Any suggestions? A month in and NOTHING is happening.

laurakdp
laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
edited December 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I've actively tracking for about a month now and exercising about 5 our of 7 days each week (zumba and running for the most part). I wear a heart rate monitor so I'm pretty sure my calories burned are accurate and I measure EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth.

In the past month I have actually GAINED 3 lbs- I went from 202 to 205- and am now fluctuating between those two weights! This is so weird to me because every other time I've decided to lose some weight, it just comes right off (slowly, but still it comes off!)!

Any suggestions regarding my eating or exercise? Thanks!
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Replies

  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    How much are you eating? It may be too much OR it COULD be too less. Sodium intake? Have you taken measurements? Are your clothes fitting better?

    Could TOM be around the corner?
  • Startraveller
    Startraveller Posts: 53 Member
    Hi! I have been at the same weight for about six weeks. 12 pounds just fell off then nothing! It's quite frustrating. I have done this once before and when I was in a plateau, I found that eating a little bit more ever few days helped to get my metabolism going, but it took a long time. Sounds like you are working out a considerable amount and doing high cardio exercises at that. Another option is to just stay away from the scale for a while and focus on how your clothes fit.
  • ATLMel
    ATLMel Posts: 392 Member
    Give it another month. It takes time for your body to respond to stimulus. 4 weeks is not that long in exercise terms.

    I think it would also help you to add some resistance/strength training to all that cardio. You'd see an increase in the number of calories you are burning and also preserve any lean mass you have to keep yourself fit and boost your metabolism.
  • DerDude
    DerDude Posts: 170
    Don´t want to be offensive to you but....hmmmm...if you take a look to your diary for the last 2 weeks, there are some days you are over, some days with just 20-200 cal under and others with lots of fat and less of protein!

    You should try to have a look on what you are eating. Even you shoul not eat all exercise cals back! Try to reach your net-goal with less fat and more protein and workout like you did .... than you will see a little more loose :wink:
  • londoneye
    londoneye Posts: 203 Member
    I've actively tracking for about a month now and exercising about 5 our of 7 days each week (zumba and running for the most part). I wear a heart rate monitor so I'm pretty sure my calories burned are accurate and I measure EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth.

    In the past month I have actually GAINED 3 lbs- I went from 202 to 205- and am now fluctuating between those two weights! This is so weird to me because every other time I've decided to lose some weight, it just comes right off (slowly, but still it comes off!)!

    Any suggestions regarding my eating or exercise? Thanks!

    Have patience. Weight comes off over months, not weeks.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    Try cleaning up what you eat. You eat out a TON, and at places that are notorious for high-calorie, low nutritional value, and high saturated fat foods.

    Make a goal to start cooking at home if you can (even if it's a big cooking spree on Sunday and leftovers the rest of the week). If you *really* can't do that, or you need time to adjust and can't just switch cold turkey, start picking different restaurants. Instead of Taco Bell, go to Chipotle (where you can actually see them cooking the whole cuts of steak or chicken or pork). Instead of Chick-Fil-A or Arby's, go to Subway. Things like that.

    It looks like you do great on the weekends, but your weeks may seem too busy for cooking, so I'd try the cook on Sunday thing and do leftovers for the weekday meals.

    Also, as others have said, add in some strength training. Cardio generally only works while you're doing it, but strength training not only has the "afterburn" effect (ie - you don't burn quite as much while actively training, but you continue to burn calories for many hours after, as your body repairs), but adding muscle helps keep your metabolism up, meaning you burn more calories while doing any activity (even sitting), than your less-muscled self.

