Why am I not losing any weight??

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dmn6789
dmn6789 Posts: 8 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
About 3 years ago, I completely changed my lifestyle and started working out and using MFP constantly. I lost about 70 lbs! Totally awesome. In the last two years, I've gained about 15lbs back, and even though that's not "that much", I'm not happy with my weight or my body. I started working out more consistently. A solid 4 days a week with HITT and weight training. I know I could work out more, but my work schedule is hectic. I'm following MFP more closely again, and incorporating more protein, while cutting down and the bad foods I love like chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect. I might end my day with a fiber one chocolate bar or a few peices of dark chocolate through out the day, but definitely eating a lot healthier than I was. So why haven't I lost any weight?! It's so depressing and frustrating. I've been doing this consistently for almost two months. I typically eat about 1200-1500 calories a day, I'm 5'6", and weigh about 146lbs. Help me!!!
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Replies

  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
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    When people aren't losing weight, 99% of the time it's either a) it hasn't been long enough to see results (less than 3 weeks) and they need to be patient, or b) they're not tracking accurately enough and therefore unknowingly eating too much. How long has it been? How are you tracking your calories? Are you using a food scale or just measuring cups/guesswork? Here are some resources to consider:

    9yykppbensrl.jpg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjKPIcI51lU
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
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    Can you open your diary?
  • 12Sarah2015
    12Sarah2015 Posts: 1,117 Member
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    Cut out the Chocollate. You need wholesome food for 1200 Cal per day
  • dmn6789
    dmn6789 Posts: 8 Member
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    Thank you everyone so far for your suggestions. I did just open my dairy which I automatically realize that I'm probably not tracking EVERYTHING and accurately. I've been working harder for about two months so I think it definitely has to be my tracking and measuring. I just have to be more strict with it.
  • tlflag1620
    tlflag1620 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Aside from tightening up your logging, which is of course a good thing to do, I'd also suggest keeping your expectations realistic. You only have 15 lbs to lose, so unlike the first time when you lost 70 lbs (way to go, btw!!), it's going to be slow. You are unlikely to see big, steady drops week to week. You'll likely lose more to the tune of a half lb per week, which can easily be masked by water retention (from TOM, intense workouts, high sodium or high carb days, etc). I would suggest you not only weigh in, but take measurements, take "before" photos, and consider weighing daily and using a weight averaging app (like trend weight) to smooth out those normal fluctuations that can "hide" your weight loss.

    You've done it before, you know how, you've got this!
  • loafer0303
    loafer0303 Posts: 5 Member
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    Don't go too mad with the protein. You need to work out what's best for you for the lifestyle you are on.
    Calculate the three main sources, carbs, fat and protein. Too much protein and the body converts it to glucose anyway.
    I'm on keto and it's important to have the percentages right for the three mentioned. It's easy to work out.

    Also something I've really got on to in the last year, water rentention. Most of us think we drink enough water, I sure did, but I was wrong. I used to drink 2lts water per day, I upped it to 4-5lts and lost 8lbs in two days
    Seems most of us hold between 4-8lbs of water when dehydrated.
    Try upping you water, you'll prob shed 5lbs straight away.

    Good luck
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    Congrats on the awesome progress! That's great :smile:
    Really focus on being super consistent with logging in MFP everything you eat. Really try hard to nail down your calories and macros for the day and push hard in your workouts. Usually, it's a matter of consistency and adherence to your goals.

    Another thing to consider is that over long calorie restrictions, your metabolism will drop, which makes losing weight more challenging. If you're legitimately stuck in a plateau and don't want to eat less, then you can start a reverse dieting cycle to get your maintenance calorie level up. At that point, you can drop your calories back down and do a more effective cut. Hit me up if you have questions. I've done it and helped people do it too. It works great.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    dmn6789 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone so far for your suggestions. I did just open my dairy which I automatically realize that I'm probably not tracking EVERYTHING and accurately. I've been working harder for about two months so I think it definitely has to be my tracking and measuring. I just have to be more strict with it.

    :thumbsup:

    And, at your height, being accurate is critical, as you don't have the "buffer room" like others (Myself) have, where we can just drop our caloric goal by another 100 to correct for the underestimations.

