Working out but not losing weight or inches!!

[breasmommy]

I am doing the Jillian Michaels pogram. I do weight resistant, aerobic, high impact circuits for 20 minutes 4 days a week. Then I do a high impact kickboxing aerobic workout for 30 minutes once a week. I take two days off a week to let my muscles rest. My workouts burn 500+ calories. I even make sure my heartrate is with in the 70-80% range the entrie time through my workouts to obtain that. I am 5'9", 190lbs female. I have a desk job so I am quite sedentary and have adjusted my caloric intake accordingly. I am taking in 1300 calories a day which consists of fiber, lean meats, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. I drink about 96 ounces of water a day (if not more). I do not eat sugars and stay away from "bad" foods.

I have been doing this for 1 month now and I have not lost a single pound or a single inch off my body anywhere. I'm wondering if perhaps I am doing something wrong? Is there something I am missing or am I doing too much of something? I know that I may not lose weight but I would at least expect to lose some inches but nothing!!!

Any suggestions from anyone? It is really frustrating because I am working my butt off with literally no results!

Thank you for your help.

[ericardunn]

I'm no expert, but this is my opinion:
You might be consuming too LITTLE calories a day OR your not tracking everything that goes into your mouth. If you consume too little of calories while you are working out your body will hold on to any you give it and convert it to fat.  So your not showing a gain because you are losing, but your putting it on at the same time by depriving your body of the energy it needs.  If its because your not tracking, little things add up.  A bite of this here, a taste of that there.  Even chewing gum has calories!  If your measuring your hips, dont worry too much.  It took me 6 weeks to lose 1 inch!!  When we measure our hips, we're also measuring part of our stomach, which could be bloated,etc..
The main thing to remember is that this should be about a life long change.  So keep doing your best and eventually you will start seeing some changes.  I had lost 17.9 lbs but just recently weighed in and gained 2.5lbs.  That same day I didnt "Go".  Finally 2 days later I was able to.  So things happen.  Dont get discouraged!  It's easy to give up when things dont go our way.  But ask yourself this.  How do you FEEL now?  I bet you feel healthier and sexier because of all the changes your doing.  How do your clothes fit?  These are the most important things.

[breasmommy]

Thank you for your response. I am very careful about everything that I am eating. Perhaps I am taking in too little calories but they are all good calories. I followed the guidelines for determining the amount of calories I needed to have per day to lose weight. I have not taken little bites here or little bites there. And that is why it is so frustrating! My clothes fit the same, my inches are the same (arms, stomach, hips, neck, legs) and my weight is the same.

I started working out because I am on anti-depressants that "encourage" weight gain. I wanted to lose the weight I had previously gained from another anti-depressant I was on (gained 55lbs in 10months starting 5 months and 9lbs left to lose after having my baby- talk about depressing). I lost 35 of that and I want to lose more. I could care less about the weight as long as the inches were decreasing or clothes fitting better but nothing. Kind of discourages you when you are trying so hard. I guess I will continue on and see what happens. At the very least, I am building strength so something is happening.

[peekawho]

It may take more time, especially if you are on antidepressants that can contribute to unwanted weight gain.  Can you ask if there is another kind you can try that might work just as well, without the weight effects?

If you are building muscle, eventually you will start to lose weight as those new muscles help raise your metabolism.   You may need to add some whole grains if you are not already.  It can take weeks for your body to catch up with your new program.

You might want to add about another 100-150 cals a day and see if that helps.  You are working out a lot, and you need to feed your muscles and your body.  

Congrats if you aren't having a bite of this or that during the day.  You have willpower I could never dream of!

[chicamoda]

I worked out and ate less like you did, I am a teenager, I am 5'7" and was 170 lbs, then I lost weight by just excercising because of this fun dance team Ijoined, which I find quite odd because I still eat the sam junk that I did when I had a sedentary lifestlye. Now it is summer and I am 5'8" this year(I get taller every year) and I weigh 150 pounds. ti is the summer and I fear that I'll gain the weight back but I learned from watching this video called The Secret and reading this book that fear manifests itself. If you keep on believeing yo uwill never lose a pound it will stay that way. according to my health teacher I'm supposed to be 145, 150 doesn't sound bad right? well wrong, for me I am still not satisfied because according to my chart I am still overweight. Funny funny. I was satisfied until I found this out. You will never get what you want if you keep thinking lose weight lose weight lose weight. What you are probably thinking is no fat no fat no fat and what you think you're doing is not working out for you because you don't feel you're going to lose weight. I still feel I need to lose weight because some health teacher told me. This is why people who lose weight still have problems because while they were losing weight thedidn't feel they were. and just because you want to lose weight doesn't mean you can't have sugar and it does sound like you are not eating enough which can slow down your metabolism. you limiting yourself to sugars in anything is probably limiting yourself to losing weight because when you think well if i dont eat this or that you are telling the Universe that you don't want to lose weight. You feel me? Don't? then send me a message. Good luck

[Dark4Desire]

Hi,
I know how you feel. I have been trying to lose weight my whole life... I'm 26, 5'6" and 195 pounds. I have tried everything. I sit in front of a computer whole day but i do try to go gym at least 4 times a week for 11/2 hr sessions. I have really bad cravings in the nights. Some nights I am able to resist but most nights i binge uncontrollably. I can't seem to help myself. Plus i'm studying which worsens the whole situation. i'm so desperate right now i'm contemplating using this Slimquick product but i have my reservations since i honestly believe these products have dire side effects that will only become visible years later. i really don't want to play with my health but i'm at a loss for what to do next. Anyone has any good nutritional diet plans that i can follow???

[Whatawoman]

Walk more (I use a pedometer should be 10,000 steps a day)
drink more water (at least 1 8oz glass every 90 mins between 7am and 7pm
dont eat after 7pm
plan your meals in advance (dont just eat what you feel like at the time)
eat smaller portions (a smaller plate confuses the brain - it thinks you are eating more)
Use sweets, chocolates, cakes and pastries as treats or rewards not as every day food
Dont drink fizzy drinks

I will come back with any other good tips as and when I think of them :)

Good luck -  you can do this :)

Helen
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