Frustrated

rodgiek79
rodgiek79 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello. My name is Kate.
I'm big girl (let's not go in to figures - suffice to say extra large) and have been trying to shed some weight for about 6 weeks now. Eating sensible meals, cutting out junk. Also started training in the gym with a basic program of cardio and weights designed for me by the instructor 4x a week.
At my size, weight should be falling off me. But it isn't and I'm feeling really disheartened. So far I have supposedly lost 10lb of body fat, but only 1lb of weight.
Is this normal for a large person taking up exercise? Should I have gotten over the whole fluid retention thing by now?

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How are you measuring that you've lost 10 pounds of fat? How are you measuring your calorie intake?
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    You mention nothing about how many calories you are consuming and how you are measuring those calories. To lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit. Get a food scale and weight ALL your food. Stick to a deficit (which since you won't say how much you weigh, you will have to enter your figures into MFP and follow their reccomendations).
  • rodgiek79
    rodgiek79 Posts: 4 Member
    Using the app to measure intake. Using body fat scales to measure the body fat - the fancy big scales you get in boots.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Using the app to measure intake. Using body fat scales to measure the body fat - the fancy big scales you get in boots.

    But how do you measure those calories? Food scale? Measuring cups? Guesstimating?

    Body fat scales are very unreliable. At most you could have put on a pound of muscle due to newbie gains, but that's it.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Are you weighing all solids and measuring all liquids that you ingest?
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Using the app to measure intake. Using body fat scales to measure the body fat - the fancy big scales you get in boots.

    But how do you measure those calories? Food scale? Measuring cups? Guesstimating?

    Body fat scales are very unreliable. At most you could have put on a pound of muscle due to newbie gains, but that's it.

    This^^

    You should definitely invest in a good digital food scale. You can get them from $10-20. You may be surprised at how much you're actually eating. Things like peanut butter, any kind of oil, cheese - can all be easily overestimated and have a large impact on your calorie intake.

    My food scale was a huge game changer for me. Very eye-opening.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Your vagueness suggests inaccurate logging. Get out the food scale, weigh all your solids, use measuring cups for all liquids, use accurate entries, use the recipe builder, get your logging on point and the results will follow.
  • mrs_sjlarsen
    mrs_sjlarsen Posts: 76 Member
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Using the app to measure intake. Using body fat scales to measure the body fat - the fancy big scales you get in boots.

    Are you using a digital scale to weigh your food? That is they key.
  • rodgiek79
    rodgiek79 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks all :)
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
    Hi Kate ..I really can't answer completly .. I am/was so big and.other health issues.I needed to loose weight before I exercised ..I do swim some but don't log any exercise calories

    I do wonder about you body fat numbers .. which would seem you gained 9 pounds of muscle in 6 weeks ..

    From reading board most don't eat back exercise calories. Or just a portion of them

    I do feel MFP works on the numbers ..my scale staled last week and I had to just wait and numbers started moving again ..

    Most important thing is stay focused and keep trying .. you will see results ..

    My doctor told me you get fit in the gym and loose weight at the dinner table ...

    Good luck
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    Using the app to record what you eat is only as accurate as the information you give it. That means the portions you eat much be measured so you can enter the correct amount. As stated, weighing all solids (including those ground and grated, and using a volume measure (measuring cups and spoons) for liquids will go a long way to making sure you are eating what you think you are eating. This video illustrates how much difference it can make: https://youtu.be/vjKPIcI51lU
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Hello. My name is Kate.
    I'm big girl (let's not go in to figures - suffice to say extra large) and have been trying to shed some weight for about 6 weeks now. Eating sensible meals, cutting out junk. Also started training in the gym with a basic program of cardio and weights designed for me by the instructor 4x a week.
    At my size, weight should be falling off me. But it isn't and I'm feeling really disheartened. So far I have supposedly lost 10lb of body fat, but only 1lb of weight.
    Is this normal for a large person taking up exercise? Should I have gotten over the whole fluid retention thing by now?

    Ok, so you've lost about 11 lbs in 6 weeks? That's nearly 2 lbs per week, which is great weight loss! I know it doesn't feel like much, but think of it the other way around - would you think that gaining 2 lbs a week was "not enough" or would you be disheartened at gaining that much in one week?

