Why aren't I losing weight? Harsh truth needed.

[emilymarie137]

I'm 17, 4'11, and weigh 120. I'm really small boned too. I want to get down to about 105.

I have been eating around 1300 calories a day. I only drink water, tea, and an occasional juice. I eat lots of veggies and fruit. I don't eat red meat. I usually have grilled chicken.

Here are my workouts: I do them at least 4 times a week. Sometimes more.
1000 regular crunches
1000 bicycle crunches
100 situps
20 twist lungest each leg
20 kick lunges each leg
50 plie squats
50 pulsing plie squat things
50-100 back leg lifts each leg
100 sitting glute raise things each leg
100-200 desk dips
30 reverse pushups

I have been doing this for a long time, but haven't lost any weight. Please tell me what I am doing wrong. Thanks so much!!

 

[modfashion]

as you already know, muscle weighs more.
have you seen any changes?
basically you're toning,
wheres the cardio and the running???

don't worry you'll get there.
15lbs could be lost in a little over a month.
:]

 

[emilymarie137]

thanks

I do need more cardio! I haven't noticed any changes. I'm still the same pants size. It's usually way too cold to go running. I'm gonna start going to the gym soon though.

 

[Dr Game]

Took me about a month of running for about 30 minutes to an hour a day before results were showing on the scale for me, and my intake was about 700-500 less than what I was burning. Then another month went by and my weight hardly dropped. Fortunately, I decided to take pictures from before, and took some today, I didn't notice anything until I compared the pictures. I didn't think I changed, so I'm glad I took the pictures. My suggestion is to photograph your progress and be patient.

 

[theleip]

as you already know, muscle weighs more.
have you seen any changes?
basically you're toning,
wheres the cardio and the running???

don't worry you'll get there.
15lbs could be lost in a little over a month.
:]

This is horrible advice.

-Muscle does not weight more than fat
-Cardio is not the best way to lose fat
-15lbs in a month isn't healthy nor possible for a girl that size

Do not give information like this to people.

 

[theleip]

I'm 17, 4'11, and weigh 120. I'm really small boned too. I want to get down to about 105.

I have been eating around 1300 calories a day. I only drink water, tea, and an occasional juice. I eat lots of veggies and fruit. I don't eat red meat. I usually have grilled chicken.

Here are my workouts: I do them at least 4 times a week. Sometimes more.
1000 regular crunches
1000 bicycle crunches
100 situps
20 twist lungest each leg
20 kick lunges each leg
50 plie squats
50 pulsing plie squat things
50-100 back leg lifts each leg
100 sitting glute raise things each leg
100-200 desk dips
30 reverse pushups

I have been doing this for a long time, but haven't lost any weight. Please tell me what I am doing wrong. Thanks so much!!

One this is the "harsh truth" but I am not trying to be harsh just honest.

That routine is horrible. Scratch it, throw it away. You aren't going to get anywhere doing those exercises but breaking down muscle tissues especially in a deficit.

Routine-Full body 3 days a week. 6-8 exercises of compound full body movements. Get some weight, stop overtraining. Allow 1 day for rest at least between each workout.

Diet-1300 isn't THAT low for someone your size though I would still suggest bouncing your calories. I would wager you are not taking account exactly what you are taking in. You are either getting too little therefore your body will not release stores or you are getting to much and not in a deficit. You need protein with every meal and to work within a smart % or ratio of each nutrient.


You have been trying and training but you haven't been doing it right. Get yourself a good plan and a focused diet and I am SURE you will hit your goal. The smaller you are the harder and more focused you have to be, that is the "curse" of being so small in the first place.

Good Luck if you have anymore question post away.

 

[Dr Game]

This is horrible advice.

-Muscle does not weight more than fat

Are you sure? Everyone here says that muscle weighs more.

sources:

 

[Kaitie]

Ok, Leigh---chill with the mean-ness please. You may not be intending to come off as rude but it is certainly coming across that way in your posts.


While 15 pounds in a month is incorrect the rest is true---and proven. Muscle does weigh more than fat and cardio is a great way to burn off fat.

I would suggest rather than telling people how 'horrible' their plan is that you would give them alternate plans to use and positive reinforcement.

 

[theleip]

Ok, Leigh---chill with the mean-ness please. You may not be intending to come off as rude but it is certainly coming across that way in your posts.


While 15 pounds in a month is incorrect the rest is true---and proven. Muscle does weigh more than fat and cardio is a great way to burn off fat.

I would suggest rather than telling people how 'horrible' their plan is that you would give them alternate plans to use and positive reinforcement.

Muscle does not weight more than fat, it is more dense. A pound is a pound period. It is a common myth that even personal trainers go around saying because people want to hear why the scale isn't moving. Fat tissue is approximately 20% less dense than muscle, so it takes up 20% more space.

A ton of bricks weighs the same thing as a ton of feathers. The weight is the same a pound is a pound. What we are talking about is density and mass of that space.

