Frustrated. It's just NOT working.

ceeceew
ceeceew Posts: 21
edited September 28 in Health and Weight Loss
This is my fifth week of working out with a personal trainer, four times a week. In that time I've been eating a pretty strict, well-balanced 1200ish calorie diet. I have not lost ANY weight. And, I'm about 40-50 lbs over weight. 19 of which I put on in the last 2 years.

I'm eating natural foods. Lots of fruits and veggies. Protein, good fats, whole grains.. all the right things.

I'm working out 45 mins 4x a weeks, and usually at least a 15-20 minute cardio warm up before (treadmill run at 4.0-4.5). Before this I hadn't really exercised in a long time. So I would have thought that the weight would come off. But I'm not seeing any results.

5'7" 205lbs

Do you guys have any suggestions?
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Replies

  • LindseyC87
    LindseyC87 Posts: 178 Member
    Up your calories... trust me. My trainer has me on a strict low carb 1200 calorie a day diet.. I plateued for a month. Last week I upped my calories to 1500 and upped my carbs some.. and I lost 3 pounds this week.
  • soldier4242
    soldier4242 Posts: 1,368 Member
    Are you clothes fitting looser? If you are building muscle at the same time as you are burning fat your fat loss might not show up on the scale yet even though you are making progress.
  • fattymclardass
    fattymclardass Posts: 14
    I was doing about the same thing......working out tons, behaving with food to an almost OCD level and nothing was happening.

    Everyone kept saying to me "maybe your loosing inches" but my old pants still dont button so........nope

    I went through my food and noticed I drink little to no water, I started really making an effort to drink water and I still only manage on average 4 glasses a day.......it it werent for Propel Zero it would still probably be none......now I am starting to loose although its still infuriatingly slow.

    I also upped my cardio and brought down my strength training (the machines, free weights etc) From the time I have spent with trainers it seems they like to focus on those things. Try adding another 5 minutes to your cardio for a week or two and see what happens.

    Good luck!
  • Jaradel
    Jaradel Posts: 143 Member
    You're working out with a trainer 45 minutes four times a week, and eating 1200 calories a day. It could be that you're creating too much of a caloric deficit. At your height and weight, eating 1200 calories a day by itself is creating a huge deficit, and then you're burning more calories with the workouts. Have you been entering your exercise into MFP to see how much of a deficit it's creating? MFP will tell you pretty quick if your net calories consumed is too low (which it sounds like it might be). You may want to consider eating back some of those exercise calories with healthy foods. It does sound contradictory, but sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. Good luck!
  • findingfit23
    findingfit23 Posts: 845 Member
    Are you drinking enough water?
    Water can really make for break how I do on the scale. Seems like the more I drink, the more I lose.
  • EdilyB12
    EdilyB12 Posts: 42
    It seems you are working out a lot, you need to bump your calories up some more! 1200 calories for the intense work outs that you are doing is not enough
  • SUPERSUE42
    SUPERSUE42 Posts: 45 Member
    I'm just getting started so I not a lot of experience to pull from, but...have you had your thyroid checked?
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Do you wear an HRM during your sessions? I see my trainer twice a month and with our session last week I burned over 700 calories.. and if your not eating some of those back its no wonder that your not losing.

    Also your muscles may be holding on to water from the weight training.. so try drinking more water to see if that doesn't help some.
  • Thebeezknees
    Thebeezknees Posts: 27
    Est moreeeeee !!! Trust us when we tell you that, bump up to 1300 to 1500 cals a day and you will lose!
  • JadazV
    JadazV Posts: 26
    I don't think you need to be on such a low calorie (1200) diet. Increase to maybe 1400-1500 net.

