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.

If you need a really good reason to eat more, I'll be the perfect example to (not) live by!  I did the whole 800 cals a day thing for a couple months and lost...well, only 10 lbs.  Not so great, but hey, I lost weight, right?  Then a couple months later I got really sick because my gallbladder stopped functioning.  I learned only after having it surgically removed that this has been linked to extreme crash diets--and other people on this site have had the same thing happen to them!

So do yourself a favor, eat more food, save your gallbladder.

(PS--I gained the weight back)

There you have it, Whitney.  It only took 39 rational people to take the time out of their day to give a rat's bum tell you that you need to eat more until that 1 person came along that you were looking for to validate, in your mind, your desire/need/obsession to eat under the recommended 1200 calories per day for a female. 

You do the math.

Ok I have a couple more questions. I understand that eating less than 1200 cal a day over a long period of time can seriously mess up your body. What kind of damage does it do to your organs? Is 4 months really enough time for it to mess you up, and if you do end up doing damage to it, how do you fix it? thanks.

Whitney

I feel horrified after reading all your replies on the good posts. This website is the best thing that has ever happened to me . I'm 5,4" and 125llbs, which is a healthy weight. I do still have a couple of pounds that I can get rid off, but I know that it's going to take time.

When I started obsessing about my weight (just like you are doing now) I wanted it off in a month. I tried the 3day diet (DON'T DO IT!!!) and stuck to it for a couple of months. I lost a lot in the first month (from 132LLB to 125LLB) and then stopped completely. Guess what, I started gaining then. Still stuck to the 3day diet, and still gained.

I picked up all the weight that I lost during the 3 day diet, and had to start from scratch... (if only I didn't google for quick fix diets and found this site earlier)

The problem was I was eating less than 1200 per day, I then started getting ill, flu, constantly tired, running out of breath quickly, and getting extreme headaches. I found this website and started reading about the calorie deficit etc (and everything that everyone has told you so far). At first I didn't want to believe it (just like you) and then one day i decided to give it a go.

I'm married and I still enjoy good food (love cooking) and I eat what my husband eat, I just started limiting my calories. Now I'm eating between 1400 - 1500 per day and it is enough to keep me going for the whole day.

I joined a gym and now I'm a gym junkie - I go 4 times a week and I really enjoy it!!! I;m back on 125llbs, but I've lost a lot of inches around my thighs and waist and bum its amazing. I had to get all my new clothes adjusted as it was falling off me.

The bottom line is.... you have to eat more and yes you will most probably gain a bit again - not saying you will gain all of it, especially if you exercise which I didn't at the time. But before you do it, you have to sit down and write down why you want to loose weight... are you doing it for someone else? or for yourself? I don't want to know, but you have to know that you are doing it for yourself and not for anyone else.

These days all you see in the magazines are size 0 models and it's not pretty, there you got it from the horses mouth, that men don't like it when girls are so skinny.

I'm going on about this because like healthybmi said, you listen to the one person that says yes you can eat 1000cals a day, when there are scientific facts about how much cals you need to be able to function.

Please girl if you don't believe anyone on this site, go and see a nutritionist. It has been suggested and then another person will tell you that what you are currently doing is messing your metabolism. I saw changes in my health after 3 months.... you might not but it can happen now or later. All you have to do is start eating more and healthy.

Here is what I had yesterday

Breakfast - Jordans muesli with 2% milk - 292

Snack at 10h00 - 10 fresh cherries - 43

Lunch at 12h30 - wholewheat roll with lettuce, cucumber, lunch meat, and low fat cheese - 440

Snack at 4pm - 2 carrots and a banana plus one block of chocolate

dinner at 8pm - lean steak, with boiled potato and steamed vegetables - 466

Also went to the gym for an hour after work that is a total of 1452 cals for the day.

You don't have to eat that much, but you have to eat a variety, get protein, carbs, natural sugars etc. and you are allowed something nice every now and then.

