At this for 3 weeks never lost a lb what am I doing wrong??

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2

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  • nancy5012
    nancy5012 Posts: 40
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    Water - you need to drink a lot of water - 8 glasses or more. You are probably taking in more sodium than you think.
  • smiles4support
    smiles4support Posts: 73
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    I lost inches before I started to see the scale move....just my experience
    Do your clothes fit a little looser?
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
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    THe problem with quick add, is that it's not showing you any of the other good/bad things that you are eating besides calories. Life is not just about calories, it's about sodium, protein, carbs, fats and fiber etc. If you don't know how much sodium you're eating, you could be going to 4000mg and not getting enough water to compensate. You could be getting too much fat and carbs and sabotaging without even knowing. You neeeeeeed to take the time and add the foods you're eating to the database or recipe builder, measure your food and be honest about what you're eating, and how you're moving, then you'll truly start to get an idea of where you need to make adjustments.

    It's not just about counting calories and moving a little, it's about taking the time, making the time commitment to a better you. The 5 minutes extra per meal to add the food properly will pay off.
  • mrichternh
    mrichternh Posts: 29 Member
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    I have found wearing my pedometer really keeps me aware of how much I am moving. Every step counts! I aim for my 10,000 steps every day. I even where it when I work out. Keep tracking your food. I got a food scale and use the mobile MFP app which helps a ton. I also stick to mainly foods that are grown (meats, veggies, fruit) during the day. I am finding I am having a hard time getting close to my calorie goal for the day when I eat that way. You may friend me if you would like.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    I tracked all week and most days I didn't have enough calories.....new to this...never had to diet before..:(

    This is part of your problem. Plus you need a good solid plan. I don't see any resistance in your exercise so you're not building muscle. Message me and let's talk...if interested. I'm here to help.
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
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    God's little joke on us all. We have to eat to lose weight. You need to never eat below 1200 calories. You need to use a food scale and measure everything that passes your lips. Strength train 2 days a week, cardio 4 to 5, and eat back 1/2 your exercise calories.
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    hey all
    I have working my butt off for the last 3 weeks haven't lost a lb...though I just started tracking food this week. need a jump start ....any ideas??

    Scale weight loss and fat loss aren't the same thing. Just because you haven't lost scale weight, it doesn't mean you haven't lost pounds of fat. Start tracking your body fat percentage to see the difference between scale weight loss and fat loss.

    Scale weight is broken down into two categories: Pounds of fat and Pounds of lean body mass.

    Formula:

    Weight x Body fat percentage = Pounds of fat
    Weight - Pounds of fat = Pounds of lean body mass

    The amount of pounds of fat you have is the not the amount of fat or scale weight you need to lose. What determines how much pounds of fat you need to lose, if your body fat percentage. Your pounds of lean body mass is the requirement for your body. You want to maintain or increase that number. When a person gain muscle, they will gain scale weight too. If you are losing and your your pounds of lean body mass is going up, it's not because you are gaining muscles, it's because you are gaining lean body mass. Muscle is part of the lean body mass.

    Have you lost inches? The scale doesn't have to move, for a person to lose inches.
  • SheilaSisco
    SheilaSisco Posts: 722 Member
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    Make sure you are tracking EVERYTHING. If there is a food you are eating that is not on the site, add it (and ALL of its package info). I always make sure the information I put in my diary is as accurate as possible. One of my biggest downfalls when I started was not realizing the amount of sodium I was putting in my body. Sodium causes your body to hold on to all kinds of water weight. When I started tracking my sodium and kept it at lower levels I started losing MUCH more quickly. Also, you want to make sure you are always at or over the 1200 calorie mark every day. Your body won't like you much if you're consistently below a healthy level of calories. Try boosting them with calorie dense foods like almonds, peanut butter, avocado... It should help. Good luck! :)

    ETA: I'd say look at my diary, but I don't think it would do you a whole lot of good... I don't eat 'clean' and haven't been tracking real well since the holidays... working on getting better at that again though! But, I HAVE lost almost 50 pounds, so I promise I have at least some inkling of what I'm talking about. :)
  • SamSlim2012
    SamSlim2012 Posts: 8
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    A lot of times when one first starts working out really hard, they will gain some weight, or appear to not lose at all. This is because you are gaining some muscle and losing some fat%, do't worry, women won't bulk up bu doing this, it's just a natural process.
    Keep doing what you are doing, and I will bet in the next couple of weeks you will see some changes. BTW, are your clothes fitting differently? That's the best indicator of change.:happy:
  • trudibus
    trudibus Posts: 27
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    ok I am going back to change my breakfast i am adding my food....I agree that my quick calories do not give a clear idea of what I Am eating.... thanks guys.....keep me on track!! :)
  • harlylena
    harlylena Posts: 125 Member
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    The thing I'm finding for myself is that if I go way under my calories, I gain weight. Body must think it's about to starve... Don't give up. If you're feeling better that's a good sign!
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    I don't think anyone's said it yet so I'll throw it out there... Don't get sucked in by the 'I'm gaining muscle' thing...

