I'm not losing anything

I don't know what's going on. I have been on My Fitness Pal for a couple of weeks now and haven't lst a thing- not a single pound! I gave myself a big goal so I have a 1200 calorie diet each day. During the week and I can stick to it pretty well, weekends not as well. But either way, I should be losing weight by now.
I started gaining weight towards the end of the summer because I was eating out a lot- almost daily between my DS being done with camp and two back to back trips. I wound up 8lbs over my normal weight of 130. I did the cabbage soup diet for my SIL wedding and went back to normal. And even though I have been eating much better since then, I still managed to put those 8lbs back on. And now the scale won't budge.
I teach dance to kids, and I went back to work in late September. So even though it's not a full cardio workout, I teach 3-5 hours a day 4 times a week. I also take Zumba 2 mornings a week. I just don't get why I'm not losing anything.

Re: I'm not losing anything

Well first of all, any crash diet is going to make you gain weight when you go back to eating normally. No more of those

You probably need to up your calories. Unless you are sitting at a desk alllll day, my guess is that you are burning more calories than you think and leaving you with <1200 net calls a day. Just raising it a little to 1250 or 1300 could help.

You need to track every day and be more accountable, when I slip up even a little on the weekends it shows all week.

Also, increase your protein intake drastically and cut back on carbs as much as you can, that will make a difference as well.

Lastly, NO alcohol. That will make you retain water like crazy.

Good luck!

Re: I'm not losing anything

Posted by headoverheels

Well first of all, any crash diet is going to make you gain weight when you go back to eating normally. No more of those

You probably need to up your calories. Unless you are sitting at a desk alllll day, my guess is that you are burning more calories than you think and leaving you with <1200 net calls a day. Just raising it a little to 1250 or 1300 could help.

You need to track every day and be more accountable, when I slip up even a little on the weekends it shows all week.

Also, increase your protein intake drastically and cut back on carbs as much as you can, that will make a difference as well.

Lastly, NO alcohol. That will make you retain water like crazy.

Good luck!

Re: I'm not losing anything

1. The weekend will totally kill anything you've done during the week. It totally sucks but it is what it is. I've lost 3 pounds in a week and gained in back in a day. Between salts and sugars, you can pack on weight really quickly.

2. 1200 calories MAY not be enough if you are exercising. Before upping your calories, I would consider the source of your calories - are you getting enough protein? Is there too much processed foods/sugars? 1200 may be enough calories - just not the right type.

Re: I'm not losing anything

Re: I'm not losing anything

Posted by nferrandi

Posted by LiveForMoments

1. The weekend will totally kill anything you've done during the week. It totally sucks but it is what it is. I've lost 3 pounds in a week and gained in back in a day. Between salts and sugars, you can pack on weight really quickly.

2. 1200 calories MAY not be enough if you are exercising. Before upping your calories, I would consider the source of your calories - are you getting enough protein? Is there too much processed foods/sugars? 1200 may be enough calories - just not the right type.

The weekends we go out to eat with the kids at least once. I've definitely been making better choices, but they're still probably not stellar. And we usually have at least one party each weekend, and that doesn't make it easy either. I really need to have more will power in those situations.
As for the type of food, I think it's somewhere in the middle. I won't pretend that I don't eat processed foods ever- I use flavored creamer in my coffee everyday and deli turkey often enough. But I also eat a decent amount of home cooked meals and make soups when I can. My protein counts are always pretty good. I do sometimes go over on sugar or sodium, but I've been making an effort to keep those in check.
I guess I just need to keep at it and hope that it starts to work soon.

Re: I'm not losing anything

Keep in mind, being in shape isn't necessarily about losing weight. Remember..muscle weighs more then fat.
Also, I'm not a fan of using scales that much, but maybe 1 or 2x's a week weight yourself in the am (your true weight) and in the pm and see how you did during the day.

Also, although teaching dance to kids is great, it's different then actually dancing. If you can add in some time to strength train, even if it's for 20 minutes at home. I'm doing the zwow workouts on youtube and must of them are only 30 minute workouts, some even 15.

Finally, it's great that you're eating healthy but remember it's not only the quality of the food but the quantity of food. 90% of us eat a larger serving then what's necessary.

HTH

Re: I'm not losing anything

I wasn't losing weight- I realized that I would get "vegan" muffins and other treats a few times a week plus drinking on the weekends- duh....

I read a non-diet book called the compound effect and this really clicked

plus all my years of yo- yo dieting- I am doing a diet from my doctor for the next 6 weeks to reset my metabolism