6 weeks in - no weight shifted - please help!
lizw1xx
Posts: 3 Member
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
2
Replies
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I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.3 -
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
That's your problem right there. Try to lower your total carb intake to 20-50 grams a day. Water weight loves carbs.2 -
Apple Cider Vinegar will do absolutely nothing to aid in weight loss. Its calories just like everything else, not a magic weight loss elixir.
As far as your current journey, the number of carbs really shouldn't be a problem as far as weight loss goes as long as you are logging them accurately. Some folks don't like to overdo the carbs because they can lead to water retention.
Being smaller in height and not having a lot of weight to lose will mean that your loss will be slower and harder. Your logging and accuracy in weighing/measuring EVERYTHING will be even more important as you get closer and closer to goal weight.
Maybe up your activity to burn additional calories and see if that makes a difference? Take a 30 minute "power walk" each day? Get your heart rate up for a while? See if that helps. Whenever I reach a plateau or seem stuck I try to mix up my routine to jolt my system into responding.
Good luck!14 -
Hi guys
So it's been 6 weeks since I started calorie counting. I've only just started trying to lose weight and I've got 1 stone to lose. I figured calorie counting was the best way.
I weigh 140 pounds/10 stone and want to get to around 126 pounds/9 stone. I'm 5'3.
I currently do 45 minutes on the exercise bike 5 times a week. Lift some light dumbbells twice a week. I do around 3000-4000 steps a day according to my tracker. I know I need to up this too.
I eat around 1300-1600 calories every day, I check packages and also weigh things to calculate the calories properly.
I do eat a lot of carbs and I have one small (fun size bar) chocolate every day (major sweet tooth). Could this be the reason why I haven't lost any weight yet? I seem to be maintaining every week.
I also drink 2L of water a day.
Any tips or advice would be really appreciated as I'm really starting to lose motivation.
Does anyone know whether apple cider vinegar helps with weigh loss?
That's your problem right there. Try to lower your total carb intake to 20-50 grams a day. Water weight loves carbs.
No it's not. Shes not losing simply because shes got 14 pounds to lose and it's a slow slow process. Shes got a small margin between maintenance and the 1200 she needs to eat for health. While its true that carbs can hold water, I eat almost 200g of carbs and know tons of others who do.
She does not need to eat 20 to 50g a day.
OP how did you get a goal of 1600?20 -
I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do20 -
I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)1
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I was just going through my past week's calorie intake this morning with the same issue...I noticed that, regardless of whether I stayed around the same amount of calories each day, I gained weight on the days I ate mostly carbs and sweets (the sweets I choose also being carbs.)
Again. Carbs do not make you fat.
If you're eating significantly low carbs and up your carbs on certain days, yes water weight will appear..
But that's not real and the problem isnt that she ate MORE carbs and gained some water weight. She said she eats around the same amount of carbs daily.14 -
It seems like you are active enough, maybe try and double your daily steps as that will burn a few extra few calories.
If you are not losing any weight it is to do with calories in vs calories burnt, you are not losing because your calories in match the amount your body is using in a day.
I can't be sure how meticulous you are with your tracking but you probably need to have a day of weighing everything out and add that up, it may make you realize that it is just the portion sizes you are misjudging.
It may not be by much but if it's 100 calories more a meal that's 300 calories a day your out by. Which makes a difference over the course of a week, or in your case 6 weeks.1 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight. This is also why I mentioned that measurements are a more accurate assessment of progress than actual weight.....4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
There is no reason she has to not eat 3 hours before bed, and avoid sugars and carbs, this is a myth, you can eat all your calories at anytime of the day and still lose, carbs do not make you fat, too many calories do
She asked for advice and I gave her advice on what worked on me. Clearly I said I’m not a pro, but these things worked, regardless of if it’s a “myth”. Didn’t say carbs make you fat. I said I read that carbs can cause water retention = water weight.
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.16 -
As a small female, the line between losing and maintaining your weight isn't that far apart. As an older female, mostly sedentary, I was given 1200 calories to lose weight, but my maintenance is supposedly 1400. That gives no margin for error. Fortunately for me, I get enough exercise as a runner that I have a lot more leeway in my diet and my metabolism is a bit higher than average. For you, you will need to weigh everything and be careful about what data entries you use. Some are more accurate than others. When in doubt, pick the higher calorie option rather than the lower.4
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I’m by no means a pro. In fact, I just started my journey two months ago..
But could you still be consuming too much some days? Maybe 1600 is a bit much. Also I’ve read in multiple places now that simple carbs retain water.. sugar also isn’t good. Im not sure what kind of carbs you’re eating, but what if you try cutting out, or at least greatly limiting simple carbs? White flour products, white rice, etc. also try avoiding any food intake 3 hrs before bedtime, especially carbs. Same with sugar. And watch salt content. You’re not terribly overweight, so I’m sure that also makes it harder to drop the lbs..
Again, like I said I’m not a pro and don’t know too much.. but I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago.
Additionally I would suggest taking measurements of your body.. arms, waist, thighs, etc. I wish I did that from the beginning, because although my weight loss isn’t much since I started on March 1st, I totally notice a difference in how I look, and also how some clothing fits.
OP isn't overweight at all. She's within a normal weight right now. Carbs don't make you fat, neither does eating close to bedtime.
