not a good thing.

2.) A couple of weeks is not that much time...particularly when you're talking 1 or even 2 Lbs goal per week. This is largely because weight loss is not linear. It's not exactly 1 Lb per week or whatever...it's 1 Lb (or whatever your goal is) on average over a much longer period of time. Your body is going to have natural weight fluctuations day to day and even throughout a given day due to water retention and intake/output of foods and liquids. I can fluctuate 1-3 Lbs between any given day...so if my goal is to lose 1 Lb per week (which it is) and it's only been 10 days, it's highly likely that I'm not really going to see the scale budge too much given my natural fluctuations...give it 4-6 weeks at least and track it as a general trend, not a linear event.

3.) Starting a new workout routine and/or upping intensity of a workout routine often leads the muscles to retain water.

4.) NO...you are not building enough muscle in 10 days of insanity to displace fat weight, particularly eating at a caloric deficit. You could maybe...maybe...maybe gain .5 Lbs of muscle in a month eating at a reasonable surplus and lifting heavy. And that's still a big maybe because you would really be having to push yourself and be maintaining a body building type of diet.

5.) Too large a caloric deficit will often result in the opposite of what you intend. This is common and I see it a lot on MFP...people don't realize that the goal MFP gives them already has a caloric deficit built in to reach their goals and MFP assumes no exercise. Then they go off on cardio and various exercises and don't eat those exercise calories back the way MFP intends and they create a massive deficit that shuts down the body's metabolism.

Those are my top 5 possibilities.

Jaulen

1.) 10-20 Lbs of needed weight loss is slow going. It's really not all that much and the body wants to retain it's surplus of fat. With only that much to lose, you should only be looking to lose .5 Lbs per week...maybe 1, but .5 would be better. When you have that little to lose and you go into a big deficit, your body goes into metabolism stall pretty quickly to preserve it's fat stores for leaner days ahead. Also, what you do lose at a big deficit with not much fat to lose is lean body mass...not a good thing.

2.) A couple of weeks is not that much time...particularly when you're talking 1 or even 2 Lbs goal per week. This is largely because weight loss is not linear. It's not exactly 1 Lb per week or whatever...it's 1 Lb (or whatever your goal is) on average over a much longer period of time. Your body is going to have natural weight fluctuations day to day and even throughout a given day due to water retention and intake/output of foods and liquids. I can fluctuate 1-3 Lbs between any given day...so if my goal is to lose 1 Lb per week (which it is) and it's only been 10 days, it's highly likely that I'm not really going to see the scale budge too much given my natural fluctuations...give it 4-6 weeks at least and track it as a general trend, not a linear event.

3.) Starting a new workout routine and/or upping intensity of a workout routine often leads the muscles to retain water.

4.) NO...you are not building enough muscle in 10 days of insanity to displace fat weight, particularly eating at a caloric deficit. You could maybe...maybe...maybe gain .5 Lbs of muscle in a month eating at a reasonable surplus and lifting heavy. And that's still a big maybe because you would really be having to push yourself and be maintaining a body building type of diet.

5.) Too large a caloric deficit will often result in the opposite of what you intend. This is common and I see it a lot on MFP...people don't realize that the goal MFP gives them already has a caloric deficit built in to reach their goals and MFP assumes no exercise. Then they go off on cardio and various exercises and don't eat those exercise calories back the way MFP intends and they create a massive deficit that shuts down the body's metabolism.

Those are my top 5 possibilities.

^This. I you.

RepsnSets

if your exercise involves increasing muscle, you can stay the same weight but still get smaller - i recommend taking measurements and seeing if you are losing and it's just not showing on the scales. i put loads of extra measurements on mine - belly, thighs, arms etc. it makes me feel better to know i'm decreasing in size even when the scales show no change.

Agreed! The scale is barely moving for me so I measured myself last night and I lost 12 inches. Had to re measure twice cause I thought I made a mistake. Astonishing!!

aimeys

Wow! Amazing answers. I really appreciate the tips, especially to be patient. It's hard when my husband loses 9 lbs. in a month just from cutting back on beer and I can't budge! I will work on that part. I have always been on the sporty/muscular side and tend to weigh a bit more than most my height, so I've been frequently discouraged by BMI stats.

