No weight loss after 4 weeks

Hello! This is my first time posting on anything. I figured I'd chime in because I had a similar result when I first started. I would suggest:

1. Looking over what you have entered for your activity level and weight loss goals. Tweaking those may help some.
2. Over-estimating your calories a little when you log (because most of us tend to underestimate those without meaning to) and eating back only a portion of what it says you've burned off through exercise as a number of people say it overestimates the burn for them
3. Patience and persistence. Myfitnesspal is giving you a ton of information, but ultimately you will have to parse that information based on your results over time and tweak how you eat and exercise. I have that exact same issue with the scale and also had a slight gain when I started, but keeping with it anyway and just trusting that it would help over time has paid off.
4. Don't get tied to the results the program thinks you will have. Even being careful with my logging and working out, I am not experiencing results as dramatic as the app thinks I will each week. Some weeks I have no change at all. Thankfully, this forum has let me know that is common for a lot of people. When I'm losing, it's little bits at a time. But I am still losing! And for me that feels like a miracle.

I think if you already know that the numbers can mess with your head, then you are doing right to keep them to one side. You've already made some wonderful decisions for your health as a whole, and the rest will come with patience and persistence.

I wish you the best!

Body coach recipes are so yummy but very calorific so unless you measure everything you eat it would be really easy to put weight on.
You don't have to step on scales all time if you get obsessive but take measurements and measure and weigh everything you eat.
Well done on quitting smoking

If you and your husband are eating the exact same amount, then there is your problem. You shouldn't be. You should be eating LESS than him. Just cut down your portion sizes, and log your calories, and assess where you are in a few weeks.

• With a BMR typically way above that for females, a male will generally lose a lot faster than a given female with similar diet & portions (he will have a larger calorie deficit). And calorie burns for the same activity will usually be higher.
• Weight can fluctuate several pounds within even the same day just due to water. Water retention will happen frequently when starting new exercise, changing diet, etc.

The first 2 are my likely guesses. Other possibilities/suggestions:
• If eating back exercise calories, do watch out for possible over-estimation on activities where 'vigorousness' can vary widely and isn't easily measured, such as aerobics.
• Be careful with volume measurements of calorie dense items (like nuts).

curtisw2000 wrote: »

Weight is just a number. It is a HUGE deal that you are noticing toning and clothing fit. Those are FAR better indicators of how you're doing than the number on a scale. In addition to everyone else's comments, remember if you're working out you're building muscle mass. It is not uncommon to see no change or even weight gain based on the weight of new muscles.

How much muscle do you think a women strength training twice a week for 4 weeks would gain?

clairecostello1987 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I wonder if anyone can help. My husband and I have been making big changes for our health and waistbands recently. And he's seeing major changes and I'm not.

So, firstly, I quit smoking, and because I know it can lead to weight gain and at almost 16stone I certainly can't afford that. So, I got the body coach cookbook and completely overhauled our family dinners, and my husband and I taking leftovers (small enough portions) for lunch. A banana (in the car) for breakfast and a handful of pistachios (in shells) mid morning. Tracking calories, I'm between 1500 and 1600 every day, around equal percentage fat, protein and carbs.

We've been doing the body coach and bikini body mommy workouts, cardio 3/4 times a week, strength twice a week.

Anyway, my husband, who was around 14 stone has lost a stone and a half, I've put on 2 lbs. HOW? Lol. We're literally eating and exercising the exact same amount! Anyway, I had been avoiding the sad step, so today was my first weigh after 4 weeks coz I can get a little obsessive. Anyway. Help.

You're eating the exact same amount as your husband to lose weight? Men generally have significantly higher calorie requirements than women...1500-1600 calories per day for a man would be a huge deficit in most cases...not necessarily the case for a woman.

I can lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2200-2300 calories per day...which is roughly what my wife maintains on

New exercise often initially hinders weight loss, not because of the muscle weight thing, but because of extra water in your body while your muscles get used to working out so that may be one of the factors. That will settle down soon so don't worry.
Also try dropping your calories a little more but do it by eating something different at lunch and breakfast rather than even smaller portions. E.g try salads and soups, eggs for breakfast etc...
Don't eat back more than half your exercise calories either.

You will start to do well at some point with a change of living, but, as its not working so far, just shake it up a little.
Men do seem to lose so much easier, it's not fair lol

clairecostello1987 wrote: »

Hi guys, yeah, I'm eating around the same as my husband at dinner and lunch. I started off two stone heavier than him (thanks kids) and now he's lost a further 2 stone. I'm not framing my eating in reference to his, I'm going by the recommended calories for 2lb for my hight/weight from my fitness pal. Lol, my inner feminist bristles at the notion I should automatically eat less than him. Anyway, I'm finding this sustainable, I'm not cutting further to see faster results because I won't stick. If there's one thing I'm an expert at it's falling off the wagon face first into a bottle of wine and a burger!

Your inner feminist shouldn't be bristling because at the basic level, women need less calories than men overall. It's not because women are dainty little creatures and should eat less than men. It's because men usually have more muscle mass, less bodyfat, and are taller than women. All of those are factors that impact one's calorie needs. You said you're not framing your eating in reference to his but you already have several times in your posts. If you're eating around the same amount as your husband during lunch and dinner and you don't weigh your snacks like pistachios (no, counting is not as accurate as weighing), the odds are that you're eating more calories than you think.

However, you said this was the first time weighing yourself in four weeks so if you're near ovulation or menstruation that also increases water weight. Enough water weight to offset a month's worth of loss? Likely not, but every person is different. Because women are more prone to water weight fluctuations, it would be in your best interests to start weighing in weekly at the very least. If you're still not seeing the scale budge after a few weeks of weighing in, then you need to cut calories.

and as someone else said, how much muscle mass do you think a woman is putting on in 4 weeks??