    I'm set at 1260 cals/day, but i'm 5'6" and weigh *ahem* 236 now. The larger you are the more you can afford to eat smaller calorie portions per day to access that fat. I average about 2lbs loss a week but my exercise is not set as high as yours, but I do eat back at least half my cals that I burnt.
  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 846 Member
    Not enough food
  • texasladysv
    texasladysv Posts: 103 Member
    bump~
  • eericson51
    eericson51 Posts: 57 Member
    I am right there with you. I have been doing Insanity for 5 1/2 weeks and been on a strict diet...I upped my calories to 1600 and still nothing...I increased my protein and fiber and lowered my carbs, and nothing. I even had my thyroid checked...nothing. I completely understand your frustration but I keep telling myself that I am getting healthy for my daughter. So that keeps me pushing. But I understand how angry it can make you.
  • Christiane81
    Christiane81 Posts: 61
    Like everyone has said, you really need to eat more calories. Your body is burning plenty but it may be instarvation mode because you are not replenishing them. Just keep up with it, ignore the number on the scale and concentrate on working out hard, your cardiovascular system will thank you for it....good luck and don't give up :smile:
  • ceeceew
    ceeceew Posts: 21
    To respond to a couple of your questions:

    - It's scary to add MORE food. But, you're probably right about the deficit.
    - My clothes don't really fit better. I think my waist looks slimmer, but haven't measured, but my pants don't sit on my waist, and they're not any looser lower down.
    - Haven't had my blood work done in the last 11 months, but everything's always been normal - thyroid, blood sugar, etc.
    - I could certainly stand to up my water intake, so I'll do that. Oddly enough, before the workout sessions began, I was drinking much more water - like nearly 100oz/day
    - My training is usually circuit-based. So, although we're focusing on strength, we always add a cardio element to the circuits, whether it be jumping around or step ups or treadmill/bike. When I'm on the bike or treadmill and can see my HR, it's up around 130-140, which is appropriate for a work out of this nature.

    I appreciate the support. It's just so frustrating. I've broken down twice at the gym now and started balling. I'm part of a weight-loss competition at the gym to. Which ends next week. Everyone else has lost something. 10-20lbs actually.
  • ceeceew
    ceeceew Posts: 21
    @eericson51 - you don't know how good it makes me feel to hear you're in the same boat. And, I'm sorry that you are, but it makes me feel more "normal"
  • mikeandfox
    mikeandfox Posts: 59
    Check your Body Fat %. You may be building muscle right now.
  • robertf57
    robertf57 Posts: 560 Member
    It is a matter of calories in and calories out. You need to MEASURE EVERYTHING that passes your lips (not estimate) and have good estimates of your caloric burn (i.e. use a good heart rate monitor). Despite all the anecdotal comments on here that you are not loosing because you have too great a deficit, that has never ever been demonstrated to happen when dietary intake is actually controlled. Even in the Minnesota study where adaptive thermogenesis was first well described, people with caloric deficits continued to lose weight. I would recommend really tracking everything and cutting down your carbs from all sources. You don't have to be draconian, but cut back.

    Good luck.
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
    It is a matter of calories in and calories out. You need to MEASURE EVERYTHING that passes your lips (not estimate) and have good estimates of your caloric burn (i.e. use a good heart rate monitor). Despite all the anecdotal comments on here that you are not loosing because you have too great a deficit, that has never ever been demonstrated to happen when dietary intake is actually controlled. Even in the Minnesota study where adaptive thermogenesis was first well described, people with caloric deficits continued to lose weight. I would recommend really tracking everything and cutting down your carbs from all sources. You don't have to be draconian, but cut back.

    Good luck.

    this. whenever I see people post about not losing I usually see things like "mostly" "ish" pretty good". Not to be a ***** but unless you are totally positive that you are dead on with your calorie count I would NOT up your food. Get more serious about being sure you know EXACTLY how many calories you are taking in,then if there is still no weight loss up your calories by 100 for a week.
  • ceeceew
    ceeceew Posts: 21
    It is a matter of calories in and calories out. You need to MEASURE EVERYTHING that passes your lips (not estimate) and have good estimates of your caloric burn (i.e. use a good heart rate monitor). Despite all the anecdotal comments on here that you are not loosing because you have too great a deficit, that has never ever been demonstrated to happen when dietary intake is actually controlled. Even in the Minnesota study where adaptive thermogenesis was first well described, people with caloric deficits continued to lose weight. I would recommend really tracking everything and cutting down your carbs from all sources. You don't have to be draconian, but cut back.

