WHY AM I NOT LOSING??? :(

Man I wish I had an answer, I have the same problem and I'm only on day 8. I finally had to step away from the scale for a little while. Maybe the loss will show up after you're done with the shred?

There are so many factors that can affect this. I can fluctuate as much as five pounds during TOM, or if I'm constipated. (TMI, I know.)

with the shred you are losing inches, plus you are toning and developing muscle. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat Keep at it and don't give up; the pounds will eventually come off as well! Good job so far!

(I wrote this to somebody earlier) "Losing weight is a goal that can be frustrating and confusing. "You're gonna be exercising the next 20 years anyway!" That's what I tell myself when the scale doesn't move. Its not about JUST weight loss. Don't give yourself 6 months to reach your goal and then give up if you don't reach it. Try to look at it like, "No matter what, no matter how long this takes, or how confusing and frustrating.....I WILL do this!"

Also, don't believe all those magazines at the supermarket telling you to have your dream body in 12 weeks. That's a bunch of BS. Those fitness models didn't take 12 weeks to look like that, they practice exercising as a way of life. ADOPT THAT WAY OF LIFE FOR YOURSELF. Commit to exercising for 1 year, slowly at first. I spent my first 3 months walking mostly, then stepped it up to jogging/walking for about a month, then I joined a gym and got into a program, then I started getting lazy and I quit going to the gym, then things got really bad and I only exercised maybe 4 times a month for about 2 or 3 months, Now Im back to exercising 5 or 6 times a week. My current gripe is that I'm not losing any weight. But its because I don't ever log in my food. I need to change that. I'm learning that its something that MUST be done. LEARN how to do this through trial and error. Hopefully I come back to this thread next year as a super hot and buff, cut and ripped piece of man-meat for you.

But I wont reach that goal if I give up because I fail along the way. Never give up on this!"

Fantastic. I couldn't have said it better myself!

Not eating back exercise calories has been a factor that has hindered a lot of people's weight loss. You should never net below 1200, as it makes it very hard to lose weight. If you burn 300, eat a minimum of 1500 a day. Try it for a couple weeks and see what happens! I wouldn't be surprised if you started losing again

I was losing weight at a steady pace for about 2 months and when I started the 30 Day Shred, I quit losing weight. I ate the same amount of calories the entire time too. I just figured it was because I was gaining muscle since my clothes continued to get baggier.

The way I see it is it's about how you look and feel, not about what the scale says. A pound of muscle will weigh the same as a pound of fat (or a pound of anything for that matter lol) but it makes you look different and makes you healthier.

This is very interesting. Today I took some progress pics and I actually look slimmer but dammit, I gained like 2lbs. The scale has to go for a while. I'll just take pics

Without seeing your diary, it is hard to give specific answers, but the 2 biggest possibilities I see with the information you have given us are...

1) You are eating too few calories. Many people (including myself) will testify that often adding more calories for a few weeks will break a plateau.

2) You are losing fat and gaining muscle. remember, your goal is not to "Lose Weight", it is to "Lose Fat." Exercising can swap fat for muscle, and you will lose inches, but gain wight as muscle is more dense than fat.

Keep it up. remember, this program is not a diet. You never stop this, you just adjust your calorie deficit to 0 when you reach your goal. Also remember that any muscle cells you have will burn fat everyday without you doing any exercise.

Are you using a digital food scale to accurately measure and log everything you eat and drink? Most people drastically underestimate food portions. Are you logging everything that goes into your mouth, even those things you use to cook with (oils, butter, etc.)? Are you wearing a quality heart rate monitor during your workouts to accurately measure and log your calorie burn? MFP's default exercise database is way off most of the time. Are you getting enough sleep? Are all of your settings correct, especially your activity/lifestyle setting?

Make sure you're tracking your body measurements. Go to My Home>>Check-in. I take my measurements on the 1st of every month and it's very motivating to see a change in your size, rather than focusing on weight all the time.

Read the "guide to calorie deficits" link in my signature. I think it will help you. Good luck!

I'm trying really hard to stay positive and remain focused but I'm getting pretty frustrated!!! I have been doing the 30 day shred everyday for the last 18 days (I'll be on day 7 tonight of level 2. I did 12 days of level 1), I'm drinking 8 or so glasses of water a day, trying REALLY hard to eat mostly healthy stuff, and sticking around my calorie limit of 1200 calories a day (some days I eat some of my exercise calories back but not all). Most days I've also been fast pace walking 30 to 45 minutes after I do the shred. I can tell in inches (I haven't measured since day 1 of the shred, but I can tell in my shirts) that there is a bit of a difference (I'm staring to lose my love handles) BUT today I weighed in and had GAINED a pound!!!! I'm very frustrated!! I think is even more frustrating that the shred is kicking my butt everyday and I'm giving it my all to make it through the workout and then not losing anything?!! UGH!!! What do I do??? PLEASE GIVE ME SOME POINTERS!

If you're losing inches, why would you worry about the weight on the scale? Be happy with the inches, weight will come soon enough.

