Discouraged and need motivation

ashmitatua
ashmitatua Posts: 35 Member
edited October 5 in Motivation and Support
Guys,
I have been following MFP for about 10 days now, doing 45 mins to an hour of exercise 4 out of 7 days a week and I have gained a pound. I have up ed my protein intake, lowered carb intake, but still a gain. What am I doing wrong? Please suggest :sad:

Replies

  • PANZERIA
    PANZERIA Posts: 471 Member
    What are you doing for exercise? If you're looking strictly for weight loss, your workouts should be mostly cardio. If you're doing both strength training and cardio equally, you're probably gaining some muscle.

    Also, how fit were you before the program? (answer honestly) If you were never very active, your body is probably just building the muscle it needs to make you move as much as you want it to.
  • dixiedad826
    dixiedad826 Posts: 3
    Are you doing strength conditioning or cardio? Muscle creation will cause you to gain muscle mass...which will cause you to gain weight. Try cardio early in the morning before breakfast. Also..if you have reached a plateu, try "Shocking" your system with a day of gluttony...then hop right back on the diet.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Your food diary looks pretty good to me. I'm no expert, but with all the exercise you're doing and protein you're eating, you could be building a lot of muscle. Are your measurements improving?
  • Just_Bethy
    Just_Bethy Posts: 272
    I looked at your diary and the numbers look GREAT!! But weight...eh..it defies physics...Especially for women with monthly cycles and water retention playing their part/..DO NOT give up...10 days is nothing...Keep on working Mama..IT WILL come off!! I can gain 4 lbs and lose the same 4 lbs 3 times in a week..but over the last 6 month it HAS come off and it WILL for YOU too...!!
    NAMASTE xxx
  • ProjectSara
    ProjectSara Posts: 83 Member
    For me, it always takes a few weeks of consistency to adequately see what's happening. By week 3 (if I've stayed on task), I start seeing good gains. I wouldn't give up on what you're doing yet.
  • ProjectSara
    ProjectSara Posts: 83 Member
    Oh, and by "gains" I mean "losses" :P
  • nabeeo5
    nabeeo5 Posts: 16
    Keep going! I'm new to mfp also. I gained 5 lbs at first. I read somewhere that people usually gain at first because they are gaining muscle. I think it usually takes about 2-3 weeks to see any weight loss. Good luck!
  • plantgrrl
    plantgrrl Posts: 436 Member
    Probably building muscle. Or if you're not used to exercise it could be you're retaining water, as your muscles repair themselves. Also, what's your sodium intake? If it's high it could be water retention from that. But in all seriousness, it early days yet. Your body is aclimating to the new routine. Don't stop now. It may help you to get a measuring tape (they kind you can find cheap at fabric stores, measure now, then measure again in a week or two, you should see a difference there, if not with the scale. Some MFP'ers only measure and don't use a scale, they say its more truthful results.

    Hang it there! Sounds like you'll be doing great soon!
  • czechsmate
    czechsmate Posts: 556 Member
    I looked at your diary and a lot of days you have a lot of cals left over....you may want to eat a little more, and really try to get at least 8 glasses of water in.
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
    Guys,
    I have been following MFP for about 10 days now, doing 45 mins to an hour of exercise 4 out of 7 days a week and I have gained a pound. I have up ed my protein intake, lowered carb intake, but still a gain. What am I doing wrong? Please suggest :sad:

    I agree with what someone else said about it being muscle gain. Make sure you have days where you're not workin out so much in between workouts to give you muscles time to rest. I know that muscles tend to save water around them in the beginning since your body isn't used to "strenuous" activity.
  • jlbell123
    jlbell123 Posts: 7
    I went through the same thing time and time again I switch to straight cardio 45-60 min then abs every other day for a month I am almost 2 weeks into it and have lost 9.5 lbs and I bought the book belly fat cure by jorge cruise and it has helped tremendously keep at it it will come off!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    It is unlikely that it is muscle gain, but your muscles are probably retaining water to heal themselves after your workouts. This is normal. Give it more time. You cannot expect to see immediate results.

    Focus on getting healthy and the weight loss will happen.
  • ShellyRath
    ShellyRath Posts: 20
    You are not putting on muscle, the scale is not moving because your body in is starvation mode. You will not lose if you continue to eat 600-700 calories a day. You need ti eat 1200 calories a day AND you must, let me say it again, must eat back your exercise calories. If you eat below 1200 calories a day your body will hold onto what ever fat it has stored. Before you continue go through the forms and read.There are so many posts on this topic, so many and they all say the same thing, eat all your calories and eat back your exercise calories. If you want to be successful and keep the weight off forever, follow the plan. It works.
  • 1qtnewf
    1qtnewf Posts: 3
    It takes a lot to build muscle...generally speaking, a pound of muscle a month, with consistent strength training.
    This is your body adjusting, and if you aren't eating all your calories, your body is trying to hold on to all of them for dear life.

    Do not give up!!! It will happen...just be patient and forgiving with yourself. :)
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    You've gotta increase your calories on a consistent basis. You can't eat 600-700 calories a day then bump them to 1200 for 2 days and expect your body to be fooled. Your body needs food before it will release the fat.
  • ashmitatua
    ashmitatua Posts: 35 Member
    Thank you all so much for the support. I really appreciate all the feedbacks I am getting. All you guys are making it easier for me to stick to this plan.
    I am doing mostly cardio, tread-mill at incline 15, 45-50 mins 4 days a week. I was exercising before, but not regularly at all, I would barely go 2 days a week and sometime skip a week or two and then start again. Since starting MFP 12 days ago, I have gone to the gym for 5-6 days and mostly done cardio.
    One of the things that I realized is that I am not eating all the calorie that I am supposed to. I always have 300-500 cals left at the end of the day. Like Weight Watchers suggest you should eat all your points, should I be eating all my calorie points?
  • Sweet_Potato
    Sweet_Potato Posts: 1,119 Member
    I gained my first week. I think it's because I had my period at the time. That's the problem-- there are so many variables that can make your weight fluctuate from week to week. Keep at it and you'll definitely see weight loss. After that first week I was consistently weighing in at a pound lighter every week.
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