    I'd suggest a food scale to use, at least until you get a lot better at eyeballing stuff.
  • BrSpiritus
    BrSpiritus Posts: 190 Member
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    I started with the Keto Diet 3 weeks ago or so, but I've only been logging my food here for a week. I never had any success on other diets to the point I gave up until I was tipping the scale at 369. I decided to give keto a try and lost 14lbs of water weight the first couple of weeks before stalling out at 355 for the longest time. Now I'm losing again at a steady rate. When I originally figured my daily calories I claimed sedentary although I'm mildly active with my job. The only exercise I do is a bodyweight routine in the morning and walking 3-4 times a week. I do not eat back the calories I lose in exercise, I don't even feel I need to like with traditional high carb diets.
  • lopesmartinez
    lopesmartinez Posts: 8 Member
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    Dont rely on the scale. Ppl get caught up in numbers. Try measuring yourself. Muscle is denser than fat. 1lb of fat can look like a loaf of bread while a pound of muscle looks like a potatoe. Ditch the scale and get a tape measurer
  • cavia
    cavia Posts: 457 Member
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    dmn6789 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone so far for your suggestions. I did just open my dairy which I automatically realize that I'm probably not tracking EVERYTHING and accurately. I've been working harder for about two months so I think it definitely has to be my tracking and measuring. I just have to be more strict with it.

    It's still not open. If you aren't losing weight you aren't in a caloric deficit. Dust off your food scale or invest $20 in buying one. Weigh all your caloric solids on it, measuring cups and spoons are for caloric liquids only. Log everything that passes your lips every day. It's really easy to wipe out a deficit if you aren't tracking properly.

  • willammoney
    willammoney Posts: 137 Member
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    It's because nothing could ever leave you, the fat will miss you too much.
  • daisygirl2017
    daisygirl2017 Posts: 107 Member
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    Do you know your body fat %? I did my BMR here based on height weight and said 1800 but did calculator based on lean body mass and said 1600. Or if you have fitbit for you can track exactly what you are burning for day and eat 500-1000 less than that.
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
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    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Are you weighing your food? I wasn't making any progress because I was eating back my exercise calories plus not weighing everything I eat and relying on the package to tell me how many cals I was eating. So my 520 calorie pizza is actually 900 something cals. No wonder I wasn't making progress.

    Now I weigh everything and it's helping a lot.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    dmn6789 wrote: »
    About 3 years ago, I completely changed my lifestyle and started working out and using MFP constantly. I lost about 70 lbs! Totally awesome. In the last two years, I've gained about 15lbs back, and even though that's not "that much", I'm not happy with my weight or my body. I started working out more consistently. A solid 4 days a week with HITT and weight training. I know I could work out more, but my work schedule is hectic. I'm following MFP more closely again, and incorporating more protein, while cutting down and the bad foods I love like chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not perfect. I might end my day with a fiber one chocolate bar or a few peices of dark chocolate through out the day, but definitely eating a lot healthier than I was. So why haven't I lost any weight?! It's so depressing and frustrating. I've been doing this consistently for almost two months. I typically eat about 1200-1500 calories a day, I'm 5'6", and weigh about 146lbs. Help me!!!

    Do you measure yourself? Have you noticed a difference in how your clothing is fitting you?

    Are you measuring and weighing the foods you eat? If not, I highly recommend doing that so you know exactly what you are putting in your body.

    Finally, maybe you are eating too many calories.
  • perkymommy
    perkymommy Posts: 1,642 Member
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    misskarne wrote: »
    12Sarah2015 wrote: »
    Cut out the Chocollate. You need wholesome food for 1200 Cal per day

    OP, don't listen to this rubbish. You absolutely can have chocolate.

    I agree! Cutting out anything you love to eat will just result in failure.
  • dmn6789
    dmn6789 Posts: 8 Member
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    You guys are so amazing! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for all your help. It's so hard to get this support sometimes. Okay after reading all of your suggestions, I think that weighing my food is key and I prob should start measuring myself. I can't wait to start these changes. Hoping that it really works! Thanks again everyone!

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