The scale hasn't budged. :(

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ksgetfit
ksgetfit Posts: 13
in Motivation and Support
I started MFP exactly one week ago and have weighed every morning before eating. After one week of doing the elliptical and trying to watch what I eat, the scale this morning shows the exact number I started with seven days ago. So frustrating. :cry: I see quite a few people talking about lifting weights, but I don't know of any programs to use, so I've just been sticking with my elliptical. Any help/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • jenndymond
    jenndymond Posts: 117 Member
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    Patience patience patience. It takes more then a week for your body to adjust to anything. Give it a month.

    In the mean time cardio is a good plan. I lift but all that is with a trainer, search the forms there are lots of answers to lifting questions.

    Drink lots of water, eat clean

    Remember your weight can fluctuate up to 5lbs a day weighing everyday maybe ok for you as long as you remember that

    And make sure to take measurments! The scale will lie, inches will not!

    Good luck!
  • lowpro1983
    lowpro1983 Posts: 305 Member
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    I agree - patience and consistency. Keep doing what you are doing and allow your body time to adjust. It will come, don't give up.

    Log everything you eat, drink lots of water, exercise.

    Also, sometimes it helps to take a before, during, and after picture to track results vs the scale. The scale is just a number - for me, the real reward is feeling better and my clothes fitting a little looser. :)

    Good luck!
  • AdeleDepofi
    AdeleDepofi Posts: 1
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    Keep at it. If you are under your calorie goal and are doing some cadio the scale with start to move,,, down! Try not to eat less than 3 hours before you go to bed and cut out as many carbs as you can for the next week or two. Get your body thinking it needs to burn the fat it's stored.
    Good Luck ! And Keep At It !!
  • lazykerry
    lazykerry Posts: 31 Member
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    I feel your pain. I always hear/read about people recording huge losses in the first couple of weeks and then normalizing to 1-2 pounds/week. I've hardly lost anything at all in my first month, and this is supposed to be the big loss time? It's especially frustrating because I gained 15 pounds so quickly (only 4 months) but at this rate it will take me 2 years to take it off. No fair.
  • susyw_2003
    susyw_2003 Posts: 70
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    Weight isnt everything, this can change due to water tension, time of the month, bloating, most importantly muscle gain etc. Use a tape measure to track measurements as inches can be lost but the scales can say the same.
  • jfarnden
    jfarnden Posts: 27
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    I barely saw any loss in the first week mainly because we were still clearing all the dirty high carb high calorie foods out of the house. (Bad habits take a lot to break). I also heard that when you first start exercising your muscles will actually store some of the water to help them deal with the new activity level. And yeah, as Susy said, that time of the month is a real pain for weight loss so if you're even close to it you could well have lost a pound then bloated it back on only for it to fall back off after.
    Just keep eating healthy and stick to it. You're not just doing it for a little bit, eating healthy is a long term commitment.
    About 3-4 weeks in i started feeling better. Its hard to explain how but maybe just having a bit more energy and wanting to do things. Like, i actually enjoy (well maybe not all the time but a bunch of the time) my exercising now. And make sure you're drinking enough water too.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    I started MFP exactly one week ago and have weighed every morning before eating. After one week of doing the elliptical and trying to watch what I eat, the scale this morning shows the exact number I started with seven days ago. So frustrating. :cry: I see quite a few people talking about lifting weights, but I don't know of any programs to use, so I've just been sticking with my elliptical. Any help/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance. :flowerforyou:
    Stop weighing everyday. Weigh in once a week. First couple of weeks expect no weight loss or even a gain if you've just started exercising. It will come off if you're diligent and disciplined.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Patience.

    Consistency.

    Accuracy.

    STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALE!

    This will take time, there is no reason to torture yourself by stepping on the scale every day. You are actually lucky that it shows the same number everyday. Most people see fluctuations from day to day.

    One of the most overlooked bits of the whole process is accuracy: are you measuring your food? Are you checking your measurements against serving sizes? It is fine to have two servings, as long as you know that they are two servings and you are logging two servings. Are you using calorie counts from your machine? Does it have the hand heart rate plates?

