FRUSTRATED!!!!!

ernurse77
ernurse77 Posts: 73 Member
in Motivation and Support
The subject says it all. For the past 2 weeks, I have been working out 6 days a week, doing 30 DS and an additional 10 to 20 minutes of cardio per day. I have yet to see the scale move down. In fact, today, I gained 2 pounds. I am so frustrated!!!
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Replies

  • wrotruck
    wrotruck Posts: 72 Member
    Take a breath.

    If you drastically changed your workout schedule the 2 lbs may just be your body adjusting to a new routine.

    I have found that when I hit wall in any fitness goal that I just needed to shift things around a little to get through it.

    Try adding some strength training to your fitness routine and/or, if you are using the MFP defaults, try exchanging some of your carb calories for protein calories.

    Try mixing things up in a few different ways. Everyone's body responds differently, I am confident that you will figure yours out!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Give it more time and stay off the scale.

    When you change your routine (adding exercise for example) your muscles will hold onto water to help repair themselves.

    Our weights also naturally change day by day and throughout the day.

    How high is your sodium? How much water are you drinking? Are you eating a lot of processed foods? Are you properly weighing and measuring ALL foods you eat (weigh solids, use measuring cups/spoons for liquids)? Even packaged foods where you eat the whole thing, weigh it! I had a protein bar yesterday that was supposed to be 70g as it said on the package.. I weighed the whole thing minus the wrapper and it was actually 78g. Don't rely on measuring cups/spoons for solids as the amounts can vary (a serving of protein powder that i have is actually a bit less than one full scoop). Get a kitchen scale and use it. Do not eyeball anything. Ensure you are counting your additons to coffee, dressing on salads, condiments on sandwiches/in wraps, etc.
  • Rum_Runner
    Rum_Runner Posts: 617 Member
    Your diary is private so we can't analyze your food.

    It could be a few things but the main thing....TIME!

    You've only been really at it for 2 weeks and you've added a lot of exercise. Your body is adjusting.

    My advice:
    Remove as much processed food from your diet
    Drink more water (your weight divided by 2 gives you the MINIMUM daily oz intake)
    Lower your sodium intake
    Take measurements
    Take pictures
    and
    Give it time

    Best of luck
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    we can't see your diary so can't help you much
  • Berlygirl10
    Berlygirl10 Posts: 68
    I totally get how you feel.. I got on the scale today and it hasn't moved... and I feel like I have been doing better than ever with calorie counting and working out ;) but I have to keep remembering this isn't a 2 week change it is a life change.. do you take your measurements? maybe you have lost an inch somewhere :) keep it up!
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
    Not sure what your diet is like, but this article might help:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read
  • ambermadore
    ambermadore Posts: 13 Member
    It is frustrating not to see the results. But it is a proven fact that it takes a minimum 4 weeks to see the changes in ourselves, 6-8 weeks for our close loved one's to see those changes, and 12 weeks for other people to notice. Don't give up - I'm sure it took a while over time to gain the weight you're trying to lose - and it will take some time to take it off! Take it from me - I was 364 lbs, and am now 225. If you stay motivated and committed, you can do anything you set your heart on. Maybe it's time to switch up your routine. If you're normally using an elliptical, try using a treadmill or vice versa. Stay focused, I know you can do it :)
  • graceeloser
    graceeloser Posts: 2
    You're probably building muscle which weighs more than fat. A good test on how you're progressing is in how your clothes are fitting. Hang in there!
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
    Let me guess . . . are you eating a very low caloric intake? Let's say, less than 1400?
  • wjrapp
    wjrapp Posts: 56 Member
    Your diary is private so we can't analyze your food.

    It could be a few things but the main thing....TIME!

    You've only been really at it for 2 weeks and you've added a lot of exercise. Your body is adjusting.

    My advice:
    Remove as much processed food from your diet
    Drink more water (your weight divided by 2 gives you the MINIMUM daily oz intake)
    Lower your sodium intake
    Take measurements
    Take pictures
    and
    Give it time

    Best of luck

    Yep...this ^
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    Are you eating enough? Sometimes if someone drops their calories and start working out the body freaks. Anything under 1200 net will make your body hold on to everything.
  • jennmarg
    jennmarg Posts: 9 Member
    I totally hear you. I lost about 25 pounds last year after joining MFP and it seemed to fall right off. I just started again after gaining weight back (I had a baby) and it doesn't seem like it is coming off as quickly. (I also just recommitted about 2 weeks ago and started working out and have only lost 2 pounds.) BUT -- I have to remember that meaningful change takes time. The first time I lost weight (before another baby!) it took a while but I managed to keep 50 pounds off until I got pregnant.