I am not being rude, I am protecting people from false information. This is the area that we the professionals are allowed to hand out the truth. Someone being told to lose 15lbs in a month at 4'11 and 120 pounds is a dangerous thing to say. It is this kind of advice that can lead people to starving themselves because SOMEONE SOMEWHERE said it was okay. Sorry you are not going to get that from me, it is unhealthy and unethical. I am here to give the truth and the best information I can to help these people asking nothing in return yet myself and otherd are constantly told to behave because we aren't "being nice".

modfashion may have had no idea about the advice they were given, I am not criticizing them. I am not going around telling them they are stupid or calling them names. No, I said it was horrible advice and I feel that you shouldn't give advice IN THIS AREA unless you are knowing what you speak of.

Would you get mad at a doctor who told you that you have a horrible diet and that is why you are so unhealthy? I don't think so. This is our field of knowledge, let us do our job and stop criticizing every move we make. They made this area for people like us to answer questions truthfully. I have not ONCE been rude to an original poster of a question, I have however set people who respond straight if they are giving out wrong information.

 

[Kaitie]

So every other person in the world that says that muscle weighs more than fat is wrong? Every Doctor, Trainer, Weight-loss specialist is wrong and you're right? Seems fishy that everyone else in the world is deceived....maybe it's a conspiracy theory.

It is quite possible to communicate truth without being mean. State the 'truth' but don't ridicule, embarrass, or humiliate other people. It takes a lot of guts to ask for advice---especially about weight-loss, the last thing someone who is putting themselves out there wants to hear is 'your a fool for following such a horrible plan'. Is it that hard to be nice and say, oh I don't know... 'It sounds like the plan you've been using has a few problems, let me see if I can help' Big difference.

 

[Dr Game]

Muscle does not weight more than fat, it is less dense. A pound is a pound period. It is a common myth that even personal trainers go around saying because people want to hear why the scale isn't moving. Fat tissue is approximately 20% less dense than muscle, so it takes up 20% more space.

By that logic.. you could that a baseball weighs as much as a golf ball. One is more dense, but a pound of it is a pound of it. By that logic you could say anything weighs just as much as anything else. Which is... not really right...

 

[photocrazed]

Not to jump on anyones toes here since I'm new, but I agree with Leigh! This area is called the HARSH TRUTH for a reason! It's not so that we can dance around the topic of weight loss and training. This is a place for people to come ONLY after they have added a few layers of leather if they are easily offended.





I'm glad to have those around who have no problem calling out people for giving out false and/or incorrect information.



Another explanation:

 

[Dr Game]

this is a dumb argument.. I mean, obviously a pound fat is a pound of muscle.. but when everyone says that muscle weighs more than fat, it's implied that the the same volume of fat weighs less than the equivalent volume of muscle.

Any genius would of course know that 1 lb = 1 lb. But if you were to look at it they way you guys are, everything weighs just as much as anything else!

This is dumb, I'm don't care to read what the responses to this are.

 

[theleip]

So every other person in the world that says that muscle weighs more than fat is wrong? Every Doctor, Trainer, Weight-loss specialist is wrong and you're right? Seems fishy that everyone else in the world is deceived....maybe it's a conspiracy theory.

The only people I have ever heard say that don't know what they are talking about. Type into google "muscle weighs more than fat myth" and you just see what you get.

it is quite possible to communicate truth without being mean. State the 'truth' but don't ridicule, embarrass, or humiliate other people.

Look who is talking, you are the one attacking me for I might add trying to give advice and not let a poster be misguided. I personally see nothing wrong with my wording especially if it is obvious enough for a poster to go "hmm maybe I should look into this" they don't have to trust me or them, but at least it will plant enough doubt to where maybe they will look into it for themselves. You have your doubts about what I am saying fine, hand me the facts, you will find while looking for them you might be proven wrong.

It takes a lot of guts to ask for advice---especially about weight-loss, the last thing someone who is putting themselves out there wants to hear is 'your a fool for following such a horrible plan'.

I have never and would never call anyone a fool. I don't really get why this sounds harsh to you...

"You have been trying and training but you haven't been doing it right. Get yourself a good plan and a focused diet and I am SURE you will hit your goal. The smaller you are the harder and more focused you have to be, that is the "curse" of being so small in the first place.

Good Luck if you have anymore question post away."

What are you upset I didn't use a smiley face or an ! mark? I gave good advice, right advice. And I don't apologize in anyway for pointing out that the advice modfashion gave was wrong. My doing that could keep that girl from starving herself and if that makes me look "harsh or mean" then so be it. I am actually a very nice and encouraging person and spend a lot of time answering private messages to people who just need a little help and encouragement from this board alone. My "boardside manner" is only seen as "rude" when someone doesn't like the fact that they are wrong, not my problem. I provide the truth the best I know it to be. I talk to the original posters with the high respect and never make anyone feel like they are stupid. The reason this process is so damn hard is because other people make it that way scattering false information everywhere. I will continue to correct that information when I see it. I will in the future make note of my "tone".

 

[theleip]

By that logic.. you could that a baseball weighs as much as a golf ball. One is more dense, but a pound of it is a pound of it. By that logic you could say anything weighs just as much as anything else. Which is... not really right...