    As for adding resistance training, there are many places you can start. Any resistance training will help, at least at the beginning. If you belong to a gym, take a class or hire a trainer for a few sessions so that you can learn. If you work out at home, get a DVD or check out you tube. There are body weight exercises (ie, squats and push ups), resistance bands (make sure you get good ones that actually require you to exert yourself), dumbbells, kettles... You need to find what you enjoy, because that is what you will stick with.
  • Aleks87
    Aleks87 Posts: 13
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    I have been struggling with the same issue. When I first started eating healthy and working out the weight started to melt off for the first week or so, then I gained back two pounds which hurt my motivation a bit. I have been trying to lose weight for the past few years and always end up quitting when I don't see results. Frustrated.

    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]9652440.png[/url]
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  • step132
    step132 Posts: 9
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    Stick with it! I know firsthand how disappointing it is to get on the scale and not see any progress. But everyone's body is different and sadly it does take some of us a little longer to get going. It will happen! :)
  • tinassofit
    tinassofit Posts: 54
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    its ok not to lose weight in the first week. what I've noticed works is not eating carbs after 4 pm. you might want to try this for a week and see how it suits you. Its not easy, but once you've done it for a few days you get used to it.
  • iffy8
    iffy8 Posts: 64
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    I started MFP exactly one week ago and have weighed every morning before eating. After one week of doing the elliptical and trying to watch what I eat, the scale this morning shows the exact number I started with seven days ago. So frustrating. :cry: I see quite a few people talking about lifting weights, but I don't know of any programs to use, so I've just been sticking with my elliptical. Any help/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance. :flowerforyou:

    Thank you for posting this!!! I just finished week two and the scale hasn't budged. And I'm considered "obese" as far as BMI standards. Very comforting responses! Thank you everyone!
  • jfarnden
    jfarnden Posts: 27
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    I started MFP exactly one week ago and have weighed every morning before eating. After one week of doing the elliptical and trying to watch what I eat, the scale this morning shows the exact number I started with seven days ago. So frustrating. :cry: I see quite a few people talking about lifting weights, but I don't know of any programs to use, so I've just been sticking with my elliptical. Any help/recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks, in advance. :flowerforyou:

    Thank you for posting this!!! I just finished week two and the scale hasn't budged. And I'm considered "obese" as far as BMI standards. Very comforting responses! Thank you everyone!

    BMI standards suck, they say obese, but theres plenty of "obese people" that would be classed that because of muscle or because the BMI is only averaged to a certain type of person. If you're really worried about the BMI thing go see your doctor and let them help set your goal weight because my doc specifically said i'd never be the BMIs ideal because im quite wide before fat and my body shape isn't really BMI material. Its all about eating and acting healthy and feeling better. Just keep at it. And the measurements thing, heaps better than the scales, but you're only meant to take them once a month so you have plenty of opportunity to do the right thing by your body.
  • ksgetfit
    ksgetfit Posts: 13
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    I must confess, I don't measure my food. I just guess on the serving size (unless it's prepackaged, then I look at the nutrition info on the back). My calorie goal per day is 1290, but I must be a pig because that doesn't seem like enough food for me, so I always end up going over that. :ohwell: I try to use my elliptical to help make up for it though and I do use the calorie counter and heart rate on my elliptical.
  • ksgetfit
    ksgetfit Posts: 13
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    Thank so much for all your feedback, everyone! It was all very helpful. I wish you all the best of luck in your weight loss journeys. :smile:
  • rlewis563
    rlewis563 Posts: 1
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    Don't worry so much about the scale. I sometimes have that issue as well with the scale but then I look at things like how my clothes are fitting (a much more comfortable size 14 bootcut jeans, can now wear size 14 skinny jeans that I bought 2 weeks ago), my endurance (I am getting better at lasting longer in my kickboxing classes), and how my practices have changed (I measure my food and now even cook healthy meals for my parents since I live with them). Anyway, this is all to say that your success will be measured by things other than the scale. And if you are going to weigh yourself, do it once a week. Weighing yourself everyday will drive you nuts!!! So...

    Be patient! This takes time!

    Be gentle! This is your journey, do not measure yourself by someone else's standards.

    HAVE FUN!! I find that weight loss is one of those things when you really get to know yourself so have fun exploring what you like, what works best for you and go from there. The journey is always the best part!

    Okay, I know that this might have sounded cheesy but hopefully this helps! Peace! :)
  • ksgetfit
    ksgetfit Posts: 13
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    Thanks so much! :)

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