Frustrated.

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I have been tracking my food, below my calorie goal (just barely) everyday and have been working out lifting weights with a personal trainer and using the couch to 5K app almost daily and am stuck. I will continue to work but My scale isn't moving.

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  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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  • Kateisgr8
    Kateisgr8 Posts: 2 Member
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    Don't forget to take measurements as well as your weight! Lifting weights adds muscle as well as burning fat, and muscle is denser (weighs more) but takes up less space. You may find the scale staying put or inching up even as you loose inches.
    Good luck and stay the course!
  • wonko221
    wonko221 Posts: 292 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I have been... using the couch to 5K app almost daily and am stuck....

    Couch25k builds in rest days between each run. This is important because it gives your body a chance to repaid the stress you put it under while running. This includes rebuilding muscle, as well as repairing tiny stress fractures in your legs.

    So first comment - stop running every day, if you are!

    Second: when your body is repairing itself, it will retain a lot of water. If you're constantly running, and/or working out, you're probably retaining a lot of water. Water is heavy, and will keep your scale from dropping.

    Third and final comment: because we often talk about "losing weight" we trick ourselves into thinking the scale is the best way to determine our success. But most people want to lose body fat, not simply "weight" - and in this case, the scale is not your best determination of success. Instead, look for NSV (non-scale victories) - do your clothes fit differently? Can you take your measurements with a fabric tape measure, or a string, and track those? Do you feel better? These are all ways to help reinforce that you're on the right track, without relying on the scale!

  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,395 Member
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    If you're eating "just barely" under your calorie goal and you aren't weighing all your food or logging the food correctly then it is very possible that you're just not eating at a calorie deficit.
  • tinkersmom863
    tinkersmom863 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I am weighing my food and I am seeing changes in my body and clothes fit differently, not as much muffin top as there used to be. I think am just being impatient. Here's where I just keep going ( allowing for more rest between workouts) and stay the course.