5 months of working out, 0 weight lost

Jordanrae1992
Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out 6x a week for 5 months strait. I do 3x a week weight lifting with 15 minutes of cardio, and 3x a week pure cardio. I range from burning 300-500 calories a day and eat 1700 calories a day. I'm 22, 5' 6" and started out weighing 142, and I now weigh 148. I've dropped a couple inches, but hardly any from my waist (around where my pants come up to). I know muscle weighs more than fat, but I feel like I should have at least burned off some of the fat before I started gaining this extra muscle weight. I thought I would just be further along than this with as much effort as I've put in. Any suggestions on why I can't lose weight or inches around my waist??
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Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    you wont gain muscle unless you are eating in a surplus.

    Inches down are good...but if you are losing inches and no weight after 5 months sounds like recomp to me...

    which means you are not eating in a deficet...you are at maintenance.

    But with your diary closed it's hard to say why.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    same thing with me i just build muscle now and not lose a pound iam 125 pounds 5'5 age 26 ... but i dont have a prob with it as long as iam gaining muscle and not fat .. btw i workout 7 days perweek 45 min - 1hr everyday 5 month straight :D
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    you want to lose inches cardio is good and doing ab workouts will help to shrink your waist it does mine well
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Then you are eating at maintenance or above (you won't gain muscle at a deficit). I'm not positive, but I think it's pretty hard for anyone to gain 6lb of muscle in 5 months
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Are you weighing and measuring your foods?
  • Jordanrae1992
    Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
    I was eating 1500 calories a day for the first 3 months, and was hardly noticing any changes. I did some research and everywhere I looked it said I should be eating 1700. I eat healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables, I drink 8 cups of water a day, stick to whole grains, and barely drink alcohol.

    I'm getting allergy tests done this week (I get hives when I eat certain foods) and I may be allergic to something that is causing weight gain or bloating.

    Thanks!
  • HerbertNenenger
    HerbertNenenger Posts: 453 Member
    working out is to get fit and gain muscle. what you eat and don't eat is how you lose pounds. Maybe your body is happy where it is and the 6 pounds you "need to lose" are all in your head? just a thought. But if you really want to lose a few more, why don't you just try plain walking for a week without the weights, and drop to 1500 calories instead. You might see the scale move down with that, and then you can pick up your weights and your calories again after a bit.
  • Jordanrae1992
    Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
    Do you think I should be eating less calories? I thought it was pretty crazy that I've gained so much weight in 5 months too. Last year at this time I was 138 pounds and didn't workout or eat very healthy. It's just really discouraging.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    you wont gain muscle unless you are eating in a surplus.

    Inches down are good...but if you are losing inches and no weight after 5 months sounds like recomp to me...

    which means you are not eating in a deficet...you are at maintenance.

    But with your diary closed it's hard to say why.

    This.
    it's pretty hard for anyone to gain 6lb of muscle in 5 months

    And this.


    The bottom line is you are eating at your maintenance. It doesn't matter what you log, if your weight has stayed the same that means you are not eating at a deficit….which means 1 of 2 things…

    1. Your maintenance is lower than you thought.
    2. You are overestimating calories eaten.

    Probably #2.
  • brendan5130
    brendan5130 Posts: 2
    The best way to measure progres is pictures. You won't realize how far you've come by looking in the mirror daily but if you work out and eat well you WILL see improvement after a few months. Weight is just one of many indicators. As others have already pointed out you might have gained some muscle which is a lot denser than fat so you might appear thinner and fitter although you are still the same weight.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    you want to lose inches cardio is good and doing ab workouts will help to shrink your waist it does mine well

    workaholics-no.gif

    Sorry, there's not such thing as spot reduction.
  • dmenchac
    dmenchac Posts: 447 Member
    The best way to measure progres is pictures. You won't realize how far you've come by looking in the mirror daily but if you work out and eat well you WILL see improvement after a few months. Weight is just one of many indicators. As others have already pointed out you might have gained some muscle which is a lot denser than fat so you might appear thinner and fitter although you are still the same weight.

    No, just no.


    If she is truly eating at the deficit she thinks she is, she will lose weight.
  • Unknown
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  • dmenchac
    dmenchac Posts: 447 Member
    you want to lose inches cardio is good and doing ab workouts will help to shrink your waist it does mine well

    My brain, it hurts.
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member

    The bottom line is you are eating at your maintenance. It doesn't matter what you log, if your weight has stayed the same that means you are not eating at a deficit….which means 1 of 2 things…

    1. Your maintenance is lower than you thought.
    2. You are overestimating calories eaten.

    Probably #2.

    Adding a #3 - You may be eating more than you think as well.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Do you eat 1700 plus exercise calories?
  • brendan5130
    brendan5130 Posts: 2
    The best way to measure progres is pictures. You won't realize how far you've come by looking in the mirror daily but if you work out and eat well you WILL see improvement after a few months. Weight is just one of many indicators. As others have already pointed out you might have gained some muscle which is a lot denser than fat so you might appear thinner and fitter although you are still the same weight.
  • Jordanrae1992
    Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
    So if I may be eating too much, does anybody have any suggestions on how many calories I should be eating if I want to lose fat?
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    Your diary is closed so all suggestions are generic.

