Not losing weight

mikkiringvlach · March 2017

Hello everyone! I am a 49 yr old female who has a sedentary job. I am 5'6" and weigh 170 lbs. I started Jazzercize a month ago and go 5-6 days a week. I love the workouts and sweat my butt off while working out. I'm giving it my all and sticking to a strict 1200 calorie diet of healthy foods. I have not lost ANY weight though. Any suggestions? I wanted to lose 15-20 lbs by July but the way it's going it's not going to happen.

owensbell · March 2017

I would try mixing in other types of workouts mixed in. Try some ploymetric or Hitt workouts, free weights, or high intensity spinning. Try to mix it up. Then keep a close eye on sugar intake.. Try to eat Whole Foods etc. hopefully this helps.. sure you've heard it before.. good luck!

cerise_noir · March 2017

Are you using a food scale?

Have you replaced the batteries in your scale recently?

Do you log absolutely everything that you eat, cook with and drink?

Are you eating back some of your exercise calories? How are you working out exercise calorie burn?

Have you gone over sodium at all?

Hormonal related water weight? Have you been hydrated? Constipation?

Are your clothes a little looser?

It could be fluid retention from the exercise or a combination of a few or all of these things.

estherdragonbat · March 2017

Okay. Since nobody's asked it yet, how are you calculating your portions? Are you weighing your solid foods? (Measuring cups are only accurate for liquids.)

Disagree with what the poster said about sugar. If you're eating in a deficit, it doesn't matter how much sugar you're taking in.

It could be water weight. Intense exercise can sometimes cause it. If so, it's temporary and will fall off shortly.

You say you started Jazzercise a month ago. Is that also when you started watching your weight?

Have you noticed any changes to your body measurements?

Without an open diary, that's the best I can do.

owensbell · March 2017

Also, check out Melissa Bender's workouts on You Tube.. their killer. She has several to help you mix it up

mikkiringvlach · March 2017

I am not good about measuring my food. Yes I started watching my weight when I started Jazzercize. My clothes seem a bit looser in my waist but tighter in my legs. I went from doing literally no exercise and eating pretty much what I wanted to 5-6 sweaty workouts a week and eating mostly homemade, Whole Foods. I do eat a lot of fruit...but not enough to carry me over my calorie count. As for eating my exercise calories, I thought you were supposed to be able to eat them. I never eat MORE than the total at the top of my page. A couple of times I've gone over on fat or sodium but that isn't typical. I don't think it's water weight but I'm not sure how I could tell if it was. I'm getting discouraged. Although I do love Jazzercize so I'll keep doing it. Just thought I would see some results. Oh, I am menopausal, could that be the culprit. I went through menopause early....about age 43. It runs in the family. Cknstipation is a fact of life for me....it's always been that way. Thanks for your help.

diannethegeek · March 2017

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.

mikkiringvlach · March 2017

I've thought about thyroid. I am freezing all the time but then when I exert myself I sweat like no other. It's like my thermostat is broken. I'll make some changes and give it a few more weeks. If no progress by May first I am off to the doctor! Thanks so much!

__TMac__ · March 2017

1) Don't panic.

2) Tighten up your logging. Work on weighing your food and writing down everything.

3) Many people, myself included, believe that MFP overestimates exercise calories. Try eating back just 50-75%.

bee_bee8 · March 2017

I'd guess your intake calories are off, try a food scale like others suggested. You'll be surprised to find the "serving size" is inaccurate in a lot of cases - for example, the bread I buy says there are 70 calories per slice (which the label says weighs 26g). However, nearly every slice turns out to weigh more than that (around 30g). If you're not already, prepare your own meals as much as possible - that way you know EXACTLY what you're eating. Give it a little more time, it's still early. In the mean time, just know your fitness is improving and your body is getting healthier :-)

aprilzabeth · March 2017

1200 is too low if you are exercising. I was on a 1200 calorie diet when I started mfp and it made me cranky, all I could think about was food, and it was just bad.

I know it seems crazy, but eating more calories often helps you lose weight. I think your body is telling you that 1200 just isn't enough. My body fought me as well and then I started eating more and everything went back to normal.

I used to do aerobics all the time and walking twice a day. I was really over exercising. Now I just do yoga somedays and casually walk other days. Sometimes I don't even exercise. I thought I had to starve and sweat. Turns out nurishing your body is all you need.

mikkiringvlach · March 2017

Thanks everyone! I will take the advice of measuring and weighing my food. I will also eat back fewer calories and make some other adjustments. Hopefully I'll see some results soon!

annkelley2 · March 2017

Get some blood work done and see if you have an under active thyroid. All of the above suggestions are really good like weighing food and charting it. Dont rely on just calorie numbers, protein and sugar are very important. Good luck...Im with ya!

mikkiringvlach · March 2017

Protein is hard. I know I don't eat enough.

diezel67 · March 2017

Eat more.

skinnyfatty1983 · March 2017

mikkiringvlach wrote: »

Hello everyone! I am a 49 yr old female who has a sedentary job. I am 5'6" and weigh 170 lbs. I started Jazzercize a month ago and go 5-6 days a week. I love the workouts and sweat my butt off while working out. I'm giving it my all and sticking to a strict 1200 calorie diet of healthy foods. I have not lost ANY weight though. Any suggestions? I wanted to lose 15-20 lbs by July but the way it's going it's not going to happen.

be patient, consistent with clean food and workout

deannalfisher · March 2017

are you eating back exercise calories?

can you open up your food diary?

what did you pick for your goal weight/amount of weight loss per week? at 170lbs, and 1200cal, that sounds like you selected 2lb weight loss a week, which might be too agressive

jazziekins · March 2017

I have recently gone through the same thing. I spoke with both a personal trainer and a dietician I have access to through a program at work. They have both suggested I am not eating enough calories to keep up with the amount of exercise I am participating in. I go to the gym 6 days a week roughly. I have increased my calories the last week and am starting to see a rise in my energy level where before I was starting to lag and did not realize. Hope this helps!

aprilzabeth · March 2017

Please don't eat back fewer calories if you are only eating 1200 calories. 1200 is for if you do NO exercise at all. I lost my period for 4 months when I was doing what you were doing. I had to eat lots more, stop exercising, and gain a few pounds back so that my body would go back to normal. I did 1350 - 1400 after that and still lost weight. I'm 5'3 and small boned. I've reached my goal though and am maintaining, but I'd never do the 1200 calories again even without exercise. Even eating 1400 and just standing up more all day will help me lose weight.

Unknown · March 2017

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mikkiringvlach · April 2017

Have had a bad week. Really discouraged and for some reason I ache all over this week. Didn't log anything for about 4 days and had pizza twice this week. Mind you only a slice of thin crust each time but still...... I have made an appt with my GP but can't get in until May. Will keep trudging along until then. Going to try to increase my water consumption but water literally kills me with acid reflux so there's that. Wow what a whiner I am today. Must change the attitude as well. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

mikkiringvlach · April 2017

Update: I decided to up my protein consumption because I was never meeting that goal. Have lost 2 lbs since my last post! Still staying within MFP's recommended calorie range and making sure to eat back only 1/2 of my workout calories. I am ending up over the recommended percentage of fats. Will need to work on that now. I am just excited that the scale moved! Had to share! Have a great week everyone and thanks again for all of the great advice!

SCoil123 · April 2017

I wanted to add that if the exercise is brand new it is normal to retain water and not see results right away. The first time I did Insanity Max30 I gained a few lbs before the weight started coming off.

Not losing weight

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