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MyFitnessPal Community

What do you do when you don't lose?

Xypher2

I've been logging everything, it was going well. I lost 2lbs my first week then 1.5lbs last week. This week I lost 0-0.5lbs and it's pretty disheartening. It feels like how am I supposed to lose weight if I can't even do it at under 1200 cals a day.
So how do others deal with this?

Replies

lois1231

I agree it is frustrating. I guess the thing is to make peace with the scale and realize that you aren't going to lose everyday. In fact some days you will regain the few pounds you lost only to lose it again a few days later. If you realize that eventually as long as you are tracking what you eat and staying within your calorie goals, the weight will come off. Weight loss takes time and is a slow process and does not follow just a downward trend even though I wish it did. One thing I do also is take my measurements. That helps and also look at how your clothes are fitting. Do they feel looser, not as tight, baggier, some that didn't fit now fit. That sort of thing. You got this. Just hang in there.

TerranandKaylynsmommy

How tall are you and what do you weigh? How active are you and what are your goals? Some weeks I lose 5lbs and sometimes I don't lose any. Do you weigh and measure what you're eating? It can be disheartening for sure but you kinda just have to chug along. Hang in there. It's hard but it's worth it. And 1200 is pretty low for calories.

Machka9

Xypher2 wrote: »

I've been logging everything, it was going well. I lost 2lbs my first week then 1.5lbs last week. This week I lost 0-0.5lbs and it's pretty disheartening. It feels like how am I supposed to lose weight if I can't even do it at under 1200 cals a day.
So how do others deal with this?

But ... you did lose. In 3 weeks you lost 4 lbs. You're losing at a great rate ... keep it up.

jefamer2017

Hydrate.

L1zardQueen

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

robinhager3998

I don't know your situation, but are you trying to lose too much? 1200 calories is way too low for anyone. I know I'll get flack for this, but it's true. Better to be heavier and well nourished. My doctor said that those BMI charts should be trashed. Everyone is different, and you can't go by the scale. It's how you feel physically and how healthy you are.

iowalinda

Xypher2 wrote: »

I've been logging everything, it was going well. I lost 2lbs my first week then 1.5lbs last week. This week I lost 0-0.5lbs and it's pretty disheartening. It feels like how am I supposed to lose weight if I can't even do it at under 1200 cals a day.
So how do others deal with this?

The scale can be our best friend or worst enemy depending on what it shows that day LOL

Lots of things factor in to what number shows up on the scale at any given time, which may have nothing to do with how well you've been sticking to your plan. Maybe your best bet is to stop weighing yourself so often. Maybe go to weighing in once a month. I know exactly what you are saying, as when I lose I feel on top of the world, but when that scale clings stubbornly to the old number for more than a week, I feel like I want to give up.
Don't let that scale control you.

88olds

Deal with it? I don’t tell myself that losses are non-losses. It’s a trick that brains play on folks trying to lose weight.

We lose .5, (4 lbs in 3 weeks) our brain tells us our plan isn’t working, and then we quit because it’s all hopeless. Our brains hate weight loss. It’s the way our brains keep us from changing.

ITUSGirl51

You tell yourself 4 lbs in 3 weeks is great progress. Tell yourself keep going. If you keep at this pace you will have lost about 15 lbs in 3 months.

Xypher2

Thank you for all the replies. I'm 5'3 and 60.1kg. I want to lose at least a stone. I took my measurements this morning so I will use that, but even all through the week I could just feel that I hadn't lost. The people I've known who've done slimming world usually lose every week so I thought this would be the same. Another thing is people telling me I don't need to lose weight, but they weren't happy at my size.
I plan on starting the gym, so far I've been doing a group class a week, but two last week so I burned more than usual.
But I will keep going and see how it is next week.

kimny72

Tiny_Dancer_in_Pink wrote: »

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

Please read this thread. Unrealistic expectations caused by the diet industry and other people's unreliable anecdotes about their own experience are some of the biggest reasons why people quit. You are doing great, whether you realize it or not :drinker:

Marilyn0924

You have very little to lose, so losing that 4 pounds is excellent progress! Aiming for 1/2 lb per week is a sustainable and reasonable expectation. You also state you just added in some new exercise into the mix. This can add a bit of water weight for muscle repair.
Don't despair, you're doing fine....patience is the key.

elkimo

I gain 1lb and could not understand why didnt go over carbs didnt have anything I should not have!!!

Marilyn0924

elkimo wrote: »

I gain 1lb and could not understand why didnt go over carbs didnt have anything I should not have!!!

Water retention? Hormonal imbalances due to ToM (if you're female), too much sodium the day before, lack of sleep, too much stress...the list goes on.

Weight loss is not linear, some weeks you lose, sometimes you gain, sometimes you stay the same.

