I can't get my scale to move

candyben
candyben Posts: 26
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
I am at a loss, I have started to work out and am eating all my calories other than my work out ones every so often. And have weighed myself and my scale has not moved in two weeks, can't figure out why! It gets so frustrating when you are working out and do not see the results on the scale makes me wonder if I am doing something wrong. I am sure it has to be muscle and not anything else, but I don't want to be dilusional over it either. LOL. But am getting frustrated and just wanted to vent.

Anyone else have suggestions on what else it could be?
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Replies

  • 714rah714
    714rah714 Posts: 759 Member
    Can't comment, since I can't view your food diary
  • candyben
    candyben Posts: 26
    I have changed the settings to make my food diary viewable :happy:
  • DragonflyF15
    DragonflyF15 Posts: 437 Member
    While your calories are good, your fat tends to be over each day, and looking at your list, it's not the good kind of fat. Try to avoid anything with transfat in it and opt for good fats. Use fresh guacamole (without sour cream), extra virgin olive oil drizzled, or greek yougart for your salad dressings. If you have to go to Mc D's, order the southwest salad, skip the Frito's and if you can skip the dressing, although the Southwest dressing is only 99 calories. The burger and fries you ordered has way too much transfat and processed crap in it. As for the exercise, one thing they don't really have on here other than walking and running, is an intensity factor. I know for some days when I do Zumba, they are both 45 minute workouts, however day one I may be pumping and roaring to go and sweaty, and another day, I'm just getting through the workout and know that no way I burned the same amount of calories just cause I entered 45 minutes into the log. On those lower intensity days, I will keep that in the back of my mind and not eat as much. Everybody is different and it make take some time for your metabolism to perk up, all those years of eating crappy and being overweight changes the chemical makeup in your body, thus affecting your hormones, which affect your metabolism. Just keep making healthy selections for food, dont starve yourself! And keep exercising daily cause regardless of what that scale says, you are doing something good for yourself :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    How much weight are you trying to lose and what is your goal to lose per week... 1 lb 2 lbs?
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I think your biggest problem is a case of chronic impatience. :wink: You want the weight gone NOW. (Just like everyone else.)

    With only 14 pounds to go, as per your ticker, you should have your goal set to lose a half pound a week. You *might* be able to get away with one pound a week, but only for a few more pounds. You don't have enough excess body fat to support a larger calorie deficit.

    The good thing about this is that you'll get more calories to play with, and with that smaller calorie deficit, weight you do lose will be mostly from fat, not from a combination of fat and muscle. So every pound you lose will look like more weight loss than if you were losing fat and muscle, and you're likely to reach your goal body before you reach your goal weight. Especially if you aim to get a lot more protein than MFP recommends, eat most of your exercise calories, and strength train.

    Look at the difference just 8 pounds and 4 pounds made here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/just-8-pounds-214409

    And what 2 pounds made here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/LorinaLynn/view/in-defense-of-bikinis-215624
  • MrDude_1
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
    I can't get my scale to move

    have you tried a hammer?
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    I agree w/ Dragonfly.......just simply cutting calories doesn't work usually. Reduce your fat and raise your protein. Instead of eggs, just do egg whites. Do balsamic & olive oil on salads instead of creamy dressings. My current diet is at least half protein for every meal, and the bulk of my other foods are veggies. .

    Also, I had the same problem in my diet a few weeks ago and part of my problem was eating a big dinner before bed. I made a bigger effort to spread out my calories and not eat a huge load if I was going to bed.
  • candyben
    candyben Posts: 26
    How much weight are you trying to lose and what is your goal to lose per week... 1 lb 2 lbs?

    I am trying to lose about 1 lb a week, I have a total of 14 but would like to lose 11 more on top of that - the initial 14 put me at the high end of my weight range.
  • candyben
    candyben Posts: 26
    I can't get my scale to move

    have you tried a hammer?

