Why can't I lose weight?

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Racheldt87
Racheldt87 Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I gained 10 lbs this past Jan-Feb and cant lose it :( I have been trying since April. I log my food and exercise pretty accurately i wear a HRM w/ chest strap while exercising and i weigh/ measure my food. I have been eating within calorie goals for the last few months & have lost 3 lbs, then gained back 2 lb. Every winter for the past 5 years I have gained 5-15 lbs and then took phentermine in the spring to lose it. Obviously those stupid pills are the reason I gained the weight back every winter which is why I have not & will not take them this year/ ever again.. But why cant I lose any weight on my own w/ diet & exercise??
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  • delyn356
    delyn356 Posts: 145 Member
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    How many calories are you eating? Also, are you trying to lose weight just through diet or are you incorporating exercise as well?
  • thecapaccino
    thecapaccino Posts: 138
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    hey I gained like 15lbs in amonth on MFP at 1750 calorie daily goal.

    Most people will not be sympathetic I tell you.

    I have now had to REALLY, serious LOG my foods accurately and not just use the database to get the "calories" for what I ate.....and tracking various things......

    a lot of people suggested I cut down on Carbs....cut down sodium....and LOWER my daily calories.

    They will want to know what you are eating....maybe open up your diary?

    It is HARD I know!!!! Especially when I want a slow and not so intrusive weightloass method which I want to do for life...not JUST for weight loss....

    Good luck
  • Racheldt87
    Racheldt87 Posts: 25 Member
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    I eat about 1500 calories a day but I workout 5-6 days a week & burn 200-400 calories so I usually net 1300 (which is the # mfp gave me for my goal). I'm starting to think I should not eat back my exercise calories & just eat 1300 cal a day regardless of if I burn 300 cals that day. I drink alcohol on Saturday nights most weekends & I know they say drinking alc messes w/ weight loss. But I do extra exercise that day to make room for it so I don't go over my cals too much. I've read a blog on here someone posted about alc & a lot of ppl said as long as they worked out that day then it wasn't hurting their weight loss efforts & they were still able to lose weight. I know everybody's different though so I'm guessing that doesn't work for me ha since so far I'm not able to lose any weight.
  • tmfpartyof4
    tmfpartyof4 Posts: 125 Member
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    I eat about 1500 calories a day but I workout 5-6 days a week & burn 200-400 calories so I usually net 1300 (which is the # mfp gave me for my goal). I'm starting to think I should not eat back my exercise calories & just eat 1300 cal a day regardless of if I burn 300 cals that day. I drink alcohol on Saturday nights most weekends & I know they say drinking alc messes w/ weight loss. But I do extra exercise that day to make room for it so I don't go over my cals too much. I've read a blog on here someone posted about alc & a lot of ppl said as long as they worked out that day then it wasn't hurting their weight loss efforts & they were still able to lose weight. I know everybody's different though so I'm guessing that doesn't work for me ha since so far I'm not able to lose any weight.

    i am actually in the same boat. I lost 15 and hit a plateau. Im still overweight, eating right and working out as well as staying with in calorie goals. having ruled out everything out, I decided to stop eating BACK exercise calories, and watch my sodium to see if it breaks the plateau. I think by eating them back, since I have a bit of a surplus fat, there is no need for me to eat them back as if my body needs it, I have it to give. I think it threw me into "maintenence mode".

    good luck to you, and feel free to add me as a friend. I am curious to see if your trick works. :)
  • apriltrainer
    apriltrainer Posts: 732 Member
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    I was 112 in Dec. By Feb I was 135. I could'nt seem to lose and when I did it would be 2 lb loss; then 3 lb gain; 2lb loss etc. Kept happening until June when it finally started to go down. I was also super stressed this winter and spring so don't discount stresses effects.
  • apriltrainer
    apriltrainer Posts: 732 Member
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    I eat about 1500 calories a day but I workout 5-6 days a week & burn 200-400 calories so I usually net 1300 (which is the # mfp gave me for my goal). I'm starting to think I should not eat back my exercise calories & just eat 1300 cal a day regardless of if I burn 300 cals that day. I drink alcohol on Saturday nights most weekends & I know they say drinking alc messes w/ weight loss. But I do extra exercise that day to make room for it so I don't go over my cals too much. I've read a blog on here someone posted about alc & a lot of ppl said as long as they worked out that day then it wasn't hurting their weight loss efforts & they were still able to lose weight. I know everybody's different though so I'm guessing that doesn't work for me ha since so far I'm not able to lose any weight.

    Btw I also decided around may not to eat my exercise cals either and although I was crucified in another thread for admitting that;it worked for me
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
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    When you guys say you're working out, are you doing strength training AND cardio or just cardio? Because if it's just cardio, you're not building muscle that will boost your metabolism. It's the only thing that's worked for me. The scale doesn't move much, but I've lost a few inches which is more important to me. :)
  • Racheldt87
    Racheldt87 Posts: 25 Member
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    I did 9 weeks of insanity. I did the full 9 weeks 6 days a week with out missing a workout. That's how I finally lost 3 lbs bc before that I was just using the treadmill. But after insanity I gained 2 of the lbs back which doesn't make sense bc I'm still eating well & working out.. Insanity ended 2 weeks ago so now I'm doing Jillian michaels ripped in 30 DVD 4-5 times a week. It's 25 min of circuit straining w/ weights. Then I also walk or jog a few times a week.
  • motherbetty
    motherbetty Posts: 170 Member
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    I did 9 weeks of insanity. I did the full 9 weeks 6 days a week with out missing a workout. That's how I finally lost 3 lbs bc before that I was just using the treadmill. But after insanity I gained 2 of the lbs back which doesn't make sense bc I'm still eating well & working out.. Insanity ended 2 weeks ago so now I'm doing Jillian michaels ripped in 30 DVD 4-5 times a week. It's 25 min of circuit straining w/ weights. Then I also walk or jog a few times a week.

