Uhm....I do not get it

PWatt2015
PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
edited November 22 in Motivation and Support
Hi

I have been working out for around a month and half. I was on the birth control pills, so I didn't lose any weight. I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds. I feel like that isn't enough especially since I have been breaking my butt daily in the gym. However, I looked at some pictures and noticed that my body looked smaller; especially in my tummy and back area. My butt seems to have went down a little.

My question is WHY HASN'T MY WEIGHT WENT DOWN!!!! It has remained the same!

Replies

  • rushfive
    rushfive Posts: 603 Member
    What about your diet? Have you been eating less?
    To lose weight you have to eat less calories than you burn.
  • emily_fox
    emily_fox Posts: 62 Member
    Are you strength training? Remember, when you do that and eat healthy, you may not lose pounds on the scale, but you will lose inches and start to look smaller. Basically, your pound of fat that you lost, is being replaced with a pound of muscle.
  • MCinBC
    MCinBC Posts: 41 Member
    Few things you have to know. First what is your goal? Is losing weight your main goal? If so, I will ask one question...what are you doing in a gym? People over estimate the "gym and weight lost thing". If dropping weight is your main goal, get your bum out doing cardio. One hour of gym might get you 250-400 calories burned while one hour running would get you 800-1000.

    Again, eating is also important. I remember in my good "old days" before I go out for a run would get a banana and chocolate bar...about 400 calories and go run 30 minutes to burn 450 calories!!
    Also, if you intent to really stick with a plan to either lose weight or get "healthy", I suggest you start to take measurement as previous poster said, gym might not make you lose weight, but will change how your body is shaped. And my last point is...be patient!! Results will comes, slowly but surely. Good luck!
  • angeldreamer29
    angeldreamer29 Posts: 7 Member
    Muscle ways more than fat. If you work out a lot then you're going to gain muscle. I suggest that you stop weighing yourself and just take measurments once a week.
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  • rushfive
    rushfive Posts: 603 Member
    Sorry, you are not going to gain muscle eating at a deficit and it takes a long time to add a pound of muscle doing progress weight training. (newbie gains possible)
    Yes, you will see your body shape changing so take measurements or pictures. But for weight loss you need to be in a calorie deficit.... usually by eating less with a little help from exercise.
    What exercises are you doing? weight lifting, treadmill,???
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    emily_fox wrote: »
    Are you strength training? Remember, when you do that and eat healthy, you may not lose pounds on the scale, but you will lose inches and start to look smaller. Basically, your pound of fat that you lost, is being replaced with a pound of muscle.

    I did the powerpump, step, and strong classes. So, I will not lose weight?

  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    rushfive wrote: »
    Sorry, you are not going to gain muscle eating at a deficit and it takes a long time to add a pound of muscle doing progress weight training. (newbie gains possible)
    Yes, you will see your body shape changing so take measurements or pictures. But for weight loss you need to be in a calorie deficit.... usually by eating less with a little help from exercise.
    What exercises are you doing? weight lifting, treadmill,???


    Zumba, powerpump, step, bodycombat...etc
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    I am in a deficit!
  • curiouschemist
    curiouschemist Posts: 23 Member
    PWatt2015 wrote: »
    Hi

    I have been working out for around a month and half. I was on the birth control pills, so I didn't lose any weight. I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds. I feel like that isn't enough especially since I have been breaking my butt daily in the gym. However, I looked at some pictures and noticed that my body looked smaller; especially in my tummy and back area. My butt seems to have went down a little.

    My question is WHY HASN'T MY WEIGHT WENT DOWN!!!! It has remained the same!

    Birth control will not prevent you from losing weight. Some birth control cause you to retain a bit of water but your weight will go down when you lose fat and you will do that regardless of if you are using birth control or not.

    Do you have a high sodium diet? Do you weigh in on a certain day of the week? Sodium causes you to retain water, too. I used to weigh in on Mondays after the weekend when I would eat out a time or two and consume higher levels of sodium than I am used to. I switched to Tuesdays to give myself Monday to flush out that extra water.

    Do you weigh your food? Small inaccuracies in tracking can lead people to believe that their deficit is larger than it actually is. The exercise you are doing will not prevent you from losing weight. My advice it to stick with it for another few weeks. The results won't come over night. It didn't take us a week to put the weight on and it won't take us a week to shed it.
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    angeldreamer wrote:
    Muscle ways (sic) more than fat.
    :disappointed:
    No.
    No, no, no, no, no.
    Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat.
    1 lb = 1 lb
    1 lb muscle weighs EXACTLY THE SAME as 1 lb of fat.
    1 lb of feathers weighs EXACTLY THE SAME as 1 lb of lead.

