Not losing any weight. Help please

willa101
willa101 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys. The first week 100% on 1200 calories diet I lost 2 lbs. then I did nothing different last week and lost nothing. I also haven't lost anything for the last 3 days :(. Help please !

Replies

  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear.

    What are your current stats and goal weight?
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Patience is going to be your friend here. You won't see a drop everyday, so don't worry about the 3 days. You didn't gain the weight overnight, so naturally you won't lose it over night either.


    You say you are eating 1200 calories. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? 1200 maybe too restrictive. However, if you are not losing it means you are not in a calorie deficit. Most of the time when someone says they can't lose weight/it's too slow, they are having an issue with properly counting calories.

    That being said-do you have a kitchen scale? Weigh ALL solid and semi solid food. This will tighten up your logging. Measuring cups can give you a false calorie count because you could always easily pack food in tighter, thus getting a bad reading. You will be shocked at what a serving actually looks like. I know I was.

    TLDR for those who don't want to read: you are eating too much and not in a calorie deficit.
  • willa101
    willa101 Posts: 4 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    Patience is going to be your friend here. You won't see a drop everyday, so don't worry about the 3 days. You didn't gain the weight overnight, so naturally you won't lose it over night either.


    You say you are eating 1200 calories. How tall are you and how much do you weigh? 1200 maybe too restrictive. However, if you are not losing it means you are not in a calorie deficit. Most of the time when someone says they can't lose weight/it's too slow, they are having an issue with properly counting calories.

    That being said-do you have a kitchen scale? Weigh ALL solid and semi solid food. This will tighten up your logging. Measuring cups can give you a false calorie count because you could always easily pack food in tighter, thus getting a bad reading. You will be shocked at what a serving actually looks like. I know I was.

    TLDR for those who don't want to read: you are eating too much and not in a calorie deficit.

    I'm 5ft 4 and weight 9 st 12. I weigh all my food. Even fruit for an accurate reading. I'm just stuck I guess
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).

    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    Weight loss isn't linear. The first few pounds you lose is usually water weight, which comes off fast. I had periods of 2-3 weeks without weight loss only to turn around and lose a pound in the next week. This is a slow, long term process, you're not going to see immediate results. On the plus side, once you get to where you should be, you'll have developed tools to make sure you STAY in your goal range.

    If you're weighing and logging everything, give it a few weeks. Don't loosen up your logging, and if you can, get a heart rate monitor for calculating your exercise calories. MFP and gym machines use generic stats to calculate, and chances are that number is off so you may be eating back more than you should.
  • willa101
    willa101 Posts: 4 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    Weight loss isn't linear. The first few pounds you lose is usually water weight, which comes off fast. I had periods of 2-3 weeks without weight loss only to turn around and lose a pound in the next week. This is a slow, long term process, you're not going to see immediate results. On the plus side, once you get to where you should be, you'll have developed tools to make sure you STAY in your goal range.

    If you're weighing and logging everything, give it a few weeks. Don't loosen up your logging, and if you can, get a heart rate monitor for calculating your exercise calories. MFP and gym machines use generic stats to calculate, and chances are that number is off so you may be eating back more than you should.
    Thankyou so much for the advice. Feeling better now. I'm not going to give up :)
  • willa101
    willa101 Posts: 4 Member
    synacious wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).

    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.

    Thankyou so much. Just going to keep at it :)
  • meganmoore112
    meganmoore112 Posts: 174 Member
    edited February 2016

    [/quote]
    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.
    [/quote]

    May I ask how you set your calorie goals to lose the first 18lbs? I'm just in the "overweight" range for my height and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to lose any weight! What was your exercise schedule like? I know I need to be very precise with my food intake and I'm working on it.
  • mankars
    mankars Posts: 115 Member
    Happens to most of us.. hang in there. I lost a lot in first three weeks, but now have been gaining/loosing every day. All the best.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    edited February 2016
    geogirl0626 wrote: »
    May I ask how you set your calorie goals to lose the first 18lbs? I'm just in the "overweight" range for my height and I'm finding it incredibly difficult to lose any weight! What was your exercise schedule like? I know I need to be very precise with my food intake and I'm working on it.

    I was given 1200 calories to start. I did the C25K program three days per week as well as the 21 Day Fix exercise schedule (not the containers or the Shakeology). 21 Day Fix could have been any exercise program though, as long as I kept active. I also made sure I got in 10K steps per day. I was dropping two pounds per week until I got my Fitbit and realized exactly how much I could actually eat and still lose. I started eating more of my exercise calories back and I still lost faster than planned. As far as food intake I weighed, and still do weigh, everything. However, now I'm much more flexible with ordering out, treats, etc. than I used to be.
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    I don't think everyone knows what linear means.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    tqhpmovvr4bb.jpg
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).
    synacious wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).

    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.

    Alright I stand corrected. I started out at 209 lbs at 5'4" and haven't found this 'easy' any step of the way. Perhaps it's my own personal fears. I have never lost more than 1.5 lbs per week. In the past I struggled to lose ANY weight week after week, even when I was still 20 lbs overweight. Even every month NOW feels like two steps forward one step back. Every week I am either dealing with food addiction issues and wondering why I can't eat in moderation for one week straight, OR I think I'm doing everything right and am looking at all my numbers and my logs and trying to figure out where I'm mis-logging and why it isn't working. I suspect my biggest advantage now is walking at my weight burns more calories than it will at goal. My BMR/TDEE is higher than it's ever going to be as I continue to lose weight. The accuracy I lose now I can deal with but it will get harder and harder as I get closer. Maybe I'm the exception, but I have never found it easy to lose weight, no matter how obese I am.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    blues4miles wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).
    synacious wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).

