What am I doing wrong?

Hello -

Thanks for reading my post.  I am so frustrated.  I've been counting calories and exercising consistently for 7 weeks and have lost only 4lbs.  I am beside myself!  I'm 5'6", weigh 156 and am following a dialy calorie intake of 1500 to reach my goal of 138.  The first couple of weeks I lost a pound a week and now it has come to a screeching hault and I've just been sitting at 156 for 2 weeks!  I workout at least 5x a week, so it HAS to be my diet, right?  Here's a sample day for me:

Breakfast:  Oatmeal, coffee, cream

Snack:  Banana

Lunch:  Lean cuisine, string cheese

Snack: Yogurt, granola bar

Dinner:  Usually varies but consists of around 500-600 calories

Snack:  Also varies, usually cereal or popcorn.

Am I eating too much at night and not enough during the day?  Does it truly matter what I eat and when I eat it if at the end of the day I'm not exceeding my calories?  HELP!  I'm frustrated beyond belief.  I feel like I'm busting my butt at the gym and not seeing results on the scale. 

I think you are doing ok in terms of diet. You could try moving some of your dinner calories earlier in the day, but that will mostly just to reduce the amount of food left in your stomach when you weigh in the morning - so not so much fat loss, as more encouraging numbers on the scale.

Are you positive you are measuring correctly? Lots of people use food scales, as the calories on the nutrition lable are often based on weight, not volume. Make sure you drink plenty of water and get enough sleep, too. And if you are expecting your period (are you female?), you might see an increase (or lack of decrease) from that.

How old are you? And what is your workout like. I saw in the fitness forum that you are thinking about taking up weight training. That's awesome, and will definitley help in the long run - but just so you know, the day after lifting, many experience a temperary weight gain that is just water weight - nothing to be scared of, but just so you know to expect it.

Lastly, sometimes it just takes a little time for the weight to show up on the scale. Two weeks go by, and you don't see anything, then the next week, you're down some more. It's frustrating, but patience is sometimes the only answer.

Thanks for the quick reply.  I read about your journey to 135 and am super impressed.  I have been between 150 -160 for YEARS and am so ready to get out of this rut, I'm very encouraged by how far you've come, congratulations to you on your hard work paying off!  And thanks for the info about the scale showing weight gain after a day of lifting...I lifted yesterday and was a pound heavier today, I nearly lost my mind.  Haha.

I'm 35 and a female.  My workouts are simple, I started a walk/run program about 7 weeks ago and have finally worked up to being able to run for 25m without stopping (yay me!) followed by stretching and situps.  I've recently (like within the last week) added some lunges to my workouts and most recently, weight training.  I found a cool treadmill routine in Prevention magazine that has you alternate a light jog at a 1% incline with a slow lunging walk at a 15% incline for 30 minutes and started doing that on the days I don't run.

I don't have a scale but most of the things I eat I do measure.  Like you, I do indulge a little on the weekends...maybe I'm overindulging?  I'm trying to be patient and realize 7 weeks isn't a terribly long time.  I started at 160 and my weight has been fluctuating between 154-156 for 2 weeks, I just want the numbers to go down and stay down!  Is that too much to ask?? 

Im having the exact same problem!!
Im also 5'6 and about 157 and have been working out 5 times a week for the past month and a bit (3 weight training with a trainer followd by cardio after, and 2 days of just cardio) and have lost Nothing! in fact I have only gained! Im a little discourage because people keep telling me to keep it up and I will see results, but until I do see results imfeeling  a little defeated! I have ammended my eating habits drastically and still nothing...im not sure what im doing wrong!?

