Why am I not losing :( Please help!
ccbloom1
Posts: 82 Member
Background: I started MFP 96 days ago. I would like to lose about 60lbs total, and I'm 5'3". I started and completed 90 days of a TurboFire/Turbojam hybrid. I did not lose a single pound for the first 21 days but kept going. I finally started to lose and dropped 24 lbs with consistent weekly losses...until a month ago. I've been at a plateau, going up and down the same 2 lbs for the past 4 weeks. It's driving me crazy!!
I feel like my diet is pretty good, I drink a ton of water. Honestly, I'm not really sure what to do.
This past week, I started doing 30DS with a TurboJam once or twice to try and change things up, and I increased my calorie intake slightly from 1200 without exercise calories to 1400 plus some of my exercise calories and still nothing. It's not like I'm close to goal and trying to lose that last 10, I still have a good 40lbs to go.
I would love if I could get any feedback or suggestions so that I can get the scale moving in the right direction again!
I feel like my diet is pretty good, I drink a ton of water. Honestly, I'm not really sure what to do.
This past week, I started doing 30DS with a TurboJam once or twice to try and change things up, and I increased my calorie intake slightly from 1200 without exercise calories to 1400 plus some of my exercise calories and still nothing. It's not like I'm close to goal and trying to lose that last 10, I still have a good 40lbs to go.
I would love if I could get any feedback or suggestions so that I can get the scale moving in the right direction again!
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Replies
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I'm in the same boat!! Increased exercise, decreased food and STILL 170lbs! Surely something should have shifted!
B x0 -
My opinion is that you are trading body fat for lean muscle. Since lean muscle weighs more then fat it appears your not going down in actual weight. How are your clothes fitting? are you losing stomach, arm and hip sizes? thats how you can tell your trading fat for muscle.
This has happened to me I hit the Gym hard and eat right and I actually gain weight or stay the same for a bit then I drop.0 -
You're food diary looks way better than mine lol! Anyway, maybe its time to get hard core about excersisng? The 30 Day Shred type videos are nice, but I think some of us need more. Not necessarily more intensity, but more time spent exercising.0
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bump!!0
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When I plateaued I upped my calories from 1200 (like you) and it took a couple of weeks, but the scale did start moving again. Give your body time to adjust. You probably weren't eating enough and messed with your metabolism a little, or at least that was what my problem was. It took about 3 weeks but the scale started moving again for me. Your diary looks good, so I would just give it some time.0
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Unfortunately, since hitting the plateau, my clothes are not fitting any differently
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Yeah, slow down a little on the excercise. Make sure you eat your exercise calories and increase your intake a little. Look up zig zagging too. That worked for me.0
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My opinion is that you are trading body fat for lean muscle. Since lean muscle weighs more then fat it appears your not going down in actual weight. How are your clothes fitting? are you losing stomach, arm and hip sizes? thats how you can tell your trading fat for muscle.
This has happened to me I hit the Gym hard and eat right and I actually gain weight or stay the same for a bit then I drop.
So if this is a true statement, we should be able to see a % loss in body fat correct?0 -
You're food diary looks way better than mine lol! Anyway, maybe its time to get hard core about excersisng? The 30 Day Shred type videos are nice, but I think some of us need more. Not necessarily more intensity, but more time spent exercising.
Yeah, the 30DS is just a break and to add some weight training...I did TurboFire for 90 days prior to this, burning 400-600 cals per workout. Working out more than 60 min per day really isn't an option.
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HI there !
First of all congratulations on all your hard work you have lost a good deal and are in an amazing shape so well done!!
I just broke a plateau of 5 months!!! Very tough and frustrating but I have more muscle definition and I eat a bit of everything so that is cool !!
I would say maybe up your protein intake and lower the sodium...For me these are the 2 details that broke my plateau...
And give it more time...I know it sucks BUT it probably is strue. And you will probably lose more in a while like you did at first.
Do you have rest and stretch days? Give your system time to recuperate and then hit the fat burning area again ! YAY!!
Don't stop you are on the right track for sure!!!0 -
are you doing measurements??
I haven't seen the scale move in going on 2 months, but I know can see the inches coming off each month!!0 -
When I plateaued I upped my calories from 1200 (like you) and it took a couple of weeks, but the scale did start moving again. Give your body time to adjust. You probably weren't eating enough and messed with your metabolism a little, or at least that was what my problem was. It took about 3 weeks but the scale started moving again for me. Your diary looks good, so I would just give it some time.
