Why am I not losing weight?!

I am 20 years old and weigh 220 lbs and am 5'9, It has been about a week and a half since I started dieting and exercising. I have been going to the gym everyday and doing cardio for about a hour, burning off about 700 calories. I also lift weights 3 times a week. I eat about 1500 calories or a little more and eat about four to five meals a day. Drink plenty of water and do everything right... Yet, I AM NOT LOSING ANY WEIGHT! :*( Whats wrong with what I am doing? HELP!

I am 39 years old and weighed in at 235 lbs. I had those times, even at first when nothing seemed to be coming off. You'd be suprised how what you do today effects you later. Don't let it discourage you. That's half the reason people say "throw the scale in the trash". You will start dropping. Keep it up and you'll see the effects down the line "BIG TIME". I am now 164 lbs. They also say it took so many years to put it on, you won't loose it overnight. Its not a diet, it has to be a life long commitment, and you can do it. Picture yourself buying those smaller sizes and looking  and feeling great! Good luck!

First, make sure you are tracking everything you eat. We sometimes think we are eating fewer calories and fat than we actually are.

Often, people will drop several pounds their first week in to a diet program but i imagine 'results not typical' for all.

What has finally worked for me was doing one thing at a time, building up slowly. I started by making sure I ate breakfast. One banana. 3 hours later I have another fruit. and then another 3 hours. A week later I started walking 30 minutes a few days a week and I'm doing well. Of course, I'm considerably larger than you. The purpose behind eating something every few hours is to reboot my metabolism and to ensure that I'm never empty or full. Optimum running engine so I can perform at my highest level.

Just keep at it, you will lose eventually. Although, if you FEEL like you're dieting, you may need to reapproach your method.

You need to eat at least 1200 calories after exercise. Your current overall intake is 1500 - 700 = 800 calories. Therefore you should add another  4-500 calories at least to your daily intake.  Given your height and weight you may actually need even more - use the CC tools to calculate a more realistic calorie goal.

Undereating can actually slow or halt weight loss - you want to create enough of an energy deficit to lose weight, but not so much that your metabolism slows down.

Also, remember that, in volumetric terms, muscle is heavier than fat. So if you have lost fat but gained muscle (and that's what you want to happen), you might not see a change on the scales but you will look smaller.

Finally, that is a heck of a change for someone who has just started exercising! You  don't want to burn out after a few weeks and give up altogether - I suggest just  working out a few times a week to begin with. You need to make changes you can stick with so that the weight doesn't creep back on when you're done with dieting.

Have a look at these Ask Mary topics

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/qa/search.ph p?qa_search=not+losing+weight&x=17&y= 8

I found them by going to the Advice tab, then Ask Mary, scroll down to the bottom and type into the Archive Search "not losing weight"

I hope you'll find lots of good information!

Original Post by merylwhite1:

You need to eat at least 1200 calories after exercise. Your current overall intake is 1500 - 700 = 800 calories. Therefore you should add another  4-500 calories at least to your daily intake.  Given your height and weight you may actually need even more - use the CC tools to calculate a more realistic calorie goal.

Undereating can actually slow or halt weight loss - you want to create enough of an energy deficit to lose weight, but not so much that your metabolism slows down.

Also, remember that, in volumetric terms, muscle is heavier than fat. So if you have lost fat but gained muscle (and that's what you want to happen), you might not see a change on the scales but you will look smaller.

Finally, that is a heck of a change for someone who has just started exercising! You  don't want to burn out after a few weeks and give up altogether - I suggest just  working out a few times a week to begin with. You need to make changes you can stick with so that the weight doesn't creep back on when you're done with dieting.

WOW... I didn't realize it was 1200 calories AFTER exercise... that's really good to know because I've kind of had the same problem... well, so I believe, I only weigh once a week so I'll find out the real number on Thursday.  

Thanks for the advice. 

you do not need to eat 1200 after exercise, just because you exercise does not mean you should eat more calories. eat something that has like 100 calories with a lot of protien and fiber. If you have filled out everything when you started this website it tells you how many calories you should eat a day and then enter in you activity log what you do.

When you exercise harder than you're used to (which you are since you're exercise program is new) your body releases a hormone that causes you to retain water - it can be a significant amount of water too. About 3 weeks after starting an exercise program your body will adjust - don't lose faith!

I'd suggest eating more too though. I'm 5'10" and I eat about 2000 calories/day. 1500 is very hard to maintain, I found that if I ate that little I would end up binging on pizza about once or twice a week. 1800 is about the minimum I need to feel satisfied.

Good luck!

Thanks thats really helpful, I'll keep it up.

Hi...I have a similar query. I'm almost 5'6" and weigh 221lbs. I know I'm not at all over-weight however there's a target weight that I want to reach which is 110lbs. I've been working out 5days a week since february 2nd. But I haven't lost a single kilo till date and it's beginning to frustrate me!!! can someone please tell me why this is happening or not happening rather?

i do one hour of cardio or weights on alternate days - 5 days a week 6:30 to 7:30am, religiously! my schedule & food intake is -

1 banana before workout

one slice of multi grain bread with low fat butter and one cup of tea (with sugar & milk) post workout.

11am - one plate of fruit usually papaya

1pm - lunch: 2 wheat breads, one bowl of pulses, and one bowl of fried veggies or fried chicken

4pm - one cup of tea (with sugar & milk) and 2 oatmeal biscuits

8pm - one bowl of fruit

9pm - dinner: one bowl of pulses with a little bit of red meat and 1 potato or massive bowl of salad with red meat (usually beef).

