I don't think calorie counting works for me. Any help ?

I'm new here and somewhat impatient too.

I started on June 30, today is two weeks that I've been eating less that my calories needs and so far I haven't loss a pound, actually I gained. I'm 40 years old,  5.2 tall and weight 134lb. I always thought that my ideal weight should be 125lb, maybe it's not it, but I had 125 for many times and I cannot maintain it. I keep going up and down the scale and I ended most of the time around 134lb, which I do not like it. I eat very healthy, lots of vegetables and at least 5 to 10 fruits a day, I'm not a junk eater, neither a compulsive eater I am mostly an obessive eater because I read all about food healthy benefits, food labels and so on. I go to the gym 3 times a week to do weight lifting with very little cardio, just to warm up. I'm not bulk up with muscles, just normal for my age and body type. The only part you can see my muscles are in my arms and in my legs I am the only one who knows that there are muscles there. :-)

So, to make a long story short, my calorie intake should be around 1800 calories and I keep eating around 1200 to 1400 and sometimes much less and I don't see a change in my weight and I actually gained 1lb after starting logging all my food intake here. I know that I may have gained muscle this last 2 years and may  not have much more fat, but how come eating less calories I cannot loose weight but gain? As I said, maybe calorie counting does not work for me.  Any idea what I've been doing wrong ?

If you have a history of eating less than 1200 calories a day you may have sent your body into starvation mode and done a number on your metabolism.  Your calorie deficit is also pretty small (since you are not far away from your goal weight) which means it will take longer for you to lose the weight even with an optimal metabolism.  With an intake of, say, 1300 a day and a burn of 1800 you have a 500 calorie / day deficit.  If you consistantly take in that number of calories every day you should lose about a pound every 7 days.  Now if during your workouts you are burning enough calories to drop you below the 1200 mark then you need to be eating back those calories.  Your body needs at least 1200 calories a day just carry out basic body functions. 

The only way out of starvation mode is to increase your calories to your maintenance level (1800 / day) and wait it out until the weight gain stops.

Good luck and welcome!

Hi and I too am new to CC. I am 42 and want to loose 20 pounds. I started tracking my logs on July 7 and really didn't get the concept of 3500 calories need to be burned to loose one pound. Once I got that, I made sure the difference between my intake and my effort was near 1000 calories... this meant I had to increase my cardio. I bumped up my effort on the elliptical machine at the gym and started to walk at night.

I have now lost four pounds. I am a little less knowledgeable about the starvation mode, so I make sure my calorie count is no lower than 1200. CC recommends I eat 1500 calories a day. I always try to fall between the two.

The only recommendation I can make is to boost the cardio. From what I have heard that's the optimal way to burn off the calories, although your weight lifting helps build muscle which burns calories better than fat.  Hope you continue. I know it's hard to stay motivated, but there are alot of nice supports on this site.

What I would mainly focus on is trying to stay about 1500 calories a day and when you work out you may want to focus on high rep, low weight excercises this will focus on tone more than that of the opposite which is used for building mass. Also, look at when eating a day... your body is a machine and if you forget to eat breakfast it isnt really going to start working till later in the day... thus not buring fat untill then. The number of times you eat in a day will also have an effect on getting rid of fat. Smaller meals and more of them will allow your body to manage the food you are taking in better.

Doesn't sound like you eat enough, especially protein.  Lift heavy weights using several muscle groups at once, and do interval or high intensity interval training for cardio to lose fat. 

If you are always having trouble maintaining 125, it might just not be the ideal weight for you.  Maybe if you switch your goals from weight loss to maintaining a balanced diet and look at achieving fitness through activities you enjoy, you will like the way you look at a weight that you can maintain.

First off, I would give it a little more time. Second, you may be close to your bodies optimum weight.  In my case I lost 20 pounds fairly quickly.  But I was at least 30 pounds overweight.  I've got about 10 more pounds to go.  And the weight is not coming off quickly or easily! In my opinion, I think there is a "optimum" body weight for each individual. In my case when I hit this weight I can eat a little more and a little less and my weight does not vary.   

Thanks for all the replies.

I guess I had to wait someone to tell me that I was in starvation mode to realize that. I knew that could happen, but you never think it will happen to you. The problem is when you are into it you don't fell hungry and fewer calories will just do.  Now I'm trying to eat at least 1500 or a little more since my wight lifting put my calorie needs to over 2000. Also knowing that muscles require protein I do eat plenty, specially shakes and nutritional protein bars for gym maniacs as me. I am also a "carnivore", meaning I cannot stay day  without meat(beef), I love to eat it as bad as it may be. 

 I always thought my diet was balanced but adding it up  does not add much calories in the end. I eat every 3 hours, fruits as snack and occasionally nuts. My breakfast is a smoothie with fat free yogurt + berries + flax seed and it keeps me not hungry all morning. My lunch it's usually a sandwich with whole grain bread with either turkey or any other deli meat + fruits for desert. My dinner  ALWAYS has meat + vegetables and some grains(quinoa or barley or beans) + salad .  I do not use dressings( I hate creamy/mayo dressings) , I don't drink sodas neither diets, I don't eat pasta or white bread because I think it's boring food. Believe or not I do not enjoy ice cream, maybe I will eat once a year. 

So, as I mentioned I thought I had a balanced diet, but apparently not much and the only thing I really do not take away from my diet ever is chocolate.  

So, I will give time and see how it'll go.

Thanks a lot you all.