SnowJT-In the link you posted it specifically says it does not weigh more than fat.

If you are working out on a regular basis you have more muscle. Does muscle weigh more than fat? Well, not exactly ... I mean a pound of muscle weighs a pound AND a pound of fat weighs a pound. So why do you always hear muscle weighs more than fat? Think of it this way - A pound of muscle is denser, firmer and takes up less space. Isn't that really your goal ... to be firmer and take up less space?

 

[theleip]

Not to jump on anyones toes here since I'm new, but I agree with Leigh! This area is called the HARSH TRUTH for a reason! It's not so that we can dance around the topic of weight loss and training. This is a place for people to come ONLY after they have added a few layers of leather if they are easily offended.

As you can see, the 5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

I'm glad to have those around who have no problem calling out people for giving out false and/or incorrect information.



Another explanation:

That myth being one of the most popular in the world of exercise, which is, “Muscle weighs more than fat.”

How ridiculous is that saying?

That's like the old joke, “Which weighs more — 10 lbs. of steel or 10 lbs. of feathers?”

Hopefully by now you know that the answer to that question is that they both really weigh the same. 10 lbs. is 10 lbs. no matter what it is made of.

Let's go over this in a little more detail.

Muscle is much more compact and dense than fat. It actually takes up less space than fat does because of that. That makes sense, right?

Fat, on the other hand, is very soft and jelly-like and is a lot bigger than muscle. By that I mean it takes up more space than muscle does.

Let me give you another example to clarify this a little more.

If you were to take 10 lbs. of fat and 10 lbs. of muscle and roll each of them into a ball, the 10 lbs. of fat might be the size of a bowling ball. In comparison, the 10 lbs. of muscle would be about the size of a baseball.

Let's take this a step further and use you and your friend in an example. You and your friend, for argument's sake, are both 5' 5" tall and both weigh the exact same weight of 130 lbs.

Your friend, as we mentioned, does not lift weights or do any kind of strength training. Her dress size is a size 12.

You, on the other hand, lift weights and follow a strength-training program 3 times a week. Your dress size is a size 8.

If you and your friend were standing side by side people would definitely think that you weighed less than your friend. But in reality you both weigh exactly the same.

How can that be?

It all relates back to what I said earlier. Muscle does not weigh more than fat, it weighs the same. It is more compact than fat and it takes up less space. So you, the strength trainer, have more muscle than your friend does which means you will take up less space.

Thank you for understanding where I am coming from, what this area on the forum is about and trying to educate. It is highly appreciated.

 

[M2M]

It is quite possible to communicate truth without being mean. State the 'truth' but don't ridicule, embarrass, or humiliate other people.

Kaitie,
Simply telling someone that their information is incorrect is not ridiculing, embarassing or humiliating them.

It takes a lot of guts to ask for advice---especially about weight-loss, the last thing someone who is putting themselves out there wants to hear is 'your a fool for following such a horrible plan'.

I have read all of Leigh's posts.
Not once has she done the above.

It's a good idea not to high jack the original poster's thread to continue discussing how one would like someone else to post.

 

[mehdi1]

this is a dumb argument.. I mean, obviously a pound fat is a pound of muscle.. but when everyone says that muscle weighs more than fat, it's implied that the the same volume of fat weighs less than the equivalent volume of muscle.

Any genius would of course know that 1 lb = 1 lb. But if you were to look at it they way you guys are, everything weighs just as much as anything else!

This is dumb, I'm don't care to read what the responses to this are.

what JT is saying.. makes perfect sense...

Leigh im sorry im not convinced but what he says is.. true :S

so given the fact a bodybuilder has the same mass as a fat kid, the bodybuilder would be heavier because the muscle tissue is heavier then the equivalent amount of body fat....

So wtf are u guys jumping around calling it false information :S

 

[photocrazed]

what JT is saying.. makes perfect sense...

Leigh im sorry im not convinced but what he says is.. true :S

so given the fact a bodybuilder has the same mass as a fat kid, the bodybuilder would be heavier because the muscle tissue is heavier then the equivalent amount of body fat....

So wtf are u guys jumping around calling it false information :S

What is being said is that 9lb is 9lbs is 9lbs no matter what is being weighed. 9 lbs of sticky notes is going to weigh the same as 9 lbs of 8X11 1/2" paper, but because the paper is bigger, 9lbs of paper is going to take up more space. However, because the paper takes up more space, doesn't mean that the 9 lbs of paper weighs more than the 9 lbs of little sticky notes... see first sentence.

 

[photocrazed]

I think that you guys are thinking along the lines of this. ,...

Let's say we have a basketball. We all know how big a basketball is and it can only hold so much.

If we fill the basketball up with muscle it WILL weigh more than if we fill it up with fat because we can fit more muscle into the basketball because the muscle is less dense. This does not mean that muscle weighs, more only that we can fit more muscle in the basketball than we can fit fat into it.

Is this the way you guys/gals were thinking?