No Loss

rowlandk
rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
edited September 18 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I have been on this site for several weeks now and counting my calories. I have been doing really well at watching what I eat. I used to have chocolate cake for breakfast just to give an idea of how bad my habits were. My favorite food is chocolate. So now that I have changed my diet and I am working out 5 days a week, I have seen no loss. I don't understand. I changed my eating habits and am working out like crazy but I just can't seem to lose anything. Can anyone help?

Replies

  • rowlandk
    rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
    Ok, I have been on this site for several weeks now and counting my calories. I have been doing really well at watching what I eat. I used to have chocolate cake for breakfast just to give an idea of how bad my habits were. My favorite food is chocolate. So now that I have changed my diet and I am working out 5 days a week, I have seen no loss. I don't understand. I changed my eating habits and am working out like crazy but I just can't seem to lose anything. Can anyone help?
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    give us how many calories you are eating (net calories please), what your height, weight, age, and activity level is (not so much exercise amount, but how active you are during the day normally).

    Also helpful would be what you normally eat (types of food), and what you do for exercise and how often. And whether you are eating your exercise calories.
  • hmyoung
    hmyoung Posts: 2
    HI
    If you are really doing that much at the gym, then keep in mind that muscle is heavier than fat. Have you compared any measurements?
  • rowlandk
    rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
    I consume 1200 calories in a day. I am 5' 7", weigh 176 pounds and I am 24 years old. I work as an administrative assistant and run around the office quite often. I am also a full time student so I am up and fairly active until about 10 a couple of nights a week. I have been eating cucumbers, pickles, carrots, and such for quite a while but we have a cook at my full time job that comes in and makes us all lunch so i have been trying to cut back on what I eat that she has made since it is hard to find out how many calories are in it. I guess I don't really eat my exercise calories because I go to the gym after work on days I don't have class and the only calories that I can count are when I'm on the elliptical or the bike. I also do weights and crunches and other ab workouts that I wouldn't know the calories for.
  • rowlandk
    rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
    No, I haven't. I don't have a tape measure but maybe it would be time to purchase one?
  • chiefiron
    chiefiron Posts: 305 Member
    Yeah get a tape make a spread sheet with body parts, weigh and tape yourself once a week. in the last two weeks i have only lost 1lb but have lost over an inch on my waist and lowered my body fat by a couple points.

    keep doing the right things and your body will respond.

    Tim
  • scostello24
    scostello24 Posts: 126
    Dont get so frustrated!!! I did not lose hardly aything for my first couple of weeks either, but now I am on a roll. I thing you are probably gaining muscle therefore it does way more than fat. Take the others advice and get a tape measure. I wish I had done the same but instead I stopped weighing myself for a week.
  • scostello24
    scostello24 Posts: 126
    Dont get so frustrated!!! I did not lose hardly aything for my first couple of weeks either, but now I am on a roll. I thing you are probably gaining muscle therefore it does way more than fat. Take the others advice and get a tape measure. I wish I had done the same but instead I stopped weighing myself for a week.
  • rowlandk
    rowlandk Posts: 146 Member
    Thanks so much for the advice. I think I will go get a tape measure tonight before I go to the gym and start measuring myself once a week. Maybe that will help!
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    so, here is what I noticed, I haven't run your numbers yet, but you are 5'7 and 176 lbs. You are young and relatively active. 1200 calories (a guess here, but one based on experience) isn't even close. Hold while I check....yep, I was right, your maintain calories is around 2150 to 2250. Also, your BMI is around 27.5 which is considered slightly to moderately overweight (unless you have some serious muscle tone). Thus 1000 calorie deficite probably won't work for you. If you aren't eating your calories then it DEFINATELY won't work for you. for someone like you, you want your net cals to be about -500 or -600 max. That means 2200 + exercise - calories consumed to be < or = 600

    My conclusion is...bump up to around 1600 calories and if you exercise during the day, EAT the exercise calories (this means above and beyond the 1600).

    This should give you a good 1 pound a week or so loss (a very healthy loss and not overly hard to maintain). Trying to do more then that is just not probable for most people who are not obese.

    I hope this helps.
  • lolakey
    lolakey Posts: 91
    Hang in there. I work out almost daily and eat a lot! I saw no change on the scale what so ever for almost 2 months! I did notice that my clothes were fitting me differently and some other great changes, but nothing on the scale. Last week I lost 2 pounds and this morning I was down another 2. I've read the same thing from other members.
  • jessneill
    jessneill Posts: 380 Member
    I agree with Banks that you are taking in two few calories for your body. I know it seems counter intuitive but sometimes you have to eat to lose.
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