Help- 5 weeks in and no weight loss

phoolonkirani · February 2021

Hello. Been here before and the wisdom in this group is great so asking.

Calorie counting for 5 weeks. Measure most of the time. Exercising 5- 6 times/week. 3 times treadmill or cardio video's (online), 3 times weights. Anywhere from 30 mins to 60 mins.

42 years of age. No health issues.

I have lost inches and not weight.

Last time your advice helped immensely! Please provide some guidance. Journal is open.

janejellyroll · February 2021

"Measure most of the time" could mean a variety of things. It's possible the problem lies there.

Is your exercise routine new?

A quick look at your diary shows that you're using rough estimates for a lot of your logging (.5 chicken breast, 1.2 cupcakes) and homemade/generic database entries created by other people (chicken chili, stir-fried peppers), as well as using cups and tablespoons to measure food, along with some weights. It's very possible that you're underestimating your calorie consumption and this is causing some issues.

mariomicro · February 2021

phoolonkirani wrote: »

I have lost inches and not weight.

Which is exactly what you want. Don't worry about the scale. You want fat loss, not lean mass loss.

ninerbuff · February 2021

If you're losing inches, that's good. But if weight isn't moving, it's likely your counting is off.
Accuracy matters. If you lost a few cents a day off your bank account, it doesn't seem like much, till you start really noticing it at the end of a week. Same with calories. Being off 10 calories or a little more here or there may not seem like much, till you total it at the end of the day or week.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

JRuby828 · February 2021

Just keep going - takes time but you will do it! Be Patient! I never lose till month 2

spyro88 · February 2021

If you are losing inches then you know you are doing something right... sometimes it just takes time. Keep going and as janejellyroll said, check your calories are truly accurate, it's amazing how off you can be if you try to estimate.

phoolonkirani · February 2021

Thank you everyone. Will be measuring everything going forward!

vanmep · February 2021

I started a workout routine at the beginning of December. I was losing inches but not weight until suddenly this week I dropped 5 pounds overnight. Patience is a virtue I guess.

lgfrie · February 2021

Measuring to the gram can make a huge difference. If you're not losing weight, that should be the first item on the to-do list. Not necessarily the last item, but a very good first item.

Yesterday my wife and I tried a little experiment. We made dinner using the calories off the package. For example, we had a pack of gnocchi which says 600 cals on the package (but also gives the cals per 28 grams). To that we added a whole bunch of stuff, every thing of which had calorie for the whole container/package/cup but also by grams. Tomato bruschetta, a big turkey sausage, etc.

Going by the simple calorie totals per package, the calories per person for the meal was 721, right in line with what we want to see for our dinner calories.

Then we did all the calories to the gram. Total calories: 944.

As one example of where things went awry, the "600 calories" of gnocchi was actually 693 calories.

Separate from that, I have a bag of tostada chips that say 60 calories each but, by weight, they are closer to 90.

Weigh everything to the gram if you're not losing weight but otherwise feel like you're dieting correctly. It'll make a difference.

Avidkeo · February 2021

I agree with others. Weigh EVERYTHING. the difference is incredible.

And prepackaged portions are likely to be off as well. I ear chocolate every day. 2 squares are supposed to be 10 grams. When I weigh them they are often 12-15g. And when you are talking a calorie dense food like chocolate, that's a big difference.

I keep my scales on the bench, and I weigh everything. My husband has gotten used to this now. It's just what I do. And I've lost 4kg (nearly 10lb) since the beginning of the year (500 calorie deficit per day)

Additionally, you may want to consider using a weight trend app. I use libra. Looking at the trend is really useful. For example, since the first of February my weight appears to have only dropped by 200g, or half a lb, but when I look at the trend, I've lost 1kg or 2.2lb. It makes a huge difference looking at the trend!

duxlady · February 2021

Are you sure the scale is correct?

mpkpbk2015 · February 2021

Inches count there will be times when you lose inches and not pounds. But what is important to remember is it will all catch up in the long run. Are your clothes fitting better? Are you sleeping better? Last week I did everything right and only lost .2 of a pound but I lost over 6 inches and pant size. So the scale doesn't always tell the whoile story.
Also accurately measuring and weighing everything is very very important . And drinking lots of water helps me when I plateau.
And sometimes scales especially digital scales are off.
Hang in there losing weight is hard, I know I have been at it all my life and this is the first time I have been successful. It has taken me a little over 2 years to lose almost 100 pounds with lots of plateaus along the way.
But I am here to tell you it can be done. See my before and afters if you dont think you can do it

before

after
Just dont get hung up on what the scale says.

ninerbuff · February 2021

lgfrie wrote: »

Measuring to the gram can make a huge difference. If you're not losing weight, that should be the first item on the to-do list. Not necessarily the last item, but a very good first item.

Yesterday my wife and I tried a little experiment. We made dinner using the calories off the package. For example, we had a pack of gnocchi which says 600 cals on the package (but also gives the cals per 28 grams). To that we added a whole bunch of stuff, every thing of which had calorie for the whole container/package/cup but also by grams. Tomato bruschetta, a big turkey sausage, etc.

Going by the simple calorie totals per package, the calories per person for the meal was 721, right in line with what we want to see for our dinner calories.

Then we did all the calories to the gram. Total calories: 944.

As one example of where things went awry, the "600 calories" of gnocchi was actually 693 calories.

Separate from that, I have a bag of tostada chips that say 60 calories each but, by weight, they are closer to 90.

Weigh everything to the gram if you're not losing weight but otherwise feel like you're dieting correctly. It'll make a difference.

Also mentioning that if you're adding extra grams of carbs, you'll be adding 4 grams of water per 1 gram of carbs.
So if you're over by 50 grams on carbs, that's 200 grams of water or over 7 ounces. And that may matter on a scale. if you're diligent about keeping weight down.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

n95girl · February 2021

keto. I have lost 44kg of fat from keto alone and now I am muscle building. I still could lose 1 more dress size in fat but am pretty happy with the results. I am wearing size 10 from a size 22/24

springlering62 · February 2021

.....While I went from a 22 to a 4 simply counting calories and weighing and logging foods I enjoy.

Some people swear by keto, intermittent fasting, and other plans. I prefer simplicity.

You do what works for you, and is sustainable for a lifetime. Sustainability is the key word. You can’t reach your goal and revert back to bad habits.

Help- 5 weeks in and no weight loss

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