Working out, tracking, and no weight loss!! Why?!?!

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13

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Given the science behind all of this, there are two probable explanations....

    1.) you think you're at a caloric deficit, but you're not. are you weighing and measuring or are you doing a lot of guestimating? do you log everything, including condiments, marinades, etc. This was my big problem in the beginning, I was just eyeballing everything and not actually weighing or measuring...pretty important when 1 oz of nuts has about 160 calories and you're eating closer to 2 oz with your eyeballs....etc, etc, etc

    2.) you are at too great a deficit and your metabolism has stalled. either the built in deficit is too great or you are creating too big a deficit with your activity and workouts and not properly fueling that activity.
  • 3RachaelFaith3
    3RachaelFaith3 Posts: 283 Member
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    Measure yourself now. That way you can compare that. Because I don't know if you're doing any strength, but I know I'm doing shred and am mostly losing inches. But you look pretty thin in your pic, so your body may not be letting go of any weight, you may just be toning???
  • CandiSki
    CandiSki Posts: 57 Member
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    I would suggest eating more calories.

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

    It will help you a lot with how many calories you should actually be consuming.
  • miche_smash
    miche_smash Posts: 131 Member
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    What everyone else says-- you are probably not eating enough calories. I have similar stats to you: age 26, weight 141, height 5'4" and I set my calorie goal to 1500 and I am losing about a half a pound a week, working out 5-6 days a week. It is definitely important to measure everything you are eating, getting a scale to weigh my food has helped. I try not to eat all of my workout calories back, but I usually go over 1500 by a little.
  • Elf_Princess1210
    Elf_Princess1210 Posts: 895 Member
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    2 workouts a day, and eating 1200 calories.. There is your problem.

    as crazy as it sounds, you're not eating enough. I had this problem too, and one day I said screw it and ate what I wanted. I still ate healthfully, but ate closer to 1800 cals and I ended up losing 5lbs that week.
  • 3RachaelFaith3
    3RachaelFaith3 Posts: 283 Member
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    google "scoobys calculator" - enter in your info. You're very likely eating too few cals. I upped my cals to 2000, I eat more than that when I double up and have been losing.

    Thank you for posting this. It is much better than the other calculators I've tried!


    THAT is cool! Thanks for posting it.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    google "scoobys calculator" - enter in your info. You're very likely eating too few cals. I upped my cals to 2000, I eat more than that when I double up and have been losing.

    Thank you for posting this. It is much better than the other calculators I've tried!


    THAT is cool! Thanks for posting it.

    Just FYI, I've done several other calculators (including the in place of a roadmap on MFP) and they ALL come to around the same numbers, scoobys just does it with less hassle :)
  • rshields9093
    rshields9093 Posts: 20 Member
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    its not 1200 calories each day. If i work out I eat those calories, If i dont work out i stay around 1200, I will try upping it but my mind tells me if i eat more its not going to help me lose. I have been at the same weight for probably 6 months. For 4 of those months i still worked out just not as often or as much. Its been in the last 2 months i have gone everyday atleast once. I keep thinking it takes time and i will notice a difference, which i have in my muscles just not in weight!!

    A few points based on my own experience (and a lot of research):
    1. If your profile pic is recent I am guessing you don't have much left to lose. The last few pounds are MUCH harder than when you are 50 lbs. overweight and start losing from there.
    2. Like many others have said, too few calories can halt weight loss. There is a high probability that this is your issue.
    3. Remember, if you are building muscle it weighs more than fat. Your plateau may be at least partly due to a change in body composition (losing fat and replacing it with muscle) and that is not a bad thing. As you get closer to your weight goals weight can be a poor indicator. Your measurements (e.g.has your waist gotten smaller in the last 6 months?) and using a body fat caliper can be better tools for determining progress.
    4. Lifting weights (and I mean real weights, not cute little pink dumbbells) can absolutely trigger weight loss (or more accurately it can trigger desirable body re-composition). I believe it should be part of every person's weight loss program if possible. I actually believe that if you can only do one type of exercise, it should probably be weight lifting.
  • blondie_girl14
    blondie_girl14 Posts: 198 Member
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    google "scoobys calculator" - enter in your info. You're very likely eating too few cals. I upped my cals to 2000, I eat more than that when I double up and have been losing.