    From your ticker you are only targetting a 6lb loss, so it would be normal for this to be slow.
    The biggest problem with small weight loss targets is that is means that the deficit you are aiming at (for healthy loss rates of approximately 0.25kgweek > target daily deficit 275 cal/day) is also small. It is very easy for this small deficit to be wiped out by logging innacuracies. In a study where the goal was accurate calorie logging (rather than a given calorie goal) average undereporting ranged from 223 to 429 kcal/day for dietitians and other adults respectively (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160).

    Weight loss <> calorie deficit
    while excercise can contribute to calorie deficit it won't usually be sufficient on its own
    if you're not loosing then your either eating more than you think or burning fewer calories
    though you mention that you are loosing inches which is great so you are making progress
    progress can be measured in many ways (weight, inches, health, self esteem, energy, pictures)
    it's up to you to set your goals

    if you really want to loose the 6lb, then I would recommend that you get really serious for two to three weeks with the accuracy of your logging read this as a starting point: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • VoodooAborisha
    VoodooAborisha Posts: 147 Member
    You are eating too many calories.

    What is probably happening - unless you are working out 2 - 3 hours a day to get those 300 - 500 cal estimates - you are logging too many calories burned and therefore eating back too many exercise calories, and this means instead of being at a deficit, you are actually eating at maintenance or perhaps slightly over.

    the MFP estimates for calories burned for most exercises is WAY too high - sometimes 3 or more times what you actually burn. It estimated I was burning almost 300 calories for a 30 min Jillian Michaels DVD when in reality a person of my height only burns 130 cals. And for 90 minutes of bellydance, it said like 280 cals, when in reality I only burned like 180.

    Solution: some people get a heart rate monitor, and that gives a good estimate of calories burned. Or, if you are like me and cannot afford one, I go to 2 or 3 different websites where you can type in your weight and minutes of this or that exercise, and get more accurate estimates of what I am really burning, then I manually type in the lowest estimate, and never use MFP's estimate for exercise calories burned. When I started doing that, I went from losing nothing in 2 months to losing 16 in the 3rd month, and then 5 pounds each month after that and am happily and easily maintaining now.

    I learned this because one month I couldn't exercise, because I had a back injury. So I wasn't eating back any exercise calories at all. THAT month I lost so much weight, more quickly than when I was working out 5 days a week! What was the difference? I wasn't logging exercise and eating those calories back. So I realized that THAT was where the calorie inaccuracy had crept in.

    Good luck! Hope that helps.
  • gmthisfeller
    gmthisfeller Posts: 779 Member
    you wont gain muscle unless you are eating in a surplus.

    Inches down are good...but if you are losing inches and no weight after 5 months sounds like recomp to me...

    which means you are not eating in a deficet...you are at maintenance.

    But with your diary closed it's hard to say why.

    +1
  • Jordanrae1992
    Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
    I eat 1700, and then normally burn 400 calories by working out everyday.
  • refinedredbird
    refinedredbird Posts: 208 Member
    You can find out how many calories to eat by using a TDEE calculator.
  • asciiqwerty
    asciiqwerty Posts: 565 Member
    So if I may be eating too much, does anybody have any suggestions on how many calories I should be eating if I want to lose fat?

    I would suspect that your calorie goals may be reasonable (can't really judges without height /weight / activity information), but that you are eating more than you think you are.
    Obvious ones that people miss: fruits, cooking fats, vegetables, quick snacks. But the biggest source of inaccuracies are estimating portions or measuring (cups) rather than weighing (oz/g) solids and viscous fluids (nut butters, oils).
  • Jordanrae1992
    Jordanrae1992 Posts: 18
    Thanks for your help! And I do use a heart rate monitor, I LOVE it!
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    Sorry if I overlooked something, but are you using a food scale to weigh these foods your eating???? A scale will help you Know if your really at a deficit or not
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I eat 1700, and then normally burn 400 calories by working out everyday.

    Do you weight your solids on a food scale? if hte answer is no then you are probably eating more than you think.

    And how do you get your burns? you could be over estimating those too.
  • obum88
    obum88 Posts: 262 Member
    I just looked at your pictures, the scale may not have moved but you certainly look better. Keep doing what you are doing and watch your diet even more closely. May have to start measuring and weight your food. At 5'6', you are within your normal weight range even with the 5 pound gain.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    I eat 1700, and then normally burn 400 calories by working out everyday.
    and do you eat those calories too?
  • KatyMiriam
    KatyMiriam Posts: 13 Member
    Personally my base line is 1200 calories plus calories earnt from exercise (I'm female 5'5).
    Are you measuring everything? And do you log all of your drinks as well? Don't mean to sound patronising but its suprising how many folks don't realise how many calories most drinks contain plus its easier to underestimate quanity if its not measured out.
    Are you feeling fitter and healthier in yourself though?

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