Help Please! What am I doing wrong??

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faithNlove212
faithNlove212 Posts: 203 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I need some help .....

For the past 3 weeks I have been on this site. I have entered my daily food everyday as well as my exercise. I am eating correctly & exercising alot!! I walk everyday! I cant afford the gym so I walk at our towns river walk. It takes about an hour & 7 minutes to walk the entire thing & I do!!

My brother is a personal trainer so hes been helping me. I have showed him & my doctor my food intake everyday & both agree im doing great! I am also drinking 6-8 bottles of water a day! I also take Designer Whey protein powder that makes protein shakes. I take it right after I exercise. My brother said its a good way to help weight loss & build healthy, neccessary muscle for me.

BUT....im not loosing like I should. My clothes still fit the same & my tummy measurements are the same. In 3 weeks im down 5.2lbs. I started at 232lbs im down to 226.8lbs. The thing is im addicted to the scale! I was told to weigh myself once a week so I weigh in every monday! But I have a habit of weighing myself almost everyday. Today I weighed myself & it says im 230lbs. I dont understand?? Weigh in isnt until tomorrow but could 1 day make a difference?

Im frustrated because I dont see a change. I feel more energized which is a plus but im upset about my measurements & the scale. My father says he can see a change in my face its thinner but I dont see anything!

Everyone says it could be water weight, or that im gaining muscle. I walk everyday! I also do 50 situps on an exercise ball at night. I also lift 5lb weights for 20 minutes. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG????

Replies

  • AnneElise
    AnneElise Posts: 4,221 Member
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    Its only been 3 weeks. 5.3 lbs is AWESOME. I hate to say but this is a slow process not a quick fix. You are doing the right things it just takes time. its unhealthy to loose any quicker than you are. Lift 5 lbs next time you have the chance and realize in 3 weeks you are that much lighter.
  • Happyguy
    Happyguy Posts: 90 Member
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    Sounds to me like you are doing everything right! Keep up the good work and don't be so hard on yourself!
  • joelbaker
    joelbaker Posts: 4
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    Hi Ladybug! I think I might have the answer you are looking for. Go to my page and take a look at my blog. I'm not sure why noone has told you this yet!
    Anyway, I hope it sheds some light on how your body works. Good news is you should be getting close to seeing some results!
  • torance
    torance Posts: 1
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    That's pretty good that you lost almost 6 pounds in 3 weeks. And just remember muscle weighs more than fat so you could be gaining muscle too. Just keep up with exercising and eating right and before you know it you will see a difference :)
  • duckfan06
    duckfan06 Posts: 20
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    For some people the beginning stages of weight loss seems to contradict their natural belief that the weight will just come off. There are people who lose weight really fast at first, while others struggle. You seem to have a good knowledge and a great support system. I think with you beginning to work out, taking the whey protein, changing your body, it is taking your body a little while to adjust. If you keep up with your routine and stick with it you will find that eventually your body will begin to change more rapidly. Keep up with the good work and keep your head up.
  • marsha73
    marsha73 Posts: 23
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    hang in there. You are doing everything right. I have been on for almost 3 weeks and I have only lost 4 lbs. keep your head up and keep plugging away. Try not to weigh yourself everyday, I know it's hard- lock the scale away some place and only take it out on "weigh day" our weight fluctuates daily from water weight. hang in there.
  • sabrinafaith
    sabrinafaith Posts: 607 Member
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    HI... If you only just started working out, you could be gaining muscle, which is awesome. You need that muscle to burn fat. So later on your journey, the pounds will blast off.

    Also, If you aren't drinking enough water and eating too much sodium (like in packaged foods, even if they don't taste salty) you might be retaining water. Try drinking 10 glasses of water a day and you might see a BIG difference.

    Just keep it up and soon you will see a big difference. Good luck!
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    I too have the weigh- in-itis but it doesn't bother me. But you have lost almost 2 pounds a week and that's great. Be proud of yourself good luck your doin good
  • slcbrus
    slcbrus Posts: 79
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    I am right there with you, working out and managing calories and the quality of the food I eat but I seem to be loosing weight really slowly. Many things can explain that, medication, age, how fast your metabolism adapts to the changes... It's tough to not see results for ourselves but the changes are there, physically and mentally. It's a slow process and like other have said, I will repeat "hang in there", that's what I am repeating to myself. Eventually there will be a shift and the pounds will start dropping off :)) Keep it up, it's working! You have already lost a few pounds and in just 3 weeks, it's a great result!! Be proud of who you are and be confident, you will get there.

