Thread: HELP!!! What am I doing wrong?

Morning Everyone!
I don't know, I got on the scale this morning and well it hasn't moved in over a week. Not an ounce not anything. I notice that I'm losing inches, I did measure and I have lost 2 inches everywhere in a week. Thats great, yes I know, but why oh why isn't the scale moving?!?!?! I think I'm doing everything right, but hey maybe I'm not. I need some advice on what to do. Here is my sample day/week.

I go to the gym 4 times a week. Saturdays are an hour long spinning class. Tues/Thurs/Fri are at least 2 miles on the treadmill followed with at least 10 minutes on a bike. Followed by weight lifting, so far I'm only working on my arms and legs and back. One set 12 reps each. Nothing major there I didn't think.

FOOD: Normal day for me:
Morning during the work week:
BREAKFAST: Slim-Fast LOWCARB Shake. I'm not a big breakfast eater, plus I never seem to be hungry in the morning, so i drink a shake to have SOMETHING.

LUNCH: Salad with vinegar/oil. I usually grab a wendy's salad cause it has the protein in it and then just do my oil/vinegar. I do throw the croutons in there once in a great while.

DINNER: Meat and some form of green veggies

WATER INTAKE: TONS!! LOL Um I average about 64oz per day of water...now i do drink ice tea occasionally, but basically i'm averaging 64 oz a day.

I also drink at least 4 cups of hot green tea a day too.

SNACK: I haven't really been too hungry so I haven't been snacking, but when I do its nuts or once inawhile when i get the snack attack for something sweet i'll do lc ice cream.

I take a weight smart vitamins and I take a B-12 everyday too.

Ok so what am i doing wrong? Starvation mode? I don't think so, but who knows. All i know is that i'm so frustrated cause the scale hasn't dropped an ounce. I know i should be happy with the inches falling off and I also realize that muscle weighs more than fat, but I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT lol!!

Thanks everyone...sorry for venting!!

Hey I don't blame you for being frustrated. It's probably the exercise or maybe you're retaining water. But my first advice would be to hang in there!
Your menu looks fine but without knowing amounts I can't say whether you might be experiencing starvation mode. I would recommend you start tracking your food intake on a website like www.fitday.com . That will give you your total calories, fat, carbs, fiber (you have to do the subtraction yourself) and protein. I'm betting that by this time next week you'll be reporting a whoosh. Be patient and report back here after you enter a few days menus into fitday (If you do so).

Vent away. I've gotten into a rut as well, but after five months. It's hard to think that eventually you'll lose the weight as well as the inches. I've been telling myself that I'm gaining muscle finally and the inches are what matters now so I'm not really in a stall. I have only lost one pound since the 3rd of January but I am still losing inches.

Two inches is fabulous! You should try and focus on that and not the pounds. HA! What am I saying I have been venting in my journal about the lack of pounds lost for days now. But I really should follow my own advice. Just do as I am and try to get through a couple more weeks. The whoosh will come. We just have to wait for it.

Oh, and with your weight I would up the water to about 120 ounces a day. That could be one problem. The rule of thumb most people follw is for every two pouns you should have 1 ounce of water. Which is tough I know. I should drink 170 ounces a day and that is a lot!

We can make it through the pounds...we must be patient.

I would also suggest to up your water intake to 120 oz per day, I am getting in a gallon (well on most days I do, but ...its hard to get that much in)
any way, try dropping those shakes, I know they are lc but could be something in there that is making you stall.
Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are building muscle, your weight may just stay the same.... you are losing inches, wonderful... you are doing something good... try getting in a few more veggies at nite, you said meat and cooked veggie, add a salad to that....
I used to have a hard time with breakfast, long ago when I did ww I started doing breakfast, and you can too.... hard boil some eggs and eat one or two of them in the morning, cook a bunch of bacon or sausage and eat that, or left overs from the night before....
Most people will tell you to try for natural instead of pre-pared food... shakes fall into that category, or grab a couple of strawberries, with cream for breakfast.... many choices for you.
hope this helps
youare doing great and stalls are not unusual.
dont give up, keep going....

You are losing dear. Inches lost right now and when systems catches up and is done regrouping and reshaping it will be lbs. Be happy my dear, youre getting fit and trim it's all part of the process. I know Ive been there and still is there, havent lost any lbs since middle of dec. but im dropping inches. Not as fast as you are tho, 2 inches is really awesome in one week. Not losing in one week is nothing to fret over.

cant add much to what everyone has said.. and i TOO am amazed at the loss of two inches that fast...
ya might consider doing what myself and a few others have done.. TOSS THE SCALE away for awhile...it doesnt help to have that same stupid number staring back at you when you COULD be happy and excited about the loss of INCHES which is what everyone SEES and your CLOTHING notices first!
i can understand how frustrating that stubborn lack of scale movement can be.. we all can..
KEEP going! keep plugging away... and take time to read some of the journals of people here that have been there and what things THEY did to work their way through it..

Thankyou everyone for the encouragement. I varied my cardio workout today doing 3 different machines so maybe that will jumpstart something. I AM really thrilled with the inches lost and i feel really good, but darn it i just want the scale to SHOW that. I'm thinking of throwing it out the window! lol. I'll up my water and see if th at helps and thanks again!!

dont throw it MY way..*L* i want no part of it..*L*
yeppers... up the water.. try some green tea if ya havent.. ya think?

Well I don't want it either!!!!! lol!

Tried the green tea...i drink at least 4 cups of that a day!

OUt the window is a good place for the scale...but don't panic...the pounds will follow...maybe not in your timetable but it will follow!

With all that exercise your body MAY be in starvation mode. Does that Slim-Fast shake have any sugar in it? Perhaps try adding some protein to your lunch (chicken in your salad). And, hard as it seems, ADD more water. Rob's suggestion of FitDay is an excellent one, unless you want to do all those calculations yourself! I use DietPower, and that is the thing that keeps me on plan.

And, as we know, muscle weighs more than fat. With your exercise, you are surely developing more muscle. In that case, your body just needs a little time to catch up in the weight department.

Just my 2 cents . . . .