I just want a success story already :(

First of all - I am not a newbie. I have logged over 230 days on MyFitnessPal, consecutively and honestly.
Second of all - I eat food. My goal is 1680 per day, NOT 1200.
And lastly - I exercise frequently, both cardio (running or bike riding) and strength training.

I'm 5'4 and started at 158, I am now around 152.

SO...why have I only lost 6lbs? I'm getting really discouraged. I need some MFP advice right now, and maybe some lovin.

Please...be gentle.

Thanks in advance... :smooched:

Replies

MysticRealm

Are you taking measurements/progress pics? Have those showed any changes? Have you seen your doctor about a possible medical reasoning? Are you weighing and measuring all your foods?

c_faulkenburg

MFP is set up so that you are at a deficit. You are young and active, I think that you should focus on hitting your calorie goal, even eat back most of your exercise calories. Also if you have not compared your photos, you should. The scale isn't always the most accurate measurement of change, Measurements are good too. I've had to have my wedding ring resized once and will likely be doing it again soon. Some of my clothes fit differently now. Keep doing what you are doing, if you are being honest with yourself with what you are eating and exercising, then you should be getting to where you want to be.

Saaaam42

Are you taking measurements/progress pics? - No.
Have those showed any changes? I know that I am not shrinking because of how my clothing fits.
Have you seen your doctor about a possible medical reasoning? I underwent blood tests a few months ago and nothing showed up as far as I know.
Are you weighing and measuring all your foods? No.

kara2

I think taking measurements is a good idea like the others posted. I started seeing more success when I measured my food.
I would try those for a couple of weeks and see if you notice any changes.

brownvs

I'm about your height 5'4 and 3/4"s and my progress significantly slows if I eat more than 1600 calories a day. A slow loss for me is about 1450 calories and fairly rapid loss for me is 1200 calories.

Maybe you could try shaving off a couple of hundred calories and see if it makes a difference?

I went from somewhere over 130 lb to just under 120 lb in approximately 110 days. I exercise most days if I can, with lapses.

ETA: I think my TDEE is somewhere around 1720 (calculating back that appears to be correct). If I ate 1680 I would have a deficit of 40 calories a day, and yes it will take FOREVER to lose weight on a 40 calorie per day deficit.

ETAA: You could try measuring things more accurately, but honestly I feel like obsessing over every detail will make this process really hard to follow. I try to be "generally accurate".

andrea_wants_abs

This is a great question. I feel like I have hit a similar block.
Like you, I have been logging as honest as I can and am not seeing the results I want.
My boyfriend wants me to increase protein, which I'm willing to try, but I don't want to sacrifice veggies! It seems like I only loose when I do ridiculous amounts of cardio. I'm trying to do more strength stuff in hopes to get more of a longer lasting boost to my metabolism.
Do you do much strength training?

SteelySunshine

I would get a BF analysis. You might already be at a healthy level like 20%. If you are already there then it's going to be very hard to lose more fat. Your calorie level looks too low to maintain so, either you are close to goal or something is medically wrong that you aren't losing. If you are close to goal then about the only thing you can do is work on body composition and making very small calorie deficits the bigger ones for smaller people for some reason (probably that thing where your body doesn't want to starve) makes smaller people stall. So, I would aim to eat closer to maintenance, like TDEE less 20% which would be close to 2000 calories. This is the calculator I use. http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

unknown

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Diamond05

Are you measuring and weighing your food? If not, you might be eating more than you think. If yes, you could try cutting a few calories. If I were you I would be disapointed too to have only lost that but then again you're not big... Like others suggested you might want to go see a doctor .

auroranflash

Measure your food. Take progress pictures starting now - pretend you are making this your new starting point. Take measurements now and monthly hereafter. Set fitness goals instead of weight goals - if you're pushing yourself toward better fitness, everything else will fall into place. Look back over your diary and think of little things you could tweak to make your life easier, hit your macros better (more protein, fewer carbs seems to help me - not low carb by any means, just reducing them a bit ... 10g-20g or so).

Weight loss is all about experimenting to see what works. Try not to take it personally or get discouraged if a few of your experiments don't yield the results you were going for - act like a scientist, reconstruct the project, and start anew.

Best of luck.

P.S. Keep strength training and make sure you are adding weight when you are no longer in the 8-12 rep range.

jkal1979

I noticed that you had several days where you did not log at all.

If you are not weighing or measuring anything, you need to start doing so. It's way too easy to think that we are eating less than we really are. If you are just eyballing things it's very possible that you are consuming a lot more than you think you are. Use measuring cups/spoons for liquids and a digital food scale for everything else.

Skinnymunkii

First of all, let me say that I am proud of you for the work you've done over the past year. I know it's hard to keep your motivation and focus when the scale isn't moving as much as you would like. Don't lose hope. Try tweaking this and that...higher calories, lower calories, your macros (specifically less sugar and carbs), your exercise routine. Sometimes you have to shake things up, the trouble is finding what needs the shaking. Keep trying...you got this!

herblackwings39

I second weighing your food. I know, with me, my estimates were way off one way or the other depending on how I felt that day. 1 cup of rice or pasta or whatever could be either 1/2 cup or 1 1/2 cups.

kazzsjourney

Log and weigh everything. Try and hit your fat and protein goals and watch the sodium levels. best of luck

Saaaam42

I noticed that you had several days where you did not log at all.