    Finally, don't just look at the scale, and make sure you don't get hung up on the number (especially if you start strength training). Keep track of it so you get a trend, but don't worry about the individual numbers. Get a tailor's measuring tape and take measurements. Look at how your clothes are fitting differently. What I like to do is get a pair of pants that are snug to tight and use them as my "goal/NSV" pants (I tend to wear loose clothing, so this helps me see changes when the scale isn't moving).
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
    Make sure you eat your exercise calories back. And even if you are staying in your calorie range all the fast food isn't going to help in your weight loss. High in sodium, high in fats. A bit cleaner eating and more time and you will see the weight come off. Took me 6 weeks for it to happen for me..
  • placeboaddiction
    placeboaddiction Posts: 451 Member
    I haven't had this issue yet, but I have heard to take 1 day and eat well over your calories per week. Do this for a month, and it should boost your metabolism.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    Try cleaning up what you eat. You eat out a TON, and at places that are notorious for high-calorie, low nutritional value, and high saturated fat foods.

    Make a goal to start cooking at home if you can (even if it's a big cooking spree on Sunday and leftovers the rest of the week).

    I wholeheartedly agree with this. If you eat out all of the time, you are not going to lose weight. Period. You cannot be 100% sure what it is in the foods you get out, even though the nutrition information is available for them. Each restaurant cooks differently, etc.. If you're serious about losing weight, you need to start eating good, whole, foods at home, cooked by yourself.

    I eat out maybe once a week, and never fast food. I fully believe that is why I have been able to maintain a good weight.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Here is what I see. Your calories aren't too bad, but you are very heavy in carbs, very low in protein and you eat out WAY too much. You need to eat cleaner. When you eat out, including subway, they are loaded with sodium. If you add that to your tracker, you are probably consuming 4000mg + which is why your body is holding on. If you can, start making food yourself.
  • skiqueen4eva
    skiqueen4eva Posts: 3
    I agree with what others have said about trying to change the foods you are eating - not all foods are created equal. Add more lean protein to your lunch during the week so that you don't have fast food that doesn't keep you full.

    In addition to that, I would suggest looking at cross-fit style workouts which focuses on using intervals of exercises to get your cardio and strength up. Though I don't have a lot of weight I want to lose now, I've noticed a big difference in how I look after doing cross-fit style training 2X a week for the last 4 weeks. It will kickstart you into a new phase of your weight loss and you'll see the results!
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
    How much are you eating? It may be too much OR it COULD be too less. Sodium intake? Have you taken measurements? Are your clothes fitting better?

    Could TOM be around the corner?
    I'm eating 1500 calories a day, not a lot of sodium (cook from home a lot AND have cut out all soft drinks including diet coke). My clothes are fitting about the same. I don't really have a TOM (Mirena).
  • skybird455
    skybird455 Posts: 172 Member
    Try cleaning up what you eat. You eat out a TON, and at places that are notorious for high-calorie, low nutritional value, and high saturated fat foods.

    Make a goal to start cooking at home if you can (even if it's a big cooking spree on Sunday and leftovers the rest of the week). If you *really* can't do that, or you need time to adjust and can't just switch cold turkey, start picking different restaurants. Instead of Taco Bell, go to Chipotle (where you can actually see them cooking the whole cuts of steak or chicken or pork). Instead of Chick-Fil-A or Arby's, go to Subway. Things like that.

    It looks like you do great on the weekends, but your weeks may seem too busy for cooking, so I'd try the cook on Sunday thing and do leftovers for the weekday meals.

    Also, as others have said, add in some strength training. Cardio generally only works while you're doing it, but strength training not only has the "afterburn" effect (ie - you don't burn quite as much while actively training, but you continue to burn calories for many hours after, as your body repairs), but adding muscle helps keep your metabolism up, meaning you burn more calories while doing any activity (even sitting), than your less-muscled self.

    Finally, don't just look at the scale, and make sure you don't get hung up on the number (especially if you start strength training). Keep track of it so you get a trend, but don't worry about the individual numbers. Get a tailor's measuring tape and take measurements. Look at how your clothes are fitting differently. What I like to do is get a pair of pants that are snug to tight and use them as my "goal/NSV" pants (I tend to wear loose clothing, so this helps me see changes when the scale isn't moving).