    Thanks, I checked out the scooby's calculator. Just heard about this now.
  • nolakris
    nolakris Posts: 98 Member
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    You aren't eating enough. I had this issue over the summer. After reading some articles and wearing a Body Media, I upped my calories and started losing and lost about 20lbs pretty quick.
  • Quibeful
    Quibeful Posts: 29 Member
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    ****This is what I have noticed about my journey*****
    I cannot eat less than 1600 cals and workout and expect to lose weight. I usually burn about 400-500 cals a workout and that is 40 mins. max. I got a HRM to track a more accurate cal burn. MFP has estimates and is usually wrong. DVD's work awesome, but I had to learn what works for me. I got insanity and Jillian Michael's and I alternate and only do 30 -45 mins. I may have ADD and I definately have a short attention span. I am learning that I have to change it up sometimes, so in the warmer weather I do more outside training and running. I use interval training to keep my self focused, again I am a bit ADD and that attention thing....

    Do alot of stuff and keep what you like. Make it a little fun and not a chore and you can stick with it longer than before. It can take some tries to stick with the whole lifestyle change for some people.

    GOOD LUCK!
  • trexmsuee
    trexmsuee Posts: 7 Member
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    2.) you are at too great a deficit and your metabolism has stalled. either the built in deficit is too great or you are creating too big a deficit with your activity and workouts and not properly fueling that activity.

    In my opinion, I'm pretty sure you are not violating the laws of physics - there is no such thing as free energy, so the work your body is doing is coming from somewhere. If you aren't getting enough nutrition, odds are that your ability to improve you fat / muscle percentage is muted - thus further inhibiting your BMR.

    I would be very aware that the affect of "metabolism slowdowns" is often overstated. As proven in several good studies, this isn't more than 30% or so in the most extreme cases over a long period of time. I would suggest investing in a HRM to get a more accurate (but nevertheless still prone to some error) idea of the calories you are burning throughout the day and during your workouts.

    I think that what most often happens is dieters (including me) who don't eat enough - they don't have the energy to work out, stay active, and when they do work out, it is at a less intense level. This gives the "appearance" of a metabolism affect, when it's really just a lack of proper nutrition.

    I also agree with the other user's who have suggested that you really look hard at exactly what your are eating, portion sizes, etc... to make sure that the number of calories your are recording is close to what your are actually ingesting.

    Good luck!
  • Saaaam42
    Saaaam42 Posts: 154 Member
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    I know it makes NO sense whatsoever, but eat more. Up your calories by just 200-300 a day, and you will lose weight.

    I didn't believe it at first, but I'm dropping weight much faster now that I started eating 1400 a day instead of 1200 a day.
  • tbelivea
    tbelivea Posts: 94 Member
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    I'm in a very similar situation to the OP and according to this Scooby's Workshop calculator I should be eating 150 to 300 cals more per day depending on how much I work out... interesting. It would explain why I'm going to bed hungry sometimes.
  • lkocher01
    lkocher01 Posts: 10 Member
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    I think you may be working out TOO hard. I know that it seems like it should be working, but your body may be in starvation mode. You aren't eating enough calories to support the amount of working out that you are doing. That forces your body to hang on to every calorie. Also, with all that you are doing, you are probably adding a lot of muscle to your body which is a good thing. Muscle weighs more than fat, but it's lean mass. When you have more muscle mass it does help to burn fat and it is lean and helps boost you metabolism. Are your clothes fitting differently? You must be feeling like your clothes are fitting more loosely. Also, you really look pretty think in your picture. How much are you trying to lose if you don't mind me asking?
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    Also, with all that you are doing, you are probably adding a lot of muscle to your body which is a good thing. Muscle weighs more than fat, but it's lean mass.
    no.
  • traes0821
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    Are you eating back your exercise calories? If not, IMO you're calorie intake is too low. When I workout 5-6 days a week 1-2 times per day I eat between 2,000-2,400 calories and lose. At first I wasn't eating that many calories and my weight stayed the same for months. After upping calories, I saw a loss the very first week. Search for "in place of a road map" in the message boards and read it. Has a lot of good info.

    EAT MORE!!!!! You will platue if something isn't adjusted. You are exercising as much as an athlete!!!! You need to increase calories!!!!
  • traes0821
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    I AGREE!!!! with the comment that you are working out TO HARD with not enough calories coming in.
  • traes0821
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    Have you adjusted your profile on the myfitnesspal? Does it know how much you are exercising? It should take into account that with your weight/height/age and give you an updated number.
  • jmac263
    jmac263 Posts: 87
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    yes i adjusted my stuff for my intake, I just used that scooby calculator and it says 1400 calories a day so starting monday i am going to try that for a week and see what happens! Fingers crossed i show a loss!!!