Not losing weight!
Igotithear
Posts: 21 Member
Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
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Replies
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how much are you trying to lose ?0
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Going to the gym doesnt equal weight loss. Calorie deficit = weight loss.0
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800-1000 for one gym session is an awful lot. If you are using the MFP entries for exercise calories they are generally believed too be to generous.
Try only eating back half the exercise calories and see if that gets the scale moving.0 -
I have been tracking and exercising for 2 weeks straight. I lost .6 pounds the first week, and it was back on the second week! I even stopped eating bread!0
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800-1000 for one gym session is an awful lot. If you are using the MFP entries for exercise calories they are generally believed too be to generous.
Try only eating back half the exercise calories and see if that gets the scale moving.
No I use a heart rate monitor when working out and do a lot of cardio (zumba/ interval training) in addition to running two miles and lifting weights...0 -
lemonychild wrote: »how much are you trying to lose ?
40 pounds0 -
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I'm not losing weight this week either...but I ate a lot of cheese over the weekend which seems to bloat me up. Also, I've been hitting the chocolate a little too hard...Barely any calorie deficit. If it's only been 2 weeks I wouldn't stress over it. It could be you haven't got enough water, you're holding onto water due to all the extra exercise, you're ovulating, it's shark week, you had too much salt....2 weeks is too little of time to get worried. I'd also take measurements. They are a better indication of body health than the scale.0
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Igotithear wrote: »Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
You're over on calories. No weight loss. That's pretty much the entire story here.0 -
Igotithear wrote: »Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
You're over on calories. No weight loss. That's pretty much the entire story here.
Even by just going over 100 total for the entire week?..0 -
luvmoo1126 wrote: »I have been tracking and exercising for 2 weeks straight. I lost .6 pounds the first week, and it was back on the second week! I even stopped eating bread!
#IDontWantToLiveInThisWorldAnymore0 -
Igotithear wrote: »Igotithear wrote: »Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
You're over on calories. No weight loss. That's pretty much the entire story here.
Even by just going over 100 total for the entire week?..
The idea is that you segment your calorie goals into a specific day but your weekly calories must be under your calorie needs to lose weight. What's your goal to lose weight?
If mine is 2000 per day then 2000 x 7 = 14000 per week. If I eat that or less I should lose. If I go over 500 a couple days and hit 15000 then I probably will not lose weight. Be consistent and hit your goals each day.0 -
Igotithear wrote: »
You arent, or you would be losing weight...0 -
There's another thing you might want to consider. If you are doing any type of weight training or strength training, you might be building muscle mass. SO even though the scale doesn't move, you might be gaining muscle while still losing fat. Instead of focusing on the scale, take your measurements. See if you have lost any inches. But in general you have to stay in calorie deficit. So if you are over (even just by 100 for the whole week) then you aren't truly in deficit. You are just maintaining. Hope this helps. Keep your head up though.0
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I must be the only one reading your post this way...are you eating back any of those exercise calories? You should be eating back at least half...
It sounds to me like you are undereating if I'm reading this right, which can cause you to hold on to weight. If I'm not reading this right, then disregard. :-)
Also, two and a half weeks isn't very long...it could very well be that you are gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. Measuring yourself instead of weighing is a better way to track progress if you are putting on muscle, showing you that you are getting more trim even if the scale doesn't show actual number loss.0 -
Igotithear wrote: »Igotithear wrote: »Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
You're over on calories. No weight loss. That's pretty much the entire story here.
Even by just going over 100 total for the entire week?..
The idea is that you segment your calorie goals into a specific day but your weekly calories must be under your calorie needs to lose weight. What's your goal to lose weight?
If mine is 2000 per day then 2000 x 7 = 14000 per week. If I eat that or less I should lose. If I go over 500 a couple days and hit 15000 then I probably will not lose weight. Be consistent and hit your goals each day.
40 pounds.. and my calorie intake for last week was 8,500.. so on a 1,200 calorie a day diet that's 1,200x7=8,400... I'm no where near 14,0000 -
CaitlinW19 wrote: »I must be the only one reading your post this way...are you eating back any of those exercise calories? You should be eating back at least half...
It sounds to me like you are undereating if I'm reading this right, which can cause you to hold on to weight. If I'm not reading this right, then disregard. :-)
Also, two and a half weeks isn't very long...it could very well be that you are gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. Measuring yourself instead of weighing is a better way to track progress if you are putting on muscle, showing you that you are getting more trim even if the scale doesn't show actual number loss.
