5 weeks at the gym and no weight loss?? Help!!

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  • adbohls
    adbohls Posts: 156 Member
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    I'm not a professional, but I have done a lot of studying on weight loss. Based on my research, I would adjust the goals you have set in MFP. I'm your height and am 215. My calorie intake goal is only 1400 calories with a sedentary lifestyle and losing about 1 pound a week. As long as I stay very close to my goal and under it most days, I lose weight. If I go over my goal for the day, I try to get some type of exercise in to make up for the overage. I just don't to that regularly, so have stalled and even gained a few back.

    Caution: Make sure you are measuring/weighting everything you eat and using the nutritional facts on the package to make sure you are calculating your calories correctly. Dont rely on the entries in MFP to be correct. Make sure they are before adding them to your food diary. Guessing how much you are eating is almost always wrong. Even those who have been measuring portions for years have to occasionally measure their food to get back on track. Portions always seem to grow without us even noticing.
  • beccannes
    beccannes Posts: 88
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    1). Be sure you eat less calories than you burn and they are "healthy calories" when you eat healthly calories you get more food, which in turn you can spread it throughout the day (5-6 meals) which will help your metablism.

    2). Take measurements, maybe you are gaining muscle?

    3) Change up your work out routine, maybe you are hitting a plateau and your body is used to the workout you have been doing?

    4). Make sure you are drinking enough water, it is very important to get the recommended 8 glasses each day to help weight loss

    5). Don't give up! If you are doing things right, eating healthy, eating less calories than you burn (using the food options to calculate your calories in MFP is very helpful, exercising eventually you wlll get results!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    1). Be sure you eat less calories than you burn and they are "healthy calories" when you eat healthly calories you get more food, which in turn you can spread it throughout the day (5-6 meals) which will help your metablism.

    2). Take measurements, maybe you are gaining muscle?

    3) Change up your work out routine, maybe you are hitting a plateau and your body is used to the workout you have been doing?

    4). Make sure you are drinking enough water, it is very important to get the recommended 8 glasses each day to help weight loss

    5). Don't give up! If you are doing things right, eating healthy, eating less calories than you burn (using the food options to calculate your calories in MFP is very helpful, exercising eventually you wlll get results!

    2, 4 and 5 are fine and helpful.

    Eating more often has no imact on metabolism so that is not accurate in no 1. Fine for sateity if that works for you and helps you manage calories or is your preference, but no metabolic advantage. I assume you are speaking of nutrient dense calories when you say "healthy". Good advice for health immaterial for weight loss. Always a good idea though.

    As far as 3, it's highly unlikely that there is plateau happening after only 5 weeks. After 12 or 15 maybe??? Also, if resistance and intensity increases, no need to find a whole new routine.

    I see you are a new member. Welcome and please don't read harshness into my response. Just a desire for accuracy.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    My advise would be to decrease your calories to 1500. If you are not losing on 1800 after 5 weeks then you are taking in too many calories to promote weight loss at the rate you desire. Most people overestimate how many calories they burn during exercise.

    This, exactly. Also, make sure you aren't 'eating back' the calories from your cardio work, at least not all of them. All methods of measuring calorie expenditure are woefully inaccurate and tend to overestimate. At most, I'd say eat back half to a quarter of them. At best, I'd say eat back none, if fat loss is your primary goal.

    Without knowing height, weight and body measurements including a body fat test, how can you make any recommedation? You don't know enough to say this!!

    Actually, she did give her height and weight. And, this is a general recommendation I gave based on the info provided and my professional opinion.

    You are correct and I missed it. Probably shouldn't be posting right before I fall asleep. I guess my viewpoint is people are always quick to say "cut calories" as see in the balance of this thread where several are recommending dropping to 1200 like it's some magic number. There always seems to be 2 extremes that post. The "you are not eating enough" crowd and the "you need top reduce calories" crowd and both are sometimes right but too often the advice is given before the facts are clear.