    Good luck.

    this. whenever I see people post about not losing I usually see things like "mostly" "ish" pretty good". Not to be a ***** but unless you are totally positive that you are dead on with your calorie count I would NOT up your food. Get more serious about being sure you know EXACTLY how many calories you are taking in,then if there is still no weight loss up your calories by 100 for a week.

    Yes. I have been tracking everything I eat. I'm a nurse. I'm well-aware of what good nutrition means. And I'm very much controlling my intake and recording everything. I said 1200ish, because MFP recommends 1240, I'm obviously not hitting that to a tee, but I'm around 1200-1260 every day - for the last 4.5 weeks. I'm hesitant to up my cals at this point, but I agree that I can certainly cut carbs. I have stopped eating carbs - refined anyway, as in breads, rices, potatoes - at dinner and later. That change alone should have had some impact. I wish I was screwing up with what I am eating. But, the fact is, the changes in my diet and added exercise have not made the difference yet. I will be checking my BMI and measurements next week (the end of the contest)... til then.. it's only the scale telling me what I'm doing.
  • breyn2004
    breyn2004 Posts: 162 Member
    LindseyC87 is right! I started on a well-balanced 1500 calorie/day diet on September 1st and I've lost 45 pounds doing 1 hour of cardio, 3-5 times week. Cardio is what gets the pounds off for me. I've just started the strength training in the last month. Good Luck!
  • nula721
    nula721 Posts: 2
    Hi,
    sorry about your frustations, I hate that too. I do also recommend to increase your calories to at least 1300.
    But do not cut out carbs, they are great for you and you need them when you are working out. Circuit training is great, do not stop lifting those weights, that increases your metabolism and adds muscle. Now people who say you are gaining muscle that is not true. We are women and can not gain muscle like that. Muscle is dense and takes up space, but does not have an effect on the scale. As far as your cardio.. try some intervals.. try one minute of walking and one minute jog. Try that for 10-15 min. and combine that with circuit training and I am sure you will see some results. Good luck to you!!
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
    It is a matter of calories in and calories out. You need to MEASURE EVERYTHING that passes your lips (not estimate) and have good estimates of your caloric burn (i.e. use a good heart rate monitor). Despite all the anecdotal comments on here that you are not loosing because you have too great a deficit, that has never ever been demonstrated to happen when dietary intake is actually controlled. Even in the Minnesota study where adaptive thermogenesis was first well described, people with caloric deficits continued to lose weight. I would recommend really tracking everything and cutting down your carbs from all sources. You don't have to be draconian, but cut back.

    Good luck.

    this. whenever I see people post about not losing I usually see things like "mostly" "ish" pretty good". Not to be a ***** but unless you are totally positive that you are dead on with your calorie count I would NOT up your food. Get more serious about being sure you know EXACTLY how many calories you are taking in,then if there is still no weight loss up your calories by 100 for a week.

    Yes. I have been tracking everything I eat. I'm a nurse. I'm well-aware of what good nutrition means. And I'm very much controlling my intake and recording everything. I said 1200ish, because MFP recommends 1240, I'm obviously not hitting that to a tee, but I'm around 1200-1260 every day - for the last 4.5 weeks. I'm hesitant to up my cals at this point, but I agree that I can certainly cut carbs. I have stopped eating carbs - refined anyway, as in breads, rices, potatoes - at dinner and later. That change alone should have had some impact. I wish I was screwing up with what I am eating. But, the fact is, the changes in my diet and added exercise have not made the difference yet. I will be checking my BMI and measurements next week (the end of the contest)... til then.. it's only the scale telling me what I'm doing.

