Excercising and still no weight loss...

Nope, that's a myth. The reason you might not lose, or might even gain weight, when you first start exercising (or increase/change exercises) is that your muscles retain water as part of the natural healing process. Actual muscle gain take a lot of time and a very specific diet regimine from what I understand.

You didn't say if you're eating your calories back from activity so I'll throw this in there too... If you're not eating back your exercise calories, your body may be holding on to what little it's getting for net calories. If you're burning 500-1000 calories, that means you're only consuming a net of 200-700 calories, which is going to put you in starvation mode. Your net should be as close to 1200 as you can get it. If you're having trouble reaching that net, try eating more calorie dense foods like avocado, nuts, seeds, nut butters. You can find more ideas by searching for calorie dense foods here on the boards.

:flowerforyou: Okay anyways!! Maybe you are gaining muscle then. Try measuring yourself not weighing yourself. Muscle weighs more then fat I am told...

Diary closed....

NayShel, thanks for the feedback I wasn't eating all my calories back so maybe that is why.

medoria, well my goal is 20 lbs and I want to loose 1 to 2 pounds a week the healthy way but I was asking because if I eat 1,200 calories a day I think I would lose weight faster than actually doing it with exercise but I was worried since I'm doing exercise is it going to give me muscle gain. I do a lot of dancing like Zumba class or do some dancing video game like Just Dance for like an hour. Or other types of exercises like I'm doing 100 squats a day.

You won't be putting on any muscle weight if you aren't eating enough, so don't even worry about that!! IT seems you are doing mostly cardio, so just don't be afraid to eat back your exercise calories. The weight WILL come off - but you have to eat. Good luck! (oh, and drink lots of water!)

Yes, eat your exercise calories. Also, it's only been 5 days. Be patient.

If you really only have 13 lbs to lose, I would set your goal to lose 1/2 lb - 1 lb per week. That will probably give you more than 1200 as well. More food to fuel your exercise (if you really are burning that much)! :flowerforyou:

medoria, well my goal is 20 lbs and I want to loose 1 to 2 pounds a week the healthy way but I was asking because if I eat 1,200 calories a day I think I would lose weight faster than actually doing it with exercise but I was worried since I'm doing exercise is it going to give me muscle gain. I do a lot of dancing like Zumba class or do some dancing video game like Just Dance for like an hour. Or other types of exercises like I'm doing 100 squats a day.

First you have to calculate what your BMR, basic metabolic rate is, how much you can eat without gaining or loosing. Just google it.
A pound of FAT is about 3500 kcal, that means you have to subtract this from your BMR if you want to loose that. Either you eat less, train more, or combine them. Having a bigger deficit then 500 -1000 kcal a day might make you loose weight faster, but you want to find a balance that you can maintain until you reach your goal, right? How long do you think youll be able to sticking with only eating 1200 kcal a day AND excersising without wanting to kill yourself?
Also, be patient! Give it at least three months and develop a healthy relationship with the scale, even if that means only weighing in once a week, a month etc.
And dont feel guilty about eating more then 1200, question why you feel guilty and work with those issues instead!

I've been excercising for these past 5 days and eating around 1,200 calories while burning from 500-1,000 calories, and I haven't lost any weight, I lost 1 pound but then I gained it back. So is it true that at first you don't loose anything because muscles are getting stronger? When will I start seeing the difference?

Combination of strength and cardio for better results. Eat back your exercise calories. Get enough rest and water.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Yo probably need to eat a little more!

I've been excercising for these past 5 days and eating around 1,200 calories while burning from 500-1,000 calories, and I haven't lost any weight, I lost 1 pound but then I gained it back. So is it true that at first you don't loose anything because muscles are getting stronger? When will I start seeing the difference?

I can't believe so many people responded to this. You've been exercising for five days? That's it? That's not enough time to say you're having a problem. The problems happen when you're using this like a fad diet. If you stop what you're doing after a short period of time, then that's the problem. If you're making an attempt to change the way you think about food, then that's a good thing. Listen to the people that are talking about eating your exercise calories back, or at least some of them. Think about doing this for long term, and then when you meet your goal, go into maintenance mode.

The junk food part I disagree with, when in fact too much sugar can kill some people. If I have too much sugar I just gain. I'm limited on foods because I have a family and no one else eats like me, turkey burgers, etc. A turkey burger at 1/3lb has 200 cals while a 1/4 lb hamburger has over 310 cals. What's gonna be more filling? A turkey burger. You can eat more by eating less cals if you eat the right foods.

That wasn't the point I was explaining. I stated you CAN lose weight eating junk food, not that it's the most sensible way to do it.
There are people who only eat 2 times a day and it works for them. So eating a Turkey burger as one their meals may not help them achieve the calories they need to meet. Everyone is different on how they approach eating their calories, so there is no one "right" way.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition