Can't seem to lose weight no matter what.

lemonlimelama

Every time I try to lose weight it feels like my body just won't cooperate. I'm 27 and in a healthy weight range (5'5" 135-138lb), but I want to lose fat/gain muscle to be slimmer and to take pressure off of my bad knees that are having a harder and harder time handling the impact of extra weight as I age.

I've started a more consistent workout routine of doing HIIT two days a week (30-45min) and fast paced dancing 3-4 times a week (30-60min.)

My calorie goal based on the app is 1200 + whatever I burn from walking/working out. It usually turns out to be about 1300-1600 calories a day. I've been sticking to that goal eating mostly whole foods (zucchini, carrots, fish, greens, eggs, grass fed beef, chicken, coconut oil, plain sour yogurt, kimchi, etc. I cook most of my meals and am also gluten free due to allergy. So I know 90% of what I eat is healthy.

To measure my progress, I use both the scale and measuring tape. For the past month and a half I went down and back up within five lbs and about one inch around my waist. There were a few days where I ate something bad like candy or a serving of ice cream, but I still kept my calorie goals on those days. (That is until today where I felt so frustrated I snaked on a surplus of 700calories ><)

Anyway, I was losing on average half a lb a week up to 5lbs, but then gained it all right back. I'd lose 2lbs then gain 1lb then lose 2lbs then 2 more lbs then gain 3lbs then lose 2 lbs then gain it all back in one day. The most I ate in a day was 1700 calories, which sounds pretty low to me, but I did not go a day feeling hungry. I've just been sticking to lower calorie foods. My only theory is that I haven't been getting enough protein for my macro ratio goals, but most protein is high in calories which means I end up eating a lot less volume and feel hungry. If I don't ever eat sugar maybe I could finally lose weight and keep it off, but I can imagine life that way. My willpower is not that strong.

I just feel more and more confused with the whole working out more + eating less calories/more whole foods is suppose to = weight loss thing. It still hasn't worked for me. The only weight I ever lost and kept off was about 10lb 3 years ago from going gluten free, because I found out gluten was the cause of my full face of painful acne and some other issues. Other than that, I've tried eating less, eating more, working out everyday, not working out at all, and my body fat doesn't really go anywhere. Earlier this year I did the PIIT challenge (almost like HIIT type workout 6 days a week) from blogilates for a month and was super disappointed when I lost zero fat and didn't look very different. I just don't know what to do. Thoughts? Am I eating too much or not enough? Should I maybe weight train with heavy weights? Do more or less cardio?

StealthHealth

You say you eat "healthy" but do you weigh all your food?

Also, in my experience (and even though I love fitness and exercise) working out is not an easy or even the best way to lose fat. Fat loss is calories driven and for most the easiest way to achieve that is diet.

Having said all that, for someone in your situation (and I've been in a similar position to you in the past) I would suggest that you consider dropping the aesthetic goals and focusing on some aspect of performance.

This, in my experience, tilts your whole outlook on your exercise and diet - you start to eat for performance and train for improvement. It's a subtle shift from diet being about reduction and denial to fueling your activities and exercise going from a chore or a method of beating your body into submission into a way of coaxing it to perform better.

For me, this was lifting, for you it could be anything you like - cycling, swimming, rock climbing, free-running, anything. But you then make your food and exercise routines a method to improve your activity. Trust me, of the people I know who do this, they make massive improvements in their sports, they enjoy their food and their bodies respond by looking awesome: It's form following function in action.

kommodevaran

You need to be really focused and patient to lose weight when you are at a normal weight. Any loss now will be slow, like half a pound per week, a change which is so small that it will be invisible through your normal day to day weight fluctuations - you'll need at least a month of regular, consistent weigh-ins to see any real change. You have to weigh all your food, log accurately (check entries because they are often very wrong) and consistently, and stick to the right amount of calories, and eat back just half of your exercise calories. WHAT you eat has less impact - no direct impact on weight, but it can have a big impact on satiety and performance.

PAV8888

You're trying for too big for weight loss when only a very small movement would serve you better.

You're interpreting normal water weight variations due to hormones, volume of food, muscle repairs due to exercise, sodium , glycogen replenishment, and a host of other features as a change to your underlying weight level.

You're also looking at losing weight when in reality you should be looking at recomposition. See discussion thread regarding recomposition under maintenance.

You currently don't have a weight problem but if you continue with your focus you will eventually create one for yourself-- at least that's the biggest danger that someone like me sees in what you're doing.

The inch you mentioned losing is infinitely more important then the number on your scale. The inch represents body composition change with fat reduction.

callsitlikeiseeit

emjam99

I am in the same boat! 5'5 135-138 lbs and simply not losing anymore. I'm trying to up my calories to 1450 and losing slowly while doing C25K and walking & other strength moves on off days. I'll accept a slow loss, it's better than nothing at all.

Francl27

You're probably eating more than you think. But it's common to gain a few pounds before your period, you should be losing it after though.

Becky_charles29

I was doing EVERYTHING right for 2 weeks and lost nothing. Almost gave up but gave it my all again this week and boom...2.2lbs off. Just need to keep it up and *kitten* each week to see if there is anything you need to change

AliceDark

When did you start your exercise routine? Any time you start or increase your exercise, it's normal to see short-term (up to 4-6 weeks) water retention that can mask weight loss.