not losing pounds, help?

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  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    You HAVE TO exercise. Sorry, but you do!

    Actually, as long as there is a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. Is exercise healthy? Yes. Is it necessary to lose weight? No.
    LIE! There's no way. Your body will get used to whatever calories you put in it. If you eat less, you'll just get used to functioning with less. The only way to lose weight is to exercise AND eat less. Period. Period. Period! If you lose weight, it's most likely to be water weight. If you lose muscle, you'll burn less calories living. Exercise ensures you don't lose muscle (and think it's fat). If you only eat less and don't exercise, then when you eat more, you'll just pack on the pounds - as opposed to invigorating your metabolism (i.e. The ONLY way you can do this is through exercise) - which makes you burn MORE calories in your everyday functions. Women, especially, lose muscle so fast, esp. as we get older, so the importance is MORE on exercise than EATING LESS. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a gosh darn liar!

    You flat out don't know what you're talking about.
  • jennyj09
    jennyj09 Posts: 80
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    1200 calories is not enough, believe it or not! Unless you have more than 100 lbs to lose, you should change your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. That will give you 500 more calories/day. This is set an automatic deficit to help you lose 1 lb/week. Any exercise you do, you earn extra calories to eat--MFP calculates that for you when you enter the exercise. EAT THE EXTRA CALORIES.

    You will lose. Trust! You won't even need "cheat" days when you have the right amount of calories; you won't be hungry!

    Give it a shot--you've had 6 weeks with no luck--THIS will do it for you.

    Here's a link that gives a nice explanation of why:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

    blessings.


    thanks for this...I changed my settings too :)


    I changed mine too!!! I've been doin this for about 6 weeks now too, and have only lost inches...but the scale is going up...Maybe it'll help my progress :)
  • AlyRoseNYC
    AlyRoseNYC Posts: 1,075 Member
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    You HAVE TO exercise. Sorry, but you do!

    Actually, as long as there is a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. Is exercise healthy? Yes. Is it necessary to lose weight? No.
    LIE! There's no way. Your body will get used to whatever calories you put in it. If you eat less, you'll just get used to functioning with less. The only way to lose weight is to exercise AND eat less. Period. Period. Period! If you lose weight, it's most likely to be water weight. If you lose muscle, you'll burn less calories living. Exercise ensures you don't lose muscle (and think it's fat). If you only eat less and don't exercise, then when you eat more, you'll just pack on the pounds - as opposed to invigorating your metabolism (i.e. The ONLY way you can do this is through exercise) - which makes you burn MORE calories in your everyday functions. Women, especially, lose muscle so fast, esp. as we get older, so the importance is MORE on exercise than EATING LESS. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a gosh darn liar!

    You flat out don't know what you're talking about.
    I agree! OP please don't take any of her advice seriously. I usually don't butt in or hijack threads, but this person really needs to stop spreading false information. Exercise is very beneficial for your body, but when talking about just losing pounds, it it not necessary. Sometimes when people have lost tons of weight and are in the final stretch, they might need to add in some exercise to get to where they want to be. That's the only time I've heard that exercise is a must.
    That being said, I'm very pro-exercise =)
  • childofbodom123
    childofbodom123 Posts: 175 Member
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    So i've been calorie counting on here for about 6 weeks now, not exercising as much as i could, but eating healthly. In the 6 weeks i've had about 4 cheat days (i was on holiday and there didnt seem to be any healthy options anywhere!) Apart from that, i've stuck to eating my 1200 calorie net everyday, but with hardly any loss (2 pounds - ignore the ticker..) i take my measurements to and have seen a tiny change, but im starting to get annoyed..
    Anyone else have this? 30 pounds to lose, and at this rate i'll be here til christmas 2012..

    Someone, please, help? :frown:
    [/quote


    I have been using my fitness pal for about 9 month and i have lost 3 stone. So my first bit of advice is to stick with this. Things you need to look at is, have you entered all your details correctly, height etc? Check these, make sure they are correct. What is your target weight loss per week etc? Look at all this.