Are you eating enough? Are you eating your exersise calories?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit

Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

This is just a part of it! please read the link above

Hey DK,

Watching your scale can be a very good thing but it can also be a very bad thing. When you check day after day, while busting your *kitten* doing Jillian workouts... and yet you see no loss of weight... the frustration can easily set in. Just keep in mind that you are losing weight!!! Your scale just doesn't know it. If you are doing Jillian workouts you are most certainly gaining muscle mass. Chances are if you are actually gaining weight then you are building more muscle than you are burning fat.

However, just because you gain 1 pound in a week doesn't mean you are gaining weight though in the long run. I am currently on 2700 calories myself to simply maintain my weight. I do 3 High Intensity Interval Training workouts a week for 20 minutes and I spend 3 days at the gym pumping iron. I always eat the right balance of macro nutrients (carbs, protein and fat). I always drink enough water (anywhere from 10 glasses to a gallon depending on the day). I also do 1 hike a week at around 6-15 miles roundtrip with 2-4k feet of elevation gain. Even with all of the exercise I do and very meticulous nutrition setup, some days I still gain up to 2 pounds.

So, if you see weight fluctuations per day don't even bother putting any thought into that. When you weigh yourself once a week rather than once a day you'll most likely see a more stable graph representing your weight loss. But again, even if you are gaining 1 pound a week it is definitely not fat.

To stay motivated just remember that it is how you feel and how you look that is more important than the actual number of pounds you carry around with you during the day. If you feel more energetic and happy, less irritable... then it's working... and it doesn't matter if you gain or lose weight.

As far as determining your calorie intake, take what this program gives you with a grain of salt. 1200 calories is tiny compared to what any adult SHOULD be eating. Now, you can definitely get away with eating that, but your body does repair itself on off days too not just on workout days. In your case this might not be a problem since it sounds like you do your workouts 7 days a week. When my girlfriend was eating only 1300 calories as this program suggested she was actually losing some hair. She switched from losing 2 pounds a week to .5 pounds per week and that stopped. So just be careful and do as much reading on nutrition and fitness as you can. You'll be surprised how much good info there is out there that will help you be more in charge of your own fitness. This program is a great tool, but it's not the end all be all. Sometimes eating too few calories will actually tell your body that it needs to store nutrients for later use since there is not a good supply of food available. This is one reason why it's far better to eat 5-6 times a day instead of 3 or less. Your body never thinks that it is starving and never thinks it has to store nutrients rather than simply using them.

I know that was a mouthful :-)

Anyways, keep up the hard work and just stick with your plan. Make small changes as you see fit but just stick with the lifestyle and the rewards will come you'll see! Give it 3 months and see how you feel about it. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Are you using a digital food scale to accurately measure and log everything you eat and drink? Most people drastically underestimate food portions. Are you logging everything that goes into your mouth, even those things you use to cook with (oils, butter, etc.)? Are you wearing a quality heart rate monitor during your workouts to accurately measure and log your calorie burn? MFP's default exercise database is way off most of the time. Are you getting enough sleep? Are all of your settings correct, especially your activity/lifestyle setting?

Make sure you're tracking your body measurements. Go to My Home>>Check-in. I take my measurements on the 1st of every month and it's very motivating to see a change in your size, rather than focusing on weight all the time.

Read the "guide to calorie deficits" link in my signature. I think it will help you. Good luck!

No signatures any more they have all gone !

The less you have to lose, the harder it is.

True.

You are just putting on muscle more than likely, and if you take your measurements I bet you'd see how much smaller you're really getting. :-) It's not all about the number on the scale.

Putting on muscle, as in gaining/building new muscle? At 1200cal, not likely. The comment about the number on the scale is good though.

Could be that you are gaining muscle and that is a good thing.

Not at 1200cal she's not.

This is very interesting. Today I took some progress pics and I actually look slimmer but dammit, I gained like 2lbs. The scale has to go for a while. I'll just take pics

This is actually a very good idea. While the scale is the easiest way to see "progress", it rarely tells the whole story. People place WAY too much emphasis on what the scale says.

Without seeing your diary, it is hard to give specific answers, but the 2 biggest possibilities I see with the information you have given us are...

1) You are eating too few calories. Many people (including myself) will testify that often adding more calories for a few weeks will break a plateau.

2) You are losing fat and gaining muscle. remember, your goal is not to "Lose Weight", it is to "Lose Fat." Exercising can swap fat for muscle, and you will lose inches, but gain wight as muscle is more dense than fat.

Keep it up. remember, this program is not a diet. You never stop this, you just adjust your calorie deficit to 0 when you reach your goal. Also remember that any muscle cells you have will burn fat everyday without you doing any exercise.

I agree with point #1 (especially if you are grossing 1200, not netting, which it sounds like is the case), not with point #2... at least not with the putting on muscle part. I do agree with the rest of it.

If you're losing inches, why would you worry about the weight on the scale? Be happy with the inches, weight will come soon enough.

+1