Not losing weight
jquedal
Posts: 18 Member
I consistently maintain a calorie deficit and I am working out 6 days a week. I have kept to this routine for months and haven't lost any weight. What am I doing wrong? What can I explore to improve my results? I am 38 and my last baby just turned two. I feel like I should be losing weight at this point. I'm frustrated.
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Replies
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sorry not sure if you are a boy or a girl, pic shows a couple, this question seems to come up often, so your weight is only one of many factors or measurements you can take, I recommend a body fat test because as a lady you can be 135 pounds and 25% body fat and you can be 135 pounds and 20% body fat (ladies tend to run higher percentages than men and it is totally acceptable) use a favorite dress or pair of jeans as a barometer they might be snug at first then perfect fit then loose and fall off of you, and also there is nothing bad about holding steady and not gaining
as far as exercise you gots to trick your body, 6 days a week of the same routine and your body goes man I got this, so shock it, go play basketball by yourself for 45 minutes three times a week, or go swimming for 30 minutes few times a week, or join a softball league for 3 months then go back to your regular routine, if you jog, go biking if you bike go jogging, blah blah blah
all else fails, fast, (assuming no health conditions) that's right do not eat for one day, see if you can do it, hewk you reboot your computer, you reboot your phone, why not reboot your body, I finally did it after being a chicken butt and oh my gawd it felt amazing, and afterwards I was like do I really want the first thing to shove in my mouth to be a handful of peanut M&Ms, um no, lets eat something healthy
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sorry not sure if you are a boy or a girl, pic shows a couple, this question seems to come up often, so your weight is only one of many factors or measurements you can take, I recommend a body fat test because as a lady you can be 135 pounds and 25% body fat and you can be 135 pounds and 20% body fat (ladies tend to run higher percentages than men and it is totally acceptable) use a favorite dress or pair of jeans as a barometer they might be snug at first then perfect fit then loose and fall off of you, and also there is nothing bad about holding steady and not gaining
as far as exercise you gots to trick your body, 6 days a week of the same routine and your body goes man I got this, so shock it, go play basketball by yourself for 45 minutes three times a week, or go swimming for 30 minutes few times a week, or join a softball league for 3 months then go back to your regular routine, if you jog, go biking if you bike go jogging, blah blah blah
all else fails, fast, (assuming no health conditions) that's right do not eat for one day, see if you can do it, hewk you reboot your computer, you reboot your phone, why not reboot your body, I finally did it after being a chicken butt and oh my gawd it felt amazing, and afterwards I was like do I really want the first thing to shove in my mouth to be a handful of peanut M&Ms, um no, lets eat something healthy
Point 1: sure, body composition might have changed at the same weight, especially if you're exercising 6 days a week, so there could be progress despite not seeing a change in the scale.
Point 2: nonsense, exercise burns calories, no matter whether it's repetitive or not.
(Edit: for improving performance, off that's a goal, improving difficulty is necessary though: walking/running for longer distances or faster, lifting heavier weights etc)
Point 3: fasting doesn't 'reboot' anything and is not necessary. Some people do like it, because fasting days allow for higher calorie days (it's the total calories that matter, not how you spread them over the day or week). But it can also trigger binge and restrict cycles in some people, I would be wary.
So, what are your stats? What weight loss rate and goal did you choose? What activity level? What calorie goal did MFP give you?
What exercise are you doing? And are you logging that separately and eating back (a part of those) calories?
As for your food: are you weighing everything (no volume measurements,...)? And are you checking that you are choosing correct database entries?2 -
please provide a link to back this up, here is just one of many links to backup my initial pointPoint 2: nonsense
Why is it important to vary my workout routines?
"Exercise scientists at the University of Florida observed that [...] Varying your exercise routine can also help you stay physically challenged. Many of the body's physiological systems (e.g., the muscular system) adapt to an exercise program within approximately six to eight weeks. If you do not modify your exercise routine, you reach a plateau because your body has adapted to the repetitive training stimulus."1 -
That works both ways. Please provide a link to prove a regular routine means less calories are being burned (or whatever you mean when you say 'my body goes I got this' and that it's necessary to 'trick' your body)
My 'proof' is my own weight loss.
