What am I doing wrong? Limited Weight Loss.

I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing a similar situation and how to remedy it.

In the beginning of March I was 127. I am only 5'1" small frame. I have religiously followed a 1200 calorie diet and have workout out in some form for at least 3-4 days a week. Now four months later I have only lost 7 lbs!! I am very frustrated. I understand because I am not considered obesity I will lose weight at a slower rate, but this just seems silly. I have an extremely small frame so at 120 I am still loftier than what I should be. I am only doing light exercises like walking or light weights, so I know I am not replacing fat with muscle. Also my scale says the fat % has only decreased slightly.  The doctors state my ideal weight would be around 110. What is the deal? Any and all insight would be great. I am getting desperate, I have thought about cutting calories to 800 or even diet pills.

losing .5 lb a week would be 8 lbs at this point, so I think you're doing great!

when you are that close to your optimal weight, its only going to come off .25 to .5 per week.

Its coming off just like it should!

girl, youre fine! i know its easy to feel intimidated by how much weight others are losing, but its important to keep in mind that many of people who start eating and exercise plans are often 50 + pounds over their ideal body weight, therefore making it easier for them to lose weight at first. for someone who is in a healthy range its going to be harder for your body to let go  of the few extra pounds. instead of focusing on the scale, LET IT GO. focus on you're fitness, stamina and endurance. for all we know that extra ten pounds could simply be muscle mass that keeps you looking  shapely! in a nutshell: an extra ten pounds, as annoying as they are, are  nothing to worry about :)

Original Post by jarpan:

I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing a similar situation and how to remedy it.

In the beginning of March I was 127. I am only 5'1" small frame. I have religiously followed a 1200 calorie diet and have workout out in some form for at least 3-4 days a week. Now four months later I have only lost 7 lbs!! I am very frustrated. I understand because I am not considered obesity I will lose weight at a slower rate, but this just seems silly. I have an extremely small frame so at 120 I am still loftier than what I should be. I am only doing light exercises like walking or light weights, so I know I am not replacing fat with muscle. Also my scale says the fat % has only decreased slightly.  The doctors state my ideal weight would be around 110. What is the deal? Any and all insight would be great. I am getting desperate, I have thought about cutting calories to 800 or even diet pills.

If you want to see results quickly, you could start lifting heavy.  As a newbie to heavy lifting, you would see really fast results(firm up...build some muscle and still lose some fat within a couple months).  Who cares what the scale says??  10 lbs above ideal can look really good if a lot of it is muscle. 

I suggest this: http://caloriecount.about.com/lift-like-man-l ook-goddess-ft144537

I don't think you are doing anything WRONG.....weight loss takes some time, so you are doing fine.

But I will agree with the lifting heavy advice! I think everyone should lift heavy. Muscle burns more cals than fat does, so it's good to have muscle! Plus it feels good, and gives the 'toned' look that everyone raves about!

I bet seven pounds coming off your small body makes a big difference already!

When I am feeling frustrated, I do one day of going low-carb.  (Eggs and veggies, mostly.)  I usually see a dip on the scale the next day, and even though I know it's just water, it's motivating.

And then I actually read somewhere that doing that once a week is good, because if you eat the same things every day your body gets used to it and it's better to keep it guessing.

I have a similar problem! I am also 5'0, 114 (I've been 114 for like a month too!) Personally I am trying to eat less carbs and fit more cardio into my life. It's super frustrating though :(

I also meant to add that even if you're not seeing results on the scale, setting other goals for yourself might keep you motivated.  If you're running when you work out, try to increase your mile time or something like that.

I am the same height and recently went down to 120 from 127.  I lost ssllllloooowwwwllllyyy but that had a lot to do with the fact that I did not count calories.  It took about 6 months.

Your cals are already as low as you pretty much can go ( I mean you CAN go lower cal, but it really sucks), so if I was you I would revamp my work outs.  I would turn those walks into walk/jogs or jogging.   When it comes ot weights, there is nothing wrong with not going heavy if that is not the look that you are after, but you have to do something to increase the intensity to force your body to adapt again.  You could to that by switching over to a more circuit style work out, throwing some sprints in between reps and what not.

Actually, i don't know if you are a video person, but Jillian Michaels has excellent videos for this very thing.  Her latest one burn fat boost metabolism is a cardio circuit using body weight (no weights at all!) but tones you at the same time becasue you do push ups, plyometric jumps, crunches, etc..  I bet the fat would just melt off of you, especially if you truely are eating 1200 cals a day - wish I could stick to that low of cal!  I would have been at my goal already it I could.

Be reassured by the facts: YOU ARE LOSING.  You are not maintianing or gaining, you are losing.  I have to tell myself that everyday b.c I am also getting close to my goal weight and things are slowing down.  I feel like ripping my hair out because it is sooo slow though! lol

Everyone here is right, you are losing weight and that's wonderful, don't let your frustration distract you from the progress you are making.  Try increasing the intensity of your workout, instead of walking try the eliptical (one that uses arms- this is great way to kick up the calories you burn in the same amount of time) or alternate bike 5 mins/stair climb 5 mins, or when you lift light weights do them on a step and jog/jump rope between sets, do squats/lunges as you lift weights and work your large muscle groups (legs, chest, back) as building muscle in larger muscle groups helps increase your metabolism.  Don't waste time with the smaller muscle groups until you've reached your goal weight and want to tone up.  Check out askthetrainer.com and look in their section for weight loss exercises, I have a lot of weight to lose and was very frustrated by my progress until I started implementing some of the routines I found there.  Good luck and keep up the great work!!!