my wieght loss is not happening :(

fitnati2884
fitnati2884 Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
I cannot lose any weight. I am counting calories, going to the gym 3-4 times a week, meeting with a trainer and drinking so much water I feel like a fish. Somehow I have not been able to lose any more weight. I have been feeling very discouraged lately. I am trying very hard but don't see any results. When I started with MFP I weighed 176. I went down to 165 which made me feel great. My goal is to weigh 155 I am currently 170lbs and the scale does NOT want to budge. My trainer is working on toning my body. I am getting married in October and would like to lose at least 10lbs by then. Can anyone help!
Thanks for all your time.
-Nat

Replies

  • Billie09
    Billie09 Posts: 62 Member
    are you eating enough?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Have you been tracking in the food diary? If so, will you make it public so we can see it?

    How long have you been at 170?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    When did you start at the gym?
    How long have you been tracking?
    How do you measure your food?
    Will you open your diary?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I answered on your other thread. Just posting here because I expect one of them will be deleted and I'd like to pop in and help once we get more details.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Are you weighing, measuring and logging every morsel of food you consume? Are you accurately logging your caloric expenditure from exercise?

    Barring a metabolic disorder the only logical explanations for not losing weight are:

    1) You're not actually eating at a deficit (under-estimating consumption and/or over-estimating expenditure)
    2) Eating at a surplus and gaining some muscle mass
    3) Experiencing a temporary water weight gain in response to a new exercise program (1g of glycogen bonds with 3g of water for storage in muscle tissue - one of the reasons many runners will actually put on a kg or two in the week leading up to a race if they're carb loading)
  • alathIN
    alathIN Posts: 142 Member
    Some culprits when I get stuck:

    1) "cheating" little nibbles or not measuring - taking in more kCal than I am logging

    2) not getting enough sleep

    3) overall kCal intake (eating) and kCal burn (exercise) is good, but eating less healthy choices. Not all calories are created equal. In particular, excess sugars can contribute to fat gain/retention beyond just their calories.

    #3 is pretty big.
    If you are willing to put some time in, and willing to tolerate some physiology talk, this is a very good lecture from the University of California San Francisco Medical School.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
    Main points:
    - sugar contributes to obesity beyond what would be predicted just by calorie counting
    - manufacturers put sugar in everything
    - eat natural whole foods; get your sugars only from natural high fiber sources (ie, fruit)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    OP, I hope you found the answers you were looking for. There are a lot of people who answered you here who'd like to help if you could give us some more details. Asking for help and refusing to return to your thread makes it impossible to give you more specific advice. Guess this is another mystery we'll never know the answer to.
  • fitnati2884
    fitnati2884 Posts: 10
    Hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. I recently lost a dear family member and have not been able to address any comments or log on as a matter of fact. To answer some questions. i have been at the gym for a month now. I have been at 170 for a bit over a month. I am not measuring my food but i am trying to count every single calorie as i can. I will open my diary ASAP.
  • Faye_Anderson
    Faye_Anderson Posts: 1,495 Member
    Hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. I recently lost a dear family member and have not been able to address any comments or log on as a matter of fact. To answer some questions. i have been at the gym for a month now. I have been at 170 for a bit over a month. I am not measuring my food but i am trying to count every single calorie as i can. I will open my diary ASAP.

    I've looked over a few weeks and can only find empty entries/half filled days. Can you tell me where your accurately logged days are? And unless you are weighing your food you really can't accurately count your calories, you can guess, but if you're not losing weight I'd say you are guessing wrong :flowerforyou:
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. I recently lost a dear family member and have not been able to address any comments or log on as a matter of fact. To answer some questions. i have been at the gym for a month now. I have been at 170 for a bit over a month. I am not measuring my food but i am trying to count every single calorie as i can. I will open my diary ASAP.

    1. It is typical to see no movement on the scale (of even a gain of a couple of pounds) when first starting exercise or upping intensity. I went up 2lbs and stayed there an entire month but I could see a difference in progress pics.
    2. If you aren't measuring food, you are probably eating more than you think. Invest in a food scale. Weigh as much as you can, measure the rest.

    I think #2 is the biggest factor here though.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    Hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. I recently lost a dear family member and have not been able to address any comments or log on as a matter of fact. To answer some questions. i have been at the gym for a month now. I have been at 170 for a bit over a month. I am not measuring my food but i am trying to count every single calorie as i can. I will open my diary ASAP.

    I've looked over a few weeks and can only find empty entries/half filled days. Can you tell me where your accurately logged days are? And unless you are weighing your food you really can't accurately count your calories, you can guess, but if you're not losing weight I'd say you are guessing wrong :flowerforyou:

    +1
  • FrenchMob
    FrenchMob Posts: 1,167 Member
    Looking at your diary. the problem is easy: you're not accurately logging your food. Heck, most days are only half filled, some have "quick calories", etc.. By a $10 food scale and measure everything, log everything.

    And for goodness sakes, eat more protein. On some days that you have a full entry, you're at 30g protein. You should be having that amount in every meal, not for a whole day.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You could try accurately and consistently counting calories as it seems looking at your diary that's one thing you're not doing. Have a look at the links they'll help

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
  • joanthemom8
    joanthemom8 Posts: 375 Member
    I've said this before.... whe I wasn't wegihing or measuring my food, only "eyeballing" portion sizes, I wouldn't lose weight. It wasn't until I starting weighing and measuring that I realized I was mostly estimating incorrectly. The one exampe I always cite in these discussions is my coffee creamer. It's 35 calories a serving and I'd log just one serving. But I have two cups of coffee (with cream) in the morning. One day I measured my cream and I saw I was putting in TWO servings for EACH cup of coffee...suddenly my intake on cream went from my "perceived" amount of 35 calories to 140 calories! Then that made me think...WHAT ELSE have I been "estimating" incorrectly? Then I started to weigh/measure most of my food, and it made a huge difference. Sometimes I run into a lazy streak and don't do this and guess what? I don't lose weight.

