Doing everything right but not losing
atasteofgrace
Posts: 15 Member
Hi there I've been doing this for about 3 weeks and am seeing no loss on the scale. I have been weighing my food on a scale and using a heart rate monitor for exercise calories. I usually eat them back or sometimes save them for a cheat meal. Your thoughts and insights would be great. I exercise 6x a week and log all my food. Thx again.
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Replies
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Be more patient4
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Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/3 -
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I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
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atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.3 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
which may require weighing your food on a food scale, not just cups and weights listed on packaging.3 -
atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
From my own personal experience of losing the 20lbs I set out to drop, I started seeing results in my clothes first before it ever registered on the scale. I think it was roughly 4-5 weeks of trusting the process before I first saw the scale move, but it did and it will for you as well. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
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Yes I have an actual food scale that is what I meant when I said weighing, the other would be measuring.quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
which may require weighing your food on a food scale, not just cups and weights listed on packaging.
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So you were eating at a deficit and exercising? Did the scale drop a lot then to make up for lost time?RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
From my own personal experience of losing the 20lbs I set out to drop, I started seeing results in my clothes first before it ever registered on the scale. I think it was roughly 4-5 weeks of trusting the process before I first saw the scale move, but it did and it will for you as well. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
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quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
Yes I'm certain I am weighing everything and using the heart rate monitor to calculate my burns. Speaking of which I'm going to do the Santa Monica Stairs now. So I hope it is all right and I lose soon! Thanks so much:)0 -
atasteofgrace wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
Yes I'm certain I am weighing everything and using the heart rate monitor to calculate my burns. Speaking of which I'm going to do the Santa Monica Stairs now. So I hope it is all right and I lose soon! Thanks so much:)
Just a thought - are you eating back all of your exercise calories?
You may try cutting it back to 50% if you don't see any loss soon.8 -
Okay I tried one week eating them back one week not but even if I eat them back I should still lose 1 lb a week.quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
Yes I'm certain I am weighing everything and using the heart rate monitor to calculate my burns. Speaking of which I'm going to do the Santa Monica Stairs now. So I hope it is all right and I lose soon! Thanks so much:)
Just a thought - are you eating back all of your exercise calories?
You may try cutting it back to 50% if you don't see any loss soon.0 -
atasteofgrace wrote: »
So you were eating at a deficit and exercising? Did the scale drop a lot then to make up for lost time?RunnerGrl1982 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
From my own personal experience of losing the 20lbs I set out to drop, I started seeing results in my clothes first before it ever registered on the scale. I think it was roughly 4-5 weeks of trusting the process before I first saw the scale move, but it did and it will for you as well. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint.
I did eat at deficit and exercise; however my exercise started out 3 days a week and ramped up to 5 eventually a couple months later. I averaged a loss of 3 pounds a month, which ended up being roughly .7lbs per week. My food deficit and exercise were split so I wouldn't have to drop my calorie intake too low and still fuel myself for my running (exercise of choice)
The scale didn't drop a lot in the beginning honestly for me, but I lost consistently over 6-7 months in order to achieve my goal. It worked out really well for me, but everyone will see results differently.2 -
atasteofgrace wrote: »
So it's normal to not lose any weight in the first 3 weeks?TavistockToad wrote: »Be more patient
Weight loss isn't linear, and weight fluctuates day to day and week to week.
If you're in a calorie deficut then you'll lose weight over time.6 -
How much do you have to lose overall?
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Im not a weight loss expert, but I think that if you have not loss anything after 3 weeks then you need to adjust what you are eating.1
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Did you read all of the stickied posts?
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest
It takes 4-6 weeks to really identify progress. Don't get discouraged and realize you are making changes for the rest of your life, not just over a matter of days or weeks. Think marathon over sprint.
