Doing everything right and can't lose weight

There is water weight and there is weight level.

When you stop exercising you sometimes drop water retention associated with muscle repair. When you start exercising again you often pick it back up.

Are you using daily weigh ins and a weight trending application, or web site? Are you using the same scale every time?

fb47 wrote: »

When someone says "I'm doing everything right, but I can't lose weight" usually means you're doing something wrong without knowing it. Not having a food scale is definitely one and I am also curious if you weigh yourself once a week or on a regular basis. I only ask that simply because many weigh themselves once a week which isn't the most accurate way to find out if you're losing weight or not.

Agreed! And, not being ugly with that.

I think - since I have been doing this for some two years - that we can all look back at the beginning and see just how poorly we did things at the start of our journey. And, it is usually the 'silly things' that we did not do well. All a learning curve. I mean, how hard can it be to weigh food, right? Well, let me share some silly stupid stories about the things that I did.....and, I am in good company.

Some of the best advise that I ever received was to do my tracking | logging (whatever we want to call it) and after four weeks to take a step back and look at what I was doing. It was clear as day - and not so sure why - just how poorly I was doing this. So, I re-evaluated and made some basic changes. And things got better. But still not good! Anyway, do that three times (after four weeks each time) and you would be amazed at how much better your logging | tracking is after that process of re-evaluation.

Another thing that people new to this tend to do less than perfectly is "serving size". Reading a label - at first - can be a challenge. I know - how? Well, it just can be. People tend to not pay attention to what "one serving" is....is it 35 grams, is it 1 tablespoon, is it one cup? It makes a difference. One teaspoon of Blue Cheese Salad Dressing vs one tablespoon is a BIG difference (I follow Keto so I do a lot of fats....fats have 9 calories per gram....whereas proteins and carbs have only 4 calories per gram). That, believe it or not, can be the difference between maintenance and gaining two pounds a week....or, in your case, not losing as much as you expect.

Logging everything (and by everything I mean that, actually....not "what I want" or "what I think is important vs. not important"!) will make a huge difference. Again, using the salad dressing thing...."Oh, I will just throw on some of this blue cheese dressing on my salad....that wont make a difference"! HA! Think again, man! Think again! It will absolutely make a HUGE difference. I have two or three salads a day. Think about that!!!!! There is why I am gaining three pounds a week vs. loosing two pounds a week (for example).

I work in IT and where I am really good is making sure that the foundation is 'plumb and square'! It might not be sexy, it might not be flashy, but it is d**med straight plumb and square. Without this solid foundation you are never gonna get it right.....meaning, things will never go as you expect (and that will lead to frustration out the wazoo!).

So, all things being equal, it *USUALLY* is our ability (or, lack there of) to log | track correctly that is the culprit.

Now, not saying that is what is happening with you. But, if you are doing all of these "basic" things 100% dead-on accurately, and you are still having these issues, then I would wonder what in the heck is going on. We are all basically the same.....but listen to my language: basically the same. There is a TON of wiggle room in that statement. And that is the beauty of us humans. While we are all basically the same, we are all so VASTLY different.


EDITED: totally forget the "weigh yourself" part of this....

I weigh myself everyone morning...on the same scale, at roughly the same time, completely bare-*kitten* and simply put that "morning weight" in a spread sheet and I only worry about the trend. Each "morning weight" is simply one data point along the path....whatever that might be. Now, some people have a less than perfect relationship with the scale (just like food....I am very fortunate and blessed in that food is nothing more than fuel....a tool, if you will, to do the things that I do....and the scale is just a snap shot in a specific moment of time as to my "body mass!").

Find what works for you......but please consider weighing yourself every day. It will really help.

winnies733 wrote: »

So do you eat back the calories you exercise or stick to your calorie goal despite the exercise? I’ll get a scale ASAP!

MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

That said, it's important to be accurate with the Calories In part of the equation - do get a food scale. It's more accurate than measuring cups and doesn't create additional dishes to wash.

Since you have had a cardiac event dud your doctor recommend the DASH diet. There is a link to it on the American Heart Association’s website. If so, I recommend looking at the recommended dietary guidelines there for your calorie intake and using it as a guide for most of your food. I have a family member that had great results lowering blood pressure through those diet guidelines alone. She is more rigid on the recommended servings than on the specific daily calorie goal but has also lost weight. It is my understanding that DASH is also recommended for cardiac patients. It is worth discussing with your doctor.

Mari22na wrote: »

Leptin and insulin resistance, have you been checked?

even if the OP was IR and leptin levels were high weight loss would still happen in a deficit. leptin levels would signal she is hungry,if too low,too high and she wouldnt be hungry since its a hunger hormone. she didnt say she was gaining weight either. which would mean she is being told she is hungry therefore eating more which would mean weight gain. she isnt losing at all she said which means she is eating maintenance calories. also could be water retention when she exercises masking weight loss. because if she eats and doesnt work out she loses. which to me sounds like water weight gain.