Why is that scale not budging?!!!

mlove351
mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been consistently using the MFP, trying to eat within my target calorie intake plus exercising. My average calorie intake is around 1400 per day and I exercise at least 3-4 days per week. I am 5'3" and weigh 191.I have been trying to make a healthy life style change since 22 May of this year but I have only lost about 8 pounds. What gives?? I do feel as though I have lost some inches but the scale is just not budging. Maybe I am impatient and expecting more weight loss.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong, my diary is open and hopefully one of my fellow MFP can share what I need to do to see the scale go down. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

Thanks

Replies

  • Lld320
    Lld320 Posts: 81
    I can give you my suggestions, of course they're not easy, but nothing about losing weight really is.
    1. Stop looking at the scale as a measurement for progress. I suggest taking pictures or paying attention to how your clothes fit better. You're going to put on muscle by exercising that much which is more dense than fat so you will be losing inches even though the scale might not be falling at the same time.
    2. You have to pay attention to the quality of calories you are consuming rather than the quantity if you want to lose weight more quickly. Calorie in, calorie out will work over time, but some calories are much worse for you than others. Stop eating processed food. Avoid bread that isn't whole grain, some people hate on dairy too, but I like it too much to quit drinking milk. You want to be getting most of your calories from veggies and lean proteins. Fruits and nuts are good too, but you have to be careful cause fruit has a lot of sugar and they both have more calories than you'd think. But bottom line cut out all the fast, processed food, they are really bad calories even though you're keeping track of how many calories you are eating.
    3. Eat breakfast everyday. You want to eat within 30-45 min of waking up everyday. You burn a ton of calories when you're sleeping and you need to get your metabolism working again in the morning so your body doesn't start to think you are starving and tries to hold onto every calorie you consume during the day.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    Eat at a moderate deficit and you will lose weight. 8 lbs since May 22 is still an awesome accomplishment! It hasn't even been 2 months yet and you exceeded the general rule of 1 lb a week already. Weight loss is meant to be slow and steady. Are you measuring yourself with measuring tape? You can get a better idea of how much loss you accrue through keeping track of the inches you lose.

    You could be consuming too little. I'm 185 and I consume 2,100k a day. Have you tried this? http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    I disagree with demonizing ANY food like the above, but whole foods are something to aim for, at least. Still, I'm in the school of thought that it doesn't matter WHAT you eat so long as it fits your caloric needs. Macro nutrients are also important, but I refuse to focus on them at this time for personal reasons. :flowerforyou: Do you weigh your food on a digital food scale? Most of the time we over estimate our intake with measuring cups and spoons.

    If you go by MFP exercise calories burned, MFP drastically overestimates. Lots of people eat back at least half of the MFP calorie estimates. If you'd like a more accurate estimation, try a heart rate monitor. If you follow the link's instructions above instead, you no longer have to worry over tracking exercise calories. :smile:

    Good luck!

    ETA: Took a peek at your diary. You tend to be inconsistent. 1 day you are way below, you didn't log for 2 days, and some days it looked like you consumed too much. You consume tons of sodium, too, which tends to make some people retain water. Try to log ACCURATELY and COMPLETELY as often as possible. Stick with it! You will see results. :) I also recommend the digital food scale x1000.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    You want to eat within 30-45 min of waking up everyday. You burn a ton of calories when you're sleeping and you need to get your metabolism working again in the morning so your body doesn't start to think you are starving and tries to hold onto every calorie you consume during the day.

    I'd love to see the peer-reviewed, legitimate research you have to back up this bro science.

    It doesn't matter what time you eat. Your metabolism is always running (otherwise you'd be dead). "Starvation mode" doesn't even kick in until after food hasn't been consumed for 48+ hours.

    Please do a little more research before you give advice.
  • mlove351
    mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
    Thanks for the advise. I am going to try and eat more whole foods. I have noticed the past few weeks I have been eating more processed. I have been exercising like crazy so I will start using a measuring tape to keep track of my progress. Again thank you :)
  • mlove351
    mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
    thanks ... I will check out the website. I never really considered the sodium, always focused on fat and carbs. The high sodium intake is coming from the processed foods I have been eating so I am going to really start getting back in the kitchen and cooking some real food :) I actually always wear a heart rate monitor and manually populate the calories I burn from exercise. Your right though, I need to be patient, 1 lb /week is a realistic goal. Thank you for the compliment and advise :)
  • mlove351
    mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
    and I really need to eat breakfast.. have not been good with that at all...
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    As others have said, 8 pounds is a great loss so far!

