Not losing weight

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Hi,

I've restricted my calories (net 1300), I weigh around 79kg. I work out on a bike 5 times a week, burning around 400 cals per session and double that on a longer ride. The scales don't seem to be budging. In fact the opposite! At one point two weeks ago I got down to 78kg but it's crept back up and I'm not sure how/why. Should I try going down to 1200?

Replies

  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    If you are working out more (either in frequency, duration or effort) you will have weight-related water retention.
    Are you sure you are only eating 1300? Make sure you are using a food scale, accurate data entries & accurate logging.
    How often are you weighing? If you only weigh once a week, for example, you might be getting all the "peaks"
  • kerstenk141
    kerstenk141 Posts: 83 Member
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    I experienced this not too long ago. The scale while addicting to hop on and see doesnt tell your whole fitness story. Are your clothes fitting the same? Do you do any weight training? Do you ever mix up your cardio or just bike?
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    I weigh myself every day. At the moment I only do bike but some of the interval work I do encourages strength work. I will make sure I'm more diligent in weighing things. I find 1300 cals psychologically really tough!
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    I will try to add in more strength work- maybe a body pump class.
  • kerstenk141
    kerstenk141 Posts: 83 Member
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    Weigh it all and drink plenty of water. Dont get too discouraged by the numbers on the scale - they will go up and down by a bit everyday. These past three weeks the scale has barely budged but I'm down two pant sizes. Stay diligent with your diet, try different cardio, and do some strength training. Willing to bet if you do that you'll start losing weight again.

    For my weight loss goal I'm at 1300 calories as well. It can be pretty hard especially this time of the year. Feel free to add me and we can count our calories and drop weight together. :smile:
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    Thank you. It's massively demoralizing and is getting me down!
  • liams987
    liams987 Posts: 23 Member
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    Make sure you accurately weigh everything. Tracking is the best way drop the weight. Make a conscious effort of tracking everything that goes into your body and i promise the weight will go down. Cardio is only necessary if you have over eaten that day, it is completely possible to lose weight just measuring your food.
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    Thank you. Does 1370 per day sound right?
  • kerstenk141
    kerstenk141 Posts: 83 Member
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    MFP put me at 1360 when I joined. I weighed 172lbs, which is close to your starting weight. I checked in my with doctor and she gave me the green light for that amount. Typically I am around 1150-1200 which she said is fine (check with yours). I do about 20 minutes of cardio 6 days a week - burn about 200 calories each session, nothing crazy.

    I bought a food scale and weigh everything, that's been the game changer for me. Diet alone and minimal cardio I lost 18lbs.

    I know you can do it! :smile:
  • hayleyf6051
    hayleyf6051 Posts: 52 Member
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    MFP put me at 1360 when I joined. I weighed 172lbs, which is close to your starting weight. I checked in my with doctor and she gave me the green light for that amount. Typically I am around 1150-1200 which she said is fine (check with yours). I do about 20 minutes of cardio 6 days a week - burn about 200 calories each session, nothing crazy.

    I bought a food scale and weigh everything, that's been the game changer for me. Diet alone and minimal cardio I lost 18lbs.

    I know you can do it! :smile:

    Wow that's amazing! I hope I can do that. Do you have any example meal plans at all?

  • owieprone
    owieprone Posts: 217 Member
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    Don't rely on the scales, they won't tell you what is happening, going up in weight is perfectly normal when you exercise more. You need to start measuring your body as well, to see if you are gaining muscle (which weighs more than fat but takes up less space).
    You can have a goal weight, but bear in mind that you may never achieve it if you want to look a particular way. If you want to be quite muscly, you may have to settle for a stone (14lbs) or more from your 'ideal' weight to achieve that look. Having a goal weight is great to begin with, but keep in mind you may need to change that goal as you get closer to your prefered look.

    You could also take photos (with phone in private mode!) with undies on from front/side/back so you can physically see your progress. YOu will find it hard to notice it when you look at yourself on a daily basis, but a photo once a week will show up any progress you've overlooked. Also as someone else said, your clothes will start to fit differently as your body shape changes, try and keep a note of what fits now, and in you will see a difference.

    Maybe keep a journal of your progress, where you can chart your weight/measurements and how your clothes feel once a week, e.g. 'Fave jeans baggy round the *kitten*, they now look terrible *sad face* *jumping for joy* *screw you *kitten**'.
    Just a note, ignore BMI !!! Load of codswallop.

    Another thing to consider is what you are eating, not just the calorie intake. Not all calories are created equal. And also, that you might need to UP your intake not lower it or stay the same. If you exercise more, you need to feed the muscle you are trying to build. What you feed it depends on what your body reacts to.
    For me, for instance, carbs bad:protein good. So I'm a low carber, but I can't eat under 1400 calories because I have a medical condition and I do crazy sports that last a few hours each session several times a day and a week. So I eat more on days I do crazy sports and eat 1400 calories on the day of no sports or easy sports.

    I also eat a little a lot, rather than 3 meals. 3 meals doesn't work for me, cos medical condition means in need to keep my energy up, and my sports are often at meal times so if i ate dinner on those dates i'd be eating a full dinner 15 mins before I went to bed!

    It takes time to figure out what is right for your with regards to exercise regime, diet and meal times/amounts. Persevere until you get it, it's worth the faff. I find Casey of: Blogilates (google it) has a load of great recipes and she has some meal plans that might be of use to you, you might need to up the calories but is a good starting point and wealth of info. Six pack short cuts and michael kory on youtube are also faves of mine for exercise and food ideas.


    good luck :smiley:
  • karma971
    karma971 Posts: 4 Member
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    I am doing 1200 calories a day and not loosing anything. I understand how you feel.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    karma971 wrote: »
    I am doing 1200 calories a day and not loosing anything. I understand how you feel.
    Do you use a food scale? At 1200, you should be losing.