HELP! Can't lose the weight. What am I doing wrong???

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efjenkins
efjenkins Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am sort of new & have recently joined MFP. My goal is to lose 15 pounds. I am following the recommended 1lb/week. I log everything I put in my mouth & I still can’t lose any weight.

For someone my age & activity level, my daily calories are 1450. I eat the total calories or a little less. Once in a while I go over a little bit. Because I also exercise I “earn” more calories.

I have tried to only eat my allotted 1450 calories a day & not eat my “exercise” calories. The scale doesn’t budge. I have tried to eat some of my exercise calories in addition to my daily caloric allowance. And still, I lose nothing. I have mixed the two – eat my exercise calories some days & not the next. And still nothing! What am I doing wrong??? So frustrated. Any recommendation will be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • DRetel
    DRetel Posts: 136 Member
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    I had the same experience. What worked for me was to STICK WITH THE PLAN, and just keep going. I'm now 3 months out from my start date, and I'm down 14 pounds. I lost NOTHING in the first 4 weeks.
    And, when you think you can't drink another sip of water, have another sip of water! :-)
  • Ephena
    Ephena Posts: 615 Member
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    I am interested what other people have to say on this, I am stuck myself right now.
  • crazytxmom
    crazytxmom Posts: 166 Member
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    Open up your food diary please. It's hard to make recommendations without being able to see what you are eating.
  • jtsmith34
    jtsmith34 Posts: 54 Member
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    Me too! I'm seem to have hit a plateau. I'm trying to decide if I need to eat more or not eat back my exercise calories. I say just stick it out and see what happens. Whatever you do, don't give up!
  • Biancalee76
    Biancalee76 Posts: 107
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    Its hard to advise without knowing what you are eating. I quit eating bread every day, and only eat it once or twice a week and I've lost, even when I haven't followed through with my exercising.
  • Sunjenk
    Sunjenk Posts: 139 Member
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    I don't know how factual the answer is, but my Mom always told me when you first start some people drop it quickly and some bodies just aren't used to it and hold onto everything for fear of change.... o.o
  • HoopFire5602
    HoopFire5602 Posts: 423 Member
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    One, open your diary. If we can see what you eat we can help out a lot more.
    Two, If you are working out a lot and not eating your exercise cals, you may not be eating enough.
    Three, how long have you been doing this? it might take awhile at first to lose weight.
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 814 Member
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    You need to make your diary public. We can't really offer any advice if we can't see what you are doing. I would bet you aren't tracking your sugar. Makes a huge differenece. Most people don't like to track it because they go over, duh. That's telling you something :smile: Make sure you are logging yourself at your correct activity level. I thought I was pretty active, but then realized it was 3 minutes of walking to another office, then sitting for 30 minutes, etc... If you aren't exercising, then you are pretty much sedetary.
  • shirleymae19
    shirleymae19 Posts: 9
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    Just stick with it! I heard for a plateu, have an "apple" day. Drink as much water, apples as possible, just that all day, at the end of the day, have a steak with a raw tomato. Its kinda a weird thing, but it really shaked my weight loss up, especially after a day of bad eating etc. Maybe you just need a little more protein, to help with your exercises, get your metoblism revved up a bit higher :) jUST a suggestion.
  • carolina_r
    carolina_r Posts: 359 Member
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    Tracking calories can be a good way to lose weight, but it is not a complete solution. Take a look at the kinds of things you are eating, perhaps there are some gradual changes you can make that will allow you to see results? Also - are you taking measurements? Sometimes these tell you more than the scale. Keep tracking honestly, and stick with it - make this about more than just weight loss...it is a change in lifestyle. Good luck!
  • efjenkins
    efjenkins Posts: 3 Member
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    Ok. I’ve opened up my diary. The sugar is a problem. Most of it comes from fruits though. Feeling discouraged doesn't help. B/c this wkend, I went overboard.