    For now I am just focused on how much better I feel after I work out or make a healthy food choice and using that to keep me motivated.

    You can do it!
  • workoutchick
    workoutchick Posts: 93 Member
    Yep. I know how you feel. Don't give up !
  • metaphoria
    metaphoria Posts: 1,432 Member
    I respectfully disagree with grace. Building muscle is more difficult for women, so it is unlikely that you built up two pounds of muscle in a couple weeks. Please open your diary and we can help you calculate an appropriate amount of calories to consume to fuel your new workouts.
  • Rodamort
    Rodamort Posts: 171 Member
    Take this for what it is worth... You can do all the exercise you want, but if you don't keep track of what you put into your body, you may never lose weight. Weight/measure your food until you really have a good idea oh what a real serving size is. When I started my "serving size" was so out of control it was 2-3 times (or greater) the actual servings. 6 months in, if I have questions I still weight/measure my food to make sure I'm not falling back into old habits.
  • jennifer_a00
    jennifer_a00 Posts: 186 Member
    I gained a couple of pounds when I began 30 DS, but then they came off again along with losing a lot of inches. Maybe just give it more time? Don't give up!
  • Shamrock_me
    Shamrock_me Posts: 161
    Usually when I get stuck I eat 100 extra calories & see if I get unstuck. Sometimes you're not eating enough. Sometimes if you are doing strength training you're gaining muscle more than losing fat. When I began it was 4 weeks and I lost nothing and popped a button on my favorite slacks. I was demoralized, humiliated and felt like a failure.

    Everyone has been there. Hang in there and read other threads for ideas as to how to get unstuck (use the search option). I think the first thing I did was eat carbs before workout & protein after. That helped kick my weightloss in the butt. Keep trying different things & new tricks. You can do it!!
  • Sandrose
    Sandrose Posts: 90 Member
    I also found that shaking up my calorie intake made me start losing weight again. I actually eat more calories right now.
  • Aries4174
    Aries4174 Posts: 2
    I know for me, I tend to lose inches quicker than lbs. Your clothing is a better indicator than a scale would be. I used to be obsessed with the scale. People would say your losing weight but because I was so focused on the numbers on the scale I wasn't paying attention to my clothing. It will get better, hang in there. Also stressing over weight loss doesnt allow your body to shed weight like it needs to as well.
  • athenaheim
    athenaheim Posts: 496 Member
    Your diary is private so we can't analyze your food.

    It could be a few things but the main thing....TIME!

    You've only been really at it for 2 weeks and you've added a lot of exercise. Your body is adjusting.

    My advice:
    Remove as much processed food from your diet
    Drink more water (your weight divided by 2 gives you the MINIMUM daily oz intake)
    Lower your sodium intake
    Take measurements
    Take pictures
    and
    Give it time

    Best of luck

    I did not know that about the water. Good to know.
  • vanessamcinnis
    vanessamcinnis Posts: 204 Member
    The subject says it all. For the past 2 weeks, I have been working out 6 days a week, doing 30 DS and an additional 10 to 20 minutes of cardio per day. I have yet to see the scale move down. In fact, today, I gained 2 pounds. I am so frustrated!!!

    Change doesn't come quick, it's a lifestyle change that takes time. Stay away from the scale...Those 2 pounds could be muscle? which is awesome, plus your weight changes due to different situations. I stopped caring about the scale, its just a number. A quote a trainor said at my gym..."Take a step back and look beyond the scale, look at all the benefits your getting from exercise besides that number" I live by this quote now...Of course I have my ups and downs with how I feel...but we are all like that. This takes time...I lost 13 pounds and 20 inches in 2012....this took 1 full year! of exercising 6 times a week pretty much 2 hours of cardio daily. This doesn't come quick it takes time and commitment. You can do this!!! From the feedback I got from my before and after pictures...13 pounds doesn't sound like a big change but the inches! If your interested you can take a look http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/835801-2012-resolution-goal-with-pictures I'm still not where I want to be, but I'm trying! Start reminding yourself daily of this quote ..."Take a step back and look beyond the scale, look at all the benefits your getting from exercise besides that number" You will accomplish anything you put your mind to! Take life one day and a time, you got this!
  • vanessamcinnis
    vanessamcinnis Posts: 204 Member
    Your diary is private so we can't analyze your food.

