[northcarolina RN]

well this just sucks. I am into my third week of dieting. lost 3 pounds the first two weeks and last week increased my exercise! I was so proud of the fact that I got in the exercise all week and felt great, (except for some of those exercise pains in my legs lol) then I step on the scale. NOTHING. Not even one pound!!!! I was so sad that I cried. How do you deal with a week that you have no loss??? Sorry for the pity party, but I really was very upset about it. I hope that I don't have another week like that.

[nikki531]

I know how frustrating it is to work your butt off and not have anything to show for it. My suggestion, (this is what I've been doing), is to weigh AND measure. If you are working out really hard, you are probably building more muscle. This will affect how your scale reads. Your body may start to shrink, but the scale won't drop a pound. I've been doing this for 3 weeks and it has helped me a lot! I have continuously lost inches, but have only dropped about 5 pounds total.
But whatever you decide to do, keep your head up! The fact that you are working hard at getting healthier is something to be very proud of!

[Shannon in ATL]

I would imagine that you are retaining some water from your new exercise routine. Every time I changed or added things to my exercise routine I retained water - sometimes as much as 6 pounds.

I found that I didn't lose every week. I kept a spreadsheet with my weekly weights and my average loss was around 1.8 pounds per week. Some weeks zero, some weeks 3-4, some weeks gained. If you are doing everything right with the food and the exercise don't worry so much - give it a couple of weeks and I imagine you will lose again.

It will settle back out. Just keep on track.

[thundahthighs]

I had that kind of week last week. Don't give up!!!

[Eliana]

Yep, I would count this almost as a loss even though it stayed the same because your muscles do retain water in order to repair themselves. I've heard its about 2 lbs. It's a wee bit easier mentally if you think of it that way.

[lovingsam]

Over the past year I had many many many weeks where I didn't see a drop on the scale. Sometimes I could pinpoint it to how I was eating or a lack of exercise. But sometimes I was perfectly on plan and still no movement on the scale. When you are doing everything right and you don't see those results on the scale, I know how utterly frustrating that can be. But it does happen and you can't let it derail you and all the effort you have put in. Looking back through my journal it's apparent that for me, my weight loss has never been linear. I will have weeks with no loss and then a week with a pretty good whoosh. But I've found that if I stick with it, the weight would eventually come off. Hang in there. The weeks where the scale won't cooperate are always the most frustrating, but if you keep working toward your goal you will see the scale start to move.

[Lizzie2010]

Why are you "proud of yourself until..."?! Be proud of yourself, period!!!! Don't let the scale be the sole determinant of your success. Minutes exercised... calories not eaten... the number of happier, more confident moments... inches lost... These are just as important, if not moreso.

[northcarolina RN]

^^ thanks for the support everyone. I am just going to keep going this week. My goal is to drink more water...and keep on the exercise. It's getting warmer here so I can start to get out more too. Hugs to all.

[eilla05]

I feel ya! For the last two weeks I have gained! As of right now I am up two whole pounds from the week I started kicking it into high gear. Just keep going and that scale will move!

[LIgirlatHeart]

For two weeks I didn't lose a pound..and my first two weeks they were! On the third week I was losing .2, .2 etc. I am down 3 pounds on my third week! It was very hard especially while my boyfriend was down about 2 pounds everyday! But it was better than gaining and I know I didn't get this way over night! One thing I am trying to learn along with my new eating habits is patience. Good Luck!