OP set your weight loss to .5 lbs a week, keep tracking and weighing your food, remember to eat back your exercise calories, and the results will come.
Weight loss isn't linear, and it's all about being in a calorie deficit which is harder when you have less to lose.
Best of luck!10 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.
Hm, okay. 👏🏼1 -
No it's not carbs.
No vinegar doesn't help weight loss.
Despite some really poor advice from a couple of posters there is absolutely no need to try and manipulate water weight by going low carb - your aim is really fat loss and not simply gaming the number on your scales by trying to shed water weight.
Fat is an energy store and you simply have to tip your energy balance to use some of that energy store. No special foods required, no weird and wonderful potions or supplements need to be forced down, no specific amount of water to drink, no specific foods or food groups need to be excluded, you don't need to avoid food because it's white (wow!!!), no limits required on what time of day you eat......
It really is as simple as making sure you are in a calorie deficit over an extended period of time.
Making your diary open to public would help people maybe spot some common logging errors which can be as simple as picking a bad database entry.
I wonder if your activity level (not just steps) has fallen due to the lockdown or if you are under a lot of stress because of it?19 -
Sorry guys, if you completely misunderstood my post.. it wasn’t my intent to go in that direction.
OP I just wanted to clarify that by no means anything I said was a hard and fast rule. First time posting on here, and I didn’t realize how absolutely awful my advice was...
I will not delete my original comment. But I wanted to add that I am not strict in limiting anything, and firmly believe that calories are what matters. But when my scale stopped moving after the first 10 lbs two weeks ago, the above things helped to make it move.. I don’t think it was actual true fat loss, more water weight (as stated repeatedly!🤦🏻♀️ and obviously I lost weight before that just on the basis of calorie counting.) But it also made me feel better physically.
Also I was quite sarcastic in saying “not terribly overweight”. Clearly anyone can tell with her numbers that she is in a healthy BMI range....
And as a side point, whereas carbs don’t make you gain weight, simple carbs (yes the “white flour” containing products, not “white foods”) are not great, neither is an abundance of sugar. Better to increase complex carbs in your diet overall, and minimize the other stuff. And that’s true for anyone...4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »
And I am clearing up that she does not have to do that because the issue is calories not carbs. If you wanna not eat sugars and carbs and not do so 3 hours before bed, fill your boots, but that doesnt mean I cant come back and tell her that it's not necessary, because it isnt.
Hm, okay. 👏🏼
I just want to explain something to the OP because you said so yourself that you are new to this and dont know much.
Here is a quote from your first post
"I started out at 190, down to 176, “plateau’ed” at 180, and the above is what seemed to make a difference for me. Oh and I’m 5’6”. My daily calorie max is 1230.. I try to do elliptical for 40-50 min 6 days a week, but only started that maybe 2-3 wks ago."
By this part alone, it looks to me that your eating well below what you need to be eating, and since weight loss isnt linear, no matter how big or small you are, weight loss can stall on the scale, even when you remain in a deficit and it can last for weeks.
You say you made all these changes and the results were that it broke your plateau and you continued losing again, but in actuality, it just started on it's own because weight loss isnt linear, and you are eating the bare min of calories. It had nothing to do with what time you stopped eating or what color the food was.
If you are working out as much as you say you are, I really hope that you are eating more then 1200 calories max and that 1200 is your net calories... even tho I think 1200 is still unnecessary.. but for your health and well being, you maintaining muscle mass and not burning out, I really hope its 1200 net calories.
The body does not function in a downward line consistently every week , and as long as calories in is less then calories out and it's done so in a safe healthy rate, the trend over time is down..13 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
6 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Dont refrain from commenting tho, because we all learn as we go, even I get corrected from time to time, and that's great because I desire to know more so I can in turn help others, the goal here is to help others, it's great that you want to help people too, it's what makes this community a good resource for good information, because we all get a chance to learn.5 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »Dont refrain from commenting tho, because we all learn as we go, even I get corrected from time to time, and that's great because I desire to know more so I can in turn help others, the goal here is to help others, it's great that you want to help people too, it's what makes this community a good resource for good information, because we all get a chance to learn.
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️4 -
KrissCanDoThis wrote: »I just want to explain something to the OP
Oof, I’m sorry.. I should’ve clarified that 1230 is my minimum set goal on MFP, the days I exercise I do take in more.. 🙈
And maybe you’re right about the plateau ending simply because it ended. And not because of anything else I did different! You’re right about wt loss not being linear. THANK YOU for that constructive criticism. I’ll restrain from sharing any more “advice”, given how new I am at this compared to the rest of you, (and esp after the responses on here), but please know that I am grateful to you for taking the time to actually explain this to me! ❤️ it makes me feel much better.
Another observation: You seem concerned by water weight. Eating too few calories (trying to lose too fast) can, in some people at least, lead to larger and more unpredictable water weight fluctuations (for reasons having to do with a big calorie deficit being a physical stressor, and a relationship between stress hormones and water retention).
Lots of things cause water retention. Personally, I think the best route is to understand it, including accumulating an intuitive understanding about how it works in your own personal body . . . then ignore it, and not be stressed by it, because it's part of how a normal, healthy body is supposed to work, and fat loss is the part most of us really care about anyway, isn't it? :flowerforyou:
This is a really good article to read:
https://physiqonomics.com/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-weight-and-fluctuations
Welcome to MFP, by the way, and congrats on your losses so far!
6
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