No matter what I do...the weight won't come off

sky379
sky379 Posts: 46
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I've tried everything. Ate my exercise calories and gained weight. Didn't eat exercise calories and gained weight. Decreased sodium/decreased sugar intake/ drank more water/ decreased carb intake/ changed up my workout routine/ eat more often/ using a scale for portions.

I've struggled with losing around 10-15 pounds for over a year. I was around 125 when I joined this site (about 3 months ago), and now I am at 130. What gives?!

I eat really healthy and really always have. I would actually prefer to have a salad over a hamburger. I have a really big sweet tooth, but I have been really good about it and making sure not to over indulge. I know I am doing everything right but the weight just won't come off. I know I shouldn't let it bother me so much, but I am just frustrated that I am not getting the results that I should be getting for all the hard work I do. I feel like if I don't pay attention to calories and counting calories, I'll might lose weight, but I am just just too obsessive with numbers. This is venting, but I really need some good advice. Why does it work for some people and not for me :(

Replies

  • katiedid1956
    katiedid1956 Posts: 6
    How long have you been on this? When you exercise, you build muscle. It took me a good week to see any results. I'm stuck at my present weight, but am not giving up! Keep doing what you are doing! Good luck!
  • delilahthegoddess
    delilahthegoddess Posts: 59
    Are you measuring your portions? I know that sometimes what we think is 1/2cup or 1 tbls ends up being way more. And in the end we end up eating more cals than we are burning and gain. Not sure if that is something you have considered.
  • melissaogdenrhode
    melissaogdenrhode Posts: 66
    If you are really concerned go to the doctor and have your thyroid checked, though 130 still seems good...perhaps it's muscle.

    Hang in there!
  • SpencerR
    SpencerR Posts: 37
    Try reducing your calorie intake by about 250 a day for about a month to see if that helps...They body sometimes gets use to your calorie intake and flattens out.....I had to reduce mine last week and I finally started losing a little bit of weight again...Keep up the eating right with lots of fruit and veggies. They help take the weight off. Good luck and if it doesn't change talk to your doctor or a dietician
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
    How long are you giving each change to your diet to work? I wouldn't write off anything without giving it *AT LEAST* 4 weeks. Probably longer.
    Given all the things you said you tried over the last 3 months, I'd say you're not giving things enough time to work for you. Your body has to have time to adjust.

    When I increase my calories, I don't see a weight loss for 3-4 weeks, but after that, the weight comes off pretty steadily. That's just me -- maybe it will take your body 6 weeks to adjust, maybe 2, maybe 12.

    Also, it looks like you joined in April. It's still the first week in June right now. That can't be 3 months. I mention this because again, it seems like you're not giving changes to your diet/exercise enough time to work for you.
  • sky379
    sky379 Posts: 46
    Are you measuring your portions? I know that sometimes what we think is 1/2cup or 1 tbls ends up being way more. And in the end we end up eating more cals than we are burning and gain. Not sure if that is something you have considered.

    Oh yes, I measure everything. Measuring spoons/ cups/ scales are a staple in my kitchen.
  • Voncreepy2
    Voncreepy2 Posts: 1,450 Member
    Have you had your thy roid checked.? If you consistantly have stayed the same weight despite diet and exercize maybe you should talk to your Dr. about running some tests. Look up hypothyroid symptoms online and see if anything fits. And the other reply is correct as well, you could be firming up. Are your clothes looser despite no visible weight loss. I went through this after each child and it was due to my hormones being out of whack. It took me almost 2 years after each baby to get regulated and for my body to finally be ready to let go of the weight. And then I just got pregnant again!!!!!! The insanity of it. Anyway, good luck to you.
  • sky379
    sky379 Posts: 46
    Have you had youroid checked. If you consistantly have stayed the same weight despite diet and exercize maybe you should talk to your Dr. about running some tests. Look up hypothyroid symptoms online and see if anything fits. And the other reply is correct as well, you could be firming up. Are your clothes looser despite no visible weight loss. I went through this after each child and it was due to my hormones being out of whack. It took me almost 2 years after each baby to get regulated and for my body to finally be ready to let go of the weight. And then I just got pregnant again!!!!!! The insanity of it. Anyway, good luck to you.

    No! I take measurements also, and they also have increased. I am not losing inches.
    I have had my thyroid tested. I've had a lot of blood work over the years and nothing matches up.
  • patwil73
    patwil73 Posts: 28
    Don't get discouraged! As a 23y.o. female you are probably smack in the middle of your healthy weight - which means it is a lot tougher to shed those last pounds. You might try making your diary public so we can see if perhaps some of your food choices are hampering your efforts. Also if you are exercising a lot, you might be gaining a lot of muscle mass which although it looks smaller, can often weight more. Have you dropped any clothes sizes recently? That might be a better indicator for you than a specific number to reach on the scale.

    If you haven't already you might try some high intensity toning workout. They might not drop the pounds but I'll bet you feel a lot better after you see the results they have on your body.

    Also if you let us know what your calories expended to calories intake, you might get more helpful replies. That way we can tell if the problem is in the math (ie you are eating 1500 calories when you should be eating 1300).