Checking your diary and you have a number of quick adds. Time to dig a bit deeper and get more accurate in weighing. Also noticed you ate a high sodium meal a few days ago and likely holding onto water. Usually after a high sodium meal or intense workout your body holds onto water. Give it 5-7 days and ensure you are hydrated.5 -
I feel the same. I feel like I’m not losing fast enough. So I just started using this app again to get an idea of my calorie intake so I know whether or not I’m in a deficit.0
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Your diary is open, which is great. You've only missed 1 day of the last 30, which is fantastic. I'm going to have to take it on trust that you're weighing everything, though. Too many 1 tortilla, 1 cup, and quick add calories for my advice to be of any use there. I assume you already know to weigh your tortillas and whatnot and your diary just doesn't reflect it for whatever reason. Personally, I think you can skip the trendy weight loss products, but it's your choice. It doesn't look like they have anything in them that might stall weight loss though (I was really only checking for creatine, which might at least explain a stall), so they're likely harmless.
In the long run, there are really only a few options.- I assume you've checked your scale and know whether the batteries are good, it needs to be calibrated each time, whether it registers weight changes even if they're small, etc. So many people don't know their scales well enough to calibrate them each time they're moved, so I just want to be sure.
- If you're using an HRM for your burns, then check that it's calibrated properly and that you know which exercises it is and isn't accurate for (for instance, you wouldn't use an HRM for strength training and it might be suspect with things like circuit training).
- Every time you change things, give your body a couple of weeks to catch up. Changing things up every week can play havoc with those scale fluctuations and mask weight loss
- Double-check your logging. I know we harp on it, but it really is the root of so many problems. I've seen people not counting juices, cooking oils, an entire can of PAM spray a day, not counting veggies, depending on the barcode scanner to be accurate, etc. who'd swear they're tracking everything. So we end up reiterating this one a lot.
- If you've done everything else, then it's either a doctor's visit to see what's wrong or lower your calories by 100 calories per week until you start losing again. The calculators work on averages and it's possible you're on the low end for whatever reason. I know it sucks when there's no concrete answer, but sometimes you just have to adjust and let your body do its thing.
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atasteofgrace wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
Yes I'm certain I am weighing everything and using the heart rate monitor to calculate my burns. Speaking of which I'm going to do the Santa Monica Stairs now. So I hope it is all right and I lose soon! Thanks so much:)
But you're not. Or more to the point even if you are weighing everything you're not logging the weights so you really have no idea how much your actually eating. Unless you're logging everything and logging it accurately there is no way you can be sure you're eating in a calorie deficit.
Looking through your diary I notice a few things that really stand out
- Very few entries are logged by the gram. Everything is 1tbs or 2 slices or 1 cup and even the things that are logged in grams are logged so that the calories or weights are perfectly round numbers. When you're weighing and measuring you'll rarely get exactly 120cal or 200cals. rather you'll see 123cals or 213cals and things will rarely weigh 170g even they'll be 174g. The rounded numbers indicate that you're adjusting the serving to fit your calories.
- There are entire days practically untracked. There are a few days that consist of nothing but a couple of quick adds and perhaps a snack. There is absolutely no telling how many calories you actually ate that day, if your deficit is small enough then even 1 or 2 day like this can cancel out the other days. You need to track everything you eat, every day. It's the only way to be sure.
- Some entries just seem unrealistic. A few times for breakfast you've logged 2 slices of bread and that's all. Is that really all you had for breakfast? 2 dry slices of bread, no toppings? no spreads? I also notice that I haven't seen one drink logged. Can you honestly say that not a single drink besides water has passed your lips?
For the next 3 or 4 weeks be super strict:
- No quick adds at all.
- Log everything to the gram. No slices, no serves, no teaspoons, no cups. Be accurate. If it's 142g then log 142g not 140g. Nothing passes your lips unless it's been weighed and logged.