    I think you will have the greatest success if you are as accurate, precise, and consistent with your logging as possible. Although eating whole foods is optimal from a nutritional standpoint, eating clean has not been necessary in my experience. I love fresh fruits and veggies possibly more than the average person (I'm a vegetarian), but I'm eating now the way I want to eat for the rest of my life, and that includes pizza, beer, and ice cream. I'm also not a breakfast eater and never have been. Skipping breakfast didn't cause me to gain weight, and it isn't affecting my weight loss now. If you want to eat breakfast, then go for it! If you don't want to, don't stress about it. There are lots of people who prefer not to eat breakfast while eating any and all kinds of foods and have had plenty of success in weight loss.

    Also keep in mind that if you're using MFP's method of calorie counting, you want to MEET your calorie goal every day. If your calorie goal is 1400, you want to eat as close to that number as possible. And unless you included regular exercise as "active" or "very active" in the "normal daily activity" section of your goals, you want to be eating back at least some of your exercise calories.

    It doesn't have to be complicated. Just try to get some regular exercise, eat your calorie goal every day, drink lots of water, be patient, and most importantly, be consistent. :smile:
  • cmurra6745
    cmurra6745 Posts: 25 Member
    ill say it once DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR WORKOUT DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

    DONT EVEN ADD OUR WORKOUT IN MFP... JUST FOLLOW YOUR CALS AND WATCH YOUR MACROS ... cut the fat and keep carbs and protein high and youll lose weight
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    ill say it once DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR WORKOUT DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

    DONT EVEN ADD OUR WORKOUT IN MFP... JUST FOLLOW YOUR CALS AND WATCH YOUR MACROS ... cut the fat and keep carbs and protein high and youll lose weight

    More bro science.

    It depends on how high or low your deficit is. Fat doesn't make you fat. You want to MEET your fat goals each day.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    1 pound a week is really good. Keep going and don't get discouraged.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    ill say it once DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR WORKOUT DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

    DONT EVEN ADD OUR WORKOUT IN MFP... JUST FOLLOW YOUR CALS AND WATCH YOUR MACROS ... cut the fat and keep carbs and protein high and youll lose weight

    Eat back your exercise calories if you want them. MFP already has you at a deficit to lose weight every week without exercise.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    It sounds like what you're doing is working. Good job :flowerforyou:
  • whitlisd
    whitlisd Posts: 85
    Drink your water! That is key as well.

    Try to have a high protein breakfast so that it will keep you full longer throughout the day. It really seems to work.

    Just my two cents worth after viewing your diary! Good luck!
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    ill say it once DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR WORKOUT DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

    DONT EVEN ADD OUR WORKOUT IN MFP... JUST FOLLOW YOUR CALS AND WATCH YOUR MACROS ... cut the fat and keep carbs and protein high and youll lose weight

    Tell that to every person that has had success on a low carb, high fat diet....

    Also, as others have said, MFP builds in a deficit if you set your goal to any amount of weight loss, so eating back the workout deficit is not only not a bad thing, but it can often be a good idea to avoid plateauing.
  • mlove351
    mlove351 Posts: 94 Member
    thanks all for the advise :)
  • habibahj
    habibahj Posts: 1 Member
    OMG! You sound like me!! But your doing well. Losing inches is proof of that when you're not seeing results on the scale. You may also be building muscle which will lead to burning fat. Overtime that scale will take a nose dive so don't be discouraged. Just continue to eat smart, exercise and as another commenter said... drink your water. Be Well.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
    Your gonna get some great advice and not some great.
    Some will say a calorie is calorie, but there is a difference betwen how your body process1000 calories of lettus vs 1000 calories of McDonalds. although you can loose weight on twinkies.
    --- Take note of what is not working. I tried to lose weight at 17-1800 calories and not a thing. then I changed it to 1200 calories and attempt to burn 900 calories. and I loss 20lbs
    --- Carbs are not a bad thing, It gives you energy.
    --- Do not eat back your calories, unless you are hungry. The bigger the deficite, the bigger the weight loss. if your goal is to loose 1lbs a week, you can loose upto 1.2. 1.5, or even 2lbs a week? since when is that a bad thing?
    Wrk out 2x times a day, for 30min if you can.
    Lift weights.
    Change your routine. Your body adapts. shakes things up.
  • Vorenus85
    Vorenus85 Posts: 112 Member
    Your gonna get some great advice and not some great.
    Some will say a calorie is calorie, but there is a difference betwen how your body process1000 calories of lettus vs 1000 calories of McDonalds. although you can loose weight on twinkies.
    --- Take note of what is not working. I tried to lose weight at 17-1800 calories and not a thing. then I changed it to 1200 calories and attempt to burn 900 calories. and I loss 20lbs
    --- Carbs are not a bad thing, It gives you energy.
    --- Do not eat back your calories, unless you are hungry. The bigger the deficite, the bigger the weight loss. if your goal is to loose 1lbs a week, you can loose upto 1.2. 1.5, or even 2lbs a week? since when is that a bad thing?
    Wrk out 2x times a day, for 30min if you can.
    Lift weights.
    Change your routine. Your body adapts. shakes things up.

