cut down, exercised regularly but still not lost a thing

Silly question but how much did you cut down?

May sound nosy but open diary would help out with ideas for people to help with.

It is a struggle when you don't see much happening with the scales and all. Been there, done that. Don't give up...just keep at it is the best advice I can give with what little I know.

So over the last month and a half i have cut down my food intake and hit the gym 3/4 times a week. I do 20 - 40 minutes of cardio and do weights everytime. I may not be eating completely clean but i have sure as hell not been eating as much as i once did. i stood on the scales the other day expecting even just a very slight change but no; not a single pound was lost. It has drained me and lost me a lot of motivation. Today i had planned on going to the gym after work but feel like 'what is the point?' I know there are many posts like this but i just need a kick up the backside and given some motivation to keep at it; i know it takes time and patience.
The good thing though is that ive seen slight improvements in my arms, im getting a little more definition there now and have increased the weights ive used since i started the gym and my endurance for cario is better too. It's just that im not seeing the results i'd hoped for.
Suggestions? Why i might not have lost; how to keep up the motivation and look foward?
any help is appreciated.
Thanks

What do you mean by cut back? Do you weigh everything? I even measure out my liquids in ounces..

I bought a scale and started weighing my food. I pack my lunch in baggies and write the grams on the outside of the baggie in sharpie. This way I know exactly what I am eating. I also take into account that MFP overestimates my workout calories so I only eat 50% of them back 75% if I'm super hungry (hangry). I STOPPED weighing myself every day and I only do it about twice a month now. As women we retain water and fluctuate by water weight so weighing every day can kill your motivation sometimes. Make sure you are eating enough to fuel your workouts (ie. eating back exercise calories). I also look at the nutrition tab on my phone app, and keep track of my weekly net calories so if I need to go over or I'm more hungry one day, I can adjust later. Don't sweat it, it's a marathon not a sprint! You can do it, you just have to stay focused! Good Luck...feel free to add me if you like.

I know that my experience over 6 month (and losing 40 lbs) was that I would loose, then hold steady/fluctuate a little for about 3 weeks then the scale would drop. As I got closer to goal those weeks of holding steady would stretch out a little more. I wasn't doing anything different in those weeks - just continued to log, exercise, etc - but the scale wouldn't budget and then it would for a few days in a row. Hang in there - if you are keeping the calorie defecit it will work.

Try out some of the clothes in your closet that didn't fit you before, you'll be surprised! Sometimes, it takes a while for the body to let go of the water it has retained to replace the fat - almost like a false pregnancy! LOL! Hang in there and you'll see a whoosh, I'm sure. TOM does weird things to wgt too! Fortunately or unfortunately, I don't have that excuse anymore! Best of luck.

To help you get in the losing mode it is beneficial to have an open diary. This allows us to review what you and how you work out. Then we can get specific about what to do.

The nutshell is you must have a calorie deficit to lose weight. A deficit of 4,500 calories is required to lose one pound a week. If you set your goals in MyFitnessPal (MFP) it will guide you in how much to eat. But you must faithfully record what and how much you eat; and how and how long you exercise. If you omit or lie in your journal the only person you hurting is you.

As for needing to hear "You can do it!, or Did you coinsider?" I will be sending you a Friend request.

There could be a lot of reasons, but keep moving forward, and you will see positive results of some kind eventually.

Hi,

You sound like you’re working really hard and I understand how demotivating no signs of progress can be. Your lack of apparent loss could be coming from a few places. But before we enter the realm of why, promise the people of MFP that if you are to ask for our help that you won’t give up!

The most likely cause of your frustration is Internal body fat being transformed into muscle. Cardio will assist you with weight loss while weights will give you definition and build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat therefore you could be substantially healthier and still be the same weight. Although weight is a good indicator of health not all weight is equal and in your case I believe you’re the victim of concentrating on the number alone.

You said you’re happier with the way your arms look, proof that you’re building muscle, to get that muscle definition (which weighs more) you'll have had to loose fat!

Your body is making you more beautiful on the inside, I don't think you need it on the outside

Keep doing what you doing, your arms will get stronger your endurance will get longer and your fat % will get smaller. There are scales available which measure body fat. If you want to focus on a number this should be the one to concentrate on!

*As a woman your weight will fluctuate with your period (remember to take this into account)

Feel free to add me as a friend if you want some more help but in the meantime, it took me 30 mins to write this message so you owe me a favour. I think one gym session should just about cover it! GO!

I had the exact same problem last week. I worked my *kitten* off the prior week and actually gained. I pissed me off. I wrote in here and a lot of helpful people gave me suggestions. They had a peek at my diary and said my sodium was up and I was probably retaining water. Sure enough, this week I was down as expected. I was really frustrated but kept with it and it is working. Listen to the people on here, they know what they are talking about.....

I'm in the same boat. This is week 7 for me, exercising 5 days a week, and trying to eat better (definitely not eating more than I was before). I've lost no weight and only 1/4 inch overall. I just added weights into my routine (doing T25) last week and I am hoping that will kickstart some change. It is definitely getting harder to talk myself into doing exercising each day, especially when I see other people talking about the pounds and inches they have lost on the same program after a week.

Measure....I had a friend that lost 12 pounds but lost a total of 14 inches between her breast, hips and thighs...