- Make sure you log everything. If you put a scrape of butter on your bread, weigh it and log it. If you add a bit of ketchup on the side, weigh it and log it. To keep myself honest I created a 0 calorie food item called 'skip meal' which I use to indicate that I have consciously not eaten anything for that meal (I sometimes skip lunch). This way there are no 'blank' meals in my diary and if I see one i know that I've been slack in my logging and my calories aren't accurate.
Once you have a few weeks of genuine, accurate calorie data you'll be in a much better position.
G'luck.12 -
Heart rate monitors aren't overly accurate for calories burned. It gives a good estimate but not 100% accurate so don't rely on it too much.
Your diary is loose, too many quick adds, not enough weighing. I weigh the milk I put in my tea, that's how accurate you need to be. I'd say you're eating more than you think.5 -
Are you sure your calories are calculated correctly? 1200 seems really low1
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I'm not a nutritionist or anything but from all my research (I've done way too much over the years lol) you are eating way too little calories, especially if you are exercising too! I had a look on your diary and you eat very minuscule portions.
If you are 50-60lbs over weight you should be eating WAAAAYYY more. Leave the exercise and focus on your food. Try to isolate where you are going wrong and go from there. My wife wasn't losing weight, one of the coaches at our local gym suggested adding a protein shake in the mix to up her calories. 3-4 days later...she starts losing weight!
Try upping your calories to 1.5k a day and see how you do?
PS. I never calculate my exercise calories into my calorie budget, unless I do a major session and know I've burnt too many lol.13 -
One thing in your original post caught my eye and made me wonder... You said something about cheat days. Are you doing this regularly? If you are "cheating" are you counting the calories or are you having a free for all? You can easily erase any progress you have through the week by having a full on cheat day where you eat whatever you want. If you only meant that you eat to maintenance then the deficit for the week should still give you a loss but if you are just eating everything and anything then you may be sabotaging yourself. The other thing that I thought might be a problem is using a HR monitor to calculate calories. Some say they are not accurate. Try cutting back your exercise calories as suggested and you may have better luck. Last but not least is make sure you are logging EVERYTHING. That means a bite here and there, veggies, fruit etc. If none of that works I would see your doctor.8
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I'm not a nutritionist or anything but from all my research (I've done way too much over the years lol) you are eating way too little calories, especially if you are exercising too! I had a look on your diary and you eat very minuscule portions.
If you are 50-60lbs over weight you should be eating WAAAAYYY more. Leave the exercise and focus on your food. Try to isolate where you are going wrong and go from there. My wife wasn't losing weight, one of the coaches at our local gym suggested adding a protein shake in the mix to up her calories. 3-4 days later...she starts losing weight!
Try upping your calories to 1.5k a day and see how you do?
PS. I never calculate my exercise calories into my calorie budget, unless I do a major session and know I've burnt too many lol.
eating too little calories will not stop you from losing weight. if you eat too little and exercise on top of it you will lose lean mass including muscle and fat. I agree OP is eating too little but that has nothing to do with not being able to lose weight ,if that were the case those whom are anorexic, in starving 3rd workd countries and so on would stop losing weight. it doesnt work that way. when your body doesnt get enough calories to fuel it it will turn to lean mass,muscle(including organs) and fat. it will use whatever it can to produce energy4 -
I've actually done this program with success three times. It is IMHO neurotic to weigh milk and what not. A tablespoon is close enough. I measure everything that is reasonable to be measured and weigh the rest. The quick adds are items from the health food store for 90% that have a label on them. The rest is eating out and I find the highest calorie option and use that.atasteofgrace wrote: »quiksylver296 wrote: »atasteofgrace wrote: »
I had seen that online which is why I wanted to check with everyone here to get opinions. I had taken two months off of exercising completely and about 4 since doing this frequency. Do you think 3 weeks is normal for no weight loss and at some point it will just drop off? Seems crazy but plausible.quiksylver296 wrote: »Is the exercise new to you? New exercise causes the muscles to retain water to repair themselves. This water often masks any fat loss you've got going on.
http://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations/
If you are certain you are creating a calorie deficit, yes.
