Two weeks of tracking and no change!!

[LisaDahl]

OK, so I am using a fitbit charge, synced with my fitness pal. They are both set to 1lbs per week and have about a about 50 calorie difference in their recommended intake.I am currently averaging 6k steps per day, if I work for it! (I work a desk job)

I received my fitbit for christmas and officially started this "journey" on Dec. 27th, weighing in at 221.6. Coming up on my third week of consistent tracking.

Weighed in today at.... 221.6!!

I know my scale is fine, becuase I have seen different weights, depending on what I ate the night before etc. However I only log my Monday morning weight.

My diet isn't perfect of course, but If I maintain a defecit of 500 per day/3500 a week.. shouldn't I have lost SOMETHING!!!

Anyone else have this problem? I have bumped my goal up to 1.5 per week, so maybe that will help!

[JRhett]

Weight loss and body comp is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Not only does there need to be a calorie deficit, it should also be the right mix. Focus on drastically cutting the carbs (tough if you love breads and pasta like I do)  and upping the proteins. Drink lots of H20, 80 oz or more a day. I have lost 35-40 lbs since June. Have completely stopped drinking diet soda and feel much better for it. Exercise has consequentially gotten much more pleasurable. Stick wth it, it will happen.

[hffn_n_pffn]

To echo what JRhett said, it is not just calorie deficit you need.  If you have a calorie deficit but are still over eating carbs, it is not going to have an effect.

I have a desk job also, and it is tough to get the steps.  Couple of suggestions, if you want them:  1) if you have a water cooler, use a 16 oz water bottle and drink it every 90 minutes or so.  You should fill up 5 times during the day, which will up your water intake, which is also key to weight loss.  I drink more than half my body weight per day; 2) because you are drinking more water, you will take more bathroom breaks, which will get you up and out of your desk; 3) if you have a lunch break, take 10-15 minutes and walk outside your building, or around the hallways.  I work in a three floor building, and I will take a walk starting on the third floor and work my way down, then come back to my desk.  Takes me about 10-15 minutes; 4) walk/run before or after work.  1 mile is about 2,000 steps.  Average walker's pace is 16:00 - 18:00 per mile.  Get 2 miles in before you even go to work, and that will up those steps.

Can friend me if you want.  Can keep each other motivated!  Either way, good luck.

[melly11]

Hi

I've been in the Cambridge diet since September2014 and have lost 32lbs.

I bought my tracker just after Christmas to help motivate me to lose another 20.

This last week I have reached the goals EVERY day,steps,calories burned and active minutes yet at tonights weigh in only lost .25lb

I worked so hard, was completely focused.

My dietician said its because I'm not eating enough now..  The Cambridge diet is 1000 cals per day and I'm burning a minimum of 2500so my body has probably gone into starvation!

What does everyone think?

Should I come off Cambridge and just eat healthy food if I'm doing all this exercise...which I'm really enjoying by the way ☺

Please postyoiur thoughts

[wtksk8r · Accepted solution]

@LisaDahl Don't get discouraged.  Your body has self regulating and feedback mechanisms.  Your metabolism makes adjustments when you initially start the regime and your weight tends to remain stable for a while.  When I worked on losing 50 pounds 4 years ago it took about a month or so with very little weight loss before my body decided to get with the new food intake and then the weight loss became steady.  I lost 50 pounds in a year and my wife lost 40 that same year.

Also note that you will hit plateaus in the middle when the weight loss will stall.  It usually lasts a couple of weeks to a month.  It is almost like your body wants some time to get used to the new weight before moving on.

Stay the course and good luck with the effort!

[SuzR]

Melly, your dietician is right!  According to everything I've read, if you limit your caloric intake to severely, your body will go into "starvation" mode and save every calorie it can!  You need to be eating healthy balanced meals in moderate serving sizes.  Besides, do you plan to do this Cambridge diet the rest of your life?  I doubt it (and hope not!).  Rather than focusing on a "diet" we all need to be making a lifestyle change that includes healthy eating and exercise;  otherwise, when we stop whatever "diet" we've been on and revert back to old habits, we'll just gain back the weight.  Your body will thank you for the lifestyle change, you will be lowering your chances for potentially life-threatening health issues (not just weight) in the future!

Good luck!  I know it's difficult.  I've been bouncing back and forth with the same 5 lbs off and on for months now, because I haven't been doing what I KNOW I need to do.  Now that the holidays are over though, I'm getting serious about the healthy eating habits, that way when the 2015 holiday season rolls around they will be ingrained in me and it won't be so difficult!!

