An objective look at why you may not be progressing
ninerbuff
Posts: 48,993 Member
Lots and lots of people panic or complain that they aren't losing weight. So here are a few things you need to HONESTLY consider:
Have you been consistent? That "wella uh besides the _________ I had" ISN'T being consistent.
Are you actually measuring correctly? "Looks right" isn't the same as actually being precise.
Are you getting enough rest? 4-5 hours of sleep ISN'T the same as 7-8 hours.
Is your calorie deficit TOO HIGH? That rush of 6lbs in the first week doesn't last into the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week. Sure it worked the first week, but just about any calorie deficit will. Be smart. You WON'T outsmart your body.
There are processes you have to follow to get the results you want. So before you panic, step back and reassess.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Have you been consistent? That "wella uh besides the _________ I had" ISN'T being consistent.
Are you actually measuring correctly? "Looks right" isn't the same as actually being precise.
Are you getting enough rest? 4-5 hours of sleep ISN'T the same as 7-8 hours.
Is your calorie deficit TOO HIGH? That rush of 6lbs in the first week doesn't last into the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week. Sure it worked the first week, but just about any calorie deficit will. Be smart. You WON'T outsmart your body.
There are processes you have to follow to get the results you want. So before you panic, step back and reassess.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Thanks for this. I looked back on my calorie intake since I started MFP and I eat over my daily goal about half of the time. Maybe a little more. So I'm tracking well, but still eating too much. It shows on the scale.
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I needed this today!! Thank you!0
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Very rarely does anyone mention the importance of sleep and weight loss.
Thank you.2 -
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Good, simple guidelines. You can definitely breakdown each of these points into huge discussions, but this is really easy to read and should make people think.1
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Very true. Out of self-defence, we seem to leap to conclusions that we are special, there's something wrong with our bodies, that something environmental is working against up but really, 99.9% of the time, we're doing something wrong. Science doesn't lie. As much as people love to say it, on the whole - no, everyone's NOT different. If you've stopped losing, the most obvious answer is generally the right one, and that is that you're doing it wrong.
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Good post.0
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i definitely have to put some more time into researching my numbers...there are times when I eat at huge deficits and see very little progress on the scale, and times when the exact opposite is true. i'm still a little stumped by that.2
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Lack of sleep will affect every aspect of my weight loss. When I get tired I get sloppy with my weighing and logging.
Another culprit is mental exhaustion and/or poor attitude. I find that changing things up a little and refocusing helps me to recommit.4 -
Thank you for this post!0
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It's tough though, sleep is the one thing I can't change. I'm a single mother of an 8 month old. If he decides not to sleep, I don't sleep. I'm always working on keeping him on his schedule, but babies do what they want sometimes.
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Thank you for this. People love to blame everything else but themselves. It's the mentality of a victim, not a winner. Body is an amazingly complex thing, but human bodies DO work pretty much the same way... I used to blame my hypothyroidism for being "unable to lose weight". What it actually did was that it made me too drained to even TRY. Once I got to it, I've had no trouble losing weight. Actually got to lower the dose of the meds because of it too.Alatariel75 wrote: »Very true. Out of self-defence, we seem to leap to conclusions that we are special, there's something wrong with our bodies, that something environmental is working against up but really, 99.9% of the time, we're doing something wrong. Science doesn't lie. As much as people love to say it, on the whole - no, everyone's NOT different. If you've stopped losing, the most obvious answer is generally the right one, and that is that you're doing it wrong.
If you've got a medical condition, that's an incentive to do your absolute best at taking good care of your body... NOT an excuse to keep on abusing it.
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Legend! Bumping cause of the pure awesomeness0
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So true. I have been eating more and more sugar. I haven't lost anything in 3 weeks. I know exactly why I am not losing.0
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Bowsergirl wrote: »It's tough though, sleep is the one thing I can't change. I'm a single mother of an 8 month old. If he decides not to sleep, I don't sleep. I'm always working on keeping him on his schedule, but babies do what they want sometimes.
