Why haven't I lost any weight?

so I am trying to lose weight as fast as possible, and yesterday I barely ate anything and I did not lose any weight at all. Yesterday I weighed 110 lbs and this morning when I woke up I got on the scale and it said 110 lbs again. All I ate yesterday was dry cereal for breakfast and a salad for lunch. nothing else tho i did drink a lot of water but that should only help me lose right? I probly had like about 400 cal total yesterday so can somebody tell me why i didnt lose any weight? thanks.

A post from one of the moderators' forum:

There's been an awful lot of posts here, recently, regarding extreme diets. People who truly believe that eating less than 1200/1500 calories is the best or only way to lose weight. People who believe fasting is both useful and helpful.

And I'm here to say, to anyone who will listen to me, it just ain't so.

Most of you know who I am. I'm writing this post with the full knowledge that many of you know who I am. I'm HK, the author of the Calorie-Count.com Diet. I'm not a doctor, but I've been doing this weight loss thing for a year and I know a few things about how to lose weight in a healthful manner, one that my doctors all agree with.

And extreme dieting is not healthful.

I'm not here to try to convince those of you who are sure I'm wrong. You aren't going to listen to me anyways. I'm here to try to convince those of you aren't sure, yet.

For those of you who aren't sure, who want to lose weight, but aren't sure how to do it, listen:

Alot of people want, or need, to lose weight fast. The bookshelves and airwaves are full of promises of fast weight loss, 20 lbs. in 6 weeks, or what not. These are all fad diets. They promise you fast weight loss with strange diets that sound too good to be true. Low carb, high carb, low fat, no fat, high fat, no sat fat. Blue foods, red foods, green foods, no foods. These are ALL fad diets and the world is FULL of them. And they don't WORK. Some of them don't work at all, some work short term, but you can't stay on it so you fail and gain more.

Yo-Yo Dieting WILL mess up your metabolism, as you lose muscle mass. How much it messes up your metabolism depends on how active you are. If you continue to try to lift weights, than it won't mess you up too badly. If you never touch weights, your metabolism will continue to lower for each yo.

But there *IS* a way to lose weight, healthfully, with none of these issues. All it requires is patience and commitment. That's the Calorie-Count way, the way discussed in the Calorie-Count.com Diet so many of you are familiar with.

The methods we discuss in the Calorie-Count.com Diet work, my friends. I'm proof of that. 70 lbs. lost. I'm not the only person, though. Ask around the boards. People have lost 100 lbs. or more just counting calories, getting active and eating better.

For MOST of us, the way to make a Diet work is to bring it INTO our lifestyle, make it part of our routine. To make friends with your new lifestyle, you need to be prepared for everything.

Extreme Dieting requires an extreme personality. You've got to be willing to count EVERY scrap of food that enters your mouth (whether you spit it out or swallow it), and never ever ever go beyond it. Extreme Dieters can not enjoy a break, a splurge, for any reason. Whether it be for a birthday, a holiday, or the Superbowl, their diets BECOME their lives.

But if you pick a more sensible, slow diet than it's OK If you fall off the bandwagon because it does no lasting damage. Just enjoyed a triple-chocolate moccachino with extra whipped cream with friends? Well, that sucks. But you've done no lasting damage. You can get up, dust off, and do better tommorow.

Extreme Dieting hurts the body. It forces your metabolism to slow down, and your body temperature to fall. You CAN live this way, you may even live longer.. but it comes at the expense of being ever to be truly energetic and active again. Extreme Dieters live life in the slow lane. You'll never find an extreme dieter who can use their body to it's FULL potential, do something like run a marathon or be an Iron Man like our very own neeners. That's how great the toll extreme dieting takes on you. They also will never have a distinct pair of six-packs/four-packs, because extreme dieting destroys the muscles.

Please consult your doctor before starting anything that sounds too extreme. Please know that there are better, if slower, ways to lose weight. Ways that will not harm your body, that, if you go the same route I am, exercising and becoming fit, will actually help your body to get to it's full potential.

This is what Calorie-Count.com is about. Slow, healthful weight management. This is what we support and this is what we're here for.

Thank you for your time.

