Am I progressing?

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soldiergrl_101
soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
for about three weeks, maybe longer, I have seen no drop on the scale and no inches lost. Yet I'm eatting at a deficit and I'm working out 5x a week cardio and weight....

So is my body still changing even though pounds haven't been lost and inches haven't changed? It seems like I am fitter, I'm lifting heavier and running longer. Thoughts?

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  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    Is that a no?
  • tank1539
    tank1539 Posts: 55 Member
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    Maybe try a "Re-feed" day? but if you do, do it smart.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    tank1539 wrote: »
    Maybe try a "Re-feed" day? but if you do, do it smart.

    OP you don't need a refeed day. You need to check your logging and make sure you're in a deficit. Are you weighing your food on a scale? Are you using proper entries and logging all condiments, oil, drinks?

    Also, sometimes I won't lose until the 3rd week of getting into a deficit. New/added exercise can also cause you to retain water which would mask a loss. I'd say either way, take a look at your logging and see if you can tighten up.
  • dinosaurparty
    dinosaurparty Posts: 185 Member
    edited September 2015
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    Well, if you're noticing improvment in your fitness, that's great! I'd consider that progress, for sure :)

    What sort of deficit are you eating at, and are you using a scale to weigh everything? Do you eat back all your workout calories?

    Something similar happened to me a little while ago - the scale stopped moving (and randomly jumped up?) for about 2/3 weeks, but at the beginning of the month I dropped two lbs out of the blue! I never even saw 132 or 131, haha.

    So, it could be that you are miscalculating your calories, or eating too many of your exercise calories back. Maybe you need to lower your calories a bit for a week or two, or, alternatively, try a refeed like Tank1539 suggested (if you are always hungry/cold/tired, it might help). It could also be that weight loss isn't always very linear, and you might suddenly start loosing again next week.
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
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    soldiergrl_101 wrote: »
    for about three weeks, maybe longer, I have seen no drop on the scale and no inches lost. Yet I'm eatting at a deficit and I'm working out 5x a week cardio and weight....

    So is my body still changing even though pounds haven't been lost and inches haven't changed? It seems like I am fitter, I'm lifting heavier and running longer. Thoughts?

    Depends on what you are going for. If you don't want to lose weight/body fat, at just increase strength and fitness then yes, you are progressing.

    If you want to lose weight/body fat, then no you aren't progressing in that capacity. But that's an easy fix. You just simply aren't in a calorie deficit, despite thinking that you are. You either need to tighten up your logging. Or if it is as tight as possible (weighing everything, logging everything) then you need to lower your calorie goal.
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    I am using a food scale, I switched it up yesterday to see if it will help change things but my regular is two scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon, a small salad for lunch with grilled chicken no cheese or croutons, and then a protein shake for dinner which consists of almond milk, PB2, and ISOPure Zero Carb protein powder 1 scoop.

    My weight started to stall the same time I got my first Depo shot last month, I am wondering if thats the difference because my diet hasnt changed in 3 months and my exercise has increased. The Depo Shot is known for making people gain weight, I just thought that was cuz they ate more
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    You say you use a food scale, but nothing in your "regular" description references weights of the ingredients. Are you really using a scale? Any dressing on the salad? How about flyby eating (maybe grabbing a couple of chips in the break room, or a tiny handful of nuts in the pantry, etc.)? Are you drinking any calories (other than the protein shake)?
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    hill8570 wrote: »
    You say you use a food scale, but nothing in your "regular" description references weights of the ingredients. Are you really using a scale? Any dressing on the salad? How about flyby eating (maybe grabbing a couple of chips in the break room, or a tiny handful of nuts in the pantry, etc.)? Are you drinking any calories (other than the protein shake)?