    Hope this helps - I'll check back and see what else I can suggest

    Pat
  • sky379
    sky379 Posts: 46
    I made my diary public....thanks for all the advice so far
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
    It strikes me that if you are a 5'7" ish female that's 125-130lbs that you are probably already in that size 2 zone and don't really need to lose weight?
  • sky379
    sky379 Posts: 46
    It strikes me that if you are a 5'7" ish female that's 125-130lbs that you are probably already in that size 2 zone and don't really need to lose weight?

    I am not 5'7"....I wish
    I am 5' 2"
  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
    I looked at your diary for the last week. Are you not logging your exercise & eating those calories back? It doesn't appear as though you are.

    IMO, that could very well be your issue.
  • canstey
    canstey Posts: 118
    If you are not losing weight then you are not generating a true calorie deficit even if MFP appears to be showing that you have a deficit. Calories in must be less than calories out to create a deficit. So if you think you have a deficit but are not losing weight then the calories in and/or calories out is wrong.

    Main reasons for errors on the calories out side:

    1. Over estimating exercise calories. A heart rate monitor with the correct user settings is generally more accurate than a website or machine count, which tend to over estimate calories for most people. You are pretty light so you are not going to burn a huge number of calories per minute.
    2. The BMR/RMR formula is over estimating your BMR/RMR. Since most of your calorie consumption comes from your body's normal function, this is a pretty critical number.
    3. Setting the wrong lifestyle and double counting calories. If you set your lifestyle as active because you exercise every day then you cannot count the exercise calories separately because they were part of the lifestyle calories. Lifestyle should be set based upon all activity except exercise so if you have a desk job sitting on your duff all day it should be sedentary even if you burn 800 calories a day in exercise and then you record the exercise calories separately.

    Main reasons for errors on the calories in side:

    1. You are not recording everything you eat. If you grab a Hershey Kiss here and there or some small amount of anything that you do not record, you could easily be under reporting by 200-300 calories.
    2. You are not correctly measuring portion size. That 4oz piece of meat was really 6oz or you are measuring cooked weight but using raw weight nutritional information. High calorie condiments like peanut butter, salad dressing, and mayonnaise can easily be under estimated in serving size. Actually measure out everything to validate you can estimate serving size correctly.
    3. You use recipes from magazines or the internet that simply have the wrong nutritional information. Try to compute the nutritional information from the individual ingredients you used in the recipe and the portion of the total recipe you ate.
  • godblessourhome
    godblessourhome Posts: 3,892 Member
    No! I take measurements also, and they also have increased. I am not losing inches.
    I have had my thyroid tested. I've had a lot of blood work over the years and nothing matches up.

    have they checked your hormone levels?
  • amijay77
    amijay77 Posts: 13
    Far be it from me preach but at your weight, it seems more like you should concentrate on eating more HEALTHY calories - not less calories.

    If you are 5' 2" and 130lbs, you are still in the Body Mass Index Normal Weight Range. Chances are your Resting Metabolic Rate is around 1250 calories. If you are dipping beneath that number in your calorie intake you won't lose because your body will think it needs to go into survival mode.

    People will tell you that Starvation Mode / Survival Mode is a myth. Take it from me who just spent 6 months not losing a single ounce because i was eating too little, it is REAL.

    http://www.shapeup.org/interactive/rmr1.php
  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
    Another thing that I see is that on all the Sunday's your journal is blank, as well as a few other days. Possible you are cheating heavily on these days? Also maybe cheating a little on other days? or no listing things like beverages/alcohol?
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
    I'm with Littlespy on this one. When I first started it took over 6 weeks to see a change on the scale and any really noticeable change in how my clothes fit. At 8 weeks I finally started to see a drop on the scale. Consistency is key.
  • Supermel
    Supermel Posts: 612 Member
    I haven't been loosing last few months and I know exactly why :P But when i began, I saw the biggest differences in my measurements from doing the 30 day shred, which for me was really pushing myself not just from a cardio standpoint but a strength training standpoint. I lost crazy inches of which i have refound ugh. Secondly, from a diet perspective, water water and more water, like 12 cups a day min plus probiotics, LOW sugar (no more juice, limit my granola bars and sweets) and HIGH protein (1/2 body weight in protein, so if i weighed 100 pounds I should min eat 50g of protein in a day which is over this sites recommendations) have helped me the most. Eating out very little (sodium issue i think), and keeping my carbs withint range reccomending on the auto settings BUT eating all whole grain carbs with very little high furctose corn syrup and eating 90% of those before 3:30pm gave me great results.
    I hope you can find the results you want soon :) I was super frustrated too but found that my body stalled awhile in to my program. then it moved again. very normal.
  • sky379
    sky379 Posts: 46
    I haven't been loosing last few months and I know exactly why :P But when i began, I saw the biggest differences in my measurements from doing the 30 day shred, which for me was really pushing myself not just from a cardio standpoint but a strength training standpoint. I lost crazy inches of which i have refound ugh.

    I have been doing 30 day shred for the past 20 day religiously and I am a bit disappointed by the progress. I haven't seen a change in the way my clothes fit and when I take measurements, I have actually increased by 1/4 of an inch to 1/2 inch. It's an amazing workout, I am just not getting the results that it promises.

    I swear, my body just does not work correctly.
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