If you are not weighing or measuring anything, you need to start doing so. It's way too easy to think that we are eating less than we really are. If you are just eyballing things it's very possible that you are consuming a lot more than you think you are. Use measuring cups/spoons for liquids and a digital food scale for everything else.

I was let go from my job and was a tad preoccupied with...that. Those 2 or 3 days were the only time I have not logged in over 230 days.

Saaaam42

Thanks everybody. This sucks though, lol.

jenilla1

I'm 5'7" and 130 pounds and my MAINTENANCE is 1700 calories (plus exercise cals.) I've been at maintenance for over 2 years. I had no problems losing at 1400 cals (plus exercise cals) when I was in loss mode. Everybody's different, but if you aren't seeing changes, then it's time to change things up.

If you've been at a certain level for a while and are not seeing a difference, it means you are AT MAINTENANCE. Time to re-evaluate your deficit. :flowerforyou:

smn76237

First off, congrats on 6lbs. A loss is a loss!
Second, at 152 and 5'4, you're within 10 lbs of a technically 'healthy' BMI--your weight loss will be slower with less to lose.
As others have mentioned, weighing and measuring your food will be really helpful. It is likely that you've been underestimating your consumption.
Don't decrease your calorie goal yet. Get a scale and start weighing everything and you might realize you were inadvertently eating well over your intended goal. I noticed you had peanut butter this morning--that is one of the biggest culprits of consuming more calories than you think when trying to measure with a tablespoon instead of a scale.

RepsnSets

I havent lost alot weight wise since I started in January but I took pics and measurements with a noticeable difference in inches lost and body shape.

MysticRealm

Just for reference.
I am 5'4, and started at 158 at about the same time as you did.
I started off eating 1500 and no exercise calories.
Then 1800 but not exercising.
Last month I got back to exercising again (30 Day Shred and now Ripped in 30) and continued to eat 1800 cals (of any type of food I want, but weighing everything on my scale)
I currently weigh 137 and all my clothes are swimming on me.

If nothing is medically wrong then I would say your lack of loss is due to underestimating your calorie intake due to not weighing/measuring your foods correctly.

A quick B and A from when I started on this site

tcraw15

Yeah I agree with everyone who said to take measurements / progress photos. I've been stuck at a weight plateau for a couple of weeks now, but have been consistently losing inches. And I can see a difference in the photos I've been taking.

Xiaolongbao

If you've been at a certain level for a while and are not seeing a difference, it means you are AT MAINTENANCE. Time to re-evaluate your deficit. :flowerforyou:

This.

Maybe you need a lower calories intake to lose weight.

Maybe you're eating more than you think.

Maybe your exercise is burning less than you think.

Whatever the answer is it seems as though you're in maintenance right now. If you want to lose you're going to have to eat less or move more. I know "eat more" is a popular answer on this website but sadly it really doesn't work for everyone.

mkim3138

you should weigh all your food and what are your macros at? can't see your carbs either..

arlenem1974

after looking at your diary I noticed that about half of your days you really go over your sodium limit that would effect your weight loss. Try and cut back on the sodium that might help with your weight loss.

MonicaT1972

I looked at your diary and can tell you exactly what the issues are. But as you stated you prefer to eat "real food" If you want to see serious changes you might want to consider changing that up.

nikilis

Are you taking measurements/progress pics? - No.
Have those showed any changes? I know that I am not shrinking because of how my clothing fits.
Have you seen your doctor about a possible medical reasoning? I underwent blood tests a few months ago and nothing showed up as far as I know.
Are you weighing and measuring all your foods? No.

make sure you arn't leaving anything out of your log, i.e secret nuts, etc

make sure your servings are correct (do you know what 15g of peanut butter looks like? DO YOU?)

are you adding lard to your food? (worth checking)

if you think you have those things down, (you haven't been weighing your food so.... no) then maybe drop your calories to say

1500, and only eat back 1/2-2/3 of your exercise. if you have already added in your exercise to the intake, redo it without the exercise and log it as you do it.

and as I'm on the kick of it right now, you could try intermittent fasting, it has got the ball rolling for me. 16:8 (16 hour fast, 8 hour eating window per day) - just an idea.

jeansgirl

It might not have anything to do with food. If you have a lot of stress over job, home, love life, family,money..what the heck ever...it does have an effect on your weight loss. Even the change in lifestyle we are trying to get to..i.e. being healthy..is stressful. You are your own success story!!! You have lost weight! Take a breath, give yourself a break, as in don't be hard on yourself..and keep going. There for ya if you want to friend me. We are all here to help!

MysticRealm

One more thought. Your sodium is often through the roof. That's gonna cause a lot of water retention and bloat which will hide a lot of losses. Try eating under 2500 for a couple weeks and see what the scale and measurements say.

tootchute

I think it your control. In your diary you have days you don't write in, days you do which are okay and then day's your over your calories, if your serious then count everything then you should notice.

BrendaLee

If you've been at a certain level for a while and are not seeing a difference, it means you are AT MAINTENANCE. Time to re-evaluate your deficit. :flowerforyou:

At this point, this makes the most sense.