not losing weight with gym

fatterthanbefore
fatterthanbefore Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
been going gym 5 times a week and scales not going down i do feel better but just cant understand why i am not losing weight i have been doing an hr treadmill rowing and cross trainer and a few light weight free weights , am i be doing it wrong any help would be great

Replies

  • maasha81
    maasha81 Posts: 733 Member
    Losing weight is all about being in a calorie deficit. Count those calories, weigh food if necessary. Also if you're new to working out, you may actually gain a bit due to water retention. Stay focused, be patient ..you've got this :)
  • SuperC_85
    SuperC_85 Posts: 393
    You cant out exercise a bad diet...
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Losing weight should start in the kitchen first, concentrating on a calorie deficit and the exercise is more for overall fitness. Are you logging your daily intake and do you have a food scale and measure and weigh out everything?? That is where you need to start..... Best of Luck
  • JonathanLepoff
    JonathanLepoff Posts: 46 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)
  • workout_ninja
    workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
    you havent mentioned what you are eating. You cant out excercise a bad diet. Make you sure are eating at a calorie deficit by weighing and measuring everything that goes in your mouth, then the weight will come off
  • PiccolaPalacsinta
    PiccolaPalacsinta Posts: 1 Member
    To go along with what maasha said, my trainer says "Abs are made in the kitchen." Also drink lots of water and take your measurements. The scale might not go down because you could be replacing fat with a leaner muscle mass, so take measurements and notice how your clothes fit. Never be discouraged, it takes time.Keep going and never stop!!
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You can exercise all you like but if you're not eating at a calorie deficit you wont lose any weight. Weightloss is all about diet
  • leahraskie
    leahraskie Posts: 260 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)

    ^ this

    I've been having the same issue, if you are eating under your recommended calorie intake then it's most likely going to muscle. 3 weeks in and I've lost less than a pound. Hormones can also cause problems with weight loss, generally high estrogen but apparently also in women with high testosterone; your bod wants to hold on that fat cause making babies and stuff. :/
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)

    False, a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle. Yes, muscle is more dense and compact, but they weigh the same. Plus, if she is just doing cardio and light weights and eating in a deficit, it is highly unlikely that she is gaining muscle. Women, in general, have a hard time putting on muscle mass, especially when eating in a deficit. It could be water retention though.

    OP, if you aren't losing weight, you aren't eating in a deficit. If you don't currently weigh everything you eat and drink, start doing that. You may be overeating.

    Also, make sure you are accurately logging everything. I just recently ran into this issue. I had been logging 7 ounces of cooked chicken, but it was an inaccurate MFP entry. Seven ounces of cooked chicken is 199 grams, which is 330 calories (according to the USDA.gov website), but I was using a log entry that said 7 ounces of cooked chicken was only 245 caloires. That's almost 100 calories I wasn't accounting for, which meant I was overeating everyday I ate chicken.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    been going gym 5 times a week and scales not going down i do feel better but just cant understand why i am not losing weight i have been doing an hr treadmill rowing and cross trainer and a few light weight free weights , am i be doing it wrong any help would be great

    Everyone else has already mentioned it, but it is CICO (calories in vs. calories out) that matters.

    Here's the best primer available on the internet worth reading to answer the question "why am I not losing weight?":

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

    "Why Am I Not Losing Weight: 11 Reasons You’re Failing To Lose Fat"
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)

    ^ this

    I've been having the same issue, if you are eating under your recommended calorie intake then it's most likely going to muscle. 3 weeks in and I've lost less than a pound. Hormones can also cause problems with weight loss, generally high estrogen but apparently also in women with high testosterone; your bod wants to hold on that fat cause making babies and stuff. :/

    Naw no muscle gain unless you are exceptional over weight or new to weight lifting...or eating at a surplus.

    You can't gain muscle without really trying..and treadmill/rowing/cross trainer and light weights won't do it...
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    How long have you been going to the gym? Weight loss can be a slow process.

    Are you ACCURATELY keeping track of your food? Meaning weighing out your food. There are so many threads on here where people claim to log food...but...and also people who measure food with cups (not very accurate) and can't understand why they aren't losing weight.

    What do you have your activity level set at in MFP to determine how many calories you should be eating? I overestimated my daily activity level and had to readjust (lower it).
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)

    1.) most people aren't usually lifting in a way when they first start that is condusive to muscle growth

    2.) muscle does not weigh more than fat- the correct words for which you are searching are "muscle is more DENSE" than fat.

    but typically that's not the answer- the answer is not eating at a calorie deficit and this is usually do to the following
    > over estimating workout burns
    > inaccurately logging
    > incomplete logging
    >failure to realize you're at maintenance and using numbers as a hard and fast rule rather than using them as a guide to give you feed back.
  • rogerOb1
    rogerOb1 Posts: 318 Member
    been going gym 5 times a week and scales not going down i do feel better but just cant understand why i am not losing weight i have been doing an hr treadmill rowing and cross trainer and a few light weight free weights , am i be doing it wrong any help would be great
    Have you lost any inches? Do clothes fit any better?
  • samanthaalgar27
    samanthaalgar27 Posts: 31 Member
    If I were you I'd just concentrate on your measurements, Weighing yourself can become an obsession....We don't walk around with a sign saying "Oh look at me I weigh this much"' it's what people see when they stand in front of you that makes the difference surely? I use to be a size 12 but since I started exercising I'm now an 8 yet I weigh the same. give or take a few pounds!