HK (Volunteer Moderator, Author of the Calorie-Count.com Diet, and loser of 70 lbs.)

thank you for posting that, i appreciate it but i dont consider what im doing extreme dieting. i've lost 26.9 lbs over about 4 months, i consider that pretty reasonable. and im a vegetarian so i eat healthy most of the time. and i exercise just about everyday, with weights and i try to go to the gym about once a week.

well if that is true then why do i gain if i have 1000 cal or more. and i lose if i eat less. and somebody said that if u eat 1200 cal u will initially gain some pounds back. how much is some?

OKay, Whitney. all of the people here on CC are here to help and support you. all of them. all of the replies you have received have been out of concern for your post. You are not hearing what you want to hear so you are not taking in the advice - the facts. If you are eating under 1000 cals a day, it IS extreme dieting. But if it's not what you want to hear, then CC is probably not the place you need to be for the advice that you want. We really are just trying to help you. You are on a starvation diet. We just want to get you out of that and help you to lose the weight you want to lose in a healthful way.

and yes, that was me who said you may initially gain at 1200. You gain at 1000 because you are in starvation mode. If you gain at 1000, you will gain at 1200. Maybe for a week, maybe for months, but it will give your metabolism and your entire body the chance to repair itself so that you can lose at a healthy caloric intake.

Ok, I will try the 1200 cal thing. What do you think, about eating 1200 cal a day and then just not eating after 5:00. Somebody said that would be a lot better than what my diet is now. cuz my health IS importnt to me but I am so scared that i will gain back all of the weight i lost if i start eating more.

Whit....awe.....forget it.........

edit:  good luck

Original Post by whitney86:

cuz my health IS importnt to me but I am so scared that i will gain back all of the weight i lost if i start eating more.

 If your health is really important to you, you need to figure out why you're obsessing over losing weight in the first place.  Do you have unrealistic expectations for your body?  It would be good to assess your goals, and even consult with a nutritionist or other professional about what you should be eating to acheive them.

Weight loss does not necessarily equal good health.  If healthy is important to you, focus on that, not the number on the scale.  If you eat healthy and have a healthy lifestyle, you will look healthy, and be at the weight that is best for you.

Good luck.

Yes Yes YES!!! Much better to eat 1200 and stop before 5. I doubt you will gain it all back. In fact, I think you will be surprised- you may gain a few lbs at first but once you readjust, I think you will find it easier to lose. And keep up the exercise too. That's the best way to not regain. Yes, way to go for making the healthy choice. I have been where you are and trust me, eating over 1200 calories a day is so much more fun. If you need help, I am here. As is everyone else on CC. Good Job, Whitney, and Good Luck!

Hi Whitney86 ~

Please know that Calorie Count cannot and will not support you eating less than 1200 calories a day. We consider this unhealthy and CC is all about HEALTHY weight loss or weight maintenance

From Mary Hartley, Calorie Count's Director of Nutrition: "By eating only 800 calories, you will not get enough energy, protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other components of food. In time, you could become malnourished, which can cause severe health risks such as respiratory infections, kidney failure, blindness, heart attack and even death."

Here is a brief reason why never less than 1200 from the Advice section of Calorie Count Plus, under the Q&A tab:

Why must I eat at least 1,200 calories a day when I want to eat less?

In order to get the daily food servings you need for a balanced diet, it takes about 1200 calories a day. With careful planning, you could have a balanced diet on 1000 calories, but the restrictiveness of a very low calorie level can lead to binging and weight cycling, which will take you further from your weight loss goal. What's more, very low calorie diets can cause excessive muscle breakdown and metabolic adaptations, which can drive down your calorie requirements. In the end, you'll need fewer calories to maintain a higher weight

Your body needs at least 1200 calories per day to survive.

Here is a very rough scientific break down provided by a dietician for a 5' 2", 19 year old female weighing approximately 100 pounds, sitting around all day and doing nothing:

-The heart needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The kidney needs 12% of the calories (144 cals)
-The Liver needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The brain needs 23% of the calories (276 cals)
-The skeletal muscle needs 30% of the calories (360 cals)

You mentioned that you work out every day.  The more active you are, the more calories you will need.  1200 calories is more than likely too low for you to be consuming.

This is what is going to happen to you if you continue undereating: The Body Neglected.

Posting Guidelines

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• Your post is subject to modification or deletion by our moderators. Repetitive, off-topic, disruptive, and frivolous posts will be removed. We will take down any posts that violate either the letter or the spirit of any of these rules.  
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UTR
Volunteer Moderator

Whitney, hon.

