No weight loss after 3 weeks of diet and exercise

[xsaracatx]

Hi everyone!

Some background context. I lost 110 lbs 7 years ago and managed to maintain that loss all of those years. Then I sprained my knee which put me out of commission for 6 months and I gained around 20 lbs in that time. Now that my knee is completely healed I am trying to lose that weight plus an extra 10 lbs. 

For the past 3 weeks I have been cycling 30 minutes everyday and eating 1400 calories. I am 5'10 and 193 lbs. I have been weighing my food religiously so I am really stumped as to why I'm not losing anything (the scale has gone up). 

I'm just wondering if anyone else has been in the same boat as me and how you got out of it?

[Tourny]

I found that the methods i used in my 20s didn’t work in my 30s, and the methods i used in my 30s didn’t work in my 40s.

Times change. If it’s not working, switch things up until they do.

[cwb4tx]

I have started trying to loose 20 to 30 lbs recently and it seems to be much more difficult than when I was younger. I suspect this is because my body has changed it's set points in terms of ideal weight and other things.

I think everyone is different so my advice may or may not work the same for you. 

I have started including partial fasting into my routine in order to reduce my insulin resistance. (i.e. only eat during a 6-8 hour period each day.) 

This has helped me get over a zero weight loss situation. 

Helpful video link that may explain what fasting is and how it may improve/change your health/metabolism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9deRK3E7iPs

[Baltoscott]

@xsaracatx -- I'm trying to lose some weight this year and started reporting my progress on Mondays in this thread. Feel free to join if you like; maybe others will too!

Like you, I actually gained weight during the first three weeks of trying this time around. It is frustrating, but you've got to trust the process. If still aren't losing in a few more weeks, take a hard look at how much you are eating and exercising. If you don't log it when you eat it, there's a very good chance you not really counting everything. As for exercise, stick to the 30 minute daily bike rides and maybe add a second later in the day. Also, walking and biking more of the places you have to go (grocery store, etc) is an excellent way to increase daily activity without trying to find more time just to work out.

[808Panda]

Have you seen changes in body fat or measurements?  Sometimes the scale is slow to show progress but other measures may work?

[Gershon]

It's possible you are retaining water due to some medical condition. I suggest checking with your doctor.

[ralley]

Sometimes it’s really difficult to lose some extra pounds. I had this problem for a long time. I tried various methods, diets and exercises and nothing helped. I couldn’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Then I decided to change my meal plan and tried this one Klinio meal plan. I also worked out regularly and I lost 40 lbs in 3 months. I was surprised with the result, I really returned in good shape.

[Dusthound]

Yeah, I'm going through a similar situation. My back was a mess for the last couple years. I had surgery in March and I am finally able to do most of the things I couldn't for so long. I have been really busy and last week I ate like a monk. I stepped on the scale and actually gained a pound. What's up with that. I have always been fitness minded and think I may be reclaiming some of the muscle I have lost while losing fat. I hope so. I'm not giving up. I am hearing walking is by far the best exercise for loosing weight. Good luck. 

[Zodd]

Studies show people underreport their calories and I myself also have this experience. Therefore the first thing I would look into is doublechecking if the measurements of the calories consumed is correct. Very often it could be a matter of not being precise enough with weighing the ingredients, for example when cooking with oils. When you aren't using measuring equipment for oils you could easily lose track of hundreds of kcals each day. Likewise, you could simply make an error regarding a daily food you're eating. Take for example slices of cheese, you might log it as just a slice of cheese, but the slices you buy from your supermarket might be bigger. In the latter situation I would advise to carefully look on the package to determine how much a slice weighs, or if that's not possible, simply weigh a slice. Again, if you eat 4 slices a day that too can add up to about 200 calories. Also, food databases can be confusing, for example when it comes to canned food whether it's the drained weight or the undrained weight which should be logged, or in regards to bananas, whether the peel should be logged or not. Lastly, it's easy to forget certain food items which you consume.

Keep in mind you bicycling for half an hour each day for commuting burns about 150 kcals, whereas a single dose of mismeasuring cooking oil could account for about the same amount of energy depending on how much you use and how much your calculation is off.