Stuck at the same weight area for over 2 weeks

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Hi all,

Getting very disheartened by this, but I cant seem to make any decent weight loss progress. I have adjusted my diet, and I keep to my calorie goals very closely, do regular exercise but not having any success.

Partner made a great meal last night, and I even did 45 minutes on the crosstrainer. But when I weighed myself this morning I found I had gained a pound.

So whenever I do more exercise I just seem to end up gaining more, I really am at a loss. What am I doing wrong??
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Replies

  • amymaria91
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    Do you eat back your exercise calories or not? Maybe you should try doing the opposite of what you're doing now.

    When I started I never ate them back and lost weight fine but now I'm finding that I lose weight better if I do eat them back. Our bodies change.

    Also, have you tried doing some different exercise? I've read on here that our body gets used to the exercise we do so it's a good idea to mix it up.

    Hope something works for you :smile:
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    Hang in there! As long as you keep a deficit you should be fine. I didn't drop for over 2 weeks then suddenly last 1.6 kilos in a week.
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    Your meals may be too high in sodium, which can have an impact - especially if your weight goes up from one day to the next.

    You should start to monitor sodium in your diet and try to keep it under 2000mg per day
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    did you update your calorie setting after your weight loss? as you lose weight, you need less calories. go to settings and "update diet finess profile"
  • Lokisul
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    I dont really ever get hungry besides my 3 meals a day. I do try to eat exercise calories back if I am way under, or if I ate a big dinner and do it in reverse. I think I sometimes rest about 20-200 calories under my daily goal, but I just dont feel like eating after?

    I have a goal at 1620, which is 1 1/2 pound loss a week, doesnt seem like a big loss, should I set it higher?

    Sodium seems fine on the tracker, its only peaked over on sunday, and about 6 days before that.
  • yojibalinese
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    Sometimes you just hit a plateau. After my first thirty pounds lost, I didn't lose anything for a month. I just kept at it, same as always, until my body adjusted to it and then it started losing the pounds again. Hitting walls is the worst and very, VERY discouraging. But if your diet is a lifestyle change, just know that it's going to have bumps. I've recently hit another wall after 107 pounds lost. It's been about three weeks since I noticed my usual 1-2 pound loss a week. I did add an extra work out about a month ago since I can handle it more but I've also been a little lax on watching how much sodium I've been having which affects water weight. Anyhow, I'll be rooting for you! Just hold steady and you'll beat your wall.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    I dont really ever get hungry besides my 3 meals a day. I do try to eat exercise calories back if I am way under, or if I ate a big dinner and do it in reverse. I think I sometimes rest about 20-200 calories under my daily goal, but I just dont feel like eating after?

    I have a goal at 1620, which is 1 1/2 pound loss a week, doesnt seem like a big loss, should I set it higher?

    Sodium seems fine on the tracker, its only peaked over on sunday, and about 6 days before that.

    you seem to know what you are doing. 1620 is a good amount of calories. maybe you could confuse your body and set it to a pound a week loss for a two weeks. i bet the extra influx of calories will help change your current weight loss. try throwing in more lean protein, and start lifting if you already don't.
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
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    I am not sure how long you have been working on losing weight but if it has been a while your body gets used to your routine so you may need to shake it up a bit. I got stuck for a few weeks and changed up my eating habits. I carb cycle which means I do 3 days of 70% carbs, 15% fat and 15% protein. then a day of 35% carbs, 45% protein, 20% fat, then a day of 25% carbs 55% protein 20% fat. then back to the high carb days. I seem to lose lbs when I do the high carb days. You really have to sit down and plan your meals though as it takes thought to get it going. Ive been doing this now for a few months and I continue to lose.

    I do notice sometimes when I do more exercise I wont lose on the scale until the 2nd day... maybe I am retaining some fluid in the muscles as they have been worked harder .

    This week I am changing things up a bit due to the holiday as I normally would be on a high carb day but I am going to do a high protein as I dont want to eat all the fattening side dishes that go along with the holiday.. Turkey and salad for me!

    Feel free to friend me if you would like.

    url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker]4925355.png[/url]
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • Lokisul
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    Trying to avoid any weight training yet, as I need to loose a couple of stone before I focus on strength. Used to go the gym and do cardio, and never lost any weight and although I gained muscles, you couldnt tell! So I am holding off till the weight drops.

    I think thats a good idea about spiking the weight a few times, if it is the dreaded plateu that I hear about so often, then it seems the likely way to break it.
    I work all day so planning meals is difficult, I follow the same breakfast and lunch every day nearly. Varies from week though.
    Its my dinner times that are always the change up, so I will see what I can come up with!
  • SouLThinking
    SouLThinking Posts: 308 Member
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    http://www.naturalphysiques.com/64/zig-zag-calculator-for-fat-loss-andor-muscle-gain

    Go plug in your stats on this calculator (this one is for men) I use of course a different one for women.
    Do the complex one for a bigger variety. Give it 2 weeks. See if your still stuck. But don't dont dont do the extreme fat loss totals. I did say dont right? ok good

    this works.

