Working hard with no results

What are your:

1) height
2) current weight
3) starting weight
4) goal weight
5) daily calorie goal as set by MFP
6) average number of calories eaten per day (not netted, actually eaten)
7) non-exercise activity level
8) exercise activity level (how often, how long, what kind of exercise)

Are you using a digital kitchen scale for solids? Are you measuring liquids with a measuring cup? Are you logging using verifiable nutrition info such as that from food labels or the USDA?

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen 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 if you don't already have one. 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. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. 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.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, 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.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

I am having the same issues and I am reading the replies here and I am going to apply them to me as well. I have been doing cardio 3-4 times a week, use fitbit hr to track steps and hr, stay well under my calories, etc. But I do have some room for improvement. I'm also insulin resistant and I think that my body is still internally changing from the new exercise and food plan.

I think that because I am not seeing weight reaults yet, I might have to really watch my sugar intake, even from fruit.

How is the OP's sugar intake? That can stall weight loss. Despite the whole calorie in vs calorie out.

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

lilmisstata wrote: »

How is the OP's sugar intake? That can stall weight loss. Despite the whole calorie in vs calorie out.

No...it can't

Agreed

lilmisstata wrote: »

I am having the same issues and I am reading the replies here and I am going to apply them to me as well. I have been doing cardio 3-4 times a week, use fitbit hr to track steps and hr, stay well under my calories, etc. But I do have some room for improvement. I'm also insulin resistant and I think that my body is still internally changing from the new exercise and food plan.

I think that because I am not seeing weight reaults yet, I might have to really watch my sugar intake, even from fruit.

How is the OP's sugar intake? That can stall weight loss. Despite the whole calorie in vs calorie out.

It doesn't.

rabbitjb wrote: »

Please note there is no "cos sugar" in that

wait! you mean its not sugars fault???????????

:P

happykee wrote: »

Insulin resistance can cause weight gain. Almost every food turns to sugar, so yes, it can.

The increased cravings from it can cause people to put food in their mouthes. The condition doesn't produce extra calories.

Um....I don't know why you are all so quick to defend sugar. I am Insulin Resistant, have PCOS, and I take Thyroid medication.

I use the FITBIT HR to monitor heart rate, I use MFP to monitor EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. I am ALWAYS under my calories and I do cardio 3 usually 4 or more times a week.

Trust me.....I love sugar. I love carbs. I don't want to cut it out of my life. But I have tried to lose weight and still eat those in small moderate amounts.

Guess what all of you people with normal functioning bodies???

I DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT. I have been trying to do just that for the past month and my scale has fluctuated by 2-3 lbs. This last week I thought for sure it was gonna go down....but NOPE....it went back up 1 lb.

So just because YOU don't have a problem with sugars and your bodies function efficiently....please don't disregard that it is still a factor for some of us.

lilmisstata wrote: »

Um....I don't know why you are all so quick to defend sugar. I am Insulin Resistant, have PCOS, and I take Thyroid medication.

I use the FITBIT HR to monitor heart rate, I use MFP to monitor EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. I am ALWAYS under my calories and I do cardio 3 usually 4 or more times a week.

Trust me.....I love sugar. I love carbs. I don't want to cut it out of my life. But I have tried to lose weight and still eat those in small moderate amounts.

Guess what all of you people with normal functioning bodies???

I DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT. I have been trying to do just that for the past month and my scale has fluctuated by 2-3 lbs. This last week I thought for sure it was gonna go down....but NOPE....it went back up 1 lb.

So just because YOU don't have a problem with sugars and your bodies function efficiently....please don't disregard that it is still a factor for some of us.

Pretty sweet list of excuses. Sounds to me like you are eye balling portions and over eating. I'd recomend a food scale. You also have no idea if we have healthy bodies so calm yourself. Insulin resistance makes it easier to store fat.. ok eat at deficit to burn fat. Pcos lowers my bmr ok eat less burn fat. Thyroid, I'm assuming hypo cause you didn't specify, get medicine deal with it possibly eat less. Have medical problems get a diatiton.

OP you just need more time. Don't eat back all your workout cals and weigh your food. If you make a cal deficit the weight comes off. Also new exercise causes water to store.

lilmisstata wrote: »

Um....I don't know why you are all so quick to defend sugar. I am Insulin Resistant, have PCOS, and I take Thyroid medication.

I use the FITBIT HR to monitor heart rate, I use MFP to monitor EVERYTHING I put in my mouth. I am ALWAYS under my calories and I do cardio 3 usually 4 or more times a week.

Trust me.....I love sugar. I love carbs. I don't want to cut it out of my life. But I have tried to lose weight and still eat those in small moderate amounts.

Guess what all of you people with normal functioning bodies???

I DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT. I have been trying to do just that for the past month and my scale has fluctuated by 2-3 lbs. This last week I thought for sure it was gonna go down....but NOPE....it went back up 1 lb.

So just because YOU don't have a problem with sugars and your bodies function efficiently....please don't disregard that it is still a factor for some of us.

She didn't mention having any of the problems you're referring to so you can't say if that is a problem for her.

When you say you monitor everything you put in your mouth, are you using a food scale or are you eyeballing your portions?

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

You're just being impatient with yourself.

Give yourself 4-6 full weeks before you assess how things are going. Weight loss is measured in months, not days or weeks.

If you just started your gym routines, it's likely your body is holding on to some additional water to help with muscle recovery.

Then how to the people bulking/cutting seem to gain 10-15lbs and then proceed to lose 10-15lbs in a matter of weeks? They make it seem so automatic. But then you read things like you wrote where it's "months, years, etc."

lilmisstata wrote: »

I do use a food scale and weigh and measure all of my foods. In fact I have 3 of them. I keep one in the car. I also track calories labels because sometimes I eat frozen meals or put together my own meal combinations from pre packaged food, like Veggie Burgers. I don't eat meat and lean closer towards a Vegan food plan although I'm not 100% Vegan.

I have met with a dietician and have been specifically told to cut back on sugar and anything that causes an insulin dump. Like white flour, white rice, potatoes, pasta, and starchy veggies and fruits. Trust me... I don't want to cut out those things. I have stood my ground trying to prove that I can eat those things and lose weight, but I have had to concede to my own personal experience.

I don't know what the OP has done or not done, I'm only suggesting that there are other factors out there. Not everyone knows if they are insulin resistant or not.

But clearly this must be a touchy subject because everyone is so quick to roll their eyes and jump on me for even suggesting that this might factor in.

Again, the issue is not sugar. The issue is your specific medical condition.

Carlos_421 wrote: »

CalorieCountChocula wrote: »

juggernaut1974 wrote: »

You're just being impatient with yourself.

Give yourself 4-6 full weeks before you assess how things are going. Weight loss is measured in months, not days or weeks.

If you just started your gym routines, it's likely your body is holding on to some additional water to help with muscle recovery.

Then how to the people bulking/cutting seem to gain 10-15lbs and then proceed to lose 10-15lbs in a matter of weeks? They make it seem so automatic. But then you read things like you wrote where it's "months, years, etc."

You misunderstand the process of bulking/cutting cycles.

So in other words you're not going to explain why it's easier for them to lose weight and harder for me?

Anyone? Gears turning? Trying to hold yourselves back from shouting out "Six weeks. Hit it hard. Get beach ready. Abs abs abs!" I know that contradicts the regular human advice of "well you really should take 19 months to slowly lose the weight."