Apparently.. And no I'm not eating back half what I burn... but according to everyone else I'm over eating... This is just confusing lol. Sounds like I should just toss the idea of eating any food period out the door
I just can't imagine from typically eating 2,000 calories plus daily that has maintained my weight to 1,200 or less most days, is not creating a deficit.0 -
You say you count and measure your portions. Are you weighing your portions out on a food scale? If not, you're most likely overeating/underlogging your food.
If you were truly in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. Eating fewer calories than you need results in weight loss. Some medical conditions can mess with the CICO equation, but that just means you have to play with the CI side of the equation (by eating less) or bump up your CO (by exercising more). You can log 1200 calories all you want, but if you're actually eating more you won't see weight loss.
Also, for everyone saying: you're just gaining muscle. It's highly unlikely. It takes time and extra food to build muscle, not just doing cardio at the gym eating 1200 calories a day.0 -
CaitlinW19 wrote: »I must be the only one reading your post this way...are you eating back any of those exercise calories? You should be eating back at least half...
It sounds to me like you are undereating if I'm reading this right, which can cause you to hold on to weight. If I'm not reading this right, then disregard. :-)
Also, two and a half weeks isn't very long...it could very well be that you are gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. Measuring yourself instead of weighing is a better way to track progress if you are putting on muscle, showing you that you are getting more trim even if the scale doesn't show actual number loss.
I'm confused, I keep reading posts in forum topics where people say you cannot gain muscle if you are in a calorie deficit, and that you cannot gain enough muscle to outweigh fat in a few weeks. Then I read posts that say the opposite ( I'm in no way picking on you, please don't think that, I've seen this exact information many times). I'm just confused as to which it is?
OP, I know it can be frustrating when the scale doesn't move, and there may be a variety of reasons it isn't. I would keep at it for a few more weeks and see how it goes. If it's water weight as suggested above, make sure you're drinking enough water and it should come off. If it's excess calories, maybe check to see if the entries you are using for your foods are correct? Some of them can be very inaccurate, I used one the other day that only gave me 50 calories for something that I knew had over 100 cal in it!0 -
You say you count and measure your portions. Are you weighing your portions out on a food scale? If not, you're most likely overeating/underlogging your food.
If you were truly in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. Eating fewer calories than you need results in weight loss. Some medical conditions can mess with the CICO equation, but that just means you have to play with the CI side of the equation (by eating less) or bump up your CO (by exercising more). You can log 1200 calories all you want, but if you're actually eating more you won't see weight loss.
Also, for everyone saying: you're just gaining muscle. It's highly unlikely. It takes time and extra food to build muscle, not just doing cardio at the gym eating 1200 calories a day.
Well when the portions on the box say 17 pieces... That's when I count... Or when it says 1 cup, what is there to weigh?0 -
Igotithear wrote: »800-1000 for one gym session is an awful lot. If you are using the MFP entries for exercise calories they are generally believed too be to generous.
Try only eating back half the exercise calories and see if that gets the scale moving.
No I use a heart rate monitor when working out and do a lot of cardio (zumba/ interval training) in addition to running two miles and lifting weights...
In case you aren't aware, depending on the type of heart rate monitor you have it may not accurately count calories burned when lifting weights. It should generally be used for cardio only. Sounds like you maybe over estimating calories burned in the gym. I would focus on your diet what you're eating and weighing your food properly.0 -
Sometimes your body just gets in a stall. It sucks. Been there and done that. Your doing all the things you should be doing and the scale just isn't moving. It gets incredibly frustrating. Keep doing the right thing and you'll start to get results. I was at my wit's end last month. I had been in a 6 week stall despite working out 4-5 days a week and eating well below my net calorie goal. My fitness level was improving, but the scale/tape measure weren't reflecting it.
Be patient and keep working, the results will come.
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hard to say if your diary is closed what is going on. i do believe there is more than just being in a deficit sometimes to actually losing weight. everyone is different and some are more sensitive to certain foods. it is important to feed your body every couple of hours and to make sure you are getting the right nutrients. it really does help. so if you want better advice, you should make your diary public0
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Igotithear wrote: »Igotithear wrote: »Igotithear wrote: »Within the last two and a half weeks I've been at the gym religiously burning between 800-1000+ calories 4/5 days a week, and as a result have stayed below 1200 calories on those days. The days I haven't been at the gym I've gone over but when I look at the entirety of the week have only been a couple hundred over. Shouldn't the scale have gone down by now? I've cut out over 4000 calories a week from my usual eating habits within this time. I count out or measure portions and track everything I eat but I'm getting frustrated that the scale won't move. What am I doing wrong?
