not losing, need some help

I'm going to chime in here because I was just going through the same thing. I dropped my calories down to 1200 in jan and lost nothing- literally 2 pounds in 3 months. But i was only eating processed stuff- cans of soup for lunch, oatmeal packets for breakfast. Things with minimal real nutrition.

So, similar to you, i was struggling with losing so 5 full weeks ago I increased to 1400-1500 calories and I went relatively low carb (goal is 100 per day) and dropped the grains, legumes, dairy and sugar from my diet - basically all the processed stuff - and its incredible how fast my body adjusted. It was hard the first two weeks or so to figure out what to eat but I've lost weight in the past 5 weeks - I've lost 6 pounds :laugh: :laugh: , I feel better, I'm not bloated, i dont always want to eat snacks and sugary stuff, I don't get that 2 pm sugar crash anymore.

It seems like you could easily cut out some of the refined/processed foods, especially from your lunches- just make extra dinner and pack it for lunch while you re cleaning up dinner :happy:

I Know I'm going to get some negativity on here about this approach, but it's what works for my body. That's whats key here. Trying things that work for your specific body. So the high calorie intake isnt working for you, drop it a bit. That doesnt work? Lower your PM carb intake.

It's just what I always hear from docs and PTs and stuff when I lose inches instead of pounds. Not really sure where they get it from

It just has less volume 5 lbs of fat weights the same as 5 lbs of muscle

Right, so the same volume of muscle will weight more. Geez. It's a comparison of the same volume, not weight.

Sharpen up on those reading skills!

"Which I realize muscle weighs more than fat,"

Let me give you a bit of background. I am an irish dancer. I lost about 100lbs back in 2008. I got hurt back in July and had to stop all activity completely and had to have foot surgery back in December which left me totally non weight bearing for 10 weeks. people kept bringing me junk food to eat because I couldn't prepare my own food. I ate a lot of junk. It was the perfect storm. I gained 40lbs back and lost a lot of muscle mass too. I wasn't able to wear normal pants over the cast so I didn't realize how much I had gained, once I did I started tracking and dropped 10. thats where it stopped. That was 6 weeks ago Since then I have been cleared to start low impact exercise. Which I have been 6 days a week. Elliptical, water aerobics, light treadmill. I stick to around 1600-1800 calories. But I haven't lost ANY weight at all. I started at 1200 which I was told by multiple personal trainers at the gym was damaging to my metabolism, but I didn't lose anything with any of those either. Which I realize muscle weighs more than fat, I would think I would be seeing SOMETHING by now? When I lose the initial 100 it was medication assisted. So I cant really base this off that...


any advice?

In which world does muscle weigh more than fat?

the real world.

which weighs more 5 lbs of fat or 5 lbs of muscle?

If you cut one cubic inch of muscle and of fat from your body, which do you think would weigh more?

i hate when people take over threads with this silly argument (guess I'm doing it too by replying!) but muscle is more dense but a pound equals a pound.

Let me give you a bit of background. I am an irish dancer. I lost about 100lbs back in 2008. I got hurt back in July and had to stop all activity completely and had to have foot surgery back in December which left me totally non weight bearing for 10 weeks. people kept bringing me junk food to eat because I couldn't prepare my own food. I ate a lot of junk. It was the perfect storm. I gained 40lbs back and lost a lot of muscle mass too. I wasn't able to wear normal pants over the cast so I didn't realize how much I had gained, once I did I started tracking and dropped 10. thats where it stopped. That was 6 weeks ago Since then I have been cleared to start low impact exercise. Which I have been 6 days a week. Elliptical, water aerobics, light treadmill. I stick to around 1600-1800 calories. But I haven't lost ANY weight at all. I started at 1200 which I was told by multiple personal trainers at the gym was damaging to my metabolism, but I didn't lose anything with any of those either. Which I realize muscle weighs more than fat, I would think I would be seeing SOMETHING by now? When I lose the initial 100 it was medication assisted. So I cant really base this off that...


any advice?

In which world does muscle weigh more than fat?

the real world.

which weighs more 5 lbs of fat or 5 lbs of muscle?

If you cut one cubic inch of muscle and of fat from your body, which do you think would weigh more?

i hate when people take over threads with this silly argument (guess I'm doing it too by replying!) but muscle is more dense but a pound equals a pound.

Yes, but when people say muscle weighs more than fat, they don't mean that 1 lb of muscle weighs more than 1 lb of fat -- that's a totally useless comparison. 1 lb of anything weighs the same as 1 lb of anything else.

When they say muscle weighs more than fat, it's a comparison of volume -- 1 cubic inch of muscle (or any other volume measurement of choice) weighs more than 1 cubic inch of fat because muscle is more dense (mass/volume).

yes thats what I was saying above. Some people refuse to understand this concept and arguing with them is pointless

Let me give you a bit of background. I am an irish dancer. I lost about 100lbs back in 2008. I got hurt back in July and had to stop all activity completely and had to have foot surgery back in December which left me totally non weight bearing for 10 weeks. people kept bringing me junk food to eat because I couldn't prepare my own food. I ate a lot of junk. It was the perfect storm. I gained 40lbs back and lost a lot of muscle mass too. I wasn't able to wear normal pants over the cast so I didn't realize how much I had gained, once I did I started tracking and dropped 10. thats where it stopped. That was 6 weeks ago Since then I have been cleared to start low impact exercise. Which I have been 6 days a week. Elliptical, water aerobics, light treadmill. I stick to around 1600-1800 calories. But I haven't lost ANY weight at all. I started at 1200 which I was told by multiple personal trainers at the gym was damaging to my metabolism, but I didn't lose anything with any of those either. Which I realize muscle weighs more than fat, I would think I would be seeing SOMETHING by now? When I lose the initial 100 it was medication assisted. So I cant really base this off that...


any advice?