I hear you.
I'm well into my third year of child sleep deprivation, as soon as terrible sleeper number one started sleeping, I popped out terrible sleeper number two, who is now 14 months. She's only just stopped waking every 2 hours, and is down to twice/thrice nightly.
It really can be beyond one's control. But, what I have found is, while I used to eat my tiredness, I actually feel better since I stopped. I used to reach for the quick carby/sugary fix to get me through, but in hindsight, it didn't do anything much at all.
I'm still as tired, but I've lost the weight I wanted. I feel better for that, and more energetic too. Now if only I can get some sleep, my skin might start looking better and those dark circles under my eyes might bugger off.
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Bowsergirl wrote: »It's tough though, sleep is the one thing I can't change. I'm a single mother of an 8 month old. If he decides not to sleep, I don't sleep. I'm always working on keeping him on his schedule, but babies do what they want sometimes.
Yup. Sleep deprivation is unavoidable for me. My son has nursing care 3 nights a week so I get 7 hours of sleep those nights. But the other 4 nights I'm lucky if I get 5 hours. It's hard to lose weight when you're exhausted! Possible, but hard.0 -
Inconsistency with routine is the same for most children too. So if you're not getting him down at a consistent time, he'll be inconsistent and if he's really tired and can't sleep (due to some sort of stimulation) he could become cranky which just raises your stress level.Bowsergirl wrote: »It's tough though, sleep is the one thing I can't change. I'm a single mother of an 8 month old. If he decides not to sleep, I don't sleep. I'm always working on keeping him on his schedule, but babies do what they want sometimes.
Being a stay at home dad and taking care of my DD since she was an infant, I noticed that when I "shut everything down" at nap time, it made it easier for her to lay a fall asleep.................as well as myself. Not the answer to your problem. Just a tip I learned.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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My DW has it too. She felt the same way at 38, then started ballroom dancing. Lost over 30lbs and physically is in the best shape of her life. She chose and wanted to make it happen and it did.
Thank you for this. People love to blame everything else but themselves. It's the mentality of a victim, not a winner. Body is an amazingly complex thing, but human bodies DO work pretty much the same way... I used to blame my hypothyroidism for being "unable to lose weight". What it actually did was that it made me too drained to even TRY. Once I got to it, I've had no trouble losing weight. Actually got to lower the dose of the meds because of it too.Alatariel75 wrote: »Very true. Out of self-defence, we seem to leap to conclusions that we are special, there's something wrong with our bodies, that something environmental is working against up but really, 99.9% of the time, we're doing something wrong. Science doesn't lie. As much as people love to say it, on the whole - no, everyone's NOT different. If you've stopped losing, the most obvious answer is generally the right one, and that is that you're doing it wrong.
If you've got a medical condition, that's an incentive to do your absolute best at taking good care of your body... NOT an excuse to keep on abusing it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Good post--timely with everyone returning after summer sins and trying to get back into it. Thanks for the wakeup call.
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Also not undertaking what you're doing is a big one; I've been losing weight since January mainly via cardio and diet, however results were much slower and less visible than anticipated. 3 weeks ago I got a personal trainer and she's adjusted everything ever so slightly - same calorie deficit but different macros, same amount of physical activity but different exercises and the weight loss has been much quicker and the physical (aesthetic/tone) results in 3 weeks are more than I would have ever achieved if I continued solo. Wish I'd gone to her sooner.0
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I dont sleep well. Im happy with 6hrs of sleep a night. It does not affect my weight loss or maintenance though. Just sayin'...0
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It's not an absolute. Good genes help too.I dont sleep well. Im happy with 6hrs of sleep a night. It does not affect my weight loss or maintenance though. Just sayin'...
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Great thread! It does start to become monotonous when thread after thread after thread is " help I can't lose weight! My birth control caused this . or I'm at a deficit and still can't lose" then when they open their diaries , they clearly aren't logging accurately or are eating back 1,000 calories for 20 mins of walking and all the other craziness.