You're over on calories. No weight loss. That's pretty much the entire story here.
Even by just going over 100 total for the entire week?..
The idea is that you segment your calorie goals into a specific day but your weekly calories must be under your calorie needs to lose weight. What's your goal to lose weight?
If mine is 2000 per day then 2000 x 7 = 14000 per week. If I eat that or less I should lose. If I go over 500 a couple days and hit 15000 then I probably will not lose weight. Be consistent and hit your goals each day.
40 pounds.. and my calorie intake for last week was 8,500.. so on a 1,200 calorie a day diet that's 1,200x7=8,400... I'm no where near 14,000
Give it more time and check all of the lose ends where you could be missing calories you're not logging.
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hard to say if your diary is closed what is going on. i do believe there is more than just being in a deficit sometimes to actually losing weight. everyone is different and some are more sensitive to certain foods. it is important to feed your body every couple of hours and to make sure you are getting the right nutrients. it really does help. so if you want better advice, you should make your diary public
Eating every couple hours is not necessary, trial and error to find what works for "your body" is. And I have had plenty trials and errors before figuring it out. It takes time, give it time.0 -
Igotithear wrote: »You say you count and measure your portions. Are you weighing your portions out on a food scale? If not, you're most likely overeating/underlogging your food.
If you were truly in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. Eating fewer calories than you need results in weight loss. Some medical conditions can mess with the CICO equation, but that just means you have to play with the CI side of the equation (by eating less) or bump up your CO (by exercising more). You can log 1200 calories all you want, but if you're actually eating more you won't see weight loss.
Also, for everyone saying: you're just gaining muscle. It's highly unlikely. It takes time and extra food to build muscle, not just doing cardio at the gym eating 1200 calories a day.
Well when the portions on the box say 17 pieces... That's when I count... Or when it says 1 cup, what is there to weigh?
Exactly that. The package will say "1 cup (29 grams)", so weigh out 1 cup and see if it is actually 29 grams. (These are random numbers for the point of this example.) Measuring cups aren't accurate for solid or semi-solid (yogurt, nut butters, etc.), so you're best bet is to weigh them out on a food scale. An example that I use often: my oatmeal says 1/4 cup or 40 grams. My 1/4 cup measuring spoon actually gives me closer to 50 grams of oatmeal. That may not seem like much, but if I did that over a week, I would eat 245 additional calories a week that I wasn't accounting for in my food log.
Also, those 17 pieces may be bigger or smaller than what the company has decided is 17 pieces. They're 17 pieces may be 17 grams, but you count out 17 pieces that actually weigh 25 grams. Guess what, you just ate 8 more grams than they anticipated, which could be a few calories or a lot (if it's something like nuts). Example: 1 ounce of almonds is roughly 32 almonds and 28.4 grams. Let's say you count out 32 almonds, but some of them are larger than average and you actually end up with 38.4 grams. Instead of eating 163 calories of almonds, you just ate 220 calories, or 57 more than you had planned. Now, if you do that everyday, you just ate 400 calories more than you logged for the week. If you're goal is only to lose 0.5 pounds a week, you just wiped out almost 2 days worth of deficit with just your serving of almonds.
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KrysKiss87 wrote: »There's another thing you might want to consider. If you are doing any type of weight training or strength training, you might be building muscle mass. SO even though the scale doesn't move, you might be gaining muscle while still losing fat. Instead of focusing on the scale, take your measurements. See if you have lost any inches. But in general you have to stay in calorie deficit. So if you are over (even just by 100 for the whole week) then you aren't truly in deficit. You are just maintaining. Hope this helps. Keep your head up though.
Really? How much muscle mass do you think the OP has put on in 2.5 weeks?
OP, if it's only been two and a half weeks and you have just started working out intensely, then you are likely retaining water. But really, two weeks is not enough time at all to gauge progress.
ETA: But I agree with the advice to invest in a food scale and weight your food.0 -
Igotithear wrote: »You say you count and measure your portions. Are you weighing your portions out on a food scale? If not, you're most likely overeating/underlogging your food.
If you were truly in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. Eating fewer calories than you need results in weight loss. Some medical conditions can mess with the CICO equation, but that just means you have to play with the CI side of the equation (by eating less) or bump up your CO (by exercising more). You can log 1200 calories all you want, but if you're actually eating more you won't see weight loss.
Also, for everyone saying: you're just gaining muscle. It's highly unlikely. It takes time and extra food to build muscle, not just doing cardio at the gym eating 1200 calories a day.
Well when the portions on the box say 17 pieces... That's when I count... Or when it says 1 cup, what is there to weigh?