In which world does muscle weigh more than fat?

the real world.

which weighs more 5 lbs of fat or 5 lbs of muscle?

If you cut one cubic inch of muscle and of fat from your body, which do you think would weigh more?

You are saying something completely different than the OP. You are saying it the correct way.

The obvious implication is a comparison of similar volumes having different weights.

I have been on for over 2 weeks now, i am staying within my 1200 calories, also checking the carbs, sugars, fat as to not to go over that either... i go on my treadmill 4-5 days a week, i suffer from asthma so i push it to as much as i can, i always cook at home and don't generally eat processed food... i feel lighter, my friends say i look like i lost some weight, but the scale says otherwise .. i like to eat fruit and veggies, I have a question i eat a grapefruit for breakfast, it takes up alot of sugar and carbs... are these carbs and sugars considered "not bad" ?? Im confused, are carbs, sugars what they are no mater what form you eat them in?? I am getting frustrated but i do like following this plan, any help thanks

you may want to start your own post since you have a different question

Let me give you a bit of background. I am an irish dancer. I lost about 100lbs back in 2008. I got hurt back in July and had to stop all activity completely and had to have foot surgery back in December which left me totally non weight bearing for 10 weeks. people kept bringing me junk food to eat because I couldn't prepare my own food. I ate a lot of junk. It was the perfect storm. I gained 40lbs back and lost a lot of muscle mass too. I wasn't able to wear normal pants over the cast so I didn't realize how much I had gained, once I did I started tracking and dropped 10. thats where it stopped. That was 6 weeks ago Since then I have been cleared to start low impact exercise. Which I have been 6 days a week. Elliptical, water aerobics, light treadmill. I stick to around 1600-1800 calories. But I haven't lost ANY weight at all. I started at 1200 which I was told by multiple personal trainers at the gym was damaging to my metabolism, but I didn't lose anything with any of those either. Which I realize muscle weighs more than fat, I would think I would be seeing SOMETHING by now? When I lose the initial 100 it was medication assisted. So I cant really base this off that...


any advice?

Okay, I had back surgery a long time ago. I don't know type of surgery you needed and I'm glad your recovery is going well.

My surgeon told me to make sure I ate a balanced diet that included extra calcium and vitamin D for six months afterward.

As far as calories I agree that you should look up your TDEE and start there. Eat at a small deficit because your body needs extra fuel right now while it is still recovering. As long as you eat a variety of foods and include some fruits and veggies you don't need to give anything up, just eat less of it.

Also, you really need to be accurate in weighing and measuring your food because you are limited in activity. I can't see your diary, this is just across the board advice. Keep in mind that if you are maintaining at 2000 then you should be losing at 1600 so that is about a pound a week loss. If you continue to not lose maybe see if all the pain meds are temporarily messing with your thyroid, or causing your brain chemistry to be out of whack and a cortisol release. That happened to me when I had a cervical fusion in 2012 and things settled down as soon as I got off the pain pills.

I eat about 2000 or more including exercise though my net is lower so it really depends how active you are though if you aren't losing aren't in a deficit so you probably want to cut back by a little bit (assuming you are weighing everything and logging accurately)

I'd venture to say that almost everyone else in this thread understood from context what OP was saying. You're the odd one out here.

No, because then the new people get all confused because they think they "gained muscle" when they gained weight or water because people tell them that muscle 'weighs more' then fat.. which is totally WRONG. I wish people would stop saying it - it just leads to confusion. If you MEAN that muscle takes up less space than an equal volume of fat then SAY that, because as much as you may THINK that it is obvious, it isn't obvious to all those people who still think they are gaining muscle when the scale goes up by pounds.

I eat about 2000 or more including exercise though my net is lower so it really depends how active you are though if you aren't losing aren't in a deficit so you probably want to cut back by a little bit (assuming you are weighing everything and logging accurately)

No, because then the new people get all confused because they think they "gained muscle" when they gained weight or water because people tell them that muscle 'weighs more' then fat.. which is totally WRONG. I wish people would stop saying it - it just leads to confusion. If you MEAN that muscle takes up less space than an equal volume of fat then SAY that, because as much as you may THINK that it is obvious, it isn't obvious to all those people who still think they are gaining muscle when the scale goes up by pounds.

That's a different issue. They're mistaking water retention for muscle gain. But, the idea of muscle weighing more than fat is a different concept. If they were speaking over a larger time frame, that very well could be the case as you see in anyone that does a major recomp.

The issue is that doesn't happen quickly -- it's not easy to put on muscle as a general rule. So, in the short term, any weight increase (or stall) is likely going to be due to water retention issues. They are simply applying the wrong concept to the situation, their understanding of the concept is not incorrect in and of itself.