JBApplebee

It's a marathon, not a sprint. I can look back & almost always find a reason I didn't lose weight yesterday. Not enough exercise, had a few bad snacks, whatever the cause. But if I can't have fun & eat what I want from time to time, it really isn't worth it.

DebLaBounty

I taught myself not to freak out. Some weeks I'd lose more than others. Just think long term. And fair warning: I lost too fast (two pounds a week) and lost muscle tone. Now my arms look wrinkly and pitted. Not the look I was going for. If I had this to do over, I would definitely aim for about a pound of loss per week instead.

And, don't eat under 1200 calories. MFP sets that as the absolute minimum intake level for sedentary people. If you are exercising, be sure to eat back half of your earned calories. You WILL lose weight doing this and following the MFP guidelines.

NightOwl7777

You really need to be kind to yourself. I speak with a dietitian regularly and he often tells me that slow steady loss is much better for the body to maintain than a quick fix rapid diet. You may feel like 0.5-1lb a week isn’t a lot but you are actually doing a fantastic job. You will have reached your target before you realise. It also takes a few weeks for your body to adjust to a new calorie deficit. I totally get the frustration I need to be kind to myself too as I feel that I could be doing better but I’m learning to celebrate The successes and draw a line under anything else. You have got this.

ZazieMFP

DebLaBounty wrote: »

I taught myself not to freak out. Some weeks I'd lose more than others. Just think long term. And fair warning: I lost too fast (two pounds a week) and lost muscle tone. Now my arms look wrinkly and pitted. Not the look I was going for. If I had this to do over, I would definitely aim for about a pound of loss per week instead.

And, don't eat under 1200 calories. MFP sets that as the absolute minimum intake level for sedentary people. If you are exercising, be sure to eat back half of your earned calories. You WILL lose weight doing this and following the MFP guidelines.

But I don't think MFP is correct. How could it be that the minimum for a 5'11 woman is the same than for a 5'1 one? I am 5'3 and 47 years-old, and if I do not workout a lot and eat 1200 cals, I will maintain. In fact, if I do not workout, even if I walk for on hour everyday (to the office, back and forth) my target is not to exceed 1050 or 1100 cal. max. if I want to lose at an average of 2 or 3 lbs per month.

I bet MFP sets the minimum at 1200, assuming that some people will go a little under ... They may be afraid of potential lawsuits, so they keep this "safety margin". Who knows.

Now I am not suggesting that OP goes below 1200. I think she loses at a good rate so far, and she should keep going !

JeromeBarry1

If I have a week of not losing, I just keep trying.

theabsentmindednurse

I have had a month.
Hasn’t changed my commitment.
You just keep pushing. Every day.
This has to be a LIFETIME COMMITMENT!

swebb1103

I stay off the scale and go by how my clothes fit. I only lost 10 pounds in a year (according to my doctor's scale) but I went from a size 16 to a 12 or sometimes10.

kelMee2

Hi, I’m a newbie, been logging in for 3 weeks but this is my first post here. I know how you feel I lost 7lbs over the first 2 weeks, 5lbs the first week and 2 the second, weighed myself this morning and haven’t lost anything. Been logging my food every day, my calories are set at just under 1500 and most days I’m under that sometimes by 100 calories and sometimes just by a couple but I’m gutted not to see the scales move this week. Determined not to give up but it can be a bit soul destroying when you know you’ve stuck to your calories and not lost x

SkimpyMrsCarter

Make sure your measuring food properly with a food scale, and exercise speeds the proccess up.

goldthistime

kelMee2 wrote: »

Hi, I’m a newbie, been logging in for 3 weeks but this is my first post here. I know how you feel I lost 7lbs over the first 2 weeks, 5lbs the first week and 2 the second, weighed myself this morning and haven’t lost anything. Been logging my food every day, my calories are set at just under 1500 and most days I’m under that sometimes by 100 calories and sometimes just by a couple but I’m gutted not to see the scales move this week. Determined not to give up but it can be a bit soul destroying when you know you’ve stuck to your calories and not lost x

But that 7lbs in the first week is probably exaggerated (i.e.mostly water weight loss) don't you think? That works out to a deficit of 3500 calories a day. I don't know what your calorie goal was but if you were eating 1200 calories a day (the minimum), your maintenance goal would have had to be 4700 to have a 3500 deficit. Or something less than that but a huge calorie burn from exercise.

My guess would be that you have regained some of the water weight from the first week and probably now losing actual fat, but the scale can't show you that.

Xypher2

Thank you for more comments (and that woo-er, I was expecting you), the article was helpful too. I guess I was just being impatient and this is the push I needed to keep going.

mca90guitar

When the scale isn't dropping I bust out the measuring tape. I went through a few weeks where I didn't really lose much weight but my waiste went down still. As long as the tape shows me getting skinny I don't care much what the scale tells me.

If neither is moving then I might start looking into it more.

positivepowers

I think this explains it the best: