My weight won't budge :(

So here's the quick and dirty version. I lost about 30 lbs got down to within 3 lbs of my goal weight fell off for a month or so and gained about 15 lbs...I've been working out eating right drinking plenty of water for about a month and no movement on the scale. None zip zero. Here's a few stats. I workout cardio and strength about 1-1.5 hrs 5 days a week , I'm a vegetarian (not vegan), and I drink lots of water (usually 2-3liters a day at the very least) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Except maybe not eating enough. I recently (2 days ago) started eating every 3 hrs again which has worked wonderfully in the past for my metabolism. But I'm so discouraged help !
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Replies

  • LaneB89
    LaneB89 Posts: 93 Member
    Not eating enough can cause any number of problems health-wise. Unfortunately though, none of those problems includes not losing weight. Meal timing is also largely irrelevant, so eating every 3 hrs is unlikely to make any real impact. If you've recently started hitting the gym hard again, water weight may be masking fat loss on the scale. But really, without being able to see your food log or daily calorie intake, I can't really comment on anything specific.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!
    None of that is factually correct. Starvation mode as you are describing it is a complete myth. Also there is, to use your words, none zero zip evidence to support the notion that eating several times a day boosts metabolism. That is another complete myth. It has been debunked for a good deal of time. Calories in vs calories out is what determines weight loss. Starvation only occurs when you actually starve yourself. You would need to eat next to nothing for months. Even then you would still lose weight.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    You are eating too much food. If you are tracking in MFP then set your activity level to match your life before exercises. Since you have 13 lbs. left to lose then set your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. a week. Next add your exercises and eat back portion of your exercise calories. Do you best to meet your macros (carb, fat, protein) because otherwise your body will not get the proper amount of nutrients needed to achieve and maintain good health while losing weight.

    As a rule of thumb, the following weekly targets would give a balance between minimizing negative side effects and seeing a reasonable weekly weight loss:

    More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
    40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
    10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
    Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    since you a vegan. do you eat a lot of soy? soy messes your hormones up and that may be the issue
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!
    None of that is factually correct. Starvation mode as you are describing it is a complete myth. Also there is, to use your words, none zero zip evidence to support the notion that eating several times a day boosts metabolism. That is another complete myth. It has been debunked for a good deal of time. Calories in vs calories out is what determines weight loss. Starvation only occurs when you actually starve yourself. You would need to eat next to nothing for months. Even then you would still lose weight.

    This. If you're not losing weight, you're not counting your calories correctly.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    OP, do you use a food scale? Also, are you new to logging, I only see a few entries filled out. Also, with only a few lbs to lose and working out 90 minutes a day, 1300 is way too little.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
    You haven't been tracking every day. Start tracking everything you eat each day to give yourself a more accurate idea of exactly what your intake is.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    I've been calorie counting for years. That's not the issue
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    I'm not a vegan. I'm a LACTO/OVO vegetarian
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    Not eating enough calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Where it's more apt to hang on to fat. Eating every three-four hours helps increase your metabolism. And I'm hoping the fact that I've been downing more water than usual will help my system rid itself of any retained water. But you should be able to see my diary now. Thanks for your response!

    Meal timing is personal preference. It is not directly responsible for weight loss. If eating more often helps you stick to your calorie goal, then great! It's not a requirement, though.

    Starvation mode in this sense is false. When you lose weight, you lose fat and muscle. When the calorie deficit is too aggressive (and you don't meet your protein needs), then you will likely lose muscle at a higher rate. This means that your body fat PERCENTAGE could go up when compared to your LBM, but your actual body fat in grams will not stay the same or increase.

    Water is good. It keeps you hydrated. When you're hydrated, you're less likely to confuse thirst for hunger, therefore more likely not to overeat.

    Are you using a food scale and weighing all solids? If not, I would suggest you start ASAP. You can get great scales online or at Wal-Mart for $10-$20. I recommend getting one with a tare button and weighs in gram and ounces.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals

    Since you haven't consistently tracked your calories, then I would suggest you are eating more than you think.

    And no, eating more meals isn't benefical for weight loss outside of personal preference

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/873411-myth-eat-frequently-to-stoke-the-metabolic-fire
  • Rogiefreida
    Rogiefreida Posts: 567 Member
    So here's the quick and dirty version. I lost about 30 lbs got down to within 3 lbs of my goal weight fell off for a month or so and gained about 15 lbs...I've been working out eating right drinking plenty of water for about a month and no movement on the scale. None zip zero. Here's a few stats. I workout cardio and strength about 1-1.5 hrs 5 days a week , I'm a vegetarian (not vegan), and I drink lots of water (usually 2-3liters a day at the very least) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Except maybe not eating enough. I recently (2 days ago) started eating every 3 hrs again which has worked wonderfully in the past for my metabolism. But I'm so discouraged help !

    Eating right =/= calorie deficit. You only have 2 or 3 days of food logged so it's hard to know how much you eat off that. But you lose weight from a calorie deficit, not from "eating right". You can overeat on healthy foods and still gain weight.

