Help me please! Not losing.
Minimouse13
Posts: 10 Member
Hi,
I have so much weight to lose, over 100 pounds. I am staying within calorie range, I cycle so one day I am over, next 2 days under. But it all comes the same in the week.
I am not losing weight on the scale.
I do walk, nothing intense , I have some body injuries from a serious car accident.
I am so sad and depressed. My clothes are fitting better. Almost a month and not even 5 pounds lost.
I did better before MFP, I was cheating and never tracked. I am so discouraged.
Any advice?
I have so much weight to lose, over 100 pounds. I am staying within calorie range, I cycle so one day I am over, next 2 days under. But it all comes the same in the week.
I am not losing weight on the scale.
I do walk, nothing intense , I have some body injuries from a serious car accident.
I am so sad and depressed. My clothes are fitting better. Almost a month and not even 5 pounds lost.
I did better before MFP, I was cheating and never tracked. I am so discouraged.
Any advice?
0
Replies
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Are you logging what you eat? This is very important. It sounds like to me maybe your diet hasn't changed that much? Diet, imo, is more important than the exercise.0
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Take a close look at the quality of food you are eating. Veggies, lean protein and real food always make a difference in my loss. Eat as little processed food and sugar as possible. Lastly, don't give up! You didn't gain overnight and you won't lose overnight either.0
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Hi, I track every bite . Gave up diet soda. I stay within 1500 calories a day. I eat fruit and veggies daily, drink water. at my size I should be losing.0
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Qulaity over Quantity. It doesn't really matter how many calories you are eating- if you are eating empty calories, processed foods, foods that are high in fat and sugar. You need to be eating clean whole natural healthy foods. You need to really fuel your body with the nutrients it needs to function properly. Weightloss really depends on the quality of your diet. Dont think of it as cheating think of it as indugling
if you veiw it as a cheat you are going to feel guitly about it and feel shame like you can't do anything right. It's okay to indugle just earn it. Realy do your best, aim for HEALTHY. Good luck Add me if you need encouragement or to see more diaries. 0 -
I learned on the Livestrong website yesterday that the most common cause of failing to lose weight on an appropriate calorie deficit is not having enough muscle mass. Muscles raise your metabolism and burn fat. Concentrate on building some muscle; it should help. (This is what I'm doing because I haven't been losing significant weight either; down 4 pounds since mid-December.)0
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If you open your diary, I'll take a look.
Two things that have helped me:
1. Give up all sugar and simple carbs (like pasta and white bread). These things have a big impact on blood sugar - which affects energy levels and cravings.
2. Instead of 3 big meals a day, eat 5-6 mini meals. So if you're eating 1,500 calories a day, eat 5 meals of 300 calories each instead of 3 meals of 500 calories. This also helps stabilize your blood sugar and give you more consistent energy throughout the day.
Also... If you're lost almost 5 pounds in a month without serious exercise, I'd say you're doing pretty well. Keep it up!0 -
If you'll open your diary, we'll be able to give better comments about your food. Watch your sodium, drink lots of water, try to incorporate veggies and fruits when possible. If not already doing so, get a food scale & measuring cups & spoons and weigh and measure everything. While I knew my portions were always large, I didn't realize how super sized they were till I started weighing/measuring everything.
Are you generally weighing in at the same time/body state each time? I weigh once a week - Saturday mornings just after getting up and using the toilet and wearing nothing but my glasses so I can see the number. Weight fluctuates during the day so you need to be consistent about when you weigh in.
Are you taking progress pictures and taking body measurements. Sometimes you won't see a decrease on the scale but you will see it in the measurements. You can also judge this by if you're clothes are getting looser.
Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE? Here's a link with explanations and resources: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12.
If possible, use a Heart Rate Monitor to for a more accurate exercise calorie burn than MFP or cardio machines.0 -
Hey I like this idea...I have been keeping my diary and calorie intake pretty much level with a cheat now and again...have been losing pretty steady until this last week or so and up and down 1-2 pounds...driving me crazy...I am going to try to eat 4 or 5 mini meals and see how much success I have with that...thanks for that advice!!!If you open your diary, I'll take a look.
Two things that have helped me:
1. Give up all sugar and simple carbs (like pasta and white bread). These things have a big impact on blood sugar - which affects energy levels and cravings.
2. Instead of 3 big meals a day, eat 5-6 mini meals. So if you're eating 1,500 calories a day, eat 5 meals of 300 calories each instead of 3 meals of 500 calories. This also helps stabilize your blood sugar and give you more consistent energy throughout the day.
Also... If you're lost almost 5 pounds in a month without serious exercise, I'd say you're doing pretty well. Keep it up!0 -
Thank you all. I would say my eating is 60/40 . 60 being fresh foods, the other being canned soups and processed foods. I think with over a 100 pounds to lose , sodium should not be affecting me and I would look at it closer to goal.
