Been working out and under my calorie goal for two weeks. No progress.

ccortesemusic
ccortesemusic Posts: 2 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
I workout out 3-4 times a week. I do cardio classes at my gym, and do weights on the other days. I have been under my calorie goal everyday for two weeks.

All I've lost is 1/2 a pound. I know I sound selfish, but why isn't it more?
Medical Info: I have to take a small steroid for a condition I have. I heard it makes you gain weight. I've been taking it for 6 years.

Any tips/suggestions? I'm really worried I'll never be able to lose this weight!

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    If you open your diary, you may get some useful advice.
  • kimondo666
    kimondo666 Posts: 194 Member
    my guess is water retention in muscles if you did micro damaged muscle tissue. Muscle tissue hog water to repair itself.
  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
    what do u have your weight loss set at ? 2lb a week? are u eating back your exercise calories?
  • ccortesemusic
    ccortesemusic Posts: 2 Member
    I never eat my exercise calories. I'm at 1 pound a week. I might hop it up to 2. Maybe then I'll get more progress.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Any tips/suggestions? I'm really worried I'll never be able to lose this weight!

    Unpossible! If you're under calorie goal you lose weight because science. Take a closer look at your calorie intake and make sure you're not missing anything or adding anything incorrectly
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
    There are a few things that can be going on.
    1. The medication may be having an effect but only your doctor could tell you for sure.
    2. Do you have a digital food scale and weigh all of the food that you eat?
    3. Are you confirming the entries in the database with the packages that you have (some entries are wrong in the database)
    4. Patience patience patience

    Starting a new routine can shock our bodies and sometimes it may take a couple of weeks to show a difference on the scale. This is due to water retention to repair muscles. Try using a cloth tape and look for changes in your waist as well as the scale. There is an entry area for these measurements in MFP and you can track them just like weight.

    If you don't have a food scale, you can purchase one on Amazon for under $20. Find one that is rated high and has the features that you want. You will probably want one that can measure in grams and ounces and that is accurate to 0.1 grams or thereabout.

    Good luck :)
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you've been taking the steroid for 6 years, I'm pretty sure that any weight it is going to cause you to gain you've already gained. Sometimes you won't see results for three weeks, but it could be that you are eating more than you realize.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    There are a few things that can be going on.
    1. The medication may be having an effect but only your doctor could tell you for sure.
    2. Do you have a digital food scale and weigh all of the food that you eat?
    3. Are you confirming the entries in the database with the packages that you have (some entries are wrong in the database)
    4. Patience patience patience

    Starting a new routine can shock our bodies and sometimes it may take a couple of weeks to show a difference on the scale. This is due to water retention to repair muscles. Try using a cloth tape and look for changes in your waist as well as the scale. There is an entry area for these measurements in MFP and you can track them just like weight.

    If you don't have a food scale, you can purchase one on Amazon for under $20. Find one that is rated high and has the features that you want. You will probably want one that can measure in grams and ounces and that is accurate to 0.1 grams or thereabout.

    Good luck :)

    QFT
  • dawnna76
    dawnna76 Posts: 987 Member
    unless your weighing your food intake and calculating for it all it could be your over eating and not realizing it. and two weeks is nothing, it took time to gain the weight its going to take time to lose it. most people expect quick changes and unfortunatly it all takes time.
  • dgirllamius
    dgirllamius Posts: 171 Member
    Are you logging accurately? I mean, do you weigh everything you eat?

    I had the same problem - I thought I was eating under my goal and "logging" things but I wasn't weighing things - I was seriously overestimating. Once I started weighing everything, and I mean everything, the weight started to come off.

    It could also be water retention from your exercise. I've just started doing a kettlebell workout after months of nothing and I've gained "3lbs" in 2 days haha.

    Get yourself some digital scales and start weighing. It could well be that you're all wrong in your logging.
  • plumppork
    plumppork Posts: 22 Member
    I am going through same thing. Lost one pound in last 3 weeks and have been working out 4 times a week. I would suggest to make sure you take all your measurements because that's where you might find results before you see them on the scale. Stay strong and keep going!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Get a digital kitchen scale. Weigh all of your food and log it accurately. If you cannot weigh it for some reason, measure it with measuring cups/spoons and log it accurately. If you cannot weigh or measure it for some reason, do a good job of estimating it (google "food portion sizes" for a visual chart) and log it accurately.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    Are you weighing and logging all of your food using a food scale? Clearly you are at a deficit, since you have lost some weight, but you might not be at as much of a deficit as you think. Open your diary.

