What am I doing wrong????

[krisfram]

After starting and stopping a ton of times I really am putting 100% behind this effort to lose weight.  I have pretty much cut out soda (from 3 to 4 cans a day to 1 can a week).  Increased my water intake from nothing to 64 oz a day.  Eating  less crap and better food.  1/2 cup oatmeal for breakfast, a spinach salad with low cal itialian dressing for dinner and a small sensable meal for supper.  I've even started to get active.  for sitting on my behind to a 20 min walk and 30 min jog everyday.

Since I have started I have gained .4 lbs.  I know that isn't much but I'm hoping for a loss.

Any tips on what I'm doing wrong or am I not giving it enough time????

Help!

[davisj16usmc]

Kris, Don't get discouraged; when changing your lifestyle so drastically, you will always see gains before a loss. I also recently made the decision to get into better shape. I weighed in at 242 on day one, by my second week I gained 10 pounds from increased exercise (this is due to pushing around extra weight that you are not used to, and it pays off the further you progress). On week three I now weigh in at 235 and have lost 7 pounds. I also run between 1.5 and 4 miles a day depending on how motivated I feel, the average being about 2 miles. Circumstances will vary from individual to individual and it may take a little longer to actually lose those initial pounds. Continue striving for a better and brighter future, tell yourself you'll succeed, and utilize the people you hold dear to help keep your motivation! A simple but useful tip: Only weigh yourself once a week at most. Also, make sure your activities are pressing your limits. Hitting those cardio and peak heart rate zones are going to give you the best results. I know it sounds weird, but one of the phrases used in the athletic world is: "If you're not sore when you finish, you didn't do it right.". This doesn't mean to cause yourself severe pain, but you should feel slight discomfort in your muscles after you finish. Your food intake (based on your description) seems to be fine, but keep in mind; as your activity levels increase, so should your food intake. You don't want to fall short on nutrition and harm yourself in the long run. Beachbody, MyFitnessPal, and other websites similar in nature are good places to communicate with others who have dieting down to its direct science. A lot more goes into it than just cutting down on carbs, calories, or sugars. Keep us updated and stay motivated, I have a group called Operation Steel Eagle on the Fitbit website that you can feel free to join for some extra motivation from time to time. I am trying my best to increase the amount of active people in the group so we can all motivate each other! Hope to hear back with more good news! -Jamie

[USAF-Larry]

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@krisfram wrote:

Any tips on what I'm doing wrong or am I not giving it enough time????

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You probably haven't done anything wrong. And, it sounds like you are doing a lot of things right! But, when you first start exercising after having been sedentary for a long time, your body begins to build muscle mass, and it may build that muscle mass faster than it burns stored fat. That will result in minor, temporary weight gains.

The real test is measurements. Is your waist decreasing in size? Are your clothes getting loose fitting?

Word of caution: Don't overdo diet and exercise changes such that they cannot be maintained long term. If you deprive yourself too much of foods you really like, or things you really like to do, it will come back to haunt you and followed by binging, etc. A slow, steady course is best.

[shipo]

@krisfram, another aspect may well be water; with your increased activity levels, especially in the warmer months, your body requires more water to be held to guard against overheating.  When the warm weather hits, my weight goes up a few pounds, as does the weight of most of the runners I coach.

[JohnRi]

Make sure you are eating enough.  I know sounds strange, but if you eat too little, you can gain weight.  For most women a diet of 1200-1300 is the minimum number of calories you should eat.  Eat less than that leads to muscle loss, and fat % increase. 

My wife is very active, yet she gained weight.  She had a bad habit of only eating around 800 calories a day.  She increased her diet to 1500-1800, and has now lost 40 lbs.  Her BMI is 25 now, and she's in the healthy weight range.  But due to years of not eating enough she is a healthy weight, but overfat.  So she's going to have to continue losing weight and hopefully fat in the process. 

My other thought is you might be drinking too much water.  A rough guide is the color of your urine.  If you urine color is clear then you are hydrated.  If you urine is dark, then you are dehydrated.  Or if you are urinating all the time, probably over hydrated.  If you hardly urinate at all, de hydrated. 

There is often a weight loss lag.  IE what you do today, you might not see results for a week or two, or even longer.  So #1 rule, keep at it.  Regardless what the scale says.

Second thing the scale lies.  What I mean by that, a typical weight scale can only tell your weight.  You have no idea how much water weight you have, whether you need to go to the bathroom, and as woman, you have to deal with your monthly cycle. 