I do think any calorie deficit should work if you have more that 100 to lose! But maybe I am wrong.
If I do eat a can of soup. I add a bag of baby spinach to it for a meal, like a stew, so I am eating pretty good.
I was averging a 5 pound a month loss before I joined MFP. I have lost 53 pounds in a year so far.
I really thouht a steady 2 pounds a week would come off.
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5 lbs in a month is over a pound a week. Seems like reasoable loss to me. I personally need to work out to lose weight.0
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If your clothes are fitting better, that's all that really matters! I know it's hard bc most people use the scale as a guide, but try to use MEASUREMENTS (get a tape measure) instead of the scale. Example: measure one arm, one thigh, your waist and your hips.) I guarantee you will see results. Think about it....a 200 lb body builder and a 200 lb couch potato weigh the same but their body composition (body fat %) are VERY different. What is likely happening is that you are losing fat and gaining muscle (hence the lose clothing and why you should measure instead of use the scale.)
Just don't give up! 0 -
When I first started my journey I NEVER weighed in. I went off of what my clothes were doing. They got looser and looser and that's what excited me. I am now weighing myself for a competition I am a part of but it's honestly so much better for my mental health to not. I weighed myself the other morning and I weighed 2 more pounds than the day before. When I got home from the gym an hour later I was 2 pounds lighter. The scale is not our friend. Go with how your clothes feel and your mental health will benefit, I am telling you! Good luck!!! 0
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Thanks again. I will do a another week of eating clean and hope for a whoosh!
Before I would only weigh once a month, so maybe I should expect big losses and then nada , it will not lose a steady 2 pounds a week, but overall will come off.0 -
Everyone loses differently. Weight loss is definitely not a linear process. It has taken me about 20 months to lose about 80 pounds. That is about four pounds per month on average, which is one pound a week. I had about 138 pounds to lose when I started, I too at the beginning thought it would fall off at 2 lbs per week, obviously my body disagreed, hahaha
When I do lose, I might go three weeks with no loss then lose 2, 3, 4 pounds in one week.
53 pounds in a year is awesome, keep it at!!!!0 -
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Hey I like this idea...I have been keeping my diary and calorie intake pretty much level with a cheat now and again...have been losing pretty steady until this last week or so and up and down 1-2 pounds...driving me crazy...I am going to try to eat 4 or 5 mini meals and see how much success I have with that...thanks for that advice!!!If you open your diary, I'll take a look.
Two things that have helped me:
1. Give up all sugar and simple carbs (like pasta and white bread). These things have a big impact on blood sugar - which affects energy levels and cravings.
2. Instead of 3 big meals a day, eat 5-6 mini meals. So if you're eating 1,500 calories a day, eat 5 meals of 300 calories each instead of 3 meals of 500 calories. This also helps stabilize your blood sugar and give you more consistent energy throughout the day.
Also... If you're lost almost 5 pounds in a month without serious exercise, I'd say you're doing pretty well. Keep it up!
5-6 mini meals will keep your body fed and therefore not needing to get energy from your fat. It takes it from your food, leaving no chance for you fat stores to be used up for energy0 -
Get rid of the canned soup, make it from scratch. It's not that hard & actually will help you way more due to less crap in there. You may as well be having some take-away food ..... it's about the same.0
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Thanks again. I will do a another week of eating clean and hope for a whoosh!
Before I would only weigh once a month, so maybe I should expect big losses and then nada , it will not lose a steady 2 pounds a week, but overall will come off.
Precisely. If you go back to weighing once per month, that might help with the worrying. I tend to lose in whooshes. I'll lose 2.5 pounds one week, 0 the next, then 3, then 0 for a week or so, and then 2, and so on. "1-2 pounds per week" is just an average, not a firm amount people lose every week. If you take your weight loss and divide by the number of weeks you've been at it, it should come to 1-2 pounds per week. Mine is something like 1.3 right now. 0 -
I am so sad and depressed. My clothes are fitting better. Almost a month and not even 5 pounds lost.
I did better before MFP, I was cheating and never tracked. I am so discouraged.
Any advice?
Your clothes are fitting better - that's a better indicator of success than the scale.0 -
Open your diary if you want more accurate advice, the best we can do is stab in the dark.
Do you weigh/measure out everything?
Do you log everything?
Do you drink lots of water?
Have you looked into your BMR/TDEE?
Are you sure you are calculating your calorie burn from exercise?
