My weight won't go down :-(

You've lost 2.3 pounds in just over 3 weeks you're doing good considering you've had the odd bad day and bad week. You're doing absolutely fine just keep at it, that's a perfectly reasonable loss and as Nony_Mouse said big unexpected losses and gains are usually water weight shifting about rather than fat loss or gain just give it time. You'll start to recognise the water drops and gains as background noise xxx Good luck x

Depending on how 'bad' your bad day was, you could theoretically undo all of your deficit. I like to think of my calorie allocation as a weekly budget.

Also- how do you measure your calories? It's possible you are eating more.

Also also--- It's been a super short amount of time. You have to keep at it for a while to see consistent results. Week to week data points can often be noise (water weight, hormonal fluctuations, etc).

andysport1 wrote: »

It is possible that due to your restrictions 1400 cals that your body is then trying to protect itself so it is storing every possible extra (starvation mode) one bad day can take up to 2 weeks to rectify. Weight loss requires consistency, good luck

Btw all of this is completely wrong, starvation mode isn't a thing and since we don't know your deficit or how much over maintenance (not goal) you went on any of your bad days there is no way to give a finite time on how long it will take to undo the damage (if any was even done)

There is such a thing as adaptive thermogenesis which every one restricting calories suffers from but it usually takes months to be an issue and a week or 2 diet break eating at maintenance will negate it. I usually take diet breaks when I'm away on holidays, but this isn't something you need to concern yourself with so early in your diet.

The only other advice I can give is just make sure you're weighing, measuring and logging everything accurately including condiments, drinks and cooking oils. No eyeballing or generic entries like "medium potato" or "homemade lasagne" Also it's very easy to overestimate workout cals without a HRM (and even that's an estimate) so be cautious how many exercise cals you eat back so maybe eat 50 or 75% until you have a handle on how quickly or slowly you're losing.

Also make sure you log on your bad days even if it's painful you'll learn patterns and know how much extra you have to burn for the week, it's all useful data. x

I would also suggest lifting now... it is easier to lift while losing to maintain muscle mass than it is to gain the muscle back later.

Be patient, weigh your food on a food scale, log everything and stay within what MFP has given you to lose 1lb/wk. We have similar stats and there has been weeks where I've lost nothing, then a big 2.5lb drop. Over time, you'll notice your weight on the scale decrease.

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

vivelajackie wrote: »

Just an odd musing really, but why do so many people decide to stick solely to cardio until they get down to a certain weight range before implementing lifting? You can do it at any size, though at larger sizes you may have to alter it some in order to do said exercises safely. Weight training is useful.

I suspect it's a sign that the person thinks lifting will make them gain weight.

I personally believe it is actually (secretly?) because many of them don't want to do any real work.

You can pretend to "exercise" by walking on a treadmill while reading a magazine or watching a TV show.
Sorry, at such low intensity that is activity, not exercise.

Jogging or running on a treadmill is one thing. Walking slow enough to follow an episode of Oprah is another.
Activity is important, but referring to that as "exercise" is way too generous.
Especially since many people want to count those "exercise calories" and eat some of them back!

If you are not low on breath and don't feel your heart beating then you are not "exercising" anywhere near as hard as you think.

Weight training is not so forgiving...

Give it your all, move the weight.
If you succeed, move heavier weight next time - the intensity is then higher.
Repeat.
No way to focus on a TV and your hands are full so you cannot read a magazine.

"Iron and The Soul" by Henry Rollins is a worthwhile read on the subject.

But I am certainly cynical.
Some people are probably intimated by moving heavy-for-them weights and scared of learning new things / looking foolish.
That sort of fear permeates many facets of those people's lives.

My assertion is that most people who say they don't want a lean, sexy, athletic-looking, muscular body (because of "big" or "bulky" muscles) are simply lying to themselves to make excuses.

Show people a picture of their potential with a naturally obtainable amount of muscle (without steroids, etc) after say 3 years following a proper compound weight training protocol and one with a potential body after 3 years just cardio and I bet most (all?) of them will pick the "bulky muscle" look, every time.

Yes, many people are simply ignorant of effective weight training protocols and what is possible without steroids.
But few of those people are willing to do the necessary hard work even after they are properly educated.

I’m 5’4 ( doc says 5’3.5 whatevs) 166.4, I’ve lifted on this whole weight loss journey. I remember one time I lifted really heavy weights and by the end of week I was 2 lbs up.. I kept lifting anyways lol then the next two weeks I was down three lbs. The body does weird things. So I pay more attention to how my clothes fit. Don’t get me wrong I like seeing the scale go down, but you have to be patient.