Not Losing Despite 2-a-day workouts

Okay, so here is my dilemma....

For the past 5 weeks I have started a NEW workout program my chiropractor (who also used to be a trainer) put me on because I have had injuries w/my back, two torn meniscus in my knees and an ankle that was broken, but has healed.

I am doing weights in the a.m. at the gym. One day UPPER BODY, Next day LOWER BODY, third day CARDIO, then repeat. I have also added cardio sessions at night, and just recently added more cardio after my weight lifting sessions.

In the past 5 weeks....I have not LOST ONE POUND!!!! NOT ONE....WTF?

I have incorporated eating more fish into my nutrition, I take a vitamin D supplement, I drink Protein shakes and drinks now instead of empty calorie breakfast items, and try to stay within a healthy range of calories.

Let me just say too, I am 5'10 and I am needing to lose at least 60 pounds! So I'm not someone at goal weight trying to lose.

I do take Celexa, but my doctor told me that this medicine is the LEAST likely ssri to cause weight gain. I have had some stress the past 3 weeks w/a relationship that had ended badly, but I feel I am coping with it pretty well, but it's been emotional. I just can't fathom with the effort I am putting out that I am not losing anything.

I would love to hear from you guys if there is something else I should try or see something I am missing THANK YOU!!!!

Simple. You're not running enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight. Calories in vs. calories out is the entire rule no matter if you exercise or not.

How do you have your settings here at MFP programmed? Are you counting the calories you eat vs. the ones you burn during your exercise? What do you use to count the exercise calories?

Weight loss is about calories in/out. If you're estimating how much you eat, then chances are you're eating too much.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

There's not always a simple solution to your issue...

Did you take measurements and/or body fat % before you started your new workout? Also, if your muscles are sore it could be an idicator that your muscles are retaining water for repair...your body may just be adjusting to the increase in activity, or you may just be trading fat for muscle...do your clothes feel like they fit better/looser now?

I am also 5' 10" and when I started (with Weight Watchers) last summer, my weight was very slow to start coming off (which I thought was weird, because most people say that a lot of weight comes off quickly and then slows down...) ...anyway...I have now lost 65 pounds in 10 months (with a few ups/downs/stalls along the way)...

so...keep watching your calories - make healthy choices - don't overestimate your workout calories (so you don't "eat back" more than you actually burned) - and good things will happen!! absolutely take measurements and photos...they are a much better indicator than the scale (even though its really nice to see it go down!!)

Good Luck!! :flowerforyou:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/another-look-at-metabolic-damage.html#more-9313


When someone complains about not losing at X number of calories there's several possibilities.

1. They aren't really eating X calories. They are logging incorrectly, either not weighing, forgetting binges, or not logging on the weekends, etc.

2. They are losing weight but due to messed up stress hormones they could be retaining an incredibly large amount of water, masking their weight loss.

3. They aren't really eating at a deficit because the weight they've already lost has resulted in a lower TDEE.

4. They aren't really eating at a deficit because their activity level has dropped considerably due to the fatigue caused by eating less calories and/or stress hormones.

5. Or some kind of combination of points 1-4.

so i just looked at your diary (only a couple of weeks)

lots of your entries are cups/tbsp/servings/things(like fillets, slices, qusadillas)
these entries can be more inacurate than you might assume

i also didn't see any alcohol or cooking fats
and there's not much in the way of fruit or veg i couldn't live without these

correction over the past 2 months i have found 5 vodka entries but still no sign of cooking fat/oil

This is a good point....I do feel I am getting "smaller" despite no movement on the scale. I do have clothes that are starting to feel looser, I should of taken measurements. I will do that tonight and keep better track of that as well. And good for you doing weight watchers, I did it a couple of years ago and lost 75 pounds, I then moved and didn't like the new leader where I live now unfortunately, but I am a big believer in it working and love the community it gives you at meetings

if you're loosing size then you are making progress

I think you need to really be diligent on your calorie tracking. Get a food scale. Check this out:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Get a food scale. Weight everything. I am actually awaiting mine in the mail right now.

Heart rate monitor when you work out. A machine or an app has no idea really how many calories you just burned.

I know a lot of people think it's "THAT SIMPLE" and trust me you would think it would be. I'm doing almost 60 minutes of Cardio a day along with 30-60 minutes of weight lifting a day. My calories generally stay within 1600-1900. I have even tried weeks of staying between 1200-1400 and still no weight loss.

Well, there is a big gap between 1200-1400 calories per day, and 1600-1900 per day. Or at least a 200 to 700 calorie gap from end to end in that range. That can make all the difference.

I'm 6'4" and weigh 173 pounds at the moment. I set my MFP profile at "sedentary" and a goal of losing 1 pound per week. Intitially, I had chosen "lightly active" because I do stand a lot and walk around a lot at work, but that didn't result in weight loss at all as I was stagnating. So I switched it to "sedentary" and presto - the lower calorie number resulted in weight loss. I do calculate/log my workouts on a daily basis because they fluctuate rather than using the built in exercise function.

Under the category of "lightly active", and the goal of losing a pound a week - MFP suggested I eat 1930 calories per day.
Under the category of "sedentary", and the goal of losing a pound a week - MPF suggested I eat 1670 calories per day.

That's a 260 calorie difference, which again seems to be what made the difference. I average about 10-12 hours a week of exercise (cycling, weight lifting) and some days I do eat back most of the exercise calories (weight stagnates), or if I run a nice deficit with the exercise included, then the weight slowly comes off.

So I am just curious at your height, gender, and weight if your daily calorie goal (before exercise) might be set too high.

you say you repeat that exercise program. do you take rest days (at least one per week) where you do no exercise whatsoever? If not, you should google overtraining.

1. Weigh your food. You can log until you're blue in the face, but unless you are weighing your food, it's not going to be nearly as accurate as you think it may be. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

2. Water retention. 5 weeks is a bit long for water retention.... BUT.... First you started exercising 5 weeks ago. You probably retained water from that (for muscle repair). Then you upped your exercise again (though I don't know how recently). Factor in your monthly times as well. I always retain water during ovulation and my period. All those things combined could mask anything you might have lost, and if they're all lined up, for example, (week 1)Begin Working Out/(week 2)Ovulation/(week 3)UppedExercise/(week 4)Period, etc... that would be at least 4 weeks of water retention. This may or may not apply to you, but it could happen.

Definitely start weighing your food though.