I feel like I'm doing this wrong.

2weeks isn't long so don't give up .

I eat my calories (1200) + 50% of my exercise calories and it is beginning to work (3 weeks). Whilst the scales have been slow I have lost a little bit off my waist and def feel slightly less blobby. Good luck and keep going.

I did not see any change for a whole month. It takes your body a little while to catch up. Make sure you're drinking enough water and watch your sodium, that can make your weight seem higher. Good luck!

You should not be under your calories - MFP gives you the minium amount of calories....Open your diary - but like others said - two weeks is nothing - you did not gain the weight in two weeks, did you?

I've been here for almost two weeks now. I've been trying to be good about accurately tracking my food and exercise. But I have this feeling maybe i'm going something wrong.
I'm under my allowed calories, I do my best to be active beyond my typical day activities. But i'm not seeing any changes. I know two weeks isn't a lot of time. I just thought at least a pound would have changed. Esp with being under my allowed calories.

Should I be staying under my allowed calories before it's adjusted for the exercise i have logged for the day?
I've had the Net number go into the negative. Is that ok? What number do I want to have there?

Sorry if these questions are dumb. I haven't found a MFP 101 yet. LOL

Thanks

A couple of things.......

MFP gives you a calorie deficit based upon "I want to lose XX pounds per week" .....and this is BEFORE exercise.

If you log exercise you are expected to eat those calories back.....just be warned MFP & many machines are "generous"....most people start at eating 50-60% back. This is what the NET number is all about.

The reason............exercise adds to your existing deficit......too large a defict & you loss fat+muscle....as opposed to mostly fat.

Check out your weekly goal...............does it fall in here? This will tell you if your deficit is already pretty big......

Pounds per week
75+ lbs to lose 2 lb range
Between 40 - 75 lbs to lose 1.5 lb range
Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range

It's easy to get something wrong............activity level (should not include exercise) .....is a range. How do you measure your foods? Weighing is most accurate. Some people can eyeball successfully (not me). Foods are added to MFP by users .....some are just wrong.

Don't worry...two weeks isn't very long. And something that my husband and I both noticed, especially when we first started, was that the loss wasn't timed evenly - when I first started, the scale didn't move for a MONTH. Then, I lost 5 pounds in a week. Then another 4 pounds the next week. (Some was probably water weight, but still.) Then it would be a week or two with no movement, then 2-3 pounds would come off the next week, etc, etc.

Trust in the science. As long as you are counting correctly, the weight WILL come off. You can't break biology

Didn't even weigh myself in the first week. Just kept my calories at what MFP suggested, went back to my doctor, got weighed, and I had dropped 10kg's.

Too many people get hung up on the number the scales reflect. I got like this at one point, to the point I was weighing myself daily and just getting annoyed when I saw fluctuations. Even though I knew deep down I couldn't have put weight on, it still put me on a downer.

Stick to measurements, weigh yourself weekly and don't starve yourself. Everything should gradually start falling into place.

I haven't been as strict to put in a tsp of oil for cooking. I never thought about that part.

Attention to detail is key - oil is very calorie dense and can never be overlooked. Don't worry though, it soon becomes second nature if you tough it out.

As others have said, don't sweat two weeks. Your body is still adjusting. Just because the needle on the scale isn't moving yet doesn't mean it won't. Maybe don't weigh yourself for another week or two and focus on the lifestyle rather than panicking about a number. Good luck!

Definitely read the "Sexypants" thread. A lot of great info there!

2 weeks isn't a lot of time, so I would keep logging and see what happens in another couple of weeks. Make sure you are logging every little thing (like others have said). A food scale seriously helps for making sure you are being accurate.

I know it seems cumbersome at first, but after awhile it becomes part of your routine.

I understand your frustration!! I too have done everything right, and seen no results. But I do have a question for you. Are you noticing any inches lost? Do you have more energy?
Sometimes it takes your body a while to go into weight loss mode. I did Insanity for 3 weeks, and gained 4 lbs. that being said, I lost 1 inch around my neck, 2 inches in my calf's, and another inch in my ankle... i know.. weird and not exactly where I wanted to lose, but eventually, it should all work out.

Also, the calorie counter is good (don't get me wrong), but the kind of calories matter. For example, processed foods might have a low caloric count, but they aren't helping your body. I know this as I'm starting my weight loss battle once again, after 6 months of eating 900 calories/day, and gaining 25 lbs! it's all about the metabolism, and getting it revved up.

Keep at er, and re-evaluate the types of food, and when they are consumed. (you should be having 5 meals a day to get your metabolism going.)

Being too far under your calorie intake can have on opposite effect and be careful not to fall into the trap of basing you calorie burn on MFP estimates. I find MFP overestimates calorie burn on exercises which is why you will see people eating back 50% of their exercise calorie deficit. Good luck and keep at it - two weeks is not very long at all.

Agree with most of your post. However, eating too little does not prevent you from losing weight. Search "starvation mode myth" on here for a ton of information. Good one here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/761810-the-starvation-mode-myth-again

Are you both eating better and exercising more? If you are not doing the latter then it can be tough to notice the difference because:
* your body's metabolism will slow down as you eat less requiring less calories and making your deficit smaller.
* seeing 1 pound difference on the scale requires a net deficit of 3500 calories. That's 500 calories a day for a 1 week. That's a tough deficit to maintain on diet alone.
* do you really know how many calories you are burning? when you are working out it is easier to measure your calories burned above your baseline. Exercise also tends to have a bonus of increasing your overall caloric needs. But if you don't exercise it is easy to fool yourself over what your baseline calories really are.

Are you continuing to drink alcohol and / or coffee, smoke, taking appetite suppressants?
* there are other things that can cause this but if you are engaging in any activities that reduce your appetite then you will tend drink less water as well.

If you are exercising then it should be easy to lose weight in the beginning. Many exercise routines will make certain short-term weight-loss promises and it's basically water weight that is cashing that cheque.

I drink 3L of water per day and that's doesn't count the water i get via soups, food, shakes, etc. I also don't count any water I drink as juice nor coffee in that 3L, although I stay away from juices entirely. If I stop drinking water I know I'm going to see a jump on the scale. That doesn't mean I'm gaining fat, but I'm gaining "weight". Also I'm going to be hungrier cuz my body knows that food and water are related.

Salt will certainly affect that as well. If you're buying much of your food pre-made then you're probably getting too much salt. If you're making your own food then don't bother adding any salt. It's easy to find enough salt just trying to get away from it. You can use MFP to track your salt but it's not a default. Be wary of custom entries that have not added the sodium values.

For the first few weeks of a routine that involves exercise just be happy if it's getting easier to walk each day as your body adjusts to the routine.

Maybe you're eating more than you think.