two weeks working out no results

Hello,

I have worked out for 2 weeks now every single day for 1 1/2 hours, get my heart rate up to between 130-150 for that entire time, and virtually NO weight loss! .4 pounds! this is really discouraging and makes me want to just quit! any suggestions?
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Replies

  • gabbygirl37_2001
    gabbygirl37_2001 Posts: 93 Member
    also, Im drinking tons of water (that's all I drink) and eating healthy and staying within my calorie allotment. what gives?
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    It generally takes my body two weeks to respond to changes I make, good or bad. You won't see changes overnight.

    That being said, I would look back at your food diary for the key to the mystery. Calorie intake is usually the more likely culprit.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
    Good job starting to workout. You're off to a great start. It nay be too early to really be able to see much change yet, especially as you just started exercising and may be retaining water in your muscles.
    That being said....What is your diet like? You do realize that that is 80 percent of this. It appears your diary is not open.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    Good job starting to workout. You're off to a great start. It nay be too early to really be able to see much change yet, especially as you just started exercising and may be retaining water in your muscles.
    That being said....What is your diet like? You do realize that that is 80 percent of this. It appears your diary is not open.

    ^^what she said
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Weight loss is largely about diet, not exercise. I exercise my *kitten* off and I maintain weight...I exercise for fitness. The bottom line is that you can do all the exercise in the world but if your consumption = overall output then you will maintain your weight.

    Also, it's been a whopping whole two weeks...which is pretty much insignificant to what all of this is ultimately going to take.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    also, Im drinking tons of water (that's all I drink) and eating healthy and staying within my calorie allotment. what gives?


    Your diary is closed. If you open it up I will give suggestions.
  • wrbiii
    wrbiii Posts: 151
    Hello,

    I have worked out for 2 weeks now every single day for 1 1/2 hours, get my heart rate up to between 130-150 for that entire time, and virtually NO weight loss! .4 pounds! this is really discouraging and makes me want to just quit! any suggestions?

    Are you measuring the foods you are eating? Guesstimating your intake can screw you over completely. Also, if you are eating mostly prepackaged stuff, the sodium alone coupled with your water intake could account for the lack of change.

    Should also be noted that weight can fluctuate huge amounts during the day.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Good job starting to workout. You're off to a great start. It nay be too early to really be able to see much change yet, especially as you just started exercising and may be retaining water in your muscles.
    That being said....What is your diet like? You do realize that that is 80 percent of this. It appears your diary is not open.

    this.

    Also PS- building a fab body takes time- it certainly doesn't happen in two weeks.
    Not sure what you were expecting- but I can tell you the path to fabulous sexy pants takes patience- diet manipulation- patience- working out- more patience- and then more patience.
  • RunnersLament
    RunnersLament Posts: 140 Member
    Hello,

    I have worked out for 2 weeks now every single day for 1 1/2 hours, get my heart rate up to between 130-150 for that entire time, and virtually NO weight loss! .4 pounds! this is really discouraging and makes me want to just quit! any suggestions?

    Not trying to give you the tough love... Ok maybe I am.... :laugh: How long did you take to put the weight on?

    You are getting the exercise, but what is your diet like? I'd suggest taking a good look at portion control, eating 5-6 servings of fruits and veggies every day and cutting back on convenience foods.

    What worked for me is watching foods that had a strong effect on my glycemic index (typically convenience type foods) I increased my fruits and veggies and dropped my sugary carbs. No other program ever worked for me. Once I paid attention to this, I lost 100 lbs.

    Just remember it is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take you time to lose the weight, You may also be losing inches. Eventually it will all catch up.

    Feel free to add me if you need advice... I'm told I am a good listener and have a fairly good understanding of all things diet\exercise related.
  • RavenLibra
    RavenLibra Posts: 1,737 Member
    a whole two weeks??? and NO change??? Hmmm that doesn't sound right... seems to me you should be down at least 28 lbs...seriously though.. in the scheme of things... 2 weeks is NOT enough time to realize a noticeable change in your body composition... emotionally... you should be feeling pretty good... you are one week away from developing a positive habit... keep it up... and BE PATIENT!!!! the person you see in the mirror did NOT just mysterioulsly appear over a two week period... so the person you want to be is going to take months if not years to achieve... GOOD thing that it's the journey NOT the destination that counts huh?

