What am I doing wrong?

FlabulessFam
FlabulessFam Posts: 31
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
I am doing P90x, eating right - staying under my daily calories by about 300 - and drinking lots of water. My body feels better but the scale shows that I lost no weight this past week!!! I am frustrated and discouraged! I don't know what to do differently! Please help and give me suggestions!!
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Replies

  • ahjenny
    ahjenny Posts: 293 Member
    Are you taking your measurements? If not, I would highly suggest it. My scale didn't move for a long time, but I lost a lot of inches around my body.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    It'll help if you open your diary-- if you're under your goal by 300 often you might not be eating enough. Most likely though-- you're doing P90x, which means your muscles are tired and retaining water to repair themselves. And also it's only been a week. Be patient, and open your diary if you'd like some more specific comments.

    edited for grammar :blushing:
  • TheVulcanLover
    TheVulcanLover Posts: 36 Member
    You need to eat your calories. Especially if working out. You have to at least eat up to your cal goal and if hungry--eat back some of the exercise calories. If you do not give your body proper fuel, your loss will stall out.
  • You're not alone...it's sooo frustrating:( I'm going to check my inches too as suggested maybe that will keep me motivated...
  • Keep at it! Unfortunately, getting healthier and slimming down takes more time than any of us here would like.

    Here's something to think about to keep you motivated: You could be gaining muscle while losing fat at the same time! A bathroom scale doesn't understand that lean muscle weight is better than flabby fat weight, so it may give you the same number, even if you're getting healthier by exchanging fat for muscle.

    Have you tried taking measurements of yourself? I find that breaking out the tape measure once a week (or once every two weeks, whatever works for you) gives me a much truer sense of my progress than the bathroom scale.

    Good luck on your progress, and stick with it! :)
  • catontjoc
    catontjoc Posts: 4 Member
    You should try to eat your calories. Your body is probably going into starvation mode and holding onto fat. I heard p90x is a great workout program(thinking about trying it myself) . I heard it burns a ton of calories, I bet if you start eating more, as your muscles recover the weight will start falling off! Let me know how it goes. Keep up the good work, and don't get discouraged!
  • kateroot
    kateroot Posts: 435
    Take measurements! I'll bet anything you're losing inches. Also, are you weighing and measuring all your food? Portion sizes can be tricky - when I stop losing weight, I weigh EVERYTHING I eat, just so I know that the calories are correct. Under-estimating your portions by even a little can really mess up your calories for the day.

    As far as being under your calorie goal, if you're not hungry and you have energy, don't worry about it. People get hung up on this idea that you MUST eat a certain number of calories, or your weight loss will slow.. It's simply not true. Your body will tell you if it needs more calories. If you're hungry all the time, lethargic, or getting sick a lot, then eat more calories. Otherwise, you'll be fine.
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
    How long have you been doing P90X? I am a grad of it and can help with any questions you have. What are your calories set at right now?
  • BelleHeart
    BelleHeart Posts: 281 Member
    Make sure you eat over 1200 calories or you will put your body into starvation mode! Oh and take measurements! =)
  • I was stalled at 170lbs for a year! I worked out 5 days a week, doing cardiovascular, weight training, the elliptical 4 miles in 40 minutes and on top of that was doing the Insanity workout 3 days a week. My problem turned out to be my birth control. I finally stopped the depo shot, and it took a few months to completely wear off, but once it did I lost 30 lbs in 2 months without doing anything more than walking my children to school. I don't know if this might be an issue for you, but if you are on birth control you might want to find out if it can affect your weight and maybe find a better alternative.
    Also, try eating a bunch of small meals a day. Try high protein meals for breakfast. Egg white omelets for broccoli, onion and cheese. And you should be taking in a lot of calories to support your workout burn. Its ok to go over. Whats more important is where you get the calories that cause you to go over. Like, going over with 200 calories of salad is a lot better than going over with 200 calories of ice cream. There are good calories and bad calories.
    And also, I would start charting your measurments. Although I didn't lose any weight, I did lose inches and notice a difference in my body shape. Good luck! It'll happen. Be patient. One day at a time!
  • Thank you for that! I am not hungry at all, so when I hear that I need to eat more, I simply can't do it!
  • tgaul
    tgaul Posts: 123
    bump
  • Pappabacon
    Pappabacon Posts: 104 Member
    I found that I had to eat more on p90x or I wouldn't see any weight loss as well. I changed my calories to only losing 1 lb a week and that has helped.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Thank you for that! I am not hungry at all, so when I hear that I need to eat more, I simply can't do it!

    If you have more to lose, a larger deficit might be ok. But if you're netting less than your BMR, then you should try to increase it unless your Dr is monitoring you. That program is pretty hard core-- your body needs fuel. But if you've got larger fat reserves then a larger deficit won't hurt you until you get smaller.
  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
    you need to eat all your calories back. especially with a program like p90x to nourish your muscles properly and so your metabolism can be at its best.
    also, what do you mean by eating "right"??
    you may have lost some fat and gained muscle. muscle, as you know is denser than fat. so, take your measurements-- don't just go by the scale!
  • You should take your measurements. Muscle weight more than fat. If you are not losing inches or your clothes not starting to hang on you then you can say you are doing something wrong. I hardly ever gauge my weight lost by the scale
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    1. You really should not be eating 300 calories under goal. The calorie goal MFP gives you has a healthy deficit built in to lose weight without exercising. By eating under that goal by 300 you are creating an even larger deficit. While this might sound good, and might be okay and work for a while for those with a lot of weight to lose, you really should be eating at your given goal. This includes eating exercise calories because by eating those you maintain that HEALTHY deficit that MFP has set for you. You could always try eating 50-75% to account for inaccuracies and make sure you're not eating too much.