    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.

    Alright I stand corrected. I started out at 209 lbs at 5'4" and haven't found this 'easy' any step of the way. Perhaps it's my own personal fears. I have never lost more than 1.5 lbs per week. In the past I struggled to lose ANY weight week after week, even when I was still 20 lbs overweight. Even every month NOW feels like two steps forward one step back. Every week I am either dealing with food addiction issues and wondering why I can't eat in moderation for one week straight, OR I think I'm doing everything right and am looking at all my numbers and my logs and trying to figure out where I'm mis-logging and why it isn't working. I suspect my biggest advantage now is walking at my weight burns more calories than it will at goal. My BMR/TDEE is higher than it's ever going to be as I continue to lose weight. The accuracy I lose now I can deal with but it will get harder and harder as I get closer. Maybe I'm the exception, but I have never found it easy to lose weight, no matter how obese I am.

    I would not say that I found it *easy*, it just wasn't more difficult as I got lighter in weight. And I certainly didn't mean to come across like I was dismissing or trivializing your experience, so I'm very sorry if it seemed like I was.
  • meganmoore112
    meganmoore112 Posts: 174 Member
    edited February 2016
    synacious wrote: »
    geogirl0626 wrote: »
    I was given 1200 calories to start. I did the C25K program three days per week as well as the 21 Day Fix exercise schedule (not the containers or the Shakeology). 21 Day Fix could have been any exercise program though, as long as I kept active. I also made sure I got in 10K steps per day. I was dropping two pounds per week until I got my Fitbit and realized exactly how much I could actually eat and still lose. I started eating more of my exercise calories back and I still lost faster than planned. As far as food intake I weighed, and still do weigh, everything. However, now I'm much more flexible with ordering out, treats, etc. than I used to be.

    Thanks! I'm using Fitbit and sync it. I'm set at 1200 and Fitbit adds calories. I try to stay under those.
  • vallen83
    vallen83 Posts: 2 Member
    edited February 2016
    I lost the weight in the beginning with cardio, but I noticed when I started to train with weights the inches came off. FAST! Weight training, especially upper body for women is very important as we get older.

    I eat more calories when I lift weights and less when I do just cardio or rest. I add about 500 cals (to my 1200 I usually eat so 1700 all together) on a weight lifting day. I have lost 20 + pounds in about 6 months. The thing is I haven't been losing any weight lately but I have been losing a ton of inches. What we really want is a smaller body and muscle burns through the fat we have stored.

    My advice would be, hide the scale or get rid of it all together for a couple of months and concentrate on weight training 3x a week with cardio 3x a week ( I do both some days and just cardio or just weights some days too). It's very important to get lost of rest when weight training because that is when the muscle is gained, during the resting period. I think you would benefit from this like I have.

    Take care. I hope this helps.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).
    synacious wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    blues4miles wrote: »
    Eating back exercise calories? Sometimes MFP gives inflated numbers for burn.

    Lastly you are 5'4" and what, 138 lbs? That's already in the healthy weight for your height. That means it's going to be incredibly difficult to lose weight. 2 lbs in the first week is probably water weight.

    You probably set your diary to lose 2 lbs / week. But my personal suggestion would be to change that to .5 lbs / week and be patient. When you are at a healthy weight, it isn't going to come off fast, so you might as well stick to a calorie count that is sustainable.

    I wouldn't say "incredibly difficult." I would say that it will require accuracy, patience, and consistency.

    (I say this as someone who went from overweight to the lower end of my healthy weight range and am now maintaining. Losing the weight -- once I got to my healthy weight range -- was exactly the same as it was when I was heavier. I just had to be very consistent and understand that I wasn't going to lose a lot each week).

    Agreed. I started out at 139 pounds at 5'3.5". I was two pounds shy of being overweight, but technically still in the normal range. The first 18 pounds came off easily; It took from the end of June to the end of August. After that, it was at a much slower rate due to a decreased deficit and body composition goals.

    Alright I stand corrected. I started out at 209 lbs at 5'4" and haven't found this 'easy' any step of the way. Perhaps it's my own personal fears. I have never lost more than 1.5 lbs per week. In the past I struggled to lose ANY weight week after week, even when I was still 20 lbs overweight. Even every month NOW feels like two steps forward one step back. Every week I am either dealing with food addiction issues and wondering why I can't eat in moderation for one week straight, OR I think I'm doing everything right and am looking at all my numbers and my logs and trying to figure out where I'm mis-logging and why it isn't working. I suspect my biggest advantage now is walking at my weight burns more calories than it will at goal. My BMR/TDEE is higher than it's ever going to be as I continue to lose weight. The accuracy I lose now I can deal with but it will get harder and harder as I get closer. Maybe I'm the exception, but I have never found it easy to lose weight, no matter how obese I am.

    I would not say that I found it *easy*, it just wasn't more difficult as I got lighter in weight. And I certainly didn't mean to come across like I was dismissing or trivializing your experience, so I'm very sorry if it seemed like I was.

    Not at all. I meant more like maybe I should be careful what I talk about since I haven't been at a healthy weight (BMI) in...10ish years. I appreciate that you folks who are working on maintenance are there ahead of me to forge the path so that when I get there I will have folks able to weigh in (haha, see what I did there?) with their experience and advice.

Categories