Ok, feel good BUT the scale is not moving....

Ok. I turned 40 in December and am determined to make it "look good"
I have been consistsly hitting the gym 5 days a week doing 30 to 60 minutes cardio and alternating upper and lower body strength. Started at 187 (5'6") and am at 182 after about 2 months. I am trying to make all my calories count and eat as clean as possible and stay within my calorie range. Why is the scale so brutal? Tome to change things up?

Replies

  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    How many cals are your eating?
  • Jcimon
    Jcimon Posts: 12 Member
    1200 at best
  • I'm having the same issue. But mine has stalled and yo-yoed for almost a year 206 and 5'6" I take in anywhere from 900-1100 calories. No gym in my area just a treadmill in the bedroom that I use 2-4 times a day minimum of 1 mile each time. Ugh I get so down on my self far too often.
  • evildeadedd
    evildeadedd Posts: 108 Member
    Tighten up logging. Weigh all solids to the gram, don't use cups to measure anything that isn't liquid. You are averaging about a half pound a week, which isn't horrible. At your stats anything more than a pound a week is going to be difficult I would think. Also water retention from new exorcise/TOM ect. Can mask losses some. "Clean" eating has nothing to do with weight-loss, you need to be sure you are eating as close to X amount of calories as possible, the only way to do that is weighing with food scale and making sure the entries you log are accurate.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    You're losing a little more than half pound per week. You might be eating more than you think. Do you use a food scale?
  • Trinique34
    Trinique34 Posts: 53 Member
    When I first started tracking on MFP I also ate 1200 and gained 3 lbs my first 2 weeks. My Trainer told me it wasn't enough food, especially when I workout 5 days a week. I have since upped my cals to 1420, some days 1500 and I've lost 5 lbs in 3 weeks. Don't be afraid to eat a bit more.
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    Are you measuring? I went a month without losing anything. I actually gained and lost the same 5 pounds. But i was losing inches in my stomach. If you're not losing anything in terms of measuring and the scale, then there is something wrong with your calories count.

    Buy a food scale, measure out all your food. Read packages correctly and double check MFP, sometimes those calories can be off. I've had to redo a couple.
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
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  • hulesjames
    hulesjames Posts: 10 Member
    The scale has nothing to do with fat loss because scale numbers fluctuate depending how much water is in your body track your progress by the mirror also by measuring
  • aquablue_1111
    aquablue_1111 Posts: 40 Member
    In addition to what others said, are you taking your measurements? how do your clothes feel? I was making great progress (9 lbs in 3 months) for myself. Lately though, it's been harder to say within my deficit and I'm over-eating on the weekends. I'm still losing but at a slower rate and my darn 'fanny pack' is not going away fast enough even though everything else is slimming down nicely. I was feeling frustrated with myself but then randomly decided to take a look at my back. Woah! There are muscles there I'd never seen before! I gave myself a nice mental high five.

    So I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes the scale doesn't give you the whole picture...
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    I posted a similar question a month ago. Several people asked if I was weighing my food on a kitchen scale (I wasn't). I started to weigh most everything 2 days later. It's been about 4 weeks and I've lost 5 lbs and 11 inches. Even single serving items weigh differently from what is stated on the package:). The calories that I inadvertently wasn't counting added up. Weighing my food made all the difference and I'm grateful for the help I received on here!

    Great work!

    OP this is what it takes. I'm nearly 46 FWIW.
  • karmelpopcorn
    karmelpopcorn Posts: 77 Member
    I am 43 and I can vouch that it's really hard. 20 years ago, slight changes would result in significant weight loss. Now, significant changes result in only slight weight-loss! It really takes close monitoring of calories! And I question whether I'll ever be able to get to my goal.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,941 Member
    I'm 42 and it's really easy! just tighten up your logging, meaning measure everything you eat and drink with a digital food scale in grams and chose the correct entries. Chose a deficit that fits to your weight, height and goal and just do it.
  • Jcimon
    Jcimon Posts: 12 Member
    In addition to what others said, are you taking your measurements? how do your clothes feel? I was making great progress (9 lbs in 3 months) for myself. Lately though, it's been harder to say within my deficit and I'm over-eating on the weekends. I'm still losing but at a slower rate and my darn 'fanny pack' is not going away fast enough even though everything else is slimming down nicely. I was feeling frustrated with myself but then randomly decided to take a look at my back. Woah! There are muscles there I'd never seen before! I gave myself a nice mental high five.

    So I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes the scale doesn't give you the whole picture...

    My clothes feel much better. I have gone down a pant size. I guess I feel like I'm working very hard and the progress seems slow.
  • Jcimon
    Jcimon Posts: 12 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    You're losing a little more than half pound per week. You might be eating more than you think. Do you use a food scale?

    I dont. That seems to be a common thread measure measure...
  • Jcimon
    Jcimon Posts: 12 Member
    Trinique34 wrote: »
    When I first started tracking on MFP I also ate 1200 and gained 3 lbs my first 2 weeks. My Trainer told me it wasn't enough food, especially when I workout 5 days a week. I have since upped my cals to 1420, some days 1500 and I've lost 5 lbs in 3 weeks. Don't be afraid to eat a bit more.

    Thank you!