Am I the only one not losing weight?

Hi, I am 27 years old, 5'5" and currently fluctuating between 128-130 lbs. My goal is 120. I started counting calories April 15th. I exercise about 5 times a week for at least 60 minutes (usually more like 90) at the gym. My usual routine goes 30 minutes of vigorous (I'm talking sweat dripping from everywhere) cardio, usually the elliptacal trainer, 30 minutes of either arms or legs (I alternate daily), and 15-30 of abs (crunches, sit-ups, etc.) After calculating my BMI, I gathered that I could lose weight at a fairly slow but steady rate by eating 1850 calories a day without exercise. I decided that I would drop down to 1600 with exercise to speed up the process and I feel that 1600 is a healthy amount of calories for me. I'm not starving at all. I spread my calories out over five or so meals per day and feel perfectly fine most of the time. I have had a few hunger spells here and there but if I don't have calories to spare, I just drink water and busy myself so that I'm not thinking of food.  

The first two weeks, I saw myself drop three pounds to 127 and I was completely stoked. I am now in week four and have gone back up to 129-130 and that's been pretty consistent for the last two weeks. 

Am I doing something wrong? Have I already hit a plateau? Should I lower my caloric intake? Or should I just give it more time to see if my metabolism adjusts? I'm really dedicated and NEVER cheat. I'm borderline obsessive about eating no more and no less than 1600 calories per day. Since I feel like I'm eating plenty at 1600, my initial reaction is to lower my caloric intake but I don't want to go too low since I am exercising so much and I know too low may result in no results...

If anybody has advice, I'd love to hear it! Thanks!

Sorry I dont have any advice but I feel like I am in the exact same boat! Ive been on here for a while now and started working out basically every day (and I'm not kidding I am sort of obsessed with working out) since April 24th. At first I lost a couple pounds but then I gained it back. I am assuming its muscle but I wanted the scale to drop! I know the scale isn't the only important thing but I wish it would drop some so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

Original Post by dancinauni:

Sorry I dont have any advice but I feel like I am in the exact same boat! Ive been on here for a while now and started working out basically every day (and I'm not kidding I am sort of obsessed with working out) since April 24th. At first I lost a couple pounds but then I gained it back. I am assuming its muscle but I wanted the scale to drop! I know the scale isn't the only important thing but I wish it would drop some so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

 Wow i couldn't have written that ... sorry i can't help either having exactly the same problem

Yeah, I'm in the same boat too...It's very disheartening, isn't it?  It would be very easy for me to quit right about now, and that's normally what I would do...but I refuse to give in to it.  I will stick with it and hopefully see some changes.  

I fluctuate my caloric intake between about 1350 and 1500 because I've heard that tricks your body into NOT going into starvation mode.  But I still have yet to see any change. 

If anyone has any insight or tips...please share!!!

Original Post by dancinauni:

Sorry I dont have any advice but I feel like I am in the exact same boat! Ive been on here for a while now and started working out basically every day (and I'm not kidding I am sort of obsessed with working out) since April 24th. At first I lost a couple pounds but then I gained it back. I am assuming its muscle but I wanted the scale to drop! I know the scale isn't the only important thing but I wish it would drop some so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

I am in same boat and waiting for scale drop down.

Okay, so. I've been reading and researching why I'm may not be losing the weight. I really feel like I'm doing great at the calorie counting and awesome with my workouts so it wasn't making sense to me that wasn't losing weight. I do feel like I look different but the scale doesn't show it. Anyway, what I've found makes tons of sense to me: I'm not eating enough and my body thinks it needs to keep the food that I do eat stored away therefore I'm not losing anything. If I'm eating 1600 calories per day and burning anywhere between 600-650, then I'm really only giving my body about 1000-1050 to work with which is obviously not healthy. I never realized that I needed to eat back some of the calories I'm burning. So now I've upped my caloric intake to 1700-1800 and if I'm losing 600 of that, that means that I'm eating 1100-1200 calories per day which should help me lose weight. I mean, theoretically I could up my caloric intake to about 1900 calories and give my bod 1300 calories to live off per day and I still should see results, but honestly, I'm finding it pretty hard to eat the 1700-1800 as it is. I'm sure this is because my stomach has shrunk by now and slowly, I will get more of an appetite back.

Anyway, I'm going to try this for a week or two and let you all know how it goes. Thanks for the replies. It's nice to know that I'm not alone. Hopefully my little experiment will result in a positive outcome.

