doing everything right but not losing weight
weightlossme
Posts: 27
I am at a loss - but not the weight type. You see I am eating perfectly, never going over my calorie intake for the day (1200), always choosing healthy lean green options, and exercising every day 6 days a week in a curves class for 30 minutes or walking briskly for one hour. I am developing muscle and losing cm's (though not a lot) and I have been dedicated to this for the past 3 months - but the scales reflect only a 1kg weight loss if any (goes up and down slightly). So what am I doing wrong? I keep a food diary here online, I do not cheat, I work out till I am sweating and cannot talk, I am relatively a small build weighing 60 Kilos but need to loose at least 6 to get back to pre-children weight. HELP. Getting frustrated.
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Please open your diary.0
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Are you weighing your food? How do you know you're only eating 1200 calories?
1200 calories means weight loss unless you're shorter..
You're probably eating more than you think you are.0 -
how? what do you mean? (Newbie)0
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weightlossme wrote: »how? what do you mean? (Newbie)
Go to "home". Click on "settings" (upper right). Click on "diary settings", and set to public.0 -
weightlossme wrote: »how? what do you mean? (Newbie)
What are you doing to get your calorie intake?
Are you weighing your food? Or just assuming you're only eating a serving.0 -
No - my food day looks like - 2 pieces of fresh fish fillets grilled, kale, abby spinach, a banana, garden salad and a palm size of grilled chicken breast. water. tea. skim milk coffee. - 100% nothing hidden or extras.
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weightlossme wrote: »No - my food day looks like - 2 pieces of fresh fish fillets grilled, kale, abby spinach, a banana, garden salad and a palm size of grilled chicken breast. water. tea. skim milk coffee. - 100% nothing hidden or extras.
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So what weight is your fish logged at? If it's 4ozs, did you weigh the fish to make sure you only are 4ozs?
Palm size is eyeballing chicken..
You are eating more than you think.
Get a food scale and weigh your food. Do this for a few weeks and I bet youll see the scale start to move in your favor.
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only eating a serving - palm size of my hand (and my hand is small) and Yes I am relatively short (157cm) small frame.0
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weightlossme wrote: »only eating a serving - palm size of my hand (and my hand is small) and Yes I am relatively short (157cm) small frame.
lol answer above is still true... get a food scale.. weight is all that matters when it comes to food.0 -
diet is too aggressive for 1200 calories as a starting intake, also weight in the scale doesnt always reflect the TRUE result of your effort, I mean our weight fluctuate between 3 - 5 lbs because of water weight, doesn't mean you are gaining fat. As suggested open diary to public so we can see how & what is the culprit! do you know a can of coke can derail your progress if you drink a can or two everyday? a coffee at gloria jeans? etc. just saying.0
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weightlossme wrote: »No - my food day looks like - 2 pieces of fresh fish fillets grilled, kale, abby spinach, a banana, garden salad and a palm size of grilled chicken breast. water. tea. skim milk coffee. - 100% nothing hidden or extras.
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It's hard to tell how many calories you are really consuming unless you are weighing everything out. Two "pieces" of grilled fish could be 3oz, or it could be 9oz, and the calorie content is based off its weight; you would not know whether you are eating more or less than you think unless everything is weighed.0 -
OK for the food scale. Will try this. Many thanks for help people0
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That's not literally what you ate, every day, for the past 3 months. If it is, you should see a doctor because that's an unhealthy amount of control and restriction when it comes to food.weightlossme wrote: »No - my food day looks like - 2 pieces of fresh fish fillets grilled, kale, abby spinach, a banana, garden salad and a palm size of grilled chicken breast. water. tea. skim milk coffee. - 100% nothing hidden or extras.
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You don't have to cut your intake down to just fish and veggies/fruit to lose weight. Losing weight isn't punishment -- you can eat foods you like and still lose. The first step is to start logging your food into your diary. Choose a reasonable weight loss goal, which depends on how many pounds total you have to lose. Then start weighing and logging your food. Stay under your goal, while weighing your food, for a month. You'll start to lose.
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Okay - a few things that stood out to me from your post:
- you workout until you're sweating and cannot talk. You're not supposed to workout until you can't talk. The trainers I've seen have always said you should be able to carry on a conversation while working out.