    It sounds like you are in a good groove with the exercise and it sounds like you know the kind of food you want to incorporate. Your diary is not open, are you logging your food in any way right now?
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    Keep up the cardio, log all your food and drink (if you're not you are likely sabotaging yourself) and stay at your calorie goal. If the weight doesn't come off just keep on, it'll happen. At six weeks of 4x per week you should start to see a metabolism shift. Eventually exercise will increase your metabolism and a side effect of that will be extra hunger. If you're not logging your food accurately you can easily over-eat and negate the losses you would otherwise be having with the exercise regimen. I get voraciously hungry two hours after I work out no matter what I eat post workout. So I'm careful to eat something that fits my macros as a snack (usually a protein bar).

    Another thought is take a good look at your macros, go over to iifym.com and calculate how much protein you should be taking in for a woman of your age/height/weight. Know your TDEE and BMR, and adjust it every 5 lbs of loss.

    As far as the body fat % scales, about the best you can do without paying for a scan is get a good pair of calipers and measure yourself every month or so. It generally takes about 1-2 months for people to lose a % of body fat, or at least it does me, so I'd guess you have not lost as much as you think. Muscle will take a LONG time to build.

    Keep it up though, just scrutinize what you're eating much closer and you'll find the reason. I'd suggest a food scale, even pre-packaged food doesn't always weigh what it says it does on the package.
  • Alyssa_Is_LosingIt
    Alyssa_Is_LosingIt Posts: 4,696 Member
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Thanks all :)

    Good luck! And try not to get discouraged - most of us have been there.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    kgeyser wrote: »
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Hello. My name is Kate.
    I'm big girl (let's not go in to figures - suffice to say extra large) and have been trying to shed some weight for about 6 weeks now. Eating sensible meals, cutting out junk. Also started training in the gym with a basic program of cardio and weights designed for me by the instructor 4x a week.
    At my size, weight should be falling off me. But it isn't and I'm feeling really disheartened. So far I have supposedly lost 10lb of body fat, but only 1lb of weight.
    Is this normal for a large person taking up exercise? Should I have gotten over the whole fluid retention thing by now?

    Ok, so you've lost about 11 lbs in 6 weeks? That's nearly 2 lbs per week, which is great weight loss! I know it doesn't feel like much, but think of it the other way around - would you think that gaining 2 lbs a week was "not enough" or would you be disheartened at gaining that much in one week?

    It sounds like you are in a good groove with the exercise and it sounds like you know the kind of food you want to incorporate. Your diary is not open, are you logging your food in any way right now?

    I think you are misunderstanding her. She has lost 1 pound of weight, but the body fat scale says that he body fat percentage has shifted in such a way that she has 10 pounds less fat. The key frustration is that it is only 1 pound down. With the inaccuracies of the body fat measuring scales, I take the 10 pounds less of fat with a grain of salt in light of overall body weight not changing significantly.

  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    rodgiek79 wrote: »
    Hello. My name is Kate.
    I'm big girl (let's not go in to figures - suffice to say extra large) and have been trying to shed some weight for about 6 weeks now. Eating sensible meals, cutting out junk. Also started training in the gym with a basic program of cardio and weights designed for me by the instructor 4x a week.
    At my size, weight should be falling off me. But it isn't and I'm feeling really disheartened. So far I have supposedly lost 10lb of body fat, but only 1lb of weight.
    Is this normal for a large person taking up exercise? Should I have gotten over the whole fluid retention thing by now?

    If I understand correctly, that would mean that you lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 9 pounds of LBM (muscle, bone, etc.) in 6 weeks? That's not possible. That wouldn't be possible for an 18-year-old man on steroids, let alone for a woman (sadly, as much as I wish we added muscle that easily). Body fat scales are notoriously inaccurate -- you can use them to get a blurry picture of your overall progress, but that's about it.

    Yes, the initial water retention you'd expect from starting an exercise routine stabilizes after 3-6 weeks, so you may just be waiting to see a whoosh right now. It's much more likely that you're eating more than you think, though. You'll get the most benefit from a cheap food scale.
  • bowbieanna
    bowbieanna Posts: 1 Member
    I agree with everyone that said to accurately and honestly track your food. I have found that I dramatically underestimate the amount I consume unless I am tracking it. Once I joined MFP and started tracking the weight did start 'falling off'. Don't get discouraged. Be kind to yourself. You are making positive changes in your life and for your health so try not to lose sight of that even when the scale doesn't reflect it.
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