    With an equal mass (1 kg) of muscle and fat, the muscle will take up less space, so you could be losing inches
    while maintaining the same weight.
    With an equal volume (1 L) of muscle and fat, the muscle will weigh more.

    .
    If you work out a lot then you're going to gain muscle.
    I suggest that you stop weighing yourself and just take measurments once a week.
    If eating at a deficit and not doing serious weightlifting it's unlikely anyone will be gaining muscle while losing fat.
    It's hard for women* to gain muscle, even when eating a high-protein diet at a slight caloric surplus and working
    very hard at weightlifting.

    *(normal, natural women, with normal hormones, who aren't taking testosterone or steroids)
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    edited August 2015
    WHY HASN'T MY WEIGHT WENT (sic) DOWN!!!! It has remained the same!
    Your weight hasn't gone down because you're eating more than your body burned.

    .
    PWatt wrote:
    I was on the birth control pills, so I didn't lose any weight.
    No, you didn't lose weight because you were eating more than your body burned.
    It doesn't matter what medicine you're taking, that's the only cause of weight gain:
    eating more than your body burns.
    Medicine can affect your metabolism, or appetite, but it does not give you calories to store as fat.

    .
    I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds.
    I feel like that isn't enough especially since I have been breaking my butt daily in the gym.
    2 lb in 2 days is normal fluctuation, probably unrelated to trying to get pregnant.
    If you chart your weight daily for several months you'll see.
    Also, you'll see a normal rise just before your period and a drop just after, also pretty much
    unrelated to what you're eating. Ride it out.

    .
    I looked at some pictures and noticed that my body looked smaller; especially in my
    tummy and back area. My butt seems to have went (sic) down a little.
    Are you taking measurements? If not, start now.


    .
    PWatt2015 wrote:
    I am in a deficit!
    Are you weighing / measuring your food?
    Are you using a heart rate monitor for cardio?

    Most people underestimate what they eat, most machines overestimate calories burned.
    If you're not losing weight, you're not eating less than you're burning.
    Eat at your calorie goal. Ignore "net" or exercise calories.
    For most people, most of the time, that lets the errors cancel out.
    If you're losing too fast, eat a portion of your estimated calories burned.


    Read these.
    Especially read sexypants.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10012907/logging-accuracy-consistency-and-youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819925/the-basics-dont-complicate-it/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/872212/youre-probably-eating-more-than-you-think/p1

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/833026/important-posts-to-read/p1

  • hekla90
    hekla90 Posts: 595 Member
    PWatt2015 wrote: »
    Hi

    I have been working out for around a month and half. I was on the birth control pills, so I didn't lose any weight. I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds. I feel like that isn't enough especially since I have been breaking my butt daily in the gym. However, I looked at some pictures and noticed that my body looked smaller; especially in my tummy and back area. My butt seems to have went down a little.

    My question is WHY HASN'T MY WEIGHT WENT DOWN!!!! It has remained the same!

    You didn't lose any weight because you didn't eat a deficit. That's the only possible explanation.
  • GlassRocks
    GlassRocks Posts: 18 Member
    hekla90 wrote: »

    You didn't lose any weight because you didn't eat a deficit. That's the only possible explanation.

    I completely agree with PWatt2015

    I lose weight even when I do NOT exercise, simply by adjusting my food intake. Exercise can you help meet low caloric goals by burning off excessive calories, but it alone will often not be enough.

    Also, your food diary unavailable?!?! Makes me assume you are not actually eating appropriately, but we wouldn't know. So, asking for help, but providing an incomplete framework is not useful either.

    Simple answer ---> EAT LESS
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    emily_fox wrote: »
    Are you strength training? Remember, when you do that and eat healthy, you may not lose pounds on the scale, but you will lose inches and start to look smaller. Basically, your pound of fat that you lost, is being replaced with a pound of muscle.

    No it isn't

    OP, most likely you need to tighten up your logging by making sure everything you consume is logged, using a food scale, using the recipe builder instead of generic entries, being mindful of your calories burned estimations, etc.
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    Funny...I stopped taking the pill...last couple of days my body went down 5 pounds.
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  • daveB416
    daveB416 Posts: 3 Member
    edited August 2015
    Eat less - it has a more direct impact on your weight than your workouts
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
    So she's messing with her hormones, including changing her mind about trying to get pregnant.
    26JUL15 wrote:
    I took myself off the pill and gained 20 pounds in two months.
    I am back on the pill and my weight has not budged.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/33423594#Comment_33423594

    .
    And inconsistent with amount of loss:
    08AUG15 wrote:
    I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds
    10AUG15 wrote:
    last couple of days my body went down 5 pounds
    Ticker shows 2 lb loss.