    Are you sure you're using the correct entries for everything? Open your diary.

    How is your sodium level? Open your diary.

    Even when I eat at a deficit I don't lose the same amount of weight each week. I was set to lose 2 lbs each week and I would lose .5 then lose 5 lbs then gain 2 and so on. Weight loss isn't linear. Assuming you're being accurate, it takes about two months of data to determine your avg weight loss.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    How much weight do you need to lose? If you are within 10 lbs. of your goal weight, you might lose only .5 a lb a week or so. Typically, those who are more seriously overweight lose more quickly because they have more to lose and the changes to their diet and exercise level are more dramatic.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Many of us don't see a change in two weeks or even up to four weeks. Fat loss is very random and drops off in "chunks" which can be water. The body weight scale is only good as a trend tool over time. You have to be consistent and patient for weeks on end and the results are delayed. You just gotta keep going is all. For real. And like others have said this slows down as you get leaner. Also it's slower for shorter people because one pound of fat is a bigger percentage of overall body weight.

    Set your sights on the process rather than the results. The results come later.


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  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    If you are a female with a menstrual cycle, your weight will cycle each month due to hormonal influences that affect water retention. You may well have lost weight (i.e., body mass) which is being masked. Give it another couple of weeks.
  • just_a_jessi
    just_a_jessi Posts: 4 Member
    1. make sure you dont underestimate how much youre eating (weigh/measure everything)
    2. make sure you're not overestimating how much you burn in your workout
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    What's your current weight/how close are you to your goal? If you don't have much to lose 1/2 lb in two weeks is going to be a fairly common occurrence.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Her profile says she wants to lose 124 pounds. My guess is that the problem is not weighing or measuring food accurately.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Her profile says she wants to lose 124 pounds. My guess is that the problem is not weighing or measuring food accurately.

    I guess that counts my advice out too.

    Who thinks of actually looking at people's profiles before offering advice??? Sheesh...

    -1 gold star for me today.
  • jessicapk
    jessicapk Posts: 574 Member
    Weight fluctuates pretty dramatically on a day to day basis. Either swap to weighing daily and watch trends or weigh once a week with the knowledge that you may have been 3 lbs lighter the previous day. Could have eaten way too much sodium or approaching that time of the month. Believe it or not, people on restricted calorie diets typically drop pounds the day after eating a huge meal. In turn, you can go for an hour long bike ride and eat 1000 calories under your goal for that day and weigh 3 lbs heavier the next day. It's all natural fluctuations and mostly water related. Remember that water is approximately 8lbs / gallon. It adds up. Weight loss does not go in a straight line because it is much more complicated than that. The attached image is my weight loss of 30 lbs over the past few months. The jagged lines are daily weigh in's and the straighter line is my "trending" weight, which basically smooths and averages out the daily weigh in's. See how insane it is? But see what direction it's going in? Don't freak out over your first two weeks. The body is so much more complicated than we give it credit for.
    v2zen0t4vuq9.jpg
  • drkuhl2017
    drkuhl2017 Posts: 181 Member
    edited May 2015
    I went through something similar recently. I've been on my weight loss journey for a few years now and recently gained back all the weight I lost because I wasn't tracking. A few weeks back, I started eating healthier and exercising regularly again. My weigh-in this past week said that I gained a pound even though I didn't eat 3500 extra calories. I'm not going to worry about this "gain" because it isn't real. Our bodies need to get used to eating right and exercising.