    Yes a sledge hammer and wanted to use that as excercise points. LOL
  • Jme2012
    Jme2012 Posts: 106 Member
    I agree with the Hammer :laugh:
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
    So kick it.
  • busyPK
    busyPK Posts: 3,788 Member
    You are pretty close to your goal so I would have your goals set to 1lb/wk. I would eat back your exercise calories! You shouldn't NET below 1200 calories daily. Do you use a HRM? If not your exercise calories burned might be way off. Also, drink as much water as you can get down and try to stay within your fat and carbs macros. And the most important thing, have patience. :smile:
  • xYumzx
    xYumzx Posts: 953 Member
    I heard do not do the same things everyday, because then your body gets so used to it, it starts to get all comfy and isnt gonna budge. but im not expert..... if switching doesn work.... id use one factor i think works well.... threaten the scale with a replacement lol...
  • kappy_hollowell
    kappy_hollowell Posts: 399
    :laugh: :happy: I usually slide mine with my foot to get it to move out from under the chair. Sorry, I had to be a smart *kitten*. :bigsmile:

    I reaally can't get mine to move either. I've been eating my exercise calories, but when I lost the weight before (about 5 years ago) I ONLY ate a gross of 1200-1300 calories/day and I lost 20 lbs WITH EXERCISE in two months! I think I'm going to go back to doing this!
  • brio268250
    brio268250 Posts: 8
    How may calories do you eat? 1200 is enough for you a day and moderate exercise.
  • jbaxendale
    jbaxendale Posts: 1
    It is difficult to say without seeing your diary or the workouts you are doing. You could also be replacing fat with muscle, which wouldn't move the scale much. Did you start by taking your measurements when you began working out? Also, if you are doing a lot of cardio at a constant heart rate, it probably isn't doing you much good. The best form of cardio for fat loss is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). You can get away with doing 15-20 minutes of HIIT and burn many more calories than doing 45-50 minutes of standard cardio. Basically HIIT is alternating periods of High Intensity exercise with low intensity exercise. For example, you may be on the stationary bike and you would do 15 seconds of high intensity (85-90 percent of your maximum effort) followed by 60 seconds of lower intensity (an easy pedal at 60-70 RPM for example). The idea is to build up to an equal time of high intensity versus low intensity, but it will take time. This type of exercise elevates your metabolism for 24+ hours after finishing exercise. Prolonged regular cardio, where you work at a constant rate, actually raises your cortisol levels, which is not good for fat loss.

    A weight training program is also great for weight loss. When you add muscle, it helps with fat loss, because muscle uses more calories!

    There are so many different things that can affect weight loss, but those are two of the obvious ones. Another contributing factor could be sleep. Are you getting enough sleep? If not, that raises cortisol levels as well. Stressed? The same thing.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I've had weeks like that too and became discouraged so I'd get out the tape measure and see results there. I measure AND log all of this lol :

    Above my chest, chest, waist, belly button, fattest part of my belly<sigh>, hips, thighs, inner thighs, calves and since joining MFP, I measure my neck too! lol
    Sometimes you are building muscle weight while losing fat and you're still getting smaller. Do your clothes fit differently? Are you tracking your sodium? That can be a BIG factor in how much water you retain. It is recommended that you have 1500mg or less per day.
    Good luck to you and keep going at it. You can do this!
  • candyben
    candyben Posts: 26
    It is difficult to say without seeing your diary or the workouts you are doing. You could also be replacing fat with muscle, which wouldn't move the scale much. Did you start by taking your measurements when you began working out? Also, if you are doing a lot of cardio at a constant heart rate, it probably isn't doing you much good. The best form of cardio for fat loss is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). You can get away with doing 15-20 minutes of HIIT and burn many more calories than doing 45-50 minutes of standard cardio. Basically HIIT is alternating periods of High Intensity exercise with low intensity exercise. For example, you may be on the stationary bike and you would do 15 seconds of high intensity (85-90 percent of your maximum effort) followed by 60 seconds of lower intensity (an easy pedal at 60-70 RPM for example). The idea is to build up to an equal time of high intensity versus low intensity, but it will take time. This type of exercise elevates your metabolism for 24+ hours after finishing exercise. Prolonged regular cardio, where you work at a constant rate, actually raises your cortisol levels, which is not good for fat loss.

