[ChubsGalore]

I have been really watching what I eat for a whole week, and walking everyday and my weight was going down, but now it is back where I started, but I do notice myself getting smaller, and my clothes have gone down a size. any comments as to why my weight is the same? please help. I have been working at it really hard. I do my whey protein shakes for breakfast and dinner, for lunch I have chicken breast and veggies, and for snacks I do fruits... what gives? I am getting let down... please...

[Lovely]

A few things. Getting enough calories? Is it close to TOM? (That OFTEN causes a slight gain that goes away after a week.) Also, are you weighing at the same time each day?

For example this morning I weighed 5 lbs less than I do right now.

Finally, weight loss isn't linear. It's not going to go down the same every single day. It won't go down the same every single week, either. If that frustrates you, you probably want to set one day a week to check in with the scale, and then avoid it every other day.

[cheetara]

You could be gaining muscle. Scales do lie. If you are feeling it in your clothing, that's the best way to know for sure.

[HarpoChicoGroucho]

I would think it's just water weight. If you're truly sticking to healthy eating and exercise, you will lose weight. You might be eating too many calories (I recommend calorie counting/logging/food diary) especially at the beginning because it's easy to underestimate your daily calories. If you're walking a lot, then another possible explanation is that you're swapping fat for muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less space.

But DON'T get discouraged. The journey is full of bumps, setbacks, and frustration, but it's SO important to get past those first few weeks. And then it gets easier once the lifestyle change settles in.

[mandalinn82]

Well, first off, weight fluctuates for many reasons. There are some great threads on that here...

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115826

Are you eating the same things every day? Do you know how many calories you're getting in a day? Protein/fat?

Depending which kind of protein shake you're using, the size of your chicken breast, etc, you might be eating way too few calories for your current weight, or you might be eating too much...but if I had to bet, I'd say too little.

Your body will stop losing weight if you eat too little...basically, your body goes into panic mode, worrying that it is starving. So work out your calories and post here - we can help you out!

[cheetara]

CG, you and I both need to lose the same amount!
WE ARE IN THIS THING TOGETHER!!!

[broadabroad]

Sounds like you're making the mistake of fixating on the scales. The scale reading does not tell you how fat you are, remember - it just tells you what you weigh. If your body is getting smaller and your clothes have gone down a size, clearly you are getting rid of the fat - but if you're building muscle, muscle weighs more than fat. It takes up less space - there's less of you - but it will still register on the scale.

Remember that the scale is just ONE tool for measuring progress. Take measurements too (waist, hips, chest, breasts, arms, thighs, belly etc), and keep an eye on that to get another aspect of your progress towards goal.

Remember that your real goal is for your BODY to be smaller and firmer, not for your SCALE to point to a particular number - because that number can refer to any combination of bone, fat and muscle - you can have two people at the exact same weight and height, but if one of those people has been exercising and building muscle, then they'll look and be much fitter and slimmer than the other person, even if the scale can't tell the difference.

You're smarter than the scale. You KNOW you've made progress, so don't let it get you down!

[Tai]

Please be patient with yourself! I wish I had a better answer. Definitely don't get discouraged over this or give up.

[ChubsGalore]

Ok, this is what I am eating everyday......And please tell me if I need to cut down or eat more.

Breakfast ~ Whey protein shake.
Snack ~ Apple
Lunch ~ Whey protein Shake
Snack ~ Apple
Dinner ~ Baked chicken with mrs dash. and steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrot, and squash.
Snack ~ Fresh fruit salad
1 gallon water
1 hr. of fast pace walking, cardio, swinging my arms and waist.

I alternate the chicken meal at either dinner, or lunch...depending on my schedule. but I always have a shake at 2 meals.... do I need to add. or take away... please help... I need to be told...

[Czarria]

I'm not a pro myself, but I'm guessing you're eating to few calories which is scaring your body into holding on to EVERYTHING you eat. Do you feel starved, or are you ok? Also, don't weigh yourself everyday. I force myself to only weigh myself once a week. I'm thinking of pushing it to once every two weeks. it's going to take us a long time to lose the weight. Think of how long it took us to gain it, it didn't happen overnight. Believe me, i have to lose 120 lbs, I know how easy it is to get discouraged, but you've taken the first most important steps so don't give up ...