I'll stop now, and if you want to talk just shout please

see ya

during my EATING DISORDER i was eating like you... well truth be told I dropped from 104lbs down to 87lbs, but then GAINED IT ALL BACK as soon as I started eating more... and by more I don't mean MORE like 3000cal I mean I gained like 20 freakin pounds eating about 1200cal!

undereating ruins your metabolism.. accept the facts... I probably could of maintained my weight at about 104lbs eating like 1800cal, but no that wasn't good enough for me I wanted to be lower and lower and lower... see this is how eating disorders start. The less you eat the more distorted your thoughts become, your brain runs on glucose which is derived from FOOD. You will never be able to think straight or think 'healthfully' if you have nothing to think with!

100lbs is not an unrealistic goal for someone your height, but getting there by eating like an 'anorexic' is unrealistic... are you going to eat like this forever? my guess is no, because either a) you'll die or b) the moment you do start eating normally you will gain the weight back which will scare you and begin more yo-yo dieting

I am now eating about 1800cal and maintaining my weight around 105lbs (i'm 5'2.5) btw.. I am trying to get my metabolism to run like it should

I suggest you either stop this nonsense right now.. or face the consequences

you CAN NOT live on 400cal forever.. this is pure stupidity, and will lead to binging which will make you feel even worse

anyways good luck, i hope SOMEONE got through to you.

oh and also the body is made for survival in the sense that it does not want to starve... depending on how much you do or dont eat, your metabolism will slow to match the allowed intake.

sure you may lose on 800cal BUT soon enough your weight will plateau and you will have to eat less and less... your body will only burn that much, and anything over will be stored, and yes make you gain weight

keep it up and soon enough you'll be eating 200cal a day, and gain weight if you ever eat more than that... sounds like a good life hey?

it's your choice.. you say that your health is important to you, but what you are doing right now is the farthest thing from healthy

1200cal is a good start, but still not enough if you are active... 1200cal is what a very small woman needs to eat lying in bed all day

you've gotten a lot of replies on here.. it's time to take them to heart.

like someone else had already stated, if you are not willing to except advice dont ask for it

Nothing is getting through to her... she will not do any of her own research... I think she wants one of us to have a bunch of magical answers.

YOU need to spend some time with your friend GOOGLE and look for these answers YOURSELF.

Everyone who has posted these long and thoughtful responses has only gotten an "I KNOW, BUT....." answer.

The people on this site support eachother and help eachother, they don't FIX eachother.

You need to grow up and work on yourself intelligently before seeking others' support, as you OBVIOUSLY are not ready to accept the truth and make a real change in your life.

Original Post by whitney86:

ok let me clarify something. i normally DO lose weight. i eat about 800-900 cal a day, exercise, and i usually dont have a problem losing. so i think my metabolism is not ruined. I was just  curious  why when i normally have no problem losing weight after eating 900 cal, i didnt lose anything after eating just 400 cuz i was expecting to lose a couple of pounds after yesterday. and also since somebody said something about messing up my metabolism,  what if i ate 1200 cal a day and then just didnt eat anything after like 5 or something would that still mess me up?

You're doing everything right - eating less than you're burining... you're exercising... and you're a musician - which is amazing.

The REASON why you did not lose weight that day was because you had no water change (read total mass) and/or your scales were wrong.  that's it plain and simple.

Finally, eating less than 1200 calories a day for the rest of your life might not mess you up at all... it depends on HOW MUCH less.  1200 calories less will kill you in a month... that said... a 1200 calorie a day diet for a short impish musician might be just right.

Original Post by demila1983:

I'll open the gate for the wolves...enjoy.

 HHAHAHAHAH THAT IS CLASSIC.....

do u need to someone to tell you 400 cals/day is not enough.... c'mon common sense.... i hate these posts as in recovering from anorexia currently and it is annoying/triggering u name it... i know i didnt have to open the form and read it i know but geez....

sorry to rant, but i wish someone woulda slapped me up side the head if i publicly announced i ate 400 cals in 24 hrs, woulda made my life a lot easier

control something besides the food you eat, and use your 24/7 obsession w/ food and turn it in to something else... ie doing your job, puzzling, knitting, typing, whatever it is...

