Help! Frustrated at zero results in month and a half

glozaria

I am not sure what to do! I have been doing cardio 4-5 times a week since the beginning of January and have thrown in weight training 2-3 times a week for that past 3 weeks. I have also been watching what I eat. This is my second week on MFP. STILL NO RESULTS!!! It is getting extremely frustrating.

My question is... am I eating too much???? This is a whole new language for me. Do I need to eat only 1200 calories and forget about the "calories gained" by exercising? Or do I need to be eating enough to balance to zero at the end of the day?

Can someone please give me some advice on what I am doing wrong? I'd be very thankful for your help.

taylorwaylor

Look up eat more, weight less.

And 2 weeks is really not long at all..... It takes a looooong time

candjiverson

You have to remember that when you are working out, you are also gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more then fat! You have been working out a lot and that muscle adds pounds. If you are on a heavy exercise program, I would give it about 4-6 weeks... then it will all drop off suddenly. Have you had your body fat percentage measured? Thats what its best to go by! Your not doing anything wrong!! Your doing great. Don't give up! This is a lifestyle change. Make sure you are eating a lot of veggies and lean meats, maybe lower your carb count if you want to speed things up! And lots of water! I had a friend who started running and eating less and she gained 15 pounds... but her body was also solid muscle where as before it was fatty...... When I run also I gain weight and my legs and butt get bigger. Good luck girl! Keep it up!

blu_meanie_ca

Without seeing your diary, it's very hard to give dietary advice or suggestions.

Monica_has_a_goal

You didn't gain the additional weight in two weeks so it would be unreasonable to expect the weight LOSS to be immediate as well.

Be patient and keep exercising and eating healthy. The results will soon show if you don't give up or give in.

Great health to you and success!

denitraross

it would help is you would open your diary that is were the story will be told....are you tracking sodium? high sodium levels can reek havoc on your weight loss...really need to see the diary to know....and muscle does NOT weigh more than fat...that is a complete myth...the difference is one pound of muscle is smaller than a pound of fat...therefore if you are developing muscles you will lose inches, not pounds which is just as good....did you take body measurements? That is a great way to track your progress when the scale isnt moving........I lost a little over 40 lbs on MFP but I went from a size 16 to a size 4 due to losing inches and gaining muscle

Ramberta

I personally think you don't have to eat back all your exercise calories, as long as your daily intake exceeds your BMR-- the amount of calories your vital organs need to function. (If you don't know what yours is, try an online calculator.) However, if you are feeling hungry at all, or lethargic, or having trouble motivating yourself to work out, you probably aren't eating enough, or aren't eating enough protein. If your energy levels feel all right, then just give it time. Like others said, weight loss is not immediate. Try not to get frustrated when you don't see immediate results-- pat yourself on the back instead, that you've been eating healthy for more than a month and sticking to an exercise regimen. That's better than most people! Just keep it up and be patient, and you'll be all right.

Faye_Anderson

1200 is too low, if you don't want to eat back your exercise calories go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and enter your data accurately including ALL activity. set your goal to lose fat - 10% or fat - 20% depending on how much you have to lose (as long as it's not below BMR) and change your MFP settings to reflect the calories this calculator gives, then you can ignore the calories you burn posted on here :flowerforyou:

holliwood97

i just saw this post this morning.. very encouraging... she is the exact same weight in BOTH pictures...
the picture on the LEFT is what she looks like today after lifting and working out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/885648-nsv-the-scale-is-a-lie

glozaria

I've been at it for 6 weeks... :S

MaraDiaz

Without seeing your diary here is my shot in the dark:

When you begin or intensify a workout routine your body will often hold several pounds of water weight and it might hold that weight for weeks. So that could be part of it. Take measurements every week or two, those numbers change more slowly but they are a better indicator, as is how your clothes fit.

Weigh and measure your food. A food scale is cheap, no reason not to get one and use it for everything until you are absolutely sure your portions are correct.

Make sure you are not already at your ideal weight for your height and bone structure. If you are your body will quite rightly do everything it can to hold onto that weight. Also the closer you are to that ideal weight the harder it is to lose.

If you are using an HRM or even worse online estimates of calories burned you might not be burning as many as it says. You can leave a small cushion that you don't eat back and fiddle with that until you start losing but still feel like you aren't starving.