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What you are probably "doing wrong" is estimating your calorie balance badly - if your weight has been stable "for months" then the problem is most likely to be found in your food & exercise diaries. Making them public would help people to help you.
Without data it's far harder for anyone to help you and the moment you haven't given any concrete data for people to work with. Great advice from @Lietchi
PS -
If you are unwilling to open your diary then the biggest tip I can give you (as you are from America) is if you are using measuring cups and spoons for food measurements then don't!!
They are horrendously inaccurate for calories, weigh food instead and log everything with calories that you ingest so you actually have a far better idea of how many calories you are taking in.
PPS -
No you don't need a device that makes a really bad job of estimating body fat.
No you don't need to trick your body as regards exercise, total nonsense.
No you don't need to fast.
No there isn't such a thing as rebooting your body.
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please provide a link to back this up, here is just one of many links to backup my initial pointPoint 2: nonsense
Why is it important to vary my workout routines?
"Exercise scientists at the University of Florida observed that [...] Varying your exercise routine can also help you stay physically challenged. Many of the body's physiological systems (e.g., the muscular system) adapt to an exercise program within approximately six to eight weeks. If you do not modify your exercise routine, you reach a plateau because your body has adapted to the repetitive training stimulus."
Since you edited your post after I posted my response:
Your link mentions boredom and performance. So not changing routines in itself does not cause a plateau in weight loss.4 -
Well. Thanks for the replies. I am a woman. I have five kids and successfully lost twenty pounds after the fourth doing what I'm doing now so not sure what exactly is going on. I have years of experience counting calories, working out (at the gym, in a group, at home, alone, with husband.... All the ways.) Intermittent fasting was part of my weight loss last time but this time I attempted it for a month and it did nothing. Still, I don't eat before nine or after six. I eat a whole foods, plant based diet (not vegan.) My macros are supposedly correct for my age and weight. I have celiac disease. My thyroid was normal last year. I am at a complete loss. I'm not a newbie and I'm doing everything "right." Not a single pound. I'm wondering if I need to drastically reduce my calories or workout harder. I chose to lose one pound a week because being hungry and tired with five kids is a recipe for disaster, but maybe I should change my goal to two pounds a week and I'll lose one 😂🙄0
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But aside from the scale not budging, you haven't noticed any progress? Clothes fitting better/getting looser?
You don't say what kind of exercice you're doing, or if you were inactive before trying to lose weight (you mention years of experience working out, but in recent times?).
You could be retaining water from exercise (working out 6 days a week is pretty intense and could be stressing your body) and/or gaining some muscle from working out.
If nothing is budging, you could try lowering your calories a bit. But if I were in your shoes, I would also try lowering the workouts, for a week for example, to 'test' if stress and water weight might be an issue.3 -
You are right there. Apart from daily walks I hadn't been working out seriously for the previous two years. Except when I joined the gym in March and promptly had to quit... Maybe a slight improvement in shape and clothing. But still. It's been months! So frustrating. I am switching days of weights/resistance, yoga, HIIT, and pilates at home. So not all six are super intense. Maybe it is just taking forever to build up muscle that's replacing fat. I have a scale that tells me fat percentage supposedly, and it hasn't changed, but I'm not sure I trust that scale. It's pretty old. 🤷🏻♀️ I'm at the point where if I don't see some change in the next few weeks I'm going to go see the doctor.1
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I would go see your doctor. But, I'd also start weighing what you eat. Something definitely isn't right.1
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You are right there. Apart from daily walks I hadn't been working out seriously for the previous two years. Except when I joined the gym in March and promptly had to quit... Maybe a slight improvement in shape and clothing. But still. It's been months! So frustrating. I am switching days of weights/resistance, yoga, HIIT, and pilates at home. So not all six are super intense. Maybe it is just taking forever to build up muscle that's replacing fat. I have a scale that tells me fat percentage supposedly, and it hasn't changed, but I'm not sure I trust that scale. It's pretty old. 🤷🏻♀️ I'm at the point where if I don't see some change in the next few weeks I'm going to go see the doctor.
But are you accurately logging and weighing your food?
Is your calorie goal appropriate and are you hitting it most of the time?
All the things you list can be done while losing, maintaining or gaining weight depending on your calorie balance.