    Gaining muscle is damn hard. It requires intense weight lifting and a calorie surplus, and even then it's bloody hard to gain 2 or 3 pounds a month. Nobody accidentally gains muscle and it's virtually impossible to grow new muscle mass on a calorie deficit, particularly if your protein is coming under the default that MFP sets - it's really not enough to stimulate muscle synthesis.

    However, when beginning an exercise routine that your body isn't used to, you pull fluid around the muscle fibres to aid repair and regeneration, which leads to a scale gain. This subsides over time as your body gets used to whatever you're doing to it.

    Good luck!

    Jay
  • trustmyself
    trustmyself Posts: 3 Member
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    Track your food - it's amazing what you learn and amazing how you will start making better choices automatically. Took me about 8 weeks to really understand what foods did what to my body... Good luck
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    Get yourself a food scale. It was the best investment I made. You will be shocked to see how much you are over estimating portion size. Believe me. :drinker:
  • gazzajam
    gazzajam Posts: 28 Member
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    It's important to track everything, I didn't realise until I made a chilli just how much actually goes into things, by the time you add the minced beef, onions, sauce, beans etc. it really makes a difference. I'm just getting started so inputting the food is time consuming, but the longer I use it and build up my data base I realise it;ll get easier. Good luck.
  • matteonyc
    matteonyc Posts: 1
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    I lost 6.4lbs in 10 days, just keeping carbs and fats low and proteins high, I am cooking my own food and tracking ingrediants and quantities
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
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    i looked at your past food days .. if you want a suggestion, get rid of the slim fast .. a drink with more protein in it is better for you and some days you dont have enough protein.. for breakfast i try to get in a good supply of protein and healthy carbs ..alot of times egg white omelet and oatmeal..when im lazy i have a protein shake. sometimes greek nonfat plain yogurt with fresh fruit like berries .. never more than one piece of fruit at a meal. most of my snacks have some sort of protein in them.

    it appears that you use alot of condiments. try living without for a while to wean yourself off of that. i used to hide the flavor of food in condiments all the time ..i went to a fitness camp for a week last year and we had NO condiments.. except franks hot sauce. i was pretty taken aback at how much condiments i used in my life and its all calories ,sodium and sometimes carbs that gets added to your diet that you do not need if you are trying to lose weight. i learned to enjoy the flavor of food for what it is and use herbs, alot of onion,garlic,red bell pepper and ...yes i use the franks hot sauce ..i just dont use so much of it like i would ketchup,mayo or mustard. its too spicy but it adds just enough zip for me to eat plain egg whites or a turkey burger .

    are you exercising? cardio is important if you are trying to lose weight.. if not try to do 20 minutes at least four times a week to start. hope this helps! good luck and keep moving forward! i hit a plateau for three months last year and i still stuck it out ..80lbs later i made the right decision to keep up the work
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member
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    Get yourself a food scale. It was the best investment I made. You will be shocked to see how much you are over estimating portion size. Believe me. :drinker:

    This! Try this out to see how out you are. Pour a portion of cornflakes out and add milk. Then next to it, weigh 30g of cornflakes and measure 125ml of milk. The second bowl contains a recommended portion with the nutrition info detailed on the side of the box.

    Most people are massively surprised at the difference between the two.
    I didn't realise until I made a chilli just how much actually goes into things, by the time you add the minced beef, onions, sauce, beans etc. it really makes a difference.

    Try making your chilli with Quorn (or whatever vegetarian mince substitute you get in your part of the world). Same high protein but a fraction of the fat. Of course fat = 9 cals per gram whereas carb/protein is only 4 cals per gram, so eliminating a lot of the fat eliminates a LOT of the calories. I do a Quorn bolognese for 128 cals per serving (plus pasta calories) and it's delish!

    Good meal planning is as simple as including all three major macronutrients in every meal. Every meal should contain a lean protein source (meat, fish, poultry, egg white, dairy etc - if it had a mother it's protein), a healthy carb source (wholegrains and low GI high fibre veggies), and a fat source (fat usually comes in with your protein so keep the protein pretty lean and vary the sources and you shouldn't have to worry about it too much. Stay away from high sat fat foods). Plan your meals around this theory, drink plenty of water and you can't go too far wrong.

    Jay
  • kevin3344
    kevin3344 Posts: 702 Member
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    I didn't see anything in your log prior to January 3rd? So I would say log consistently for at least a month, come back and let us know of any changes.

    Also, you might want to try something like 30 day shred to tone up. It's a great program by Jillian Michaels that a lot of had success with.
  • TriciaLB
    TriciaLB Posts: 24
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    Make sure you aren't underestimating your portion sizes. When you actually start measuring and weighing things, you'll be surprised how fast the calories add up! Don't just try to 'eyeball' it.

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