Anonymous wrote:I just hit the 50 pound mark. I have 30 more to go. I had been walking, hiking, and biking the whole time. Over the past three weeks, I added a morning cardio/strength workout that keeps my heart rate up high and incorporates a lot of lifting with dumbbells, kettle thingies, and exercise bands. I know I'm getting stronger and more flexible. But I have not lost any weight these entire three weeks. I haven't gained. But it's so frustrating. I am eating more, but about 300 calories more. I'm still running a calorie deficit according to Fitbit.
Is it just the food? I added this workout. It's not substituting for anything. So now I'm working out much more each day.
It's just so frustrating...I know muscle weighs more...but is that what's happening or am I eating too much? Anyone else been there, done that?
The problem is you are doing more and expecting to lose weight by adding in more exercise. My guess is that you are burning fewer calories than you think (calorie burn estimates are horribly inaccurate) while eating more than you think. To gain weight, weight being in the form of muscle or fat, you need to be eating in a calorie surplus. Muscles does not weigh any more than fat, a pound is a pound. Muscle is more dense so it takes up less space, meaning if you put on muscle you will look smaller than if that muscle was fat. But putting on muscle is not easy and takes a very long time, not something you will do in 3 weeks.
Now if you suddenly start to exercise more there is sometimes a period where you retain more water, but that will even out.
You have lost 50 lbs which is incredible and shows that you know what you are doing! My advice it to check your calories, make sure you are tracking everything accurately and consistently. I would go back to how you were eating before adding in the extra exercise; don't add in extra calories because you worked out.
I am not sure about your height and weight or how many calories you have been eating to lose but if you have lost 50 lbs it is also possible that you need to adjust your calories down to account for having lost 50 lbs. But that depends on where your calories are and if they were based on your desired goal weight or something else. A good calculation to determine calorie range for fat loss is goal weight x 1012.