Why am I not losing?

I joined calorie count a little over two weeks ago. In 16 days, I have burned 9000 calories, which, at 5' 5, female, 170ish, I calculate I should have lost three pounds. I'm not doing a lot of weight training. I'm spreading out my meals evenly. I'm eating fiber and protein. I logged in at 172 when I started, got down to 171 some time last week, but I'm sittin' pretty at 172 on average. What's the deal?

If you find out let me know.  I am 5'5" and i lose some weeks then go back up other weeks then lose the next week.  I weigh 250 though.  I am 37, how old are you?? You just may not be eating enough silly as it sounds.  How many calories are you eating??


Clarice

I am 5'6, began around 164 pounds and like you wasn't really losing.  Truth is that if you want to lose weight you have to really make some changes.  I am now down to 152 and it happened when I cut out all sugar and  white breads and starchs.  I don't really go off fat grams but keep the calories between 1200-1600.  Try not to go over 1400 at first but seriously the best way to trim down is to cut out sugar, white breads, and stick to proteins and vegetables, even limit fruit to about 2 a day.  Lots of veggies and lean meats, this is not a low carb diet but an all natural diet.  Add a serving or two of nuts a day and for me it began falling off.  Whatever you do do not give up!  If you can excersie it helps also.

Any chance that you're new at exercising and you're adding muscle? Even if you're not doing weight training, burning that many calories uses some muscle.

Also what would help is if we knew how much you're eating and how often. If you're having trouble with say, 3 main meals, I've found the way I loose weight is by eating until I'm about 3/4ths full, and just more meals... up to 5 or 6 a day if that's what it takes.

Maybe just switching it around will help... there's something not right, you'll figure it out! Everyone's body is different.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to answer all of you. I am 27. I'm eating between 1200 and 1700 calories a day. I am exercising, mostly walking, some jogging, a little bit of strength training, mostly squats and upper body with 5 pound weights - usually only twice a week. I do try to stay away from white things as much as possible, although that has not worked in the past. I mostly eat lean protein, lots of veggies, nuts, fruit... good stuff - at least 4 small meals a day. I've obsessed about this long enough to know the rules. I do have bad genes, but I refuse to blame my weight on that entirely. I know it plays a factor, but I know, I know, I KNOW I can get the weight off somehow. So can an exercise routine of mostly walking really build enough muscle to add weight? Maybe that's it. Maybe I'm getting frustrated too soon.

Sounds more like muscle gain to me.  Keep it up!!


Clarice

Starting a new exercising regime can cause your body to retain a couple pounds of water for the first week or two.

When I first started walking, it didn't help my weight loss at all. I was walking on a flat surface and really wasn't burning enough calories to make a difference. So then I started adding in hills to my walk. THAT made a huge difference! Although I gained a couple pounds at first (water in the muscles, my dr told me) it went away after a couple days. Then the weight started falling off.

You'll figure this out. Your body is resisting your effort at losing weight. Have you dieted alot?  I've heard that people who have dieted for many years can start to have a hard time losing weight. I don't know how true that is though.

Good luck!

You could be overestimating your calories burned.  I wear a heart rate monitor (which I'd suggest you buy if you don't already have one) which is much more accurate than the gym machines and I still take off 100-200 calories from the number I see depending on how long I was working out for.  Because you would be burning X number of calories just living, and the machines could be overestimating also.

Second I would try to narrow the gap in your calories.  1200-1700 is a pretty large difference, and looking at your height and weight 1200 is likely much too low, your body could be retaining b/c of that.  I am 5'2.5" 165ish and 23 and take in 1500-1600 calories a day.  From how much you are working out and your other stats it sounds like you should be taking in AT LEAST that.  maybe 100 or so calories more.  Shockingly sometimes upping your cals really helps.  If your deficit is too high (especially with the low calories intake to begin with and intense exercise) your body will just want to hold on for all its got!

Same here! I'm 41, 5'2" 175 lbs with a goal of 140. I'm averaging about 1400 kcs/d. I have CP, so walking is pretty tough for me. I still manage it, though - about 30 mins 4-6 d/w. For me, that's considered moderate, bc of the extra effort it takes (1 positive to gimpness). I ex'd for a month without dropping an oz. Then I found this site, started counting kcs, and lost 4 lbs. in 2 weeks.

Then Memorial Weekend came . On Tu. a.m., I'd gained everything back + 1.5 lbs! (salt, alcohol). Yesterday, I drank a lot of water. As of this a.m., I'm back to my starting point.

As for the weight, I'm trying to keep myself encouraged by focusing on the trend line in the weight log. But man, this is SUCH a slow process! Is there anything I can do to speed things up? I'm feeling discouraged.

Original Post by lynnlette:

Starting a new exercising regime can cause your body to retain a couple pounds of water for the first week or two.

Agreed.  Your muscles will hold onto extra water for the first few weeks of weight training.  It is rather unlikely that you're building a substantial amount of muscle on a calorie deficit (especially 2lbs in 2 weeks).  I'd be sure to drink a lot of water to help flush out your system and be patient, the weight will come off soon enough.

