Haven't lost weight all month. LOL...any tips expert people!

dilemmafied

So I'm 25, 5.5, 174lbs been going for a month, gym 4-5 days a week, 45 min, 15-20min cardio then weights and machines, and I DO sweat...I have increased in endurance and strength.
My size medium frame, but I gain mostly in stomach and butt....Seriously Guys, the BUTT is huge...so of course this stuff takes time, but WHYYYYYY am I still the same weight. Been eating 1200 calories for a month every day except weekends and I drink water. BEEN reading up on this stuff and they have all these TIPS.
Clothes Fit the same, a bit better. I lost 1lb this whole month...but been gaining strength so I am grateful for that.
ANY advice even critical advice, but kind advice is cool.

PLEASE and thanks,

malibu927

How are you measuring your calorie intake? How much are you eating on weekends?

bbell1985

You lost a 1lb this month. You are not in the deficit you believe you are in. Tighten up your logging.

misskarne

dilemmafied wrote: »

Been eating 1200 calories for a month every day except weekends

It is entirely possible to wipe out an entire week's worth of deficit if you don't track on weekends.

Are you using a food scale?

bbell1985

misskarne wrote: »

dilemmafied wrote: »

Been eating 1200 calories for a month every day except weekends

It is entirely possible to wipe out an entire week's worth of deficit if you don't track on weekends.

Are you using a food scale?

Also this. I eat 1200-1300 during the week so that I can eat a LITTLE more on the weekend. I can come close to wiping out a deficit pretty easily, and that's WITH tracking.

WickAndArtoo

What are you eating on the weekends?

RA60172

Your weekends could be cancelling out your deficit across the week. I second to tighten up your logging.

dilemmafied

yay thanks for the reply! OKAY i use my fitness pal every day and not on weekends because that's when I usually eat less actually. $$ During the week I try my best to add in everything..but I live on student Residence and so eat food thats available in the cafe. I don't take the greasy, carb food, I usually run to the salad bar or soup station. and have like hard boiled eggs. w/o yolk. ....

melly19762003

I would start measuring If I was you and you will see that you are shrinking. With all the working out you are doing, my guess is that you are losing weight but you are also gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and muscles are tighter and denser than fat. Hope this helps.

bbell1985

dilemmafied wrote: »

yay thanks for the reply! OKAY i use my fitness pal every day and not on weekends because that's when I usually eat less actually. $$ During the week I try my best to add in everything..but I live on student Residence and so eat food thats available in the cafe. I don't take the greasy, carb food, I usually run to the salad bar or soup station. and have like hard boiled eggs. w/o yolk. ....

You're not logging well, sorry. You might need to do some research as to what's in those foods. I can easily make an 800 calorie salad without thinking. Chicken, some dressing, a bit of cheese, other toppings...

malibu927

dilemmafied wrote: »

yay thanks for the reply! OKAY i use my fitness pal every day and not on weekends because that's when I usually eat less actually. $$ During the week I try my best to add in everything..but I live on student Residence and so eat food thats available in the cafe. I don't take the greasy, carb food, I usually run to the salad bar or soup station. and have like hard boiled eggs. w/o yolk. ....

Start logging your weekends. Like others have said, you could be eliminating your deficit completely by not logging.

melly19762003 wrote: »

I would start measuring If I was you and you will see that you are shrinking. With all the working out you are doing, my guess is that you are losing weight but you are also gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and muscles are tighter and denser than fat. Hope this helps.

Women do not gain muscle that easily

misskarne

dilemmafied wrote: »

yay thanks for the reply! OKAY i use my fitness pal every day and not on weekends because that's when I usually eat less actually. $$ During the week I try my best to add in everything..but I live on student Residence and so eat food thats available in the cafe. I don't take the greasy, carb food, I usually run to the salad bar or soup station. and have like hard boiled eggs. w/o yolk. ....

You can overeat on these foods too you know.

dilemmafied

Thanks all! VERY good points. just so, I don't use dressing on my salads,In the week I choose Tuna, Chicken breast, and I never have sandwiches. Open faced sandwiches if I do. Soups only like 1 cup and always with tomatoes and cucumbers...my logs are very repetitive because I dont like wana eat some of the food at residence weekends are probably a good place to start thats totally true. I usually go to breakfast( coffee,yogurt, omlette, toast) those days and then have fruit in the afternoon ( banana, oranges, ) and then For dinner something like soup with chicken. I rarely eat too much to the point where I AM stuffed..

ALSO yes i agree to the calorie input for food, but that still doesn't help me. because I use calculator after calculator to do all these BMR, TDEE things and I STILL don't know what the best calorie goal is, I am just doing 1200 because my aunt said to. Is she most correct?
THANK YOU!

PAV8888

@bbell1985 got it: it is easy to make a high calorie salad.

Regardless. You are making progress in the right direction. And if it is sustainable you will get there.

And if you don't think it is sustainable till you get there... then you need to concentrate on making it sustainable.

Cause the big question is almost never whether with a lot of effort you can lose weight.

The big question is always how you will maintainin that lower weight.

And a lot of effort is probably not the right answer there.

Theo166

I suggest opening up your food diary so people can be more constructive. In terms of a goal, why not use the goal setting tool here to calculate how many calories you should target.

nicola1141

dilemmafied wrote: »

Thanks all! VERY good points. just so, I don't use dressing on my salads,In the week I choose Tuna, Chicken breast, and I never have sandwiches. Open faced sandwiches if I do. Soups only like 1 cup and always with tomatoes and cucumbers...my logs are very repetitive because I dont like wana eat some of the food at residence weekends are probably a good place to start thats totally true. I usually go to breakfast( coffee,yogurt, omlette, toast) those days and then have fruit in the afternoon ( banana, oranges, ) and then For dinner something like soup with chicken. I rarely eat too much to the point where I AM stuffed..

ALSO yes i agree to the calorie input for food, but that still doesn't help me. because I use calculator after calculator to do all these BMR, TDEE things and I STILL don't know what the best calorie goal is, I am just doing 1200 because my aunt said to. Is she most correct?
THANK YOU!

What does MFP tell you to eat? I'd start with that. Are you doing 1200 + exercise calories, or 1200 total? On weekends you're just eating an omelet, a piece of fruit, a cup of soup and a piece of chicken, plus working out for 45 minutes? You're going to burn out soon!

Find out what MFP recommends for your calories. Start logging more diligently, including everything you eat and drink, including the weekends.

bbell1985

She might not burn out eating 1200 calories and "exercising". If she's not losing, she's eating too many calories.

Bites_2017

How on earth do you know your eating 1200 if you don't prepare the food or weight it?

dilemmafied

All very good things to take into consideration! I think I will have to think more creatively about this situation, I don't have the luxury of making my own food right now. Thanks all!
Goodnight for now I will check back later

TimothyFish

Bites_2017 wrote: »

How on earth do you know your eating 1200 if you don't prepare the food or weight it?

There are ways to make a pretty good guess at calories without weighing the food. But since the OP isn't losing as quickly as she is expecting, that means her good guess is a little too high. Given that she is in a college cafeteria situation, it would probably be easier for her to just add something like 25% to the calorie count on everything and try that for a couple of weeks. If she still isn't losing as much as she thinks she should then she can add more. If she is losing too much, then she can add less. Eventually she'll get her guesswork to line up with her weight loss.