I never thought I would be posting this...why am i not losin

I am not an expert or anything, and i am a horrible dieter but you sound on your game with excersie so mayve you have built up muscle? which they say will put on pounds? Dont get discouraged...i am menopausel so this is the hardest i ever had to work at it to loose a lousey 20 pounds!!!! Good Luck

Ok, I know people ask about this all the time. I usualy am one who gives advice on the subject!! The thing is, I've tried everything I can think of to get the scale moving again (down, not up!) In the last 3 weeks I have gained over a pound. The first week I was on vacation and I didn't eat HORRIBLE but I wasn't on my game, either. I still kept up with my c25k program, though. The past 2 weeks I have been on my A game. Under my calories, watching my sodium, drinking water, eating my exercise calories. I even added a new workout to the mix- jillian michaels fitness ultimatum- on the days I don't do my c25k (before i was just walking on the days i wasn't doing the program) I stepped on the scale this morning and gained another .7 pounds!! I still have 20 pounds to reach my goal and in reality I could stand to lose 50, so it's not like I'm near my goal. I even ate about 400 calories over on Saturday to see if that would jump start my matabolism. Nothing. I am getting really frustrated that I'm working so hard and the scale is going the wrong way!!! What am I missing??????

You could try changing your macros(carbs/protein/fats). I feel that MFP has theirs set up weird......55% carbs to me is way to high. I feel that you need balance. I changed mine percentages to 40% carbs, 40% Protein, and 20 % fat. Or you could do 40% carbs, 30 % protein & 30% fat. The more protein the better! I balance "every" meal and snack with a carb and a protein, it helps you to stay fuller longer.

I took a peek at your diary, and honestly, it's not a very healthy one (sloppy joes, fries, coca cola). I don't see any/many fruits/veggies and whole grains. I'm all for things in moderation, but at some point ,you need to look closer to your diet and see what is going on.

As for exercise calories - I eat them back (to get to net of 1200cal/day). Some days I leave 10 cals on the table, others closer to 200-300.

Good luck, and don't give up!!

um... maybe it's your TOM.. just a thought.

Hey!!!

A platoo of a few weeks is absolutely normal!!!! Everyone has them.

try dinking more water that sometimes helps!.....(yuk) lol

You said you tried eating more, have you tried eating less?

Do you do weights at all? You need to do something different for a few weeks to bump your body out of it's comfy spot. I'd suggest adding heavy weights 2 or 3 times a week for a few weeks and see if that helps. (try to make them heavy weights though, the lighter ones might be too close to the other stuff you have been doing)

Yea, I've heard that bodies can get two comfortable with "routine" work outs. Maybe try bumping up your intensity or switching things up? Good luck!

Your sodium is HIGH. The NEW recommendation is 1500 mg. Yesterday you were at 2800- there is your weight gain.

You also eat out a lot. I know restaurants post nuitrtional info- but that varies from location- and when you are eating SO close to your daily goal- you may very well be going over by 200-300 calories a meal. You do that 2 or 3 times a week and you have depleted your deficit.

If you are not using a HRM- you should be--and do not forget to subtract your BMR from your burned amount on the HRM, and you might want to think about giving yourself some room incase you overestimate your calories in.

If your working out you may be gaining mussle which weights more then fat. Are you clothes fitting different?? Whatever the reason is just don't give up. Best of luck to you.

I looked at your diary, and first thing I see it your breakfasts suck. Coffee doesn't count as breakfast, and you are not starting your day giving your body the signal to burn calories. Second thing I noticed is that you go either way over or way under on your calories, and not with good foods. It looks like you eat what a kid eats(and I think you have one correct?), but you need to eat what is right for you. Add in more lean protein, and veggies and fruits, yogurts, low fat dairy, and try to keep your meals more consistant and even in size so that your body isn't over or underwhelmed. Someone else also mentioned your sodium is high. That one is HARD to fix, but just watching little things can help with that. I hope tweeking some things will help you see some changes. : )

I'm in the same boat, so I'm not even going to offer any advice...but just an understanding of what you're going through...and it sucks!!!!

First off, if you are viewing this time of your life as a "diet" you will gain your weight back eventually anyway. But, if you look at the larger scale of things and see this as a lifestyle change and you can see yourself eating this way and exercising this way for your lifetime...then you will see lasting results. Hitting a pleateu is normal. Your body will start to adjust to your new normal and it will work with what you give it. If overtime you are eating less calories than your body requires to function you will lose more weight. It will most likely take longer than you would like to see the weight fall off but, if it is a lifestyle, you have a lifetime to get there (not that it will take a lifetime).

However, that being said...I know how hard it is to hit a plateau. Not seeing the scale move or even seeing it move in the other direction can be dishearting. When this happened to me, I talked to my docter. She told me to eat less exercise more. There is no medical reason to eat your exercise calories back. I don't know how this became the thing to do. You exercise to tone your body and burn more calories...not so you can eat more.

Since August, I have lost almost 85 lbs. I was 235 when I started. I have about 1200 calories each day (doctor recommended, she even told me that I can lower my calorie intake to increase my results without hitting that false perception of "starvation mode") I chose to eat the same and exercise more and bam! The scale started to move again. It took 5 weeks of being at the same weight but now I'm down 10 more.

Another thing that should be included in your healthy living...determination to make your life healthier, not the number on the scale smaller. If you are living a healthy lifestyle, the scale will in time reflect this lifestyle. Too many of us focus on the number and not the living! I can bet that if you are exercising as much as you say you are...you are building muscle. Muscle does weigh more. Instead of just checking the scale number, how about the pants size number or other measurements. Even though I wasn't losing weight...I was still losing inches.

Don't be discouraged by the numbers...be encouraged by your life. If you have children, you are teaching them good habits. Even if you aren't, I bet your friends and relatives are seeing your healthy living and being encouraged too!