    As another poster said, our muscles retain water to help them repair after a workout. This is a possibility of why you're not seeing results on the scale. Also, as a woman, our hormones affect our weight a great deal. Are you taking measurements? If not, I recommend it because often I see results in my measurements before I see them on the scale. Make sure you're measuring your food accurately, that's key. Finally, just be patient! It takes some time to really see results. Don't give up. Keep working hard and you will see some results.
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
    edited May 2015
    Medication won't make you gain weight unless it has calories. Medication only influences your decision-making when it comes to food, such as sending your brain hunger signals when you are not actually hungry, etc. Weight gain over long term (T>1 week) is due to over-consumption of food as it relates to energy expenditure. If you haven't lost weight, it is because you are eating more than you need still, and need to come down in calories. Regardless of whether you track properly or work out, that is the only case it can be in a timespan of two weeks, assuming you track every day and regulate water consumption.

    this, of course, is just my opinion. I am no medical doctor, and definitely not a woman, so I could be completely wrong in this, but I follow the Laws of Conservation.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    Often if you are falling under your goals your body will not let go of any extra weight. I would try to log the exercise and meet the goals not fall under them. You have to fuel your machine.
  • keithandsteph2012
    keithandsteph2012 Posts: 5 Member
    I workout out 3-4 times a week. I do cardio classes at my gym, and do weights on the other days. I have been under my calorie goal everyday for two weeks.

    All I've lost is 1/2 a pound. I know I sound selfish, but why isn't it more?
    Medical Info: I have to take a small steroid for a condition I have. I heard it makes you gain weight. I've been taking it for 6 years.

    Any tips/suggestions? I'm really worried I'll never be able to lose this weight!

  • keithandsteph2012
    keithandsteph2012 Posts: 5 Member

    Some of the most popular questions being asked about the 3 day military diet continue to be about food substitutes. Dieters want to know what they can eat in place of certain food items on the original menu? The 3 day military diet menu calls for certain foods because many sources explain, it is a chemical reaction between these foods that causes the weight loss. Some agree with this and some don’t. Some say it is just a lower calorie intake diet and that’s why the weight comes off. Either way, since the 3 day military diet is only three days, you can easily experiment and see which foods work for you. If you don’t succeed the first time around, just try again.

    Remember, it is always best to stay as close as you can to the original 3 day military diet food list and menu. Make sure you eat the same amount of calories if you use an of these substitute. Only use these substitutes if absolutely necessary, don't re-do the entire menu with all kinds of substitutes and alternate foods just because you like one over the other.

    Here are some food substitution ideas that may work for each day's food items.

    DAY 1 Breakfast Alternatives
    Grapefruit Substitutions:
    Orange, Mandarin Oranges

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal, Rice Cake, Tortilla
    Saltine Crackers

    Peanut Butter Substitutions:
    Soy Butter, Almond Butter, Hummus
    Most any nut or seed butter would be ok.

    Coffee or Tea Substitutions:
    Green Tea
    Sugar Free Hot Coco (Made with water)

    DAY 1 Lunch Alternatives
    Tuna Substitutions:
    Cottage Cheese, Chicken, Tofu
    Pumpkin Seeds or Almonds

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal
    Rice Cake
    Tortilla, Saltine Crackers

    Coffee or Tea Substitutions:
    Green Tea
    Sugar Free Hot Coco (Made with water)

    DAY 1 Dinner Alternatives
    Meat Substitutions:
    Tofu, Portobello Mushrooms, Beans

    Green Bean Substitutions:
    Spinach, Lettuce, Tomato
    Any other green vegetables are ok

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots, Grapes, Kiwis

    Apple Substitutions:
    Zucchini, Peaches or Apricots, Grapes
    Nectarine, Pears or Plums

    Ice Cream Substitutions:
    Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Yogurt, Apple Sauce

    DAY 2 Breakfast Alternatives

    Hard Boiled Egg Substitutions:
    Scrambled Egg
    Chicken, Nuts or Seeds
    Bacon (2 Slices)

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal
    Rice Cake
    Tortilla
    Saltine Crackers

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots
    Grapes
    Kiwis

    DAY 2 Lunch Alternatives

    Cottage Cheese Substitutes:
    Cheddar Cheese, Ricotta Cheese
    Plain Greek Yogurt, Egg
    Slice of Ham

    Hard Boiled Egg Substitutions:
    Scrambled egg
    Chicken
    Nuts or Seeds
    Bacon (2 Slices)

    Saltine Cracker Substitutions:
    Rice Cake
    Plain Toast
    Whole Grain Cereal

    DAY 2 Dinner Alternatives

    Hot Dog Substitutes:
    Bratwurst, Baloney (Similar deli meat)
    Beans, Turkey, Soy, Veggie or Tofu Dogs

