Have tried everything. Don't know what I'm doing wrong?
sosoangel
Posts: 20 Member
Hey all, I really need some advice and help.
Since January my weight difference has only been down 4lbs. Some weeks it drops 2lbs-3lbs, while other weeks it's up 1lb-5lbs <-- Been happening a lot recently.
I have tried everything possible.
I am proud to say I have lost 20lbs! And all that was without excersice. But I was plateauing so I knew I had to start incorporating exercise to see the scale go down again. But even after that I am still seeing no results. In fact the weeks I work out I see weight gain. I know a lot of people say it's just muscle... But I'm not doing weight training. Also I can see clothes getting tighter as well. I'm just really scared the weight will creep back and I'll be left back at square one. Please help!
Since January my weight difference has only been down 4lbs. Some weeks it drops 2lbs-3lbs, while other weeks it's up 1lb-5lbs <-- Been happening a lot recently.
I have tried everything possible.
I am proud to say I have lost 20lbs! And all that was without excersice. But I was plateauing so I knew I had to start incorporating exercise to see the scale go down again. But even after that I am still seeing no results. In fact the weeks I work out I see weight gain. I know a lot of people say it's just muscle... But I'm not doing weight training. Also I can see clothes getting tighter as well. I'm just really scared the weight will creep back and I'll be left back at square one. Please help!
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Replies
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When you start a new exercise routine, increase intensity, increase frequency, and the like, your muscles may retain water to help them heal up. Like, several pounds of water. It comes back off, so please do not stop exercising for fear of gaining weight... it's water, not fat or muscle.
Weight also fluctuates as part of just being a normal human being. Your weight is really a range, not one number. Exercise changes, sleep changes, digestion, sodium intake, carb intake, hydration levels, time of day, what you've recently eaten/drank, what you're wearing, where you are in your monthly cycle, and so on, can all affect your scale weight. Weigh in the mornings, after using the toilet, before consuming anything, unclothed, if possible. This will give you more comparable numbers... but you'll still see fluctuations. Keeping track though can help you see the overall trend!
Since your ticker looks to be wrong, how many more lbs are you aiming to lose? You may need to accept that a reasonable rate is more like 0.5 lb to 1 lb per week, depending on how much you've got to lose.
Do you weigh your food on a food scale? If not, you may be eating more than you think. Same if you're eating out a lot, or eating foods prepared by others. The more potential errors, the more likely it is that if you're seeing no losses when you WOULD expect to see losses, that your food intake numbers are lower in your log than they actually were.0 -
Hey all, I really need some advice and help.
Since January my weight difference has only been down 4lbs. Some weeks it drops 2lbs-3lbs, while other weeks it's up 1lb-5lbs <-- Been happening a lot recently.
I have tried everything possible.
I am proud to say I have lost 20lbs! And all that was without excersice. But I was plateauing so I knew I had to start incorporating exercise to see the scale go down again. But even after that I am still seeing no results. In fact the weeks I work out I see weight gain. I know a lot of people say it's just muscle... But I'm not doing weight training. Also I can see clothes getting tighter as well. I'm just really scared the weight will creep back and I'll be left back at square one. Please help!
Have you reduced your calorie goal since losing 20 pounds?0 -
Sounds like you are eating at maintance if your weight is hovering around the same spot. Eat less food to create a deficit to meet your goals.0
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futuremanda wrote: »When you start a new exercise routine, increase intensity, increase frequency, and the like, your muscles may retain water to help them heal up. Like, several pounds of water. It comes back off, so please do not stop exercising for fear of gaining weight... it's water, not fat or muscle.
Weight also fluctuates as part of just being a normal human being. Your weight is really a range, not one number. Exercise changes, sleep changes, digestion, sodium intake, carb intake, hydration levels, time of day, what you've recently eaten/drank, what you're wearing, where you are in your monthly cycle, and so on, can all affect your scale weight. Weigh in the mornings, after using the toilet, before consuming anything, unclothed, if possible. This will give you more comparable numbers... but you'll still see fluctuations. Keeping track though can help you see the overall trend!
Since your ticker looks to be wrong, how many more lbs are you aiming to lose? You may need to accept that a reasonable rate is more like 0.5 lb to 1 lb per week, depending on how much you've got to lose.