    I second this. You are going to have to eat MUCH cleaner.
  • achief192
    achief192 Posts: 192
    If what you are doing isn't working, then change it up a little. Different types of food, a little more exercise, but don't give up :)
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
    Make a goal to start cooking at home if you can (even if it's a big cooking spree on Sunday and leftovers the rest of the week). If you *really* can't do that, or you need time to adjust and can't just switch cold turkey, start picking different restaurants. Instead of Taco Bell, go to Chipotle (where you can actually see them cooking the whole cuts of steak or chicken or pork). Instead of Chick-Fil-A or Arby's, go to Subway. Things like that.

    It looks like you do great on the weekends, but your weeks may seem too busy for cooking, so I'd try the cook on Sunday thing and do leftovers for the weekday meals.
    Believe it or not, this is "cooking at home a lot" for me! haha We've cut back a lot on how often we eat dinner out. Lunch is still an issue because I have a 2 year old in pre-school and I work while he's in school. I will try to cook more on the weekends- that's a great idea!

    Unfortunately, we don't have a Chipotle- I wish! haha I guess I was just falling for the advertising- I thought that a grilled chicken sandwich at Chick Fil A was a healthy option and that the fresco tacos at Taco Bell were too!

    Thanks for the advice!
  • kjburgess11
    kjburgess11 Posts: 20
    Just suggestions for you from a self-proclaimed non expert of anything: look at fat calories and not just calories, don't weigh after a weekend when our schedules are hectic and we take in more fast or processed foods which tend to be high in sodium which causes water retention, you could be adding muscle and losing fat check your body measurements, make sure you are eating enough calories and not shutting down the fat buring process by eating to few calories. Last and not least - Fast food is EVIL! Good luck and build a good supporting group of friends here. Feel free to add me if you want to . I am an awesome friend, just ask me!
  • lane823
    lane823 Posts: 41
    Why do your daily goals change every day?
  • misticache
    misticache Posts: 364 Member
    You really should think about alternative ways to cooking so it fits your schedule. Stop eating out for a few months. This will be the hardest obstacle for you because it's so convenient but that seems to be your biggest downfall. Also, may I suggest changing your settings and track sugar and sodium as well. You could be retaining water from the high sodium. You will surprised at how much sugar and salt you are eating. Add more fresh vegetables and fruits to your diet and drink your water.

    I'm sorry if I sound mean but you asked. You can do this but you have to be determined to change your lifestyle. I still occasionally eat out but no where near the amounts I used to. Every other friday I have a planned cheat meal so I can have my favorite chinese. It's still hard every single day for me to make the right choices but I'm making changes for the better slowly but surely.
  • jjnoviskey
    jjnoviskey Posts: 2
    I've been changing my diet, doing boot camp 2x a week, but I haven't lost any weight.
    It can be a bit depressing, but you have to get rid of the scale and measuer yourself!
    I've gone down overall 12 inches in the 2 months that I've been doing this :-)
    It is a wonderful feeling to lose the inches, and the weight thing starts to not be such an "issue"
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
    Don´t want to be offensive to you but....hmmmm...if you take a look to your diary for the last 2 weeks, there are some days you are over, some days with just 20-200 cal under and others with lots of fat and less of protein!
    No offense taken! I have a 2 year old and we go to "lunch dates" with friends a lot. My idea of eating healthy is to pick the "best choice", but I think it SHOULD be "just don't go!" haha
  • m16shane
    m16shane Posts: 393 Member
    Add sodium to your diary list. You may find you are very high in sodium due to eating out a lot. That will hurt your weight loss. Good luck to you!
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
    Can y'all define "clean"? The taco bell and chick fil a this week weren't my finest hour, but if you look back further we've been doing a lot of grilled chicken and veggies, pita chips and avocado as a snack- aren't those things good?

    Also, MFP keeps telling me that I'm going over on protein, but y'all are saying there's not enough?

    And in this thread alone, I've had one person say eat your exercise calories and one person say don't! :) I thought you SHOULD?

    Sorry for all the questions- I've used MFP successfully before but I don't guess I did it "right"!
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    For starters it looks like most days you don't eat most or any of your exercise calories back. You need to be eating most of these....some days you might not be hungry enough for some but on average you should be eating back at least 80%. I also see a lot of fast food on there. That's not to say I never eat fast food, but try to limit it to just once a week or less. I think in one week period you have fast food at least one meal almost every day. I think the combination of not eating enough, and what you do eat is primarily junk (too much saturated fat and sodium) is throwing your body out of whack.

