Haven't lost in 2 weeks

jjstaten
jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been busting my but for the past 2 weeks and haven't lost a single pound. I'm lifting 4 times a week and doing cardio everyday. Looking at my food I've done really well and stayed below my calorie count. Really not sure what's going on. I would think that even with lifting weights that I would still loose some weight even though I'm gaining muscle.

Any Suggestions would be much appreciated.

Replies

  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    Bump
  • Oppman77
    Oppman77 Posts: 1
    I would suggest making sure that you get at least your minimum calories count. If you're constantly cutting yourself short you're lowering your metabolism and your body begins to store everything as fat because it's ramping up for starvation mode. Also, it's important to remember that muscle weighs more, so perhaps you've gained more muscle mass. It also doesn't mean you haven't lost anything, it might just be inches instead of weight. There are a number of reasons why you haven't seen a change in the number. It's important not to weigh heavily on the number but more so on how healthy you are. Make sure you're getting all your needed water as well. Hope this helps.
  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    I do eat my minimum and try to eat back as many calories after my work out as I can with out going over.
  • d0gma
    d0gma Posts: 3,966 Member
    Do you use a heartrate monitor? I went through the same thing at the end of March, got a heartrate monitor and realized that while the exercise I was doing was making me sweat, I wasn't at my target heart rate while exercising. Once I started making sure my heart rate was where it needed to be, my weight started dropping again.
  • idziak04
    idziak04 Posts: 69
    Do your clothes feel like they are fitting better? It is possible that you are losing inches instead of pounds. I have been there myself when I feel like I am killing myself and that stubborn scale will not move at all!! I would keep doing what you are and the scale will start moving. Also make sure to drink tons of water. It will help flush out any sodium you are eating. I actually "gained" 2 pounds from Friday to Monday and I drank boat loads of water yesterday and today that 2 pounds is gone. Good luck to you and feel free to add me as a friend.

    Amy
  • jlynn322
    jlynn322 Posts: 7
    I'm in a similar boat. I was just going to put up a post on it.

    I know that if you are gaining muscle that will cause you to stay the same or maybe gain a little weight, have you checked your measurements or if close are fitting better?
  • brandillyn
    brandillyn Posts: 105 Member
    I haven't lost anything in about 2 weeks either, but I got a concussion so I haven't been working out. :/ But I'm not going over my calories, so I dunno. Good luck to you! Keep on keepin' on!!
  • frosty73
    frosty73 Posts: 424 Member
    You might also try keeping track of your weight on the Hacker's Diet Online:
    It keeps track of your daily weight fluctuations and shows the *trend* over the past 10 days, not just the numbers which can sometimes be misleading.
    http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/online/
  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    I'm planning on checking my measurements before lunch today. Hopefully I'll see a difference.
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
    How do you feel in your clothes? I had gained 7lb in between my dr's visits but was down nearly 2 pant sizes. I wound up losing a bunch of inches but not pounds.
  • westdove
    westdove Posts: 174
    Shock your body and change things up! Also, remember, nutrition is 70 percent key here. Be sure you are eating enough and the balance of what your eating....enough protein? carbs? etc
  • MndaLynn
    MndaLynn Posts: 26 Member
    Do you use a heart rate monitor to track your calories burned during exercise? If not...you may be over-estimating your calories burned. Before I got my HRM...and I was using MFP estimates...my calories burned were way over what they should have been. Everyone says to eat back your exercise calories...but if you didn't burn as much as you think...you are eating back too many calories. Just a thought...and a problem I ran into before getting a HRM.
  • shelbynicole32
    shelbynicole32 Posts: 179 Member
    You might consider upping your calorie intake by 100-200 and be sure and eat all of your calories including the ones that you burned from working out. I did and I have lost 2 pounds last week just from doing that.
  • jamiesadler
    jamiesadler Posts: 634 Member
    You may not be eating enough calories. You diary is private so I cant tell. I personally do not eat my exercise cals back but on lifting days I have a protein shake.
  • JLArispe
    JLArispe Posts: 62
    Maybe you should change things up. Your body gets used to the same thing day in and day out. You also need to let your muscles heal. Also, check your daily sugar intake, as unburned sugar will turn into fat. You may not be using weight, but you could be toning up and slimming out. There have been many times I wasn't losing weight, but my clothes fit differently because I was slimming down. Have you tried to measure yourself?
  • EMagineBeingEMazing
    EMagineBeingEMazing Posts: 76
    bump
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Is this exercise programme new in the last 2 weeks? You're very likely retaining water. Lifting especially will make your muscles retain water. Two weeks is not a long time in terms of weight loss - you will more than likely see it go down soon. Also, are you tracking sodium? Sodium causes water retention too, so track that and make sure you drink lots of water.

    Other than that, if you open your diary up, people should be able to give you more specific advice.
  • c3nterstage
    c3nterstage Posts: 46
    give your body time to adjust, you've probably just hit a plateau. Give 2-3 more weeks though to see if you still don't lose anything. But you should still celebrate the fact that you are working hard and that you haven't gained any weight! Stick with it!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    You body loses fat in "chunks", not linearly. The 1-2 lbs a week is just an average. Sometimes when you are doing the right thing with calories and exercise you still have these plateaus. If you know you have lost with the calories you are eating then just keep it going and the weight will drop, it just takes patience and trusting the process. I have never lost weight by upping my calories but some people seem to. Your body has normal fluctuations, mainly water retention from sodium and hormone cycles or DOMS, there are also digestive issues that cause fluctuations. Sometimes people think they are losing or not losing per their diet when it's actually these fluctuations.
  • Mischelina
    Mischelina Posts: 29 Member
    Why Big Caloric Deficits and Lots of Activity Can Hurt Fat Loss - http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    Ok, Here is an update on my measurements over the last 30 days. It's ok but not that great.

