No change in weight from exercising?

[Deleted]

Ok, so I know diet is key.

But I've been exercising regularly since around May - I did the couch to 5k program and currently run around 3 miles (sometimes 2.5) anywhere from 2-3 times a week. For the last month, I also did a boot camp class at a local gym 3x a week for an hour each time, that incorporated weight and some bouts of cardio training. All in all, for the last month I've been working out 4-5 days a week and for about 4 months prior at least 2x a week and usually more.

I also walked my dogs about 30 minutes a day all summer, that has dropped off since it got cold.

I haven't lost a single pound. I didn't expect to lose 30 lbs without changing my diet, but I did expect to lose a few lbs by being more active. According to my Nike fit band, I burn about 460 calories each time I run these days. I would think that would have some effect.

I don't think I've changed my diet much. I have always eaten fairly healthy, but get derailed by office snacks, going out to eat, and portion control. I eat plenty of fruit, drink tons of water, eat my veggies, and 90% of my meals contain lean meats/whole grains/some kind of fruit and veggie. There is room for improvement but it isn't as though I eat horribly all the time or that I've started eating worse since starting to work out.

Is this normal? Or do you think I should see a doctor? My cholesterol was also recently tested at a health fair at work, and it is the highest it's ever been (it is borderline high, it has always been normal or low in the past).

I'm getting really discouraged with working out, since I don't notice a change in the way my clothes fit and I haven't lost any weight. I'm in better shape but that's hardly motivating to drag my butt out of bed and push myself in the morning. I'd rather sleep if there is no noticeable effect on my bloodwork or body. :@

[winnied]

Ideally you'd be doing cardio 3-4 days a week.

I know for me, weight loss was 80% diet changes and those office snacks, portions, dining out, can add up fast and make working out "pointless." That being said, daily exercise is important for more than weight, but you know that.

I think if you'd like more progress talking to a doctor and a nutritionist (working together) could be helpful. GL!

[pamela]

Before you get too discouraged or call a doctor, I'd do a week of tracking everything you eat without changing anything to get an idea of how many calories are really going in. If you haven't been paying attention, you're probably eating more without realizing it to make up for the extra exercise. To me, portion control and limiting the office snacks were the secrets to losing weight (down 30 in about 4-5 months). Otherwise I eat all the same food as before (and as you describe your diet it's better than mine).

[ijack]

I would track your diet for a little while and see what happens. When I work out I get really hungry and tend to eat more than I normally do without realizing. Also, office snacks are the devil.

[mcsangel2]

^That.

[takeonyou]

For me, weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise. My main goal in exercise is to look better, but weight loss is tied really tight to my diet.

[Deleted]

Track your calories. Weight loss is all about what you are eating. A lot of times we underestimate the amount of calories we eat drastically.

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2012 14:27:59 GMT -5 ijack said:

I would track your diet for a little while and see what happens. When I work out I get really hungry and tend to eat more than I normally do without realizing.

This is true for me, particularly if my workout is in the morning.

[Susie]

I'm thinking that 460 cal estimate sounds a little high for 2-3 miles... and perhaps your body has adjusted to running that far and you need to increase mileage and/or intensity to see a result. I don't see any weight loss results from dog-walking or other low-impact exercise, no matter how much I do.

Before going to the doctor, I'd make an effort to get a better handle on exactly what you're eating. Counting calories sucks, but committing to it for a week or so can be really eye opening just to see what you're really eating. I'd recommend it. Sparkpeople is pretty easy to use, and the iphone app isn't bad. You can get an idea of how much you're ACTUALLY taking in of fats, carbs, protein, vitamins/minerals, cholesterol, etc. I have surprised myself at times, thinking I knew what I was eating and... I definitely did not.

[Deleted]

Losing weight is 80% diet. Exercise is great for your body in other ways, but it's not a good way to lose weight by itself.

[crazygame]

I trained for and ran a half marathon and didn't lose weight. If I eat and drink what I want, I will not drop pounds. If I eat well and don't exercise, I will not lose weight either. It sucks, but I need both.

[cookies]

Dec 4, 2012 14:28:54 GMT -5 takeonyou said:

For me, weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise. My main goal in exercise is to look better, but weight loss is tied really tight to my diet.

This is me too. I can only lose weight if I count calories. Sparkpeople 4 life.

[keweenawlove]

I would try really tracking your calories. The Nike fit band estimate seems high too me. I normally burn ~125 calories per mile, so 375 calories for a 3 mile run. It's really easy to eat back those calories without noticing, especially with quick snacks.

[ijack]

oh, and I was burning mad calories when I was participating in ease into 5k, but now that I'm "used" to running 3 miles I'm only burning around 350.

[raangoli]

I'll echo what the others have already said. I am great about exercising. But I will only lose weight if I watch my calories and portion control. Nothing else will work.

I went to a dietician this summer and had her breakdown the proper amount of servings of carbs vs protein etc that I need and that's helped me a lot. I've lost 10lbs since August. It doesn't seem like a lot, but I know since it has taken a while, I will stick to it.

[shoeless]

Just another lemming with weight loss being 90% diet and only 10% exercise. The way I see it, exercise balances out the one or two times I fall off the wagon during the week. Otherwise diet/portion control/healthy choices are the only way for me to lose weight.

[Deleted]

I don't want to change my diet *stomps feet*.

I know I could do better, I just really don't want to, lol. I like snacks and would rather be kind of fat than have to pass on social eating. I do think portion control is a large part of my issue though.

I guess I was just thinking that if losing weight is 90% diet, I'd still see some (minimal) effect from that 10% that is exercise. BOO.

I don't know if the 460 calorie thing is right or not I guess. I weigh 190 so I assume that skews my calorie burn higher than those of you who weight less? I know my little friend who weighs half what I do (literally) and ran a 5k with me last week only burned like 200 calories according to her fit band, but she's half my size.

[ijack]

I didn't make big changes to my diet, but they made am impact. Instead of eating nuts for a snack at work I brought veggies or dried fruit or popcorn. That was the biggest change for me. And I try not to go back for seconds/

[Deleted]

If you like eating, I'd up your activity. If you don't want to ditch an extra 300 calories a day, work it off.

[kadams767]

I think that calorie burn sounds really high, especially if you have been running since May. Your body will burn calories for the same workout much more efficiently once you have been doing it for awhile, because it isn't as difficult anymore. A good rule of thumb for someone who has been running fairly consistently, IMO, is about 100 calories per mile.

Also, ditto what everyone has said about diet changes. Snacking adds up so, so quickly. A bite of this and a bite of that could easily derail your progress, especially if you aren't make cuts elsewhere.

[readyin07]

Welcome to my life. Been doing (and paying for) boot camp for 6monthsn and not a pound dropped. I limited my diet to 1200 calories for about 4 weeks and still not a drop. So I thought.. Screw that lol. I am just staying solid with my workouts and will focus more on calorie reduction after the holidays. When I was reducing my calories I wasn't totally focusing on healthy choices -- ie, if I wanted some chips, I counted them out, added up my calories and then had a smaller dinner or whatever. NExt time, I think I am going to have to really stop doing that.

[Deleted]

Dec 4, 2012 14:53:24 GMT -5 doglove said:

If you like eating, I'd up your activity. If you don't want to ditch an extra 300 calories a day, work it off.

This is the part that's not making sense to me, though. That's great advice, but when I went from not exercising to burning calories off by exercising, there should have been some effect. There hasn't been. Your advice is exactly what I've already been doing.

I guess maybe I would have gained weight if I wasn't exercising? I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it.

Sorry for being whiny, I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative. I'm just annoyed. I didn't expect exercise to be some big miracle cure, but I didn't really expect to go to all this trouble and not see any effect at all on my weight/body shape.

I'm going to have to start tracking my food :-(

[kate1482]

I never really lost weight running until I changed my diet. Being careful about carbs is the only thing that has ever worked for me. Totally understand your frustration.

[keweenawlove]

Dec 4, 2012 15:16:35 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

This is the part that's not making sense to me, though. That's great advice, but when I went from not exercising to burning calories off by exercising, there should have been some effect. There hasn't been. Your advice is exactly what I've already been doing.

I guess maybe I would have gained weight if I wasn't exercising? I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it.

I think if you're not carefully measuring out food, it's easy to think you're eating the same when in reality, you're eating a little more to compensate for the calories you burn. Especially if you just "fill your plate" rather than measuring everything out.

It's really hard for me to lose weight by just running because I get hungrier so I eat more.

[martini]

Dec 4, 2012 15:16:35 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Dec 4, 2012 14:53:24 GMT -5 doglove said:

If you like eating, I'd up your activity. If you don't want to ditch an extra 300 calories a day, work it off.

This is the part that's not making sense to me, though. That's great advice, but when I went from not exercising to burning calories off by exercising, there should have been some effect. There hasn't been. Your advice is exactly what I've already been doing.

I guess maybe I would have gained weight if I wasn't exercising? I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it.

Sorry for being whiny, I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative. I'm just annoyed. I didn't expect exercise to be some big miracle cure, but I didn't really expect to go to all this trouble and not see any effect at all on my weight/body shape.

I'm going to have to start tracking my food

You don't sound argumentative- I understand what you are saying.

Are your clothes fitting any differently? I was taking some boot camp style classes and while my weight didn't drop at all, my clothes were a bit looser. I would recommend taking measurements to track progress, not just weight.

Also- I highly recommend My Fitness Pal if you are looking for a place to track calories. I think their database is pretty good so there isn't much I have to manually enter. Just be careful of their exercise calories, I think they overestimate them. I use a heart rate monitor when I work out now to get a better estimate of calories burned.

Good luck!

[pamela]

It's probably a combination of getting older and that you might have just warded off weight gain by the added exercise but not enough to lose weight (plus you're upping you appetite with the exercise and not paying attention to if you're adding calories to compensate).

[kadams767]

Dec 4, 2012 15:16:35 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Dec 4, 2012 14:53:24 GMT -5 doglove said:

If you like eating, I'd up your activity. If you don't want to ditch an extra 300 calories a day, work it off.

This is the part that's not making sense to me, though. That's great advice, but when I went from not exercising to burning calories off by exercising, there should have been some effect. There hasn't been. Your advice is exactly what I've already been doing.

I guess maybe I would have gained weight if I wasn't exercising? I wonder if getting older has anything to do with it.

Sorry for being whiny, I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative. I'm just annoyed. I didn't expect exercise to be some big miracle cure, but I didn't really expect to go to all this trouble and not see any effect at all on my weight/body shape.

I'm going to have to start tracking my food

One pound is 3,500 calories though. Do you think you are consistently at a deficit of 3,500 in a given time period? Say you think you should lose a pound a week. That means every single day you need to be 500 calories in the negative. If you are potentially overeating, AND only burning around 300 calories through exercise, there's your issue.

[ckinla]

Do your clothes fit differently? It could just be muscle - I gained weight when I started working out, but I actually lost inches. Calorie tracking is key - you eat SO many more calories than you think you do. Otherwise, I would definitely see a doctor.

[ECB]

I'm not adding anything new - but I started doing the Jillian Michael's DVD a few months ago. Not a tiny bit of change in myweight. Then I started WW about 2 months ago. Portion control and making a few better choices- immediately noticed a difference.

[Ashley&Scott]

I didn't lose weight working out until I started lifting weights 3x per week. Cardio alone wasn't enough for me.