You have to try everything. Give yourself two weeks each time you try a new suggestion. I had to increase my calories because I wasn't eating enough at around 1200. When I didn't see results right away I got discouraged, but it's just now starting to come off. I hope it lasts! Not only was I only eating around 1200 calories I was exercising an hour a day. Then I got a heart rate monitor and went crazy trying different activities and seeing how many calories they burned. Not eating enough and exercising too much=too large a deficit.

So here's me if this may be any justice for you:

I'm 24, my gene pool isn't all that great either (papa is a big 'ole italian guy built like a mac truck, and mama is american indian & spanish decent... very short and very stocky) so my genes are kinda screwed. I'm 5ft 4in. I have hips at 34" and they are not going to get smaller (they already kinda stick out as it is).

And while I would love to be a size 5 jeans like I was in 8th/9th grade when I first started out I was at a 13 and I couldn't fathom it. (At one point I got up to a size 18 but, well, that was only temporary). Now I thought I hit a plateau... thought I even gained weight. (I got down to 135lbs, joined the gym and haven't got lower than 137 since... been hovering around 139-141). And my size 6womens, 7 juniors pants still fit well.

So yesterday I go to Ross to go buy some more work clothes... guess what... the 6 doesn't fit, and neither does the 7. In fact I was snugly comfortable in a *gasp* FOUR!!!!!! (wow right??? how did that happen), tried on like 5 more size 4's and 5's to be sure...

You can get smaller and tighter by working out. Scales make no difference as I'm truley learning. And fitness models??? Those biotches lie about their weight like none other!!! I checked their weight, their height, their measurements... there is no way I weight 20lbs more than them but yet I fit all the same stuff and have the same specs...

So chin up... go try on some tight fitting jeans or a mini-skirt and slap some bronzer on your legs and kick your scale. I weigh myself only once a week now, and it's just out of curiousity...

Hope that helps :)

Original Post by kristijschramm:

I am 5'6, began around 164 pounds and like you wasn't really losing.  Truth is that if you want to lose weight you have to really make some changes.  I am now down to 152 and it happened when I cut out all sugar and  white breads and starchs.  I don't really go off fat grams but keep the calories between 1200-1600.  Try not to go over 1400 at first but seriously the best way to trim down is to cut out sugar, white breads, and stick to proteins and vegetables, even limit fruit to about 2 a day.  Lots of veggies and lean meats, this is not a low carb diet but an all natural diet.  Add a serving or two of nuts a day and for me it began falling off.  Whatever you do do not give up!  If you can excersie it helps also.

This is pretty much what I did to break my plateau. I didn't up my calories like most people suggest. I kept them about the same, exercised for the same amount of time but pushed myself harder, then also tried lowering my carb percentage and increase my protein percentage. It worked for me.

Thanks, guys. It helps to have encouragement. I feel better already. I don't have a tape measure, but I tried on one of my belts and it is a notch tighter. So maybe I do need to kick the scale. I'm going to take some of this advice and make some minor changes. Really watch the white stuff and drink even more water than I already am. And try to be patient and stay positive! Thanks so much for all the support!

no no, just lowering my carbo intake a little more. not cutting out anything. I don't believe in cutting anything completely out of your diet bc then it becomes all you think about. I eat a lot of fruit. Thinking I should cut that down and the grains a bit too. But not the veggies. Love those fiberific suckers!

Hi,

It doesn't look like you're eating enough.  Your BMR is over 1500 calories, which means your body needs at least this amount to operate at rest.  So your body organs function.  Take a look at this link, it looks like you need to eat at least 1500 calories or more.  http://www.phord.com/cc/    I am 45 and down to 164, I eat a minimum of 1500 every day and more if I exercise more than 30 minutes.  I just bought a new heart monitor Polar F6, and boy are those gym machines and CC over estimate your calorie burn.  Mine was off by about 100 calories a 1/2 hour.   Try increasing your calories by about 100 calories a day each week for 2-3 weeks and see if you don't start losing.  I was on a 6 month plateau after losing 50# and once I started increasing my calories I felt better and started losing weight.

Keep up the hard work.

Leslie

I keep getting frustrated that after 2 weeks I am not losing weight either.  Then I was reminded that I should be measuring inches as well.  Keep in mind, like everyone is saying that muscle weighs more than fat.

The hardest thing I find is keeping my calorie count consistant.  Also, I'm going to agree that you should try eating more smaller meals a day, than just 3 meals.  You want to make sure that you are not "starving" yourself and that you are eating a good solid breakfast.  If you do not eat, your body goes into shock and starts hogging calories because it isn't sure when the next time you are going to eat is.

I also noticed that I lost a lot more weight when I cut out all sodas and juices.  They have a lot of calories and a lot of sugar.  Make sure you are taking a multivitamin as well.

She's right ^^^^^ I was told (by my friend who lost 25 now weighs 119) you need those calories, if you don't get enough your body may store fat and slow down your metabolism because it's not getting what it needs in a day.