    Starting: Current
    Chest:46.4 43.3 = -3.1"
    Arms: 14.5 14.7 = -.8
    Hips: 44 43.8 = -.3
    Waist:46.5 45.3 = -1.3
    Thighs 25.8 26 =+.3
    Calves: 16.8 16.5 = -.3
    Forearms: 12 12.5 =+.3
    Shoulders: 52.7 54.3 =+1.5
    Neck: 16 15.8 =-.3
  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    Bump
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I had typed up a bunch of stuff, pressed the wrong button and the web page changed on me! Doh! Lost everything I had typed. :)

    First, here's an interesting article that might give you hope: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

    Second, you need to make sure you are getting an accurate reading on your exercise calories. If you are using numbers from the machine or from the web, they are probably high. My motto, underestimate calories burned, over estimate calories eaten.

    I'm sure you know this, but be sure to weight yourself when you first get up, but after you use the restroom. I actually weight till before I eat or drink anything. I'm a little obsessive about making sure I'm as empty as possible before I step on the scale! :)

    It doesn't look like your calories goal is too low to cause starvation to set in. And even when you don't eat back all your calories, you are still doing fine (IMO). If you continue to feel discouraged in another week, you might want to drop your caloric goal down by 100, but I'd first look into the exercise calories.

    Speaking of exercise, changing things up is a good way to keep your body challenged. This will ensure your body doesn't get use to the routines, and start to expend less energy to achieve the same goal.

    Hang in there, you'll get past this.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    give your body time to adjust, you've probably just hit a plateau. Give 2-3 more weeks though to see if you still don't lose anything. But you should still celebrate the fact that you are working hard and that you haven't gained any weight! Stick with it!
    ^^ YES!!!!!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    @ tmch4006 - thanks for posting that article about whooshes! That's exactly what I've been going through for the last few months. Three or four weeks go by with only small fluctuations in my weight and then BAM all of a sudden I drop a pound or two. It's weird but I'll take it!

    To the OP, I'd suggest changing your pound per week goal to 1/2 or 1 pound - just make sure it's not at 2 pounds. Now that you're within 30 pounds of your goal weight, it's going to take longer for the weight to fall off and you'll likely have more success with a smaller calorie deficit. A similar approach is to figure out your BMR and try not to net below that.

    Also, as someone mentioned, if you've been upping the intensity of your exercise lately, you could just be retaiing water. Like swollen sprained ankle, when muscles are sore from activity, they retain fluid. Also, make sure you sodium is in check.
  • jjstaten
    jjstaten Posts: 42 Member
    I had typed up a bunch of stuff, pressed the wrong button and the web page changed on me! Doh! Lost everything I had typed. :)

    First, here's an interesting article that might give you hope: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

    Second, you need to make sure you are getting an accurate reading on your exercise calories. If you are using numbers from the machine or from the web, they are probably high. My motto, underestimate calories burned, over estimate calories eaten.

    I'm sure you know this, but be sure to weight yourself when you first get up, but after you use the restroom. I actually weight till before I eat or drink anything. I'm a little obsessive about making sure I'm as empty as possible before I step on the scale! :)

    It doesn't look like your calories goal is too low to cause starvation to set in. And even when you don't eat back all your calories, you are still doing fine (IMO). If you continue to feel discouraged in another week, you might want to drop your caloric goal down by 100, but I'd first look into the exercise calories.

    Speaking of exercise, changing things up is a good way to keep your body challenged. This will ensure your body doesn't get use to the routines, and start to expend less energy to achieve the same goal.

    Hang in there, you'll get past this.
    what are your thoughts on pre-workout protein The plan I'm on has me doing 1.5-2 grams per lb of of body weight.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I had typed up a bunch of stuff, pressed the wrong button and the web page changed on me! Doh! Lost everything I had typed. :)

    First, here's an interesting article that might give you hope: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/of-whooshes-and-squishy-fat.html

    Second, you need to make sure you are getting an accurate reading on your exercise calories. If you are using numbers from the machine or from the web, they are probably high. My motto, underestimate calories burned, over estimate calories eaten.

    I'm sure you know this, but be sure to weight yourself when you first get up, but after you use the restroom. I actually weight till before I eat or drink anything. I'm a little obsessive about making sure I'm as empty as possible before I step on the scale! :)

    It doesn't look like your calories goal is too low to cause starvation to set in. And even when you don't eat back all your calories, you are still doing fine (IMO). If you continue to feel discouraged in another week, you might want to drop your caloric goal down by 100, but I'd first look into the exercise calories.

    Speaking of exercise, changing things up is a good way to keep your body challenged. This will ensure your body doesn't get use to the routines, and start to expend less energy to achieve the same goal.

    Hang in there, you'll get past this.
    what are your thoughts on pre-workout protein The plan I'm on has me doing 1.5-2 grams per lb of of body weight.

    I drink a protein shake before I workout (1 scoop for 20 grams) and then a second one after my workout (2 scoops for 40 grams). Most people will say to got 1.3 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight. In other words, if you weight 200 pounds and you have 20% body fat, you have 40 pounds of fat, and 160 pounds of lean body weight. So 1.3 (or 1.5) times 160. What a lot of people do is instead say 1 gram of protein per pound of weight.

    Here's how they compare:

    Using lean body weight
    1.3 x 160 = 208
    1.5 x 160 = 240

    Using 1 gram per pound of weight
    200 x 1 = 200

    Your program
    200 x 1.5 = 300
    200 x 2 = 400

    I think most people would say your program is suggesting too much protein. Is that bad? I have no idea! :)

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