Extremely frustrated. Help :(

crys_aintgivingup
crys_aintgivingup Posts: 115 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi everyone,

I started exercising early Feb this year. It's been almost 2 months now and I haven't lost any weight. My clothes don't feel any different and some days my jeans might even feel tighter than before. I'm super frustrated at this point.

My basic exercise is 3 gym workouts per week where I burn an average of 400-500 cals each time. On top of that, when I have time, I run or do 30 day shred videos so most weeks I am working out at least 4-5 days.

Initially I did see a drop in 2 pounds in the first 3 weeks of exercising, but for some reason I gained it back and now I'm back at 135lbs, same weight as in Feb.

I don't eat any junk food or snacks. I'm semi-vegetarian so no fat meats either. My calorie intake is around 1300 a day (excluding the cals I burn from exercise).

I would like to lose a total of 25-30 pounds. Is it possible that weight loss doesn't happen for a long time and suddenly happens dramatically? Is it more difficult for me because I have 'less' to lose to begin with? Or am I just maintaining my weight here? Or is there something I'm missing? Any help or any personal experience that you could share would be great. Thanks so much.

Replies

  • NancyH66
    NancyH66 Posts: 20 Member
    You should be aiming for a pound a week. It's hard to make recommendations because your food diary isn't public. It is possible you are overestimating your calories burned through exercise or underestimating your calories eaten. 1300 calories isn't very much either unless you are really short so you might be under-eating also. More info would be good.
  • Edensienna
    Edensienna Posts: 180 Member
    That is very frustrating!

    It has taken me 6 months to get to goal weight. My starting weight was 140 and now I am 118lb. It has been slow and steady. I workout hard three times per week for one hour and rarely burn more than 350 calories so please be sure that your burn is accurate.

    I started at 1200 cals per day and slowly increased to 1400. You have the correct mindset to lose this weight. Keep going.

    Weigh all your portions to ensure accuracy. If you have a Daily deficit you will lose the weight in time.

    My last 5 pounds took three months to work off but again I got there.
  • crys_aintgivingup
    crys_aintgivingup Posts: 115 Member
    You should be aiming for a pound a week. It's hard to make recommendations because your food diary isn't public. It is possible you are overestimating your calories burned through exercise or underestimating your calories eaten. 1300 calories isn't very much either unless you are really short so you might be under-eating also. More info would be good.

    Thanks for your reply :) I actually didn't track using the MFP app, but tracked elsewhere. Nonetheless I do miss days sometimes and you're probably right, I might be underestimating how much I eat.

    On the other hand I use a HRM for exercise so I'm pretty sure about the cals I burned.

    I'm also quite short - 5 ft 1 inch.
  • crys_aintgivingup
    crys_aintgivingup Posts: 115 Member
    That is very frustrating!

    It has taken me 6 months to get to goal weight. My starting weight was 140 and now I am 118lb. It has been slow and steady. I workout hard three times per week for one hour and rarely burn more than 350 calories so please be sure that your burn is accurate.

    I started at 1200 cals per day and slowly increased to 1400. You have the correct mindset to lose this weight. Keep going.

    Weigh all your portions to ensure accuracy. If you have a Daily deficit you will lose the weight in time.

    My last 5 pounds took three months to work off but again I got there.

    Thanks! Do you mind me asking you when you started seeing results? From the beginning? Also, throughout the 6 months you kept exercising 3 days/week?

    My burn is accurate I think, as I use a HRM and it's set to my specs (age, height, weight etc) as well. I guess my problem is not tracking food as rigorously. I find it very difficult because I eat out all the time as a result of work, and I'm not sure how to measure the portions when eating out :( Do you have any suggestions?

    Thanks again!
  • lawlorka
    lawlorka Posts: 484 Member
    I'm 133lbs and 5'2" so pretty similar stats.

    I don't lose every week. My average is between 0.5lbs and 1lb per week (which is normal for us as we don't have much to lose). I don't lose for a period of 2-3weeks and then lose 2-3lbs in a week. Then, nothing again for another 3 weeks. At first it was frustrating, but when I got to 3months on MFP and looked at the graph I realised my trend was quite predictable to the point now where I know what day I need to stand on the scale to see the loss and am not bothered by the static scale for the rest of the time!

    So my point is, weight loss is not linear - you may not lose every week, its overall trends you need to look at.

    As for calories - I weigh everything - and I think that is super important to making sure I'm not over eating. I haven't given up any foods, just eat smaller portions.

    I run 4 times a week, and lift 3 days and have 1 or 2 rest days. I eat an average of 1700calories a day, and I still lose 2-3lbs per month. I use the TDEE method, so don't eat back exercise calories (they are already included in my daily goal).
  • crys_aintgivingup
    crys_aintgivingup Posts: 115 Member
    I'm 133lbs and 5'2" so pretty similar stats.

    I don't lose every week. My average is between 0.5lbs and 1lb per week (which is normal for us as we don't have much to lose). I don't lose for a period of 2-3weeks and then lose 2-3lbs in a week. Then, nothing again for another 3 weeks. At first it was frustrating, but when I got to 3months on MFP and looked at the graph I realised my trend was quite predictable to the point now where I know what day I need to stand on the scale to see the loss and am not bothered by the static scale for the rest of the time!

    So my point is, weight loss is not linear - you may not lose every week, its overall trends you need to look at.

