what am i doing wrong?

ashleypanda10
ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Im 5'6 i weight 160pounds, i started the fitness challenge a week ago, my calorie intake is 1,700 because im very active. And i usually eat less probably 1,300-1,400 cal per day, i also do 1 hour of cardio and i eat as clean as posible with 5 meals that consist of 350 calories or less and drink water.the problem is that i havent seen ive lost weight and i have weighted my self on the scale every day. What am i doing wrong? Can someone tell me?

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    One week is not enough time to offer any advice. Make sure you use a food scale to weigh all your food.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    1. It's been less than 3 weeks, so don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen, especially with a new/increased exercise routine, and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Some of them are WAY off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. If you're eating back any of your exercise calories, stop. It sounds like you've set your calorie goal to factor that in, so you'd be double-dipping if you follow MFP's method.

    6. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    7. If you weigh yourself frequently (more than once or twice a week), consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    One week is not enough time to offer any advice. Make sure you use a food scale to weigh all your food.

    This !

    Be sure you are weighing everything you consume ,other wise your calorie estimates can be way off . being accurate is important.
  • ashleypanda10
    ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks for the fast reply, i usually track down everything i eat everyday, to make sure i dont go over the calories i need. I havent cheat on my diet yet. Im also eating less calories than i should. But im keeping my metabolism working every 2-3 hours.
    I guess i should wait 3 more weeks to see if my body responds to the change.
  • titotito48
    titotito48 Posts: 120 Member
    I drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. I started where you are and have lost 31 pounds so far. In the past when I exercised with diet, I got discouraged with no weight loss. I discovered through research that if you don't get enough water, your body will hold on to the water it has because when building muscle, your muscles need water. If your body is not afraid it will get enough water, it will release the extra. I tried it and it worked for me. Also, flumi_f posted this awhile back and I wrote it down. "The whoosh effect=As the body loses fat, it tends to fill those cells with water. When that water is released, you have a sudden larger weight loss...the whoosh! One week with a high loss followed by 1-2 very slow weeks." This is how my weight loss has progressed.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    You don't mention anything about a food scale. Do you weigh your food? If not, there's your problem: you're eating more than you think.

    And FYI: You can eat "clean" and still gain weight/not lose weight, especially if you're not accurately weighing your food.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    ashleypanda10 wrote: »
    Thanks for the fast reply, i usually track down everything i eat everyday, to make sure i dont go over the calories i need. I havent cheat on my diet yet. Im also eating less calories than i should. But im keeping my metabolism working every 2-3 hours.
    I guess i should wait 3 more weeks to see if my body responds to the change.

    The bolded part is concerning. You have to be accurate or you will be spinning your wheels. Two words - food scale.
  • ashleypanda10
    ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
    titotito48 wrote: »
    I drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. I started where you are and have lost 31 pounds so far. In the past when I exercised with diet, I got discouraged with no weight loss. I discovered through research that if you don't get enough water, your body will hold on to the water it has because when building muscle, your muscles need water. If your body is not afraid it will get enough water, it will release the extra. I tried it and it worked for me. Also, flumi_f posted this awhile back and I wrote it down. "The whoosh effect=As the body loses fat, it tends to fill those cells with water. When that water is released, you have a sudden larger weight loss...the whoosh! One week with a high loss followed by 1-2 very slow weeks." This is how my weight loss has progressed.

    Interesting.... how much water do you think i should drink?
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Watch this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    If you like eating every 2-3 hours, that's great. But it isn't necessary for weight loss. Eat in whatever pattern of meals makes you feel best, as long as you hit your calorie and nutrition goals.
  • titotito48
    titotito48 Posts: 120 Member
    I also set my activity level at sedentary even though I run 3-4 days a week for 65 minutes each and have a waitressing job that gives me another 5 miles approx. a day. That way I can eat back about 300 of my exercise calories. So I eat 1500 on average actually even on my rest days!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    ashleypanda10 wrote: »
    Im 5'6 i weight 160pounds, i started the fitness challenge a week ago, my calorie intake is 1,700 because im very active. And i usually eat less probably 1,300-1,400 cal per day, i also do 1 hour of cardio and i eat as clean as posible with 5 meals that consist of 350 calories or less and drink water.the problem is that i havent seen ive lost weight and i have weighted my self on the scale every day. What am i doing wrong? Can someone tell me?