    I dont drink calories, if I am in need of something extra I grab a vitawater which has 0 calories or a diet soda which has 0 calories but for the most part its just water. If I grab something on the fly I still log it but I rarely have anything on the fly, two days ago I had 3 oreos. Yes I am really using a food scale I just didn't list it out above.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
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    There's a couple of possibilities:
    • You're retaining more water than usual
    • Your calories are higher than what's being measured
    • Your workouts aren't burning the calories you think they are
    • You're in body re-composition - fat is being burned off at close to the same rate as lean body mass is being built
    • The "whoosh" effect
    The last one sounds like broscience, except that happened to me twice - weight loss stalled for a month and it all dropped off - six pounds - between weekly weigh-ins despite consistency in calorie deficit.
  • tank1539
    tank1539 Posts: 55 Member
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    CipherZero wrote: »
    There's a couple of possibilities:
    • You're retaining more water than usual
    • Your calories are higher than what's being measured
    • Your workouts aren't burning the calories you think they are
    • You're in body re-composition - fat is being burned off at close to the same rate as lean body mass is being built
    • The "whoosh" effect
    The last one sounds like broscience, except that happened to me twice - weight loss stalled for a month and it all dropped off - six pounds - between weekly weigh-ins despite consistency in calorie deficit.

    That's not all bro science. There is some research and theories out there, done by the smart people that suggests that right before they completely collapse, our fat cells, as a last ditch effort, retain lots of water. Then one day, poof or "whoosh" they collapse. Thats why some say, as you loose fat if you push in on your skin and it feels like a bunch of peas or marbles, that's the cells getting ready to collapse. Nothing concrete on the science yet though but when it comes to human physiology, who really knows lol
  • operation_cute
    operation_cute Posts: 588 Member
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    tank1539 wrote: »
    CipherZero wrote: »
    There's a couple of possibilities:
    • You're retaining more water than usual
    • Your calories are higher than what's being measured
    • Your workouts aren't burning the calories you think they are
    • You're in body re-composition - fat is being burned off at close to the same rate as lean body mass is being built
    • The "whoosh" effect
    The last one sounds like broscience, except that happened to me twice - weight loss stalled for a month and it all dropped off - six pounds - between weekly weigh-ins despite consistency in calorie deficit.

    That's not all bro science. There is some research and theories out there, done by the smart people that suggests that right before they completely collapse, our fat cells, as a last ditch effort, retain lots of water. Then one day, poof or "whoosh" they collapse. Thats why some say, as you loose fat if you push in on your skin and it feels like a bunch of peas or marbles, that's the cells getting ready to collapse. Nothing concrete on the science yet though but when it comes to human physiology, who really knows lol

    The "whoosh effect"... is that when you drop multiple pounds at once after not losing any for like a month? I did that, I dropped an unrealistic amount of weight pretty much overnight, after having the scale stall for a month. Really confusing and frustrating lol.
  • tank1539
    tank1539 Posts: 55 Member
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    zooktography wrote: »
    tank1539 wrote: »
    CipherZero wrote: »
    There's a couple of possibilities:
    • You're retaining more water than usual
    • Your calories are higher than what's being measured
    • Your workouts aren't burning the calories you think they are
    • You're in body re-composition - fat is being burned off at close to the same rate as lean body mass is being built
    • The "whoosh" effect
    The last one sounds like broscience, except that happened to me twice - weight loss stalled for a month and it all dropped off - six pounds - between weekly weigh-ins despite consistency in calorie deficit.

    That's not all bro science. There is some research and theories out there, done by the smart people that suggests that right before they completely collapse, our fat cells, as a last ditch effort, retain lots of water. Then one day, poof or "whoosh" they collapse. Thats why some say, as you loose fat if you push in on your skin and it feels like a bunch of peas or marbles, that's the cells getting ready to collapse. Nothing concrete on the science yet though but when it comes to human physiology, who really knows lol

    The "whoosh effect"... is that when you drop multiple pounds at once after not losing any for like a month? I did that, I dropped an unrealistic amount of weight pretty much overnight, after having the scale stall for a month. Really confusing and frustrating lol.

    That's the idea. No ones exactly sure on why it happens but there are theories and the one I wrote about above is the one I've read the most research on
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
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    Interesting I'll have to research that. I did discover though that my vita waters did have calories unlike the Icee waters. 100cals a Pop I bet that's the hangup
  • tank1539
    tank1539 Posts: 55 Member
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    this is what first got me introduced to the idea http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html/
  • AleksMatic
    AleksMatic Posts: 6 Member
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    Don't worry so much about the scale, if you are going heavier and are able to run longer that means you are building up your endurance and muscle. Which could mean you're getting rid of the fat but the new muscle you are aquiring is balancing it out. Just take pictures cause that's also a really good way to see if your body is changing!:)

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