why am I not losing weight?!

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lingdi
lingdi Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
I've worked out four times in this last week, the last two times being two days in a row. About three weeks ago, I had reached 134 lbs, but now the scale says I am back to 140 even though my dieting hasn't changed dramatically and I have still been working out (though admittedly not as much as I had been at that time). How could I possibly gain six pounds in such a short amount of time, when I am still dieting, and this week I have still been working out??
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  • EmBlazes
    EmBlazes Posts: 374 Member
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    Are you gaining muscle because of the exercise you are doing?

    Could it be you have started eating something and are mis-calculating the calorie content??

    I hope you discover what it is.
  • ReneeOfTheFae
    ReneeOfTheFae Posts: 117
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    Muscle, maybe?
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I've worked out four times in this last week, the last two times being two days in a row. About three weeks ago, I had reached 134 lbs, but now the scale says I am back to 140 even though my dieting hasn't changed dramatically and I have still been working out (though admittedly not as much as I had been at that time). How could I possibly gain six pounds in such a short amount of time, when I am still dieting, and this week I have still been working out??

    If you aren't logging your food intake, theres really know way to know.

    You need to make sure you get ENOUGH calories, as well as not too many. Since you are actually gaining, I would say you've probably been eating too much. You should start logging it, and then ask again.
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
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    water retention, too much sodium, etc.

    I'm sorry to say it wouldn't be muscle. It takes a LOT of strength training & time to gain 6lbs of lean muscle mass. That doesn't happen overnight. However, your muscles could be retaining water because you're working them & they need to recover, etc.

    watch your diet, clean it up best you can. It could be hormones, water retention, etc.
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    The exercise I'm doing isn't different from what I was doing before...before, I was doing zumba and also running, but now because my university is over for the summer, I'm doing swimming and running, so I'm doubtful that it's muscle gain.

    I'm thinking that maybe going from twice to three times a week of zumba classes on top of some running to doing just running and swimming might have made it harder for me to start losing weight again, but I don't understand why that would make me -gain- weight.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
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    It's hard to tell by your food diary because it appears to be incomplete. However, you need to eat a MINIMUM of 1,200 calories every single day. Anything less than that and your metabolism will be very slow in order to conserve energy for your next workout. To speed up weight loss, you must speed up your metabolism. That is by watching your diet... not by exercising more. Really watch your intake and follow the MFP guidelines and you will be okay! Also, things like your time of month (water retention), constipation (not enough fiber), etc. will make weight fluctuate 4-5 pounds between weigh-ins as well. It could be any number of things, but look to improving the most obvious things like diet and exercise and you'll be back on track in no time. Good luck!
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
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    i'd suggest you are not eating enough and your body is trying to 'hoard' all the food/calories you do eat cause it thinks you are trying to starve it?

    some helpful links with more info *S*

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    I don't log it, but I definitely don't eat 1200 calories a day. It's definitely not that I've been eating too much. I have been eating more than I was before, but still probably not 1200 a day.
  • bzmom
    bzmom Posts: 1,332 Member
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    1) you are not loging everything
    2) the only two possible days that you have logged you are eating waaaaay to little calories not even NET 1000 I suggest to eat something if you wanna loose weight.
  • rodneyderrick
    rodneyderrick Posts: 483 Member
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    You probably never truly lost the six pounds. If you weighed yourself after a hard workout, you might have been a little dehydrated. Just keep logging; and as long as you have a calorie deficit every day you'll lose weight overtime. Warning, excessive partying on the weekends can kill a diet.
  • briabner
    briabner Posts: 427 Member
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    Water weight possibly. Drink more water and you should see some of it drop off in the next couple of days.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
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    I don't log it, but I definitely don't eat 1200 calories a day. It's definitely not that I've been eating too much. I have been eating more than I was before, but still probably not 1200 a day.

