Not losing weight. At all. :(

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  • elainematto
    elainematto Posts: 28 Member
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    Weight loss is HARD! But also possible. It happens inevitably when you maintain a negative calorie balance. Everything MFP recommends is an estimate and may not be accurate for you. I personally find the exercise allowances too generous, and that I don't lose anything if I eat as many calories as those exercise numbers allow. Another suggestion: less refined carbs (crackers and such). All calories count of course, whatever source. But you may find, as I do, that hunger is much less when you eat more whole foods. Good luck and don't give up! Your exercise alone is making you healthier, even when the scale doesn't budge.
  • HeinekenMan
    HeinekenMan Posts: 80 Member
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    Are you eating back all of your exercise calories? if your net is 1,500 but you are really eating 2,000, that leaves more room for error in calculating your meals. Make sure your Cheerios is measured accurately. A serving of Cheerios is not a whole bowl. I usually eat three servings. That fills up my bowl. It's okay for you to eat three servings as long as you're logging the calories correctly. Little things add up, too. For example, I made sloppy joes on Saturday. I almost didn't include the little stuff when I figured the calories. But I went ahead and did it. My 2 tbs of chopped onion, 1 tbs of garlic powder, 2 tbs of brown sugar and tiny bit of apple cider vinegar added up to 117 calories. Rather than just quitting your logging, be more vigilant about it. Log everything you put in your mouth. My guess is that you're eating near maintenance. The five pounds could be partly due to water retention. Keep your sodium low to avoid that fluctuation.
  • LeAnne446
    LeAnne446 Posts: 2 Member
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    I seem to be having the same problem! One of my issues is that I have hypothyroidism. Try reducing your carbs, and adding more proteins and fats. See if that helps. I keep my carb level at 20 net grams per day (carbs-fiber=net carbs). I eat lots of lean meats with healthy fats like avocado, olive oil. I also eat fish which has lots of healthy fatsin it too. I tried adding more carbs back in gradually, but then I started gaining the weight back really fast, so I had to return to my original low carb plan. I hope this helps! Feel free to send me a friend request, as i would be happy to help in any way I can. :)
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Yes, you are maintaining your weight because you are averaging maintenance calories. If you were closer to your goal weight, it might be other factors, but with as much as you have left, it comes down to calorie deficit.

    You are eating more than you think you are

    You are burning less than you think you are
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
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    You are at the lower end of a normal bmi for your height. Why are you trying to lose weight?
    Same here! Getting frustrated and thought of giving it all up.

    I've exercised daily (4x a week, 40 mins each time) doing HIIT on treadmills for like 8 weeks and I've not been losing any weight.

    I try to keep under my calorie goal of 1,290 per day but its not working either. Not sure what is wrong?
    It makes me wonder why I maintain my weight doing nothing for the past few years and then when I start exercising I gain like 2-3 lbs :(

    Really frustrating, it's like all the sweat coming out of me is a waste of time and energy :(

    I'm 5'8" and 130 lbs currently. Any tips? Am I not exercising enough?
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    I haven't logged for days because 1) I've been really busy, and 2) I'm getting too frustrated with it. I thought about quitting MFP altogether. BUT...It gives me 1500 cal per day, plus whatever I burn. I eat a pretty "normal" diet, but I am fixated on broccoli. I've eaten 2 whole bunches per week for the last 4 weeks by myself. I eat a lot of veggies and I don't eat after 9 (i'm not usually in bed before midnight and I have to eat with my meds I take before bed).
    You need to track your food. Exercise is good for your fitness but you will lose weight by watching what you eat.
  • lauraleighsm
    lauraleighsm Posts: 167
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    Maybe you are at a good weight for your height?
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    But this is what my diet looks like for the most part. Breakfast, I alternate between a sandwich made with whole wheat skinnies, canadian bacon and 1 egg OR a bowl of plain cheerios with some kind of chopped nut and a TBSP of mini chocolate chips.
    Lunch: I either have a sandwich with soup or a small handful of chips. Or a big salad with diced ham or whatever meat I cooked the night before. Once a week I eat out for lunch. Dinner, I have whatever my family is having. Ususally something grilled, with veggies and sometimes a slice of toast. I cook 9/10 meals myself. Snacks are usually a light string cheese with a few crackers and some fruit or a fruit bar or chobani bite size cups. I try to keep snacks around 100-150. But I always come in just under what MFP says I can have.

    I eat the same thing every stinking day. I mean the exact same thing. But somehow, my intake varies from 1500-3000 per day. Odd. Good thing I'm logging everything I eat-so I know exactly what I'm consuming. Little things add up quickly, and are you weighing and measuring everything? Cereal is one of the biggies-nutrition info is listed by weight with a guesstimated volume (# cups). If you weigh your cereal, you'll probably find that the 1 cup serving size is really 2-3 serving sizes by weight (meaning you're really consuming 2-3 servings). If you're not measuring at all, then you're going to be even more off.

    Bottom line is that you're maintaining because you're eating as much as your body is burning. You need to eat less and/or burn more. Start by accurately logging (meaning weigh all dry goods, measure liquids). I imagine you're consuming a lot more calories than you think you are.
  • jpartin475
    jpartin475 Posts: 11
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    Same here! Getting frustrated and thought of giving it all up.



    I'm 5'8" and 130 lbs currently. Any tips? Am I not exercising enough?