    SO bear in mind... it is about the journey... NOT the end result... if it were quick and easy... there wouldn't be a plague of ovwerweight folks in N. America... count your blessings... take a deep breath... and keep at it... and LOG your calories.. and pay attention to your macros... th eONLY way to lose is to create a daily caloric deficit.. which means detailed and exact logging of your calories...

    YOU are going to get there... just be more patient... IF it isn't working after 3 months... THEN start worrying... a frined of mine (just entering her 50's... was just diagnosed with an underachieving Thyroid... SHE has an uphill battle...

    Bes to fluck
  • marissanik
    marissanik Posts: 344 Member
    .4lbs is still .4lbs, is it not? That appears to be a loss to me.

    Curious what you expected to lose..... Might want to give it a little more time than 2 weeks.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    Hello,

    I have worked out for 2 weeks now every single day for 1 1/2 hours, get my heart rate up to between 130-150 for that entire time, and virtually NO weight loss! .4 pounds! this is really discouraging and makes me want to just quit! any suggestions?

    That's a long time to exercise! I suspect you're not going to want to keep up that pace for the rest of your life. OTOH, that's about what my heart rate looks like during a very brisk walk - why not try for a higher heart rate, but for a half hour? That'll do for cardio.

    You might also want to lift heavy things to preserve muscle.

    I would also recommend setting realistic calorie goals and weighing your food, for an accurate picture of what your intake looks like. At 5'3" and 150, I tend to lose about half a pound a week eating (net) 1700 calories. You might need to do some research to come up with accurate calorie counts for your exercise, so you can eat those calories back without worrying about sabotaging your efforts. I recommend http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html for walking and running. Be sure to select "Net" in the drop down box next to "Energy."

    Don't get discouraged. Even if you didn't lose as much as you'd like, you did lose some weight! It's not going to be overnight. I still have to remind myself I'm not going to wake up skinny.
  • iamcherylb
    iamcherylb Posts: 10 Member
    Don't get discouraged yet! ;-) I've been working out 3 days a week for about 1 and 1/2 months and have not lost either. My personal info isn't quite right on Myfitnesspal as I'd entered a guestimated weight at the beginning when I originally set this up - I was off by 10 pounds. When I finally checked my weight at the gym I was 155 and have actually gained 3 pounds over the time, but I'm attributing some of it to muscle weight gain plus just me not sticking to my plan. In other words, weight itself isn't the whole thing. Muscle is heavier than fat so converting fat into muscle may produce a gain. Eating healthy is good for sure but a lot of good food is high calorie... The salt and water retention may be a factor. I have been using Myfitnesspal and my gym workout to alleviate arthritis pain rather than concentrating on weight loss though as my body is now getting stronger weight loss will also be my plan. I don't do a lot of cardio due to pain at this time but I bet it helps burn the fat quickly! eventually hope to lose 25 lbs but am willing to be patient as it hurts too much to push myself! (too many tears after real hard workouts for this girl, I had to learn to go easy!)
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    a) working out doesnt burn anywhere near as many calories as many people think

    b) what are your workouts. you say you are working out for 90 minutes but 90 minutes of farting around isn't going to burn anywhere near as much as 45 minutes of concentrated effort
  • matthawthorneisamyth
    matthawthorneisamyth Posts: 196 Member
    Your focus is in the wrong direction. Stop working out so much. Monitor your diet.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Hello,

    I have worked out for 2 weeks now every single day for 1 1/2 hours, get my heart rate up to between 130-150 for that entire time, and virtually NO weight loss! .4 pounds! this is really discouraging and makes me want to just quit! any suggestions?

    Are you logging exercise in MFP and eating those calories back? MFP (and many machines) give really generous calorie burn estimates. You could be eating back too much.

    My workout calories don't amount to a whole lot. I exercise as much (now) as I expect to exercise in the future. It's a future maintenance thing for me. So..........logging my food has to be really accurate.

    This thread is really helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging&page=1
  • paulykira
    paulykira Posts: 3 Member
    Every time I get back on track and start working out after a long slump, I inevitably put on weight my first two weeks. The human body is ridiculously stubborn in its efforts to maintain mass. It's just not fair. Honestly, the only way to really figure out what is going to work for you is to try new things. I find that weight comes off more easily when I'm eating clean, whole foods. For me, it's not just calories in- calories out. I have to eat the right things. Some things I've tweaked in the past to figure out what works are...
    - eat healthier, whole foods
    - I set my general activity level one step lower
    - Cut back on cardio and increased strength exercises
    - Use a heart rate monitor to track calorie burn ( I also throw 20% of those calories away straight off because I don't quite trust the numbers I get)
    - My body requires two rest days a week. Some people need more, some need less.
    - Try different kinds of exercise. A 30 min run does nothing for me. A 30 min bike ride torches calories.

