3 weeks no weight loss!

It's been three weeks now and I've only lost a total of .4 pounds! Ugh.

I've got a pretty big amount of weight to lose, and so far I've lost about 16 pounds- which I'm very proud of. But in the past 3 weeks, my scale is at a standstill. I'm so afraid that if this keeps up, I'm going to just quit this and go back to bad habits.

I've got a pretty rigorous academic schedule, so I don't have much time to exercise; however, my caloric intake is less than what I burn.

Right now I eat 1000-1100 calories a day. I know that's not very much, but I'm vegan and gluten free (by choice) so I eat mostly nuts, fruits, and veggies all day. I eat my three meals and snacks, it's just that what I eat isn't very calorie heavy. Occasionally on the weekends I indulge myself, but still I hardly go over my 1400 limit (as recommended by cc).

I'm feeling so defeated right now. Does anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences?

1000-1100 calories a day is a starvation diet and is going to do damage to your body's health, as well as delay your weight loss goals. If you've been doing this for a little while, that would explain why your body has stopped losing weight.

The bare minimum for an adult woman is 1200 calories.

There are plenty of ways to remain vegan and get enough calories.

Agreed.  The last thing you want is for your body to go into starvation mode.  Chances are, you might already by there and your body is hanging on to everything it possibly can.

Also, what is your water intake?  Your body uses water to flush out the fat, but if you're dehydrated, it will hang on to all the water it can.

So, be sure you're drinking 1/2 - 1 gallon of water every day, and take another look at your calorie intake.  Good luck!!

Weight loss always fluctuates and plateaus... you don't lose it evenly. It's a long term thing... so eat more, 1000 cals/day is a miserable diet that will make you weak and not able to sustain any sort of a long term plan...

FYI, I have never been able to lose weight w/o exercise,maybe it's just a guy thing or just a me thing. I haven't researched this yet but I believe that the body will try and adjust to your calorie intake somewhat over time, and I think exercise is the best way to ensure weight loss while going below maintenance cal's. From personal experience, in the three plateaus I've hit while running/eating better, it was months into it after I was doing the exact same thing during the time. After I lost about 20-23 lbs, I hit my plateaus and currently have increased my speed and distance with no results yet. I don't think anyone has all the answers, let's say that God created our bodies to work in ways no one will ever completely figure out. I know you said you don't have much time but the best thing you can do to break through is aerobic exercise. But then again, all of this is just my opinion but I have gained and lost weight three major times in the last 5 years so I've learned a little.

Thanks for the replies.

I'm definetely not trying to starve myself. I think I'm so nervous about screwing up, I just choose to be as careful as possible. I drink water and green tea all day, so I'm pretty sure I'm ok on the hyrdation front. I see what you mean that I probably should up my calories, but I can't see how 100-200 calories will really make that much of a difference.

Maybe I just got so excited about the fairly quick weight loss, I wasn't fully prepared to deal with it when it slowed down.

I used to exercise a ton, but this semester I haven't been able to nearly enough. I'm at school everyday from 7:30-10 and by the time I get home I can barely stand. On the weekends, I need to definetely make an effort to get in what I can.

Original Post by ladylauren84:

It's been three weeks now and I've only lost a total of .4 pounds! Ugh.

I've got a pretty big amount of weight to lose, and so far I've lost about 16 pounds- which I'm very proud of. But in the past 3 weeks, my scale is at a standstill. I'm so afraid that if this keeps up, I'm going to just quit this and go back to bad habits.

I've got a pretty rigorous academic schedule, so I don't have much time to exercise; however, my caloric intake is less than what I burn.

Right now I eat 1000-1100 calories a day. I know that's not very much, but I'm vegan and gluten free (by choice) so I eat mostly nuts, fruits, and veggies all day. I eat my three meals and snacks, it's just that what I eat isn't very calorie heavy. Occasionally on the weekends I indulge myself, but still I hardly go over my 1400 limit (as recommended by cc).

I'm feeling so defeated right now. Does anyone have any suggestions or similar experiences?

 You answered your own question.  You are not eating very much.. you will not lose weight until you eat enough to "feed" your body.

vegan and gluten free.. no problem have a couple extra fruit a day and and extra serving of nuts and you will be in the proper calorie zone.

You say you are afraid of going back to the way you were before, you don't have to !!  just make some simple changes now.. and yes the scale will fluxuate up a little but once your body is used to eating a proper amount (and it will take less than the 3 weeks you have been not losing) you will start to lose again. 

The key is balance and common sense.  Diets don't work.. you need to find a way of eating that enables you to lose weight that you can do for the rest of your life.  If you are feeling deprived or starved all the time you will not be able to keep it going.

I wish you the best of luck !!! and grats on the weight you have already lost.. that is awesome !!

Original Post by ladylauren84:

I'm definetely not trying to starve myself. I think I'm so nervous about screwing up, I just choose to be as careful as possible. <snip>

I see what you mean that I probably should up my calories, but I can't see how 100-200 calories will really make that much of a difference.

Trying or not, you are eating too little. And a few hundred calories can make a huge difference - think of it in percentages - you'd be increasing your intake 20%. And that 20% is going to help you get healthier.

Also, make sure you are getting enough protein and fat in your diet.

I agree with nanny. Even as a vegan you can eat a fair amount of calories and if you've already lost 16 pounds, you need to feed your body more so it doesn't hang onto that fat for dear life on 1,000 calories a day. Nuts have loads of calories and fruits have a pretty good amount of calories too. So just eat more of those to up your calorie intake.

It really is hard to incorporate exercise  into a busy schedule but not impossible! You may have to get creative with it but take a brisk walk between classes, bike or walk to school if you can, or wake up earlier to do at least 30 minutes of a high intensity cardio (I hate this option too, but you gotta do what you gotta do).

Oh and I'm not sure what you mean by indulge yourself on the weekends but if you're eating the wrong kinds of calories, that could have an effect on you too. Even if you're not going over 1400 calories. You want to fuel your body with the right foods. Will 1 vegan desert a week ruin your diet? Nope. But I know how easy it is to see the whole weekend as a big treat for all the hard work you've done during the week.

I'm not a professional but I would advise you to add some form of physical activity to your life. From what I've read...if you burn your muscles regularly they will help burn more calories and fat even while sitting (studying). Try to get at 30 minutes of training in per day. You want to feel a burning sensation in your muscles. The more muscles areas you burn the better.

Getting 1400 a day would add up to 2000 extra calories a week. That's a whole 2 days extra food your missing from you diet.

At 1000 calories a day you body will be have lost weight by 'burning' muscle and fat. Once your body realised it wasn't going to get more food it just slowed everything down a bit.

Carrying on at 1000 calories a day would result in you carrying on burning a mixture of muscle and fat but slowly (as opposed to mainly fat) you would almost certainly be missing some essential nutrition so you could expect to see you hair, skin and nails start to suffer on top of tiredness.