    You just contributed to the bad advice column. How can you tell someone not to eat their exercise calories back when that's what MFP is designed for? I've lost over 50 pounds eating mine back. Your advice on creating a bigger deficit is also dumb.
  • lambchristie
    lambchristie Posts: 552 Member
    I've been having the same problem and one of MFP friends peek at my food diary and saw that I was consuming to many carbs each day and not enough protein. I peek at your diary and you too consume a lot of carbs so you may want to tweak that ratio some.

    Like someone else noted you are not consistent in your logging or your food choices.

    I've learned that I must measure everything. So measuring spoons and cups and a food scale. It is amazing what a serving really is vs what I had been 'eyeballing' it to be. May hold true for you.

    Keep focused and keep working hard .. you will overcome the non budging scale.
  • 7x57
    7x57 Posts: 12 Member
    the program that i started with and still kind of follow as well as MFP set a calorie limit of 400 per meal, 3 meals a day and 400 calories for snacks. It also maintained that you should not go more than 4 hours without eating, except of course when you are sleeping.We have our grandson visiting for the summer and so for almost 2 weeks I have plateaued and realize that my carb intake has increased and I'm not eating the way i was to loose the first 30 lbs. MFP is a great resource as others have said record all your food and exercise and measure and weigh everything that you can. Keep at it and you will succeed.
  • Stef2752
    Stef2752 Posts: 22 Member
    ill say it once DO NOT EAT BACK YOUR WORKOUT DEFICIT!!!!!!!!!!

    DONT EVEN ADD OUR WORKOUT IN MFP... JUST FOLLOW YOUR CALS AND WATCH YOUR MACROS ... cut the fat and keep carbs and protein high and youll lose weight

    I totally agree with the part about not eating back your exercise calories. I was the same as you, working out 4-5 days a week, eating good and scale wasn't moving. I know that isn't the popular opinion here, but I was desperate, so I quit adding my workouts to MFP, and adjusted my macros to higher protein and lower sodium and BAM...scale has been moving consistently again.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Your gonna get some great advice and not some great.
    Some will say a calorie is calorie, but there is a difference betwen how your body process1000 calories of lettus vs 1000 calories of McDonalds. although you can loose weight on twinkies.
    --- Take note of what is not working. I tried to lose weight at 17-1800 calories and not a thing. then I changed it to 1200 calories and attempt to burn 900 calories. and I loss 20lbs
    --- Carbs are not a bad thing, It gives you energy.
    --- Do not eat back your calories, unless you are hungry. The bigger the deficite, the bigger the weight loss. if your goal is to loose 1lbs a week, you can loose upto 1.2. 1.5, or even 2lbs a week? since when is that a bad thing?
    Wrk out 2x times a day, for 30min if you can.
    Lift weights.
    Change your routine. Your body adapts. shakes things up.

    You just contributed to the bad advice column. How can you tell someone not to eat their exercise calories back when that's what MFP is designed for? I've lost over 50 pounds eating mine back. Your advice on creating a bigger deficit is also dumb.

    Agreed.

    Why is attempting to lose 2lb a week not a good thing? Because you have to fuel the workouts you do, especially if you're lifting weight. Because if you create too large a deficit, you won't get the nutrients you need. Because if you don't fuel your body properly (especially if you're working out a lot), your body will start using muscle for fuel (yes, even before your fat stores are used up). Because if you spend large amounts of time in too large a deficit, your metabolism will slow down in an effort to conserve what it can to keep the body functioning. Because if you don't fuel your workouts, you won't have the energy to do them, and if you're not eating enough, you won't have the energy to do much of anything.

    Carbs are not a bad thing if you're not insulin resistant. Insulin resistance and a high carb diet don't go well together. Being overweight increases your chances of being insulin resistant, being obese pretty much guarantees it. Add being female on top of that (in no small part thanks to the high rate of endocrine issues that have insulin resistance as part of them, and the high rate of said endocrine issues going undiagnosed), and you have a very, very high chance of have a situation where carbs in anything remotely approaching a high amount will make weight loss effectively impossible.

    Also, carbs aren't the only fuel the body uses. In fact, carbs aren't even an essential nutrient. The human body can make the carbs it absolutely requires. Fat is not only another viable fuel source, it's also an arguably better fuel source, because it lasts longer and doesn't cause the insulin response that carbs and protein cause.

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