I'm not losing weight !

I started working out last week and stopped eating fast food for the past week as well (except subway); I dont drink soda or juices all i drink is water and unsweeted iced tea. I work out every day, 1 mile on the treadmill at 3.5 mph and the incline is set at max.10 then I use the recumbent bike for 13 miles: 7 miles with the tension on 5 (8 is the highest it goes) 3 miles on reverse no tension, 2 miles with the tension at 3 and one on 8. I do all of this every afternoon, I don't feel like im overworking myself since im not DEAD TIRED after but I am satisfied with a soaked shirt and shorts afterwards.  I also wear 5 lb weights on each ankle. Can any one please help me out? I need someone to talk to about this ! maybe someone that had the same problem at the beginning but lost weight? im not sure, but post awayy!! thanks =] oh i forgot im 5'2-5'3 218-220lbs. 19 y/o

Shernandez08,

A good tip that has helped many people, including myself, is to keep a food journal. Since you seem to be heavily working out, you actually might be eating a lot more than you think afterwards.

A food journal is a good way to keep tabs on what you "aim to eat" too. Like if you mentally plan out your meals, you can actually track them and see your progress.

Hope that helps!

I agree with shuying. Have you filled out your account settings on this site yet? Once you do, it will tell you how many calories to eat per day. At first, I thought putting in ever single thing I ate would be a pain. Actually, I've come to look at it like playing an on-line game. And I was amazed how much more I was eating than I thought. I figured since I was eating low-fat and sugar-free stuff that I was doing good but after adding it all up-yikes. Finally, I eat about 3oo fewer calories than site recommends per day and then once a week I eat the recommended amount. This keeps your metabolism from getting into a pattern. hang in there. It will happen!

ever since i started working out i dont crave food really I get to about 1000 calories a day but it says im supposed to have 2000+ calories a day... i've been reading around online and they say that I could be building muscle then in a couple of weeks i'll start seeing the scale drop. not sure? plus, some sites say eat less than the calories you burn and some say eat more so im so confused

There are soooo many trains of thought on this issue. It makes me realize that diets are like medications- they effect everyone differently. I only know what's working for me - this week anyway! Whatever you do DON'T GIVE UP! If you ever wanna chat, send me a message. I'm on here all the time to input my food.

Original Post by shuying:

Shernandez08,

 

A good tip that has helped many people, including myself, is to keep a food journal. Since you seem to be heavily working out, you actually might be eating a lot more than you think afterwards.

A food journal is a good way to keep tabs on what you "aim to eat" too. Like if you mentally plan out your meals, you can actually track them and see your progress.

 

Hope that helps!

 YES! or finding out that you may not be eating enough.... too much burn!

Oh my god, yes.

If you starve your body, it will keep the fat.  You know that muscle you think you are building, you might very well be, but your body is storing your fat and eating your muscle because it is programmed to sense when there may be a famine. 

You are sabotaging all that work you are doing.  You need to eat more.  It sounds silly, but take an airplane with all the bells and whistles.  If it lacks fuel to fly, the plane will crash (lack of calories) .  So to stay in the air a bit longer (survival), the people start throwig the heaviest equipment off (your muscles weigh more than fat).  Now your plane can keep flying for a bit but you have no equipment to navigate.

Wow, I sound weird :) 

First off, Subway is fast food.  Unless you're getting the turkey sub with no cheese or sauce, you're still consuming as many calories as a big mac (and not good calories... simple carbs, bad fats, etc.)

Secondly, if you're going too hard at the gym, your body may be shocked by the sudden change in activity level and want to hold on to as many calories as it can.  Try giving your body a break once every 3 days or so. On those days, rather than hitting the gym really hard, take a fairly easy walk outside, etc.

I'm in the same sort of situation.  The last few years I've ate junk and not worked out at all.  While I didn't balloon out of control, the weight I've gained (about 20 pounds) just won't go anywhere even though I have completely changed what I eat for the better, drink only water, and work out three times a week.

But I keep at it, if for nothing else my heart is healthier and muscles I've forgotten about are waking up.

PATIENCE & MOTIVATION are the hardest things to have and to hold on to.