    That would be the first thing to correct. If you are still gaining and not back on track, then keep your food diary up-to-date so you can see what your sugar and sodium intakes look like each day. The rest of us can only guess what it might be without that data. Most importantly, don't give up!!!
  • Avalonis
    Avalonis Posts: 1,540 Member
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    I don't log it, but I definitely don't eat 1200 calories a day. It's definitely not that I've been eating too much. I have been eating more than I was before, but still probably not 1200 a day.

    This is SOOOOO unhealthy, and it is NOT SUSTAINABLE, EVER. You will do one of two things doing this:

    Damage your body organs from improper and insufficient nutrition
    OR
    End up gaining a crapton of weight when you can no longer sustain eating that way.

    Do it the right way, or don't do it at all. Starving yourself isn't going to get the results you want.
  • mauryr
    mauryr Posts: 385
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    Rodney Derreck mentioned that perhaps the last time you weighed yourself you were dehydrated, perhaps after an intense exercise set... I can tell you from my experience that after a very hard cardio work-out, I have lost as much as 6 lbs of water.... could this be part of the issue - that the earlier weight used in your comparison was too low? (Also, did you measure on the same scale?)

    And yes, all of the other things folks mentioned - a recent meal with high sodium stands out in my mind. Have Chinese food recently?
  • abellante_0205
    abellante_0205 Posts: 368 Member
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    it may be water retained, or muscle gain... I always go up and down with my weight so dont freak out. It took me a whole year to get 24.3 lbs off my body!
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    mauryr-- Haha, actually, yes, I had Chinese food the night before last, and last night I ate popcorn--so two incidents of high sodium. That definitely could be part of it.

    As for weigh-ins--I always weigh myself at the same time of day, wearing the same thing, but I suppose time of day that I did the cardio exercise would make a difference (for example: when I was 134/136ish, I was generally working out later at night and weighing myself earlier in the morning, whereas now I am weighing myself in the morning still but working out in the morning after I weigh in)?
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
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    mauryr-- Haha, actually, yes, I had Chinese food the night before last, and last night I ate popcorn--so two incidents of high sodium. That definitely could be part of it.

    As for weigh-ins--I always weigh myself at the same time of day, wearing the same thing, but I suppose time of day that I did the cardio exercise would make a difference (for example: when I was 134/136ish, I was generally working out later at night and weighing myself earlier in the morning, whereas now I am weighing myself in the morning still but working out in the morning after I weigh in)?

    Chinese food will definitely bloat you up!!! Also, if you weigh yourself right out of bed in the morning and after emptying your bladder, you will get the most consistent readings. Always use the same scale if you can.
  • kdrew11
    kdrew11 Posts: 363 Member
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    I'm having exactly the same problem. I had 3.5lbs to target and finding it really hard to shift so finally decided to bite the bullet and start exercising and now I've gained 2lbs so I have nearly 6lbs to lose now and need to reach my target in just over 5 weeks when I get married. I've read loadsa forum posts on this today and it looks like muscles retain water when you've been working out especially when you've just started as it needs the water to repair muscle that is not used to being used. Apparently you start losing it all after a week or two though! Very very disheartening though when you work so hard! For me the first 28lbs was easy but I have been struggling with the last 7lbs for over 2 months now! Good luck.
  • lingdi
    lingdi Posts: 15
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    To the last two replies:

    That is exactly when I do weigh myself :)

    kzeffert-- It's very disheartening! But I will try to be patient. I've lost about 98-100 pounds so far, and I'm trying to lose the last 10-15 pounds, and it is just so freaking difficult! Especially with the setting change (I had finally gotten into a really great routine at school, but not school is over for the summer so I'm back home and trying to get back into a healthy routine again).
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
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    I'm on my last few pounds too and they are definitely slow going and the toughest to get rid of. But think of it as practice for maintenance mode. :) I wrote a blog earlier this morning about breaking through my 5-6 week long plateau. It is not the answer to how to lose weight, but it may give you some ideas to try yourself or give you insight as to why plateaus happen. At the very least, you may get a good chuckle. :)http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/bjohs/view/plateau-vs-chocolate-who-won-116497

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