    As for calories - I weigh everything - and I think that is super important to making sure I'm not over eating. I haven't given up any foods, just eat smaller portions.

    I run 4 times a week, and lift 3 days and have 1 or 2 rest days. I eat an average of 1700calories a day, and I still lose 2-3lbs per month. I use the TDEE method, so don't eat back exercise calories (they are already included in my daily goal).

    Thanks so much for this! It's really encouraging to know that not everyone loses steadily. I see from your ticker that you've lost quite a lot already! Congrats. Would you mind me asking how long has that taken you? Thanks.
  • KatJ_NZ
    KatJ_NZ Posts: 31 Member
    Eating out is hard. I try to choose menu items that I can easily quantify. I know you said you don't eat much meat, but bear with me... I find it much easier to estimate the calories in a portion of steak plus a portion of steamed vegetables than if I tried to guess the content of a soup, or a sauce, or a curry, etc.

    Other than that, try tracking every single item that goes into your mouth for a week. You might be surprised (I know I was shocked by my intake!). You've got the right idea, but you will probably benefit from stricter tracking for a little while. Best of luck :-)
  • crys_aintgivingup
    crys_aintgivingup Posts: 115 Member
    Eating out is hard. I try to choose menu items that I can easily quantify. I know you said you don't eat much meat, but bear with me... I find it much easier to estimate the calories in a portion of steak plus a portion of steamed vegetables than if I tried to guess the content of a soup, or a sauce, or a curry, etc.

    Other than that, try tracking every single item that goes into your mouth for a week. You might be surprised (I know I was shocked by my intake!). You've got the right idea, but you will probably benefit from stricter tracking for a little while. Best of luck :-)

    Thank you so much for the encouragement!
  • MVY_
    MVY_ Posts: 253 Member
    Try eating back the cals you burn....sometimes when I am eating a steady diet I have a cheat meal and it helps boost things a long too!
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 2,951 Member
    i am short too 5.2 ft and i never lost anything my 1st 2 months. I also found i always get swooshes.. don't lose for a while and them BAM shoosh, i lose. it's is frustrating, as right when you are fed up and want to give up, bam, i lose,lol.... it took me a whole year to lose 20 lbs! so glad i never gave up though! i have now maintained for over a year. still trying to reduce my body fat which i am finding a whole lot harder then the weight, if that is even possible,lol...
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    That is very frustrating!

    It has taken me 6 months to get to goal weight. My starting weight was 140 and now I am 118lb. It has been slow and steady. I workout hard three times per week for one hour and rarely burn more than 350 calories so please be sure that your burn is accurate.

    I started at 1200 cals per day and slowly increased to 1400. You have the correct mindset to lose this weight. Keep going.

    Weigh all your portions to ensure accuracy. If you have a Daily deficit you will lose the weight in time.

    My last 5 pounds took three months to work off but again I got there.

    Thanks! Do you mind me asking you when you started seeing results? From the beginning? Also, throughout the 6 months you kept exercising 3 days/week?

    My burn is accurate I think, as I use a HRM and it's set to my specs (age, height, weight etc) as well. I guess my problem is not tracking food as rigorously. I find it very difficult because I eat out all the time as a result of work, and I'm not sure how to measure the portions when eating out :( Do you have any suggestions?

    Thanks again!

    While there will be periods where you lose more or less thane expected, or plateau, if you are eating at a true deficit you should be seeing weight loss over a two month period. Needing to better track calories is very likely the answer. You are almost certainly eating more than you think, and you can't fix that with exercise. Successful weight loss has to be built on the foundation of a good diet.

    Since you eat out a lot, it may help to spend time at home getting better at eyeballing portion sizes and weight - what does a cup of something look like, what does 4 oz of chicken or fish look like? Also, even eating out, many places do have reliable entries of their nutritional info. Take time to be more rigorous and see what happens.
  • BrainyBurro
    BrainyBurro Posts: 6,129 Member
    Hi everyone,

    I started exercising early Feb this year. It's been almost 2 months now and I haven't lost any weight. My clothes don't feel any different and some days my jeans might even feel tighter than before. I'm super frustrated at this point.

    My basic exercise is 3 gym workouts per week where I burn an average of 400-500 cals each time. On top of that, when I have time, I run or do 30 day shred videos so most weeks I am working out at least 4-5 days.

    Initially I did see a drop in 2 pounds in the first 3 weeks of exercising, but for some reason I gained it back and now I'm back at 135lbs, same weight as in Feb.

    I don't eat any junk food or snacks. I'm semi-vegetarian so no fat meats either. My calorie intake is around 1300 a day (excluding the cals I burn from exercise).

    I would like to lose a total of 25-30 pounds. Is it possible that weight loss doesn't happen for a long time and suddenly happens dramatically? Is it more difficult for me because I have 'less' to lose to begin with? Or am I just maintaining my weight here? Or is there something I'm missing? Any help or any personal experience that you could share would be great. Thanks so much.

    i see you focusing on irrelevant details as justification for why you should have lost weight, but i see no mention whatsoever of the only detail that matters...

    what is you total cumulative deficit for the past 2 months?

    if you can't answer that question, then we can't help you and you can't figure out what's wrong. we can have our suspicions, we can't really know.

    so take the time to answer that question and then we can help you get on the right track. if you don't know how to answer this question, then *that* is the main problem.

    here's a hint... weight loss is only about calories in vs. calories out. :wink:

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