I know I can do it, and I know you can too!!

[Heybales]

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@LisaDahl wrote:

OK, so I am using a fitbit charge, synced with my fitness pal. They are both set to 1lbs per week and have about a about 50 calorie difference in their recommended intake.I am currently averaging 6k steps per day, if I work for it! (I work a desk job)

I received my fitbit for christmas and officially started this "journey" on Dec. 27th, weighing in at 221.6. Coming up on my third week of consistent tracking.

Weighed in today at.... 221.6!!

I know my scale is fine, becuase I have seen different weights, depending on what I ate the night before etc. However I only log my Monday morning weight.

My diet isn't perfect of course, but If I maintain a defecit of 500 per day/3500 a week.. shouldn't I have lost SOMETHING!!!

Anyone else have this problem? I have bumped my goal up to 1.5 per week, so maybe that will help!

---

Since diet is all that is needed for weight loss, is the other scale working correctly?

Are you weighing and logging accurately all food that goes in your mouth?

Calories is per gram, not cups or spoons.

Liquids being the exception for measuring.

Is your weigh-in time valid to minimize known and expected water weight fluctuations?

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

And when did you start the exercise routine, and what is it?

Because exercise is for body improvements, and that does not have as side effect weight loss, but usually water gain.

Diet is for weight loss, done right just fat, done wrong includes muscle mass.

So to point above, don't think bigger is better, though that isn't the issue yet. It could be.

[josephz2va]

I use "Harder" -1000 calorie deficit. Try not to go overboard on food consumption. Especially on Good Foods and Bad Foods.

Even though we're starving ourselves doing that, it's important to monitor the efficiency in Good Foods consumption (ie: Nothing that looks like McD's, Bob Evans, IHOP, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell, Subway, etc).

Minimize how much sitting you are doing through the day. 95% of the average user's efficiency goes to Sedentary (Sitting at the desk, driving, on the couch, in bed). 1-2 hours a day average walking and workouts and 22 hours mostly sitting.

If you have a whey protein shake, utilize only one serving a day. Don't go over one serving or eat protein bars. That's one of the worst mistakes I did hopping up loads of weight. Eat as clean and efficient as possible. A dietitian can provide a list of foods that are recommended for eating clean. Personal trainers can recommend a list as well or you can type "Foods for building lean muscle" which reduces fat.

[LisaDahl]

Hey bales, to answer your questions:
I do 30 minutes of an aerobic video 5 nights a week, starting on the day I started wearing the Fitbit. No weight training or high intensity yet. Slowly building a routine.

I record all of my food with the myfitnesspal app, and I do measure religiously by a weight machine. Ounces and grams.
I weigh in Monday mornings when I first wake, after using the restroom. I weigh bare to minimize any clothing fluctuations.

[Steinwand]

Hi! I also was having a really hard time with the scale not moving. I was walking like crazy and not getting anywhere. I started using an activity tracker and read the book Wheat Belly. It was great so I picked up Wheat Belly Total Health that came out just this last August. I started applying it along with the exercise and the scale has been going down almost daily. The cleaner I eat the better I do. That being said... Im not perfect so some days are better than others. I dont regularly drink sodas (hardly at all). Ive been staying out of the inner isles of the grocery store. Eating more real whole foods. I encourage you to check out these books. Great information in them on how our bodies respond to things. My skin is looking better too. Good luck!

[Heybales]

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@LisaDahl wrote:
Hey bales, to answer your questions:
I do 30 minutes of an aerobic video 5 nights a week, starting on the day I started wearing the Fitbit. No weight training or high intensity yet. Slowly building a routine.

I record all of my food with the myfitnesspal app, and I do measure religiously by a weight machine. Ounces and grams.
I weigh in Monday mornings when I first wake, after using the restroom. I weigh bare to minimize any clothing fluctuations.

---

So only things left for false weight gain masking what is really happening.

Scale could be not consistent, even though it sounds like a decent weigh-in day - unless Sun is big salt day of course. Water fluctuations will far outweight clothing fluctuations.

If you step on, then off, then on, scale a few times, it's always within 0.2 lbs?

The aerobics as a new routine could easily be still adding water to body.

Even though when first starting a diet, you lose glycogen stores in muscles to some degree, and the attached water (first week big weight drop, mainly water), you've also started a workout routine that if out of shape is really burning the carbs up.

