Is this working?

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ZarinaDawn
ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys! I'm not "new-new" to MFP, but I'm just now getting seriously motivated. I've been logging in everyday for 3 weeks. I've been exercising daily and eating well. Yet... I'm not seeing many results at all. I've read all these success stories where people have lost 15+ lbs in the last three weeks. I'm just not certain that this is working for me. Am I doing all this for nothing?

Suggestions?
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Replies

  • lwoods34
    lwoods34 Posts: 302 Member
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    If we can see your food diary we can take a look at it to see if you are making the best possible choices.
  • gypsee13
    gypsee13 Posts: 4
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    Have you added an exercise routine as well? I find that just watching what I eat isn't enough - it really takes that commitment to regular exercise as well. You need at least 30 minutes a day (cardio and strength) - 45 to an hour is better and do that at least 4-5 times a week. This is the most difficult part for me.

    Also, be sure you are eating the recommended caloric intake - don't go too far under. Otherwise, your body goes into starvation mode and you won't see weight loss.

    Lastly, drink tons of water in whatever form you like (just watch your caffeine intake). Plain water is the best.

    Hope that is helpful! :)
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I'm sure people would have some advice if you opened up your diary.

    Did you take measurements? If not, do so. You may not lose weight, but you may lose inches.

    Are you eating your exercise calories? Are you eating a lot of processed foods? Are you eating enough? Are you drinking water? Are you under estimating your food calories or over estimating your exercise calories?
  • shira324
    shira324 Posts: 156 Member
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    Weight loss can be very different when you're going from overeating every day and not moving at all, to exercise and reduced caloric intake. When you have a lot to lose (say, more than 100 lbs) the weight can come off very quickly at first. Your body is shocked by the extreme diet/exercise regimen and the initial results are just as extreme. It gets much harder when you reach (or start out at) a more reasonable weight. I'm not trying to be mean, I swear, I think it's great that you want to be your healthiest, but it may be a little tougher to get results. I'm sure that once I get with 20-30 pounds of my goal I'll struggle a lot more with this process.

    Don't get discouraged, keep at it. Eat within your calorie goal for the day and keep exercising. You'll get there! If you're really not seeing ANY results, maybe go see your doctor. There are some medical conditions that cause your body to hold on to those pounds.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    If it's not working for you there are several possibilities I can think of:

    1) Your daily calorie goal is set too high (or possibly far too low) for your activity level
    2) You may be recording food intake calories incorrectly - even slight discrepencies can add up
    3) You may be overestimating exercise calories earned
    4) You may be experiencing fluid retention. Is your diet high in sodium?
    5) There may be an underlying medical condition stopping or slowing weight loss (ie. insulin resistance, thyroid issues etc.)
    6) You may be eating too little and exercising too much and shocking your body into a slower metabolism mode
    7) Your scale may be faulty or the floor beneath it uneven
    8) You may be weighing yourself at different times (it should always be in the morning, same day of the week, nude, after a bathroom visit)
    9) You may be working out so efficiently that you're replacing fat lost with lean muscle.

    I agree with others on here: open your diary and maybe take measurements and photos to see if you are progressing regardless of what the scale says. This is all a numbers game and sometimes it takes some adjustments at the beginning to get it right.

    Hope that helps!
  • ZarinaDawn
    ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
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    I've been working out A LOT. At least 4 days a week. For the first 2 weeks I was "over" my calorie intake, even with exercise. So I will definitely stop doing that. :laugh: But this week I've been a tad under each day (no more than 200 cal). I know you can't be too under.

    But I guess I feel like I've been working so hard and not seeing the results I long for. Guess I gotta stay at the goal!