    Try weighing everything for a month and see what happens. It comes back to a logging issue, every time.

    ETA: I counted calories for years too. Its' not the same as weighing everything. When I started weighing everything, I realized that I wasn't counting accurately. Try it.
  • allykir
    allykir Posts: 4 Member
    I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

    Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals
    Again wrong. Data on people who do alternate day fasting or intermittent fasting show insulin levels equally as stable or even more stable then those who eat frequently. Eating multiple times a day is not scientifically proven to "better stabilize" insulin levels. In fact, there is data to prove the oppisite is true and that eating all of your food in a shorter time frame will indeed cause insulin resistance to decrease.
    http://jap.physiology.org/content/99/6/2128
    http://www.jnutbio.com/article/S0955-2863(04)00261-X/abstract

    You keep stating things you seem to believe are facts. Do you have any evidence? You are just quoting many old fitness myths. Also how do you know you are in a calorie deficit. Your logs only show a couple of days worth of counting. Are you weighing your food on a scale or using things meant for liquids to measure solid foods (cups, tablespoons, etc)?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

    Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.
    This is almost never the case. Gaining muscle is a very slow, difficult, process. It also requires you eat more calories a day then you burn. Most females in there first year of weight lifting can at most gain 12 lbs. That's 1 lb a month. She is not gaining enough lbs of muscle to mask fat loss. Not even men, who gain muscle at twice the rate of women, can gain it fast enough to mask fat loss. Gaining muscle and losing fat are competing goals and no one other then maybe teenagers and those on PEDs can do both at once very successfully.
  • LadyBos
    LadyBos Posts: 30 Member
    I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

    Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.

    Actually, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is just more dense. So, if you have lots of muscle, you may weigh more than you used to, but be smaller in size. OP, do your clothes fit differently? The scale is not the only measure of fitness.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    My weight hasn't changed for years. no matter what I have done...As much as I wanted to believe my body has done some recomp work, per Lyle McDonalds and the experts on this forum, I have to be eating more than I should or I was a snow flake...because average Jane like me, how could I lose fat without losing weight? it's just impossible...

    Anyway, I am at loss too. I wish I had answer for you. good luck~
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member

    Actually, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is just more dense. So, if you have lots of muscle, you may weigh more than you used to, but be smaller in size. OP, do your clothes fit differently? The scale is not the only measure of fitness.

    As much as I agree with you, this statement of "muscle not weigh more than fat" does get old...I think people do know what it implies...
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    So here's the quick and dirty version. I lost about 30 lbs got down to within 3 lbs of my goal weight fell off for a month or so and gained about 15 lbs...I've been working out eating right drinking plenty of water for about a month and no movement on the scale. None zip zero. Here's a few stats. I workout cardio and strength about 1-1.5 hrs 5 days a week , I'm a vegetarian (not vegan), and I drink lots of water (usually 2-3liters a day at the very least) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Except maybe not eating enough. I recently (2 days ago) started eating every 3 hrs again which has worked wonderfully in the past for my metabolism. But I'm so discouraged help !

    Eating right =/= calorie deficit. You only have 2 or 3 days of food logged so it's hard to know how much you eat off that. But you lose weight from a calorie deficit, not from "eating right". You can overeat on healthy foods and still gain weight.

    Try weighing everything for a month and see what happens. It comes back to a logging issue, every time.

    ETA: I counted calories for years too. Its' not the same as weighing everything. When I started weighing everything, I realized that I wasn't counting accurately. Try it.

    Exactly this. You said you aren't losing the weight anyway, so what do you have to lose by counting calories and weighing everything? Give it a month and I guarantee you lose.
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
    If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals

    Since you haven't consistently tracked your calories, then I would suggest you are eating more than you think.

    And no, eating more meals isn't benefical for weight loss outside of personal preference

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/873411-myth-eat-frequently-to-stoke-the-metabolic-fire

    This.

    I thought I was tracking accurately too...until I got a food scale. It was completely eye opening.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    Yes I have a digital scale I got from Walmart and I use it faithfully. Honestly my diet consists of lots of green veggies and complex carbs. Such as brown rice or yams. Lots of mushrooms and usually 2 servings of fruit. I use my scale 80% of the time.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    Yes I have a digital scale I got from Walmart and I use it faithfully. Honestly my diet consists of lots of green veggies and complex carbs. Such as brown rice or yams. Lots of mushrooms and usually 2 servings of fruit. I use my scale 80% of the time.

    I mean the reality of it is whatever you are eating right now and not losing or gaining on is your maintenance caloric requirements. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less or workout more.

    If your answer to that is you already eat less and workout more please read the above line again.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

    Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.
    This is almost never the case. Gaining muscle is a very slow, difficult, process. It also requires you eat more calories a day then you burn. Most females in there first year of weight lifting can at most gain 12 lbs. That's 1 lb a month. She is not gaining enough lbs of muscle to mask fat loss. Not even men, who gain muscle at twice the rate of women, can gain it fast enough to mask fat loss. Gaining muscle and losing fat are competing goals and no one other then maybe teenagers and those on PEDs can do both at once very successfully.

