3 weeks and the scale hasn’t moved…

J_Rod92
J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been keeping a 500 cal deficit daily for 3 weeks now. I exercise 3-4 times per week also. The scale hasn’t moved but if the math is correct I should’ve lost at least 3lbs by now. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,884 Member
    If the exercise is new, I would suggest patience. New or more intense exercise routines can cause water retention in the muscles, which can hide fat loss on the scale.
  • Go_Deskercise
    Go_Deskercise Posts: 1,630 Member
    hjradd4k5ywj.jpg
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    If you made your food and exercise diary public there would be far more data to go on plus making it easier to spot common logging/estimating problems.
  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    If you made your food and exercise diary public there would be far more data to go on plus making it easier to spot common logging/estimating problems.

    I made it public.

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,884 Member
    Are you weighing your foods? Numbers of rolls, slices, cups,... doesn't seem all that accurate to me.
    But I also saw a day where you were way under calories.

    I still stand by my first comment though, if the exercise is new, you're probably retaining water and you just need to weight a few more weeks before evaluating.
  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    Lietchi wrote: »
    Are you weighing your foods? Numbers of rolls, slices, cups,... doesn't seem all that accurate to me.
    But I also saw a day where you were way under calories.

    I still stand by my first comment though, if the exercise is new, you're probably retaining water and you just need to weight a few more weeks before evaluating.

    I haven’t been weighing everything. Just only meats and serving sizes for side dishes.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    On the food logging side - suggest you stop using cups and spoons as measures, weigh using a digital scale instead.
    (Calories are in relation to weight and not volume which is what cups measure. A spoon of very calorie dense peanut butter could be far more than you think.)

    On the exercise logging side - the circuit training entry here is very, very generous. I would be extremely dubious about that burn for just over an hour. The walking estimates are a good example of the major flaw in the exercise database here as it's giving gross calories rather than net calories so there is an element of double counting. This calculator is more realistic and has a net cal option https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs
    (Caveat - as a fairly low volume exerciser the numbers don't have the power to massively derail you when you are aiming for thousands it takes a hell of a lot of hundreds to stop weight loss.)

    But three weeks isn't a lot, if you are feeling sore (DOMS etc.) there will be some water retention if you are returning to exercise or doing a novel form of exercise.
    I would suggest tightening up your logging, making sure all calorie containing foods AND drinks are logged more accurately than you have to date and then give a period of weeks to establish a new consistency.
  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    Go_Deskercise wrote: »
    hjradd4k5ywj.jpg

    Question is…do I eat back the calories burned from exercise? I feel I would be at a huge deficit that wouldn’t be healthy.
  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    On the food logging side - suggest you stop using cups and spoons as measures, weigh using a digital scale instead.
    (Calories are in relation to weight and not volume which is what cups measure. A spoon of very calorie dense peanut butter could be far more than you think.)

    On the exercise logging side - the circuit training entry here is very, very generous. I would be extremely dubious about that burn for just over an hour. The walking estimates are a good example of the major flaw in the exercise database here as it's giving gross calories rather than net calories so there is an element of double counting. This calculator is more realistic and has a net cal option https://exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs
    (Caveat - as a fairly low volume exerciser the numbers don't have the power to massively derail you when you are aiming for thousands it takes a hell of a lot of hundreds to stop weight loss.)

    But three weeks isn't a lot, if you are feeling sore (DOMS etc.) there will be some water retention if you are returning to exercise or doing a novel form of exercise.
    I would suggest tightening up your logging, making sure all calorie containing foods AND drinks are logged more accurately than you have to date and then give a period of weeks to establish a new consistency.

    Noted. I will start using my scale more often. I’ve been using the serving size from the nutrition labels mainly. If the MFP nutrition facts match the label from the food choice I just use that.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    Do you also measure condiments, oil, milk in coffee or tea, sugar and the likes? Those can add up quite a lot.
  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    Do you also measure condiments, oil, milk in coffee or tea, sugar and the likes? Those can add up quite a lot.

    Yes, normally I do.

  • J_Rod92
    J_Rod92 Posts: 13 Member
    I do think I have water retention, because I’m sore after every intense workout I do.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,617 Member
    Jerrod_Ainsworth wrote: »
    I do think I have water retention, because I’m sore after every intense workout I do.

    If you're very sore after every workout, 3 weeks in, there's a chance you may be overdoing your workouts (in intensity, frequency, duration, or specific exercise choices).

    DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) usually settles down after a week or couple doing a new exercise, after which there may be a bit of a taut, worked-out feeling in the muscles, but there shouldn't permanently be actual pain or extreme discomfort.

    Soreness is not the gauge of a good workout. You want a nice bit of challenge in a workout, but manageable, not punitive. Extremes aren't the best way to burn calories, or build fitness.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,307 Member
    edited May 2022
    Doms/soreness. Weight Trend app. More weeks.

    *using serving size* <-- So how many pop tart servings are in a single pop tart package? Serving sizes are useful... once you've been logging for a few years and are more aware of the items you tend to log...

    But logging (like many skills)... is not something you can actually perform reliably on day one. Heck I still catch myself making mistakes on year 7+

    Number of pieces or cups often do not match the weight figure. Portions in a square box that should obviously correspond to one or two portions are often 3.14159265359, or some other multiple, portions, instead of the expected one or two! :lol:
  • pcrozier99
    pcrozier99 Posts: 35 Member
    [/quote]

    I haven’t been weighing everything. Just only meats and serving sizes for side dishes.
    [/quote]

    I think you might have your answer right here. It's important to be very stringent when you begin to weigh everything. The small things add up quickly. With experience you will become more intuitive about how many calories you are taking in. Until then, weigh it all.

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