A better way to know how you are doing is get a clothing tape measure, and once a week, take your measurements.  Write them down, and review them after a month or two.  Keep logging your measurements.  Often we lose fat, gain muscle at similar rates.  And see very little weight loss.  But our measurements change!  We just can't notice it.  I never noticed that my biceps had gotten smaller, until I realized one day take my blood pressure, that my arm was at least 1 1/2 inchs smaller than it used to be.

Another thing you can do is get into tight or form fitting clothing, and take a picture from head to toe on the first day of the month.  Then compare them from month to month and hopefully you see changes.  I go back and look at old photos and all I can see is the change in my face. 

So give it time.  And keep at it!!!

[A_Lurker]

Kris, how long has it been since you made these changes?  Depending on your age it could also be your monthly cycle causing more water retention.  Years ago I could almost pin point when it was going to start... gain, gain, gain - no mater what I was doing, then whoosh and it was gone almost overnight.

[bcalvanese]

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@krisfram wrote:

After starting and stopping a ton of times I really am putting 100% behind this effort to lose weight.  I have pretty much cut out soda (from 3 to 4 cans a day to 1 can a week).  Increased my water intake from nothing to 64 oz a day.  Eating  less crap and better food.  1/2 cup oatmeal for breakfast, a spinach salad with low cal itialian dressing for dinner and a small sensable meal for supper.  I've even started to get active.  for sitting on my behind to a 20 min walk and 30 min jog everyday.

Since I have started I have gained .4 lbs.  I know that isn't much but I'm hoping for a loss.

Any tips on what I'm doing wrong or am I not giving it enough time????

Help!

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What I think you are doing wrong is going from one extreme to the other too fast. You may be setting yourself up for failure by doing that.

The best way to do it is "slow" and steady. Don't try to do it all at once. Do it over months and years (not weeks). Use that time to "slowly" turn your bad habits into good habits, and "slowly" work towards getting at least 30 minutes to an hour of cardio every day (if you can), and "slowly" make it a daily habit.

If you want to weigh yourself daily, that's fine. But just know that your weight can vary +/- up to 5 lbs. from one day to the next, and thats normal. What you want to look for is trends over months.

Track your food and "slowly" replace junk foods with healthier foods

It takes years of developing bad habits to get fat, so the best long term plan is to take enough time to turn them into good habits and "slowly" get healthy.

Hope this helps,

[krisfram]

This is only week 3.  It just the two previous weeks of weigh going up that hurts the motivation.

[krisfram]

I only do a once a week weigh in.  I think any more than that and I would have given up on week 1.  I haven't gone cold turkey on junk food and soda...just cut back a lot and I don't really crave it.  I just want to see instant results and realize that isn't going to happen...I just hope something happens in the long run.

[USAF-Larry]

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@krisfram wrote:

I just want to see instant results and realize that isn't going to happen...

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This is the problem with the high tech world we live in today - everyone wants instant gratification, which usually isn't there. The results of our actions will always come, but not always instantly. Remember always, Slow Progress is better than No Progress! Stay away from the junk foods and the sodas, and you will see long term progress.

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I just hope something happens in the long run.

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It will, it will...   Make it something positive!

[JamieS_Wisco]

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@krisfram wrote:

I only do a once a week weigh in.  I think any more than that and I would have given up on week 1.  I haven't gone cold turkey on junk food and soda...just cut back a lot and I don't really crave it.  I just want to see instant results and realize that isn't going to happen...I just hope something happens in the long run.

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Keep at it @krisfram!  Unfortunately, there are no "instant results".  Look for smaller changes to begin with.  Try on a pair of pants that used to be snug.  Do they feel any better?  How's your energy level?  Better?  Mood?  Better?  These might be better early signs than that scale. 

The scale also doesn't tell you how awesome you are or congratulate you for the effort you have put in so far.  Just gives you a number.  That number has no impact on who you are!  Don't let it get to you.

Soda and Junk food are not your friends.  Time to break up with them.  Or if you want to say yes to them, realize that you are saying no to your other goals.  Go for healthier options for snacks.

[bcalvanese]

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@krisfram wrote:

I only do a once a week weigh in.  I think any more than that and I would have given up on week 1.  I haven't gone cold turkey on junk food and soda...just cut back a lot and I don't really crave it.  I just want to see instant results and realize that isn't going to happen...I just hope something happens in the long run.

