I am not losing weight...ugh

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Replies

  • JacksMom12
    JacksMom12 Posts: 1,044 Member
    After reviewing your diary, it seems you are severely undereating. Some days you're eating 700-900 calories?!? I bet that's not even half of your BMR.
  • shalinimunjal
    shalinimunjal Posts: 192 Member
    You have over 120lb to lose. You should focus on making healthy eating habits, incorporating strength training and cardio into your life and not worry about the number on the scale for a while. If you do this right you WILL lose weight. You're in for the long haul so don't get discouraged after 2 weeks!! There will be many ups and downs along the way. Keep your long term goal in mind.
    Are you eating your exercise calories back? MFP gives you a daily calorie goal with calorie deficit already built in so you need to eat those exercise calories back. This will hurt you in the long run if you don't.
    Also - if you can invest into a Heart Rate Monitor it will be helpful in determining the exact calories burnt based on your stats. I have found it to be helpful. Good luck with your journey.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,329 Member
    Ok...so I should eat the 1800 calories that MFP says to eat then eat whatever calories I burn for exercise...for instance 1800 + say 400 from exercise...so 2200 calories and I will lose weight? Thanks to all who have given me advice!!

    Now you are getting it. While eating very low calories is tempting at first with the thinking being you will lose the weight faster, that is not the case, and even if you take the weight off quickly, you will also put it on even quicker since you would also lose a lot of muscle mass as well, at least more than is normal. I was going to say you need to eat more, but you seem to have gotten that message. The other down side of eating so little is that it makes falling out of these new eating patterns much easier because your are depriving your body so much of what it needs.

    As to the weight gain, as much as some would like to say you put on muscle, muscle is very difficult to put on, and at the calories you were eating, virtually impossible to put on. What likely happened is what you can find here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/200544-why-do-you-sometimes-gain-weight-when-starting-a-new-exercis

    Keep at it.

    To make things absolutely clear, the calories given by this site at the goal you should seek to reach. If you end your day above or below that number by 100 calories or less, you are doing great.
  • kasicrawford
    kasicrawford Posts: 33
    Remember you have to NET 1200 if that's your plan. I'm at 185, trying to lose another 40 and I eat 1450 calories a day BEFORE exercise. (Since I am it 1450 I don't always eat back all my calories, but at least 1/2 of them and I'm losing!) You have to eat what you burn! You will go into starvation mode burning 400 of your 1200 calories a day. That's only giving you 800 for energy.

    Also, if exercising is new to you (like it is to me), or you've ramped it up somewhat, you will be retaining some water as your muscles repair themselves. :) And it is completely normal to gain up to 4-5 lbs around that time of the month, just makes it more fun afterwards when the scale goes back down... positive thoughts.

    Hope this is helpful. Baby steps!

    Exactly what she said!!
  • simplebeauty
    simplebeauty Posts: 22 Member
    sorry...I was in a rush and wasn't able to explain it...but as someone has also stated above...I had put the word weight in brackets because they weigh the same, but 1lb of muscle is more condensed then fat...so the same size of muscle to fat would result in the muscle "weighing" more...does that make sense???
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    sorry...I was in a rush and wasn't able to explain it...but as someone has also stated above...I had put the word weight in brackets because they weigh the same, but 1lb of muscle is more condensed then fat...so the same size of muscle to fat would result in the muscle "weighing" more...does that make sense???

    Don't worry, we knew what you meant.

    Muscle does weigh more than fat, by volume, and that's what most people mean when they say muscle weighs more than fat.