[Fat2skinnygurl]

Well there are two main things it could be:

1~Water weight, which is just the amount of water your body retains depending of the amount of salt you consume.

2~Muscle weight, which is just the extra weight from the muscles you are developing from exercising, and everyone knows, muscle weights more than fat!

So keep it up and don't be discouraged!

[mandalinn82]

Chubs - how much chicken (by weight) are you eating, and can you type us the nutrition label from the whey protein shake? How many calories those have can make a big difference...if they are 350 calorie shakes, you're just barely eating enough that most doctors wouldn't advise you against it (1200 calories a day...considered medically safe, but likely WAY too little for you regardless), but if they are 200 or so (like most), and your chicken and fruit are reasonable sizes your day has way too few calories for your body weight.

Let me just throw some sample numbers out there. Let's say your protein shakes are 200 calories, your chicken is 6 oz raw weight (a portion this size would be about the size of one and a half decks of cards), you eat 1 1/2 cups of fruit salad for dessert (the size of one and a half tennis balls) , and you are eating 2 cups of mixed veggies (1/2 a cup of each of the ones you listed) with dinner. That'd break your calories down approximately as follows:

B - 200 calorie shake
S - 100 calorie apple
L - 200 calorie shake
S - 100 calorie apple
D - 165 calories chicken, about 80 calories vegetables.
S - Depending on the fruit you used, the calories will be different. I figured this based on a cup and a half of pineapple, which is a pretty high calorie fruit, at 120 calories.

All added up, we get a total of: 965 calories! So if my estimates of your portion size are even CLOSE to correct, you're WAY under-eating. If your chicken portion is larger, or your shakes are higher calorie, or you are eating bigger amounts of fruit, the numbers may vary.

Someone of your size can lose weight successfully eating more calories than that, typically...1800 or 2000 a day. You're eating less than half of what you need...and, because your body thinks you're starving, it may be slowing your fat loss.

Unless you are under a medically supervised, very strict plan that is carefully balanced to ensure you are meeting all of your nutrient requirements, eating a calorie number that low can be extremely dangerous. Most dieticians recommend that you not go below 1200 calories a day for any length of time.

[ChubsGalore]

I just checked my label, and it says that 1 scoop is 116 calories. I only use 1 scoop...should i use 2? And I am using lowfat milk for them, should I use water? I want to be eating right... please advise, for you are very helpful to me!

[Glory87]

Like Mandalinn said, you are eating a very low, unhealthy amount of calories a day. Since she just said you were eating too FEW calories, skipping the milk in the shake and drinking only 1 scoop is definitely not the way to go.

I know you want to lose weight as quickly as possible, but I would advise you to stop, take a breath and think about what you REALLY want. Do you want to reach a goal weight? If so, what then? Or do you want to reach a goal weight and then KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF and live as a slender, healthier person for the rest of your life?

If you want to just "lose weight" - go for the shakes, you'll probably lose some weight, but because you haven't built any long lasting habits to help you live and eat and maintain a healthy weight, it won't last (and I speak from experience here).

If you want to "lose weight and KEEP IT OFF" well, you need to think of big changes - healthy options for breakfast, lunch and dinner that you like, look forward to eating and can stick to (or a healthy variation) forever.

It's big and scary, if you don't like to cook or hang out in th kitchen it can seem a little overwhelming, but it really is the only long term answer.

For 20 years, I wanted a diet that was a short term fix, I wanted to diet for a little while and then eat "normal." Took me 20 years to figure out that the only long term fix is a long term solution - I had to change how I eat forever. Some days, it's easy, some days, I'm whiny, but everyday I feel 100% better and enjoy my life so much more.

So, that's a lot of stuff to lay on you. Maybe concentrate on changing just one more healthy meal a day - what do you like for breakfast? Oatmeal with a little dried fruit? Do you like scrambled eggbeaters in a whole wheat wrap with salsa? Do you like whole grain toast? Cottage cheese with fruit? Breakfast is one of my favorite meals!

Real food will be more nutritious and more satisfying that a fake shake can ever be. Feed your body, feed your soul - eat real food.

[Torister]

I would say that you are not eating enough. When I was at your weight, I was averaging 1800-1900 per day. Also, you can eat *alot* of real food for that amount of calories. I was always trying to fit them all in. Seriously! I couldn't live on shakes when I could eat yummy whole foods. You can do this and you don't need to deny yourself good food to get to your goal.