Do you weigh your food on a food scale? If not, you may be eating more than you think. Same if you're eating out a lot, or eating foods prepared by others. The more potential errors, the more likely it is that if you're seeing no losses when you WOULD expect to see losses, that your food intake numbers are lower in your log than they actually were.
I do not weigh my food. I am Indian and we eat a lot of Indian food which makes it extremely hard to calculate and log. In those cases I try to log more calories than less. I do not eat out a lot. I try to keep that to once a week and I will eat something that I know exactly what's in it and how many calories.
I weigh myself once a week before eating anything and after using the restroom0 -
If you are not weighing your food and not losing weight then you are eating more than you think you are.0
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healthygreek wrote: »Have you reduced your calorie goal since losing 20 pounds?
I was actually thinking about that the other day. Do I need to do that manually? Or does MFP do that automatically? And I wasn't sure if I had lost enough for it to reduce.
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Head over to IIFYM.com and use the calculators to figure out your needs. Calorically and for macros. Then get brutally honest about what you eat (hardest part!), weighing and measuring EVERYTHING, staying within your calories. Go heavy on your proteins and moderate carbs and fats. Choose less calories dense food if you tend to be hungry a lot, it will give you a lot of volume in your tummy to keeping you full while keeping calories down. I am a person who was in the same boat as you. Then I started lifting weights while eating better and in control. I have lost 80lbs and reshaped my body in the last 2 years. This lifestyle does work if you consistently live it. Oh!, and keep educating yourself on how all the rest of us "success stories" got to where we are and incorporate all you can.0
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healthygreek wrote: »Have you reduced your calorie goal since losing 20 pounds?
I was actually thinking about that the other day. Do I need to do that manually? Or does MFP do that automatically? And I wasn't sure if I had lost enough for it to reduce.
MFP suggested that I recalculate my calorie goal (it gave me a button to click to do that) when I dropped 10 lbs.
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Also, you're not gaining muscle by your workouts. Even with an intense lifting schedule, it's extremely hard for a woman to gain more than 5 or so lbs of muscle per year. We simply do not have the testosterone to do so.
A food scale would be your best investment. It appears that you are eating either at, or slightly above, maintenance
Good luck!0 -
I know that you say it is hard to weigh your food, but have you found the recipe section? Click on the food like you are going to enter a food. Once there, on the dark blue strip across the top of the page there is a spot that says recipes. Click on it. On that page, under the "import recipe" box there is small blue writing that says Add Recipe Manually. It is well worth your time to put in your recipe... maybe you don't use exact recipes every time, but measure what you usually use and write it down. Measure the finished product, and divide that into the size servings you eat. It will tell you the calorie count. It is definitely worth the effort to enter your own foods there. When I did, I found that in just one dinner roll that I make here at home I have 30 more calories than I had been marking down for it. Hope this all makes sense to you. I don't usually post on here, but I just figured this out recently and it is so helpful for me. Good luck.0
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Help I have tried TRIED EVERYTHiNG ..... No I don't weigh my food. Facepalm
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I know that you say it is hard to weigh your food, but have you found the recipe section? Click on the food like you are going to enter a food. Once there, on the dark blue strip across the top of the page there is a spot that says recipes. Click on it. On that page, under the "import recipe" box there is small blue writing that says Add Recipe Manually. It is well worth your time to put in your recipe... maybe you don't use exact recipes every time, but measure what you usually use and write it down. Measure the finished product, and divide that into the size servings you eat. It will tell you the calorie count. It is definitely worth the effort to enter your own foods there. When I did, I found that in just one dinner roll that I make here at home I have 30 more calories than I had been marking down for it. Hope this all makes sense to you. I don't usually post on here, but I just figured this out recently and it is so helpful for me. Good luck.
For what it's worth, I'm very glad you mentioned this feature! It's exactly what I need for homemade dishes with lots of ingredients. That way I can be really thorough ONCE and enter everything all measured and weighed to the detail, figure out how many portions come out of it... and from then on use that as glorious reference for all future inputs. Luvit!!! So yeah, thanks
OP, I think the first pounds one looses are the easiest... and I think that's the case with your 20. That is not a small amount, so very well done! = )
Having said that, i guess it's time for you to tighten up the game. Mainly through being more conscious about how many calories you consume. Plus, I think working out harder would compliment great with that. Also, read all the stickies in this forum... there's very good info there. Good luck!
