3 weeks counting calories and working out and NOTHING!

erikapereira
erikapereira Posts: 196
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi

I have been using MFP for about 3 weeks. I dont exceed my calories, I am choosing healthier foods, eating less portions, workingout 3 or 4 times a week burning around 600 calories per workout and I havent lose weight. I am worried and concerned. Its the first time I dont see results in the first 2 weeks.
I was taking GNC Women's Ultra Mega Active vitamins everyday. I like them because I feel more energetic but I am afraid If this product can make you gain weight or not let you lose weight at all.

Any thought, recommendation, etc. I will appreciate! :)

Replies

  • alikat42
    alikat42 Posts: 213 Member
    If you open your food log, you will get much better input.

    P.S. you look so much like Sara Ramirez from Gray's Anatomy!
  • Actually_Mike
    Actually_Mike Posts: 61 Member
    I find not losing weight isn't always the key! You could simply be replacing fatty tissue with more muscle and you would still be the same weight. When you start to look smaller but weigh the same don't be discouraged! This is because muscle takes up less mass than fat, so while you may weigh the same, you're definitely a lot healthier! Good luck!
  • NetteH13
    NetteH13 Posts: 28 Member
    I agree with the above post. Open your food diary, and you can possibly get better feedback. Also, not going over your calorie goal is a good thing, but are you eating ENOUGH?? For instance, your goal may be 1200, but that doesn't mean to eat anything less than that. Like 700-900. Eat the entire 1200. I made this mistake once. Then I said to myself, I'm gonna do the same workout routine, and eat the max 1200 calorie that my goal is set at. The week I ate less, I actually gained 0.4. When I actually increased and ate the 1200 goal max, I lost 3-4 a week. The saying is true, if you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode. Also, try not to eat after about 8:30-9. Hope your weight loss journey gets better for you. :-)
  • amysol
    amysol Posts: 83 Member
    Keep your chin up!!!
  • blandwriter
    blandwriter Posts: 50 Member
    Eat more quality food. Increase good quality protein, decrease processed foods that add unnecessarily to the carb bottom line in your tracking. I see big numbers left on the table at the end of the day when MFP already builds in a calorie deficit. Just my first blush reaction.
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
    Sorry :p is open now. Thanks for all the replies
  • geetabean
    geetabean Posts: 76
    I am absolutely not an expert, but it looks to me from your food diary that you are not eating enough calories.....especially on workout days. And most of the foods you have listed are processed.....I'm not sure if that makes a difference. Have you figured out your BMR?
  • alanalove
    alanalove Posts: 3
    the 3 main things i look for when buying food is the kj/calories, carbohydrates and sugars. Even if something has less calories, if it has a higher sugar count it isnt actually better. carbohydrates are sugar and anysugar that isnt used will be stored as fat.

    so my advice would be to look at the labels closely and try to limit your processed foods and foods with added sugar for a while and see if it makes a difference.
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
    Thank you all for the feedback. I am not restricting myself of eating, sometimes I am hungrier sometimes dont, specially If I have a good breakfast. Before I used to be very hungry at dinner time but that has improved a lot.
    Any recommendation or post that I can read about good foods, better choices or healthier meals?

    I am not sure what is the BMR if you can give me more info.
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
    How much carbohydrates and sugars is healthier to eat per day?
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Eat back your exercise calories.
  • stacymay13
    stacymay13 Posts: 95 Member
    Eat back your exercise calories.

    ^^ this. If not all of them, then at least some of them. You're netting 1000 cals or less most days.
  • kristy6ward
    kristy6ward Posts: 332 Member
    I'm not understanding your food diary.. do you skip dinner most days or do you just not log consistently? There are some days you are way under your calorie goal but I don't know if there is unlogged food there. Eating too far under your goal can be just as bad as eating over, especially when you throw exercise into the mix. Under Tools, find out your BMR...Basil Metabolic Rate the amount of calories your body needs to function in a coma... and don't eat below this amount.
  • jhartram
    jhartram Posts: 165
    You might try checking this site out... its the best BMI calculator I've found. The scale doesn't show the whole picture, and it can be really disheartening, I know.

    Other than that my advice is just to keep at it and be really careful of your sodium... I've lowered mine to 2,000 and I drink an extra 3 cups of water for every 100 mg I go over.

    Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • kalynn06
    kalynn06 Posts: 368 Member
    Other than eating more, another thing to keep in mind is that it can take a few weeks to see weigh loss after you start working out intensely, especially if you didn't work out much before. When you challenge your muscles, they swell. The water retention can translate to pounds on the scale. I routinely have no loss or even gain 2 or 3 lbs when starting a new workout routine or increasing resistance.
  • geetabean
    geetabean Posts: 76
    Go to this site: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    Plug in all the info and it will give you your BMR. You shouldn't eat below your BMR.

    I was doing the same thing as you when I first started at this site.....cutting back on food and exercising a lot. I thought the less food I ate and the more I worked out the better my weight loss would be. I lost a little bit at first and then it just stopped. So, I started working out more and trying to keep my calories as low as I could. I read a bunch of threads on here, figured out my BMR, and am now eating significantly more food and have been dropping pounds! I don't eat back all of my exercise calories, but I do try to make a dent in them.

