Why can't I lose weight?! Getting frustrated!!

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I started my current MfP on April 7. My CW:150
I've been eating around 1500-1800cal/day. (I'm still trying to figure out my lucky #).
I workout about 4days/wk
tues&thurs: Zumba for 45mins.
Monday&wed: elliptical for 30mins and one workout with 30 Day Shred.
I'd like to lose 25lb and get down to 125.
I don't eat any excercise calories back.
My diary is open. Any and all help is greatly appreciated :)
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Replies

  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
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    Check what you are recording. Are you weighing your food? Are you drinking enough water? Are you sure what you're recording is accurate?

    You may be lose fat. Are you measuring with a tape?
  • offthedeependay
    offthedeependay Posts: 435 Member
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    I was having the same problem,so I took a break from working out for a week and after the week I started loosing weight again,,hope this might help you,starting to work out tomorrow again and hoping I dont plateau again.
    ** also I mesured my self again and was loosing inches but staying the same weight
  • FitToBeFab
    FitToBeFab Posts: 537 Member
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    You might be eating too much of your other macro nutrients - fats and carbs. On weeks that I go over my fat every day, I only lose .2 lbs rather than the 1.5 I usually do.
  • CMB1979
    CMB1979 Posts: 588 Member
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    I started my current MfP on April 7. My CW:150
    I've been eating around 1500-1800cal/day. (I'm still trying to figure out my lucky #).
    I workout about 4days/wk
    tues&thurs: Zumba for 45mins.
    Monday&wed: elliptical for 30mins and one workout with 30 Day Shred.
    I'd like to lose 25lb and get down to 125.
    I don't eat any excercise calories back.
    My diary is open. Any and all help is greatly appreciated :)

    I'd say change things up. Eat back your cals for a while. I noticed you near your cals one day then way under-eat or overeat the following or previous days. Maybe you're overeating some days because you're hungry from not getting enough the previous days. I found that setting MFP at 1 lb/ week and changing nutrition to 40-30-30 works better for me than trying MFP at 2 lb/week at the default of 55% carbs.
  • Heidi_M78
    Heidi_M78 Posts: 143 Member
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    Have you taken your measurements? You could be gaining muscle and slimming down , but the scae might not be showing it.
    Yesterday I read a post about a lady who had actually gained a pound since starting , and there was no way anyone could dispute that she was smaller
  • Hannahk90
    Hannahk90 Posts: 8
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    Are you taking in at least 1200 calories after all of the exercise? If your body has less than 1200 calories to work with, it could go into starvation mode and not want to burn off any fat that is in your body. Also, muscle weighs more than fat, so you could be losing the fat but gaining muscle so you don't necessarily notice it on the scale.
  • fruitful9
    fruitful9 Posts: 32
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    I notice you don't ever get your fat....EAT FAT TO LOSE FAT. Mind you get your good sources of fat. Low fat/no fat foods are loaded with extra sugars since they taste like crap. The sugars are worse since the body isn't able to use that much energy at once and it turns it into fat for easy storage/retrieval.

    Occasionally eat your exercise calories back so that your body don't hold onto the extra weight to prevent starvation. It keeps your body guessing how much calories it needs.
  • CaseRat
    CaseRat Posts: 377 Member
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    Firstly, have a read of this :)
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/you-are-not-different.html

    Secondly, looking through your diary; I see lots of chocolate, chips, lollies which sometimes make up 1/3 of your daily intake. That's a bit too much..

    Thirdly, I don't think you're getting the right macros.

    Fourthly, just because you aren't losing weight doesn't mean you aren't losing inches.

    Fifth, you might be underestimating calories in and overestimating calories out.

    Sixth, and arguably most importantly, on exercise days you generally aren't giving yourself enough food to fuel the workout; Say, you eat 1,300 then exercise 700 off. This leaves you at a *NET* calorie of 600. Your body needs a lot more than that to simply function and keep you living, let alone when you add strenuous exercise into the mix. For safe weight loss, that is; losing fat and not muscle (WE LIKE MUSCLE, MUSCLE LOOKS GOOD!) especially considering you're not overly large and don't have a massive amount of weight to lose, you should probably only try to aim for a 20-30% net calorie deficit off of your TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
    You can figure out how to work that out here>
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/510406-tdee-is-everything
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,565 Member
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    You might be eating too much of your other macro nutrients - fats and carbs. On weeks that I go over my fat every day, I only lose .2 lbs rather than the 1.5 I usually do.

    Set Protein to 30-40%
    Eat higher carbs on workout days and higher fats on rest days.
    When you have a rest day...truly rest.

    Nutrition will be 70% of your success.
    Sleep and recovery 20%.
    Training only 10%.

    Consistency is key.
  • Becca224
    Becca224 Posts: 36
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    Hi,

    I was having the same issue and asked my doctor. he told me that once you are doing a certain excercise for awhile, your body stops burning a smuch during that activity. he suggested I try and mix things up and do different things where possible.

