2 weeks and only .6lbs lost. What am I doing wrong?

I do cardio 40mins 6 days a week and think I'm eating all my calories. What am I doing wrong?
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Replies

  • mmtschan
    mmtschan Posts: 15 Member
    I won't give up because I love how much more healthy I feel. But I want some kind of weight loss too... I'm 147 and would love to be 135 by the summer.
  • SwtKittN
    SwtKittN Posts: 176 Member
    Maybe too much sodium? I don't know your diary is closed so I can't give much advice XD
  • Sunsama
    Sunsama Posts: 100 Member
    First, do you have a hrm? Because if y are going by what mfp says you burn don't. They grossly overestimate and you are probably eating back way to much!

    Could be sodium as was mentioned as well. Or if it's close to your Tom then that also effects it greatly.
  • rocketmouse
    rocketmouse Posts: 143 Member
    As you don't have very much weight to lose, your body can't (and shouldn't) drop weight all that fast, so a half a pound a week is a good goal. The first week it's not unusual to see no loss/a slight gain. Keep the faith! See where you are after a month. Expecting instant results is what keeps people yo-yoing
  • What type of cardio are you doing and how many calories are you consuming?
  • jenmarie2012
    jenmarie2012 Posts: 180 Member
    do you drink a lot of water?? could be water weight.. if you open your diary we could help :smile:
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
    Can't really advise you when your diary is closed.
  • mmtschan
    mmtschan Posts: 15 Member
    I'm not sure how to do that. Lemme check. I usually drink 12cups a day. I feel like I'm drowning half the time
  • packersfn7
    packersfn7 Posts: 62 Member
    You're probably gaining a lot of muscle. Try altering your routine--like maybe slightly more calories one day and different types of exercise. Usually that helps me push through a plateau. But keep going!
  • J3nnaRad
    J3nnaRad Posts: 1
    Are you doing strength training? If you're only two weeks in I wouldn't worry much. It took me five months to lose 15 pounds so I can't stress patience enough!!
  • mmtschan
    mmtschan Posts: 15 Member
    got it
  • KelliW_runner
    KelliW_runner Posts: 150 Member
    Take all your starting measurements...waist, hips, thighs, etc. Sometimes the scale doesn't move but the inches do...
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    I think 3 lbs a month average is pretty damn good. Just focus on keeping it up. l Iassume people who lose more are heavier than you so in percentage terms its similar to a smaller loss on a smaller body.
  • AthenaErr
    AthenaErr Posts: 278 Member
    doh I meant 3lbs a week!
  • deedaltz
    deedaltz Posts: 28 Member
    It really great that you do a lot of cardio but using the weight machines at the gym actually helps you burn more fat. Even if its just a couple of days a week it will change up your routine and your muscles will be working in different ways. I good way to start is low weight/high reps where your last couple of reps should be hardest for you to do. If its not hard to do those last two reps try adding a little more weight. =)
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
    What kind of cardio, and what intensity level? 4 hours a week (6x40 min) should get you around a pound lost at very high intensity (3500 cal in a pound, burning just under 900 cal/hour is pretty intense activity). Of course if you eat all calories back then there is no loss. Sodium can play a big role, I can "put" on over 4 pounds in one day just by eating at the local mexican restaurant. (And lose it all over the next two days as the sodium level balances and causes less water to be retained).

    Also, as some said, MFP "burn" rate is way off. Do yourself a favor, and put in half of what they say. (If you are wrong in the wrong direction, at least it comes back as a nice surprise of extra loss).
  • SwtKittN
    SwtKittN Posts: 176 Member
    I would advise to track sodium :) Subway has a lot of sodium in it, not saying you shouldn't have it, because I love subway and I eat it too :D But I notice on days/weeks that I am close or over on sodium I lose next to nothing :\ I try to be under at least few days prior to weigh in, the more the better.

    And as was suggested above .5 pounds a week with such a small amount to lose is good. It might seem like a lot to you, but it's healthy at that point I think to lose .5 a week :)
  • I just started keeping track of *inches* as well as pounds. I'm obviously gaining muscle which weighs more 'cuz the numbers are going DOWN on the inches although the pounds are going down slow. Glad to hear you're feeling good....that's part of the main goal, don't you think?
  • HeavyEd
    HeavyEd Posts: 2 Member
    "Think" you're eating your calories? KNOW, put every thing you put in your mouth into the foods. I was talking to a friend who was exercising vigorously. When I had her list what she ate, she ate half her daily calories during breakfast.

    Also, it's very common that as you start exercising, you replace fat with more dense muscle. You loer inches, not pounds Do you find your clothes looser?
  • lucyford22
    lucyford22 Posts: 198 Member
    You're probably gaining a lot of muscle.

    In a week or two? Not likely.
  • mmtschan
    mmtschan Posts: 15 Member
    First, do you have a hrm? Because if y are going by what mfp says you burn don't. They grossly overestimate and you are probably eating back way to much!

    Could be sodium as was mentioned as well. Or if it's close to your Tom then that also effects it greatly.