    It could be a few things but the main thing....TIME!

    You've only been really at it for 2 weeks and you've added a lot of exercise. Your body is adjusting.

    My advice:
    Remove as much processed food from your diet
    Drink more water (your weight divided by 2 gives you the MINIMUM daily oz intake)
    Lower your sodium intake
    Take measurements
    Take pictures
    and
    Give it time

    Best of luck

    Yes! Take before and after pictures! Sometimes the scale doesn't show the true results about your accomplishments, and a photo will :)
  • oddberry
    oddberry Posts: 39
    I am going to try to be a little more positive as it seems you are getting quite a bit of honest but hard-to-swallow truth. Are you stressing? If you are obsessing with trying to lose weight you might be doing yourself an injustice. Are you giving your self a break and allowing your self to 'cheat' at least one day a week? are you giving yourself some time to see things change? Are you getting enough sleep and I mean SOUND sleep? Being healthy is not an overnight thing and it isn't a one time thing. Being healthy is a lifetime committment but once you get started, you can't help but keep up with it. These are all things to keep in consideration especially when things get frustrating.

    If you would like, add me and I can try to help you keep a sound yet positive outlook. It's tough sometimes and in those times we need friends and support the most.
  • DocMarr
    DocMarr Posts: 132 Member
    Last summer I spent about 3 months at the same weight but getting thinner by the tape measure and I assumed I must be gaining lean body mass (muscle) at about the same rate I was losing fat. Since getting my new aria wifi scale at christmas I have weighed myself every morning. My weight has stayed pretty much the same - it cycles up and down every 2-3 days going down to 66.1kg and then back up to 67kg then back down. However, three weeks ago when I was 67kg, that was split at 43.6 kg of lean and 23.5kg of fat. Today, at 67kg that was split at 45.5kg of lean and 21.6kg of fat. So in the past 3 weeks, although my weight has stayed the same, I have lost 2kg of fat! That's 4 pounds. There you go! Proof that the weight alone is a poor indicator of fat loss. I am gaining lean muscle and losing fat at about exactly the same rate. But as lean muscle takes up less space, pound for pound, then I am getting thinner. Maybe consider that aspect too. :)
  • seamanny
    seamanny Posts: 134 Member
    Not sure what your diet is like, but this article might help:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read

    thanks so much for sharing this!
  • porcelain_doll
    porcelain_doll Posts: 1,005 Member
    With that amount of exercise, you are most likely retaining water. Being a woman, this is going to happen more than you would like. But notice that the majority of people who get frustrated over not losing anything are women?

    I went through this, too, and I did a lot of research to figure out what was going on. Bottom line is, if you maintain a caloric deficit, you will lose weight. During the journey, however, you retain fluids for one of a dozen reasons, and it will show up as a gain on the scale.

    This article explains it rather well (scroll about halfway down the page to the header, "Water Balance"):

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-energy-balance-equation.html

    If you know you are eating correctly and exercising enough to create an appropriate deficit, then this is more than likely what is going on. It would be nice to lose in a linear fashion, but sadly this does not happen for the majority of women.

    I have also found the following article interesting as well. It talks about how your loss appears to stall and then suddenly "woosh."

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html
  • lumstead0317
    lumstead0317 Posts: 85 Member
    perfect post to answer some of this...
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read
  • Akimajuktuq
    Akimajuktuq Posts: 3,037 Member
    If you can't take the scale number with a grain of salt, stop weighing every day. You don't gain 2 pounds of fat in one day, but you can gain far more than that in water.

    Have you found a lifestyle and eating plan that you can do forever? If you have, then it won't matter so much what the scale says. Focus on achieving excellent health and then the weight will look after itself. Over TIME.
  • mommyof3j
    mommyof3j Posts: 26 Member
    The subject says it all. For the past 2 weeks, I have been working out 6 days a week, doing 30 DS and an additional 10 to 20 minutes of cardio per day. I have yet to see the scale move down. In fact, today, I gained 2 pounds. I am so frustrated!!!


    Thank you for posting this I too am going through this. I've decided to stay off the scale and not become a prisoner to it. Don't loose focus and keep your head up. Give yourself time for your body to adjust and go by the way your clothes feel not by what the scale says. Good luck!
  • dnhardy
    dnhardy Posts: 59
    Every single time I do the 30DS I gain in the beginning. Every. Single. Time.

    The most I've lost is 3 lbs throughout the program but you can totally see a difference in inches. Check out my picture below to see how big only 3lbs can be

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/photos/view/9992654

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