Why can't i lose any weight?!

A year ago i went on a restrictive diet and got down, to my lowest, around 117. People in my family complained i looked too thin (although i guess my weight was still normal for my height @ 5'4"). Well it seems ever since April i guess i was tired of eating practically nothing so i started to incorporate more foods into my diet and slowly gained weight. I am now around 130 lbs. I don't like the way my body feels and hate that i'm not going to be able to fit into my pants i wore last winter so i've been trying to go back to my 'restrictive" diet during the week (oatmeal, apple and baby carrots for b'fast, turkey sandwich on wheat for lunch w/ baby carrots, diet hot cocoa and activia fat free for snack and dinner is steamed veggies w/ grilled chicken and spinach w/ fat free dressing) and on the weekends i'll go out to eat but i wont order anything fattening (grilled chicken, salad with dressing on the side, etc).

However i'm finding that what worked before isn't working now, and i'm not seeing the scale budge at all! ughhh.

For exercise, i run every for 40 minutes every morning (at 6mph) on my treadmill and do a few reps w/ 5 lb weights..

What am i doing wrong? Is there anything you suggest that i do to start losing weight again. My goal is 120. I am just getting so frustrated and don't want the scale to go up even more!!!

 

first, yours is a perfect illustration of why restrictive diets don't work.  you can't maintain that kind of eating pattern.  you talk about how it "worked" before, but the truth is, it didn't work; if it had worked, you wouldn't have gained it back. 

you need to find a level of eating and activity that's sustainable on a long-term basis.  stop trying to starve yourself; it will just kick you in the ass again in a few weeks/months.

second, if you're doing the identical workout six days a week, your body is going to adapt to that very quickly.  change it up, get outside, have lighter workout days and heavier ones.  instead of running 4 miles at the same speed every day, run a faster 2 miles one day and a slower 6 miles the next. 

ditch the running and start lifting weights!!! The first time you lost weight you lost mostly muscle which is why when you started eating normally you gained.  Your metabolism slowed down because of the muslce loss and you no longer burned as many calories and almost everything you gained back was fat.

Running in combination with a deficit is only going to make you lose more muscle in turn lowering your metabolism even more.  Start weight training 4-5 days per week instead of running.  On weight days maybe do a 20 min warmup on the treadmill.  On your non weight lifting days you can do your 40 minute run if you still want to.

You will not gain muscle if you are still in a deficit but you will be able to maintain what muscle you do have and will lose fat instead.

The reason you lost quicker before is again because it was muscle.  Doing it the right way is going to be a lot slower.  When you start weight training you may intially gain a few pounds (mostly water and muscle)  This is referred to as a newbie growth.  The intial shock to your muslce will cause them to grow but will then level off after about 6 weeks.

That was me over the summer chicka!

I lost a lot of weight and got down to 113lbs I'm 5'3 I believe.  I didn't think I was going restrictive but once I got home all the goodies that I had missed from being at school was quite overwhelming.  That, and the fact that I really wanted to learn how to bake bread so I was doing that at least once or twice a week.  So from 113lbs in two months I went back to about 128lbs.  During the summer when I was gaining weight I tried to do what I originally did, like going back to my regular diet. However, I've found that things don't work the same way twice.

So, what I've been doing it slowly slowly going trying to eat healthier.  I've been focusing on drinking a lot of water, and eating healthy natural foods.  I try to eat as cleanly as possible, although yesterday I had a slice of cheescake..haha. I work out a couple days a week watch my calories in and out.  That's basically what it comes down to.  I know it's hard because when you loose the first time it seemed so much easier (at least for me) and then when you gain it back it's a little more challenging to get back.  Currently I'm 123lbs, so I'm slowly loosing and hopefully trying to keep this going.

This whole weight loss thing is a very long and interesting learning process.  So, I'm still learning I'm sure you will get the swing of it.

 

I'm 5'3 and half, 121lbs, and my weight loss was extremely slow. I started dieting at 132 pounds and it took several months to lose the weight. Just be patient, as long as you are exercising and eating less the weight will come off.  Once the weight comes off you'll need a better plan to keep the weight off. It sounds like you tend to overeat when you aren't trying to lose weight.

I am so glad I found this thread.  I am going through the exact same thing.  I lost 25 pounds, but had to really restrict to do it.  Now I am eating "normally" - no fried foods, mostly whole and natural foods, no animal protein, no dairy (I am veg) - and I am gaining!  Even on 1700 calories a day, I gain pounds - and that is with working out 30 minutes strength or conditioning in the morning 5 days a week and 80 minutes of walking/jogging combination 4 nights a week.

I am so frustrated.  I can't go back to that terribly restrictive diet.  I bought all new clothes when I lost because I was "never going back there again".  Now I look stupid in these tights, terrible fitting clothes and I feel uncomfortable all day.

I guess I am just ranting with you because I really don't have any advice.  If you find something that works for you, please post it.  If anyone else has any other ideas, please let me know.

Hey Jenny, I think you might be eating too little, believe it or not!

If you eat too little, your blood sugar level goes down, your body gets the signal that you are starving and it responds by storing fat. Remember to feed yourself in between meals: apple, celery, 100 calorie snacks. Some doctors recommend eating every 2-3 hours. Restrictive diets might work on the short run, but you end up reaching a "plateau" where you cannot lose weight anymore.

And remember that it is not just the eating, the emotional health also plays a part, too much stress and anxiety may increase cortisol levels and you will store more fat. Exercize is great for mood boost, but do some more variation, like other replies recomended. Add some strength training along with the cardio.

Finally, supplements like fish oil and Cla do help (check with your doctor).  Another good supplement for those like me that have sugar cravings is Chromium, it is amazing I don't remember the last time I craved for a sweet. Got these isuggestions from this book from Nicholas Perricone:The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet: A Simple 3-Part Plan to Lose the Fat, the Wrinkles, and the Years (ISBN-10: 0345486498 ). He has great tips, talks about supplements and superfoods and has a diet plan. I do not follow his diet, but I use his suggested supplements and superfoods, I lost over 40 pounds! He talks about restrictive diets and certain foods that create low level inflammation that keeps you from losing weight. It is worth reading.

Hope this helps. Good luck and keep your thoughts positive!

ok, that describes me perfectly. I am 5'3" and lost like 60lbs and got down to 118 (my lowest). now, i am up to 130 and completly miserable. i would love to get down to 118 again, or even lower. i'm just having trouble because what worked before isn't working as well now. and, i would really like to eat like a "normal" person and still lose weight, i'm just not sure how to do that...at all! it's nice to know i'm not alone.

I would agree with practically everyone here... try to eat every 2.5-3 hrs. I eat about 150-200cals every 3hours throughout the day... and it seems to really keep my gears going. I am 135lbs at 5ft 4in but I doubt I'll ever get below 130 without looking disgusting. (I'm a small frame but not that small! lol! plus I have thick legs and posterior). So I'd say eat a little more and a little more often.

Try your diet as such and see if it makes a difference:

7am Oatmeal

9am Apple

11am Baby carrots

1pm turkey sandwich on wheat

3pm Baby carrots

5pm Activia Fat Free 

7pm Steamed Veggies 1/2 the Grilled chicken

9pm 1/2 the Grilled Chicken and Spinach w/ fat free dressing

It does seem like your diet is lacking though... try throughing in some egg whites in the am or hard boil eggs and eat a couple egg whites as a snack in lieu of baby carrots. :)