TBH if you have been maintaining weight for months then then chances of you being in a sustained deficit are extremely slight, you would have to be gaining pound for pound water weight to match the fat lost and I think you would have noticed that.1 -
sorry not sure if you are a boy or a girl, pic shows a couple, this question seems to come up often, so your weight is only one of many factors or measurements you can take, I recommend a body fat test because as a lady you can be 135 pounds and 25% body fat and you can be 135 pounds and 20% body fat (ladies tend to run higher percentages than men and it is totally acceptable) use a favorite dress or pair of jeans as a barometer they might be snug at first then perfect fit then loose and fall off of you, and also there is nothing bad about holding steady and not gaining
as far as exercise you gots to trick your body, 6 days a week of the same routine and your body goes man I got this, so shock it, go play basketball by yourself for 45 minutes three times a week, or go swimming for 30 minutes few times a week, or join a softball league for 3 months then go back to your regular routine, if you jog, go biking if you bike go jogging, blah blah blah
all else fails, fast, (assuming no health conditions) that's right do not eat for one day, see if you can do it, hewk you reboot your computer, you reboot your phone, why not reboot your body, I finally did it after being a chicken butt and oh my gawd it felt amazing, and afterwards I was like do I really want the first thing to shove in my mouth to be a handful of peanut M&Ms, um no, lets eat something healthy
Point 1: sure, body composition might have changed at the same weight, especially if you're exercising 6 days a week, so there could be progress despite not seeing a change in the scale.
Point 2: nonsense, exercise burns calories, no matter whether it's repetitive or not.
(Edit: for improving performance, off that's a goal, improving difficulty is necessary though: walking/running for longer distances or faster, lifting heavier weights etc)
Point 3: fasting doesn't 'reboot' anything and is not necessary. Some people do like it, because fasting days allow for higher calorie days (it's the total calories that matter, not how you spread them over the day or week). But it can also trigger binge and restrict cycles in some people, I would be wary.
So, what are your stats? What weight loss rate and goal did you choose? What activity level? What calorie goal did MFP give you?
What exercise are you doing? And are you logging that separately and eating back (a part of those) calories?
As for your food: are you weighing everything (no volume measurements,...)? And are you checking that you are choosing correct database entries?
I was going to jump all over this, but it seems like you folks have it pretty well handled..... back to my coffee....6 -
@jquedal The laws of thermodynamics are immutable. No buts or ifs. Either your CI or your CO tracking is wrong. Or both.
Sorry, no other way around this. This is a simple matter of physics, no dogma or opinion. There is no known medical or health condition that can bypass the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
So, a good idea would be to start from the opposite direction. What is the difference between now and the last time you lost weight? Could you pin-point some things that have changed? (like your health condition, or the food you eat, or the type of exercise you do etc).1 -
@jquedal The laws of thermodynamics are immutable. No buts or ifs. Either your CI or your CO tracking is wrong. Or both.
Sorry, no other way around this. This is a simple matter of physics, no dogma or opinion. There is no known medical or health condition that can bypass the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
So, a good idea would be to start from the opposite direction. What is the difference between now and the last time you lost weight? Could you pin-point some things that have changed? (like your health condition, or the food you eat, or the type of exercise you do etc).
Exactly why I said I will be visiting my physician, because CI are accounted for. CO are a mystery and my weight *should* be going down. I asked if there were anything I might be missing, but there is apparently nothing, so I will seek help elsewhere.
I know how science and calories work. I'm not new to this and I am frustrated as hell. Yes, I had a baby two years ago. Yes, I have autoimmune issues, food allergies, and had imbalanced hormones in the past. But recently, nothing has changed, and as of last year my thyroid was normal so....not sure wth is going on, which is why I asked. I've been using this app for 8 years and just now reached out to the "community" so you can understand how frustrated I am. I have never, ever, had difficulty losing weight when I wanted to.
On the surface CO/CI seems super scientific and untouchable but after CI are accounted for CO can be all over the board, especially for women, and to cop an attitude with someone looking for help isn't going to push your agenda. I'm not 12. I'm not new to this. Some people have genuine health issues that can't just be solved with "well, you're obviously doing something wrong."
I am glad I let my frustration drive me to asking for support here though, because now I know that I won't get it here and I can look elsewhere!1
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