    Otherwise just try lowering a certain food group and see if that helps. For me I find if I eat to many carbs I don;t loose as much weight. Some foods seem to add more than others for some reason. I hope that make sense.

    Also try eating more for breakfast. This not only gives you energy but kick starts your metabloism. That and it allows you to fill fuller and have more energy during the day. I have found eating a bigger breakfast and not as much during the day is slowly working for me.

    Good luck!
  • jenniferadouglas
    jenniferadouglas Posts: 8 Member
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    I agree with the post above. You should definitely customize your nutrition to 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. It just seems like you are eating a lot of carbs and not getting enough protein or healthy fats. The balance will help you start to lose weight again :)
  • willis84
    willis84 Posts: 86 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your help! I haven't been measuring myself since I started. I'll need to start that.
    My tdee is about 2100, so I need to need 25% of that, so 1575 net calories/day. So it looks like I will need to eat some excercise calories back
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    Take some measurements. Sub some weight lifting into your routine. Profit
  • adietron
    adietron Posts: 155
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    Sub some weight lifting into your routine.
    I second this motion. Your skeletal muscles burn calories longer than your heart and lungs, so 30 mins on the barbells = more calories burned than 30 mins on the eliptical. To avoid bulking up, do low weight/high reps... just make sure you get to the point where your muscles are fatigued (jittery/can't do any more reps).
  • willis84
    willis84 Posts: 86 Member
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    Any suggestions for breakfast? I have to work at 7am.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Sub some weight lifting into your routine.
    I second this motion. Your skeletal muscles burn calories longer than your heart and lungs, so 30 mins on the barbells = more calories burned than 30 mins on the eliptical. To avoid bulking up, do low weight/high reps... just make sure you get to the point where your muscles are fatigued (jittery/can't do any more reps).

    Low weights/high reps help endurance not muscle development.

    OP: basically unless you are on a calorie surplus, genetically predisposed (rare), put a *kitten* load of hours in and/or take 'supplements' you will not bulk up. Lift heavy - with low reps.
  • rcharlee
    rcharlee Posts: 182 Member
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    Any suggestions for breakfast? I have to work at 7am.

    I like to do old fashion oatmeal with organic fruit added, and a small amount of honey. I get the big can at Kroger, and it's able to be microwaved. 2 minutes and breakfast is ready!
  • reyopo
    reyopo Posts: 210 Member
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    Any suggestions for breakfast? I have to work at 7am.

    Smoothies! Buy bags of frozen organic fruit, especially berries (high antioxidant, low glycemic index) and add spinach, Raw Protein powder, Green Superfood powder, coconut water or coconut milk drink (or yogurt, nut milk, rice, soy, hemp, whatever your preference). A little agave, stevia or xylitol....and BLEND! So good, packs a HUGE nutritious punch, and will give you plenty of energy for a morning workout without feeling heavy, or will just get you through until your next meal.

    Oh, and I put a little flax seed oil in mine too...gotta have those Omega 3's!
  • KettleBellHoe
    KettleBellHoe Posts: 161
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    It's really about pushing yourself its 3500 calories every pound- if you wanna lose 25 lbs thats 87 000 calories that need to be burnt and not re-eaten. It takes the body time to adjust burning more calories and keeping weight off completely its a transformation don't be upset of it's slow process but 25 lbs will not disappear healthily in a few months.

    Number 1 keep your metabolism up and keep finding ways to make it faster

    Number 2 with upping your exercise gradually and regularly as your body does adjust to cardio quite easily and burns less calories doing the same thing over and over. With the eliptical machine try putting it on more difficult settings every time you use it and always try to run a few minutes longer ( or an extra work out one or two times a week )

    Number 3 The calories you do put in make the most of them by getting the widest range nutritional value as possible -Your body goes into stress every time you eat, eating the foods that will benefit you the most should be what you think of with every food choice.
    Your body will suffer and take longer to adjust if it's working at low capacity.
    Eating whole foods like Spirulina,hemphearts,whole oats,almonds,walnuts,dried fruit and all fruits and vegetables frequently through out the day (many snacks,no meals - will have your metabolism constantly at work)

    Number 4 Building lean muscle with strength training, It takes more calories to sustain muscle then fat and your overall body burn everyday will be a higher number.

    -Kiera
  • punkypenny
    punkypenny Posts: 99 Member
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    Any suggestions for breakfast? I have to work at 7am.

    Oatmeal will keep you full for a long time. I mash up 1/2 a banana in mine for sweetness, 2-3 scrambled eggs, or an Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin English Muffin with 2 tbs of Smucker's natural peanut butter. Those are the 3 breakfasts I alternate between. The Ezekiel and Smucker's brand don't have any sugar added to them. Good Luck!!!