Running for 6 week and no weight loss

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cheryltroxel
cheryltroxel Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started running about six weeks ago in an effort to get healthy and loose the loose weight. I started off weighing 145 lbs. After six weeks of running six days a week, I have not lost any weight. I feel like my clothes might be fitting better, but I haven't done measurements. I am so discouraged.

I am going to start tracking my food and see if that is where the problem is. My goal weight is 130 lbs. I would love to reach that goal by Thanksgiving. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I run about 3 miles a day. Sometimes rather than running I will do a Jilian's workout, but it's mostly running. Anyone tried protein shakes. I am not interested in doing a Slim Fast kind of deal (so much sugar in those!!), but I did buy some whey protein today to make my own. I thought maybe if I tried doing a shake for breakfast after my workout and maybe one for lunch that might help. Anyone else been there?

Replies

  • amylynne26
    amylynne26 Posts: 195 Member
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    before I found MFP I used to work out like mad and never lost any weight. Because.... I thought working out an hour a day 5 days a week gave me license to eat whatever/whenever I wanted. Not true! Weight loss is really simple math - you have to burn more calories than you take in.
  • cheryltroxel
    cheryltroxel Posts: 7 Member
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    I guess I didn't really mention my diet. I have been trying to track my food for the last week. I am going to commit to doing it every day so that I can see if that is my downfall. Right now, every time I track it, things looks great. I get lazy on the weekends and don't input it in, but I generally stay on track.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    Are you eating enough?
  • cheryltroxel
    cheryltroxel Posts: 7 Member
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    Yeah, I am pretty sure I am eating enough too. Typical day is high-protein breakfast, fruit/veggie snack, lunch, tea and snack, dinner.
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
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    Yeah, I am pretty sure I am eating enough too. Typical day is high-protein breakfast, fruit/veggie snack, lunch, tea and snack, dinner.

    How many calories, and what is your net with exercise?
  • iamdesiderata
    iamdesiderata Posts: 95 Member
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    It'd help if you made your food diary public, and maybe youre body has gotten used to your exercising already. You should switch up your cardio to swimming, biking, dancing, elliptical, not just running. If you throw in some strength training, you will see a decrease in your weight.
  • Buppie
    Buppie Posts: 43
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    :smile: Remember, you could have been building muscle which weighs more. As long as your clothes fit better, don't worry about what the scale says. Your clothes will tell you whether the running is working!
  • happy_heather121
    happy_heather121 Posts: 135 Member
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    Hi there, In June I weighed 141. My goal is 130 like you. I started running and I didn't lose any weight either. I tracked my calories on here and ate the exercise ones and still didn't lose. FINALLY i talked to a personal trainer and the gym and I was like, what gives?! She told me not to eat my exercise calories ever. I know this is super controversial on here but I'm down to 132 now and I eat plenty and am never go hungry for the sake or keeping under calories. The thing you really have to be careful about though is making sure your calorie goal for the day isn't super low since you won't count the exercise calories. I eat about 1350-1450 depending on the amount I run/bike. If I burn over 1000 calories I'll probably eat about 1400 but thats only if i'm hungry you know? Why eat if you're not hungry? Right? If it's too low, like 1200 you'll end up just starving and then overeating without even knowing it.

    Anyway, I hope that helps a little. Make sure your activity level is accurate too. Mine is set for a very active person because I am a very active person. Good luck! Those last 10 lbs are a pain in the butt! I know how you feel!
  • Jamiebee24
    Jamiebee24 Posts: 296 Member
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    track your food for a couple weeks and then see where you're at. You may be surprised. Definitely take measurements too.
  • mhackworth
    mhackworth Posts: 6 Member
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    One of the biggest downfalls for people trying to be healthy is concentrating on the numbers of the scale. You can be losing body fat, building muscle and not losing lbs because muscle weighs more then fat tissue. The only way to tell is by measurements such as checking body fat percentage with a tool. Since running is a fitness exercise your building more muscle which contributes to the evening out on the scale. But if you really want to lose weight on the scale it requires 100% effort on your part, which means forcing yourself to take a few minutes on the weekends to track your eating and exercise habbits. Protein shakes and food is used by body builders and fitness training to gain weight in order for your body to be able to repair and build muscle, in most cases your daily protein consumption from meats and other foods is sufficient enough, like eating a PB&J sandwich after exercising. But really you should consult your physician and maybe even a nutritionist as well to find out whats right for you and to gain information so your not mislead into buying into gimmicks like the whey protein and such which are intended for bodybuilders and athletes.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    You cannot out excersise a bad diet.

    And I doubt you built any muscle running....if that's all you were doing.
  • happy_heather121
    happy_heather121 Posts: 135 Member
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    Wow, and I guess you can't encourage people either. This site is for support, not for cutting people down. You have no idea what her diet or exercise habits are like so stop acting like you do.
  • SaraTN
    SaraTN Posts: 536 Member
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    Hi there, In June I weighed 141. My goal is 130 like you. I started running and I didn't lose any weight either. I tracked my calories on here and ate the exercise ones and still didn't lose. FINALLY i talked to a personal trainer and the gym and I was like, what gives?! She told me not to eat my exercise calories ever. I know this is super controversial on here but I'm down to 132 now and I eat plenty and am never go hungry for the sake or keeping under calories. The thing you really have to be careful about though is making sure your calorie goal for the day isn't super low since you won't count the exercise calories. I eat about 1350-1450 depending on the amount I run/bike. If I burn over 1000 calories I'll probably eat about 1400 but thats only if i'm hungry you know? Why eat if you're not hungry? Right? If it's too low, like 1200 you'll end up just starving and then overeating without even knowing it.

    Anyway, I hope that helps a little. Make sure your activity level is accurate too. Mine is set for a very active person because I am a very active person. Good luck! Those last 10 lbs are a pain in the butt! I know how you feel!

    I couldn't agree more with your PT... it only makes sense... eat a sensible diet.. keep your blood sugar up.... and I say over-estimate your calories (unless you are using a scale) and under-estimate your calorie burn by 30%. The bottom line is feed yourself every few hours to keep blood sugar up but you have to burn that excess fat and the only way to do that is burn more calories that you consume.
  • dgroulx
    dgroulx Posts: 159 Member
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    My husband started running and has to drink protein shakes to keep from losing anymore weight. I wish I had that problem.
    You should be losing weight. My husband's Polar HRM shows a large calorie burn which keeps going about an hour afterwards. I'm not sure what your problem can be, unless you are just taking in more calories than you burn.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
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    I started running about six weeks ago in an effort to get healthy and loose the loose weight. I started off weighing 145 lbs. After six weeks of running six days a week, I have not lost any weight. I feel like my clothes might be fitting better, but I haven't done measurements. I am so discouraged.

    I am going to start tracking my food and see if that is where the problem is. My goal weight is 130 lbs. I would love to reach that goal by Thanksgiving. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I run about 3 miles a day. Sometimes rather than running I will do a Jilian's workout, but it's mostly running. Anyone tried protein shakes. I am not interested in doing a Slim Fast kind of deal (so much sugar in those!!), but I did buy some whey protein today to make my own. I thought maybe if I tried doing a shake for breakfast after my workout and maybe one for lunch that might help. Anyone else been there?

    I think you may find that once you start logging your food and drink and being totally honest with the logs, there you may find the problem. If you rigidly stick to your allotted calories and continue with your running (incredible form of exercise for burning those calories by the way!) your weight will fall off.

    Just make sure you do not conveniently leave things off your log.

    WTG on your running, it is a wonderful workout to do! :flowerforyou:

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