This is what I'm hoping, and that's what I was thinking (I actually believe it was your post that got me to evaluate my calorie intake). It can really be discouraging, though.0 -
My opinion is that you are trading body fat for lean muscle. Since lean muscle weighs more then fat it appears your not going down in actual weight. How are your clothes fitting? are you losing stomach, arm and hip sizes? thats how you can tell your trading fat for muscle.
This has happened to me I hit the Gym hard and eat right and I actually gain weight or stay the same for a bit then I drop.
So if this is a true statement, we should be able to see a % loss in body fat correct?
Yes that's the way I have seen for me, when I trade fat for muscle I will get a little more cut but stay the same weight for a bit then start dropping lbs.0 -
are you doing measurements??
I haven't seen the scale move in going on 2 months, but I know can see the inches coming off each month!!
Are you doing a lot of weight training?0 -
What is your current BMI? What is your weight loss goal setting (lose 2lbs./1.5lbs/1.0lb per week)? How much more weight do you want to lose?0
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are you doing measurements??
I haven't seen the scale move in going on 2 months, but I know can see the inches coming off each month!!
Are you doing a lot of weight training?
3 x a week & cardio 4 days...0 -
I was not doing a lot of weight training, but I have started 30DS and will do Day 6 of that today. Prior to that it was basically cardio for for 40-60 min for 6-7 days a week.
I did not take my measurements in the beginning (dummy!); however, my clothes are not fitting any differently than they were a month ago.0 -
What is your current BMI? What is your weight loss goal setting (lose 2lbs./1.5lbs/1.0lb per week)? How much more weight do you want to lose?
Current BMI is 33. Weight loss goal setting is custom at 1.2 lbs per week. I would like to lose another 40lbs.0 -
I hit a 3 week plateau and went into maintenance mode for about 2 weeks (I was also sick so that kind of forced me to do so) but after 2 weeks of slowing down my workouts and eating a 300-400 hundred calories more a day...I lost 3 lbs. I went right back into exercising hard core - way more strength training than cardio and upped my calories from 1200 to 1400 daily and have been seeing steady 1-1.5lb losses/week. Everyone's different and I think you just have to try different things until your body responds and go from there.
Congrats on your success so far - that is fantastic!!0 -
I was not doing a lot of weight training, but I have started 30DS and will do Day 6 of that today. Prior to that it was basically cardio for for 40-60 min for 6-7 days a week.
I did not take my measurements in the beginning (dummy!); however, my clothes are not fitting any differently than they were a month ago.
Well it's never to late to start taking measurements!! if you get a minute today, make a note and take some measurements!! If you can swing some pics do that too...
I'm a very visual person. I don't see the # on the scale but I do see them on the measuring tape & definitely see the changes on the pics!
Good luck to ya! :happy:0 -
definitely take ur measurements! also...are you watchin your sugar intake? i know when i started watching that more closely....the weight really started coming off. also...cut out the sugar free things for a little while and see what happens. sometimes that hinders peoples weight loss. but youve done a great job so far! just hang in there!0
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Bump0
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definitely take ur measurements! also...are you watchin your sugar intake? i know when i started watching that more closely....the weight really started coming off. also...cut out the sugar free things for a little while and see what happens. sometimes that hinders peoples weight loss. but youve done a great job so far! just hang in there!
Yes, I'm going to take my measurements today. I always say "after I shower" and then get dressed, and then I'm too lazy to take them. LO!
Actually, I was watching my sugar until just a few days ago when I switched it to sodium to see if that was my issue. I don't think my sugar is that bad (or is it?)...I was a little over on most days but it was mostly from the milk I was having, I think. I'm going to have to double-check that. I really try and stay away from the artificial sweeteners (besides my shake with the sf/ff pudding mix) and eat everything as close to natural as possible, but cooking for a family can be tough so I don't beat myself up. I'm also trying to cut back on my milk/dairy because I started getting breakouts when I started this, and I have no idea what the culprit is.0 -
Oh my gosh!! I'm right with you, girl. I have about 40 more pounds to lose, and it's not coming off. In fact, I lose all through out the week (I check every other day to make sure I'm on track) and then MAGICALLY gain in all back on my official weigh-in day. It's crazy.
Anyways, here's what I've done in the past to break through a plateau -- calorie zig-zagging. Basically, you take your weekly calorie intake and spread it out differently for each day. If you want an average of ~1400 calories a day, you're goals would look something like this:
Monday: 1200
Tuesday: 1400
Wednesday: 1200
Thursday: 1600
Friday: 1200
Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1500
Add them all up, divide by 7, and you get an average of 1415 calories a day. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm has a zig-zag calorie calculator, but I personally believe the changes from day-to-day intake are too small. In my experience, bigger and more dramatic fluctuations really shock the body out of a plateau.