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots, Grapes, Kiwis

    Broccoli Substitutions:
    Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus
    Beet Root, Cabbage

    Carrot Substitutions:
    Celery, Bell Pepper, Beets, Squash
    Small Salad (No Dressing)

    Ice Cream Substitutions:
    Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Yogurt, Apple Sauce
  • keithandsteph2012
    keithandsteph2012 Posts: 5 Member
    This diet works great
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
    Some of the most popular questions being asked about the 3 day military diet continue to be about food substitutes. Dieters want to know what they can eat in place of certain food items on the original menu? The 3 day military diet menu calls for certain foods because many sources explain, it is a chemical reaction between these foods that causes the weight loss. Some agree with this and some don’t. Some say it is just a lower calorie intake diet and that’s why the weight comes off. Either way, since the 3 day military diet is only three days, you can easily experiment and see which foods work for you. If you don’t succeed the first time around, just try again.

    Remember, it is always best to stay as close as you can to the original 3 day military diet food list and menu. Make sure you eat the same amount of calories if you use an of these substitute. Only use these substitutes if absolutely necessary, don't re-do the entire menu with all kinds of substitutes and alternate foods just because you like one over the other.

    Here are some food substitution ideas that may work for each day's food items.

    DAY 1 Breakfast Alternatives
    Grapefruit Substitutions:
    Orange, Mandarin Oranges

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal, Rice Cake, Tortilla
    Saltine Crackers

    Peanut Butter Substitutions:
    Soy Butter, Almond Butter, Hummus
    Most any nut or seed butter would be ok.

    Coffee or Tea Substitutions:
    Green Tea
    Sugar Free Hot Coco (Made with water)

    DAY 1 Lunch Alternatives
    Tuna Substitutions:
    Cottage Cheese, Chicken, Tofu
    Pumpkin Seeds or Almonds

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal
    Rice Cake
    Tortilla, Saltine Crackers

    Coffee or Tea Substitutions:
    Green Tea
    Sugar Free Hot Coco (Made with water)

    DAY 1 Dinner Alternatives
    Meat Substitutions:
    Tofu, Portobello Mushrooms, Beans

    Green Bean Substitutions:
    Spinach, Lettuce, Tomato
    Any other green vegetables are ok

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots, Grapes, Kiwis

    Apple Substitutions:
    Zucchini, Peaches or Apricots, Grapes
    Nectarine, Pears or Plums

    Ice Cream Substitutions:
    Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Yogurt, Apple Sauce

    DAY 2 Breakfast Alternatives

    Hard Boiled Egg Substitutions:
    Scrambled Egg
    Chicken, Nuts or Seeds
    Bacon (2 Slices)

    Toast Substitutions:
    Whole Grain Cereal
    Rice Cake
    Tortilla
    Saltine Crackers

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots
    Grapes
    Kiwis

    DAY 2 Lunch Alternatives

    Cottage Cheese Substitutes:
    Cheddar Cheese, Ricotta Cheese
    Plain Greek Yogurt, Egg
    Slice of Ham

    Hard Boiled Egg Substitutions:
    Scrambled egg
    Chicken
    Nuts or Seeds
    Bacon (2 Slices)

    Saltine Cracker Substitutions:
    Rice Cake
    Plain Toast
    Whole Grain Cereal

    DAY 2 Dinner Alternatives

    Hot Dog Substitutes:
    Bratwurst, Baloney (Similar deli meat)
    Beans, Turkey, Soy, Veggie or Tofu Dogs

    Banana Substitutions:
    Apricots, Grapes, Kiwis

    Broccoli Substitutions:
    Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus
    Beet Root, Cabbage

    Carrot Substitutions:
    Celery, Bell Pepper, Beets, Squash
    Small Salad (No Dressing)

    Ice Cream Substitutions:
    Frozen Yogurt, Fruit Yogurt, Apple Sauce

    I think you are in the wrong thread...
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    This diet works great

    It's a fad diet that isn't sustainable. The fact it has to lie about an association with the military is telling. If you think it is a great plan, you are wrong and your advice isn't worth taking.
  • kiwikara
    kiwikara Posts: 65 Member
    Make sure you are eating enough! Eating too-little will restrict weight loss as your body will hold on to all the fat it can, thinking it may be being starved!
This discussion has been closed.