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It took me over a year but I lost 57 lbs. (about 1 lb. per week), and I did it primarily from power walking every day. I also learned how to eat a little smarter and healthier. I have soda, chips, cake, but I just don't over do it.

My pants size went from a 38 (getting ready to go to 40) to a 32. My fitness level is much better (can power walk about 10 miles at a 4.0 to 4.5 mph pace), and all my blood work is normal now (used to be pretty bad).

I only ballpark my food, and once I get my fitness level to a high standard, I wont ever have to worry about a healthy weight. It will happen all by itself.

I would much rather suffer through a couple years of getting to a high fitness level than being on a diet roller coaster for the rest of my life.

Keep at it and you can succeed.

[shipo]

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@bcalvanese wrote:

I would much rather suffer through a couple years of getting to a high fitness level than being on a diet roller coaster for the rest of my life.

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That is the best quote I've seen regarding fitness and weight loss in a long-long time.  🙂

[bcalvanese]

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@shipo wrote:

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@bcalvanese wrote:

I would much rather suffer through a couple years of getting to a high fitness level than being on a diet roller coaster for the rest of my life.

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That is the best quote I've seen regarding fitness and weight loss in a long-long time.  🙂

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Oh Snap...:)

[bcalvanese]

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@shipo wrote:

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@bcalvanese wrote:

I would much rather suffer through a couple years of getting to a high fitness level than being on a diet roller coaster for the rest of my life.

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That is the best quote I've seen regarding fitness and weight loss in a long-long time.  🙂

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I have another quote that I use quite often...

"If ya ain't huff-in and puff-in and sweat-in, ya ain't do-in it right."

[GiaKat]

Have you measured your body?

Neck

Arms (R/L)

Stomach

Hips

Thighs (R/L)

Everyone is correct- when you start working out and cutting out the bad stuff adding back in the good, the weight goes up because muscle is being built. Every day is new day and every step forward is one in the right direction.

Remember- we didn't gain all our weight over night and it won't disappear over night.

Weigh once a week at the same time (or as close to it)

measure your body once a month and you'll begin to notice it there before the scale.

#KICKBUTT you got this!

[Dominique]

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@GiaKat wrote:

when you start working out and cutting out the bad stuff adding back in the good, the weight goes up because muscle is being built. Every day is new day and every step forward is one in the right direction.

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You are right: exercising more and making healthier choices in your diet are steps in the right direction. However, merely walking and jogging will not add any significant amount of muscle, especially not for a woman who is dieting. The optimal conditions for building muscle are: 1) doing resistance training (= lifting weights), 2) eating enough protein, 3) eating at a surplus. Even when all three conditions are met, it’s a very slow process, especially for women, and older men (same reason: lower testosterone). So any weight gain observed when you’re eating at a deficit (or think you’re eating at a deficit) is usually caused by other reasons than building new muscle. 

[Dominique]

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@krisfram wrote:

I have pretty much cut out soda (from 3 to 4 cans a day to 1 can a week).  Increased my water intake from nothing to 64 oz a day.  Eating  less crap and better food.  1/2 cup oatmeal for breakfast, a spinach salad with low cal itialian dressing for dinner and a small sensable meal for supper.  I've even started to get active.  for sitting on my behind to a 20 min walk and 30 min jog everyday.

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You’re describing the actions you’ve taken in a mostly qualitative way: you’ve reduced soda (good), drink more water (good), you’re eating less crap (good), better food (good), you’ve increased your physical actvity (good). All this is fine, but have you established all these actions have resulted in a caloric deficit? Weight loss is a numbers game, so you also need to take a quantitative approach. Calories from better food don’t offset those from bad food: they add up. Walking and jogging have clear benefits for your health, but 50 minutes a day won’t burn that many calories: you can easily eat/drink 500 calories in less than five minutes, but it will probably take more than an hour on the treadmill to burn the same amount, so for most people, it’s far more efficient to pay attention to what you’re eating/drinking. Have you tried logging your intake, even for a limited period of time (e.g. one week)?

[AshleyAMoyer]

When did you start I didnt start seeing results for almost 1.5 weeks because my body had to adjust to the changes.

[krisfram]

Week four FINALLY see a move in the right direction.  This makes me not want to give up and keep up with the walking and running.  Thank you everyone for the advice.  I have taken it all into account and I think that is part of the downward motion also!