    Next, look at the food you are eating. Whilst calorie counting is obviously important, so is fat content in food. You will struggle to lose weight if you are only eating healthy food, meaning just salads and fruit etc. Look at your diet and make sure it as varied as possible. I am a vegetarian so i have great food for losing weight in quorn, for the best part its tasty and its a quarter of the calories of meat! But look at your diet, if your net is 1200 its even more important your meal's are balanced because 1200 is the minimum calories the human body can safely consume.

    Keep these facts in mind.

    A pound of body weight is the same as 3500 calories. If your net weight target is 1200 a day which is probably about 800 calories less than a total to maintain weight?? This means you are losing 800 calories a day, so over a week you are eating 5,600 calories less than normal, this is about 1 and a half pounds weight loss.

    You say you dont exercise much. I have not gone one week without losing at least some weight, and in the beginning it is difficult because your metabolism is changing. However consider this ...

    if you are around 12 stone, a 30 minute walk will burn about 100 calories, and 30 minutes is easy to fit into your day. Doing this means you will burn 700 calories by the end of the week, this will help you. I have lost 3 stone and i eat a varied diet and i also do an hours exercise a day, mostly walking, by doing this i burn half a pound a week at least by just exercise.

    Keep in mind, losing weight takes time, and if it is rushed your body will make the fat sag and never tone up and more so your metabolism will not adjust and keeping weight off will be 100 times more difficult,


    So to sum up more than anything is to keep going, it does take a couple of month to get the pounds dropping, you will get there and i hope i have been of some help :smile:
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    You HAVE TO exercise. Sorry, but you do!

    Actually, as long as there is a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. Is exercise healthy? Yes. Is it necessary to lose weight? No.
    LIE! There's no way. Your body will get used to whatever calories you put in it. If you eat less, you'll just get used to functioning with less. The only way to lose weight is to exercise AND eat less. Period. Period. Period! If you lose weight, it's most likely to be water weight. If you lose muscle, you'll burn less calories living. Exercise ensures you don't lose muscle (and think it's fat). If you only eat less and don't exercise, then when you eat more, you'll just pack on the pounds - as opposed to invigorating your metabolism (i.e. The ONLY way you can do this is through exercise) - which makes you burn MORE calories in your everyday functions. Women, especially, lose muscle so fast, esp. as we get older, so the importance is MORE on exercise than EATING LESS. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a gosh darn liar!

    Yes I see all those people on famine ads working out. Calorie deficit = weight loss.

    Oh and I didn't factor exercise much into my loss; some sporadic running, a bit of rowing & dancing by 9 times out of ten it was just the walking I was doing before this anyway.
  • ering
    ering Posts: 183 Member
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    1200 calories is not enough, believe it or not! Unless you have more than 100 lbs to lose, you should change your weekly weight loss goal to 1 lb. That will give you 500 more calories/day. This is set an automatic deficit to help you lose 1 lb/week. Any exercise you do, you earn extra calories to eat--MFP calculates that for you when you enter the exercise. EAT THE EXTRA CALORIES.

    You will lose. Trust! You won't even need "cheat" days when you have the right amount of calories; you won't be hungry!

    Give it a shot--you've had 6 weeks with no luck--THIS will do it for you.

    Here's a link that gives a nice explanation of why:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

    blessings.
    THIS^^^^
    I had no progress for about 3 months. I changed my settings to loose 1lb a week and I upped my excercise intensity a little and bam.! I lost 2 lbs last week!!! Try it it works :happy:
  • hjames0486
    hjames0486 Posts: 31
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    You HAVE TO exercise. Sorry, but you do!

