Under 1500 and no weight loss

I have been on a 1500 cal diet for almost 2 weeks..  I have logged in my food every single day...I hike 4 to 6 hours a week.  I have only lost maybe 1 lb. that I know if I have one big meal will be back on.

I weight 180 and wanted to get down to 150 as I am 5'6 and big boned.

My usual meals are as follows:

coffee and 1/2 a bagel with my coffee

1 egg or 1c raisin bran cereal with 1% milk

for lunch I will probably have veggis and a piece of protein and a frut.. For snacks I have either another fruit or low fat yogurt.

dinner is usually more vegetables, protein and either a chocolate pudding or yogurt.

I dont know what I am doing wrong.

Good job on the 1 lb! Weight loss takes time. On my first month on CC I only lost 1 lb. But the very next month I lost 5 lbs. 1 pound in two weeks is ok ... you just started!

Give it some time, as it looks like you are doing everything right.

If after a few more weeks you think it's really not working and something is wrong, I suggest you use the Tools to precisely see your burn rate. Keep your deficit within the 500-1000 cals/day range. I worry with all that hiking your burn rate may be requiring a higher calorie intake to keep your metabolism sparky. Or the other paradoxical alternative is that you are not measuring your intake calories appropriately - in which case I would suggest you weigh your portions.

But bottom line is be patient, stick with it and wait a few more weeks before getting too frustrated.

Yes, using the tools to get a more accurate view of what you burn will help. But, are you actually weighing and measuring everything you eat? If  you are guesstimating, you could be eating more--or a lot less-- than you think.

Also, it just hasn't been very long, and 1 lb in a couple of weeks is fine. Weight loss is slow, .5 to 2 lbs a week is the healthy weight. There is no other way, which sucks, I know, but that's the way it is.

Good luck!

You should remember that sometimes weight loss isn't apparent. Your hiking could be cancelling out the fat loss, seeing as how muscle weighs more than fat, it's not a far fetched idea. For this exact reason I keep track, down to the centimeter, of my waist size. It could be that you've lost half an inch (which is hard to do btw) but gained enough muscle to keep your weight the same.

Don't focus on the scale so much and notice if your clothes fit better, or if you feel better. Those are signs of health, which is more important than the numbers on the scale.

Try tweaking your food a little:

Breakfast:

• coffee and 1/2 a bagel  or 1 egg or 1c raisin bran cereal with 1% milk
• try 1/3 cup old fashioned oatmeal w. splash 1% milk and a tablespoon of flavored CoffeeMate; an egg  (Must eat protein w. meals!)

you need a snack inbetween: 1/2 apple w. 2 tbsp peanut butter

lunch:

• Veggis and a piece of protein and a frut
• sounds good

Snack:

•  I have either another fruit or low fat yogurt.
• with your fruit try to get some protein w. it - a slice of turkey or some chicken. or banana w. peanut butter, etc
• eat something else w. ther yogurt like some fruit.. 10 grapes etc.. you wanna fill up belly so don't get hungry later.  

dinner

• vegetables, protein and either a chocolate pudding or yogurt.
• sounds good

snack

• depends on what time u go to bed vs. eating dinner... but don't go too long w.o food

JUst make sure you are eating ALL the calories Cc recommends... it'll def rev up your metabolism

oh and 1 lb a week is really good progress... slow and steady will make u look healthy once all off :)

I have been measuring everything...never go over it at all.  I have been exercising all along even without dieting so it cannot be recent muscle building.

I am going to try and drink lots of water today.

Thanks for all your support.

Do make sure you are eating enough.  Nothing stalls out my weightloss faster then if I eat to little for more than a few days in a row.  I am 5'4" and 143lbs and I must eat at least 1600 cals a day...more if I work out that day.  Anything less than that and my body goes on strike.  good luck with everything

increase your cals!! bump them up to around 2000, your hiking for so many hours, trust me it will work. eat at maintainence and do exercise for a few weeks.

Be sure that your fiber intake is appropriate and that your sodium intake is reasonable.  Rather than go on and on, if i were you I would swap out the bagel for some oatmeal(steel-cut). If you make that swap, continue to upgrade your food options searching for quality food source alternitives.

Chris

Are you watching  your portions. measuring food out instead of eyeing it can really help with portion control. which could help you lose weight.

Are you watching  your portions. measuring food out instead of eyeing it can really help with portion control. which could help you lose weight.

everything that has gone in my mouth has been weighed in, measured, etc.

I will give up the bagels once I am done with the bag I have now.  I really enjoyed it with my coffee early in the mornings.  Was a really nice treat for me.

If in a few months you haven't dropped 10 lbs, you might want to lower your calorie intake to 1300, especially if you aren't weighing every single crumb that goes into your mouth with a digital food scale (not just measuring cups). Even packaged foods, like cereal bars or granola bars or cheese sticks, tend to have 5% - 25% more calories than they claim, sometimes as high as 50% more (although that is pretty rare). So on average, most people are consuming about 15% more than they think they are.

15% of 1500 = 225 + 1500 = 1725 actual.

15% of 1300 = 195 = 1495 actual.