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  • Trish02
    Trish02 Posts: 25
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    No. 1 stop stressing on your weightloss, the fact that your stressing the weight isn't coming off as fast as you may like it to, will cause weight gain or maintain. I was like you wondering what I'm doing wrong and weighing myself almost everyday. What I did: I took my scale to a friend's house so I can stop the everyday weigh ins and put in more cardio and strength training and weigh myself if not once a week which is Friday for me or once every other Friday. That way it'll take out the stress of over weighing in and I see a big difference since I've done so. Celebrate your small victories that'll get you closer to your goal! (Sam from the Biggest Loser Season 9) His quote gets me through some of my small achievements.
  • catrinasm
    catrinasm Posts: 12
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    I remember you saying you feel more energized and that's fantastic!!! Maybe you should skip on the protein shakes for now and continue to workout AND only weigh yourself once a week...I choose Tuesday and it's exciting when that day comes. It allows me to work extra hard on Monday. Possibly re evaluate your calorie intake...even when I'm exercising I don't use ALL the calories in exercise for eating...I eat back half of them...also remmeber the little things to log in your food diary such as dressing..mayo things like that. It sounds like so far you are doing a GREAT job...keep it up...Yesterday I had a footlong veggie sand. at Subway it was sooo yummy and it was only 480 calories....yummm.....I couldn't even eat it all. On Tuesday it will be 2 weeks on this plan and I've lost 9 pounds BUT it really is what you eat that I've found out. Have a great day. : )
  • tabbyanny
    tabbyanny Posts: 17
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    You are probably gaining muscle like crazy. Especially if you body was used to no exercise or strength training. You want to gain that muscle (even if it temporarily raises the scale reading). Muscle does not weigh more than fat! A pound of fat and a pound of muscle equal the same amount......one pound! Muscle is heavier by volume than fat, so it takes up much less space. I would much rather have 10 lbs of muscle on me that 10 lbs of fat! The more muscle you have, the leaner your body will get....eventually. Please don't get discouraged! I know, from experience, that is much easier said than done! I started out at 215 and am now down to around 162, but it's taken me over a year... I got discouraged about 6 months into it (after losing 35 lbs) and quit and almost immediately gained 20 lbs back. So, I had that extra 20 to lose when I started back with the exercise and dieting! It does take time....lots of time! In my experience, it is extremely slow at first, then after several weeks of sticking to that diet and exercise and gaining that muscle, it will seem like it is just melting off. Your new muscle will raise your metabolism so high and start burning through all that fat. Your body WILL change!!! I promise!!! Hang in there!
  • tabbyanny
    tabbyanny Posts: 17
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    Oh, also losing 1 to 2 lbs a week is very normal and very healthy. Anything over that is probably unhealthy loss and less likely to stay off in the long run!!
  • faithNlove212
    faithNlove212 Posts: 203 Member
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    Thanks Everyone!! I am going to continute to eat right, track my food & exercise like I have been. Today im mixing it up & doing Taebo Flex instead of walking. My brother insists on doing walking every other day & Taebo or Jillian Michaels on the days I dont walk :happy:

    Trish02 I really like that quote :smile:
  • BlackBeltLife
    BlackBeltLife Posts: 180
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    The only thing wrong is the addiction to the scale. That can be a mental marathon and VERY trying (as you are experiencing). Take measurements and weigh in tomorrow and then don't do it again for a month......yes I said a month. When building muscle you will gain. SOme others have already talked about salt and water retention. Workout.....eat right......you will feel better and eventually the scale will show (along with your clothes). Stress can bring about weight gain and getting on the scale too much will stress you out. Keep up the good work.
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
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    Just reread your own post and you should see how great you really are doing. Over 5 pounds in 3 weeks is very good and you feel better! You did not gain that weight in 3 weeks, so don't expect to lose it any faster. It is a long term process and you are certainly tackling it in all the right ways. Just try to be patient and it really would benefit you to only weigh once a week. Please continue eating healthy and working out; the results will be worth it! I wish you great success on your journey!
  • Chenoa
    Chenoa Posts: 1 Member
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    My situation is similar, as far as weight loss goes. I'm down around 5 pounds, too. I hike for an hour several times a week. However, my weight can go up or down 5 pounds in a day depending on my activities. I used to be 150-155 and now I'm 145-150. I don't let it frustrate me and you shouldn't either. Just keep working. I have a scale that measures body fat percentage, and that helps me to feel better about it. I started at 37%, and am down to 34% - even on the 150 lb days. Even if I weighed in the same as my starting weight one day, at least I know I'm in "better shape" since the percentage is going down.

    Tabbyanny is right. You are gaining muscle AND losing fat. Great job! Just keep at it and you'll watch it melt away a couple of pounds at a time. :-)
  • de1amo
    de1amo Posts: 266 Member
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    my old mum says you should go and get the equivilent to your weight loss in a product like sugar(nearly 3 bags) and you will realise how heavy 5,3lbs of loss is--your bang on target.
    you do seem to be drinking a lot of bottles of water-but depends how big the bottles are and how hot it is where you live-
    -it takes a month on average to gain a kilo of muscle for a weight trainer
    measuring your hip and waiste ratio to get a dimension check is good--i divide my waist by my hips in cms -the figure should come between .80 to ,90 sadly i am ,92 but it gives me an idea of dimension --it maybe different for females

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