11pm - sleep

however weekends are a different story. I reward myself on weekends with fried rice, fried meats, mashed potato etc and a lot of alcohol - around 4 large vodkas with tonic.

could it be that my weekend binging is killing all my weekday efforts? but i work soooo hard on weekdays...some results should show by now shouldnt it??? atleast 1lb if nothing else. I havent lost ANY weight since february 2nd.

Some one please tell me how I can reach my target weight and why this hasnt happened yet! Please please. Thanks!

Original Post by miaki:

Hi...I have a similar query. I'm almost 5'6" and weigh 221lbs. I know I'm not at all over-weight however there's a target weight that I want to reach which is 110lbs. I've been working out 5days a week since february 2nd. But I haven't lost a single kilo till date and it's beginning to frustrate me!!! can someone please tell me why this is happening or not happening rather?

Um, did you mean you're currently 121lbs? At 5'6" your target weight of 110lbs gives you a BMI of 17.8 which is underweight. No wonder you can't lose weight - your body doesn't have any more fat it's willing to give up.

Yes, weekend eating can sabotage your good behaviour during the week. But I'm not really surprised you are having difficulty losing weight... you don't need to lose any. Your BMI is only 19.5 now. Don't stuff up your body by going further than is natural for you.

Excellent practical advice here... eat many small meals to start with - and make them healthy choices.  Honestly, though clearvilla doesn’t say this, do your homework on what is healthy and what is not - by healthy I don't mean low calorie either - HEALTHY.  Sure count calories - but get your body used to eating well (fruit, veggie, lean mean, fibre without sugar).  The advice she gives about “one step at a time”, IMO, is fantastic.

Don't worry about killing your metabolism by not eating.  Merylwhite1 says you can slow down your metabolism with too much calorie restriction - this is true in her experience - because she used to be WAY TOO thin.  Think people can destroy their metabolism by not eating.  But you have too much weight on - so restricting your calories won't affect your metabolism too much - but restriction of calories can destroy your motivation, your energy levels, your new habits you are trying to form etc...

Original Post by legaleli:

Don't worry about killing your metabolism by not eating.  Merylwhite1 says you can slow down your metabolism with too much calorie restriction - this is true in her experience - because she used to be WAY TOO thin.  Think people can destroy their metabolism by not eating.  But you have too much weight on - so restricting your calories won't affect your metabolism too much - but restriction of calories can destroy your motivation, your energy levels, your new habits you are trying to form etc...

Yes, I used to have an eating disorder. I don't see how that invalidates the information I gave, as it was not from personal experience. Being overweight does not mean that the body cannot go into a metabolic starvation mode - which is based on overall energy intake, not overall fat levels.

If you're starving, your body is going to slow down. That's regardless of your current size. Eat more and see more weight loss.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

Original Post by legaleli:

Don't worry about killing your metabolism by not eating.  Merylwhite1 says you can slow down your metabolism with too much calorie restriction - this is true in her experience - because she used to be WAY TOO thin.  Think people can destroy their metabolism by not eating.  But you have too much weight on - so restricting your calories won't affect your metabolism too much - but restriction of calories can destroy your motivation, your energy levels, your new habits you are trying to form etc...

Yes, I used to have an eating disorder. I don't see how that invalidates the information I gave, as it was not from personal experience. Being overweight does not mean that the body cannot go into a metabolic starvation mode - which is based on overall energy intake, not overall fat levels.

If you're starving, your body is going to slow down. That's regardless of your current size. Eat more and see more weight loss.

 Another, very good reason not to restrict your caloric intake by too much:

You screw up other organs in the body. I lost my gallbladder because my calorie restricted diet caused me to lose weight too fast. Yeah, I thought it was a good thing too, until losing the gallbladder upset me and I dropped the restricted diet and exercise routine once again.

Original Post by merylwhite1:

You need to eat at least 1200 calories after exercise. Your current overall intake is 1500 - 700 = 800 calories. Therefore you should add another  4-500 calories at least to your daily intake.  Given your height and weight you may actually need even more - use the CC tools to calculate a more realistic calorie goal.

Undereating can actually slow or halt weight loss - you want to create enough of an energy deficit to lose weight, but not so much that your metabolism slows down.

Also, remember that, in volumetric terms, muscle is heavier than fat. So if you have lost fat but gained muscle (and that's what you want to happen), you might not see a change on the scales but you will look smaller.

Finally, that is a heck of a change for someone who has just started exercising! You  don't want to burn out after a few weeks and give up altogether - I suggest just  working out a few times a week to begin with. You need to make changes you can stick with so that the weight doesn't creep back on when you're done with dieting.

 I think that this might be my problem also. I have been very confused about this issue..I guess I was just waiting for someone to answer my question..I think you did!!

Do you really have to have 1200 calories after exercise? I guess Im scared to up my calories because I already eat so much already!! lol My intake right now is around 16-1800 cals and I do at the most a 1000 cal workout and at the least 400.

Original Post by budrfly27:

you do not need to eat 1200 after exercise, just because you exercise does not mean you should eat more calories. eat something that has like 100 calories with a lot of protien and fiber. If you have filled out everything when you started this website it tells you how many calories you should eat a day and then enter in you activity log what you do.

 ok now im confooosed!