    Those are just a few things I have personally had to tweak. They may work for you, and they may not, but it's certainly a place to start. My biggest suggestion is DON'T GIVE UP! As someone who has quit a dozen times, I can tell you that you always regret quitting the next time you have to start all over. Change just one thing for two weeks and see if you get better results. If it helps, great! If not, change something else. It's taken me years to learn how my body works and to retrain those habits. It will take you time as well. Just remember, it's most likely your body trying to get used to this new way of life. Once you trick it into believing this is the new normal, it will start to cooperate with you. You just have to give it time.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Good job starting to workout. You're off to a great start. It nay be too early to really be able to see much change yet, especially as you just started exercising and may be retaining water in your muscles.
    That being said....What is your diet like? You do realize that that is 80 percent of this. It appears your diary is not open.

    ^^what she said
    Yup.

    Also, an hour and a half of exercise probably isn't necessary, unless you have the time and really enjoy what you're doing. And are able to eat enough to fuel those workouts.

    Calorie deficit for weight loss.
    Exercise for fitness.
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    I hope you really didn't expect to see results in two weeks from exercise? Minimum time is 6 weeks to feel a difference, then another 12 before you notice it on your body.

    As far as weight loss, you don't have to even exercise to watch the scale go down. All weight loss is--is calories in versus calories out. Exercise is to help you get in shape and build endurance if you're doing cardio activity.

    Also if you're using MFP to estimate calories burned thru exercise, be very careful about eating those back. MFP has a history of overestimating exercise calories burned, and you could easily be overeating your workouts.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Patience. You didn't gain the weight overnight, you won't lose it overnight either. Exercise for health. Have a calorie deficit to lose weight.
  • becky4m
    becky4m Posts: 61 Member
    losing weight is all about your food intake. Not how long or how hard you work out. If you workout hard and still eat a ton of food you will not see a change on the scale. You do not even have to workout to lose weight.

    ETA: just saw you say you are staying in your calories... Are you using a food scale? Making sure everything you log is accurate. The correct food that is on the box/package as you are logging it into MFP not just picking the closest one? Everything you drink... the gum you chew? Everything is taken into account.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    Two weeks? Two weeks? Really? Two weeks?

    Are you counting calories? Weighing all of your food?

    Two weeks?
  • Derp_Diggler
    Derp_Diggler Posts: 1,456 Member
    Two weeks? If you spent two weeks studying law would you expect to be a lawyer? Cook for two weeks and become a chef? Paint for two weeks and become an artist?

    Things take time. Everything worth something takes time. Be realistic and stick with it.
  • PetulantOne
    PetulantOne Posts: 2,131 Member
    1 1/2 hours a day? Everyday? I'm hoping it's late and my reading comprehension skills aren't working.

    I'm going to assume that's all cardio, and that you probably need to rest. And develop some patience.
  • susanyounkin
    susanyounkin Posts: 30 Member
    It takes 6 weeks for you to notice, 12 weeks for those who love you to notice, and at least 18 weeks for others to notice. Stick with it. It takes time, but it's worth it!
  • ByronJP
    ByronJP Posts: 67
    I've been at it for 4 weeks now and have lost 10 lbs from that date. That being said I am very high energy no matter what size I am and when I start to exercise I don't like to stop. Losing weight is a great challenge and the benefits are enough reward to stick at it. Stick to it until the snow flies (depending on location) and then see if there is a difference, until then don't be so worried about not seeing a change. If you stick with it until then and don't see a change I don't know what to say. Also everyone is right about the diet. I've cut out pretty much all junk food except on occasion, quit drinking and stopped eating so much dairy and meat all the time...
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    I hear ya. I worked out today and didn't lose a SINGLE POUND
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    Two weeks? What do you expect? It's a lifestyle change that takes time to get real lasting results.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    That's really unusual. I lost 46 pounds or so in my first two weeks.
  • 1stplace4health
    1stplace4health Posts: 523 Member
    Lose weight in the kitchen, get fit in the gym.