    I wouldn't say I eat "clean" when compared to some people, but I think you need a bigger variety of lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. I know this doesn't account for all of your dinners, but some days you only had chips and avacado for dinner which is not a very fulfilling, balanced meal.
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member
    Why do your daily goals change every day?

    When I started back on here it was still set to my old goal weight and starting weight. I changed them then I got frustrated after a couple weeks and thought "Maybe I need to lose less/more per week" and messed around with it but but it is now back to my original goal.
    You really should think about alternative ways to cooking so it fits your schedule. Stop eating out for a few months. This will be the hardest obstacle for you because it's so convenient but that seems to be your biggest downfall. Also, may I suggest changing your settings and track sugar and sodium as well. You could be retaining water from the high sodium. You will surprised at how much sugar and salt you are eating. Add more fresh vegetables and fruits to your diet and drink your water.

    I'm sorry if I sound mean but you asked. You can do this but you have to be determined to change your lifestyle. I still occasionally eat out but no where near the amounts I used to. Every other friday I have a planned cheat meal so I can have my favorite chinese. It's still hard every single day for me to make the right choices but I'm making changes for the better slowly but surely.
    You don't sound mean! haha I NEED to hear these things!

    I will add sugar and sodium to the tracker... I'm scared to see what it has been! haha
  • SMJ1987
    SMJ1987 Posts: 368
    I agree with many other posters that it's most likely the amount of fast food you're eating. I don't mean to offend you but I don't think it's a huge shock that it's difficult to lose weight when you're having taco bell or chik fil a almost 7 days a week.

    Just something to keep in mind...even though restaurants post nutritional information for their menu items they are often times severely underestimated. According to an NYU survey that i've read about its often between 400 and 700 calories more than reported. That could add up to a pound a week if eaten every day.

    http://biggestloserclub.com.au/food-fitness/underestimating-calories.html
  • jenny2909
    jenny2909 Posts: 6
    :D
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    Why do your daily goals change every day?

    Because when you excercise it adds those calories to your total goal and you're supposed to eat them back. So without exercise her daily goal might be 1200 calories, but if she works out and burns 200 calories it would be 1400, on another day if she burns 350 her daily goal for that day would be 1550.
  • MMAQueen
    MMAQueen Posts: 279 Member
    just my 2 cents:

    eating out isn't all bad, i eat out almost every day. sure, it's mostly salads and wraps, but it's still eating out.

    cooking at home isn't going to solve this if you don't cook right at home either :)

    eat less bread(and other carbs), more lean protien and keep an eye on your fat intake.
  • laurakdp
    laurakdp Posts: 15 Member

    I will add sugar and sodium to the tracker... I'm scared to see what it has been! haha

    ACK!!!!! Taco Bell is the DEVIL!

    I was convincing myself I could have some desserts because I was exercising but YIKES the sugar is out of control on those Dianna's Bananas! Our local CSA starts this week so we will have fresh fruits and veggies every week delivered to our hours- I will make sure to eat fruit instead of those frozen treats!
  • chickiebabe2
    chickiebabe2 Posts: 45
    Here is what I see. Your calories aren't too bad, but you are very heavy in carbs, very low in protein and you eat out WAY too much. You need to eat cleaner. When you eat out, including subway, they are loaded with sodium. If you add that to your tracker, you are probably consuming 4000mg + which is why your body is holding on. If you can, start making food yourself.

    Totally agree with this and some other posts, you really need to stop eating out. I would suggest more salads - i make a brown rice salad with veges added in then grilled chicken or steak. I don't know bout you but i feel really guilty when i eat take out food, i find i can taste the fat and it is not nice. Look for healthier versions of meals you like, there are plenty of sites on internet to help.

    Don't give up if you fix up your food diary and keep exercising you should see results :)
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