    What's wrong is it's only been a week. Patience is a virtue. :)
  • ashleypanda10
    ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
    titotito48 wrote: »
    I drink half my body weight in ounces of water a day. I started where you are and have lost 31 pounds so far. In the past when I exercised with diet, I got discouraged with no weight loss. I discovered through research that if you don't get enough water, your body will hold on to the water it has because when building muscle, your muscles need water. If your body is not afraid it will get enough water, it will release the extra. I tried it and it worked for me. Also, flumi_f posted this awhile back and I wrote it down. "The whoosh effect=As the body loses fat, it tends to fill those cells with water. When that water is released, you have a sudden larger weight loss...the whoosh! One week with a high loss followed by 1-2 very slow weeks." This is how my weight loss has progressed.

    Interesting.... how much w
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    You don't mention anything about a food scale. Do you weigh your food? If not, there's your problem: you're eating more than you think.

    And FYI: You can eat "clean" and still gain weight/not lose weight, especially if you're not accurately weighing your food.
    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    You don't mention anything about a food scale. Do you weigh your food? If not, there's your problem: you're eating more than you think.

    And FYI: You can eat "clean" and still gain weight/not lose weight, especially if you're not accurately weighing your food.

    Wow thanks for your advice! I didnt know that. And i surely will buy a food scale! Thank you very much! Best regards.
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
    Definitely use a food scale. Grams or ounces are so much more accurate than cups / teaspoons, etc.
    I lost 33 lbs in 6 months, kept it off for the last 3 months (some fluctuations here and there), and the food scale + strict devotion to log everything accurately was the key. In the summer I slacked off a little (also I went to Europe and I found it impossible to log) so that's where the fluctuations came, but I've been back on logging and I'm back to my lowest weight so far.
    Maybe 1700 calories are too much for you, even though you exercise. What if you set it to 1300 or 1400 and eat back all your exercise calories, ending with 1400 every day (or right under).

    And as others said, it's only been a week. I started logging during Thanksgiving week, and lost 2 /lbs every week, but after 3 weeks the loss halted for about 3 weeks. I was still losing inches, and others noticed, but the scale didn't. You might be losing inches, but not weight right now, so just keep measuring and logging accurately and it will happen.
  • ashleypanda10
    ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
    Marianna93637 wrote: »
    Definitely use a food scale. Grams or ounces are so much more accurate than cups / teaspoons, etc.
    I lost 33 lbs in 6 months, kept it off for the last 3 months (some fluctuations here and there), and the food scale + strict devotion to log everything accurately was the key. In the summer I slacked off a little (also I went to Europe and I found it impossible to log) so that's where the fluctuations came, but I've been back on logging and I'm back to my lowest weight so far.
    Maybe 1700 calories are too much for you, even though you exercise. What if you set it to 1300 or 1400 and eat back all your exercise calories, ending with 1400 every day (or right under).

    And as others said, it's only been a week. I started logging during Thanksgiving week, and lost 2 /lbs every week, but after 3 weeks the loss halted for about 3 weeks. I was still losing inches, and others noticed, but the scale didn't. You might be losing inches, but not weight right now, so just keep measuring and logging accurately and it will happen.

    Thankyou marianna for your advice, i will be definetly getting a food scale, and i will give it a try on reducing my goal to 1400cal. Thats 300 less. ☺
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited August 2015
    I'm glad you're open to the idea of weighing your food. You can get an inexpensive scale in Walmart or on Amazon. Just make sure it's digital, weighs in grams and ounces and has a tare function.

    I've had my food scale for a long time. Best investment I ever made, as far as diet/weight loss products go.
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Have faith in yourself. Don't assume you are automatically doing this wrong - you're not. The body is a strange and sometimes frustrating thing. I'd say carry on exactly as you (though take the mental pressure off yourself a bit) and give it a little more time. If after another week or so, you still aren't losing - we'll have to dig a little deeper :)
  • ashleypanda10
    ashleypanda10 Posts: 7 Member
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    Have faith in yourself. Don't assume you are automatically doing this wrong - you're not. The body is a strange and sometimes frustrating thing. I'd say carry on exactly as you (though take the mental pressure off yourself a bit) and give it a little more time. If after another week or so, you still aren't losing - we'll have to dig a little deeper :)

    Thankyou for you advice
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