    Great, if you know you are right on with your calorie counts then try upping your calories and maybe try zig zagging. I tend to lose easily by just making a few changes and I forget that not everyone does. Sometimes it just takes a while. I can lose in a few days what it takes my best friend weeks to lose. But stick with it, you are doing good things for your body and the results will come.
  • Tiffanyluvsaaron
    Tiffanyluvsaaron Posts: 219
    I would hang in there a little while longer...sometimes when you add exercise in you can be gaining muscle and as we all know 'muscle ways more than fat' so even though the scale is not showing the numbers going down your clothes might fit looser :D

    keep at it and it will eventually work
  • Frozenmango
    Frozenmango Posts: 207 Member
    I agree with the majority of the majority of the suggestions here, it sounds like you may be shorter on calories simply because you're burning quite a bit more during the week than a sedentary person. But check with your personal trainer as well. Many of them start out with a range and see how it works, and if it doesn't they'll adjust it. I also agree that you could be building some muscle now that you've upped your exercise; muscle weighs as much as fat, so you could be trading off.

    I feel your pain though; it's been 6 months for me and I've only lost 10lbs, but people tell me I've lost inches (okay, to be fair, I've measuread myself and I know I've lost inches off my waist, hips, thighs and bust) but it is frustrating to not see the scale move as fast as I thought it would.

    But the main thing is to keep it up. This is a lifestyle change, not just a diet. You will see results, but some of us don't respond as quickly as others. The laws of physics will have to kick in, you're eating better and exercising, the weight will come off!
  • ceeceew
    ceeceew Posts: 21
    Just wanted to update you all. After I posted this, I went to my next weekly weigh in and FINALLY saw 5lbs. Even just seeing SOMETHING has made me happier. THanks for the support!
  • kklindsey
    kklindsey Posts: 382 Member
    congratulations! Next time you are stuck, remember this and keep on keeping on!
  • evilbanks
    evilbanks Posts: 166
    This is my fifth week of working out with a personal trainer, four times a week. In that time I've been eating a pretty strict, well-balanced 1200ish calorie diet. I have not lost ANY weight. And, I'm about 40-50 lbs over weight. 19 of which I put on in the last 2 years.

    I'm eating natural foods. Lots of fruits and veggies. Protein, good fats, whole grains.. all the right things.

    I'm working out 45 mins 4x a weeks, and usually at least a 15-20 minute cardio warm up before (treadmill run at 4.0-4.5). Before this I hadn't really exercised in a long time. So I would have thought that the weight would come off. But I'm not seeing any results.


    5'7" 205lbs

    Do you guys have any suggestions?

    Why not tack on an extra 15 minutes to each workout? You would work out for an extra hour every week which would obviously cause you to burn more weekly calories. Just an idea.
  • moylie
    moylie Posts: 195
    Lots of good suggestions. If the scale hasn't moved in that long, your body has regulated to your 1240 calories. You need to shake up your metabolism. When I plateaued for a few weeks, I started zig-zagging (calorie cycling). Freedieting.com can set it up for you based on your stats. That worked for me. Lost 3lbs. in a week, after the scale not budging for 2-3 weeks. Some people say that even taking just a couple days off and not recording, and going over your values by a couple hundred calories can do the trick (same principle as zig-zagging). Worth a shot in my opinion. I also feel that 1200 is not enough for someone who works out as much as you. There's no "standard" one-size-fits-all number. You have to play around w/ what works for your body. Try setting it at 1lb/week instead of 2/lbs. You really have to eat back most exercise calories to rebuild muscle, and fuel your body properly. Hang in there, the pounds will start to come off.
  • Hodar
    Hodar Posts: 338 Member
    Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) has you at 1,687 calories/day.

    This is what it takes to keep you at 98.6F; if you were in a coma. You are probably in the 98.6F range; but I'll wager you aren't in a coma. Now, add to this the fact that you are working out like a mad-woman ...

    The golden rule is to eat most of your exercise calories back - which you don't appear to be doing. So, your calorie deficit is likely in the 800 calorie range. You are fighting your body.

    Eat your 1,687 calories, PLUS most of the exercise calories back. The MFP goal is based on a 3,000 calorie/week deficit; which is a comfortable 1 lb per week loss.

    Hope this helps.
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