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So you've lost 20 lbs since January... which is approx 12 weeks. That averages out to about 1.5+ lbs/week. Where's the problem? How long has it been since you haven't lost weight? If you're still losing weight, then you haven't plateau'd. You should only be concerned if it's been 4-6 weeks with no change... which it doesn't sound like it has been, considering the time frame.
Remember that weight loss isn't linear.0 -
healthygreek wrote: »Have you reduced your calorie goal since losing 20 pounds?
I was actually thinking about that the other day. Do I need to do that manually? Or does MFP do that automatically? And I wasn't sure if I had lost enough for it to reduce.
Just change your goal to maintenance and then back to what ever your weight loss goal is now.
It will recalculate the calories. So you don't have to wait for mfp to do it automatically.
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So you've lost 20 lbs since January... which is approx 12 weeks. That averages out to about 1.5+ lbs/week. Where's the problem? How long has it been since you haven't lost weight? If you're still losing weight, then you haven't plateau'd. You should only be concerned if it's been 4-6 weeks with no change... which it doesn't sound like it has been, considering the time frame.
Remember that weight loss isn't linear.
I lost 20lbs before January. Since January I have only seen a 4lb diffence.
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BetterKimmer wrote: »Head over to IIFYM.com and use the calculators to figure out your needs. Calorically and for macros. Then get brutally honest about what you eat (hardest part!), weighing and measuring EVERYTHING, staying within your calories. Go heavy on your proteins and moderate carbs and fats. Choose less calories dense food if you tend to be hungry a lot, it will give you a lot of volume in your tummy to keeping you full while keeping calories down. I am a person who was in the same boat as you. Then I started lifting weights while eating better and in control. I have lost 80lbs and reshaped my body in the last 2 years. This lifestyle does work if you consistently live it. Oh!, and keep educating yourself on how all the rest of us "success stories" got to where we are and incorporate all you can.
Thank you very much!
I do have a lot to lose I will start with cardio for now and when ready go right in to weight training! I do love weight training but numerous people have told me to hold off on that till I have lost a good portion of weight. I've been going by that... Thinking I may need to reevaluate things.
Appreciate the advice/post!0 -
SophiaSerrao wrote: »
For what it's worth, I'm very glad you mentioned this feature! It's exactly what I need for homemade dishes with lots of ingredients. That way I can be really thorough ONCE and enter everything all measured and weighed to the detail, figure out how many portions come out of it... and from then on use that as glorious reference for all future inputs. Luvit!!! So yeah, thanks
OP, I think the first pounds one looses are the easiest... and I think that's the case with your 20. That is not a small amount, so very well done! = )
Having said that, i guess it's time for you to tighten up the game. Mainly through being more conscious about how many calories you consume. Plus, I think working out harder would compliment great with that. Also, read all the stickies in this forum... there's very good info there. Good luck!
Your absolutely right, the first pounds do come off the easiest. I'm just REALLY trying to find out what works best for me. I'm eagerly trying to figure out what exactly my body needs to see weight loss again.
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I know that you say it is hard to weigh your food, but have you found the recipe section? Click on the food like you are going to enter a food. Once there, on the dark blue strip across the top of the page there is a spot that says recipes. Click on it. On that page, under the "import recipe" box there is small blue writing that says Add Recipe Manually. It is well worth your time to put in your recipe... maybe you don't use exact recipes every time, but measure what you usually use and write it down. Measure the finished product, and divide that into the size servings you eat. It will tell you the calorie count. It is definitely worth the effort to enter your own foods there. When I did, I found that in just one dinner roll that I make here at home I have 30 more calories than I had been marking down for it. Hope this all makes sense to you. I don't usually post on here, but I just figured this out recently and it is so helpful for me. Good luck.
Makes perfect sense. I know exactly what your talking about. That is indeed very helpful. This will def come in handy for my dinners when I have Indian food.0 -
Hi OP:
Forgive me if I show ignorance; but, from what I know of Indian food there are a couple of areas worth watching out for!
First to mind is ghee or oil used in home cooked recipes! How much oil are you using in your home cooked recipes? Have you checked to see how many calories that adds up to?
Then look at the total amount of complete/completed protein you are eating, and especially if you're vegetarian and also cutting down on the roti or rice you're eating with your meals, are you still getting all the amino acids that you need?
Last but not least... multiple cups of chai with a few gulab jamun and jalebis; maybe not every day : - )0 -
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Hi OP:
Forgive me if I show ignorance; but, from what I know of Indian food there are a couple of areas worth watching out for!