    Diary isn't accessible, so we can't make suggestions about portions, logging choices (using correct entry), etc.

  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    i'm not trying to be difficult here, but i just don't get why folks are concerned with a scale number. if my clothes fit better (or looser), or my measurements are changing in the direction i like.... or if MY BUTT looks smaller (oh please, oh please).... i couldn't give a rat's *kitten* what my scale says. (of course, that's a lot of "ifs" LOL)

    is it all just social brainwashing?
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    MKEgal wrote: »
    So she's messing with her hormones, including changing her mind about trying to get pregnant.
    26JUL15 wrote:
    I took myself off the pill and gained 20 pounds in two months.
    I am back on the pill and my weight has not budged.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/33423594#Comment_33423594

    .
    And inconsistent with amount of loss:
    08AUG15 wrote:
    I have been off for two days and my weight went down by 2 pounds
    10AUG15 wrote:
    last couple of days my body went down 5 pounds
    Ticker shows 2 lb loss.

    Diary isn't accessible, so we can't make suggestions about portions, logging choices (using correct entry), etc.


    You don't need to. However, nothing is locked, because I did not apply any personal settings. My ticker will show two pounds until next month when I am ready to do my weigh in. Secondly, I do not take pills for me to not get pregnant. I take the pills to regulate my cycles. Thank you.
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    68myra wrote: »
    i'm not trying to be difficult here, but i just don't get why folks are concerned with a scale number. if my clothes fit better (or looser), or my measurements are changing in the direction i like.... or if MY BUTT looks smaller (oh please, oh please).... i couldn't give a rat's *kitten* what my scale says. (of course, that's a lot of "ifs" LOL)

    is it all just social brainwashing?

    probably.
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    I am not sure why my food diary is not accessible. I've been logging in though.
  • shrinkingletters
    shrinkingletters Posts: 1,008 Member
    Birth control pills don't affect weight loss. I've been taking them for 7 years straight, and the only thing that's affected my weight, was my diet.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    edited August 2015
    68myra wrote: »
    i'm not trying to be difficult here, but i just don't get why folks are concerned with a scale number. if my clothes fit better (or looser), or my measurements are changing in the direction i like.... or if MY BUTT looks smaller (oh please, oh please).... i couldn't give a rat's *kitten* what my scale says. (of course, that's a lot of "ifs" LOL)

    is it all just social brainwashing?

    A bit, but the number on the scale does matter some. It's a good gauge for where you're at overall, though how your body looks overrides that. If you have two people weighing the same and one's a weight lifter, the weight lifter is obviously going to look better! I'm aiming for a weight range, not a specific weight number, because as long as I like how I look, I'm not as concerned about the number on the scale. But the number on the scale tells me about where I am and if it starts going up, I'll know that I'm slacking on paying attention to my food intake and can adjust. I need that feedback because if I wait until I notice it on my body, then I've got a much harder task to do in getting back down to where I need to be.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    angeldreamer29 wrote: »
    Muscle ways more than fat. If you work out a lot then you're going to gain muscle. I suggest that you stop weighing yourself and just take measurments once a week.

    No - if you are eating at a deficit - you are not adding any appreciable amount of lean muscle.

    Muscle is more dense than fat ( 1 cubic yard of fat weighs less than 1 cubic yard of muscle).

    Taking measurements is a good idea.

    OP - sore muscles may mean you are hanging onto some water weight.
  • PWatt2015
    PWatt2015 Posts: 30 Member
    shrinkingletters wrote: »
    Birth control pills don't affect weight loss. I've been taking them for 7 years straight, and the only thing that's affected my weight, was my diet.


    I talked to the nurse, and she said that it has different effects on people. I talked to my doctor, and she first said no. Then she said that the only weight that you would gain would be that of water retention. I noticed the difference the first two days after I stopped taking them. My weight had went down. My fingers, legs, and face were not as swollen. They appeared to be swollen on some days and I could not figure out why. They have not appeared that way since.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Hormones can impact water retention and that's likely why you're seeing the large drop in weight. Your water weight may fluctuate greatly throughout the day - mine varies around 6lbs.

    Six weeks is not a great deal of time, so stick with it and continue what you're doing. If it is hormonal losing excess weight will help balance out your hormones, a tremendous added benefit. If you find yourself not losing, then tighten up your logging - it really doesn't get any simpler.

    You can open your diary in the settings - open to your friends, to the public, or remain private.

    Congrats on your success!
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