    2. Take measurements.

    3. If you haven't exercised before, or much, or in a while, it is likely you will retain some water/glycogen as your muscles are tearing and repairing themselves. This is why some people don't see a loss, or may even see a slight gain, when they start working out intensely.
  • jhardenbergh
    jhardenbergh Posts: 1,035 Member
    when are you weighing yourself, if you are doing it after a workout your muscles could be retaining water making you weigh more. Try to weigh yourself when you first wake up not after eating or drinking anything. Don't give up, it may take some time, but will be worth it in the end.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Thank you for that! I am not hungry at all, so when I hear that I need to eat more, I simply can't do it!

    What is your calorie goal. How much are you burning each day? I know it sounds crazy, but I have to agree with those who have commented and said to eat more. At a major calorie deficit your body will lose muscle and store fat. I just upped my calories again because I have started working out more and I want to build muscle and shed the rest of my fat!

    Edited to add, if you need suggestions on what to eat to meet your calorie goals, please make your food diary public so people can help you there!!
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Staying under your dally calories is not the answer. Your body needs the calories in order to lose the weight effectively.
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    I just Googled P90x. Looks, suspiciously, like an extreme weight loss fad to me. By now all of us should know fast weight loss never works in the long haul. As soon as you get tired of the rigorous exercise and calorie control, you will quickly gain back those hard-lost pounds. This just gets you one step closer to being a typical yo-yo dieter. I know, been there done that with other fad diets (years ago). Each time you end up failing, you gain back even more than you lost. I now have a back injury which severely limits my ability to get good cardio exercise, but 15 years ago got into doing low impact aerobics and eating sensibly and never had a problem with weight gain. You need to do something you can live with in the long-term. Thanks for reading my response and hopefully, something here will make sense to you.:smile:
  • amyofftherecord
    amyofftherecord Posts: 64 Member
    P90X is designed to build muscle, which is more dense than fat. There's a good chance you're losing fat and replacing it pound-for-pound with muscle. If your measurements have gone down, then that's probably what happened. As for your calories, unless your 300 kcal deficit puts you in the 1200-1500 kcals/day or less range, you're probably fine. Anything below that and you might be starving yourself, which will hinder weight loss.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    Thank you for that! I am not hungry at all, so when I hear that I need to eat more, I simply can't do it!

    A body adjusts to eating less, so while one might not feel hungry, that does not mean that they are getting everything they need nutritionally. Take a look at your BMR (rough tool, but one many of us have to use). If you are not eating at least your BMR calories your body is not getting what it would need even if you just stayed in bed all day and did nothing at all. If you are eating under that and think you're not hungry, that's a good sign that your body has adjusted to the food you give it and you really need to work up to eating more, especially doing such an intense workout program.
  • PeekABooGirl
    PeekABooGirl Posts: 218 Member
    I agree with the others....you need to try to eat closer to your calorie allowance. OTherwise, your body will think it's going into starvation mode and hold on to weight. You say you don't want to eat more because you're not hungry. But perhaps try adding just a bit more to each meal? (IE add 1/2 serving more cereal in the morning or an extra piece of fruit in the afternoon.) Don't aim to add the extra 300 in one sitting but just spread it out a bit more? Also, muscle weighs 2x the amount of fat so you could be adding muscle. Using your measurements will help you see the difference, I'm sure!

    You're doing great!!!
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
    Yeah, if you are going to ask for help, then you should open your diary. Were you under 300 cals one day or consistent for weeks? Where do your calories come from-sometimes that is important? How many calories are you eating a day? Are you eating your exercise calories? How often do you work out? How long have you done this routine- 1 week, 3 weeks, 1 month?

    Lots of questions for you too. I don't believe in eating your exercise calories, but I do advocate that your daily allowance shouldn't be 1200. I recommend closer to 1450 and not eating your exercise calories. Right now, I'm in a challenge at work to lose 10lbs in 10 weeks so I lowered my cals to 1200. Normally, I wouldn't do this.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    your body will take longer then a week to change. i promise, just keep it up, and you will see a difference/.
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,628 Member
    It's hard to tell without seeing your diary, but you're probably just fine. Give it a couple weeks, maybe you have a higher sodium intake or maybe you should be using measurements rather than the scale? Are your clothes fitting better?
  • bpurc22
    bpurc22 Posts: 180 Member
    You should try to stay under your goal by about 100, not 300. It seems paradoxical because weight loss is founded on the theory that you need to burn more calories than you consume, but your body is more complex than that. If it's not getting what it needs, it will save more and use more energy coming from lean body mass (since our body likes fat more than muscle) to burn energy, which is exactly what you DON'T want. You want your body to burn fat, and to do that you need to be careful - stay on a reasonable caloric deficit. MFP already factors in a deficit percentage (if you ate exactly the amount of calories it sets your goal at, you would still be burning a good amount more than consuming - around 10-15% I believe).

    There are also other factors that go into your weight...as said before, water retention (high sodium leads to water retention, as does the beginning stages of intense weight lifting)...you can also be putting on muscle mass, which weighs more by density than fat. You have to look at your progress by month rather than by week, which is annoying but necessary.
  • Thank you to everyone that replied to me! I am new to this site so had no idea I could open up anything to the public! I appreciate all of the positive (and negative) feedback. This is only my 2nd week and day 7 of P90x, so I think I am going to keep going and see what happens! Also, the P90x is really intense and it is a 90 day program, but the program can be done again and again. So, after the first 90 days, I will be on round 2 of P90x. I really enjoy the intensity and have seen a difference with what I can do physically already! Again, thank you and good luck to all of you!!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Thank you for that! I am not hungry at all, so when I hear that I need to eat more, I simply can't do it!

    Try a handful of nuts after exercise. Or a protein shake. Or a spoonful of nut butter.
This discussion has been closed.