    Actually, as long as there is a calorie deficit, you'll lose weight. Is exercise healthy? Yes. Is it necessary to lose weight? No.
    LIE! There's no way. Your body will get used to whatever calories you put in it. If you eat less, you'll just get used to functioning with less. The only way to lose weight is to exercise AND eat less. Period. Period. Period! If you lose weight, it's most likely to be water weight. If you lose muscle, you'll burn less calories living. Exercise ensures you don't lose muscle (and think it's fat). If you only eat less and don't exercise, then when you eat more, you'll just pack on the pounds - as opposed to invigorating your metabolism (i.e. The ONLY way you can do this is through exercise) - which makes you burn MORE calories in your everyday functions. Women, especially, lose muscle so fast, esp. as we get older, so the importance is MORE on exercise than EATING LESS. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a gosh darn liar!

    Please do some research before you call people liars. It is possible to lose weight without exercising. If you do not believe me or others maybe you will believe the information that is posted on the mayo clinic, one of the leaders in medical research and health care.

    Please check out this link from the Mayo Clinic. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss/AN01619

    Here it states that..."For most people, it's probably too difficult to eliminate the amount of calories through exercise that you could through dieting. That's why cutting calories through dieting is generally more effective for weight loss. But doing both — cutting calories and exercising — can help give you the weight-loss edge."

    You do NOT need to exercise in order to lose weight, you CAN lose weight without exercising, however, doing both will just only help your weight loss as well as help you maintain.
  • jagh09
    jagh09 Posts: 555 Member
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    Oh dear LORD people....please stop arguing on this girl's post! She needs help, not bickering back and forth from 2 schools of thought on exercise.

    To the poor OP....stick with it. Mix things up a bit and see what works best for your body and your lifestyle. The idea here is to find a way to make this work for you, for a healthy lifestyle, for the rest of your life. So find something you're comfortable with, that will give you the balance you need and the healthy weight loss you can keep off for life. Don't give up! You can do this!
  • brittanyjeanxo
    brittanyjeanxo Posts: 1,831 Member
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    I think perhaps what Rworthy meant was that in order for the OP to see the results faster, they have to exercise. So maybe everyone should lay off :)
  • theralewis
    theralewis Posts: 2
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    I have been eating healthy, sticking to my calorie count, exercising EVERYDAY. Started a month ago, and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I was so pissed about the slow rewards after all the suffering today, I threw my scale in the garbage, screamed and broke down crying. I'm about ready to quit. This is BS.
    My hubby told me forget about the scale and go by how your clothes feel. Guess what? My clothes are STILL tight. WTH? I'm pissed beyond belief. Not to mention I'm in constant pain from the workouts, I've been limping for a month too. My muscles hurt so BAD.
  • jipper44
    jipper44 Posts: 111
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    After looking at your food diary, I would suggest adjusting your macronutrient goals (Carbs, Fat, Protein) a little bit. There are a lot of threads on MFP to help you decide which way to go and how to adjust it in your settings. I would suggest focusing more on protein to get a little more balance in your diet, it seems like your diet is very carb heavy, even if it is from a lot of fruit. Try a few different things to find an approach you can work with.

    Your goal on your profile is "to be fit". While losing weight does not necessarily "require" exercise, being fit does. Now, that doesn't mean 2 hours at the gym everyday, there are a lot of threads on here for different activity suggestions as well (cardio vs. lifting, etc.). I had about a 3-4 month plateau while doing a LOT of cardio, and it has only started budging when I started weight training, and training with heavy weights at that. I didn't get HUGE, I'm actually smaller by several inches and I'm not stopping anytime soon. Again, keep trying until you find something that you enjoy and that you can stick to. Good Luck!
  • theralewis
    theralewis Posts: 2
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    I've tried WW (I was starving all the time and had wicked headaches), I've tried Adkins (I wanted to puke from all the protein), I've tried Jenny (tastes like crap). This is my final option. I only joined MFP 2 weeks ago. Before was counting calories on my own.
    I know I want to be fit, and I'm not focusing on a pant size, but weighing almost 200 lbs isn't fit by a long shot. I'm just frustrated from eating food I hate, and working out everyday and seeing almost ZERO results.
    Forgot to mention I live in a house where everyone is extremely thin. My oldest son is on a "get fat" diet, because he's 13 and weighs 65 lbs at 5'2. So I have to constantly make my food separately from the families.
    Today, I don't even want to eat at all. Yesterday, the same. Food is becoming my enemy, and I don't want that.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    I think perhaps what Rworthy meant was that in order for the OP to see the results faster, they have to exercise. So maybe everyone should lay off :)