- You are losing centimeters, so that means you're doing something right.
Other thoughts:- Realize the closer you get to your goal, the slower it's going to go.
- Make sure you're accurately assessing your workouts. You may need to increase your calories just a bit.
- Make sure you're accurately assessing your food intake. When it's getting this close, it all counts. Don't have that miniature reese's peanut butter cup thinking it's nothing - log it anyway. (I know you said you don't cheat - just using that as an example.)
- When you log - make sure you log everything down to the condiments and/or any dipping sauces. When I'm not losing like I think I should, I become a "food journal Nazi" - log absolutely everything and be very mindful about portion sizes. That usually cures it.
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Thanks - and I opened my diary (I think) - and Yes I know my diary is not an indication of the past three months etc as I have been keeping a written diary, didn't think of going online until the past week. I also tend to eat 90% of my calories at breakfast, I do not eat Dinner, I am a BIG meal skipper and always have been. OH and one more thing - I rarely ever feel hungry - I think this means my metabolism is low?. Yes I do log everything, No little treats that I forget about. I gave up my wine like three months ago and really miss that one glass a night of red!0
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Are you using a food scale?0
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one more thing - my body fat has dropped according to the measuring thingy the GYM uses. so I am losing cm's and I am losing body fat. Just not actual weight on the scales.
- which annoys me.0 -
weightlossme wrote: »one more thing - my body fat has dropped according to the measuring thingy the GYM uses. so I am losing cm's and I am losing body fat. Just not actual weight on the scales.
- which annoys me.
No-one except you sees the number on the scale. Nobody knows what it is. Everyone can see inch loss.
Not that I'm saying you should do this for anyone else you have to do it for yourself all I'm trying to say is that the number on the scales is less important than the inch and body fat loss
I hope this comes across the way I mean it
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If you're losing fat but not weight then you are gaining muscle. That's a GOOD thing! You can weigh 60kg at 25% body fat and look like crap or weigh 70kg at 15% body fat and look a whole lot better. (Totally random numbers used to illustrate a point)0
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You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm0
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You're probably not gaining significant muscle unless you are lifting heavy weights and eating at a surplus. It's likely to be water weight if you're losing fat and cms
You'll need to tighten up your logging, I'm at the same weight as you and the closer you get to goal the more accurate you need to be as there is less room for error. Things like banana, walnuts and rice you REALLY need to weigh as they are calorie-heavy and the cup measures and 'medium' size estimates can be way off!0 -
You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
So let me get this straight - five pounds of muscle weighs more than five pounds of fat? Is that how physics works, ORRR do they weigh exactly the same amount regardless of their density, mass, etc?
Please stop the "muscle weighs more than fat" thinking. It's just bad math and science.
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AdorkableMe2015 wrote: »You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
So let me get this straight - five pounds of muscle weighs more than five pounds of fat? Is that how physics works, ORRR do they weigh exactly the same amount regardless of their density, mass, etc?
Please stop the "muscle weighs more than fat" thinking. It's just bad math and science.
yes indeedy! 5lbs of muscle weighs the same as 5lbs of fat. The difference is muscle takes up less room than fat .
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You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
no.0 -
See if you can figure out your body fat percentage, because it may be that which is changing (I've experienced the same thing).
Check your scales are right - compare them to a different set
Check your thyroid with your doctor (particularly if you have low energy levels)0 -
Issues with your logging, OP:
1) using generic recipes. "Homeade - Garden Salad, 1 cups" doesn't tell you anything about your caloric intake, regardless of it being weighed or not. It's simply inaccurate. Log the actual veggies you used separately.
2) eating out, if done very regularly, can be an issue for tracking. E.g. Mcdonald's - Small Latte Skimmed Milk, 260 ml may easily be more cals than the website states.
3) As already mentioned, not weighing your food makes t hings way less accurate. As long as you weigh or at least measure EVERYTHING though then you can use that as a starting point, but you need to be consistent.
4) being inconsistent with your intake. Being +/1 50 cals every day, not a huge deal. Having a calorie difference of a few hundred every day? Not really beneficial for noticing trends.
