Getting frustrated

Do you use a food scale?

EricaCraigie wrote: »

Don't worry.. the fat loss could be balanced out by muscle gains. This is why it's important to take progress photos and do body measurements. . Going by weight isn't very accurate. Keep it up!

How much muscle do you think a woman can gain in a month of strength training?

If you use a food scale then it sounds like you know the drill for the calories in side. I'd double check your settings in MFP. I put in the lowest activity (Im not really the lowest tho) and eat back only 1/2 to 2/3 my exercise calories. That got me losing when I stuck.

I also don't trust the exercise calorie burn on MFP and put in a third less than what they say, based on my Polar chest strap burn based on a very accurate heart rate. I used the Polar a lot to check burns for running, biking, and walking. Now I just know that it's way too high, for me and my metabolism.

OP, if your profile is correct, you don't have much to lose, so you should be expecting to lose around half a lb per week, so 1.5 lbs in the last three weeks. It would be very easy for water weight fluctuations to disguise that loss.

You also have a lot of foods logged as 1 cup of rice, 4 mini muffins, 2 scoops of protein powder, etc., are those being weighed? If you have never weighed those items, try weighing them once at least to make sure the package info is accurate. The nutritional info on the package is correct for the weight listed (say 56 grams) then an estimated volume serving is given to make it easier to estimate. Sometimes it is on point, but it's often way off. Hang in there!

Keep doing what you're doing. Be patient.

Fat cells are funny. They'll lose fat as you burn it, but replace the lost fat volume with water. Once every last molecule of fat is out of the cell, it suddenly releases all the water. When that happens to millions of fat cells on the same day, that's called a "whoosh" and you lose more than 1 pound in one day.

You eat sodium and your body wants to keep that in aqueous solution so that sticks around as water weight.

You have undertaken a new, strenuous exercise program. This raises your expression of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol also must be kept in aqueous solution and it also sticks around as water weight.

You are female and have water sticking around for mysterious female hormonal reasons. I'm sorry.

You're doing weight lifting. This might be causing micro-tears in your lifting muscles if you are attempting heavy lifts. Any muscle soreness you experience after lifting means that your muscles are retaining water to do repairs.


You cannot affect the timing of your fat cell whoosh.
You can affect the retained water due to sodium. Drink 3 liters or more of water each day. Your kidneys will work hard to get rid of excess water and that takes excess sodium away.
You can affect the retained water due to cortisol. Take a day of rest.
You can affect the retained water due to muscle repair. Take a day of rest.
I have no idea how to affect the mysterious female hormonal stuff. I'm sorry.

Rileysowner- this chart is awesome!

adipace815 wrote: »

Rileysowner- this chart is awesome!

adipace815 wrote: »

Rileysowner- this chart is awesome!

Thanks, but I didn't make it. Another user here, whose user name I cannot remember, put it together. It is very helpful though.