I have been doing CC for a good 3 weeks now and have only lost a few lbs. And now I have been at the same weight for 2 weeks - I am 5'3" and currently weigh 133. I don't understand it. I am trying to get down to 124 and it just isn't working. I walk several miles a day and I am taking in about 1,000-1,100 a day. I know they say you need 1200 or your body will go into starvation mode, but I am a small person and feel like my body is functioning okay. Other than walking alllll the time I am not super super active, so I take in those calories so that I can have a 1000 calorie deficit by the end of the day and theoretically lose 2 lbs a week (which is still healthy weight loss). Could that 100-200 calories I am skipping actually be hurting my chances at weight loss? I am so scared to eat more than I am currently eating. I have noticed some positive differences in my body comp, but I was hoping the scale would drop at least a little more by now. What is the problem???
I am 5' 3 1/2" and lost 21 pounds to drop to 108. Trust me: You do need to eat more. When I tried a 1,000-calorie deficit it was too much: I lost next to nothing in the first four weeks of my efforts. You have a double problem, in that 1) even though 1,000 is technically still within the safe range, your deficit may be too great for your body, and 2) you are eating under 1,200 calories a day.
How did you lose the 21 lbs? Like what/how much were you eating and how much exercise did you do? I'm just so confused -- I figured that the bigger the caloric deficit, the more weight you lose. Why is this wrong?
I just went back and re-read your thread. A few pounds in three weeks for someone who is already as small as you are is really very good. It can be hard to lose when you are small to begin with. But I still think you should consider eating above 1,200 calories a day. 1,200 is what a small women needs just to keep her body working properly.
As for me, I am very active—I weight train three times a week and do cardio three times a week—and I have a lot of muscle, so I eat a lot, more than you would need to. But we are the same in that we were both pretty small when starting the weight-loss journey. I think that, given that, the 1,000-calorie deficit was too much for my body—it didn't like the idea of my taking in so little food when I was already small—and it may be too much for yours, too.
you are fine in the losing weight department. those are pretty good results. everyone, & i mean everyone (normal) plateaus for awhile. this isn't going to be your first time, its all part of the process.
I never really plateaued. I lost the weight steadily and pretty quickly once I made sure I was eating enough.
That said, it does seem to be very normal for people to lose weight in stages. But no one should eat under 1,200 calories a day.
I'm only an inch taller than you and have gone from 150 lbs to 123 lbs in about 6 months. Generally, I ate 1300 - 1400 cals with lots of break days and vacation where I'd easily eat 2500 cals (mostly from beer 
). I have a very small frame and am not very active aside from walking the dog and sometimes swimming.
Based on my experience, you should try eating a little more. Something else that helped me was to not think about losing weight but rather to think about eating well. Weight loss was my goal, but I actively put eating well ahead of that knowing that the weight would come off.
I think the evidence is pretty clear...the 2 of us who are undereating are not seeing progress, whereas those who are eating a couple hundred more calories per day seem to be dropping the weight. Looks like <1200 calories per day is not the way to get fit. The tough part is convincing ourselves to eat that much!!!
Original Post by jennbush:
I know they say you need 1200 or your body will go into starvation mode, but I am a small person and feel like my body is functioning okay.
The 1200 cal/day number is for a woman who's 5'2 and 100 pounds. You're not as small as her, so you need to eat as much as (or more) than her.
I would feel awful if I tried to eat less then 1500 calories a day even if I didn't exercise that day. Maybe if you ate a little bit more you would find that you would have a bit more energy and therefore burn more. I lost about a pound a week eating 1500 calories on weekdays and 2000 calories on the weekends. I exercise 5-6 days of the week.
Original Post by swna1001:
But how tall are you?
I'm 5' 3 1/2" and under 110 and I agree with her. Actually, 1,500 is too little for me—I lost eating 2,500 to 3,000 at 35 years old—but I couldn't get through the day on 1,200. Even if I started working out a lot less and dropped a lot of the muscle I don't think I could do that. I've never eaten that little in my cognizant life. My body would freak, and if it appeared to stop freaking I'd know that was only because it had gone into conservation mode and my metabolism had slowed.
1. you need to eat more.
2. WAY MORE, i'm 16 5'3.5 and 105 pounds and i'm still losing by eating 2500!
3. no offense, but you didnt think you'd lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks did you? the maximum is 2 pounds a week, more is unhealthy.
Original Post by runnabe15:
1. you need to eat more.
2. WAY MORE, i'm 16 5'3.5 and 105 pounds and i'm still losing by eating 2500!
3. no offense, but you didnt think you'd lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks did you? the maximum is 2 pounds a week, more is unhealthy.
You're 16. Sixteen-year-olds need to eat quite a bit. I don't know how old the OP is, but I don't think she's 16.
I'm not debating whether or not she needs to eat more: She does. She just might not need to eat as much as you do.
I'm 5' 3.5 @ 122lbs. I eat 1500 calories to lose weight, otherwise I can eat around 2000-2200 for maintenance. If I eat under 1500 calories I'm such a B*tch my husband probably would divorce me.
I'm 23 and have always been very muscular and curvy -- I'll never be a "skinny" girl and really can't expect to get below 120 without being super unhealthy. I think I just have a psychological problem about the numbers now, 1500 is a scary number to me. The most twisted part is that I work in an eating disorders clinic and I KNOW I am at a healthy weight (though I worry a little bit about you 108-ers), I would just like to be a little thinner. I knew it wasn't going to happen instantly, I just haven't seen a change at all in the past week.
Original Post by jennbush:
The most twisted part is that I work in an eating disorders clinic and I KNOW I am at a healthy weight (though I worry a little bit about you 108-ers)
Eh. I have a tiny frame with definite curves. No one has ever said I was too thin. I've got a ton of muscle, look healthy and eat more than anyone I know. Everyone's body is different. Certainly, many, many short women are not meant to be under 110 or even under 120. But at 108 I am an hourglass; I started as a slight pear.
Please don't think I meant the 108 comment offensively at all. I think I'm just jealous that I'll never (healthfully) get that low. :o)
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