Is it worth it when you aren't losing weight?

Desterknee

If you are changing your life, your body, and your spirit, if you are making yourself able to do things now that you were unable to do before, then it is absolutely worth it.

concordancia

Yes! I just broke through a plateau myself, so I have asked myself this question several times the last few weeks! You are healthier for doing these things, whether the scale cooperates or not!

Have you been tracking everything? Weighing and measuring everything? If not, that is your first step.

If you have been weighing, measuring and tracking, try giving your body a break. Calculate your maintenance calories for your current weight and eat that for a week or so.

But mostly, just be patient and remember that yes, it is worth it!

saxmaniac

You have to learn to ignore minor fluctuations, and 2 pounds is minor. Weight isn't as stable as you think. I can vary 161-167 IN A SINGLE DAY, and I assure you none of that is any change in fat or muscle.

Keep it at. Watch the big picture.

celticempress

Chin up! You gained two pounds most likely of muscle, don't cry! Muscle is a great thing, it makes the body stronger and it weighs more then fat. You did Insanity, and that is a muscle building work out. Have faith in yourself, because you are doing this for yourself. Don't lose sight of the prize and that is to be healthy, to be comfortable in your own body, and to fit clothes you want to. If you gained 2 pounds it isn't the end of the world. Chances are in a week or two, you are going to see something fat and gross disappear and something else very cool appear in it's place, like muscle definition. When that happens, cheer! You can do this, have faith!

FrnkLft

The scale is a good tool for determining totals, but if you don't know your measurements or BF% the scale is basically useless.

I.e., I've been bulking for two weeks now eating a surplus, I know when I started my BF% was 14% and I'm still lifting. I've gained two pounds since, and my arms have grown .25 inches while my BF measurements have not climbed.

Result: I've probably not gained much fat, and I HAVE put on muscle.

CodieBear1

That's probably muscle weight! You lost the fat weight and gained the muscle weight Muscle is heavier than fat, btw. How about measurements? Good luck!

VelociMama

Most likely it's fluid retention. Women can fluctuate a lot throughout the month plus a new workout routine is a recipe for scale issues.

Start taking measurements now and track those. Also, if you haven't already, set yourself up with some non-scale fitness goals and start making progress towards those also.

rpmtnbkr

I ran into that when I first started 'again' back in December. I went a full 6 weeks of exercising every day along with logging diet and maintaining deficit before I finally saw results. I would slip a pound or two, then retrieve it, then drop and so on.... Totally frustrating for sure... No real change in measurments either... only positive was that I felt good...

Once it broke and started to come off, things changed.... weight started dropping, measurements shrank, body fat % decreased...

Don't give up! I almost gave it the old heave ho, but thanks to a couple of friends on MFP I stuck it out and together we continued our journey with similar results.

Keep after it! Results will come!

mzcookie78

could it be you gained muscle weight?

fatfrost

Totally worth it for me. When I see people that I haven't seen in a while, the reaction is priceless. People's jaws literally drop! And, while it is totally narcissistic, looking at those six pack abs in the mirror is pretty gratifying.

Don't sweat individual weigh-ins on the scale. I bounce up and down by about 5 lbs on any given day. But bouncing in a range of 169-174 is a lot better than bouncing in a range of 245-250!

Jolene8992

IS IT WORTH IT?????? What's the alternative?

linsey0689

Did you take measurements or a "before" picture? If so try comparing those when I don't see the scale moving I see difference in both of those places

mrsgeneric

Absolutly worth it your getting healthier in the process and remember it takes little time to gain weight but lits of time and. Devotion to lose it!! Chin up u can do this

SRHelicity

Hi, I am in the same boat. I also use Fitbit and it calculates that I should be loosing 2.5lb per week and I have stayed the same now for 4 weeks. I am up at 6.30 am doing Jillian Michaels and keep myself active all day. I weigh all food and count every calorie. What else can it be? it is disappointing when I weigh in on a Saturday but I am always excited and hopeful again on Friday as I have tried hard and done well all week!

I'm not profile stalking, but the "2.5 lbs per week" loss was a bit alarming for me, and your stats were provided in a previous post. I calculated your BMR to be somewhere near 1720 calories per day. Using 1.4 as your activity multiplier (it sounds like you're active), your TDEE may be around 2400 calories per day. A target weight loss of 2.5 lbs per week translates to a weekly caloric deficit of 8750, or 1250 calories per day deficit. The result is a net calorie count of 2400-1250=1150 calories per day. Does this sound right? Maybe you're more active than that and have a higher TDEE, but it sounds like you're running a very high calorie deficit. It may be worth looking into increasing your calories a bit, which, completely anecdotally, seems to help some people break through a plateau like you're describing.

