What could I be doing wrong?!

burningblueskyy
burningblueskyy Posts: 9 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been working out for a month now and I do a lot of strength training combined with cardio. I notice that I'm slimming down physically (the differences are subtle) and also progressively getting stronger.. but the scale is stuck at the number I started with. It decreases by like 1-2 lbs, then it increases again, etc. right now I'm only 1 lb less than I was when I started. I'm doing an Ashley Horner program.

What am I doing wrong? I don't want to credit all that weight to muscle because even though I am stronger, I still think my fat burn should show on the scale at least a little. I am being careful with my diet and calories but I do eat one cheat meal a week.

When you strength train with cardio shouldn't you still continue to see a trend of losing weight? Or is it a slow process? I'm willing to go at a slow pace, I just want to make sure I don't need to increase my cardio or be stricter with my diet.. what do you all think?

Replies

  • Poisonedpawn78
    Poisonedpawn78 Posts: 1,145 Member
    What is your weekly calorie deficit/weight loss goal?
    Are you sticking to your goals by weighing your food to be accurate?

    Depending on how much it is, you are right on target and some water/food weight could be masking it.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    When I'm lifting consistently, I usually hold a few pounds of water. Rest days usually make my weight dip down a bit, and heavier workouts make it go up. (It's also common for me to stay around the same weight for a few weeks, and then have a "Whoosh". Last week I lost almost 4 lbs, I probably won't lose again for a while. My average weight lost is still trending down well.)

    If you just started lifting, water retention could mask your scale loss for a while. Also, depending on where you are with TOM you can hold a little extra water too.

    Also, one "cheat meal" a week can be enough for me to wipe out most of the deficit I created during the week. If you aren't already, I would log these days to see how much you're actually eating.

  • burningblueskyy
    burningblueskyy Posts: 9 Member
    My MFP is set to 1200 but I don't always meet that goal. I didn't think about water weight.. I do drink a gallon a day. And yes that's exactly what happens TresaAswegan I lose weight after my off day. I guess I just have to be persistent and keep going.

    Thank you for the motivation :)
  • WendyLeigh1119
    WendyLeigh1119 Posts: 495 Member
    I also "whoosh" lose all at once. Literally 4lbs lighter than the day before. And then nothing for 14 days.
  • burningblueskyy
    burningblueskyy Posts: 9 Member
    Maybe my nutrition is the problem then..
  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    I agree with the above. But I think the body shrinking is more important than the scale going down.
  • burningblueskyy
    burningblueskyy Posts: 9 Member
    I just calculated that I need between 1550-2550 to lose between 1-2 lbs a week. Aahhh. Feeling like I'm back to square one :c guess I need to work hard to eat more calories today.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    edited July 2017
    MFP%20Flowchart%20lemonlionheart%20a_zpsot9kdvnv.jpg~original
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
    burningblueskyy wrote: »
    I just calculated that I need between 1550-2550 to lose between 1-2 lbs a week. Aahhh. Feeling like I'm back to square one :c guess I need to work hard to eat more calories today.

    Are you sure you are logging how much you are eating now correctly though? If you aren't weighing all solids and measuring all liquids then you may be eating more than 1200 cals now, increasing your calories whilst not logging them correctly is not going to help if inaccurate logging is a problem. Watch out for dodgy database entries too.

  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited July 2017
    burningblueskyy wrote: »
    My MFP is set to 1200 but I don't always meet that goal. I didn't think about water weight.. I do drink a gallon a day. And yes that's exactly what happens TresaAswegan I lose weight after my off day. I guess I just have to be persistent and keep going.

    Thank you for the motivation :)

    Are you perhaps confusing retained water weight with the weight of the water that you're actually drinking? The two aren't the same. :)


  • rmgnow
    rmgnow Posts: 375 Member
    1200 is very low and set you up for failure.
    There are also no "cheat meals"

    If you're working out you NEED protein and fats
    So it's a marathon not a Sprint.
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