Yes I'm certain I am weighing everything and using the heart rate monitor to calculate my burns. Speaking of which I'm going to do the Santa Monica Stairs now. So I hope it is all right and I lose soon! Thanks so much:)
But you're not. Or more to the point even if you are weighing everything you're not logging the weights so you really have no idea how much your actually eating. Unless you're logging everything and logging it accurately there is no way you can be sure you're eating in a calorie deficit.
Looking through your diary I notice a few things that really stand out
- Very few entries are logged by the gram. Everything is 1tbs or 2 slices or 1 cup and even the things that are logged in grams are logged so that the calories or weights are perfectly round numbers. When you're weighing and measuring you'll rarely get exactly 120cal or 200cals. rather you'll see 123cals or 213cals and things will rarely weigh 170g even they'll be 174g. The rounded numbers indicate that you're adjusting the serving to fit your calories.
- There are entire days practically untracked. There are a few days that consist of nothing but a couple of quick adds and perhaps a snack. There is absolutely no telling how many calories you actually ate that day, if your deficit is small enough then even 1 or 2 day like this can cancel out the other days. You need to track everything you eat, every day. It's the only way to be sure.
- Some entries just seem unrealistic. A few times for breakfast you've logged 2 slices of bread and that's all. Is that really all you had for breakfast? 2 dry slices of bread, no toppings? no spreads? I also notice that I haven't seen one drink logged. Can you honestly say that not a single drink besides water has passed your lips?
For the next 3 or 4 weeks be super strict:
- No quick adds at all.
- Log everything to the gram. No slices, no serves, no teaspoons, no cups. Be accurate. If it's 142g then log 142g not 140g. Nothing passes your lips unless it's been weighed and logged.
- Make sure you log everything. If you put a scrape of butter on your bread, weigh it and log it. If you add a bit of ketchup on the side, weigh it and log it. To keep myself honest I created a 0 calorie food item called 'skip meal' which I use to indicate that I have consciously not eaten anything for that meal (I sometimes skip lunch). This way there are no 'blank' meals in my diary and if I see one i know that I've been slack in my logging and my calories aren't accurate.
Once you have a few weeks of genuine, accurate calorie data you'll be in a much better position.
G'luck.3 -
cheryldumais wrote: »One thing in your original post caught my eye and made me wonder... You said something about cheat days. Are you doing this regularly? If you are "cheating" are you counting the calories or are you having a free for all? You can easily erase any progress you have through the week by having a full on cheat day where you eat whatever you want. If you only meant that you eat to maintenance then the deficit for the week should still give you a loss but if you are just eating everything and anything then you may be sabotaging yourself. The other thing that I thought might be a problem is using a HR monitor to calculate calories. Some say they are not accurate. Try cutting back your exercise calories as suggested and you may have better luck. Last but not least is make sure you are logging EVERYTHING. That means a bite here and there, veggies, fruit etc. If none of that works I would see your doctor.
All of this worked before though. I think it might just be something with exercise and my body retaining water. The cheat day it was only one day in 3 weeks time and I didn't eat my exercise calories back for 4 days to offset it. I found the highest calorie versions of the meal I ordered and went with that.0 -
I'm not a nutritionist or anything but from all my research (I've done way too much over the years lol) you are eating way too little calories, especially if you are exercising too! I had a look on your diary and you eat very minuscule portions.
If you are 50-60lbs over weight you should be eating WAAAAYYY more. Leave the exercise and focus on your food. Try to isolate where you are going wrong and go from there. My wife wasn't losing weight, one of the coaches at our local gym suggested adding a protein shake in the mix to up her calories. 3-4 days later...she starts losing weight!
Try upping your calories to 1.5k a day and see how you do?
PS. I never calculate my exercise calories into my calorie budget, unless I do a major session and know I've burnt too many lol.
Thanks yeah I'm going to try and include my exercise calories this week. That will put me between 1600-1700 a day0
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