    Good luck!:flowerforyou:
  • quaarific
    quaarific Posts: 2
    Have you tried calorie cycling? A little under 4 years ago my husband and I decided to start dieting and getting healthier. At that time we exercised and did calorie cycling. That's when you eat the same amount of food 3 times a week, a little more twice a week, and a little less twice a week. In a little under 2 and a half years I went from 180 to 135. Within the last couple years we relaxed our discipline and around 20 pounds crept back on which brought me here. Myfitnesspal doesn't really calorie cycle as it gives you the same goal every day (manipulated by how much you exercise). With just using this site, the weight wasn't coming off nearly as easily as when I calorie cycled, so I got calorie cycling numbers from freedieting.com and use here to keep a journal of what I eat. Since calorie cycling this last month and a half I've lost about 4 or 5 pounds. Maybe your metabolism plateaus and it needs cycling to keep it guessing, so to speak.

    Others' suggestions could be the case too. Maybe talk with a nutritionist or just try something for a couple weeks and see if it works. If not, try something else. Good luck!
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Weight loss takes place in the kitchen, not the gym.

    Along with being more consistent with your logging, you need to be more accurate. Avoid using quick add entries, generic entries and homemade entries (unless they are your own).

    Also, buy a food scale and read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    To be fair to the OP, this was originally posted on July 16th and they said they had a death in the family since the. The weeks since this post aren't filled out mostly but prior to the 16th it was filled out a lot more consistently.
    I will still agree that there is an issue with logging generic entries and accuracy (no weighing)


    OP - My other suggestion would be to cut back on take out food for a bit and prep your own food. It's not that you can't lose weight while eating it, but it can be much harder to estimate calories.
  • fitnati2884
    fitnati2884 Posts: 10
    Thank you all for your quick responses.
    I have not logged my food accurately but I have written everything down and am trying to catch up. Yes, I actually have written it all down. I never though about buying a scale. I guess that will be my next purchase. I also agree that maybe my "eyeballing" and quick calorie add is not the best way to go. So much has been going on that i may have lost track of it all. I will try to get better at logging in my food intake and 3dogsrunning i agree with you, my take out habits should diminish and i should cook more at home. Thank you.
  • jasonmh630
    jasonmh630 Posts: 2,850 Member
    So sorry about your loss!

    Only thing I will comment on is the fact that you can't accurately count your calories if you're not weighing your food. Weigh your solid foods in grams and measure liquids in cups/tbsp. The serving size in grams is on the label in parenthesis.

    Don't get discouraged, though. We all have slow points or ups/downs when it comes to weight loss. Just take it with a grain of salt and move on. Let it be motivation instead of discouragement. :)
  • jgoulet003
    jgoulet003 Posts: 12 Member
    I feel your pain. I've been struggling to get past about the same and just recently started the gym. I lose a couple pounds and then gain back. But my best advice is to really start weighing your food. Maybe you aren't having enough protein and proper nutrition. Maybe start taking some multi vitamins, and take progress pictures! I know I'm relying more on pictures than the scale because I can feel changes happening.
  • fitnati2884
    fitnati2884 Posts: 10
    I am considering taking vitamins and protein wise I know i should step it up. I should also mention I am a vegetarian. I have not weighed myself lately because I feel discouraged. i have a trainer, whom i see once a week. Attend his "burn" class once a week. Go to the gym besides that 3 times a week and sweat my tooshie off in spinning. Due to personal family matters these last two weeks have been tough and i will say that emotional eating has happened but i have tried to keep it under control. As of today i will put more effort and buy a scale. Thank you everyone for all your words of wisdom and for really trying to help me out. Its been really tough but i will try my best. Its so nice to feel like there are people who really care.
  • fitnati2884
    fitnati2884 Posts: 10
    jasonmh630. Thank you for your kind words.
  • MsMargie1116
    MsMargie1116 Posts: 323 Member
    I cannot lose any weight. I am counting calories, going to the gym 3-4 times a week, meeting with a trainer and drinking so much water I feel like a fish. Somehow I have not been able to lose any more weight. I have been feeling very discouraged lately. I am trying very hard but don't see any results. When I started with MFP I weighed 176. I went down to 165 which made me feel great. My goal is to weigh 155 I am currently 170lbs and the scale does NOT want to budge. My trainer is working on toning my body. I am getting married in October and would like to lose at least 10lbs by then. Can anyone help!
    Thanks for all your time.
    -Nat

    It looks to me like you aren't eating enough. As close as you are to your goal, you should be getting at least 1200 calories. Add to that your exercising, and not getting in those calories, that would explain why you have stalled. You're body is holding onto the weight because it is going into "starvation mode" (I don't like that term but using it for lack of a better one). Try eating your allotted calories plus your exercise calories... your body needs it's fuel to continue going... :smile:
  • Unknown
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  • bugaboo_sue
    bugaboo_sue Posts: 552 Member
    Hi everyone. Thanks so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. I recently lost a dear family member and have not been able to address any comments or log on as a matter of fact. To answer some questions. i have been at the gym for a month now. I have been at 170 for a bit over a month. I am not measuring my food but i am trying to count every single calorie as i can. I will open my diary ASAP.

    Not measuring is a BIG issue. How do you know that you are getting the calories that you think you are? You could very well be under estimating what you are eating and over estimating what you are 'burning' with your exercise.

    Get a kitchen scale for accuracy.

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