    If I weighed 130 I would be SKELETAL. Maybe you don't need to lose anymore? I'm 5'8" also and my goal is 160.
  • acwebst
    acwebst Posts: 1 Member
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    You probably don't need to lose any more weight! I'm 5'10'' and 168lbs and am almost at my goal. Though if you do you are probably not eating enough, most experts say your metabolism shuts down when you go under 1,200 cals a day.
  • jpartin475
    jpartin475 Posts: 11
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    It's not medical. I am diabetic, so I get full blood work ups often.
    I do weigh and measure EVERYTHING.
    The bread I eat is the Healthy Life with Omega-3, so not much in the way of calories or carbs.
    I make my own dressing with greek yogurt, so not very calorie dense. Or I use vinagrettes.

    I'm not losing inches anymore either. My clothes have fit the same since fall. I have been gaining and losing the same 10 pounds for almost a year (after looking at my journal last night, this makes it even more frustrating)

    I have tried NOT eating the extra calories. I have tried lowering my calories.
    Spark people tells me I am burning more than the machine says. MFP tells me I'm burning more than the machine says.

    I have almost 80 lbs to lose, so I'm no where near close to my goal. I should have REACHED my goal already. I lost more weight when I did 30 minutes on the treadmill per day and no strength training. I stopped losing weight when I started the harder machines and eating what MFP told me to. It seems like when I bumped my efforts up, the results stopped.

    I get a lot of protein. I eat a lot of meat, nuts and greek yogurt.

    I do intervals on all the cardio machines
    My strength training uses all the weight machines at the Y.

    I added weights, I lost inches. I added more and harder cardio, and I stopped losing weight. Now I'm not losing either. I'm beyond frustrated.

    I get more protein than MFP says I should have. I get about half the carbs it says I should have. I get just under the amount of sodium I'm allowed.

    I drink almost nothing but water and I stopped ALL sugar sweetened drinks 3 years ago.


    I take a multi-vitamin and a fish oil daily.

    I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm not getting enough calories in a day. And I don't like it.

    I haven't logged my calories since last Weds and I haven't been to the gym since Thurs because I've been insanely busy and my house needed a lot of attention. And funny ha-ha, my scale is down 2 lbs from last Monday's weigh in. huh....maybe I'm on to something with my suspicions...
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
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    But this is what my diet looks like for the most part. Breakfast, I alternate between a sandwich made with whole wheat skinnies, canadian bacon and 1 egg OR a bowl of plain cheerios with some kind of chopped nut and a TBSP of mini chocolate chips.
    Lunch: I either have a sandwich with soup or a small handful of chips. Or a big salad with diced ham or whatever meat I cooked the night before. Once a week I eat out for lunch. Dinner, I have whatever my family is having. Ususally something grilled, with veggies and sometimes a slice of toast. I cook 9/10 meals myself. Snacks are usually a light string cheese with a few crackers and some fruit or a fruit bar or chobani bite size cups. I try to keep snacks around 100-150. But I always come in just under what MFP says I can have.

    Cut your carbs to 100gms and boost the clean protein...egg whites, chicken breast, fish...
  • seabee78
    seabee78 Posts: 126 Member
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    Your picture doesn't look like you're not losing weight at all. There is quite a noticeable difference. Keep at it.
  • jpartin475
    jpartin475 Posts: 11
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    I just went to fitnessfrog.com and it says my TDEE is 3100. And MFP gives me 1500. Hmmmmm
  • Jdavism
    Jdavism Posts: 8
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    My advice to you is seek out a certified nutritionist associated with one of your local hospitals.. One thing about weight loss is everyone has an opinion and is an "expert". Invest the money in yourself and setup monthly appointments with a nutritionist who can guide you, answer questions you have and help build meal plans. Don't go to those weight loss clinic ones, try to find a nutritionist associated with a hospital and that carries the correct certifications.

    Best decision I ever made.
  • jpartin475
    jpartin475 Posts: 11
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    And my BMR is 2100
  • RAEQ127
    RAEQ127 Posts: 106 Member
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    If I went by what MFP told me to eat I would maintain. The formula is not for everyone, look into the different formulas for determining BMR/TDEE and have your RMR tested.

    I use the formula that takes into consideration my bodyfat. http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm
  • retiree2006
    retiree2006 Posts: 951 Member
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    I was going to suggest you change your exercise routine a bit...and that's pretty much what happened when you did housework rather than gym-time for a bit...with the desired results. I had an 8 month plateau (up and down the same 2-3 lbs.) until I went to a different workout and dropped another 12 lbs. over a couple months. Sometimes just changing the routine makes your body react differently. Good luck.
  • SusanL222
    SusanL222 Posts: 585 Member
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    Maybe another thing to try might be some form of intermittent fasting (IF), like eating all your calories within an 8 hour period each day. Actually the 8 Hour Diet says if you do this at least 3 days a week, you can lose weight without changing your regular diet too much. (Actually it says you can eat anything and still lose weight, but not sure I believe that!) I've been eating at my MFP calorie goal and mostly confining it to an 8 hour period for a few weeks now. I have been slowly losing weight, but of course I have no idea if the IF is working to help the weight loss or not. Just a thought for changing things up a bit. Keep up the good work and keep trying to find something that shakes things up for you! Hope you don't give up because what's the alternative! :flowerforyou:

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