    I didn't read the OP thoroughly enough and reacted too quickly. Assuming some inaccuracy in both exercise calculation and calorie logging, I agree with your recommedation as a target. I am also always on the side of being more conservatie with a deficit and taking longer to get to ideal weight. It makes compliance easier, it makes for more permanent habit change, and is just more sustainable overall. There are also many stories here of the downstream issues cause by a calorie goal that is set too low.
  • randijward
    randijward Posts: 2
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    I don't have time to answer all the questions y'all have asked, but I sure do appreciate the advice and motivation!! I really need that sometimes! I am sweating my butt off at the gym, counting calories and weighting and measuring all my food. I was told and under the impression that I needed to eat more calories for as much exercise that I'm doing. I will try to lower my calories. I have been trying to get at least 80g of protein a day. Which I have found difficult while trying to keep calories low. But again, thank you all for the great advice!
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
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    You might be building muscle which is more dense than fat. And if you aren't doing strength training, you will plateau. Cardio alone won't work! Lower your calories some more, but don't go below your BMR; don't eat above your TDEE. If you eat within your calorie amounts, but only eat junk, you won't lose either. Five weeks is not very long, keep going!!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    You might be building muscle which is more dense than fat. And if you aren't doing strength training, you will plateau. Cardio alone won't work! Lower your calories some more, but don't go below your BMR; don't eat above your TDEE. If you eat within your calorie amounts, but only eat junk, you won't lose either. Five weeks is not very long, keep going!!

    Other than newbie gains, it is essentially impossible for a woman, without the benefit of testosterone, eating in a calorie deficit to build muscle (hypertrophy).
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    How about opening up your diary so we can take a look.......
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    I don't have time to answer all the questions y'all have asked, but I sure do appreciate the advice and motivation!! I really need that sometimes! I am sweating my butt off at the gym, counting calories and weighting and measuring all my food. I was told and under the impression that I needed to eat more calories for as much exercise that I'm doing. I will try to lower my calories. I have been trying to get at least 80g of protein a day. Which I have found difficult while trying to keep calories low. But again, thank you all for the great advice!

    80g is still really low......If you can't hit that I think you need to reassess your diet.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
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    1) Exercise, while good for your health, is not the primary cause of weight loss. Dietary calorie reduction is.
    2) You may not be burning as many calories as you think you are. People often overestimate their level of effort and the result.


    I would reduce the number of calories you eat.
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
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    I don't have time to answer all the questions y'all have asked, but I sure do appreciate the advice and motivation!! I really need that sometimes! I am sweating my butt off at the gym, counting calories and weighting and measuring all my food. I was told and under the impression that I needed to eat more calories for as much exercise that I'm doing. I will try to lower my calories. I have been trying to get at least 80g of protein a day. Which I have found difficult while trying to keep calories low. But again, thank you all for the great advice!

    80g is still really low......If you can't hit that I think you need to reassess your diet.

    This^. I try to aim for *atleast* 100g....ideally 120-140g.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
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    Weight loss is 80% diet; activity accounts for much less than one might think. Focus on 'what' you're eating and cut out or reduce anything with sugar or sweetening. Just that one thing will help ... it's incredible how much sugar (and sweeteners) is in virtually everything we eat and drink. Look to the gym for fitness and health, not weight loss.
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
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    You have insufficient information. Anything anyone says is pure speculation.

    Open up your diary, if you are honestly tracking. Give us the information about your exercise. We also need to know if you calculated your BMR correctly.
  • embercakez
    embercakez Posts: 141
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    I don't have time to answer all the questions y'all have asked, but I sure do appreciate the advice and motivation!! I really need that sometimes! I am sweating my butt off at the gym, counting calories and weighting and measuring all my food. I was told and under the impression that I needed to eat more calories for as much exercise that I'm doing. I will try to lower my calories. I have been trying to get at least 80g of protein a day. Which I have found difficult while trying to keep calories low. But again, thank you all for the great advice!

    80g is still really low......If you can't hit that I think you need to reassess your diet.

    This^. I try to aim for *atleast* 100g....ideally 120-140g.
    I agree...I try to intake at the least my body weight in grams. I hit 153 for protein yesterday...don't see how it's hard to hit 80.
  • frisby178
    frisby178 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hi there - Im new to this too. I found that weighing myself did not help my state of mind at all as I became fixated on the numbers and got quite low if nothing was happening. Go by how you feel and how your clothes feel, a much better gauge, better still, measure yourself -its great seeing the difference. You get heavier the more exercise you do as muscle is heavier than fat, I do not agree with the BMR (basal metabolic wt) for that reason. I have the same story as you and didnt see any changes for ages, now, though, I am really feeling and noticing the difference and the pressure is off as i never, well, ok, once in a pink fit I weigh on the body fat scales at the gym - what I want to see is total fat down, muscle mass up - and it is now, just took a while to get going. This pall app is awesome, track everything, even little thing like one almond :), also track ALL exercise.

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