Weight staying the same.

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lmcneely6
lmcneely6 Posts: 7 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi!! I need advice. About four weeks ago I had enough of my weight and feeling frustrated that my clothes just didn’t fit. I changed my eating habits completely, started lifting weights, boxing and using my treadmill. I haven’t lost any weight. I notice certain places on my body that are slimmer and stronger, but the scale isn’t moving. I had lost 4 pounds, but now I’m right back where I started. WTH? I feel like my midsection hasn’t changed at all. I’ve had four csections so I know it’ll take time, but I figured I’d see some change in that area by now. I workout at least 5 days a week and alternate my routine. Any ideas/advice? Thank you!!!
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Replies

  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    Are you accurately measuring and weighing all your food? Thats number 1 for weight loss. New exercise can cause water retention, but generally passes after a couple weeks. Are you eating all your exercise calories back?
  • lmcneely6
    lmcneely6 Posts: 7 Member
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    I actually don’t measure or weigh any of my food. However, I have done my research on how much of certain foods I should eat. I do watch what I eat very closely though and my calorie count doesn’t even come close to the amount of calories I’m burning, so I’m definitely not eating my exercise calories back. Could it be because I’m gaining more muscle so I haven’t seen the loss yet? That’s the only thing I can think of. I recently took my body measurements and will do so at the end of the month and see if there are any changes. Fingers crossed I see something because I have been working hard and my diet is very good.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I actually don’t measure or weigh any of my food. However, I have done my research on how much of certain foods I should eat. I do watch what I eat very closely though and my calorie count doesn’t even come close to the amount of calories I’m burning, so I’m definitely not eating my exercise calories back. Could it be because I’m gaining more muscle so I haven’t seen the loss yet? That’s the only thing I can think of. I recently took my body measurements and will do so at the end of the month and see if there are any changes. Fingers crossed I see something because I have been working hard and my diet is very good.

    It's unlikely you've gained muscle in a deficit and even any newb gains would not likely be high enough to offset fat loss. What may be happening is that you're retaining water as a result of the new weight lifting and boxing.

    I'd highly recommend measuring and weighing your food intake, it's a lot easier to overeat than you might think.
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1

  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    So i used to just eyeball my portions. It seriously shocked me how off i was on certain things. A serving (3.5 oz) of meat is tiny, in comparison to what i was used to. Same goes for oils and nut butters. Also after 6 months of lifting 5 days a week i put on 5lbs of muscle. Thats how long it can take to build. Sad but true 😂
  • lmcneely6
    lmcneely6 Posts: 7 Member
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    I got on the scale this morning and lost 3 pounds. Lol. I really didn’t think weight fluctuated that much.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    Also after 6 months of lifting 5 days a week i put on 5lbs of muscle. Thats how long it can take to build. Sad but true 😂

    Yep same, 12 months of progressive lifting and rowing, eating a high protein diet at Maintenance/tiny deficit got me around 8lbs muscle. It takes a lot of hard work and calories.

  • jenncornelsen
    jenncornelsen Posts: 969 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I got on the scale this morning and lost 3 pounds. Lol. I really didn’t think weight fluctuated that much.

    I've put on 6lbs in one day! ( a terrible eating day but still) I weigh daily( good and bad) and often go with the lowest day that week to track progress
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    jenncornelsen wrote: »
    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I got on the scale this morning and lost 3 pounds. Lol. I really didn’t think weight fluctuated that much.

    I've put on 6lbs in one day! ( a terrible eating day but still) I weigh daily( good and bad) and often go with the lowest day that week to track progress
    Yes, weight fluctuates like mad!

    One option for you would be to weight in the mornings - get up, use the bathroom, and weigh before eating or drinking anything (some people weigh naked, I wear a T-shirt and undies). That’s going to have less variables than at the middle or end of the day... more of a consistent pattern (but it does fluctuate with how much stuff is in your system, water weight, etc.)
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I got on the scale this morning and lost 3 pounds. Lol. I really didn’t think weight fluctuated that much.