    Have your thyroid checked.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    You don't have a lot to loose, so I'm assuming you aim to eat about 200-500 less calories than you burn.

    If you persistently don't lose weight over months you must be matching what you eat with what you burn, intentionally or otherwise. Accounting for exercise can be difficult, using an HRM is a good start but is it calibrated for your personal fitness level and statistics, and do you account for the fact that it includes the calories you would burn in any case ? You could consider restricting the calories you "eat back" to say half of the HRM estimate.

    Perhaps exercise every other day would be enough ?
  • esneer1
    esneer1 Posts: 42 Member
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    Maybe see a doctor. Could be a thyroid issue.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    The idea that you can drink all you want on the weekends as long as you work out makes me think things aren't getting logged right. I can tell you I could spoil a whole week's worth of deficits with drinking on weekends, fairly easily.

    If I were you I would quit 'adding back', because it's very easy to overestimate, even with a HRM. Just pick a reasonably number like 1500 and stick to it for a while and see what happens.

    I don't know if you can do this in MFP, I do it in Fitbit, but if you can, add up all your deficits (not 'net calories') for the past month and divide it by 3500. If that's not right around the number you've lost, then decide if your exercise has been changing your body without scale loss (retaining water, adding muscle, whatever). Usually when I feel "ripped off" by the scale I add it up and see that my deficits weren't really adding up as quickly as I thought. And my losses were happening more than I thought. I might think, "I haven't lost really anything in June and I've had like 600 calorie deficits each day!" Then I add it up and the average deficit is only 400 and I've actually lost 3 lbs., which is right what the deficit suggests I should have lost.
  • babycook
    babycook Posts: 172 Member
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    I feel your pain. I went from October to about a month and a half ago of not losing. I found out I have metabolic syndrome. I changed my macros to cut down on carbs, ate more protein and healthy fats. And I cut back on my exercise. I finally started to lose weight. It's frustrating. You have to find what works for you.
  • sloanie1
    sloanie1 Posts: 276 Member
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    if you open your diary I will have a look and see if I can offer any advice? I'm not an expert but have been on this journey for 20months so have learnt a thing or two..:o) PS I just broke through a 7 month plateau
  • jshinoff
    jshinoff Posts: 25 Member
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    If you're not losing weight you're consuming more than you're burning. The answer is likely that you consume more than you track (an example being the drinking you do). With such a low net calorie consumption goal you can't miss at all on consumption and expect to make progress. Also possible you overestimate activity, best way to do things is set your activity level to sedentary and then use a Nike Fuel Band to track your exercise calories, not the estimates on sites like this one.
  • murraybula
    murraybula Posts: 1
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    I feel your pain, as I can lose weight but then gain it back. After logging food and excercise for 2 years, and being on our work's biggest loser contest 3 years I have found out a couple things.

    Refined carbs really are your enemy. I have had the same calorie consumption two different weeks with the same excercise, but different food, The week I ate healthy with lots of fruits, veggies, healthy fats, lean protein I lost 2 lbs. The next week when I ate fairly healthy but with part of my calories coming from refined carbs consisting of white bread, junk food and beer, I gained .5 lbs. When you eat refined carbs it spikes your insulin levels which then stores the sugar as fat. Unfortunatley alcohol is a refined carb!

    Excessive calories add on the weight. I can eat fairly healthy, but then eat high calorie snacks in the evening and gain all my weight losses back.

    The secret is finding a way to eat healthy for a life time, which is something I am still working on. I just need to cut out the refined carbs, and quit the high calorie evening snacks, keep up cardio and strength training. Best wishes to your efforts to find what works for you.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
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    Make ur food diary public. No one can assist you if its not.
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
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    I don't eat back exercise calories. It's working for me.
  • taram1981
    taram1981 Posts: 21 Member
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    I'm going to disagree with some people on here: first of all, as little as you have to lose, and without any other issues, it is highly unlikely you have a thyroid issue. Secondly, where are your measurements? Weight is not always the best indicator of weight loss. If you did insanity for 9 weeks, it's very possible you lost 3lbs of fat, and then gained back 2lb of muscle. That's a great thing! Eating as little calories as you are, and the intense workouts you are doing, tells me you are very healthy. If anything, I would suggest eating MORE to weigh less. The longer you restrict your calories so much, the lower your metabolism drops to conserve energy. If you keep dropping your cals, eventually you will hit a plateau because you body is going to hold on to everything you eat. Have you tried calorie cycling? Basically, you alternate high and low calorie days. Example: 2000 one day, 1200 the next, 2000 the next, etc. I have done this before with success. May be worth a try!! Here's a great article on calorie cycling:
    http://lifehacker.com/5827154/vary-your-calorie-intake-to-break-through-a-weight-loss-plateau

    http://www.answerfitness.com/316/zig-zag-dieting-fitness-nerd/

    I would also limit your alcohol intake to less than 5 drinks per week. That can definitely ruin your efforts to lose! Hope I helped!
  • IStop4Stamps
    IStop4Stamps Posts: 17 Member
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    I looked at your profile and you are beautiful! It could also simply be that you body disagrees with your weight loss goals because you are already at a healthy weight. Or maybe it's an issue related to your metabolism/hormone balance. Either way I would check with a Dietician to review your food intake quality and balance. Not getting enough sleep can also slow down weight loss, so I target at least 7 hours a night a one day a week off from workouts.

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