    I'm not sure what hrm and tom means.... this is all new to me :)
  • cjwolfjen
    cjwolfjen Posts: 323 Member
    cut back on sodium foods try to eat clean foods not fast food or pre packaged or processed foods. Drink plenty of water and I mean PLENTY. You should be drinking half your body weight in oz. of water each day. I drink roughly a gallon or 8+ bottles (16 cups) of water a day. Try switching up your meals and calorie intakes. Cut back on calories one day, then add more the next its called zig zagging calories and keeps your body guessing. The more you keep your body guessing, the better you lose weight. Don't always do the same exercises, switch it up. You could also be doing too much exercising, not likely but it is a possibility. Plus the smaller you are to begin with the slower it comes off. In the beginning I would lost like 5 lbs a week, well, that's because I was 260 lbs. Now that I'm 192 it is much much harder. Also, take your measurements because a lot of the time you'll lose inches but not pounds.
  • mikedhatz
    mikedhatz Posts: 15
    Are you adding variety into your cardio? Or is it all just one type of exercise?

    Have you added strength training into your exercise routine? Lifting elevates your metabolism and stimulates endorphins the same way as high intensity cardio. Not to mention that a pound of muscle burns almost twice as many calories than a pound of fat.

    Here's a thought. Try this for a week or two, see what happens: Replace 10 minutes of your cardio every day with 20 minutes of low-medium weight and high rep weight training. Speaking from my experience I have the best short-term weight loss and fitness gains when I reduce cardio to 30 minutes a day and no more than 4 days a week (to prevent injuries from overtraining) and add in 30 minutes of weight training on non-running days.

    And fear not, there won't be bulking with this kind of weight training. Using lower weights and higher repetitions you won't produce a lot of bulky muscle. You'll tone and tighten what you have, increase the density of your muscle tissue, and build a little more, all while stimulating your metabolism for hours after finishing your training.
  • mrshoneybear1014
    mrshoneybear1014 Posts: 275 Member
    You don't have a lot to lose. It takes MUCH LONGER to see results when that is the case. How do you FEEL? Do you feel like you need to change up your work out? Is it easy? Working out shouldn't be easy. Maybe you can increase the time or intensity. Also, my calorie intake varies a lot during the week because of my work outs. Maybe change that up - eat more one day then go back to eating "normal". Sometimes a spike day helps. It all depends on your body. Listen to it.
  • hubkal
    hubkal Posts: 125 Member
    I am at day 45 and had only lost 10 lbs. a 2lb a week goal is good~! you are doing fantastic. I do not eat any of my exercise calories though and stick to 1200 calories a day. Stay away from sodium and carbs. I recently went on vacation and ate horrible! if you want to look at my food diary look at the previous weeks.
  • cjwolfjen
    cjwolfjen Posts: 323 Member
    First, do you have a hrm? Because if y are going by what mfp says you burn don't. They grossly overestimate and you are probably eating back way to much!

    Could be sodium as was mentioned as well. Or if it's close to your Tom then that also effects it greatly.

    I'm not sure what hrm and tom means.... this is all new to me :)

    HRM is a heart rate monitor. Tells you how many calories you're burning so you're not just guessing then over eating or under eating
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I do cardio 40mins 6 days a week and think I'm eating all my calories. What am I doing wrong?

    Diet is for weight loss.
    Exercise is for body shaping and heart health. It can make weight loss easier or harder.

    Right now, with that workout routine, your primary focus is on benefits of exercise.
    And good for you for feeding the workout, you are probably seeing good body response.

    Except weight. If you want weight loss, take a week off the exercise and eat your daily goal and just walk gently.
    After all, it is your daily activities that are fed mainly by fat that create your deficit anyway.
  • Naybelline
    Naybelline Posts: 407 Member
    You're probably not eating the right foods and looking at your diary, there's a few I would take out.
  • foxbat2828
    foxbat2828 Posts: 391 Member
    Double check things like portion size estimates and actual calories burned as opposed to things like the MFP database.

    I started out the exact same way and, after about three weeks of working out and what I thought was eating healthier, I'd only lost one pound. I was really discouraged. I was eating healthier foods and eating smaller portions, but the problem is that I wasn't estimating the portion sizes nor the exercise calories burned accurately. A guy at cardiac rehab told me about MFP and I started using it to track what I was doing and I was surprised at just how much I was still eating even though I was supposedly eating healthier. Also, early on, I took the MFP exercise calories right out of the database. Two things made for my turnaround ... bought a digital scale and started weighing everything and got a heart rate monitor. I was amazed to find that when I thought I was eating a cup of cereal it was actually a cup and a half and when I was eating 3 oz. of meat I was actually eating 5 oz. Once I started getting more accurate measures, the pounds started coming off. Same thing with exercise calories. I was overestimating them with MFP, and since I eat back my calories, I was overeating. The HRM helped me come up with much more accurate calorie burn numbers and stopped the overeating.

    In summary, the three weeks before I started MFP and measuring and using an HRM, I'd lost one pound in three weeks. Since using the scale and HRM and tracking the stuff accurately, I've dropped at least 43 lbs. in just 3 1/2 months.
  • grumpya
    grumpya Posts: 54 Member
    Firstly you will lose slowly becaue you are not heavy to start with. Looking at your diary I don't see very much fruit or veg, veg really helps fill you up & it helps you lose weight, when you quick add calories are you totally sure that is accurate? Sometimes we all estimate what we eat & are a little bit out but the effect is cumulative.
    Try making some home made vegetable soup, easy & you can have that at lunch time, it will fill you up & it will be much healthier than processed or manufactured food.
    Keep at it & you will get there in the end. Good luck