Toning up... but no weight loss

laurenfront
laurenfront Posts: 2
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!
I have been getting REALLY serious about working out for the past 3 weeks. Turbo Fire, Running, Weights... I am getting tone but not losing any weight and my clothes STILL do not fit.

I work out 3-4x a week. I have been counting calories for 3 weeks and am staying around 1200 a day.

I am getting so frustrated!!

Any ideas why I still cannot fit into my pants?

Replies

  • taco_tap
    taco_tap Posts: 152 Member
    I'm the same way, legs and arms feel smaller, I feel more in shape, but pounds stay the same. Maybe its because you are gaining muscle... That's what I tell myself.
  • brendalyne
    brendalyne Posts: 497
    This thread may be of interest to you:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Eat more!!
  • Butter13
    Butter13 Posts: 25 Member
    I have had this problem, too - working out every day and staying around 1200 but I keep gaining and losing the same 3 lbs. I do notice that I am toning up and some of my clothes are fitting better, but the damn scale won't move. So I made an appt with a nutritionist for tomorrow to see if she can help me get over this "plateau" or whatever it is.
    Hang in there, people - it makes me feel better to know I'm not alone, but I wish you all the luck in the world!!!
  • watcherII
    watcherII Posts: 56 Member
    i'm no expert, but often when you have a low calorie intake and high calorie burn, your body can go into "starvation mode". it perceives the lack of calories as a famine, and holds on to all the weight it can to protect itself. another possibility is increased muscle mass. muscle weighs more than fat, so, while you are losing fat, you are building muscle therefore not seeing a weight decrease. these are just possibilities, though.
  • DRetel
    DRetel Posts: 136 Member
    muscle weighs more than fat

    Gah! A pound of muscle and a pound of fat weigh the same. A pound.
    Fat takes up more SPACE than muscle, but it weighs the same.
  • mbroeckelmanpost
    mbroeckelmanpost Posts: 44 Member
    It takes time, and you shouldn't try to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week-- but you probably need to eat more. You should be eating most of your exercise calories in addition to the calories that you would normally eat on a non-exercise day.

    Read the links in this post-- they'll give you a lot of great information that will help to explain what is going on (and why so many of us are telling you to eat more-- even though that probably seems counterintuitive at the moment): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
  • aubry87
    aubry87 Posts: 34 Member
    I would definitly suggest bumping up your calories to even 1350 or more, considering you work out so much. Your body is probably going into starvation mode. Bump up your calories for the week & I bet you will see a loss at the end of the week!
  • cbond74
    cbond74 Posts: 71 Member
    You probably need to eat more. If you're burning say 500 calories and only eat 1200 calories you're only giving your body 700 calories to fuel it with. That is not enough and your body will go into starvation mode. You need to eat back the calories burned to at least the point of giving your body 1200 calories for women and 1500 for men. Check out this article in blog recently posted.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/wbond/view/eat-more-lose-more-really-129327
  • Dmax12
    Dmax12 Posts: 36 Member
    Its VERY hard to both loose weight and gain muscle. The most common thing body builders do is lose weight until they reach a good % Body fat, then you should workout about 3x a week, and make sure you increase Calorie intake that day and everyday should have a few extra grams of protien.

    The toning you are seeing now is probably more related to losing weight than anything else, the lower your % body fat, the fewer places youe muscles have to hide! This will more than likely continue until you stop losing weight, but keep working those muscles out! It would be a shame to lose them right as they start showing!

    EDIT: Body builders workout all the time, their routine just changes based on "Bulking or Cutting" as they call it.
  • laurenfront
    laurenfront Posts: 2
    I do make up for the calories burned. So say I burn 400 cals, I add that to my 1200 a day range eating a total of 1600 cals that day.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    YOu only have 20lbs to lose. I've read on here that those of us with little weight to lose should only be trying for 0.5lbs per week (which would be higher NET than 1200 I think, unless you are small).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,031 Member
    Debunking the "gaining muscle" answers. You DON'T gain muscle on calorie deficit. To gain muscle you need calorie surplus.

    If you don't eat enough, your metabolic rate will slow even if you work out.
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