    No, they called me a liar for stating that it helps but isn't necessary. Nuff said.
  • jodieh06
    jodieh06 Posts: 49
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    thanks for all the advice guys, and apologies for bringing up the start of that long argument. Some really helpful advice on here, and i actually started jogging today too. Perseverance seems to be the key here, and i can't give up, even if it takes me a year, i'm gunna make it :) thanks again! x
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
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    I have been eating healthy, sticking to my calorie count, exercising EVERYDAY. Started a month ago, and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I was so pissed about the slow rewards after all the suffering today, I threw my scale in the garbage, screamed and broke down crying. I'm about ready to quit. This is BS.
    My hubby told me forget about the scale and go by how your clothes feel. Guess what? My clothes are STILL tight. WTH? I'm pissed beyond belief. Not to mention I'm in constant pain from the workouts, I've been limping for a month too. My muscles hurt so BAD.


    I can't see your diary, so I have no idea what you are eating. But don't be so hard on yourself. You lost 5 lbs in a month...that is over a lb/week!

    Keep doing what you are doing, and log everything. Don't eat junk ( ie no fast food, no fried food, no chips). Take it easy on the cheese and sauces. If bread is your thing cut it back, or, cut it out.

    And if your body hurts that bad, slow down. Work out every other day for awhile.

    No one said this was easy ;)
  • sinclare
    sinclare Posts: 369 Member
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    also, there is a ton of great info here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
  • hjames0486
    hjames0486 Posts: 31
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    I have been eating healthy, sticking to my calorie count, exercising EVERYDAY. Started a month ago, and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I was so pissed about the slow rewards after all the suffering today, I threw my scale in the garbage, screamed and broke down crying. I'm about ready to quit. This is BS.
    My hubby told me forget about the scale and go by how your clothes feel. Guess what? My clothes are STILL tight. WTH? I'm pissed beyond belief. Not to mention I'm in constant pain from the workouts, I've been limping for a month too. My muscles hurt so BAD.

    I understand your frustration. I've been there before, I will start working out eating healthy and lose weight and then all of a sudden nothing and I get discouraged and then I give up. My sister said something to me a while ago that I have been telling myself as I go through this weight loss journey...."you did gain this weight overnight, so you won't lose this weight overnight."

    I know that probably isn't something you want to hear but you have to remember, that it took years to gain the weight and will take a year or so to lose the weight. Just don't give up on yourself! Make sure you listen to your body, if you are hurting and are in constant pain, your body is telling you that you need to rest. Instead of exercising everyday try going for two days and resting a day and so on. Remember to drink plenty of water, it will help to fight of hunger pains (sometimes are body is telling us its thirsty and we mistake it for hunger pains) and it will make you fill full.

    As far as eating foods you hate, STOP! Just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you can't eat foods you like, you just have do it in moderation. If you want to have something from a fast food restaurant, go a head and have, just make sure that its within your calories, or do extra workouts. I was craving McDonald's the other day and I ate, I went over my calories, but I made sure that I worked out a little harder so that I could compensate.

    I have found that if I make myself diet by eating foods that I don't like and deprive myself of eating foods that I do like, then I wont stick to it and instead I go on these food binges. Eat the food you like in moderation, count your calories, drink your water and make sure you give your body some rest.