    Nichole
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    Trying to avoid any weight training yet, as I need to loose a couple of stone before I focus on strength. Used to go the gym and do cardio, and never lost any weight and although I gained muscles, you couldnt tell! So I am holding off till the weight drops.

    I think thats a good idea about spiking the weight a few times, if it is the dreaded plateu that I hear about so often, then it seems the likely way to break it.
    I work all day so planning meals is difficult, I follow the same breakfast and lunch every day nearly. Varies from week though.
    Its my dinner times that are always the change up, so I will see what I can come up with!

    Weight training is probably what you need to add to your exercise routine... Why wait?
    Cardio is necessary for burning of the fat layer, and weight training is useful so that you don't have any (or minimal) muscle loss whilst losing weight.

    I did a round of ChaLean Extreme (12 weeks) when I was 15-20 lbs heavier. Although after those 90 days I only lost 10 lbs & 7 inches all over - but importantly my daily calorie burn (TDEE) increased by 500 calories.

    Remember, muscle burns more calories when the body is at rest....
  • Little_Ms_
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    I always weigh more the morning after a good exercise session. It's because our bodies retain water to repair muscles.

    Why don't you just weigh yourself once a week instead of being dissapointed every morning?

    You aren't doing anything wrong. Keep eating well and exercising. It will pay off!
  • Little_Ms_
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    And I agree with the above post.

    Both cardio and strength training will help you lose weight. Strength training is the reason men lose more weight than women! Cardio alone won't do it as quickly.
  • MelanieAG05
    MelanieAG05 Posts: 359 Member
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    http://www.naturalphysiques.com/64/zig-zag-calculator-for-fat-loss-andor-muscle-gain

    Go plug in your stats on this calculator (this one is for men) I use of course a different one for women.
    Do the complex one for a bigger variety. Give it 2 weeks. See if your still stuck. But don't dont dont do the extreme fat loss totals. I did say dont right? ok good

    this works.

    Nichole

    Which one do you use for women?
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    Trying to avoid any weight training yet, as I need to loose a couple of stone before I focus on strength. Used to go the gym and do cardio, and never lost any weight and although I gained muscles, you couldnt tell! So I am holding off till the weight drops.

    I think thats a good idea about spiking the weight a few times, if it is the dreaded plateu that I hear about so often, then it seems the likely way to break it.
    I work all day so planning meals is difficult, I follow the same breakfast and lunch every day nearly. Varies from week though.
    Its my dinner times that are always the change up, so I will see what I can come up with!

    Don't avoid the weight training! You should be doing that all along. You don't have to do weight training every day, but please don't think that adding weight training to your routine will keep you from losing weight. It always kickstarts mine. Please - add the weight training!
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Trying to avoid any weight training yet, as I need to loose a couple of stone before I focus on strength. Used to go the gym and do cardio, and never lost any weight and although I gained muscles, you couldnt tell! So I am holding off till the weight drops.

    terrible idea, lifting heavy and taking in adequate amounts of protein daily limits lean muscle loss on a diet. Don't worry about losing weight, focus on losing fat.

    And 1620 cals for someone that is ~210lbs is pretty low
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
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    i hit a plateau that lasted 2 year and i did everything i could to lose more weight. My trainer and nutritionist @ the gym both told me that i was taking in too little calories for the amount of exercise i was doing ( i was training for a marathon) and that my body was going into starvation mode. They had me increase my calories from 1200-1400 and to take in at least 130 grams or protien. I was finally able to lose the last 10 pounds in 4 months. How much exercise do you do? have you tried increasing your calories for a week or 2 and see what happens
  • Lokisul
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    Hmmm, I thought that weight training would slow down fat burning. But if thats the case I will start my weights up again, would you suggest that alternating on weights on day and cardio the next would be a good idea? 4 days of cardio and 3 days of weights?

    I typically do about 10-20 minutes crosstraining/bike a day, and do a proper 1 hr crosstraining/bike a couple of times a week. Those amounts change depending on how much I have eaten a day..

    Didnt know about water retention after heavy workouts, but to be honest I have felt bloated all day
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    Hmmm, I thought that weight training would slow down fat burning. But if thats the case I will start my weights up again, would you suggest that alternating on weights on day and cardio the next would be a good idea? 4 days of cardio and 3 days of weights?

    I typically do about 10-20 minutes crosstraining/bike a day, and do a proper 1 hr crosstraining/bike a couple of times a week. Those amounts change depending on how much I have eaten a day..

    Didnt know about water retention after heavy workouts, but to be honest I have felt bloated all day


    No, weight training won't slow down fat burn... it will actually speed it up.... more muscle equals more fat burn while the body is at rest.

    Yes, always have a rest day between each weights session.... this will allow your muscles to recover/repair
  • premiumchilenita
    premiumchilenita Posts: 600 Member
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    mixing it up is definitely a great idea, this allows your muscles to rest but your body keeps going.