When I go to the gym, I do fitness and strength training every other day. Muscles need time to rest and repair from training. Cardio can be done everyday. Remember, your body will burn more calories for hours after a workout than if you didn't workout. Remember to always stretch the muscles before any workout, this will allow the muscles to perform better.  Also a good note, there is fat stored in the muscles, and when you strength train your muscles will use that fat first before any fat stored in the lower and mid sections of your body. Every month its a good idea to change your fitness routine. The idea is that your muscles will get used to the same motions, time after time. Plus, it helps from getting bored. When I leave the gym, I feel more powerful and motivated to keep going. I seem to have more energy as well.

As for the fast food, its really not worth eating something that gives no nutritional value. Even though it tastes good. Imagine how you will feel physically and emotionally after eating it. Not really worth it. If all the fast food restaurants were to go to out of business, I wouldnt miss them at all.

Some of my favorite foods are popcorn and wings. I still have them but at smaller portions. Instead of 20 wings, I eat 6 baked wings with a huge salad. One thing I have learned, you shouldnt starve ourself of the foods you most like, just eat less of it. That way you have satisfied the craving without overindulging.

Simple rule, the more you eat, the more calories you have to burn. The idea is to create a deficit everyday. I keep my calorie intake around 1200. I also know if I eat more that I should, than I have to work off more at the gym. Just takes mental discipline.

I will admit, I have fallen off the wagon, but I can't let that get the better of me. I go on, and continue with what I am supposed to be doing.

I look for motivation in all ways, whether it is hearing someone else's story, or by reading a Jillian Michaels book, etc. I have realized that motivation dies out when it gets boring, the trick is to find new motivation.

Nobody has to be a size 2, just be healthy enough, to live a long and healthy life.

Jillian

Okay, please trust the process and have patience. A week is not enough time to lose a significant amount of weight. Weight fluctuates, so there's no way to know whether you've lost any fat yet. Even if you've haven't dropped a pound on the scale (or even gained!), does not mean that you haven't made progress. The most important thing is to TRUST the process.

Log your food and keep exercising and give yourself time. It will probably take a couple of years to lose the excess weight. Based on your stats, a healthy weight for you is about 138, according to my BMI calculator. That's 81 lbs. Time is your friend; it's not going to happen overnight. It took me a year to lose 52 lbs, and some weeks I didn't lose any weight and some weeks I gained weight. 1 lb./week is the average, not the usual. Some weeks it's a 2 lb. loss; other weeks it's a 1/2-1 lb. gain.

You sound like you're working out for about 2 hours/day. This is more than enough, and you may find that it's too much the longer you keep it up. I mean, how many people can successfully incorporate 2 hours of exercise into their life every day long-term? Some can; most don't want to. My limit is 1 hour, unless it's something incredibly fun.

Food log, food log, food log. Log your food, count calories, and 1000 calories/day is starvation. Don't even think you can keep that up long-term, unless you get an eating disorder, which is a horrible way to live and could include death.

I plugged in your numbers into my Mifflin-St. Joer equation spreadsheet (the current CC equation) and here's what I came up with:

At age 19, 219, 5 2 1/2", here's your approximate burn rate (if you are female):

Sedentary days: 2078 calories (Eat about 1600 to lose 1 lb/week)
Lightly Active days: 2381 calories (Eat about 1800-1900 calories to lose 1 lb/week)
Moderately active days: 2684 calories (Eat about 2100 calories to lose 1 lb/week)

Or, you can just start eating right now what you would need to eat to maintain a weight of 138 lbs, which would be:

Sedentary days: 1636 calories
Lightly Active days: 1875 calories
Moderately active days: 2113

If it were me, I'd choose to eat between 1600-1900 calories and evenutally, you will weigh a "normal weight" and there will be no transition from what you'd be eating now and what you'd eat when you hit a normal weight. It's the concept of "Eat like the thin person you want to become and eventually you'll become the thin person."

Good luck,

Bev

thanks so much Bev! your post really helped motivate me a lot!

OMG! You are not eating enough. Your body needs fuel! Up your calories to close to what CC says you need and then you should see some weight loss.