3 weeks, and not a single pound lost :(

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  • GoreWhore72
    GoreWhore72 Posts: 190 Member
    This is me without any weight loss for the month of January.

    Added a little more cardio (walking), and just toning (strength training) with crunches, a few squats, floor exercise (core), and dancing.

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    Wow, you can see a huge difference! That's really encouraging, thank you for sharing.
    To the others, sleep is fine as I don't work too late and then I make sure I get 8 or near enough hours before I'm up again.
    Salt has got to be the issue, I just didn't realise how bad! And I will be more mindful of eating protein too.
    Preparation is something I'm going to try get sorted for the week ahead, as I'll no doubt completely fail otherwise.

    Thank you. Don't try to rely heavily on the scale reading. Any work you do is paying off. I lost 38 pounds right away and not just because of MFP, but because I had gotten sick and couldn't eat properly for almost a month. At 28 down I started to log again with MFP so I could eat again but not gain weight. I lost 10 more pounds, so as of January 2 to 12th I didn't lose anymore, but I decided to start doing more lifting at home because I had lost three inches off my chest, and I wasn't feeling as strong as I wanted. Mainly core work, and some skipping as well as started walking a little more during the week. So, from January 2 to 24 I haven't lost a pound, but maintained it by eating responsibly and not going over calories, and etc. I have lost killa inches, so don't always focus on the scale because if you keep working it will drop. The more muscle you make the scale has to drop. Your body will also look better with added muscle then with just 'fat' loss.
  • sunryzer
    sunryzer Posts: 31 Member
    The big thing that always frustrates me with MFP is that you can't view enough of your macros on the web version of your diary!

    I would say that water, protein, sodium and fibre are the things you need to track carefully right now.

    You need to drink 8-10 "cups" (roughly 4-5 pints) of water a day - this does not include water you drink during exercise (that is simply replacing what you sweat out).

    Your water intake must be high if you increase your protein and fibre intake otherwise you'll suffer headaches and constipation.

    For protein, aim for 0.5g per pound of body weight (I'm assuming you're not trying to bulk up muscle - anyone trying to do that should push on towards the 0.75 to 1g per pound of body weight range).

    For fibre, 25g to 30g per day. A cheat there is to pick up some Fibrogel from the pharmacy - that's 4g per pouch and you can get your water intake up with it too! The packets recommend half a cup of water but I take them with a full cup (half pint) and it's still fine (actually, I prefer it because it's more mellow a flavour). If you find your fibre levels are very low, increase them slowly over a couple of weeks otherwise you'll have tummy pains and flatulence. This should help "clear out" anything that shouldn't be there any more and I've known a few dieticians who say it's essential for getting fat out of your system (not sure if that's true or not but it's working for me).

    Finally, reduce sodium levels and you will reduce water retention. Be careful with this one because you do need some salt in your system otherwise you'll spend all day peeing and you'll become dehydrated no matter how much water you drink (if water doesn't bind to salt or sugar, it tends to just flush through your system without being absorbed).

    I hope that helps :)
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    My impression is that you are eating more than you think and are vague in accounting for calories. You use words like "mostly" and refer to "festive" periods.

    As far a microwavable processed foods, if your workplace has a microwave, you can cook food at home and heat it up. That's what I do. I bring food to work in Ziplock containers with screw on lids. I have a stack of paper plates in my desk. My lunches look like Thanksgiving dinner to most of my colleagues, who look on with great interest at my meat, rice or potato, steamed veggies, and fruit, which often overflows the plate for around 300 calories.

    Regardless of what others say, water does not affect weight loss. You do not need to force yourself to drink vast amounts of water. Just eat real food, a variety of it, and stay at your calorie goal.
  • TheSageMage
    TheSageMage Posts: 18
    I can only speak from personal experience, but I was looking at your diary and I noticed you had a lot of carbs in there. It's not over the limit they set for you, and I don't want to push the low-carb diet as the end-all-be-all diet, but have you tried it?

    I believe in the calorie-in/calorie-out notion of weight loss, but I've noticed that I tend to lose more consistently when I do low carb. Most days I try to do under 50g of carbs or lower.

    Are you measuring yourself? You said you work out and looking at your diary, I see you do exercise fairly regularly. You *could* be building up muscle which *could* account account for a net-zero weight loss result. Take measurements weekly and track that to see if you are toning in places.
  • mrwseattle
    mrwseattle Posts: 7
    Frustrating, but there may be a few things happening. The scale may not be showing a shuffle between fat lost (good!) to muscle gained (even better!), hence the number is not budging. As for food…my advise is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. They are just loaded with too much sodium and chemicals that the body can not process as well as whole foods. Yes, they are a little more money and care, but food is a huge part of the success to any weight loss program. They say abs are born in the kitchen. I've found that each meal I prep is more of zen time for me reaffirming my commitment to the health goal.If you want a great book: Clean Eating by Tosca Reno. So easy to follow and a lifestyle food change that is exciting. Good luck, and I hope this helps!
  • taylormoooon
    taylormoooon Posts: 130 Member
    I would definitely try to add some more lean protein to your meals and less grains (but don't lower your carbs). In terms of carbs, it is a matter of keeping them not too high but also getting them from the right places. Veggies and fruits have carbs but are also nutrient dense unlike grains that are just going to turn into sugar. This doesn't mean eliminate them though, just keep the grains down.

    A few years ago I lost 20 pounds and this month I just started trying to lose the last 15. I've lost 3 pounds so far trying to stick to foods that are as close to their natural state as possible and I find I'm never starving and I have lots of energy. If you're having trouble finding time to prepare, sometimes I either do some crock-pot meals which can be prepared the night before or early in the morning. Or, last night I had chicken breasts already defrosted and cooked just enough for dinner and it took less than 10 minutes to make. Feel free to message or friend me if you need some more ideas or advice ^^

    I've also heard it can just take time for your body to adjust. I would NOT lower your calories though. Know your BMR and your TDEE. Going under your BMR is dumb in my opinion. Your body needs those calories to do all of it's functions.

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