    I normally weigh daily and it fluctuates up/down as much as 5lbs per day, if I've been on holiday or got particularly bad DOMS it can be as much as 8lbs.
  • hlr1987
    hlr1987 Posts: 151 Member
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    Your body is weighing at that point in time, as a combination of the food you've put in your mouth, the food that was already in your intestines, the water you've drunk, how hydrated you cells are, where in your cycle you are. As research, so you learn not to over think the scale numbers too much, why not spend a few days weighing morning, noon and night so you can see how much natural fluctuation you get. I can weigh 10 pounds more in the evening after eating a lot and two - three days later (after your body has finished processing the food its eaten) it doesn't mean that I've gained ten pounds of fat. You can't get the weight you actually are off one data point in time.
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
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    zbfhqrwjsihx.jpg
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I actually don’t measure or weigh any of my food. However, I have done my research on how much of certain foods I should eat. I do watch what I eat very closely though and my calorie count doesn’t even come close to the amount of calories I’m burning, so I’m definitely not eating my exercise calories back. Could it be because I’m gaining more muscle so I haven’t seen the loss yet? That’s the only thing I can think of. I recently took my body measurements and will do so at the end of the month and see if there are any changes. Fingers crossed I see something because I have been working hard and my diet is very good.

    If you're not weighing or measuring, how are you estimating how much you're eating?
  • lmcneely6
    lmcneely6 Posts: 7 Member
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    I log all of my food, and I use the palm of my hand to measure. Honestly, I don’t have time to weigh and measure every piece of food I eat. I have four kids and run my own daycare. Finding time is tough. I’ve watched my sister weigh and measure everything and I’ve watched her struggle and just not enjoy eating. I don’t feel like I need to weigh and measure everything in order to properly lose weight.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,119 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I log all of my food, and I use the palm of my hand to measure. Honestly, I don’t have time to weigh and measure every piece of food I eat. I have four kids and run my own daycare. Finding time is tough. I’ve watched my sister weigh and measure everything and I’ve watched her struggle and just not enjoy eating. I don’t feel like I need to weigh and measure everything in order to properly lose weight.

    And yet here you are, asking advice because the scale won't budge :wink:

    If you won't commit to calorie counting long term, I would advise to at least take the time to do so during one week, to check if your portions and calories are what you think they are.

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I log all of my food, and I use the palm of my hand to measure. Honestly, I don’t have time to weigh and measure every piece of food I eat. I have four kids and run my own daycare. Finding time is tough. I’ve watched my sister weigh and measure everything and I’ve watched her struggle and just not enjoy eating. I don’t feel like I need to weigh and measure everything in order to properly lose weight.

    You may not feel that an accurate estimate of your calories in is required for weight loss, but that actual results you're seeing now (no weight loss) suggest that it might be more important than you feel it is.

    Using your hand to measure is a very rough measurement. A "palm" of potato has different calories and macronutrients than a "palm" of pork chop and Monday's "palm" of pork chop is going to be different from Tuesday's "palm" of pork chop. Studies have shown that most people have a very poor ability to visually estimate their calorie intake, so it's up to you if you want to use more accurate methods. It can be much more challenging to lose weight when you don't know how much you're eating, which I think is what you're seeing now.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,136 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I log all of my food, and I use the palm of my hand to measure. Honestly, I don’t have time to weigh and measure every piece of food I eat. I have four kids and run my own daycare. Finding time is tough. I’ve watched my sister weigh and measure everything and I’ve watched her struggle and just not enjoy eating. I don’t feel like I need to weigh and measure everything in order to properly lose weight.

    Regarding the bolded I'd bet that has more to do with a restrictive mindset than the tool itself. I see it as no different than when I am baking a cake or following a new recipe.

    I thought for years I was estimating portion sizes properly, started using my food scale, boy was I wrong. I don't currently use it all the time, I use it a couple of times when I am using new foods, once I have weighed something a couple of times, I am usually pretty good at eyeballing the portion sizes now.

    If weight loss slows or halts altogether, it's the most accurate way to rule out overestimating your intake (which is often the problem). So just keep it in mind if you ever do get to the point where the scale isn't moving over a longer period of time. It doesn't take as much time as you think, it's literally seconds when you use the Tare function.

    This is one of my favourite examples of how off estimating can be:
    uw1ef0lqjote.jpg
  • psrt
    psrt Posts: 6 Member
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    lmcneely6 wrote: »
    I log all of my food, and I use the palm of my hand to measure. Honestly, I don’t have time to weigh and measure every piece of food I eat. I have four kids and run my own daycare. Finding time is tough. I’ve watched my sister weigh and measure everything and I’ve watched her struggle and just not enjoy eating. I don’t feel like I need to weigh and measure everything in order to properly lose weight.

    My wife went kicking and screaming into weighing her portions. As soon as she started, the weight came off. She was shocked at what a portion size really is on most foods.

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