Body's response to that exercise then, besides getting more aerobically fit - store more carbs than prior, with attached water.

And if the type of workout that you can increase intensity by going harder, probably sweating more too, so body puts more water in the blood.

Also your blood delivery system expands anyway to get oxygen to the muscles now using it, so even more blood.

Yep, all kinds of reasons you could be showing no weight loss. And it probably is intense as intervals and lifting to you, depending on how out of shape you were.

You measured your body in many spots? Because no one sees you naked on your scale and the resulting weight.

But they do see your measurements when they look at you. And since a pound of fat mainly in one area has a lot of volume, more than a pound of water spread out over all your muscles, you can easily see inches drop before pounds drop.

But you'll stop gaining water weight, then inches and weight will drop.

The 1000 cal deficit was reasonable, the 1500 may be too much. I'd stick with 1000.

And measuring is the term for volume, cups and spoons. Weighing is what you are doing, so that's great.

[wink332]

Just keep this in mind also, women who have menstral cycles will stop losing the week of and sometimes the week before. No worries the bloat is water weight and will come off, usually you'll see this after your cycle has ended for a day or two. Good luck You can do it!

[Heybales]

Good point, BMR literally changes through the month also, so not truly as much burned as is said, but it balances out through the month from high to low.

[cutie]

I'm with ya sister.  I've been stuck since December.  Walk daily, love water. 1200 a day.  NO LOSS???

[cutie]

Where do you get it and what is it? Drink, tablet?
Sent from my iPhone

[Urchin]

First off, stay away from whatever NicoleMcD is tryihg to sell you.

Second, don't get discouraged! It sounds like you are doing really good so far. Like others have suggested  make sure you are eating good, healthy foods.

Since it has only been a couple weeks, it is very possible that your new exercise routine may be causing a temporary stall. I know that whenever I start exercising after going a long time without, I gain a few pounds at first.

Keep at it!

[parrow]

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@Urchin wrote:

First off, stay away from whatever NicoleMcD is tryihg to sell you.

Second, don't get discouraged! It sounds like you are doing really good so far. Like others have suggested  make sure you are eating good, healthy foods.

Since it has only been a couple weeks, it is very possible that your new exercise routine may be causing a temporary stall. I know that whenever I start exercising after going a long time without, I gain a few pounds at first.

Keep at it!

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 I hear everything you all are saying about trying to get ANY  results after trying and trying. Getting very discouraged. ....  I have recently synced with MFP..tracking my intake of food with knowing how much i am burning.     Increased my calories to 1450 ( had not been eating nearly that) while also adding intervals (running) to my cardio in November.  Work out with a weight trainer 2x s a week for an hour,. plus 6  days of cardio.(20-30 min on wwight training days and 45-50 min the other days)     I had my weight gain from Nov. to Jan. ..5 lbs... NOW ...i'm hoping my body is used to the calorie intake and I see some kind of a result soon .  The scale is not moving....My eating is pretty healthy...no white flour, sweets, i do have ezeikel bread in the morning.  Does time of day and the amount of calories  you eat at cetain times affect your losing weight ?  A nutritionist advised that since i burn the majority of my calories in the morning...then I should eat more  calories right after exercising at breakfast and lunch ....eat lighter at night and small protein snack before bed.this ...I'm sure i can lose the10lbs...I can't seem to get the formula right. Getting discourage. Could I be getting unreliable information from my Fitbi?.   Have seen similiar posts.  I'm open to any help or advice on this ...

[boatdiet73]

I have to eat 1200 -1275 calories per day in order to lose a pound a week and I work out 7 1/2-8/12 hours a week in exercise classes as well as walk around my classroom. My Fitness Pal recommended 1600 and I was losing nothing. Fit Bit recommended 1250. Good luck

I'm 5 ft. 11 and need to lose 25 more pounds. 

[parrow]

boatdiet73   

Thanks ..... I may just set my intake at 1200 for 2 weeks to see what happens..  Been at this for 7 weeks now...NOTHING....so what 's 2 more.....  question...how does fitbit determine how many calories.  I selected the 1450 because my trainer said i wasn't eating enough....

[cubb447]

Hello mame, hey I usually do not do alot of calorie counting just don't eat too much after 6:30 pm at nightm, this might be a suggestion you might try. Hope you have better luck. Carol Smith