In addition, maybe you're storing a lot of water. See http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html and http://www.leangains.com/2010/01/how-to-deal-with-water-retention-part.html for some discussion of the "swoosh" or "whoosh" effect. I've seen it on my own body a couple of times in the past few months -- I'd stall for a week or two, then suddenly "drop" 2-3 pounds overnight. Obviously, I wasn't losing 2-3 pounds of fat overnight -- I was just releasing the water that I had accumulated and that had been masking the fat loss.

MinnieInMaine

Of course it is!! If it wasn't, I would've given up about a year ago because my weight has been yo-yoing like crazy. But you know what? I feel awesome. I'm healthier and more physically fit than I every remember being. I ran 4.5 miles last weekend and barely felt the effects. I rarely get sick anymore, when I used to catch every little bug that went around. My cholesterol is down. My blood pressure is down. Life is good!

You definitely need to be taking body measurements (and/or progress pics), especially while doing a program like Insanity. You're working your body so hard right now that it might not be giving up anything until it figures out this is the new normal. Make sure you're giving it the fuel it needs and staying well hydrated and the results will come!

Good luck!

CJ_Holmes

You may want to open your diary for more accurate advice. I don't really understand the fitbit thing, but have seen people with some really high calorie burns based on them that seem very inaccurate to me.

You may want to ditch the exercise calories and set a new goal based on the TDEE-% method. It seems like the simplicity helps people who are mystified by their lack of progress to figure out what was/wasn't working, and also seems to help people break out of plateaus. I would guess you would eat between 1800-2000.

You eat the same amount of calories every day, and do not add in any exercise calories. All your activity is sort of averaged in already. There are calculators you can use, and the forum has this great "In place of a road map" explanation.

Good luck! You are benefiting, even while the scale isn't budging. OH! Take measurements and pictures!!

tnicmorris

This might be a silly question, but when do you weigh yourself? I've read it is best to weigh yourself in the morning rather than the evening when you've had the majority of your daily food already. Also, like another poster said, bodies fluctuate between weights all day long. I once got three different readings from the same scale in the same place at three different times in the day.

I've also read that when you plateau, throw in cheat days where you eat more calories than normal. It supposedly helps reset your body after it becomes used to the weight-losing routine.

Lastly, if the workout isn't working for you, maybe do something else...something more enjoyable. You'll still get your workout in but you won't feel as discouraged because at least you're doing something you like rather than something you dread.

Good Luck!

dangerousdumpling

I went four weeks without losing a pound recently, and although it was really bothering me, I had no intentions of quitting. Fortunately, I did take measurements. I lost 5 inches in a two week period and got into jeans that I haven't worn in years. So I definitely value what the tape measure tells me over the scale.

There are so many variables involved in weight loss. We have these unrealistic expectations and we're crushed when it doesn't happen. No wonder so many people quit. We think if we work out hard and eat less we'll lose those 2 lbs per week. We could unknowingly be eating too much or too little. If you're sure you're fueling your body enough then you might just need to wait it out. Hang in there.

jonesin_am

It is most certainly worth it. I haven't lost any scale weight in months...at least nothing significant but my clothes are looser and I can visibly see the difference. Also, losing at such a slow or stagnant pace has made this less of a diet and more of a lifestyle change. If I lost it all at once I would have never learned how to incorporate everything that I am learning into my new lifestyle. Instead I would have lost the weight...gone back to the way things were (for the most part) and probably would have gained it all back plus some.

For me, at first it was all a mental thing. Why keep working out and counting calories, etc. if I am not benefiting from it? Why go to all this work for nothing...the scale isn't moving so this isn't working? It made me resilient. Whether I lose weight/inches or not I know that what I am doing IS benefiting me and I'm not going back to my old ways because THIS is my life now no matter what happens on the scale.

So for me not losing and even gaining is actually a godsend! It has saved me from having to do this all over again in the future! Good luck and stick with it. Trust me, it is SO worth it!

savithny

It's "My Fitness Pal," not "My Weight Loss Pal."

I know too many people, including myself, who judge the outcomes of a lifestyle change entirely on whether weight is lost. And sure, that's what most people are really motivated by. But the thing is, every study on the subject shows that if you can improve your diet, and keep to an exercise program, you will improve your health regardless of how much weight you lose. Even people who lose nothing at all? Improve their blood sugar levels, improve their cholesterol levels, and they live longer. That's something I've lost sight of, on previous forays into weight loss and exercise plans.

I am telling myself that even if I don't lose as much as I hope to? I'd rather be a strong, active overweight person than a flabby, short of breath overweight person. I'd rather be able to hike up the 600 stairs at the state park and still have a BMI above "average" than be a sedentary slug with barely enough strength to haul my laundry up from the basement. I haven't lost a whole lot so far, and not very fast - but I already feel stronger, more capable, and happier in my own skin.

So yes, its worth it.