frustrated with the scale

emiller79
emiller79 Posts: 2 Member
edited December 2024 in Motivation and Support
Hello fellow MFPers:

I would love your feedback to my "problem".

I've really been working out for about 6 weeks, and have only lost 5 pounds.

I started MFP about 2 weeks ago and with the exception of one day, have been under my caloric goal (I do eat my exercise calories), and have set my setting to lose 2 lbs a week. I have not lost anything in a week and a half.

I'm working out 5 days a week and am under my calorie goals...what's going on?

I'm 33, so does that play a role?

I'm not doing this to be a specific weight, but it sure does show proof of my labor.

THanks in advance!!

Replies

  • a2902c
    a2902c Posts: 96
    Don't forget muscle weighs more than fat. You should try taking your measurements. The scale may not change, but you may be losing inches. Also, don't get discouraged! It's going to take time :)
  • emiller79
    emiller79 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks! Some people say they see a change, which is encouraging. I'm drinking a ton of water and have cut out soda completely. Maybe it's a sugar consumption thing. :/
  • mfoutch86
    mfoutch86 Posts: 87
    Muscle does not weigh more than fat!!! A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle! However, muscle is more dense than fat tissue, so it takes up less body mass. Perhaps you could try not eatting back some of your exercise calories? 5 lbs is nothing to shake a stick at though! Have you done your measurements?
  • caraiselite
    caraiselite Posts: 2,631 Member
    depends how much you have to lose. if you don't have much, it will be slower.

    low carb is always a wonderful option.
  • Rosa1213
    Rosa1213 Posts: 456 Member
    Muscle does not weigh more than fat!!! A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle! However, muscle is more dense than fat tissue, so it takes up less body mass. Perhaps you could try not eatting back some of your exercise calories? 5 lbs is nothing to shake a stick at though! Have you done your measurements?

    That's what she meant when she said that "muscle weighs more than fat", and I'm fairly certain you know that's what she meant.

    Anyhow, I agree: maybe you could try not eating back all of your exercise calories?
  • Crazy4Healthy
    Crazy4Healthy Posts: 626 Member
    depends how much you have to lose. if you don't have much, it will be slower.

    low carb is always a wonderful option.

    I agree with this (not as much the low carb) and if you don't have as much to lose (< 20-30 lbs) I would recommend changing your goal to 1/2-1 lb a week. 2 lbs for someone with less to lose is too much. By lowering your goal, you will get more calories to eat and will likely be more successful, just at a slower pace.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    1. Miscalculations are common. I would eat back exercise calories... or a percentage thereof. Errors usually go in the following manner.
    a. underestimates -- We under estimate portions and forget foods we eat. Some restaurants under-report nutritional information and all cooks are not the same...
    b. overestimates -- We over estimate the exercise we do.. Perhaps a machine tells us we burned 320 calories ... but if we are holding on for dear life rather than swinging our arms on a treadmill, it is likely that the machine misses that mark..

    All calculations are also done according to a law of averages and does not consider muscle mass, etc. If you have less than average muscle mass, it will estimate your caloric burn as being more than it actually is. Also, I always set my activity level as sedentary.. We can easily overestimate burn that way.

    2. You just started an exercise program. If strength training is part of that process, you actually gain some water weight as your body starts healing itself.. The way body building works is that as you lift weights, you create micro-tears in the muscle (maybe that is why it hurts when we do it often times)... Water is used in the rebuilding process of the muscle... (This is why we should not train the same muscle groups daily... the training time is actually the tear down phase... The building time is the resting time)...

    3. Also as some have mentioned, it is likely that you are seeing some increase in muscle mass (that is after all the goal)... Under optimum circumstances you will not usually see more than a pound of muscle per week though... The rest is probably water.

    Keep doing what you are doing ... Keep lifting and keep exercising... Those scales will eventually follow... Yet what is truly important is not the scale anyway.. It is decreasing your body fat percentage and increasing or at least maintaining your lean body mass... Eat plenty of protein in order to assist in the rebuilding of muscle tissue.

    Best wishes on your journey.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    PS: low carb may not be the best option for body building, however. Balance in all things. Carbs are important in the muscle building process. Just keep it balanced and eat the right kind of carbs.
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