Why am I experiencing no weight loss at all?

Good morning. You are experiencing the most common frustration on this site.

Unfortunately, it is a little more complex than eat less / move more. [1] However! It's not so complex that you can't do it. Based on a glance at your food diary, I think you might be under-feeding yourself. Please see In Place of a Road Map 2.0 [2] for the clearest and best summary of how to get your caloric intake and exercise calibrated right.

Weight loss cannot be rushed by going way high on exercise and way low on calories - - you'll experience the best results at a moderate intake with moderate exercise. Becoming fit, losing weight, these things actually feel GOOD if you're doing them right.



[1] http://nbsfit.com/nutrition/weight-loss-isnt-always-about-eating-less-and-exercising-more/

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

Hi. You might want to look at your sodium intake too, which can contribute to weight loss not happening as it should. Even low sodium bacon has a good amount of sodium in it. Also, pizza and processed meats will have tons of sodium. Assuming that you are doing everything else right, this might be a factor. Good luck!

^This

Don't feel frustrated!!! I gained 10lbs in a week when I had been eating very healthy and working out five days a week and I KNOW I didnt eat that much. Actually I feel smaller!!! I didnt know what to do I just about quit! Try measuring yourself?? I'm going to start.

I understand it must be hideously frustrating but don't lose hope. It does get harder past 40 years old, which is a given. BUT I know considering you work out, eat within your calorie range, it must be just mind numbingly irritating not to see the movement.

Firstly, I would say go on measurements. Like some people on here, especially since I work out a lot, the movement on the scales are low and sometimes don't move but guess what? - I lose inches and my body shape does change.

Secondly, I would say try different foods, less processed and test out how your body reacts. For instance, I do love pasta and bread and occasionally eat it when I want it, but when I have a week where I eat lots of it, I may not put on weight but my stomach bloats and I feel uncomfortable and I find it harder to shift. This is the same with high sodium foods for me.

Worth trying and eating cleaner. When I do, I do have more regular movement on the inches and scales x

You can try taking Align. I've found it to help
Me with bloating and other issues.

Try eating smaller portions if it helps. Before you eat, try to drink a lot of water. Even if you feel full after eating and drinking the water, remember , it's the water that is filling you up mostly. Work out if you can at certain times of the day (usually when you have time) try strength training! Jump Roping helps too! Especially running or a jog. Maybe even a walk. Exercise at least 2 or 3 times a day for 30 minutes if you can. I suggest Jumping jacks too. I hope this helped. It surely helped me.

You are still not eating enough vegetables. And you need to log the exercise. If you don't log the exercise you won't be able to see how much to eat back. Monday was better cos of logging the zumba

I, like the others, think you are not eating enough, and maybe eating too much salt.

Really try to eat 5 serves of vegetable a day, and don't count potato crisps.

Your weight loss will not be linear, you will get lulls and spurts. this is normal

You are not eating enough that is why your body doesn't want to let go of the fat because it is being starved. People think the less I eat the more I'll lose, and yes, if you starve for long enough you will but for most people this is not sustainable and they will get fed up start eating badly again and put on even more weight. To get out of this cycle you have to eat all your recommended calories. With exercise calories it depends what you want to do, some people eat them back, some don't. I eat them back if I'm hungry and I don't if I'm not. I used to eat 1200 cals and when I stopped losing I upped to 1400 and started losing again (and I am only 5' 2"). I noticed on Tuesday that you had eaten just over 200 cals, I really hope that you just hadn't logged everything for that day as I would have that just for breakfast.

With the constipation again it is because you are not eating enough therefore not getting enough fibre. Up your fibre and drink as much water as you can manage and that shoud solve that.

Probably just sounded like a total nag there lol but just trying to help

I am working out four to five days a week: I take three or four 60-minute cardio-based classes such as Zumba, hip hop or step aerobics, and I take one 60-minute strength training/sculpting class (which has some cardio but not enough to bring my heart rate up to cardio class levels).

Zumba and stuff like that is pretty much worthless, in my experience. Go jobbing, start running, you're not going to change your body by jumping around for a few minutes a day dancing.

That's quite patronising. 60 minutes a day of cardio is plenty. How do you know how much effort she's exerting in her zumba class? It can be a very good cardio workout.

OP - look at it this way, you've lost 3.5 lbs since you started in December. I know it's frustrating as hell to gain back some of what you originally lost, but you have made some progress over the last several weeks.

I noticed that some of your diary entries seem a bit generic. For example, "peperoni pizza", "homemade cake pops", "pound cake" - are these entries that you have added yourself? If not, then there could be quite a variation between the nutritional content of what you have eaten, and what is in the database, so things could be amiss there.

It looks to me like you've only just started eating back exercise calories? If so, then there is more food/waste in your system than there was before, and that will show up on the scale. (I think this is a likely culprit, especially as you say you are constipated.) Also, when you increase food intake, if you increase carb intake at the same time, that will make you gain a little water weight, as carbs hold onto water. Keep eating those exercise calories though, otherwise you're not giving your body nearly enough fuel for those workouts.

