3 Weeks in and no weight loss?!?!

[hmlane27]

I am 3 weeks into exercising and tracking calories. Immediately I saw a 4 pound weight loss, three days later I gained it right back (not changing intake). Now the scale has not budged since.

I limit myself to about 1200 calories/day and drink at least 64 oz of water/day.

I work out at least 4 days a week--cardio and strength training, also riding a bike once a week for at least an hour (outside). I have a hard time meeting my step goal because I have a semi-sedentary job, but mostly meet it on my days off.

I need some advice on what to change if anything?? What are your thoughts on why the scale isnt moving.

Thank You!!!!

[itsjcross]

Hi there! 

A question -- are you new to working out? I'm not a nutritionist or a fitness guru by any means, but I do understand the basics. From what I know, there are a couple of reasons this might be happening: 

• If you are new to working out, you might be converting fat into muscle, in which case you won't see much in the way of weight change, but you might be losing inches. Have you measured yourself?
• Personally I don't think the number of calories you take in matters quite as much as the type of calories you take in. Limiting yourself to 1200 calories a day doesn't mean much if it's all beer, pizza and ice cream (bummer, isn't it?!). Try to cut back on processed foods and eat whole, natural foods if you want to see better results. That might help.
• It's harder for smaller/average sized people to experience dramatic weight loss in a short period of time. Usually people who are at an average height and weight will only drop a few pounds at first and then taper off, whereas a larger individual would shed a significant amount of weight initially before tapering. Keep it up even if you don't see a difference in the day to day -- it will pay off eventually!

Hope that helps, even if only a little 🙂

[ajturner11]

that happened to me! for the first 3-4 weeks i barely noticed a change and i limit myself to 1200 calories/day and run about 7 miles a week. but once i hit four weeks, the lbs seem to melt off. 

my boyfriend who is on this journey with me thinks that the body is adjusting to the new life change. now im at 50 days of my new lifestyle and i have lost 11 lbs.

good luck and don't get discouraged!! 🙂 

[JenniLacey]

You lost fluid and gained it back. Probably due to the change in diet and being new to exercise (depleting and refilling of glycogen stores). Scale weight is not always a good indication of progress because it doesn't isolate fat-loss.

1200 calories is the bare minimum calorie requirement a woman should eat. The more you restrict your calories (the larger the deficit) the more likely you are to rebound. It is also likely not enough calories for the average woman especially one who works out.

[tsteele]

Same thing happended to me. I lost a lot of weight quickly then stalled completely for around 4 weeks. I increased my activity (I average minimum 25000 steps a day) I started doing extra zumba onto of my steps, etc. I reduced calories. I did EVERYTHING I was supposted to do. 

Last week I ended up in Hospital (Unrelated) I had zero steps for 3 days and ate things I would never eat at home like bread and juice, dairy, etc. 

Today I weighed myself and I'm down 5lbs. 

I did some research and if you have only just started to work out or have recenty increased your work outs them your muscles will be holding water for protection. 

This is the only explination I have for my weight loss. Ive cut my steps down to 15000 while im recovering but also to see whats going on... 

Oh and another tip for you!! Watch you Carb intake. I didnt start to loose weight really until i cut out carbs (50g a day max) 

[JenniLacey]

You don't need to reduce your carbs to lose fat. Although it may help you shed fluid weight... completely unnecessary and the carb-blues/flu are not worth it in my opinion. I lost 60 lbs in 8 months without reducing carbs.

And there is quite the difference in the carbs you choose:

Healthy carbs- vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes/lentils.

Unhealthy carbs- refined grains and added sugars; pastries, cake, cookies, donuts, soda, candy, etc.

[tsteele]

Each to their own I guess! The only way ive dropped weight is by reducing carbs. I guess every body is different and needs a different style of weight lose. Ive had no adverse effects from reducing. In fact I feel amazing! I sleep better, more energy. Ive lost a lot of weight to so its def not fluid! All up im at 25lbs lost.

[Marmor610]

How were your able to lose 60 lbs in 8 months? That’s awesome. Any suggestions?

[vishalghatul1]

maybe you should try yoga. i have been doing yoga past 6 months and lost 7 kg. i couldnt go out in pandemic so decided to yoga and it helped me. swimming is also good exercise.

[Marmor610]

Thank you so much for responding. I’ve actually been thinking about swimming. And, congratulations on your weight loss! Thanks again.

Sent from my iPhone

[Glenda]

@Marmor610  You were responding to something posted in 2014.  So don't be offended that tsteele didn't answer you.  Also when someone loses lots of weight you can judge the situation better if you know how much they weighed to begin with and how tall they are.  It would be so helpful if people would share that info along with how much they lost in some amount  of time.