Exactly that. The package will say "1 cup (29 grams)", so weigh out 1 cup and see if it is actually 29 grams. (These are random numbers for the point of this example.) Measuring cups aren't accurate for solid or semi-solid (yogurt, nut butters, etc.), so you're best bet is to weigh them out on a food scale. An example that I use often: my oatmeal says 1/4 cup or 40 grams. My 1/4 cup measuring spoon actually gives me closer to 50 grams of oatmeal. That may not seem like much, but if I did that over a week, I would eat 245 additional calories a week that I wasn't accounting for in my food log.
Also, those 17 pieces may be bigger or smaller than what the company has decided is 17 pieces. They're 17 pieces may be 17 grams, but you count out 17 pieces that actually weigh 25 grams. Guess what, you just ate 8 more grams than they anticipated, which could be a few calories or a lot (if it's something like nuts). Example: 1 ounce of almonds is roughly 32 almonds and 28.4 grams. Let's say you count out 32 almonds, but some of them are larger than average and you actually end up with 38.4 grams. Instead of eating 163 calories of almonds, you just ate 220 calories, or 57 more than you had planned. Now, if you do that everyday, you just ate 400 calories more than you logged for the week. If you're goal is only to lose 0.5 pounds a week, you just wiped out almost 2 days worth of deficit with just your serving of almonds.
I see.. so for portions where the serving is in pieces, do the companies typically have corresponding weight info to accurately weigh?0 -
Igotithear wrote: »Igotithear wrote: »You say you count and measure your portions. Are you weighing your portions out on a food scale? If not, you're most likely overeating/underlogging your food.
If you were truly in a calorie deficit you would lose weight. Eating fewer calories than you need results in weight loss. Some medical conditions can mess with the CICO equation, but that just means you have to play with the CI side of the equation (by eating less) or bump up your CO (by exercising more). You can log 1200 calories all you want, but if you're actually eating more you won't see weight loss.
Also, for everyone saying: you're just gaining muscle. It's highly unlikely. It takes time and extra food to build muscle, not just doing cardio at the gym eating 1200 calories a day.
Well when the portions on the box say 17 pieces... That's when I count... Or when it says 1 cup, what is there to weigh?
Exactly that. The package will say "1 cup (29 grams)", so weigh out 1 cup and see if it is actually 29 grams. (These are random numbers for the point of this example.) Measuring cups aren't accurate for solid or semi-solid (yogurt, nut butters, etc.), so you're best bet is to weigh them out on a food scale. An example that I use often: my oatmeal says 1/4 cup or 40 grams. My 1/4 cup measuring spoon actually gives me closer to 50 grams of oatmeal. That may not seem like much, but if I did that over a week, I would eat 245 additional calories a week that I wasn't accounting for in my food log.
Also, those 17 pieces may be bigger or smaller than what the company has decided is 17 pieces. They're 17 pieces may be 17 grams, but you count out 17 pieces that actually weigh 25 grams. Guess what, you just ate 8 more grams than they anticipated, which could be a few calories or a lot (if it's something like nuts). Example: 1 ounce of almonds is roughly 32 almonds and 28.4 grams. Let's say you count out 32 almonds, but some of them are larger than average and you actually end up with 38.4 grams. Instead of eating 163 calories of almonds, you just ate 220 calories, or 57 more than you had planned. Now, if you do that everyday, you just ate 400 calories more than you logged for the week. If you're goal is only to lose 0.5 pounds a week, you just wiped out almost 2 days worth of deficit with just your serving of almonds.
I see.. so for portions where the serving is in pieces, do the companies typically have corresponding weight info to accurately weigh?
The serving size in pieces is an approximation. Sometimes those 17 chips will weigh exactly what the package says in grams. Most of the time, they won't. Same goes for all packaged foods. That is why they put the serving in weight as well. So your chips may say a serving is 17 chips/28grams.0 -
KrysKiss87 wrote: »There's another thing you might want to consider. If you are doing any type of weight training or strength training, you might be building muscle mass. SO even though the scale doesn't move, you might be gaining muscle while still losing fat. Instead of focusing on the scale, take your measurements. See if you have lost any inches. But in general you have to stay in calorie deficit. So if you are over (even just by 100 for the whole week) then you aren't truly in deficit. You are just maintaining. Hope this helps. Keep your head up though.
No, no, no. There's no way OP could have gained any significant amout of muscle eating at a deficit and exercising for only a couple weeks. Water retention is a possibility, though.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpHykP6e_Uk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTsqwSve914
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