As you are already aware, starting a new exercise programme, or increasing intensity will make your muscles hold onto water as they repair themselves.

I would say - give it more time. Give it several weeks for your body to get used to the change in exercise and food, and you should start to see the fat loss on the scales.

Give measuring a go anyway - you probably won't see changes very quickly, but it will help motivate you further down the line.

Regarding the constipation - try tracking your fibre in your diary to see if you're getting enough. Also, if you are not getting enough fluids, that can effect things too.

With only 30 lbs to lose, you may benefit from eating even more. A very large calorie deficit can be counter-productive the closer you get to a healthy weight. For now though, I would try for several weeks at the level you are now - making sure to eat at least a portion of exercise calories back - and see how you get on.

I am working out four to five days a week: I take three or four 60-minute cardio-based classes such as Zumba, hip hop or step aerobics, and I take one 60-minute strength training/sculpting class (which has some cardio but not enough to bring my heart rate up to cardio class levels).

Zumba and stuff like that is pretty much worthless, in my experience. Go jobbing, start running, you're not going to change your body by jumping around for a few minutes a day dancing.

That's quite patronising. 60 minutes a day of cardio is plenty. How do you know how much effort she's exerting in her zumba class? It can be a very good cardio workout.

OP - look at it this way, you've lost 3.5 lbs since you started in December. I know it's frustrating as hell to gain back some of what you originally lost, but you have made some progress over the last several weeks.

I noticed that some of your diary entries seem a bit generic. For example, "peperoni pizza", "homemade cake pops", "pound cake" - are these entries that you have added yourself? If not, then there could be quite a variation between the nutritional content of what you have eaten, and what is in the database, so things could be amiss there.

It looks to me like you've only just started eating back exercise calories? If so, then there is more food/waste in your system than there was before, and that will show up on the scale. (I think this is a likely culprit, especially as you say you are constipated.) Also, when you increase food intake, if you increase carb intake at the same time, that will make you gain a little water weight, as carbs hold onto water. Keep eating those exercise calories though, otherwise you're not giving your body nearly enough fuel for those workouts.

As you are already aware, starting a new exercise programme, or increasing intensity will make your muscles hold onto water as they repair themselves.

I would say - give it more time. Give it several weeks for your body to get used to the change in exercise and food, and you should start to see the fat loss on the scales.

Give measuring a go anyway - you probably won't see changes very quickly, but it will help motivate you further down the line.

Regarding the constipation - try tracking your fibre in your diary to see if you're getting enough. Also, if you are not getting enough fluids, that can effect things too.

With only 30 lbs to lose, you may benefit from eating even more. A very large calorie deficit can be counter-productive the closer you get to a healthy weight. For now though, I would try for several weeks at the level you are now - making sure to eat at least a portion of exercise calories back - and see how you get on.

This is good advice.

My first thought was inaccurate logging as well; I was pretty guilty of this in the beginning.

Often when you first start to eat more you'll see some scale weight gain, you just have to trust that if you're accurately measuring and weighing you won't gain fat in a deficit.

Ignore the advice regarding carbs/Gary Taubes, unless you have a medical condition. Reduction in carbs will result in loss of water, but no greater loss of fat.

Ignore the advice regarding carbs/Gary Taubes, unless you have a medical condition. Reduction in carbs will result in loss of water, but no greater loss of fat.

I'm not sure you fully understand how carbs work, or biochemistry for that matter. If you have any factual data that backs this claim, I'll gladly research it, but the majority of validated science leans towards low carbs = low insulin = mobilization of fat = actual weight loss.

http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319

http://weightology.net/?p=265

ETA: I don't think low-carb is necessarily bad. I just don't think it's necessary. And there are adherence problems with it for a lot of people. If it's something the OP wants to try I don't think it would be bad or unhealthy for her, but I don't think she ought to be led to believe that low-carb is the only, or even the best, option.

That is a very compelling article, and it may very well be true. However, it states near the end that "In fact, if you truly wanted to keep insulin as low as possible, then you wouldn’t eat a high protein diet…you would eat a low protein, low carbohydrate, high fat diet. However, I don’t see anybody recommending that." But that is the exact diet recommended by most sources I have researched. I completely agree that it isn't the only way to make it work. I've yo-yo'd with weight my entire adult life, and you're absolutely correct that many people have trouble sustaining it. I would agree to disagree on your point about it not being the best... but that is irrelevant and only time and more research will answer that question. I can say, however, that the 16 lbs I've lost in the past 3 weeks has been far easier than any of the other times I have lost substantial weight in my life, with less hunger, more energy, and faster results using low-carb/high-fat and high intensity weight training. There a 1,000 roads to the destination, this one just seems to be the shortest and least hilly for me. I was simply trying to give the OP another source of information to take from whatever she wants. Thanks for the links!