Why am I not losing weight? I need a smart explanation please

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  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    edited May 2016
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    bernadettetarubal wrote: »
    Thanks for all the replies. I think I lose 1 or 2 kilos since then, and I'm also very conscious about the food i take, I don't measure them but I stopped eating a lot of carbs and other unhealthy food. I think my type of work is also the other reason as I'm sitting 80% of the time.

    Btw I'm 63 or 64 kgs now, 5'5 and 21 years old.

    Carbs are not unhealthy. They are one of the macronutrients our body uses to fuel our all of out metabolic processes; protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

    Now, if your clothes fit better but at the same weight it's either body recomp or water weight loss.
  • 4righteousnesssake
    4righteousnesssake Posts: 276 Member
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    bernadettetarubal wrote: »
    I've been working out since January, my clothes and pants fit better now, and i feel lighter and my friends told me that i am slimmer now, but reality check, nothing has changed on my weight. What the hell is going on here?

    I don't know if you've been putting on any muscle or not. But just so you know, muscle is heavier than fat. You could be burning fat and putting on a little bit of muscle and breaking even on your scale.
    By the way, it's also said that 1 pound of muscle burns about 10 calories in a resting state. So put on 10 pounds of muscle and your basal metobolic rate (how many calories you would burn if you literally just existed today) would go up accordingly. I hope that made sense. That isn't directly speaking to your issue. But saying, ironically, lean muscle is an excellent fat loss help as it burns calories while doing nothing. Haha
    Hope this helps!
  • pumpkinRIP02
    pumpkinRIP02 Posts: 131 Member
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    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
  • 4righteousnesssake
    4righteousnesssake Posts: 276 Member
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    singingflutelady wrote: »
    She definitely hasn't put on 10 lbs of muscle since January without steroids

    lol. As I said, that wasn't in direct reply to her question. That was just a (hopefully) helpful tid bit for later use.
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
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    You're already very light, so weight loss will be very slow. I'm a lot heavier and my weight loss has slowed to a crawl. You say, you may have lost up to 2kg? That's a good deal for someone as light as you. Also, like others have said, beginners can gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. If you're not counting calories accurately, then you have no room to complain.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited May 2016
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    I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
    Read below:
    singingflutelady wrote: »
    She definitely hasn't put on 10 lbs of muscle since January without steroids


    I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
    Read below.
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.

    I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...

    This, especially women!
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Don't forget, LBM, does not include muscle tissue only. Retaining water in skeletal muscle from working out to help with the repair process can mask fat loss on the scale.
  • Dvdgzz
    Dvdgzz Posts: 437 Member
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    To summarize:
    1. You don't count calories accurately.
    2. Your burn is low since you're only 62-23 kg.
    3. Waterweight could be masking fat loss on the scale.
  • BinaryFu
    BinaryFu Posts: 240 Member
    edited May 2016
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    Wow.

    Okay, so...
    1) Accurate calorie counting is necessary.
    2) Make sure your water intake is good (8 cups is a good goal daily) because if you're light on your water, your body will collect every drop it can and store it - which means you get water weight gain. It sounds counter-intuitive, but if you want to lose water weight, you have to drink more water!
    3) Workouts = muscle growth. Muscle growth = weight gain.

    It is realistically possible for the average female to gain .5-1lb per month when becoming active after a more or less sedentary lifestyle. The more sedentary you were prior, the more likely you're at the higher end of that range.

    When you're a body builder or trying to max out your body's muscles, trying to gain muscle weight is an agonizingly slow process.

    But, for the average normal person who isn't trying to look like Hulk Hogan and doesn't look anything near like him to begin with - your muscles have a lot of untapped potential - muscle gain is easier and quicker at the beginning.

    As for gaining muscle while eating a maintenance diet? Completely doable provided you have a high enough source of protein and you're calculating in your workouts accurately.

    In fact, it's possible to gain muscle while on a calorie DEFICIT if you're overweight, provided you have a high enough source of protein and you're calculating your workouts accurately.

    I would attribute your "not losing weight" to:
    A. You have lost weight, just not a lot.
    B. You have gained roughly 5lbs of muscle.
    C. You have water retention.
    D. All of the above.

    D.

    I hope that's a smart enough answer for you.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    singingflutelady wrote: »
    cerise_noir wrote: »
    I echo getting a food scale and weighing everything, and eat only a portion of exercise calories back (1/3 or so).
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.
    Read below.
    pumpkinRIP02 wrote: »
    It could be Water weight but it could also be Muscle Mass gain.
    If you lost Fat but out on Muscle than you could feel like you weigh less and look slimmer but have not lose any actually weight.

    I don't understand why so many think it's so easy and takes essentially no time to gain muscle...

    This, especially women!

    Agreed. A lot of women, including myself, work very hard on their body composition. Every time I see a thread where it's implied that a woman's weight loss is being masked by muscle gains, especially if the woman is doing exercises like walking or HIIT, it really gets on my nerves. That "beach" body is hard to obtain because it takes time, patience, and dedication. A few months of eating healthier and going to the gym isn't going to get you what other people spend years working on.
  • Stephania1313
    Stephania1313 Posts: 5 Member
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    Keep up the good work. I am new to mfp but not so new at tracking my food intake. I am pretty sure you would be surprised by the numbers if you check. I certainly was when I started. I also wear a fitbit Alta on my wrist to track my steps. It does so much more than that too. I would recommend this device because it has interchangeable bands and is the first one that really looks kind of pretty. I bought the gray leather strap and love it. Of course it is not free and I am certain that you could find something that is free. I also tend to think that you may be storing some water which definitely effects your weight. I hope that after four months I am still working on it like you are doing. Thanks for the inspiration.

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