Hey there... I noticed that you have a fair bit of dairy in your diet... I tend to get bloated when I eat too much dairy (I love it, trust me)... could you try replacing your yoghurt or string cheese with a veggie/salad? Also, those Lean Cuisine meals are full of sodium which makes you retain water... I actually used to eat frozen meals like crazy and I realized that I did alot better by switching to meals that I actually prepared... sure, they aren't "low fat," but they were far better for me in the long run AND I found that I stayed fuller for longer after eating regular meals (sandwiches, salads, soups, leftovers, etc)... I'm not saying frozen meals are bad altogether, but I started to feel better when I made the effort to pack my lunch instead (and, yes, this has meant getting up earlier for me... or packing the night before!)... good luck!

I am frustrated too! 5'2" and 153 (finally lost another pound AFTER 7weeks!) I found that I needed to eat MORE! I initially lost about 10 pounds at 1400-1500 cal/day and then STOPPED losing (only 5 pounds in about 12 weeks). I upped my calories to 1800-1900 AND started lifting weights. Once I started lisfting weights, my body started looking different by I wasn't losing any weight. I am very active so I am going to keep trying to eat 1800-2000 and keep lifting. I know I need more protein too. Good luck and don't give up!

toch - your treadmill routine sounds like it's intervals, which are good. You might want to look into HIIT(http://musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp) which is excellent for weight loss, as is weight training, so keep going on that.

And I completely sympathize with your desire just to see some movement on the damn scale! Have you taken measurements of your body? That's one thing I wish I had done when I started. I did eventually, but I regret not doing it when I started (truthfully, I was too scared too - it was bad enough getting on the scale).

Awesome advice, thank you everyone.  Love the musclemedia website, thanks for the link, I will be trying that tomorrow!

Lizzie6580, thanks for the tips.  I hadn't considered the massive amounts of sodium in those frozen entrees.  Guess I'll have to make lunch for myself from now on.  It makes sense that un-processed foods are better for you and make you feel better, and I have sort of been wondering if that has been part of the problem because I have one literally, 6 days out of 7.  Yikes.  I'm sure it'll definitely be worth the extra time in the long run.

Thanks again.  Keep the good advice coming!  ;o)

-Wendy

I know men lose weight more easily than women, so don't bash me on my opinion.  But my perspective is that it is just "math".  You are probably not working out as hard as you think you are.  Get on one of those machines that measures what you are burning.  Set a number you need to reach every time you get on it. 

Or you are not counting your calories correctly. Although the body reacts differently in the short term, if you go for a long period and consistently burn more than you eat, you will lose weight.  If that isn's happening, you either eating too much or not buring enough. Keep it simple.

Did you take measurements before your weightloss? You may have gained some muscle. Running isn't just great cardio it does help build muscle. When I first did Couch to 5K I lost 5-6 pounds (total) the first few weeks. But then I tapered off around weeks 4-8.  Luckily, I had taken measurements and lost about 8 inches off my body.

Even if you didn't take measurements, are your clothes fitting any differently?

  I hadn't considered the massive amounts of sodium in those frozen entrees.  Guess I'll have to make lunch for myself from now on. 

 If you're like me, time is at a premium. Try cooking extra on the healthy stuff, then packaging it convieniently for a ready-made meal. I have several small containers I keep stocked with things I can heat-and-eat. For instance, roasted chicken, vegis, pork chops....  Then I can just grab the ready-made meal.

Also, you may try varying the workout. If you always do the same exercise, the burn can be less effective. We just get used to it. Me, I bycicle every other day, and jog the other days.

Keep up the good job, and don't get discouraged. I plateaued for nearly 4 weeks, without a single pound gone. (You may be losing inches still, though.)

What's your body type? Some bodies like to lose fat, some like to lose muscle, and some like to lose both. If your body is predispositioned towards keeping fat, then congrats, your ancestors were more likely to survive the winter! But that doesn't help you out in weight loss.

I would advise you to double-check your workouts and food intake, and if everything looks okay, keep it up. Nothing beats a healthy diet and exercise. You can take measurements - I find they really help me because during the off-season, I work a lot on building muscle, so weight measurements really don't help a lot.