Too much salt can make you retain. Some say artificial sweeteners will stall your weight loss.

If all else fails go to the doctor and make sure your thyroid is functioning properly.

glozaria

1200 is too low, if you don't want to eat back your exercise calories go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and enter your data accurately including ALL activity. set your goal to lose fat - 10% or fat - 20% depending on how much you have to lose (as long as it's not below BMR) and change your MFP settings to reflect the calories this calculator gives, then you can ignore the calories you burn posted on here :flowerforyou:

When you say 1200 is too low. Does that mean 1200 net calories are too low? or if I were just consuming 1200 and exercising to balance out at, oh let's say, 700 calories. Because food wise I am eating between 1400 and 1500. It's all so confusing.

jsiricos

So no weight - BUT how many inches?

glozaria

So no weight - BUT how many inches?

I'm not sure. I didn't measure right at the beginning.. I just did this past week and will again at the end of Feb.

AlwaysInMotion

I'm in the EXACT same boat, Glozaria. I'm eating between 1300-1500 cals/day & working out 6x per week (P90X, yoga & cycling). And I've only dropped a 1 pound since Jan 1st, *BUT* I can feel noticeable muscle development, my waist has shrunk, and my jeans are getting baggy. I lost over 100lbs many years ago, and I remember hitting these plateaus before, so don't panic. They happen, and some people experience them more than others (I blame hormones, but I'm no scientist). I'm going to stick with my diet and exercise plan because I can *feel* significant improvements even though my scale hasn't budged (yet... it will).
Some suggestions, if you don't mind...
As mentioned earlier, I agree you should measure your body dimensions and log them. Get a body fat measurement, too. (I have a Tanita scale that takes BF%). Keep exercising and eating healthy and recheck your measurements, say, every 2 weeks. I also like the "tight jeans" check I mentioned earlier.
Next, be really accurate with your diet journal. Be sure you measure/weigh items to avoid under-estimating foods. (I'm prone to doing that so I use a digital scale an measuring cups). And don't trust everything entered into the food database. (Some things are crazy wrong.) And, yeah, sodium can really mess with you, so aim for <2500mg/day (<1500 if you have heart disease). I blow over on my sodium way too often. Potassium counteracts sodium (sez' my clinical nutrition book), so if you are still consuming too much sodium, aim for 3500mg/day potassium to help counter it. (Harder said than done, I know).
And lastly, don't drop your net calories too low. Back when, I remember dropping below 1200 cals/day gross (yeah, gross not net - so dumb) and my body went into starvation mode. Started losing hair, felt generally crappy. Really not good. I bumped my cals up to 1600/day (actually I was quitting my diet out of frustration), but then I dropped 10 lbs rapidly! Go figure, the body is cunning like that. I think it was "happy" it was getting enough food finally.
Stick with the MFP suggestion on daily cals. If you get an exercise adjustment, don't eat it all back, just some (that might be part of the problem - plus, I think MFP also way over-estimates cal burn on a lot of activities). If you aren't seeing a weight loss, maybe adjust your calorie intake by +100 or -100 cals for a week to see if the adjustment helps.
Above all else, keep eating healthier and exercising and you will get results. IMO, being super healthy, but a bit solid is still way better than being skinny and unhealthy.
Good luck to you, Glozaria!

Arianwyn_T

When you say "no results" are you just tracking weight? Because there are many other things that will change, especially when you are first starting.

How is your endurance? Perceived exertion rate? If you are using equipment that measures calorie burn, has your average calories per minute stayed the same, or is it improving as you're able to work harder? Do you have a pair of pants you're trying to fit back into (I do, and it's a good measuring stick) -- in the past I've gone from not being able to pull mine up over my thighs to just barely being able to button them without my weight changing at all . . . . muscle is denser than fat, and as as your body composition changes it's possible for your weight to stay the same, or even to increase at first (since some people will build muscle more easily than they will burn fat).

I remember my grandfather took up swimming laps to "lose weight", and even though he went down three belt notches, and even though his doctor explained that he had replaced fat with muscle, he gave up on swimming because it wasn't changing the numbers on the scale. It's so easy to become focused on just that one thing, and not recognize the other benefits as a result!