Is working out stalling my weight loss?

ShrinkingStargazer
ShrinkingStargazer Posts: 26 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Here is my question, I workout everyday... I go on my elliptical for about 45 min a day, i use some light weights, do some squats and I eat under my calorie goal but the scale says i'm not losing weight like I should be since I just started. This has also happened to me a couple months ago when I was trying to lose weight and it unmotivated me and i lost hope. but then i saw a full body pic of me and said " I need to do this" and my weight shot up to 260 pounds some from water retention from a vacation but i got that off. So anyways im rambling now, but could i be building muscle that is causing the numbers to not show weight loss? What do i do to lose weight and not build muscle?

Replies

  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,372 Member
    edited June 2015
    How many calories are you eating a day? How long have you been attempting to lose weight?
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    You're not building muscle from the elliptical and light weights. 45 minutes on the elliptical is *fantastic* for cardiovascular fitness; you're doing your heart a world of good. But it won't give you bodybuilder legs.

    When I committed to dropping marathon-training weight (oopsies) this winter, it took four weeks of SOLID hitting my MFP calorie target before I saw *any* real change on the scale! Then I lost four pounds basically overnight, which was super awesome and pushed me through the next...four weeks without change, haha. But I stuck with it and it worked. :)

    Steady effort and patience is the key.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Oh Jebus....
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?
  • ShrinkingStargazer
    ShrinkingStargazer Posts: 26 Member
    yea i been doing this for a week but prior to that it was for a couple months..i eat what mfp says i can eat so when i work out i eat 1800 calories
  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
    edited June 2015
    You will not be building muscle, especially from cardio only. The best thing to do for your metabolism would be to lift weights. Lifting will help you retain the muscle you do have and will also increase your metabolism. With cardio only, you will increase your overall daily calorie consumption. As long as you are eating enough to fuel your workouts and maintain a modest deficit, you will loose weight. If you eat too little, your metabolism will slow as a result and you will eventually loose weight but your health will suffer. Also, you may be eating too much. Weigh your food and wear a heart rate monitor to track the calorie burn. We have similar stats, so I think 1800 would be fine with 45 minutes of cardio, so I am guessing you might be overeating.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    1. you are eating more than you think
    2. you are not building muscle
    3. do you own a food scale?
    4. do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?
  • pznatti
    pznatti Posts: 51 Member
    Can I just ask why you'd want to lose weight and not build muscle? Building muscle will increase your metabolism which will help you eventually lose weight...

    Things that I'm doing:

    Lifting weights in a planned program to build muscle (strong muscles = health)
    Counting calories by weighing and measuring food
    Not worrying about the scale so much cause I'm losing inches and feel stronger and better

    And it takes time... I'm only 11 days in on counting and about a month in on working out and am not seeing a drop in the scale number but am converting my body fat % to a lower number. I've lost weight before without building g muscle and then became skinny-fat and I certainly don't want that anymore...

    Good luck and keep trying.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?

    Please answer the bold.
  • ShrinkingStargazer
    ShrinkingStargazer Posts: 26 Member
    i guess im just frustrated, I don't mind building a little but i just want to see the fat come off.
  • ShrinkingStargazer
    ShrinkingStargazer Posts: 26 Member
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    1. you are eating more than you think
    2. you are not building muscle
    3. do you own a food scale?
    4. do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?

    1: I may be
    3: No i don't i eat a lot of prepackaged meals that have labels on them
    4: sometimes half of them but not all
  • ShrinkingStargazer
    ShrinkingStargazer Posts: 26 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?

    Please answer the bold.

    I don't weigh my food, I eat a lot of prepackaged meals, ( I know bad) but its easiest for me cause it has calorie labels on them and i eat a lot of fruit.

    I been doing this for over a week, but prior i was doing it for months with no loss just maintained my weight.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    ShrinkingStargazer wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    1. you are eating more than you think
    2. you are not building muscle
    3. do you own a food scale?
    4. do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?

    1: I may be
    3: No i don't i eat a lot of prepackaged meals that have labels on them
    4: sometimes half of them but not all

    Want to open your diary? We might be able to help you. You do have to weigh a lot of pre-packaged food/make sure you're logging them properly.

    And no, you are not building muscle on the elliptical and lifting light weights. I'd be uber jealous of you if you were because I've been busting my butt trying to build muscle lifting heavy for quite awhile. You need calories, and progressive overload...
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    You are eating too much to lose weight. Get a digital scale. Weigh everything you eat. Log it accurately. Stay within your calorie goal.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    ShrinkingStargazer wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?

    Please answer the bold.

    I don't weigh my food, I eat a lot of prepackaged meals, ( I know bad) but its easiest for me cause it has calorie labels on them and i eat a lot of fruit.

    I been doing this for over a week, but prior i was doing it for months with no loss just maintained my weight.

    It's okay to eat pre-packaged food but sometimes you can eat more if you cook yourself, for less calories.

    You do have to weigh your fruit.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ShrinkingStargazer wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?

    Please answer the bold.

    I don't weigh my food, I eat a lot of prepackaged meals, ( I know bad) but its easiest for me cause it has calorie labels on them and i eat a lot of fruit.

    I been doing this for over a week, but prior i was doing it for months with no loss just maintained my weight.

    if you are not weighting your food then you are probably underestimating calories consumed by 25-30%
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ShrinkingStargazer wrote: »
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    1. you are eating more than you think
    2. you are not building muscle
    3. do you own a food scale?
    4. do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?

    1: I may be
    3: No i don't i eat a lot of prepackaged meals that have labels on them
    4: sometimes half of them but not all
    to point one, if you are gaining weight then you are eating more than you think. period.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    ShrinkingStargazer wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Are you eating in a caloric deficit?

    Are you weighing/measuring all food and logging it accurately?

    How long have you been doing the above?

    Please answer the bold.

    I don't weigh my food, I eat a lot of prepackaged meals, ( I know bad) but its easiest for me cause it has calorie labels on them and i eat a lot of fruit.

    I been doing this for over a week, but prior i was doing it for months with no loss just maintained my weight.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    If you've been maintaining for months both with and without exercise, clearly exercise is not what has you stuck. Since weight loss is about calories in versus calories out and we've ruled out the calories out half of the equation, focus on the calories in half. Tighten it up food wise and you'll start losing.
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