    A weight training program is also great for weight loss. When you add muscle, it helps with fat loss, because muscle uses more calories!

    There are so many different things that can affect weight loss, but those are two of the obvious ones. Another contributing factor could be sleep. Are you getting enough sleep? If not, that raises cortisol levels as well. Stressed? The same thing.

    I get roughly 7 - 8 hours of sleep a night. I have taken measurements, some have changed but others have gained. I am doing HIT workouts, plus some fun ones of aerobics, strength training and boxing. I am not stressed at all.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,430 MFP Moderator
    You might be under eating still. Either set your lifestyle to lightly active or add an additional 200 calories. Another option is to post your estimated BMR (use the link below and the site tool and post both results). Then also let us know what you do for a living and then your normal workout routine and then we can calculate your caloric needs. Using this approach you won't have to worry about eating back exercise calories as we can add it into your lifestyle.




    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    Bench-Scale-With-Wheels-and-Backrails.jpg
  • Okieace
    Okieace Posts: 56
    My scale was stuck for three weeks till yesterday it started moving down again. It happens time to time. Just do the right things and with time it will come off.
  • TeaTheCoffeeLady
    TeaTheCoffeeLady Posts: 1 Member
    Sounds like you reached a "plateau." You should change your work-out routine. Do you exercise first thing in the a.m.? Are you eating 5-6 small meals? What about sugar intake?
  • Melmade
    Melmade Posts: 349 Member
    Are you using a measuring tape? I've often been stuck on the scale, but still lose inches. Also, check your sodium/water intake.
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
    70% of what we look like stems from what we are eating....so that is probably where the problem starts.

    Eat no less than 1200 calories a day, even if that means eating back your calories that you have burned.

    Focus on eating lots of lean proteins and fresh vegetables / fruits.

    Are you drinking enough water? Drink half your body weight in ounces per day, and for every cup of coffee/tea/pop you have drink 2 additional glasses of water. It does seem like a lot but after a week or two your body will be fully hydrated, will adjust to all the extra water, and you will begin to see changes (more energy, healthier skinny, faster metabolism, etc).

    Also, are you doing strength training in addition to cardio?? This is essential.
  • lorrin92
    lorrin92 Posts: 1 Member
    I've lost five pounds in two weeks by just keeping under my calorie goal. I work at Sonic, so I'm on my feet all day. I'm supposed to intake 1200 calories a day, but I normally don't get to that, although I'm trying hard. I've been combining cardio with weight training and that seems to work. I walk/run for ten minutes, then hit the weights for ten minutes, then back to walking/running. To shed fat instead of building bulk, try doing a lot of reps with a lower weight. On the leg press, I can do about 200 lbs, but I choose to do more reps at 40 lbs to lose weight instead of gain bulky muscle.
  • spatters77
    spatters77 Posts: 10
    I can't get my scale to move

    have you tried a hammer?

    I find that when I pick it up off the floor it moves much easier. :)

    Sorry but I thought of the hammer thing also and this just made me laugh.
  • FromMama2MILF
    FromMama2MILF Posts: 8 Member
    It's important to make sure the portion sizes that you log in your journal are the true size of the portion you consumed (i.e. 1 cup v. 1 1/2 cups makes a difference throughout the day). Also, you should be logging all that you eat in a day. A little bite of something here or there, may seem minimal at the time, but when logged on your tracker, you can see where it makes a big difference with regards to the calories you're consuming.
  • drod218
    drod218 Posts: 1
    I noticed that you are not exercising. I'm 42 years old and have a slow metabolism. If I try to lose weight by only eating right with no exercise, the pounds come off very slowly and I get impatient and quit. I suggest adding some form of daily exercise... then you will see the pounds come off.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Is your scale made of dark matter? If so, I can understand not getting it to move.
  • NicciGarvito
    NicciGarvito Posts: 6
    you mentioned not even getting to your 1200 cal mark for the day, underconsuming calories can cause your body to go into starvation mode and hold onto every calorie and every bit of fat you take in, make sure you are reaching your daily cal. goal. Do so by eating alot of lean protien and veggies, and COMPLEX carbohydrates
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