5) Using entries that require weighing but not actually weighing. Use entries that correspond to measurements until you decide to try weighing.
6) Using generic food entries. "Bread - White, toasted, 1 slice, thin" is not a brand. I have 2 cinnamon raisin breads in my freezer; one weighs about 70g for 2 slices and the other 49g for 2 slices. Use the brand that corresponds to what you actually ate.
7) Yuo say you've been at this for 3 months? Your log doesn't reflect this. Meaning you've been eating more than you think for most of this time.0 -
Have you ever gotten your thyroid checked? I had a similar experience. I was on a college dance team working out twice a day, practicing or dancing at games at least six days a week, eating healthy and didn't lose a pound which I knew seemed impossible. I was also tired, had an awful menstrual cycle, and had really dry skin. I found out I that had hypothryoidism by a simple blood test that my doctor prescribed. I take one levothyroxine every morning and once my TSH levels returned to normal, healthy eating and exercise began to actually work and I dropped 50 lbs. This may not be your issue but I definitely wish I had known about it during all those years I slaved through diets and didn't see results. Best of luck to you on your weight loss journey!0
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AdorkableMe2015 wrote: »You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
So let me get this straight - five pounds of muscle weighs more than five pounds of fat? Is that how physics works, ORRR do they weigh exactly the same amount regardless of their density, mass, etc?
Please stop the "muscle weighs more than fat" thinking. It's just bad math and science.
Physics has this thing ... you might have heard of it (you even mentioned it)... we call it (say it with me, will you): "Density".
You can say it, right?
"Density".
Let me help: Muscle is much more dense that fat ... which means what, kiddies? Yes, Virginia - you are correct. It means this:
for any given specific volume you care to name, in any unit of your choice, the same volume of both fat and muscle, the muscle is, indeed, undeniably and unquestionably heavier.
Are you done yet - pretending you didn't know that ?
Good.
Let's move on, shall we?
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SergeantSausage wrote: »AdorkableMe2015 wrote: »You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
So let me get this straight - five pounds of muscle weighs more than five pounds of fat? Is that how physics works, ORRR do they weigh exactly the same amount regardless of their density, mass, etc?
Please stop the "muscle weighs more than fat" thinking. It's just bad math and science.
Physics has this thing ... you might have heard of it (you even mentioned it)... we call it (say it with me, will you): "Density".
You can say it, right?
"Density".
Let me help: Muscle is much more dense that fat ... which means what, kiddies? Yes, Virginia - you are correct. It means this:
for any given specific volume you care to name, in any unit volume of your choice, the same volume of both fat and muscle, the muscle is, indeed, undeniably and unquestionably heavier.
Are you done yet - pretending you didn't know that ?
Good.
Let's move on, shall we?
two things that weigh 5lbs are going to be the same weight. This holds for fat and muscle. Just because one takes up more room than the other doesn't mean it weighs more. If you look just at size, then yes one could weigh more for the same size (e.g. comparing weights for how much fat vs muscle fits in a 1L container). But to say "muscle weighs more than fat" IS semantically incorrect.
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SergeantSausage wrote: »AdorkableMe2015 wrote: »You are likely gaining muscle which weighs more, but is more trim and smooth- different than merely being young and thin without muscle. I do not disbelieve your records, I think they accurately describe rapid muscle gain from intense workouts while you lose weight, as you are losing cm
So let me get this straight - five pounds of muscle weighs more than five pounds of fat? Is that how physics works, ORRR do they weigh exactly the same amount regardless of their density, mass, etc?
Please stop the "muscle weighs more than fat" thinking. It's just bad math and science.
Physics has this thing ... you might have heard of it (you even mentioned it)... we call it (say it with me, will you): "Density".
You can say it, right?
"Density".
Let me help: Muscle is much more dense that fat ... which means what, kiddies? Yes, Virginia - you are correct. It means this:
for any given specific volume you care to name, in any unit of your choice, the same volume of both fat and muscle, the muscle is, indeed, undeniably and unquestionably heavier.
Are you done yet - pretending you didn't know that ?
Good.
Let's move on, shall we?
wow
huh![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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