    Also, I thought my diary was open. I'm still figuring out how to work all the special stuff :tongue:
  • biologic
    biologic Posts: 81
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    well, the first two weeks you were over your calories and last week you were under. give it a few more weeks of being under and see if you lose then.
  • jennajava
    jennajava Posts: 2,176 Member
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    Have you lost any weight at all? Do you have more energy at all?
  • Oribhabor
    Oribhabor Posts: 2
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    I know that during everyone's attempt tp loose weight, as they go along, they get into a lull where they stop loosing. This is because your body has become accustom to the diet and exercise. It is able to keep up with the demands you put on it. You are going to have to either decrease your intake, or increase your exercise. Its that simple.
  • ZarinaDawn
    ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
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    If it's not working for you there are several possibilities I can think of:


    3) You may be overestimating exercise calories earned
    4) You may be experiencing fluid retention. Is your diet high in sodium?
    5) There may be an underlying medical condition stopping or slowing weight loss (ie. insulin resistance, thyroid issues etc.)
    6) You may be eating too little and exercising too much and shocking your body into a slower metabolism mode
    7) Your scale may be faulty or the floor beneath it uneven
    8) You may be weighing yourself at different times (it should always be in the morning, same day of the week, nude, after a bathroom visit)
    9) You may be working out so efficiently that you're replacing fat lost with lean muscle.

    I'm wondering how viable a few of these are. I do have an HRM that I've been using for the past week to get an accurate measurement of calories burned/energy expenditure. Prior to that I was using whatever was in the database.

    I HAVE been weighing myself at different times. I'm just not sure what to trust! The morning? The afternoon? I feel like it should all be the same. Otherwise, how will I really know if I lost or not? My number is fluctuating 4 lbs from morning one day to evening the next! It's so frustrating!!

    I HAVE been gaining lean muscle. Running will do that. So will Leslie Sansone. lol.

    I just dont' know. I will keep on hitting my target calorie intake and keep exercising. The good part is I FEEL good. I FEEL much better. My clothing is starting to feel better, but I don't know if that's really all in my mind.

    I guess I only really have one week under my belt of successful calorie intake and exercise. But as I look at other people's diaries, they go over sometimes too. But they're still losing. I just need to start losing!!! And I wanna see major results!!

    Good thing about me? I'm hard headed! I will keep on going until I get it! I'm stubborn, lol.
  • ZarinaDawn
    ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
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    It's hard to tell. The scale keeps fluctuating so much. I *think* I lost 4 lbs. But after dinner yesterday the scale surely said something different. I've been weighing myself everyday for the last 3 days (at different times a day... which I know isn't good.) because I felt like I was doing pretty good. But it seems like scales are so hard to trust. So I got a little discouraged when the number wasn't what I wanted.

    I do feel good. But I wish things would accelerate a bit more.
  • thatgirl125
    thatgirl125 Posts: 294 Member
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    Pretty much the same thing was going on with me (except I wasnt going over except maybe one day a week). I was exercising constantly my muscles were sore and I thought there was no hope. I looked the same and the scale did not really move. Then I took a break from my work out and watched my sodium intake. Within two days the pounds FELL off. (literally). I havent worked out in 4 days and have only been eating my 1200 calorie intake. I measured myself this morning and have lost 2 inches off of my stomach. I am going to start exercising again this morning, but not doing everything I did before because it might have been too hard on my body due to my body not being used to all of the stuff.
    Needless to say, HANG IN THERE. It will come off, I was to the point where I was about to say screw dieting it is never going to come off. And now here I am and not only does the scale say differently looking in the mirror I can see it to!
  • jennajava
    jennajava Posts: 2,176 Member
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    I HAVE been weighing myself at different times. I'm just not sure what to trust! The morning? The afternoon? I feel like it should all be the same. Otherwise, how will I really know if I lost or not? My number is fluctuation 4 lbs from morning one day to evening the next! It's so frustrating!!

    Morning, after you pee, and naked.

    I HAVE been gaining lean muscle. Running will do that. So will Leslie Sansone. lol.

    Then it's working.

    The good part is I FEEL good. I FEEL much better. My clothing is starting to feel better, but I don't know if that's really all in my mind.

    Then it's working.
    I guess I only really have one week under my belt of successful calorie intake and exercise. But as I look at other people's diaries, they go over sometimes too. But they're still losing. I just need to start losing!!! And I wanna see major results!!