It's becoming increasingly more clear this is more of an emotional and mental issue than it is physical. You've consistently paralleled weight gain to fear in every post. Your stats show you are NOT obese, hardly overweight for that matter. You've eaten at an unhealthy level you say for months, and unfortunately, you've seen results from it...encouraging you to continue on the same path.

You're lucky to have gotten those results. And by lucky I don't mean in the good way. I'm a good 50 pounds HEAVIER than you are, which means I should be losing quicker than you, but I'm not. I WASN'T EATING ENOUGH. I am now. It's starting to come off now.

You cannot eat like that and stay healthy. Period. You have to gage if thin is more important than healthy.

There are calorie dense foods that will NOT increase your fullness...avocados, peanut butter, nuts in general...seek them out. EAT THEM.

Get some help before your inner demons do physical damage.

I totally second naturallyd.  You should never ever been on that restricted a diet without direct physican supervision.  You can seriously harm yourself.

Ok, this might be out of place here, but I'm still learning (only joined this site yesterday) I'm just wondering how long before anybody actually lost weight. I'm not expecting miracles, I'm just curious if it was a week or 2 before you lost a pound. I don't have a scale to weigh myself every week, nor do I want one. I don't want to obssess over my actual WEIGHT I just want to feel good, and feel the weight as it comes off...whether that be a month down the road or more.

I'm just a little confused about this whole thing, and I can tell that some other people are too, but I'm open to advice from others who have been doing this for awhile and know what its all about, so anyone willing to share tips, exercise routines, healthy foods or snacks that you enjoy, anything like that -send me a message!

I agree with musicismydestiny. To add - why do you feel you need to lose weight "as fast as possible" or AT ALL, when you only weigh 110 lbs of tiny person?

Whitney! Girl trust me I am a man. I do not like a woman below 115llbs. Trying to lose when you are already 110 is very dangerous. It can lead to all sorts of health problems. We have a woman at my health club that is anorexic. You can see all of her bones. Including her hips. It's extremely gross. The worst part is she thinks she still needs to do situps and she does them in the DRY HEAT SAUNA! She has a severe problem. Do not allow yourself to get like that! Trust me 110 and under is not sexy it's gross! If anything eat right do situps and maintain what you have and be very very thankful. You represent the lower percentage that IS NOT OVERWEIGHT! My girlfriend is 120 and she is hot! I like her that way. I would love her if she gained more but I would not like it if she lost a lot. Waifish and bony is not a good look on anyone! Good luck! JUST BE HAPPY!

Honestly, why would you ask for help when you clearly aren't willing to accept it?

Do me a favour and just have a conversation with yourself - because apparently, you're not willing to listen to anyone else.

Original Post by must_lose20:

I'm just wondering how long before anybody actually lost weight. 

Well, for me it was certainly longer than a day.  I'm glad you're not looking for miracles out of CC, because this is all about reasonable healthy weight loss, which cannot happen overnight. 

For me, I just started using the logs as a way to estimate what I was eating to start off with, and for me it was a shocker.  Then I eventually saw that if I just reduced portions a little bit here, a little bit there, I could easily shave 500 cals a day off the normal total.  Once I found a way to do that, and get a little bit (~20 minutes a day) of exercise in,  I saw that I lost my first  2 pounds in 2 weeks.  However, it does depend on the individual.

Whitney, you seem an intelligent 22-year old: read a Biochem book. That is always my advice. I'm 21 and almost as tall as you are (5'1'') and I tell you, you NEED to read that. Don't ask science questions here, because the answers will probably be generic. Read science articles on biochem, bio and chem. It's simple. Just don't let people tell you how much you have to eat without consulting a doctor or just learning from scientific sources because you're very short and will probably require less calories than a 5'6'' girl.

missleo, thanks so much for your post. I agree, for my height and frame size i dont think that 110 lbs of even 100 lbs is unreasonable at all. and I appreciate all your advice. I tried to get to 1200 cal today but I couldn't do it. I ended up eating i think about 1000 cal and i am too full to eat anymore.  I definitely will be exercising more because i dont want my metabolism to slow down.  and i will try to eat  at least 1000 or more cal because i definitely don't want  to damage any of my organs.