Whitney,

You asked if your 4month habit could have caused any real damage.  and the answer is yes you have caused damage to your body.  Basically when you eat less than 1200 cal/day you are forcing your body to cannibalize itself.  the "weight" that you lost was not the fat that you see but the muscle and organ structure that keeps you going.  When other posters mentioned you aren't losing the correct weight they are speaking the truth.  You need the calories to build muscle mass.  by restricting you are forcing your body to store and cling to the fat, there by keeping you from looking toned and reinforcing your sense of "looking" fat because there is no energy in your body to build the muscle mass required to look toned.  So no matter how much you exercise with an extreme diet you are going to look soft and are sacrificing slowly organ and muscle mass that your body is "sacrificing" to keep you living.  I hope this helps to convince you that your body image view is real distorted and you are only holding yourself back.

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

Maybe if someone builds her a bridge she might walk over it?

 You are taking in enough cal. and your metabolism is probably thrown off. You want to be healthy not starved. your energy will be depleated and organs could shut down.Heart disease, irregular heart rhythms and result in smaller heart muscles. Heart disease is a common cause of death for people who have extremely low cal. intake.
Hormonal changes. Changes in reproductive hormones and in thyroid hormones can cause absence of menstruation (amenorrhoea), infertility, bone loss and retarded growth.
Imbalance of minerals and electrolytes. The body needs adequate levels of minerals, particularly calcium and potassium, in order to maintain the electric currents that keep the heart beating. Disruption of the body's levels of fluids and minerals creates an electrolyte imbalance. Unless restored, this imbalance can be life-threatening.
Nerve damage.  Brain and nerve damage, seizures and loss of feeling.
Blood disorders. Lack of nutrition can reduce the body's levels of vitamin B-12, causing anemia and affecting the body's ability to produce enough red blood cells.
Digestive problems.  constipation and bloating. You are now  drawing on your lean muscle mass as fuel, which lowers your metabolic rate and that is why did not drop any pounds that day

I was walking 12 miles a week , went to Dr. and thought that I would surely weigh less  but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, I had gained nearly 10 pounds. My clothing has become loose but the weight gain threw me.  I guess I was gaining muscle mass. I now, walk less but am on 1,250 cal. a day diet which is better for me and will increase my walks as time goes on.

this is in response to marie_von's post. Ok, that makes sense. So how do you go about losing actual weight instead of muscle and organ structure, and looking toned and building muscle mass instead of looking fat and soft. Like, I get now that you need to have at least 1200 cal no matter what. How much and what kind of exercise would I need to do along with the 1200 cal a day? thanks.

Original Post by drcoffee:

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org

Maybe if someone builds her a bridge she might walk over it?

Thank you for posting this, it was very helpful to me.

HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA

WONDERFUL TROLL. A++ would read again! 

Original Post by whitney86:

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.

Actually, the reaso you did not lose more in the four months of starving yourself is that you didn't have that much to lose in the first place. For your size, it's probably too much. And if you are vegetarian AND eating so little, it is likely you are lacking nutrients, iron in particular. Expect your periods to stop soon, if it hasn't happened already.

Original Post by missleo:

People, give her a break...she's 5'0 tall! she'd still be healthy at 100lbs! that's not too skinny for her height...but yeah, since you are petite so you'll probably be able to eat at 1000kcal a day (u have girls at 5'6 eating 1200kcal a day, so it only makes sense the smaller u are the less u eat)...

This has been discussed before and actually no, if you are short you still need 1200 because our organs are more or less the same regardless of height and it's the internal organs that consume the most calories, not the slightly longer legs and arms.

That is right you must eat in order to loose....trust it works...all that is going to happen if you don't eat and then try to eat is you will gain. So eat the calories suggested and I promise you will loose the weight....

People suffering from an eating disorder, or developing one (they don't happen overnight) tend to have a very distorted view of themselves. 

Whitney, please read this.

And please talk to someone IRL about this.  You sound like you have a distorted view of yourself. 

It is all too common for people living with Anorexia and Bulimia to have a mild to severe distorted perception of themselves. What is seen in the mirror isn't reality, and when they compare their physical or personality attributes to others they are extremely judgmental of themselves. A person suffering with Anorexia or Bulimia may see another person and think "I wish I could be as skinny as them" and in reality, may actually be thinner. They may wish to be as smart, as funny or as compassionate as another person that they are equally as good as -- the bottom line is that they cannot see their own good traits, especially in comparison to others, because of the low self-esteem they have of themselves.