    Anyhow, I was exercising 1 hour a day 5-6 days a week. 3 weeks ago I started the Insanity workout hoping it will make a difference. I am building muscles, but by gosh, I just want the scale to go down a little :-(

    Thank you for the encouraging words. I am open to suggestions. Feel free to share what worked for you :-)
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    Just stick with it! I heard for a plateu, have an "apple" day. Drink as much water, apples as possible, just that all day, at the end of the day, have a steak with a raw tomato. Its kinda a weird thing, but it really shaked my weight loss up, especially after a day of bad eating etc. Maybe you just need a little more protein, to help with your exercises, get your metoblism revved up a bit higher :) jUST a suggestion.

    What if I don't have steak? will chicken breast with a tomato work or just skip that bit? .. I don't eat red meat. Only have chicken and fish in the house. ... small tin of mackerel instead of a steak?
  • LisaKyle11
    LisaKyle11 Posts: 662 Member
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    diet-wise my advice is to 1 - lower your carbs (aim for 110 or so 'net' carbs -->minus the fiber from your total carb count), and 2 - increase your protein (to close to 100 if possible).

    good luck --- and give it some more time. you are doing great.
  • lglg11
    lglg11 Posts: 344 Member
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    my $0.02 .. lower your carbs and sugar ... I know you said most of your sugar is from fruit but sugar is sugar. I would start there. Weekends are hard for me too so I totally understand that. I would try to stay around your calorie goal 7 days a week. Seems like during the week you can be way under and on the weekend way over.

    Now to practice what I preach ..... :ohwell:
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    Ok. I’ve opened up my diary. The sugar is a problem. Most of it comes from fruits though. Feeling discouraged doesn't help. B/c this wkend, I went overboard.

    Anyhow, I was exercising 1 hour a day 5-6 days a week. 3 weeks ago I started the Insanity workout hoping it will make a difference. I am building muscles, but by gosh, I just want the scale to go down a little :-(

    Thank you for the encouraging words. I am open to suggestions. Feel free to share what worked for you :-)

    If you are fatiguing your muscles a lot, they may be storing water right now which can reflect on the scales. Try doing your measurements and using those numbers to keep you motivated when the scale numbers aren't behaving. There's a really good chance that you're losing inches even when not losing pounds.

    It seems like you are doing the right things so be patient :) Good luck & I know you'll do great!
  • Arynamber
    Arynamber Posts: 162 Member
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    JUST IMO but I too think you are having too many carbs.. stick to only "clean" carbs as much as possible (veggies, some fruits and whole grains only). If you MUST have white carbs (spaghetti, etc) make that the side dish, not the meal. Also.. eat a healthy protein whenever you have carbs. Drink LOTS LOTS of water...
  • rodeomc
    rodeomc Posts: 17 Member
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    Me too. I just redid my daily calorie limit. I know I need to cut back on sugar, My weakness.
  • efjenkins
    efjenkins Posts: 3 Member
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    Ok. So,
    1) Reduce my Carbs to 110
    2) Increase Protein to 100
    3) Reduce sugar intake
    4) Be more consistent with eating my daily alloted calories. I don't eat enough during the week. The weekend is when I try to catch up. SO I will try to change that.

    Thank you guys so much! I will give it a couple of weeks to see how I do. I hope I have a success story to share by then. Even if it is only 1-2 pounds :-)
  • bullet1
    bullet1 Posts: 61
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    Agree Completely. I lowered my carbs to under 100g and everything started falling into place.
    diet-wise my advice is to 1 - lower your carbs (aim for 110 or so 'net' carbs -->minus the fiber from your total carb count), and 2 - increase your protein (to close to 100 if possible).

    good luck --- and give it some more time. you are doing great.
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 814 Member
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    I would try to curb some on the sugar. Have you tried True Lemon Lemonade (I like the raspberry lemonade - it tastes like pink lemonade). It comes in a box and you add a pouch to water. No artificial sweeteners and 0 sugars in it so you would be well within your sugar limits then. Just a thought. Good luck

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