1300 + exercise = no loss?

Hi, there are plenty of messages like this on here, but I'm going to add mine anyway.

I'm 21 and I started at 158 and am aiming to get to around 130 eventually, which is what I was before I went to university. I have a small frame and I'm 5'8''.

I lost the first 5 pounds relatively easily, although it took a very long time - I could cope with it, because it was at least consistent. However, I've been stuck fluctuating between 152 and 153 for about 2 weeks now, which I don't understand.

I consume about 1300 calories a day, and I have a 'light' activity level - I typically ride two horses, muck out 2 stables and walk the dog for 30 mins most days. I also try to do weights for 30 mins 3 times per week. My burn meter typically reads 2080 by the end of the day, sometimes more.

Can anyone tell me if there's something I'm doing wrong, whether it's eating too much or the wrong setting on the burn meter?

The only thing that I can think of is that my carbs are quite high - typically 60% of overall consumption, whereas my protein is low - typically 20-25%, with fat making up the rest.

I know I'm not consuming to few calories because I upped it to 1500 for two days last week while staying at my boyfriend's and gained 2 pounds - which I lost immediately when I returned to 1300.

Thanks in advance!!!

Hello tigerleaf! : )

I'm almost in the same situation...started at 162 lbs, aiming for 130...5'8''; 22 years old...aaaaand...stuck on a plateau as well.  Yep :(  we could almost be weight loss twins/buddies, haha.

But I believe you could lose more weight by including cardio, or intense workout sessions (no need to make it long) to your routine, as the body gets used to its daily exercising routine pretty quickly.  Doing the same movements over, and over again...just as well as the same type of exercise every day, makes your body "know" and "expect" the loss...and it's pretty good at finding tricks to cover for it, believe me. 

Since it cannot know what you will eat tomorrow, or the day after, it reacts according to what you have eaten, and burnt, the past few days.  The more you fall into a routine, the more it will know what to expect, and the easier it will be for your body to stay at the same weight by storing just the right amount of energy to cover for the exercising.

Just as eating less carbs might help a little - well, it did for me. All in all, the key word is : change.  You need to surprise your body -- with new type of food, or new type of exercising, so it cannot expect the loss, nor the intake.

Hope it helps!

0o.. M0oZo0 ..o0

You might want take your measurements as well...maybe you put on some muscles, and did lose fat, by training with "weights".  Muscles weight more than fat tissues, but burn more calories.  So you could have lost 5lbs of fat weight, and put on 5lbs of muscles... : )

Upping the calories to 1500 for two days, then seeing a gain of 2lb are completely uncorrelated. You won't have gained 2 lb or lost them in two days. That was water and waste. Don't be scared of upping calories.

If on exercise days you estimate that you use 2080 calories, go for 2080-500=1580 on those days.

If on sedentary days you estimate that you use 1500 cals (this is an example, best to check with the burn tool), go for 1200 calories at least. Do not go under 1200 calories a day. Doing that once or twice won't matter, but consistently going under 1200 is not good for you.

Weight training will not give you more muscles when you eat 1300. But keep it up. You won't be losing muscle that way.

Because the calories you use in a day are just estimates, I suggest you log your weight here and use the trend line. It should go down at a rate of 0.5-1lb per week. The trend line smoothes out the blips of water retention. It is a better indication of weight loss. Since you are at a healthy weight already, you probably won't see anything much greater than 1lb/week without a lot of effort.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks guys, all this is very helpful.

Bernst and moozoo, I think the cardio is a good idea, guess I'll have to get out running a bit more - the reason I normally avoid it is as soon as I add intense cardio, I retain water like mad and I hate the bloat! However I guess it's worth it in the long run! Thanks for the tip on the routine thing moozoo, I had a feeling this was the case, guess I need to keep it mixed up to prevent plateauing or perhaps try zigzagging? I've added you as a friend since we are so similar! How's yours going?

Linden - thanks for the tip too, I do use the weight loss graph, and all I can see is sharp loss and then a flat line! although you are right, it says that when I gained and lost the 2 pounds there was no 'real' weight gain - I guess just eating more causes me to retain water - especially since when I eat more I make bad choices, like chinese take-away! I think you're right about how difficult it is for me to lose too - I feel overweight but I'm quite strong from labour and I guess my body can handle my activity with the current level of intake, especially since it's been doing so for a while! I just wish it could be faster!!!

Thanks again!!

Hey, we're the same height, goal/starting weight, frame, activity level, and age!

I started exactly a month ago and wasn't losing much on 1300 either.  I found out that my BMR is about 1520, so I've been eating at least that much every day and I've lost about 10 pounds.  I don't know if it would work for you, but as long as you are eating over your BMR and are in a safe deficit you should (theoretically) lose weight.