Not loosing weight with gym

nickyjbr
nickyjbr Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

I'm trying to lose around another 100lb. I already lost 40lb by changing my diet and have now started going to the gym twice a week. I do a lot of cardio, ie rowing, cycling and uphill power walking...for one hour, twice a week. But the scales haven't gone down for three weeks. The only thing I've changed diet wise is adding a gluten/soya/wheat/dairy free protein powder to a green smoothie after going to the gym to stop my body having an energy crash.

Anyone any advice or tips as to what I need to do to kickstart the weight loss again?

Replies

  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,033 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Ok well now I'm feeling crap about what I'm doing. I'm following the advice of a trainer who's working round health issues. I follow a paleo lifestyle. I generally stick to 500cal a day less than what mfp says I can have. I only drink water and green tea. I've tried doing strength exercises and I was in so much pain I had to be off work for a week. I thought at least if I was moving and doing some work out in the limited free time I have, then I'd be OK. I guess not.

    Any movement is good so you are on the right track. Your food intake/calorie burn is the key to losing weight. Others have asked questions about weighing your food and accurately tracking your calories. Following a paleo diet is fine but if you are eating 3000 calories of paleo food a day and burning 2500, you're not going to lose weight. Do you weight your food for accurate calorie counting? What is your height, weight and current calorie goal per day? These things can help us to help you.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
    Agree with others about adding in weight training. Cardio is great, but I didn't see significant changes until I started weight training. Now I may do 1-2 hours total of cardio per week and most of that is broken up into HIIT. Try to get away from the machine cardio and do some other total body HIIT workouts. Hope this helps!
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  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
    If you're not losing weight, step one is always double checking your food logging. You should be weighing all solids with a food scale and measuring out liquids. If you have blank days, that's far more likely to be your issue than anything else.

    Second step would be to double check your exercise calories. Try eating back fewer of them (assuming you are eating them back, which you should since MFP already has your deficit built in). But this doesn't help if your logging is inaccurate to begin with.
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    how long ago did you start? it likely water retention, or you are eating more than you think you are.

    xcicky9cphye.jpg

    This is an awesome algorithm! Thank you.
  • runrascal
    runrascal Posts: 53 Member
    edited January 2016
    nickyjbr - you've just been hit with a mass of answers, so hope this isn't too much. It pretty much sums up some of the other good answers, but I have a couple of extra bits. Oh and in case you decide not to read the rest good luck with your training - it's an amazing thing to take on.

    First you are doing really really well. Getting active is so important - and not that easy when you are heavy.
    Second the flow chart is really good.
    the idea of gaining muscle weight is totally and utterly irrelevant. You're not body building so don't even consider Third that muscle gain is going to show on the scales.
    Lastly, like debra says - regardless of what you eat if you don't burn more than you use you won't lose weight. Bear in mind the following:

    Paleo or any other fashionista diet plan makes no difference. Normal healthy eating from the full range of food available to you - ie avoiding processed and ready made stuff - is all you need.

    No disrespect to your personal trainer but please bear in mind these guys need to make it look complicated to keep you paying.

    Remember to log every thing that passes your lips and if you have to estimate go for the next highest reading because we all tend to underestimate our calories.

    Remember that gym equipment and MFP are incredibly generous with their exercise calories. Never ever eat all the exercise calories you have clocked up. For instance if I walk 2 miles so slowly that a snail could pass me I get just the same number of paces (I use my iphone pacer) as I would for walking it so fast that I'm nearly running.

    By the way even after a hard workout your body doesn't have an energy crash. It's an amazing machine that self regulates remarkably well. So that post gym smoothy isn't necessary. Have a drink of water and just have your normal next meal. After all you've still got onboard fuel for your body to use up when it needs it :)

    Good luck and keep going. It's hard but you'll be glad.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm trying to lose around another 100lb. I already lost 40lb by changing my diet and have now started going to the gym twice a week. I do a lot of cardio, ie rowing, cycling and uphill power walking...for one hour, twice a week. But the scales haven't gone down for three weeks. The only thing I've changed diet wise is adding a gluten/soya/wheat/dairy free protein powder to a green smoothie after going to the gym to stop my body having an energy crash.

    Anyone any advice or tips as to what I need to do to kickstart the weight loss again?

    You are not going to lose weight by going two hours per week at the gym. This is for fitness, not for weight loss. Whatever you are doing in these two hours, do not see it as something that will really contribute to weight loss. Focus on diet, and make sure you are not consuming more calories than you used to because of the new exercise routine.
  • courtney_love2001
    courtney_love2001 Posts: 1,468 Member
    When this happened to me I had to up my calorie goal for the day from 1200 to 1500 then I saw losses again. Sometimes you have to cycle calorie goals to shake things up a bit and get your body back into weight loss mode.
  • shadowconn
    shadowconn Posts: 141 Member
    haha . . I'm with the above poster. Stop the gym. If you can. I understand you are training. But I"ve never lost wieght with diet AND exercise. ONly diet. It took me a long time to figure that out. I can eat 1800 . . gym 5-6 times a week and no weight loss. 1800 and no gym = 1 pound weight loss a week. I know it doesn't make sense. But I"ve completely vetod the gym until I lose another 10 pounds which would put me at 164. end goal is 145. So if the gym causes problems again . . I'll be at a healthy weight already.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    courtney_love2001 wrote: »
    When this happened to me I had to up my calorie goal for the day from 1200 to 1500 then I saw losses again. Sometimes you have to cycle calorie goals to shake things up a bit and get your body back into weight loss mode.