    Thanks everyone for all your advice. You've all been very helpful.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    Yes I have a digital scale I got from Walmart and I use it faithfully. Honestly my diet consists of lots of green veggies and complex carbs. Such as brown rice or yams. Lots of mushrooms and usually 2 servings of fruit. I use my scale 80% of the time.

    I mean the reality of it is whatever you are eating right now and not losing or gaining on is your maintenance caloric requirements. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less or workout more.

    If your answer to that is you already eat less and workout more please read the above line again.


    Lmao thanks sir
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
    Yes I have a digital scale I got from Walmart and I use it faithfully. Honestly my diet consists of lots of green veggies and complex carbs. Such as brown rice or yams. Lots of mushrooms and usually 2 servings of fruit. I use my scale 80% of the time.

    I mean the reality of it is whatever you are eating right now and not losing or gaining on is your maintenance caloric requirements. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less or workout more.

    If your answer to that is you already eat less and workout more please read the above line again.


    Lmao thanks sir

    I get the idea you think everyone is ripping on you and honestly we're not trying to. We've all struggled with the same issues before so we're just trying to offer honest advice.

    If you're not losing weight over a decent period of time, the issue is you are eating too much food. You have to know that even if it sounds snarky coming from some dude on the internet.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    If it's as simple as calories in /calories out why am I not losing any weight? I've been consistently the same weight over a month with or without intense workouts with or without healthy eating habits. I can say I've noticed a change in my muscle definition but the weight is exactly the same. And eating frequent small meals is always better than eating 2/3 large meals. Insulin levels are better stabilized with eating frequently vs 2/3 larger meals
    Again wrong. Data on people who do alternate day fasting or intermittent fasting show insulin levels equally as stable or even more stable then those who eat frequently. Eating multiple times a day is not scientifically proven to "better stabilize" insulin levels. In fact, there is data to prove the oppisite is true and that eating all of your food in a shorter time frame will indeed cause insulin resistance to decrease.
    http://jap.physiology.org/content/99/6/2128
    http://www.jnutbio.com/article/S0955-2863(04)00261-X/abstract



    You keep stating things you seem to believe are facts. Do you have any evidence? You are just quoting many old fitness myths. Also how do you know you are in a calorie deficit. Your logs only show a couple of days worth of counting. Are you weighing your food on a scale or using things meant for liquids to measure solid foods (cups, tablespoons, etc)?


    The thing is that there is data that can prove both what you and I are saying Is true. I'm going off of what has worked for me personally in the past. That for some odd reason is not working for me now. So I'm working off of my own facts from the past not off of an article that I pulled off of the internet.

    Yes I do use a digital scale and no I have both solid and liquid measuring cups.
    Congrats on your weight loss .
    Thanks for your input.
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    I didn't see this being said, but muscle weighs more than fat. Relying on the scale alone isn't a good way to measure your fat loss, you need to measure inches too. You could be stuck at 123 or 189 for months, but still tone way down.

    Take a look at this pic. http://bamboocorefitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fat-vs-muscle.jpg

    You could be gaining muscle / losing fat at this period of time if you are staying at the same weight but still exercising. Just keep at it. Don't stop what you're doing. Like other's say, still keep a count of your calories.

    Actually, muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Muscle is just more dense. So, if you have lots of muscle, you may weigh more than you used to, but be smaller in size. OP, do your clothes fit differently? The scale is not the only measure of fitness.

    My clothes fit differently yes. I lost a good amount of fat from my stomach I can see the difference there and in my legs..they're more toned than before. I'm just wanting to get back to 18% bf. before I fell off I was at 20% bf and 148 lbs. I ballooned up to 31% bf and 165 lbs. which is depressing me
  • Ash_danielle
    Ash_danielle Posts: 62 Member
    Yes I have a digital scale I got from Walmart and I use it faithfully. Honestly my diet consists of lots of green veggies and complex carbs. Such as brown rice or yams. Lots of mushrooms and usually 2 servings of fruit. I use my scale 80% of the time.

    I mean the reality of it is whatever you are eating right now and not losing or gaining on is your maintenance caloric requirements. If you want to lose weight you need to eat less or workout more.

    If your answer to that is you already eat less and workout more please read the above line again.


    Lmao thanks sir

    I get the idea you think everyone is ripping on you and honestly we're not trying to. We've all struggled with the same issues before so we're just trying to offer honest advice.

    If you're not losing weight over a decent period of time, the issue is you are eating too much food. You have to know that even if it sounds snarky coming from some dude on the internet.

    No everyone here is here for pretty much the same reason For some advice and or support. But there are ways to say things that aren't so "snarky" and while I don't have all the answers to every thing I'm open to trying different avenues for I have nothing to lose anyway (but weight lol) but I don't like snarky know it all ppl. Think back to when you first joined this board. Im just saying a kind soft tongue takes you farther than a snarky one. Not referring to you specifically