There are all kinds of reasons for success/failure.0 -
get in the habit of weighing and measuring regularily if you are gaining muscle and loosing at the same time it may not reflect on the sale but will refelct in your measurments and clothes
Also opening up your diary will help us help you0 -
If you don't have a food scale, GET ONE! I was guessing on what 4oz of meat was or 2oz of noodles and I was way over estimating. Logging is great but you have to be accurate for it to make a difference.0
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Just want to give you some encouragement. If you notice your clothes are fitting better then you're making progress and as people have said 5lbs a month is more than a pound a week. My mates and I have lost a load of weight in the last six months all of us massively upping out exercise (cycling is great, that's what keeps me going) as well as dieting and we've all hit periods when we just haven't lost what we expected to, it never lasts.
As a cyclist one piece of advice I'd give you is to bear in mind that the more weight you loose the less calories you'll burn on a given ride. Where I was burning 600 calories riding 8-9 miles to work I'm now riding 12 miles each day and burning only about 500 calories. This isn't bad news, it's good because while you have to go further and faster to burn calories it means you're getting fitter and lighter which is what the whole journey is about (and you'll enjoy the riding more too).0 -
Hey I like this idea...I have been keeping my diary and calorie intake pretty much level with a cheat now and again...have been losing pretty steady until this last week or so and up and down 1-2 pounds...driving me crazy...I am going to try to eat 4 or 5 mini meals and see how much success I have with that...thanks for that advice!!!If you open your diary, I'll take a look.
Two things that have helped me:
1. Give up all sugar and simple carbs (like pasta and white bread). These things have a big impact on blood sugar - which affects energy levels and cravings.
2. Instead of 3 big meals a day, eat 5-6 mini meals. So if you're eating 1,500 calories a day, eat 5 meals of 300 calories each instead of 3 meals of 500 calories. This also helps stabilize your blood sugar and give you more consistent energy throughout the day.
Also... If you're lost almost 5 pounds in a month without serious exercise, I'd say you're doing pretty well. Keep it up!
5-6 mini meals will keep your body fed and therefore not needing to get energy from your fat. It takes it from your food, leaving no chance for you fat stores to be used up for energy
False. I eat 5 meals a day (disregard last 3 days, haven't been well) and am currently coasting along on weight loss.
ETA: as long as you are eating at a deficit your body will have to use up its stores. Its just how it works, frequency doesn't alter that part.0 -
Don't give up. Everyone's body is different. I found that it took me nearly 12 weeks to get off the first ten pounds but the second ten came off in four weeks. You've made some great changes and now your body has to catch up and start processing the quality food and exercise. It isn't quite as simple as calories in and burning them off. There is some amazing chemistry that goes on in the body in the course of digestion and metabolism and it takes a bit longer for some of us.
Don't be discouraged, you are losing inches, improving nutrition and improving your cardio health from the exercise and that is important too, more important than the number on the scale. Good luck to you in your journey!!0 -
From what I understand the body might hit a few plateaus after a 10% loss of body weight. So maybe your body is just re-calibrating itself before letting go once again and hence the stall. This is just my theory lol.
I would take everyone's suggestions in consideration and just take it one day at a time. Kudos for loosing 53lbs thus far!0 -
I've been at this for a while - some weeks better than others. I have only lost 6 lbs in scale weight, but through body fat testing I know I have converted approximately 22.5 lbs of body mass from fat to muscle. That made me feel much better about the work I have been putting in!0
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Please just keep going and don't let not losing get to you. You are changing your life a little at a time and really your exercise is helping your health overall... I'm not losing a drastic amount weight either but I know that all of the changes I've been making and the effort will not be in vain as long I stick with it. Once you get it in your mind your losing this fight, you've lost. As long as you keep a positive outlook and act consistently increasing your drive and physical activity every week you'll win this battle. I have faith that you can do this ; )0
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I could have written this post... I cycle 7 miles 4 days a week and do circuit training 3 days a week I count calories 1600 a day. my clothes are fitting better but The pounds just arent falling off. I started to keep track of my measurements and low and behold I had lost 3 inches from my hips and 2 from my chest. This encouraged me to keep going and not give up because trust me I was ready to quit. last week I lost 2.5 pounds It's not a lot but I'll take it :-) good luck to you0
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5-6 mini meals will keep your body fed and therefore not needing to get energy from your fat. It takes it from your food, leaving no chance for you fat stores to be used up for energy
Where did you ever hear this? Many diet and nutrition plans recommend the "mini-meals" because of the effect of large meals on blood sugar and insulin levels. Read the link below for more details. I've found the "Getting Hungrier" section to be particularly true:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/484919-big-meal-effect-on-glucose-level/as long as you are eating at a deficit your body will have to use up its stores. Its just how it works, frequency doesn't alter that part.
Exactly right. For me, eating mini-meals helps me avoid cravings so I can stay under my goal and at a deficit.0
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