First to mind is ghee or oil used in home cooked recipes! How much oil are you using in your home cooked recipes? Have you checked to see how many calories that adds up to?
Then look at the total amount of complete/completed protein you are eating, and especially if you're vegetarian and also cutting down on the roti or rice you're eating with your meals, are you still getting all the amino acids that you need?
Last but not least... multiple cups of chai with a few gulab jamun and jalebis; maybe not every day : - )
No ignorance at all. Lol. Yes I know Indian food can be very heavy but have completely cut out "ghee". Ghee doesn't exist in my vocab when it comes to food. I use minimal oil and usually cooking with chicken breast.
As for rice and roti it's either one or the other and they are both made the healthiest way possible.
Thank goodness I don't have much of a liking for chai and gulab jamun and jalebis... Otherwise I would be doomed!0 -
I use minimal oil and usually cooking with chicken breast.
As for rice and roti it's either one or the other and they are both made the healthiest way possible.
If you are going up and down a bit, but end up around the same weight for an extended period of time (I am talking in the month not day range here) AND at the same time your measurements are not changing... it does sound like you MAY be at maintenance for your given level of caloric input and output.
I see you eat chicken so my question of whether you were combining your legumes with roti or rice to get all your amino acids goes out the window!
However your diary is not available to see how you log your cooking oil. And a little bit of oil goes a long way in terms of the calories it adds, as I discovered when I first started with MFP!
Yes, I know you said you use minimal! But minimal is not none.
I was convinced I only used a "small amount of" olive oil in my food prep. Then I measured it on the scale and gasped at the calories I was adding...
The bottle hasn't moved much since, and most of the time cooking spray is all that stops my food from sticking!
Yes, I do still use olive oil and butter, but in extremely carefully measured quantities because yes, at the end of the day, I would rather spend my caloric budget on chocolate instead :-)
And, of course, another potential issue for you is when you're eating at family gatherings, or going to the temple, where you may not be the one cooking the food!0 -
@Beccajayn thanks SO much - I'm new and I hadn't discovered the recipe trick, that's made me really happy!0
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Reduce the calories you consume by maybe 100 calories per day.
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Hey all, I really need some advice and help.
Since January my weight difference has only been down 4lbs. Some weeks it drops 2lbs-3lbs, while other weeks it's up 1lb-5lbs <-- Been happening a lot recently.
I have tried everything possible.
I am proud to say I have lost 20lbs! And all that was without excersice. But I was plateauing so I knew I had to start incorporating exercise to see the scale go down again. But even after that I am still seeing no results. In fact the weeks I work out I see weight gain. I know a lot of people say it's just muscle... But I'm not doing weight training. Also I can see clothes getting tighter as well. I'm just really scared the weight will creep back and I'll be left back at square one. Please help!
As per the random weight gain, do you menustrate? I know at my time I will spike up 3-5lbs and pee it alllll out over the course of the next 5 days. Totally within the norm!0 -
crazyjerseygirl wrote: »
As per the random weight gain, do you menustrate? I know at my time I will spike up 3-5lbs and pee it alllll out over the course of the next 5 days. Totally within the norm!
Yes I do. But when I do, my weight goes up a few pounds. Never 5lbs, that's why I was shocked to see the scale!
I've come to the conclusion of lowering my calories and making workouts a first priority. I did lose a pound this week
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crazyjerseygirl wrote: »
As per the random weight gain, do you menustrate? I know at my time I will spike up 3-5lbs and pee it alllll out over the course of the next 5 days. Totally within the norm!
Yes I do. But when I do, my weight goes up a few pounds. Never 5lbs, that's why I was shocked to see the scale!
I've come to the conclusion of lowering my calories and making workouts a first priority. I did lose a pound this week
Good for you! That's just the motivation you needed
I'll admit, weighing and measuring food sounded awfully lame to me, but I've found it's easier than it sounds... and it gives you a nice feeling of being in control of what you eat. You know exactly how many calories you consume, which makes it much easier to observe what's working and reajust as needed. It's all you need.
If you have the time (and are interested) finding some good workouts should help the process along nicely. I've found that I see much "better" results on the scale when I sleep enough hours (7-8... 9 if I can manage), but that may be just me.
(And don't get upset if the scale goes up a bit the days after the big whoosh! That ALWAYS happens to me >=(, but it's the overall trend that counts. It still sucks though, lol.)
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