    A really easy way to make sure you are getting good foods into your diet is to add fresh veggies and a fruit to every meal. Those two things are low in calories so you can eat a lot more of them! Instead of making processed heatable meals, spend a weekend afternoon grilling a bunch of chicken breasts and store them for the whole week. Add a couple cups of roasted veggies to dinner and a carb (brown rice, whole grain pasta) and a fruit dessert and your meal will be a lot more filling and a lot healthier! I love buying frozen tilapia and pan cooking it with just some spray olive oil. I sautee veggies with my eggs nearly every morning. Snacks are a piece of fruit or a yogurt and most meals I try and balance protein/fat/carbs so I have all 3 and a well rounded meal. When you do buy processed foods, try to pick ones that have fewer ingredients and low sugar.

    The weight will come off.....you just need to tweak things around a bit until something works for you!
  • janess88
    janess88 Posts: 2
    I agree with the last post from geetabean about adding fresh fruits and veggies to almost every meal. Also, as i was looking at your diary I noticed that your breakfast consisted mostly of all carbs and sugars.. breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day consisting of 300-500 calories but maybe try adding some protein in there as well so you have a well rounded breakfast. I would also recommend trying to eat 3 small snacks throughout the day consisting no more of 200 calories (protein and fruit, protein and low fat dairy etc)..Eating more often will increase your metabolism, thus, helping in weight loss. I wouldn't eat all your calories back from exercise but make sure you are eating right after you work out. Just have patience and keep going! :) You usually don't see any huge changes for about 4-8 weeks anyways so keep your head up and find what works for you!
  • becalee26
    becalee26 Posts: 185 Member
    make sure you measure yourself. I didn't see results for awhile but saw inches lost. It's been a really slow journey for me but I just keep moving foward. Try not to get discouraged and give up! You'l eventually see the results you want.
  • carriefanelli
    carriefanelli Posts: 2
    Don't get discouraged and definitely follow the advice to eat more calories -- which doesn't mean empty calories, of course. I am determined to take off my extra weight once and for all and I have been working out 5-6 days a week and "dieting" since January. It took me 2-3 weeks to see any progress in the beginning and even then it was extremely slow. It took me months to lose my first 10 pounds. Then my fitness coach told me I just was not eating enough. I just joined MFP about 2 weeks ago for this exact reason.

    Today I burned almost 1,000 calories at the gym. I was probably not even eating 1,000 calories most days prior to joining MFP. When you exercise, you have to give your body more fuel. I still don't eat all the fat grams or calories I'm allowed, but I get close most days. Now I am losing 2 lbs a week. Hang in there and don't be afraid to eat-just make sure it's good for you food as much as possible!
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    Goto tools then bmr to figure out your bmr.
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
    Thank u all for the feedback and valuable info. I´ll correct what Im doing wrong :)
  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
    are you PMSing or on your period? if so, wait til after and weigh yourself again, you will be surprised.
  • snewsome7
    snewsome7 Posts: 189
    Did you take your measurements before you started? You may not be losing on the scale, but you could be losing inches. I know my first month using this site I did not lose a pound. If this is something new, your body may be like "hold on what is going on here?". But if you continue to do what you are doing, your body will let go of the fat easier.
  • wrecked_willow
    wrecked_willow Posts: 50
    It took me five whole weeks to see the first pound go! You just have to give your body some time to adjust to your new lifestyle.
  • Byrdsong1920
    Byrdsong1920 Posts: 336 Member
    Hey,

    Definitely share your diary. It may be that you have to eat more...sounds crazy, but gotta get metabolism going. I just met w/ my nutritionist last week and had to find out why I was 'peaked out' and not losing. I was doing 5 /week workouts and burning 1000+ cal between cardio and weights, abs etc. Turns out I had to vary my workouts and maybe start w/weights 1st and end w/cardio. Also, focus on higher protein before and after my workouts. I'm eating 5 times /day and sticking to lots of green veggies, multi grain foods and good proteins like fish, egg whites and turkey bacon for bkfast etc. Easter was bad, but I'm allow a cheat meal /week.Helps me not fall off too bad! lol

    Try small meals thorughout the day and vary your workout routines. Circuit training is great too!

    BEst wishes,
  • MoooveOverFluffy
    MoooveOverFluffy Posts: 398 Member
    YES, sounds so counterproductive, but eat more!! Also, since you're working out pretty tough, try to hit your protein macro daily!
  • 70davis
    70davis Posts: 348 Member
    bump
  • velvetkat
    velvetkat Posts: 454 Member
    If I were you I would take the meals you put in your diary and split it into ingredients instead of lumping it all together.. For example the day you had 3 tacos... you need to put the hamburger separate... whatever you cooked it in ie oil maybe... your cheese... sour cream if you used it , the taco shells etc. I think you may be underestimating calories but you wont know until you separate it out. Be sure you are measuring and weighing your food...
    The "experts" say people underestimate their calories by 40%. the only way to eliminate that possibility is to make sure you list every ingredient you eat and what you use to prepare it.,

    Good luck and dont give up! You are on the right track and will find success!!
  • erikapereira
    erikapereira Posts: 196
    If I were you I would take the meals you put in your diary and split it into ingredients instead of lumping it all together.. For example the day you had 3 tacos... you need to put the hamburger separate... whatever you cooked it in ie oil maybe... your cheese... sour cream if you used it , the taco shells etc. I think you may be underestimating calories but you wont know until you separate it out. Be sure you are measuring and weighing your food...
    The "experts" say people underestimate their calories by 40%. the only way to eliminate that possibility is to make sure you list every ingredient you eat and what you use to prepare it.,

    Good luck and dont give up! You are on the right track and will find success!!

    thanks for the advice. Around two weeks ago I started separate the ingredients and sometimes it makes a big difference. I havent dropped nothing yet but I am feeling better. Hopefully this week I will try a bootcamp class to see how it goes and some jogging.

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