I've been a member for two years or so. The first year, weight loss was slooooow. I was getting very frustrated but really believed in CC so I decided to take another look at what I was doing. Turns out, I was in starvation mode, not eating my daily calorie intake. I'm a very impatient person and wanted instant results. It was difficult when I re-started, it seemed like way too many calories and I felt like I had to shove the food down me just to get my daily intake. My  stomach did adjust. lol. I am moderately active on a normal day and also try to run 1/2 hr every morning before work. Also, I eat what I believe are  'the right foods.' White chicken, fish, soy products, fruits, vegies, nuts, seeds, olive oil. I DO NOT eat any breads, butter, pasta, anything white or processed. The weight just started falling off and I'm sooo happy to report that I'll be at my goal in 2 lbs. Total weight loss since January 2008 will be almost 25 lbs. WHOOO HOOO. In short, my advice is to eat the calories you are suppose to and make the right choices. Good luck

I'm also fluctuating between 126 and 130 but I'm a bit shorter (5'2") and a bit younger (20). My goal is 119lbs.

I started at 140, went up to 154 as a fresher at uni. Then at the end of the year I became really strict and the first 7lbs came off fast, then went on all inclusive holiday and back on they went, then off when I came home, then on again when I went on my second all inc. holiday the same summer then off again just as quick. Then I joined CC and got down to 125 between about September and March. Then I went skiing, went back up to 131 and have been yo-yoing around there since.

I eat around 2000 calories a day, have myself set to light activity and exercise around 10x/week. I did have myself set to sedentary but then added up all my deficits and compared that to my loss in lbs and discovered I'd lost more than I should have, around the equivalent of if I'd been at light instead of sedentary so I changed it....but I'm worried it's overestimating my burn now/making me complacent with calories.

Here are a few weeks' typical exercise:
Mon/Tue off
Wed-Body pump
Thu-6mile run
Fri-Rowing
Sat-Rowing, body combat, spinning, abs and back
Sun-Spinning, core stability, rowing
---------------------------------------------
Mon-6mile run
Tue-4mile run
Wed-Body pump and rowing
Thu-6mile run and rowing
Fri-2 mile run and rowing
Sat-Rowing and swimming
Sun-Off
--------------------------------------------
Mon-Body combat and rowing
Tue-1mile run, spinning, rowing
Wed-Rowing, swimming and body pump
Thu-8mile run
Fri-Rowing, spinning, body pump
Sat-Rowing, body combat, spinning, abs and back
Sun-Rowing race and swimming

I log all of this on top of my light activity - other than my workouts I'm a student so generally sitting at my desk, sitting in lectures but I do cycle about so typically 5mins to lectures and 5mins back, and walk about a mile to the boathouse and back every day. Also, there's going out and dancing occasionally too.

I just don't know though. Some days I just feel are definitely sedentary not light. It would be good if I could see how I feel I've been at the end of each day and click a box like sedentary/light/moderate etc. rather than leaving it on one thing because it varies eg. yesterday I did all that exercise but other than the exercise I did nothing at all. No lectures so no cycling there, no shopping so no walking. I even had a nap!

Meh, was this helpful...no! Sorry, turned into a whinge :(

As for advice: TOM? I have a chart on my wall now - it's supposed to motivate me to lose the last 12lbs in 12 weeks. I've been weighing every day and calculating weekly averages in the hope I'd see an inspiring downward trend. It went like this 130start -> 128.3, 128.9, 127.5, 130.1, 127.5 The 130.1 week was a period week. I'm hoping now it'll go down more like the original 2.5lbs in 2/3 weeks though there might be another peak next month.

I find it very hard to stick to 1600. I did originally when I was losing more quickly so maybe I should but I've really upped my exercise due to rowing regatta coming up and recently starting to train for a marathon so I just get too hungry but it seems you're probably burning slightly less than me exercise-wise so if you feel happy with 1600 I'd say stick to it and hopefully it will start to drop off soon. Who am I to say though? Also, perhaps be less strict and obsessive, treat yourself once in a while and then it might be less disheartening when the scale doesn't budge because it doesn't feel like you're depriving yourself for nothing. Might even kickstart your metabolism!

Are you keeping track of your measurements, are you're clothes fitting differently?

No and yes. But this is where I'm confused. I always thought, you could be weighing the same/more because you're gaining muscle instead of fat and muscle weighs more. But all over this site it says you can't gain muscle mass on a calorie deficit and that you can't just convert fat to muscle so....?