    Good Luck!
  • imjustlisa
    imjustlisa Posts: 79 Member
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    I have been eating healthy, sticking to my calorie count, exercising EVERYDAY. Started a month ago, and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I was so pissed about the slow rewards after all the suffering today, I threw my scale in the garbage, screamed and broke down crying. I'm about ready to quit. This is BS.
    My hubby told me forget about the scale and go by how your clothes feel. Guess what? My clothes are STILL tight. WTH? I'm pissed beyond belief. Not to mention I'm in constant pain from the workouts, I've been limping for a month too. My muscles hurt so BAD.
    You lost 5 lbs in one month that is great! So in another month that is 10 lbs! You should be thrilled. If you went for bloodwork I bet you would find healthier results, lower blood pressure, and if you are regular with your cardio a much stronger heart. A stronger heart means more endurance which for me means the world. I used to get on my elliptical and think after 5 minutes i would die.Now I go for 30 minutes with no problem. I have only lost one pound! But i know i am healthier! thats what its all about. sure we would all love to fit in a size 3 but living longer and stronger means more tome. And if in two years i work my weight down to a size or two smaller then so be it.
  • mariek
    mariek Posts: 6
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    Good advise. I did the same thing. The first two months I think I might have gained a pound. :)
    I did not step on a scale at all after the breakdown I had. I still do not own a scale. Almost 4 months in and
    lots of calorie counting, Im 10 pounds lighter. Big deal, yes it is. I am running now and feel much better. It is
    about your health. The weight will come in time. Good luck and dont give up.
  • childofbodom123
    childofbodom123 Posts: 175 Member
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    I have been eating healthy, sticking to my calorie count, exercising EVERYDAY. Started a month ago, and have lost a total of 5 lbs. I was so pissed about the slow rewards after all the suffering today, I threw my scale in the garbage, screamed and broke down crying. I'm about ready to quit. This is BS.
    My hubby told me forget about the scale and go by how your clothes feel. Guess what? My clothes are STILL tight. WTH? I'm pissed beyond belief. Not to mention I'm in constant pain from the workouts, I've been limping for a month too. My muscles hurt so BAD.

    Too much exercise can also be bad though. Your metabolism has to get used to your new calorie intake and this also includes your exercise. If you run before you can walk, it will be a lot more difficult. Food is more important than exercise when losing weight. If you exercise to the point you are aching then you are simply exercising too much, and 5 pounds in a month is exactly the correct rate of losing weight but you can do that without going through the pain barrier. I have lost 3 stone in around 8 months and i have only ever done light exercise like a stationary bike, but i do at least an hours walk a day.

    It actually takes a month or so for your metabolism to adjust to your new lifestyle, meaning if your goal is 1400 calories and you eat 1400 a day, your body needs to adjust to this and it takes a month or so, after that losing weight is much easier and the pounds will roll off. Plus, exercising so much to the point it hurts and eating your goal calories will never get your metabolism steady and it will be difficult once you have reached the target weight to keep the weight off.

    Try slowing down, eat balanced meals and stick to your calorie goal. Go for an hours walk or half hour walk or for a bike ride. After one or two month your metabolism will realise that you are eating fewer calories and that it is normal and it will stop fighting against you because your metabolism will think you are are struggling for food, so its about training your body to think that your goal calorie intake is normal. Exercising loads and still eating little will confuse your metabolism, so when you eat properly it'll basically hug on to that food and turn it to fat because it doesnt know when its next good bit of food is coming in, therefore making losing weight harder and therefore loads of exercise feels like a waste of time!

    I was a football (or soccer depending where you live) Coach before piling on the pounds, so if you do indeed enjoy working out loads then these tips will help ..

    Make sure you warm up and stretch your muscles etc, depending on the exercise you are doing, make sure you do the correct stretches before you do light jogging, star jumps and short sprints to get your muscles warmed up, this will reduce the pain a little bit. But more importantly after your work out, warm down! This is jogging, doing stretches, or research techniques that will work for you according to the exercise you are doing. Doing loads of exercise then simply hitting the showers or sitting down creates pain and tight muscles, however if you warm down your muscles will not ache as much because you are slowly reintroducing them to general use like walking and movement!

    Hope this helps :smile:

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