No weight loss after 1 month?

Are you using a food scale? It can make a big difference.

coops3180 wrote: »

Hi there, Just looking for a bit of advice im on a calorie controlled diet (set to lose 0.5lbs per week) and have been for almost a month now, ive been doing well - only slipping up on 3 days (not majorly either)but my weight has not budged! I had my TOM last week so thought that could be why ....but now a week later still nothing at all! Ive also connected my Fitbit too so its incorporating that and I have been eating what it is saying im allowed - and its enough so I do not feel unsatisfied. Im 39 and have 4 children and 2 stone to lose, I have no idea what Im doing wrong

Please bear with the 21 questions routine

If you don't mind my asking, what is your height and weight? And how many calories are you eating?

When you say your weight hasn't budged, has it gone up and down over the course of the month and ended up within a couple of decimal points as it started, or has it literally been the same each week?

Unfortunately, the site is all weird right now and I can't see anyone's profiles or diaries, so extra questions:

Are you double checking that the entries you are choosing in the database have the correct calories (many were user entered and they can be wrong)?
Are you selecting the correct name brand, not using generic entries, not using recipe-style entries like "1 ham & cheese sandwich" or "homemade chicken soup"?
Do you log beverages, condiments, cooking oils, late night snacks, cooking nibbles, cheat meals consistently?

do you check the calories for the foods you eat when you choose a listing? i ask because i added a new food just today, and out of the first 10 listings, every one was wrong. i sit here and check the nutrition of every food i add the first time, then use only the listing in my recent or frequent foods.

there was a guy here who turned out to be logging 450 to 650 calories less than he was eating each day because he chose a listing that was VERY low for a food he ate every day. after finding an accurate listing, he finally was able to start losing weight.

How many exercise calories are you eating a day? because that could be overestimated.

these would be my generic tips (some of which have been covered already):

1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right.

2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one and use it for everything. Everything. For a couple of weeks to see what kind of discrepancies you're running into. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries. Don't trust the barcode scanner or restaurant entries 100%.

5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight, happy scale, or libra to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.