Help please - Only Lost 1lb since starting this 40 days ago!

Don't be discouraged. Remember that Muscle weighs more than fat. Although the scale isn't showing that you are losing weight it is more important to look at your measurements instead of your weight on a scale. A weight on a scale can Flucuate up to 5 lbs in a given day depending on what you eat and how much water you have intake. The best thing to do is weigh yourself first thing in the morning right after you use the restroom and before you eat or drink anything as your body has used a lot of your food and minerals in your body. Make sure to weigh yourself around the same time during the day as well.

Lower the burn rate for your exercises.
It could be that simple.

And try to test for body fat:
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

Like the above said: muscle is more dense. You are doing great - keep up the good work!

I wasn't loosing weight when I started in MFP, so I changed my settings manually. I put my activity level at sedentary, so that I could see how much exercise I did in a day. I lowered my daily calories to 1200 per day. I avoid empty calories, and eat only filling foods so that I am not hungry. I start with a hot cereal in the mornings. And I don't eat back my calories. When I stick to the 1200 limit, I loose. But when I eat back my exercise calories, I simply maintain my weight. I started MFP at the obese level.

My advice would be 1) to re-examine your settings; 2) find out how many calories you need to take in a day (Check the other databases out there, to compare what MFP recommends); 3) Don't eat back all of your exercise calories.

Good luck.

It took me a month to lose even a pound, but the inches just fell off. I've been at it for a year and a half, and right now am stuck around 30 lbs down, even though I need to lose a good 20 more. But I feel great for doing all the exercise, and everyone is very complimentary. Just keep at it. Thanks to everyone for all the reminders about drinking water and eating more fruit and vegetables. Important advice! Best of luck with losing the second pound....and the one after that....and the one after that....

Hi, You seem to be on the right track. Exercise that is purposful is always smart. It will become a habit and if you stop even though you may not be losing you may very well start gaining back. So do not stop exercising. I would suggest adding any veg to your diary. I eat only steamed or raw veg without any salt or extras, i.e.butter, dressing, cheese, or dips. The calories add up if you eat lots of them. So if you are eating at least 7 a day those end up being hidden calories that you will easily forget.

Fruits and veg have natural sugars in them. Some more than others, lets say that Gala you love verses steamed spinach. Yes the Gala may taste better but, the spinach is a super food and you can eat way more of it that the apple if you are trying to lose weight. The apple is a quick carb that will burn off quick leaving you hungry for the crisps. I would try to cut back on all those carbs. Added surger and natural sugars add up quick and they are always in packaged foods. Probabbly more in diet food. Maybe try fresh frozen mixed berries for a topping on a fiber rich cereal or steel cut oatmeal. Leave the banannas and apples at the market for a while and cut back on the wine. Berries have the same good for you stuff as red grapes. Oatmeal by the way is very good raw w/ soymilk or 2% w/ a dash of cinn. The fruit on top is the sweetener. My favorite breakfast because it keeps you feeling fuller longer. Calories are calories add they do add up quick! Make sre you measure everything! I lost nothing for what seemed forever all becuse I was eating way more than I thought I was. Maybe double. And I have always been a very health consious eater. Raw, low sat fat, low sodium, no added sugar ... you can still over eat healthy and gain weight.

One last thing...you have not added any drinks except the aclcohol. Are you not drinking water?! If you are add it to your diary. Drinking water takes time and effort if you are not a natural water drinker. If you are drinking fancy coffee w/creamers and sugar, soda, fruit juice, sports drinks or anything else off the market shelves....STOP! Because if you are drinking those thing you would not have much time or space in your tummy to fit the water. You would be rolling around like a water balloon. We don't want that! You could be drinking up to an entire days worth of calories and not realize it. All those workouts wasted......ugh.. That was way long winded...sorry, Lose the carbs and keep up your great workouts and slowly you could add back a glass or so of the wine you love.

Girl, I am in exactly the same boat, so I am feeling your pain.

I am not dropping in clothing size either after 8 weeks of trying to lose weight.

I am going to the dr tomorrow to chat to him about it as I do have a thyroid problem (not under or over active, a multinodular goitre that can convert to either under or over active which can inhibit my ability to lose weight). I have lost weight in the past very sucessfully but this time I am at a standstill, despite doing more exercise weekly than I have ever done in my life.

I wish you luck!
Kellie

No sugar, limit salt as much as posssible, limit fats, and carbs under 60 gms and keep moving you will lose. Stick to the green veggies (but peas are starchy) and get yourself a good calorie counter book. Get a diary or journal for 2012 and write everything you eat down and total it at the end of the day. MFP doesn't have everything in their lists. I also try to just eat when I'm actually hungry and not beacuse it's a meal time. Try eating half of what you're eating now for a week and see if you get any results. I'm only 5 feet tall and if I ate all the calories they tell me to in a day I'd probably Gain weight!! Good Luck. Chris

SO much false information in here. Wow! Sorry OP

What is the true information then?

Lots of good stuff here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq

It's good to see you are logging your food. The most difficult thing is to determine how many calories you actually burn in a day, it takes some time to experiment with different calorie values. There are just so many variables at play whenever you step on the scale. I can carry an extra 7 - 10 lbs of bloat which totally throws me off. I can't stress enough to log absolutely everything you eat, even the vegetables. A calorie is a calorie and as long as you are in a deficit (especially over 30 days) you are bound to lose weight. I will also add; the calories reported by the machines at the gym are only an estimate. You "could" be overestimating your calorie burns. Something to consider.

I understand how you feel but hang in there and don't give up! You may have to change what you are eating, drink more water, and exercise longer!
The weight will come off in due time...you maybe gaining muscle depending on what you are doing...

Hang in there...the weight didnt come on overnight so it will not come off overnight!

Have you checked your thyroid? I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, it seriously impacts your metabolism and causes weight gain. I had tried everything, even Weight Watchers, working out religiously and the scale didn't budge. Might be worth a try, otherwise you could be spinning your wheels.

My thyroid went out and even though I was eating only 1000 calories a day and running two miles I still gained weight. Thank goodness my doctor knew me well and believed me when I told him about my calorie intake and exercise.

let the tape measure speak for you. Get of the scale get in the gym build some of the big muscle groups legs are the fastest to build because they are already holding you up daily. Get some curcuit training, get a coach, get some friends that will hold you acountable. Minimum 30 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. Keep your chin up literally and figuratively. You can only get what you give. Give ther work and get the result. No magic formula, just lots of work..

Be sure to get your 8 glasses of water a day and enough protein. Also remember that if your working out a lot muscle weighs more than fat, so you may not show weight loss right away. Try taking your measurements. Many times this is the best way to see how much you've accomplished. Be sure to track everything including vegetables since every food has calories.

Girl, I am in exactly the same boat, so I am feeling your pain.

I am not dropping in clothing size either after 8 weeks of trying to lose weight.

I am going to the dr tomorrow to chat to him about it as I do have a thyroid problem (not under or over active, a multinodular goitre that can convert to either under or over active which can inhibit my ability to lose weight). I have lost weight in the past very sucessfully but this time I am at a standstill, despite doing more exercise weekly than I have ever done in my life.

I wish you luck!
Kellie

have you tried increasing your calories? what is your deficit and do you eat back your exercise calories?

I'm short too and it sucks. If we are off by 200- 400 calories it means no weight loss or worse a gain. I have to be very honest, with my counting or I gain.

My other tricks:
I do not exceed 1200 calories even if I exercise.
Sadly, I stopped counting calories burned because I needed a buffer on portions underestimated.
Use a scale to measure fruits- some items listed are 40 or less calories for apples when they could be over 120 calories for a big apple or large banana.
I am very careful of nuts, meat, cheese calories. I always weigh them.
Measure, measure, measure.. use a measuring cup for Cheerios, peas, carrots. There's a large difference between 2/3 and 1 full cup to make a large calorie swing.
Lastly, I try to minimize the number of items I eat... i.e. lines I log. For example If I have 20 entries and each are off by 20 calories, that's 400 calories!!

Good luck, seriously anyone can do this if they are careful.

You were probably gaining from under eating. Your body tends to convert calorie quickly to fat stores if it isn't seeing adequate nutrition. The only thing you are doing by eating very low calories and exercising a lot is losing muscle mass and maintain body fat. Body fat is one of the quickest sources of energy, so as you approach a more acceptable level of body fat, your body fights harder to maintain it. This is also why it turns to muscles for energy as it can attack the amino acids to convert to energy.