I’m having trouble seeing results on the scale

julimclaughlin133
julimclaughlin133 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I’ve been doing this for about 3 weeks and i lost 1.6 lbs my first week but then gained it back and I haven’t seen any changes on the scale. I feel like fat is gone so I’m not sure if I’m just building muscle at this point cause I’m eating right and working out atleast 4 times a week. After the first week I did start adding strength training to my work out routine so idk if I’m losing fat but not losing lbs just gaining muscle or I’m just telling myself that. I do not want to stop I just want advice on how to get the lbs to go down. Should I eat less calories work out more. I am 7 months post partum with my 3rd so I know it’s going to be harder for me. I just need some encouragement and direction thank you !

Replies

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,084 Member
    Embarking on adding a fitness training regimen will usually have the person GAIN weight the first couple of weeks or so. It's common because your body will start storing glycogen in muscle cells from anticipation of energy usage. So 2-5lbs gain ISN'T unusual. This will all balance out in the long run if you CONTINUE to stay on a moderate calorie deficit plan along with your exercise.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • julimclaughlin133
    julimclaughlin133 Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you so much ! That’s exactly what I gained was 2lbs… I’ve been under my calorie count should I hit exactly or try to be on the lower side?
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,303 Member
    If no loss in 2-3 more weeks then you’ll need to drop weekly calories
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,148 Member
    julimclaughlin133 wrote: »
    Thank you so much ! That’s exactly what I gained was 2lbs… I’ve been under my calorie count should I hit exactly or try to be on the lower side?

    Be pretty close. A little high or a little low is fine, even averaging over a few days or a week is fine if that works better for you. I'd shoot for something like +/- 50 calories of goal to start, until you've been at this long enough to compare your multi-week results to your weight loss rate target.
    tomcustombuilder wrote: »
    If no loss in 2-3 more weeks then you’ll need to drop weekly calories

    OP is female. I suspect she's of an age to have menstrual cycles, though the post-partum time can be interesting for a while. 2-3 weeks is not enough in that scenario.

    OP, compare your weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles, assuming you have cycles. Hormonal water weight shifts can be really weird, and it's not fat so there's no point in stressing about it. It's not the most common pattern, but a few women here have reported that they only see a new low weight once per month at a particular point in their cycle, even when losing well as they compare those points from month to month.

    Once you have at least that much experience data (logging carefully and tracking weight), look at your average weight loss per week over the whole time. If you lost slower than you were trying to, and can safely lose a bit faster - or if losing too fast - adjust your calorie goal using the assumption that a pound a week is roughly 500 calories difference per day. (Use arithmetic if there are fractional pounds involved.)

    @julimclaughlin133, may I suggest you read this thread, especially the article linked in the first post?

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

    It explains how some of the water weight weirdness works, and I think/hope you may find it reassuring. (I did.)

    Best wishes!
  • julimclaughlin133
    julimclaughlin133 Posts: 5 Member
    Thank you so much ! That was actually very helpful and yes I did just have my period beginning two weeks ago and I always gain atleast 3 lbs ever since then I have gone back down to where I started this journey and haven’t budged so that makes sense. I am going to focus on measurements at the moment and not the scale because it’s starting to upset me lol

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