Help!?!

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shubec85
shubec85 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!

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  • sklocker
    sklocker Posts: 11
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    Look at the kinds of foods you are eating. My body hangs on to carbs longer so I try to limit them. Remember that carbs are in more things than you think! Try and eat a variety of foods- including more veggies than you think! I get frustrated too when the weight doesn't come off fast enough. Slower is always better. How many calories are you burning in your workouts?
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!
    Just shy of a month....so about three weeks? And you've lost three pounds, which is a pound a week, which is good weight loss! :smile:

    Even though you're set for 1.5lbs a week, it's just an estimate, and weight loss isn't linear anyway - some weeks you may lose more, some less, some not at all, and some you might even show a gain. Water weight, hormones, new workout, stress - all kinds of things can affect the scale number. Which is why your tape measure should become a fast friend. :tongue: Start taking your measurements every few weeks, and pay attention to how your clothes are fitting. Often you'll see progress there that isn't showing on the scale.

    And be patient - new calorie intake, new exercise, new habits - it takes some time for the body to adjust. Sounds like you're on the right track with the loss so far, just be patient. Good luck!
  • ccf_trainer
    ccf_trainer Posts: 86 Member
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    Counting carbs is not a good approach. All it does is leaving you to obsess over how many carbs you need to hit your daily goal. Besides, you need nutrition. You need GOOD nutrition, including vitamins and supplements. Do not deprive yourself of that by doing the calorie counting approach. Trust me on this one. It's not the way. Ironically, as long as you're eating healthy, the more you eat, the more you can lose. My question to you is this: how much protein are you getting?

    Also, be happy that you're losing weight in the first place. Some progress is better than none.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!

    1 month is insufficient time to be able to gauge how much fat you have lost. If your scale says 3 pounds lower after 3 months it could mean almost anything in terms of fat loss. It could mean:

    1) You have lost 3 pounds of fat.
    2) You have lost no fat and have shed 3 pounds of water
    3) You have lost 6 pounds of fat but retained 3 pounds of water
    4) You have gained 3 pounds of fat but shed 6 pounds of water.

    Or any combination you can think of. Your body can easily fluctuate by more than 5 pounds due to changes in water retention. Until you log for a sufficient time to see a clear trend you cannot tell if you are losing fat or if its just standard weight fluctations.

    You have to be more patient, you can tell in a few months time.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
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    I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!
    Just shy of a month....so about three weeks? And you've lost three pounds, which is a pound a week, which is good weight loss! :smile:

    Even though you're set for 1.5lbs a week, it's just an estimate, and weight loss isn't linear anyway - some weeks you may lose more, some less, some not at all, and some you might even show a gain. Water weight, hormones, new workout, stress - all kinds of things can affect the scale number. Which is why your tape measure should become a fast friend. :tongue: Start taking your measurements every few weeks, and pay attention to how your clothes are fitting. Often you'll see progress there that isn't showing on the scale.

    And be patient - new calorie intake, new exercise, new habits - it takes some time for the body to adjust. Sounds like you're on the right track with the loss so far, just be patient. Good luck!

    ^ this lady knows of what she speaks:)
  • cj731
    cj731 Posts: 32 Member
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    Have you measured yourself in inches at all? If you're losing inches then what the scale says doesn't matter hugely. There's a poster on the success story boards who has posted two pictures of herself - one before weight loss picture at 135ish pounds, and her after picture also at 135ish pounds. Even though the scale doesn't show much difference, her whole body is slimmer, tighter and more toned and she looks incredible! For me it was a great reminder that measurements are important too, and if you're exercising a bit it cold be that your shape is changing more than your weight.
    Good luck!
  • shubec85
    shubec85 Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you!!! I think because I have more than 50lbs to loose I was just expecting the first few weeks to loose more than I have. I limit my carbs, but not obsessively, I switch up my videos so my body doesn't get used to the workouts, I also go on the treadmill and walk several times a week.
    I have not lost inches!!! But will start focusing on that a bit more. I totally understand that the scale doesn't show it all....but ugh, lol
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    Thank you!!! I think because I have more than 50lbs to loose I was just expecting the first few weeks to loose more than I have. I limit my carbs, but not obsessively, I switch up my videos so my body doesn't get used to the workouts, I also go on the treadmill and walk several times a week.
    I have not lost inches!!! But will start focusing on that a bit more. I totally understand that the scale doesn't show it all....but ugh, lol

    Just have to keep at it and trust that if you are going from not watching your calories and not exercising to watching your calories and excercising you most likely will lose weight and/or inches and/or fat. It will just take time.
  • Xingy01
    Xingy01 Posts: 83 Member
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    I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!

    I lose and gain up to 5 lbs every day depending on what I ate. You could have lost more or less than 3 lbs. It's hard to tell in just a few weeks. Just keep at it and see where you are in a couple months.
  • jocemi
    jocemi Posts: 2
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    If your not eating enough and your exercising that much you could be putting your body into survival mode which causes your body to hold on to whatever it can to survive. I say that you lower the intensity of your workouts and you might see better results. Good luck :)
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    If your not eating enough and your exercising that much you could be putting your body into survival mode which causes your body to hold on to whatever it can to survive. I say that you lower the intensity of your workouts and you might see better results. Good luck :)

    No. "Survival mode"?
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I have been religiously counting calories for just shy of a month. I do either the biggestn loser cardio or boot camp video or the turbo jam sculpt video just about every day. I am starting to feel very frustrated that I have only lost 3lbs. I am set to lose 1.5 lbs per week, and I am not going over my calories. I eat mostly healthy foods, lots of fruits and veggies, mostly lean meats.......ugh Im just not sure what I am doing wrong!!!

    I lose and gain up to 5 lbs every day depending on what I ate. You could have lost more or less than 3 lbs. It's hard to tell in just a few weeks. Just keep at it and see where you are in a couple months.

    This. The sad fact is it takes longer than a month to establish how much fat you are losing due to the fact that your body naturally fluctuates its weight more than 3 pounds sometimes even over the course of a day. Until you have logged long enough and have dropped sufficient weight in a way that forms a clear trend you really can't tell. Best to just trust your logging, trust that exercise is helping you and stick with it for longer and THEN evaluate maybe after 2-3 months.
  • shubec85
    shubec85 Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you!!

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