When I was new ,I also thought I was broken or something but quickly realized my logging needed improvement and was able to understand it came down to cico.0 -
I agree with everything that you've said.
I have a general question about sleep and the effect on weight loss. I'm losing consistently, and logging/exercising consistently, however my sleep pattern has changed dramatically this week. I'm getting 5 - 6 hours of sleep rather than 8. I have gained 1.6 pounds. I know, I know ... weight loss isn't linear, hormones, workouts, etc. But I wonder: does sleep impact water retention?0 -
Sometimes you have to throw out everything you know and everything "the experts" are telling you and find your own way. Logging and counting calories was keeping my mind focused on food all the time, and the more I thought about food, the more I wanted to eat. Also, I don't have enough of an accountant mentality to find any joy in CICO. It was a gigantic chore to me, generating enough frustration to make me eat even more.
My way is to keep busy with other things until I am undeniably hungry (hello intermittent fasting), then have a meal of whatever I want. Repeat. I'm eating two to three times per day and losing 1-2 pounds per week for a total of 23 pounds as of this morning. I'm not saying my way is everyone's way, but if trying to do what everyone is advising isn't working for you, it might be a good idea to give it a break and choose that path less traveled.1 -
Thank you for this. People love to blame everything else but themselves. It's the mentality of a victim, not a winner. Body is an amazingly complex thing, but human bodies DO work pretty much the same way... I used to blame my hypothyroidism for being "unable to lose weight". What it actually did was that it made me too drained to even TRY. Once I got to it, I've had no trouble losing weight. Actually got to lower the dose of the meds because of it too.Alatariel75 wrote: »Very true. Out of self-defence, we seem to leap to conclusions that we are special, there's something wrong with our bodies, that something environmental is working against up but really, 99.9% of the time, we're doing something wrong. Science doesn't lie. As much as people love to say it, on the whole - no, everyone's NOT different. If you've stopped losing, the most obvious answer is generally the right one, and that is that you're doing it wrong.
If you've got a medical condition, that's an incentive to do your absolute best at taking good care of your body... NOT an excuse to keep on abusing it.
I did the exact same thing until learning about several elite athletes with hypothyroidism. It just clicked one day and I realized I was using it as an excuse. Once I stopped making excuses I saw results. Once I lost the weight all my other complications - GERD, increasing blood pressure, lipid values, etc. all went away or in the optimal category.
Very little in this world that behavior cannot override adversity.0 -
thorsmom01 wrote: »Great thread! It does start to become monotonous when thread after thread after thread is " help I can't lose weight! My birth control caused this . or I'm at a deficit and still can't lose" then when they open their diaries , they clearly aren't logging accurately or are eating back 1,000 calories for 20 mins of walking and all the other craziness.
When I was new ,I also thought I was broken or something but quickly realized my logging needed improvement and was able to understand it came down to cico.
When I joined I started that same day reading community posts. I quickly learned I wasn't logging correctly/accurately. I learned so much those 1st cpl of weeks. #1 get a scale with gram weighing. #2 weigh/measure EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth. #3 No measuring cups for solids. I added cardio & weight lifting. Now almost 4 months I'm down 35 lbs. Thanks everyone, whether you post questions or answer. You have helped me & many others on their weight loss journey.
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Wow! You’re reading my mind! Great info! Stomach vacuums and now progression issues!
Ugh. What do you do if you realize - perish the thought - you don’t like structured strength training? Exercise - yes. Structured training - no.
I could be very happy doing a different exercise from YouTube every day (boxing, trx, kettlebell, dancing, etc) and within those workouts are varied moves. However, i shrivel at the thought of doing a 2-3 day a week structured program where there are 6-7 moves, x sets, x reps, I do progress, etc. but I don’t last long with these programs.
My goals are simple - maybe lose a max of 5-6 pounds, get rid of a small lower belly pouch, and if I can reveal some biceps or triceps or quads - that’s fine - but I don’t really care if I bench press x pounds. But should I?2
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