    There's nothing desirable about being like everyone else.
    Good thing about me? I'm hard headed! I will keep on going until I get it! I'm stubborn, lol.

    I'm glad!
  • ZarinaDawn
    ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
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    Pretty much the same thing was going on with me (except I wasnt going over except maybe one day a week). I was exercising constantly my muscles were sore and I thought there was no hope. I looked the same and the scale did not really move. Then I took a break from my work out and watched my sodium intake. Within two days the pounds FELL off. (literally). I havent worked out in 4 days and have only been eating my 1200 calorie intake. I measured myself this morning and have lost 2 inches off of my stomach. I am going to start exercising again this morning, but not doing everything I did before because it might have been too hard on my body due to my body not being used to all of the stuff.
    Needless to say, HANG IN THERE. It will come off, I was to the point where I was about to say screw dieting it is never going to come off. And now here I am and not only does the scale say differently looking in the mirror I can see it to!

    Wow. This is awesome!! Thank you so much! I love love love sodium. I can't lie. Yikes. Soooooo, I will try to decrease my sodium. I think most days I'm under my requirement, but maybe I should just pay attention. Thx girl!
  • momma3sweetgirls
    momma3sweetgirls Posts: 743 Member
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    Track your sodium intake (if you're not already). I appeared to have gained 4 pounds overnight because I ate a super high sodium meal.
  • oneIT
    oneIT Posts: 388 Member
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    The scale does not measure how much fat you lost. Keep at it!! Take measurments!
  • Horskrzy
    Horskrzy Posts: 71 Member
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    Zarina,

    One thing you have to remember in regards to comparing your weight loss against others here on MFP. Assuming your goal weight is a good weight for your age and build you've lost nearly 20% of what you need to lose in just a few weeks. Now if you had to lose 100 lbs that would be almost 20 pounds in just a few weeks! In short, the less you need to lose, the less dramatic the weekly loss.

    In regards to scale. If you find yourself to be obsessing with the "why aint I losing" syndrome, put the scale in a closet and only take it out once a week and weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you taken a moment to lighten up on the "throne". Lot less frustration that way and if you stick to your plan you'll always show a weight loss.

    Good luck!
  • ZarinaDawn
    ZarinaDawn Posts: 13
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    Zarina,

    One thing you have to remember in regards to comparing your weight loss against others here on MFP. Assuming your goal weight is a good weight for your age and build you've lost nearly 20% of what you need to lose in just a few weeks. Now if you had to lose 100 lbs that would be almost 20 pounds in just a few weeks! In short, the less you need to lose, the less dramatic the weekly loss.

    In regards to scale. If you find yourself to be obsessing with the "why aint I losing" syndrome, put the scale in a closet and only take it out once a week and weigh yourself first thing in the morning after you taken a moment to lighten up on the "throne". Lot less frustration that way and if you stick to your plan you'll always show a weight loss.

    Good luck!

    Good point!! You're absolutely right. I'm only looking to lose between 15-20 lbs. Maximum 25 lbs. You make an excellent point!

    And you're surely right... I've got the syndrome bad, lol. I think I do need to put the scale up for a few days :) Thanks!
  • emmaruns
    emmaruns Posts: 189 Member
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    Hang in there hon! I weigh daily more to learn about what my body does with different stuff. What I've learned for my body is that I lose a bunch, gain a couple back, stay, lose a bunch. Now that I know this I know what to expect. Also I work out in the morning and then walk on my tread desk all day so I shower around 5pm. I always, like always, weigh 4 pounds less than my 5pm weight so it's a way to see if I'm making progress. I was down 10.2 2 days ago, now I'm down 8.6. But I know that I'm just past the "up" phase and getting close to another "dump".

    It's a long journey, for me at least with a lot to lose, but I know mathematically that I'm eating right and moving my body way more so the weight has no choice but to go!

    I get the frustration though. You do all this work and you want to see the rewards of it. Just be happy that you are forming habits that can keep you slim for your entire life no matter how funky your body is about shedding the weight. :)
  • grobbygru
    grobbygru Posts: 295 Member
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    Step away from the scales!!!!

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