I will start measuring. I swear I thought my pants snapped a bit easier the other day.

I love this community! Thank you and good luck and hard work on your journey too!

alanlmarshall

It's hard when my husband loses 9 lbs. in a month just from cutting back on beer and I can't budge!

There are gender differences, men lose fat faster, but also I suspect your husband may have had more to lose, which makes it seem easy, but you are better off not having drunk too much beer in the first place.

ChristyRunStarr

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

It's been 10 days, you have to give it time as well as make sure you're eating enough food and drinking enough water. Don't compare yourself to your husband, everyone loses weight differently

ShannonECTD

It's only been 10 days be patient. make sure you're eating enough.

purpleipod

There's no reason to compare your rate of weight loss to a man. Also, it's been 10 days.. so yeah.

ChocoMello

Do you eat enought?
With the exersice calories included?

MissCarter79

I'm no expert by any means and I'm just really starting to lose weight, but I agree with everyone else who said a lot of the reason might be that you don't have a whole lot of weight to lose. From just my experience it seems that the more weight people have to lose the quicker it goes and the closer you are to goal the slower it wants to come off. I would keep working out and eating right. Even if it takes a while to lose weight, the benefits to your body will be spectacular!

4mcarr1

Don't feel alone, I have been doing this since the middle of December and still at the same weight as when I started! I am 59 and really struggling with why I keep going on.

daberg

Don't get discouraged. Sometimes when you begin to increase exercise, you build muscle, which weighs more than fat. This being said, you can sometimes not see the difference on the scale, but your body is changing for the better by ridding itself of fat and adding muscle. This will in turn increase your metabolism and in time you will have a higher calorie burn rate even resting. Don't give up, you are doing the right things. Also, if you are scaling back too much on calories, your body will go into a survival mode and store fat because it thinks it is not getting enough nutrition. Isn't it amazing how complex the human body is? All these things may seem not so reassuring right now in your frustration but know you are on the right track.

gioisa75

There's no reason to compare your rate of weight loss to a man. Also, it's been 10 days.. so yeah.

Nice shirt! Love Tool

purpleipod

There's no reason to compare your rate of weight loss to a man. Also, it's been 10 days.. so yeah.

Nice shirt! Love Tool

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elis_mama

:laugh: - no, she's not gaining appreciable muscle in nine days of 30 Day Shred.....especially in a calorie deficit.

Um.....does anyone else think that this sounds a wee-bit harsh? Sheesh!

mynameiscarrie

I have been doing this since about Jan 20th.

It's January 30th.

And no, it's not muscle.

Be patient!

CortneyHicks20

STICK WITH IT!! Throw that scale in the garbage can and buy a bigger mirror because that's what really matters. You've gotten some great feedback so far so i'll just reiterate this, STICK WITH IT!!!

NeptuneTang

Hi.

This is my first time posting and I am exactly in the same boat. I am doing between 1200 and 1400 cals and the 30 day shred. I feel that I am not struggling with eating this amount of cals.
I think it can be confusing because some people are losing 10-14 pounds in their first month! And of course, we all want that don't we? So when you think you are doing everything 'right', you want to see change.

I have just read all the info people have posted (thanks so much guys) and my brain hurts! I had no idea it is so complex.
I have a lot to learn!

rushikareddy

Hey!! I totally understand what your going through! I've been in the same boat for quite a while! Though I just started with the 1200 calories I've been working out for quite some time! And I work out a lot for a working woman! I burn about 560 calories everyday! Still haven't seen any weight loss!, i have been stuck with the weight thing!

NeptuneTang

"- no, she's not gaining appreciable muscle in nine days of 30 Day Shred.....especially in a calorie deficit. "

Yes.
I thought that comment was a bit harsh indeed but I'll let it slide.
Thanks to everyone who explained what the comment was supposed to mean by posting some factual information. :flowerforyou: