HELP, not losing a gram... frustrating...

jacqui248
jacqui248 Posts: 19
in Health and Weight Loss
I normally am very sedentary, sit often and eat lots crap, ie big bag chips a day, chocolate, biscuits crap etc.....

I decided three weeks ago, to do some exercise everyday and change this between jogging, cycling walking for around 20-30mins aday, cut out most the crap and havent lost a thing, actualy put half a kg on.......

VERY FRUSTRATING.....

Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Unfortunately, three weeks isn't always enough time to tell whether or not you're doing everything right. A lot of people won't lose anything the first few weeks of a diet and then have a big whoosh and start losing.

    Are you currently logging your food?

    Would you be comfortable opening your diary for us?

    How many calories are you eating?

    How are you measuring your portion sizes? Are you using a food scale, measuring cups/spoons, or eyeballing your portion sizes?

    Are you eating back any of your earned exercise calories?

    If so, what method are you using to estimate your calories burned? MFP, gym machine estimates, or a heart rate monitor?
  • teeya1984
    teeya1984 Posts: 33 Member
    if you have increased your activity level, you may be building muscle...sometimes this can result in a bit of a gain. just remember that more muscle helps you burn off calories quicker. be patient and soon you should see your weight go down. without knowing your daily food intake and your exact workouts i cant really say for sure - but if you are doing what you say you are then you should start losing soon. just remember it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1lb. if you stick to that then eventually your weight has no choice but to go down instead of up! :)

    good luck!
  • jacqui248
    jacqui248 Posts: 19
    thanks for the reply...

    no i havent been logging food. i find it too difficult to log it all.... and correctly....

    i would have though just adding exercise and cutting out the MAIN part of the crap and upping my water intake would of done at least SOMETHING..... stopped going up if nothing else....
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Weight loss is calories in < calories expended.

    If you cut out all the "crap" but are still eating more than you're expending, you won't lose an ounce.

    Only way to know for sure is to accurately measure, weigh, and record what all is going in.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    thanks for the reply...

    no i havent been logging food. i find it too difficult to log it all.... and correctly....

    i would have though just adding exercise and cutting out the MAIN part of the crap and upping my water intake would of done at least SOMETHING..... stopped going up if nothing else....
    you need to log. You are probably still eating too much
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    thanks for the reply...

    no i havent been logging food. i find it too difficult to log it all.... and correctly....

    i would have though just adding exercise and cutting out the MAIN part of the crap and upping my water intake would of done at least SOMETHING..... stopped going up if nothing else....

    If you're not losing then you're probably not in a calorie deficit. At this point you have two options. You can either start logging your food to get a better idea of how much you're actually eating. Or you can randomly try to cut your calories lower until you start losing weight.
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member

    If you're not losing then you're probably not in a calorie deficit. At this point you have two options. You can either start logging your food to get a better idea of how much you're actually eating. Or you can randomly try to cut your calories lower until you start losing weight.

    ^^ please go with the former rather than the latter - yes it's a drag but it really does work
  • jacqui248
    jacqui248 Posts: 19
    so is there anything behind, amount eaten, times eaten, protein, carbs etc etc... or is it really just calorie amount only!???
  • cpdiminish
    cpdiminish Posts: 84
    Presuming that your calorie counts are accurate, I'd say to add other methods to gauge change.

    Take body measurements. I started a couple days before you and have been exercising as much if not more than you have been while eating about 1450 calories a day. I've hiked or walked 59 miles in the month of April and haven't lost a single pound. LOL.

    But some of my body measurements have gone down a little, I've lost the swollen feeling that made me get on the scale in the first place, and some of my clothes seem to be fitting better.

    When your are on your home page and you click Check-In there are places to enter body measurements and you can add more options than they start with. I deleted neck, but added thighs, calves and arms, separate entries for left and right sides.

    Of course, if I stuck at this for three-four months and the weight still wasn't coming off, then I might start thinking thyroid problem, but for now my guess is that my muscle gains are offsetting my fat losses.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Strictly weight speaking - calories in vs. calories out.

    Certainly, to achieve an overall healthy body, ensuring you're getting enough protein, fat, nutrients, exercise, etc all play an important role.

    But if you're only interested in the scale, calories are all that matter.
  • jacqui248
    jacqui248 Posts: 19
    ok thanks all.... ill wait a bit longer... and see how i go.... on holiday next week, so that not gonna be very helpful!
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    I normally am very sedentary, sit often and eat lots crap, ie big bag chips a day, chocolate, biscuits crap etc.....

    I decided three weeks ago, to do some exercise everyday and change this between jogging, cycling walking for around 20-30mins aday, cut out most the crap and havent lost a thing, actualy put half a kg on.......

    VERY FRUSTRATING.....

    Unless you have been doing this for 2 months without seeing a result you probably just haven't waited long enough to see a noticeable change in your weight. Weight loss takes time and it takes a while before fat loss becomes noticeable over the background noise of your bodies natural weight fluctuations.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    so is there anything behind, amount eaten, times eaten, protein, carbs etc etc... or is it really just calorie amount only!???

    To be fair, if you have a good relationship with food and don't binge, some people do find success losing weight without counting calories, or counting *something* (like carbs or exchanges or weight watcher "points"). But no matter if they fast one day a week, or don't eat after 4 pm or only eat foods that start with "B"... it doesn't matter. In the end, they've created a calorie deficit to lose weight.
  • jacqui248
    jacqui248 Posts: 19
    i think thats what i find difficult, all the conflicting advice i read... someimes i feel like i am eating more..... cos i read do "have lots small meals a day" whre as id rather just have 2 big ones... but then i still have the two big ones and then have snacks in between.... OR i read dont eat carbs.... but hten i do not eat bread for lunch and then i do not feel full enough....

    SOooo should i just stick to what I CAN do and have two meals a day??? Only.... and my coffees and water??????
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    If losing weight is all you care about then it's all numbers. What you decide to do in order to reduce the amount that you eat is up to you. You don't HAVE to eat 6 meals a day, you don't HAVE to give up carbs. SOME PEOPLE find that doing these things helps THEM to create a deficit.

    At some point you will have to log some food so you at least have some idea how many calories you're eating but I guarantee 100% unless you have some medical condition that you aren't telling us about - if you aren't losing weight you aren't in a deficit. You are still eating more than you think.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    so is there anything behind, amount eaten, times eaten, protein, carbs etc etc... or is it really just calorie amount only!???
    calorie deficit = how much weight you lose.

    if you aren't losing because you aren't logging, then start logging. log for at least 6 weeks accurately... I mean down to the gram.

    then if you still aren't losing, but you haven't gained any weight in that time... congrats, you found your maintenance level. At this point, just eat less.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    so is there anything behind, amount eaten, times eaten, protein, carbs etc etc... or is it really just calorie amount only!???
    calorie deficit = how much weight you lose.

    if you aren't losing because you aren't logging, then start logging. log for at least 6 weeks accurately... I mean down to the gram.

    then if you still aren't losing, but you haven't gained any weight in that time... congrats, you found your maintenance level. At this point, just eat less.

    This. You have to measure, you have to be consistent, you have to be honest and you have to do it long term otherwise you are just second guessing yourself based on no data.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    i think thats what i find difficult, all the conflicting advice i read... someimes i feel like i am eating more..... cos i read do "have lots small meals a day" whre as id rather just have 2 big ones... but then i still have the two big ones and then have snacks in between.... OR i read dont eat carbs.... but hten i do not eat bread for lunch and then i do not feel full enough....

    SOooo should i just stick to what I CAN do and have two meals a day??? Only.... and my coffees and water??????

    Unless you have a medical reason to schedule your eating habits a certain way, meal timing will make no difference to your weight loss. Some people do better with 5 or 6 small meals. Others do better with 2 big ones. Choose whichever one lets you feel the best and makes it easiest to stick to your calorie and fitness goals.
  • Xingy01
    Xingy01 Posts: 83 Member
    Assuming you're actually eating a deficit, it's probably just water weight. Someone who is sedentary and starts exercising can end up retaining water to repair muscles. When I exercise, it's not uncommon for me to gain water weight for 2-3 days.

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