    Then the pedants come along and say a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, but I have never seen anyone actually say any different. Nobody here has ever said a pound of muscle weighs more than a lb of fat, but still people insist on trotting out this "correction".
  • steveanna19
    steveanna19 Posts: 7
    Hi all
    After reading all the post Im too the same. Im 5ft 6" weighing 158 pounds and want to get to 140 pounds. Im not loosing the weight either!!! I was taking in1200 calories a day and exercising 30 mins on the wii fit Step. which was adding 323 calories burned.
    Im totally confused how many calories Im suppose to be eating any help wouldbe very much appreciated, Im now into week four.
    Thank you
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    No one is going to go into "starvation mode" after two weeks so all this "your not eating enough" is rubbish. If she has really reduced the amount she is eating she would have lost some weight (even if undereating is not advisable long term).
    LOG EVERYTHING
    Make sure the exercise calories you are recording are accurate - DON'T go off the machines or MFP: as this is normally comp;letely wrong. Buy a Heart Rate Monitor.
    Eat clean, remove all junk.
    keep; consistent - that means logging and exercising and eating well in the weekends as well as during the week
    Avoid alcohol
  • mrseelmerfudd
    mrseelmerfudd Posts: 506 Member
    Eating 1200 while exercising defo isnt enough. The days I play sport I make sure I eat more than I usually would. Also if you have started to increase your exercise levels, your body will retain water for the first few weeks, and you also will be building muscle, so thats possibly why you gained. keep at it, and you will see a loss, both on the scale and in inches.
  • steveanna19
    steveanna19 Posts: 7
    Hi So how do I caculate how many calories I should be eating.I thought this was kinda low for me!!! Thank you
  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    Let MFP: do it for you. But make sure you log everything (preplanning meals is the best idea rather than logging after you have eaten) andmake sure the exercise calories you are logging are from a heart rate monitor and not fromt he machine or from a guesstimate.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,329 Member
    No one is going to go into "starvation mode" after two weeks so all this "your not eating enough" is rubbish. If she has really reduced the amount she is eating she would have lost some weight (even if undereating is not advisable long term).
    LOG EVERYTHING
    Make sure the exercise calories you are recording are accurate - DON'T go off the machines or MFP: as this is normally comp;letely wrong. Buy a Heart Rate Monitor.
    Eat clean, remove all junk.
    keep; consistent - that means logging and exercising and eating well in the weekends as well as during the week
    Avoid alcohol

    It doesn't change the fact that she should be eating more. I answered why she gained 3 pounds in my previous post, it is because she is exercising and her body is retaining water for the muscles to recover. The eating too little could have an effect in two weeks, but that is not the real issue. Her calorie goal here is 1800, based on what we know from the posts here, that is likely with a fairly large calorie deficit, lets assume the 1000 a day for 2 pounds a week level. She was eating 1200 and less adding another 600 or so calorie deficit. That is simply too big. Add in the exercise, and the deficit gets even larger. She needs to eat more or she is setting herself up for failure in the long run, and depending on her individual physiology, she may be causing issues even now.
  • actshepherd
    actshepherd Posts: 4
    I agree about looking at the NSV (non scale victories). I have been working like crazy to lose this weight but nothing seems to be working and I was starting to get frustrated and then my husband told me that my butt looks smaller and is higher. Not much of a compliment but I consider the source LOL! In all actuality, it was just what I needed to hear to remind me that our bodies have to go through a state of "repair" before we can really start losing the weight. #1) The muscle has to take the place of the fat (Don't forget that muscle weighs MORE than fat) #2) Continued healthy eating habits combined with cardiovascualar workouts (you gotta get that heart rate UP) will cause weightloss.

    I think part of the problem for me was that I watch the biggest loser and expect to have weight loss results like they have but reality is that I live in the real world. We don't get to leave our lives to be on a show where we do nothing but focus on our weight.

    You're doing good. Your effort will pay off. Just stick with it :)
  • Tn2009
    Tn2009 Posts: 21
    OK what I have logged is exactly what I have eaten and exercised! I do not drink alcohol, matter of fact I only drink water. If I could have afforded to go see a doctor I would have by now. I take offense that it's just that easy, because it clearly is not just that easy for some of us! I have completely changed my eating habits and my way of life!
  • Tn2009
    Tn2009 Posts: 21
    Thanks to all that have positive things to say and advice, being new here I really appreciate it.
  • missyh1
    missyh1 Posts: 18
    Sometimes those pounds can be soooo tricky! My goal is to lose 13 pounds by the end of May. Seems like a long time away but pounds stick to me like you wouldn't believe. I lost 3 pounds the first two weeks and the third week gained one back somehow (I'm not even sure how because I have been very diligent with my calorie goals). Now at 5 weeks I have stalled with a two pound weight loss. So frustrating!

    One thing I want to refute is the idea that muscle is heavier than fat. Not exactly. A pound is a pound. One pound of feathers weighs the same as one pound of lead. The difference is that muscle takes up much less space (mass), so if you gain muscle you can weigh exactly the same but be one or two sizes smaller. The tape measure is definitely your BFF when trying to check your progress!

    Just stick with it. Nothing truly worth doing is ever easy! If anything, know that the force of weight on your hips and lower joints is about three times the actual weight. Lose just 5 pounds and take 15 pounds of pressure off your joints. Even the smallest losses give huge gains over a lifetime of health!
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