    Slow and steady wins the race! Just stick to it and eventually you'll get over the brick wall :)
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    We don't walk around with a sign saying "Oh look at me I weigh this much"'

    heh- you don't maybe.... :tongue:
  • fatterthanbefore
    fatterthanbefore Posts: 3 Member
    yeah to be honest and i do feel thinner , i have been having protein shakes to replace two meals a day , yesterday i had intake of 950 cals and burned 700 in the two hrs at the gym think may be i just expected to much .
  • GillianMcK
    GillianMcK Posts: 401 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)

    a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat!!!

    Weight loss is mainly done in the kitchen, don't cut your calories so deep that it slows your metabolism, eat back half your exercise calories and allow a couple of weeks before making any adjustments.
  • fatterthanbefore
    fatterthanbefore Posts: 3 Member
    thanks for the reply in going to move the scales and get out the tape measure but leave a couple of weeks in between each measure thanks so much i will let you know when i get the results
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    yeah to be honest and i do feel thinner , i have been having protein shakes to replace two meals a day , yesterday i had intake of 950 cals and burned 700 in the two hrs at the gym think may be i just expected to much .

    Very very bad idea. You will crash & burn doing that. There's nothing good about this approach. Follow the advice others have given you.
  • rogerOb1
    rogerOb1 Posts: 318 Member
    yeah to be honest and i do feel thinner , i have been having protein shakes to replace two meals a day , yesterday i had intake of 950 cals and burned 700 in the two hrs at the gym think may be i just expected to much .

    OK, but that's very low intake. Under-eating is a major mistake. Its unhealthy, its not sustainable and your body will not react to it in a favorable way. Youre better of finding the right amount of calories for your size. It will mean the weight loss will be gradual, but you'll be more likely to keep it off in the long run.

    Try this

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat. with exercise you may not lose weight at first but may lose inches (or cm)
    lol
  • lolabluola
    lolabluola Posts: 212 Member
    I'm just parroting what other people say (and it's worked for me)

    Watch what you put in your mouth for weight loss.
    Exercise for health and strength

    :)
  • W31RD0
    W31RD0 Posts: 173 Member
    a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat!!!

    Duh, but one is much more dense and so the other will be more visible.

    http://www.lifefitness-academy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/fat-v-muscle.jpg?w=300
  • Z_I_L_L_A
    Z_I_L_L_A Posts: 2,399 Member
    I'm just parroting what other people say (and it's worked for me)

    Watch what you put in your mouth for weight loss.
    Exercise for health and strength

    :)

    This^ and throw away the scale. Its how much you look like you weigh not what you really weigh. Gain muscle and losing fat at the same time is hard but you will look smaller or lighter in the end.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
    yeah to be honest and i do feel thinner , i have been having protein shakes to replace two meals a day , yesterday i had intake of 950 cals and burned 700 in the two hrs at the gym think may be i just expected to much .

    First: that intake is way too low. Put in your stats (accurately) and let MFP tell you what you should eat. Make sure you set your goal at 0.5 to 1 pound per week (since you don't have much to lose per your profile). Eat what it tells you everyday, plus some of your exercise calories. (If that sounds too confusing, try the TDEE method. You eat the same number of calories everyday and do NOT eat your exercise calories back. Here's a great TDEE calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/#projectedweightloss).

    Second: how did you get your calorie burn? If you got it by logging it on MFP or by looking at the machines, be careful believing either of those. Both overestimate what you actually burn.

    Third: take measurements, like you said you're going to do. Take measurements every 2-4 weeks. That is long enough to see a difference but not so long that you waste a bunch of time if what you're doing isn't working.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    yeah to be honest and i do feel thinner , i have been having protein shakes to replace two meals a day , yesterday i had intake of 950 cals and burned 700 in the two hrs at the gym think may be i just expected to much .

    You're expecting to much if you think that's a long term solution for a problem you've been acuiring for years (I.E. the weight)

    Set a sensible defciit-
    Get on a sensible training program
    Get some patience and spend the next 6-10 months working out the diet and fitness bit.

    I am just back to where I want to be after my winter bulk- I started cutting April 1st. I JUST got back down this past week.

    I am going to go ahead and push forward to drop another 15 pounds- if I'm lucky- I'll have lost it by Thanksgiving. Go me. Seriously- it's going to take me AT LEAST 5 months to drop 10 pounds.

    1/2 pound a week is 30 weeks for 15 pounds. Don't rush it- and don't make yourself miserable- there is absolutely unequivocally NO need to do that.

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