Why isn't the weight falling off me?

Firstly and unfortunately nothing happens fast, this is a slow process, and for me who is impatient it is hard. But I have found, weighing myself everyday, I can see what foods that I have eaten have affected my body. For instance, I excercised and ate well two days ago, but then ate a piece of pizza, the scale the next day showed an increase of .5 lb. It was all sodium I bet, I pumped up my water intake and when I weighed myself today, I was down .9 lb. Also if you are excercising you are building a little muscle which weighs more than fat. Dont rely just on the scale, take your measurements. Dont your clothes feel loser? I lost 9 lbs so far, but feel like I lost 20 in my clothes, so despite what the scale says in lbs, im smaller.

What we are all on is a life style change for better health. And with that we need to have patience and be consistent. Our bodies are taking their time to adjust. You will see lots of fluctuation through out your weeks, it's the normal part of our bodies working hard. They digest foods, retain fluids, build muscles... and so on and so on. Take your time, focus on you, and what you feel you need to feel comfortable, set mini goals, get in some great cardio, eat healthy and just feel amazing that you've changed your habits. You will see the scale drop, you will see flux, you will see lots of different things. Accept it, smile and remember that you're worth every step you take in the right direction. You can do it!

In my opinion, many people put far too much emphasis on the scale. You're concerned with losing fat, right?

Well the scale measures a whole heck of a lot more than fat. It also measures muscle, connective tissue, water, bowel matter, etc.

The longer term trends paint a picture of whether you're losing fat or not. The acute, short-term fluctuations from hour to hour, and even from day to day, simply paint a picture of the flux of everything.

The point is, you could be losing fat but it could be masked by the flux of other factors of the body. The scale won't tell you that though.

If the longer terms trend isn't heading in the desired direction... then it's time to look at your diet. Specifically what foods you're eating and how many calories you're eating.

One thing I had to learn was NOT to weigh in every day. Pick a day of the week and make that your weigh in day. We can weigh in differently by the time of day, if we ate, drank or exercised. So same time one day a week is the best and less irritating. Good luck. Also it's usually normal to have a large drop the first week of diet. :flowerforyou:

Like Steve said, the scales dont just measure fat. Technically a pound of fat = a pound of muscle, however that muscle is smaller in VOLUME to the fat, if you are gaining muscle you need to take measurements if you want to see the way your body is changing. Lock your scales away. I know its really hard and I find it extremely difficlut but ive lost almost a stone since christmas and only realised when i took measurments where it had come from!
It is a hell of a lot easier to gain than to lose so please do not get disheartened. Keep your water levels up as sodium can screw with you if you dont. Also remember that a slight increase can be explained by so many things, always try and weigh in at the same time of day every time as you can fluctuate +/- 2.2lbs ain a day for no foor related reason. Stick to your calories on here, they work, eat your exercise calories, its important!
I had the same issue when i started, i gained loads and then recently i have dropped 6lbs in 2 weeks without really trying. Your body could suddenly be going argh less calories than we are sued to, must hold on to everything. It will then realise that it doesnt need it and start dropping fat.

Please do not get disheartened. Keep at it hun, find a good forum on here that you think suits your needs, the ladies in any more chubby 20's are ace and very supportive!

Gem

I've lost 51 lbs since October by sticking to a few rules on my food plan. www.myfoodlovers.com

Weigh in only once a week. Weigh in as soon as you get up after you pee. Do not weigh yourself thru out the day, you are only saboutaging yourself.
Eat something within 1 hour of waking up. Eat every 2 to 3 hours all day long until 1 hour before bedtime.
Become a label detective and remove all food that has ingredients like white enriched flour, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup.
Snacks should be kept under 200 calories.

Here are the correct proportions for each meal for a woman:
total calories - between 300 to 500
protein between 15 to 30 g
carbs - 30 to 45 g
fat - 20 to 30 % or LESS of total calories
fiber - at least 5 g (20 to 25 g/day)
Sodium - LESS than 700 mgs per meal.

I also work out everyday. Like I said 51 lbs gone in less than 5 months. This food plan absolutely works. It's taught me how to eat, how to cook, the right portions. It's not a diet, it's a new lifestyle that I will do for the rest of my life.

Hope this helps and check out the website.

Christine

Christine are you saying only 300 to 500 calories a day? is that a mistake??

Per meal....