There's also a "quick" fix that may or may not work. It still won't hurt to try though. Have a cheat meal or cheat day! Eat a cheeseburger and french fries from your favorite restaurant. Or maybe have a dessert. (You don't have to eat junk food though, lol. A cheat day could just be a high calorie day where you have a few extra servings of fruit and whatnot to purposely go over on you goal.)0 -
I platued a year ago and I got frustrated and quit. I haven't gained much, 2-3 lbs, but I am now back on...I have tried 1 week and haven't lost..PMSing as well...but I am getting back ontrack. i work fulltime, college parttime, two teenage daughters and a home to run. I am SUPER busy and don't always have time to excercise, because of this I don't get to burn calories...so i have to watch every little peice of food I put in my mouth...It gets tough sometimes, but I never want to gain the 60lbs I worked so hard to lose 2 years ago.
Keep your head up. keep going, adjust your calories a bit and you should see the platue come to an end soon..Don't wait a year like I did....I am still waiting to see if this first week back on is going to pay off....0 -
Oh my gosh!! I'm right with you, girl. I have about 40 more pounds to lose, and it's not coming off. In fact, I lose all through out the week (I check every other day to make sure I'm on track) and then MAGICALLY gain in all back on my official weigh-in day. It's crazy.
Anyways, here's what I've done in the past to break through a plateau -- calorie zig-zagging. Basically, you take your weekly calorie intake and spread it out differently for each day. If you want an average of ~1400 calories a day, you're goals would look something like this:
Monday: 1200
Tuesday: 1400
Wednesday: 1200
Thursday: 1600
Friday: 1200
Saturday: 1800
Sunday: 1500
Add them all up, divide by 7, and you get an average of 1415 calories a day. http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm has a zig-zag calorie calculator, but I personally believe the changes from day-to-day intake are too small. In my experience, bigger and more dramatic fluctuations really shock the body out of a plateau.
There's also a "quick" fix that may or may not work. It still won't hurt to try though. Have a cheat meal or cheat day! Eat a cheeseburger and french fries from your favorite restaurant. Or maybe have a dessert. (You don't have to eat junk food though, lol. A cheat day could just be a high calorie day where you have a few extra servings of fruit and whatnot to purposely go over on you goal.)
Thanks, I love this idea! And I'm a daily-weigher as well. It can drive me crazy, but it also keeps me in-check...so good and bad, I guess. And I've dealt all too much with that magical gain on my weigh-in day far too often!
I do have a "cheat" meal...sort of. Every Thursday, I go out to eat with DH, and I have a steak with veggies and butter at Fridays along with a couple beers. I count this in my tracker. I usually have something small for dessert like a McD's ice cream, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have another beer. LOL!
I'm going to give zig-zagging a try this week. I'm just really scared to raise my calories. Yesterday was the most I've eaten in a while, and I just felt so bloated and heavy (which may explain my scale not moving on this exact day!).0 -
Looks like your metabolism has slowed down. Send me a message if you would like and I will help you!0
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I am frustrated too---just started a bit over a month ago but weight was coming off fast. Now I am starting to exercise and it has stopped for 2 weeks--I agree with the muscle building theory and I also think your body holds onto calories when your expenditure increases initially. I've been on other diet programs and had this happen too where no loss for a while then bam it drops off when your body realizes youre not kidding. So keep with it and post again to let us know. The zigzagging thing sounds sensible and I've gotten a lot of encouragement from reading these posts!0
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Your food choices look good. A couple more questions: Do you use a digital food scale to measure your food? Most people drastically underestimate servings/portions. How are you getting the calories burned from exercise? Do you wear a chest strap heart rate monitor or do you use MFP's default database? What is your lifestyle/activity level setting (sedentary, light active, active, etc.)?What is your current BMI? What is your weight loss goal setting (lose 2lbs./1.5lbs/1.0lb per week)? How much more weight do you want to lose?
Current BMI is 33. Weight loss goal setting is custom at 1.2 lbs per week. I would like to lose another 40lbs.0 -
Don't know if this will help or not, but I'd been stuck at the same weight since March/April time. I started couch to 5k on 23rd May, and my loss has started again - I'm on week 5 and have gone down 4lbs. Perhaps think about giving that programme a go?0
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