    I can't see OP's diary but someone posted that they could and OP isn't logging consistently.
    I do agree with the suggestion that sometimes upping calories can help for various reasons, however, in this case, I'd suggest logging consistently as the first step. Chances are OP is eating more than she thinks.
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  • ecsumaria
    ecsumaria Posts: 27 Member
    Definitely lifting weights helps! I used to do just under an hour of cardio 3-4 times a week and the scale didn't budge. Once I added in some weight training, the weight started coming off. I know it can be expensive but see if you can book an appointment with a personal trainer who can teach you the basics of lifting weights. Good luck!
  • bfeilmeier
    bfeilmeier Posts: 2 Member
    I hit a plateau with my weight loss, hadn't seen anything happen in several months. I talked to one of my trainers, and she customized an eating plan for me. I do cardio 150-180 minutes a week with some weight training in there, but right now focusing on low weight/high reps. I eat about 1700-1800 calories a day, and don't eat after 7 pm. Since starting this, I am down another 9 pounds so far, and that's in about 3.5 weeks. It's what is working for me, but everyone is different. Nice work with the 40 pounds!!
  • AmandaHugginkiss
    AmandaHugginkiss Posts: 486 Member
    I've lost weight with just exercise. I've lost weight with just diet. I've gained weight while exercising and overeating.

    You're eating more than you think. Get better about calculating what you're eating instead of winging it.
  • dawnemjh
    dawnemjh Posts: 1,465 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Ok well now I'm feeling crap about what I'm doing. I'm following the advice of a trainer who's working round health issues. I follow a paleo lifestyle. I generally stick to 500cal a day less than what mfp says I can have. I only drink water and green tea. I've tried doing strength exercises and I was in so much pain I had to be off work for a week. I thought at least if I was moving and doing some work out in the limited free time I have, then I'd be OK. I guess not.

    No!! Dont feel like crap. Congratulate yourself for going to the gym 2x/week!!! You actually dont need to go tot he gym at all to lose weight...You need a calorie deficit and going to the gym and burning calories makes it a little easier to reach that deficit.
    Our bodies will fluctuate so partially may be due to water retention if you havent lost, or maybe coming up on time of month..BUT 99.9% of the time if there is no loss it is because there is no deficit...Make sure to log every bite that passes your lips...(gum/mints/nibbles/bites etc) Log consistently and stick with it!!!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Hi,

    I'm trying to lose around another 100lb. I already lost 40lb by changing my diet and have now started going to the gym twice a week. I do a lot of cardio, ie rowing, cycling and uphill power walking...for one hour, twice a week. But the scales haven't gone down for three weeks. The only thing I've changed diet wise is adding a gluten/soya/wheat/dairy free protein powder to a green smoothie after going to the gym to stop my body having an energy crash.

    Anyone any advice or tips as to what I need to do to kickstart the weight loss again?

    In the beginning of an exercise program, it isn't unusual to retain water in your strained muscles. Keep exercising and as long as you are in an overall calorie deficit, the weight will come off. If you aren't in a deficit, you need to eat less. Don't quit the gym. Exercise is good for you outside of the weight loss part!
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Ok well now I'm feeling crap about what I'm doing. I'm following the advice of a trainer who's working round health issues. I follow a paleo lifestyle. I generally stick to 500cal a day less than what mfp says I can have. I only drink water and green tea. I've tried doing strength exercises and I was in so much pain I had to be off work for a week. I thought at least if I was moving and doing some work out in the limited free time I have, then I'd be OK. I guess not.

    Oh don't be dramatic :) there are lots of opinionated people who dont really put much thought into their replies. You're doing well, exercise is just plain good for your body. It takes the weight a while to follow the program. If you're weighing your food and logging as best you can it just needs more time.

    I feel like I have been trying for months, but in reality when I look at my logging, I can see that twice a week I'm still going over my calories. With that and a potential that I'm over estimating how many calories I use per day- that explains my lack of weight loss. There is a reason for yours too, do some soul searching and check your self. Are you making any errors?
  • Lazz5k
    Lazz5k Posts: 251 Member
    this flow chart is a great tool! It has taught me something today I never knew. --- I think you're doing fabulous, do not get discouraged. YOU HAVE A GREAT MINDSET & you need to remember not to give up just because crazy people like me comment on your thread. Head up girl! You got this! This about the flow chart and log EVERYTHING! add some weights into your routine and keep it up. The scale may not be going down but you may be gaining muscle, your body will thank you.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    nickyjbr wrote: »
    Ok well now I'm feeling crap about what I'm doing. I'm following the advice of a trainer who's working round health issues. I follow a paleo lifestyle. I generally stick to 500cal a day less than what mfp says I can have. I only drink water and green tea. I've tried doing strength exercises and I was in so much pain I had to be off work for a week. I thought at least if I was moving and doing some work out in the limited free time I have, then I'd be OK. I guess not.

    If you are in that much pain, then you are over stressing your unconditioned muscles. Ease into this slowly and use the principles of Kaizen - small changes. Make small changes, set small achievable goals, hit those goals, celebrate and repeat this cycle.

    Congrats on your establishment of a larger goal! Be patient and realize that you are not doing this to lose X amount of weight, but are making a conscious decision to improve your life...for the rest of your life!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Muscleflex79 wrote: »
    are you even logging your food?? just looked through your diary and more days than not are blank...and the ones that are filled in seem half-filled in???

    @nickyjbr if you're not logging your food, that's the place to start. Study after study shows people are terrible at accurately estimating how much they eat.

    Paleo is one means to get to a calorie deficit, but one can overeat on Paleo just like any other plan.
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