Can't lose weight for the life of me!!! Help!

becca6879
becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
edited April 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm Becca and I'm 19 years old. I'm 5'4 and weigh 150 lbs. From age 15-18 I weighed 125-130 and was in very good shape. A couple years ago I was able to lose weight extremely quickly (I lost 15 pounds in two weeks). I've always been able to build muscle very quickly and have a more muscular build.
Last year i went on birth control and started eating bad/stopped working out and gained 20 lbs!!! Since December 2016 until now (4 months) I've been eating very clean (paleo) with about a week of binge eating over Christmas/my birthday. But for the most part pretty consistent. I workout 5 to 6 days a week. Do 1 hour of intense cardio and 30 mins of weights. I weighed 156 in December.
Today I finally stepped on the scale and have only lost 6 pounds!!! In four months of working so hard!!!!! So discouraging. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Someone help!
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Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    A few weeks of bingeing isn't really 'pretty consistent'. I'd start by figuring out an eating style that doesn't lead to bingeing and then set a small deficit to enable you to lose weight.
  • becca6879
    becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
    What I meant was over Christmas I ate bad for three days. And for two days over my birthday weekend in March I ate bad. A few weeks wasn't the right thing to put sorry I'll clarify that. So therefore I don't think that is the problem.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Do you weigh everything you eat on scales?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited April 2017
    becca6879 wrote: »
    What I meant was over Christmas I ate bad for three days. And for two days over my birthday weekend in March I ate bad. A few weeks wasn't the right thing to put sorry I'll clarify that. So therefore I don't think that is the problem.

    Do you use a food scale to weigh EVERYTHING, and log EVERYTHING into your food diary? Start there.

    This quick video explains why...

    https://youtu.be/XpHykP6e_Uk
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    You mentioned nothing about logging your food and counting calories. Are you doing that?
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    So just so I am understanding you,
    In December 2016 you weighed 145-150
    You made a lot of changes and lost 6#, which would be about 1.2 ish pounds a month. What kind of numbers are you expecting to see?

    Also, can you please open your diary? You mention eating paleo with binges but nothing about eating at a deficit. Are you aware of your TDEE? What calorie guidelines did MyFitness Pal give you?
  • becca6879
    becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
    I'm brand new to this app. So I don't have a diary. I calorie count in my head usually because everything I eat is whole I was able to look up the calories. Like I said I used to lose weight very quickly. I would lose 4 pounds in one week. So I guess I am used to those results and now that I'm working so hard and not seeing the same thing as I used to I am confused. In December I weighed 156 and now I weigh 150.
  • ugofatcat
    ugofatcat Posts: 385 Member
    becca6879 wrote: »
    I'm brand new to this app. So I don't have a diary. I calorie count in my head usually because everything I eat is whole I was able to look up the calories. Like I said I used to lose weight very quickly. I would lose 4 pounds in one week. So I guess I am used to those results and now that I'm working so hard and not seeing the same thing as I used to I am confused. In December I weighed 156 and now I weigh 150.

    I would strongly recommend investing in a food scale and using the MFP app or similar counting guide. Keeping track in your head is a surefire way to fail.

    I don't know why it was easier for you to lose weight in the past. You said you could drop 4 pounds in a week, but did you ever try and lose 20 pounds?

    Are you doing anything different now vs then? I noticed you are 19, are in college with the endless you can eat buffets? Moved away from home and now eat out more? Did you play a bunch of sports in high school and now you don't because you have graduated?

  • becca6879
    becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
    ugofatcat wrote: »
    becca6879 wrote: »
    I'm brand new to this app. So I don't have a diary. I calorie count in my head usually because everything I eat is whole I was able to look up the calories. Like I said I used to lose weight very quickly. I would lose 4 pounds in one week. So I guess I am used to those results and now that I'm working so hard and not seeing the same thing as I used to I am confused. In December I weighed 156 and now I weigh 150.

    I would strongly recommend investing in a food scale and using the MFP app or similar counting guide. Keeping track in your head is a surefire way to fail.

    I don't know why it was easier for you to lose weight in the past. You said you could drop 4 pounds in a week, but did you ever try and lose 20 pounds?

    Are you doing anything different now vs then? I noticed you are 19, are in college with the endless you can eat buffets? Moved away from home and now eat out more? Did you play a bunch of sports in high school and now you don't because you have graduated?

    I tried to lose 20 pounds and did in 2.5 weeks.

    I am more physically active now than I was in high school because I go to the gym 5 to 6 days a week. I stayed local for college and live at home. I am not going to any buffets. I make my own food at home.

    From all the comments I am realizing maybe somehow I am eating more than I think so hopefully the diary will help and I may invest in a scale.
  • GoldFish1326
    GoldFish1326 Posts: 81 Member
    Maybe muscle is negating some of your loss, gaining muscle while losing fat, but I'm confused how anyone loses 20lbs in 2.5 weeks....considering 2lbs a week seems like the golden rule for safe healthy weight loss.
  • becca6879
    becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
    GoldFish1326 wrote: »
    Maybe muscle is negating some of your loss, gaining muscle while losing fat, but I'm confused how anyone loses 20lbs in 2.5 weeks....considering 2lbs a week seems like the golden rule for safe healthy weight loss.

    I went through a breakup so I was not eating a huge amount. I was skipping some meals. But I worked out two times a day for 3 weeks. I was able to maintain that weight for a year after that, even when I went back to normal eating but was still working out 3 days a week. This was two years ago.

  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
    becca6879 wrote: »
    I'm brand new to this app. So I don't have a diary. I calorie count in my head usually because everything I eat is whole I was able to look up the calories.

    So that's the first issue. You are likely not counting your calories correctly, and perhaps are eating more than you think. You can't rely on "looking things up" and counting in your head. Perhaps that worked for you once, but it seems that it is not working now (and FWIW, it doesn't work for most people). Buy a food scale. Start weighing everything you eat and logging it here.
    becca6879 wrote: »
    Like I said I used to lose weight very quickly. I would lose 4 pounds in one week. So I guess I am used to those results and now that I'm working so hard and not seeing the same thing as I used to I am confused. In December I weighed 156 and now I weigh 150.

    4 pounds in a week is normally water weight, when it happens once. Are you saying that you consistently lost that much for several weeks? If you were not obese, then I would have advised you to go to a doctor as clearly something was very wrong.

    A healthy loss is .25 to maybe 2 pounds a week. You have lost 6 pounds in 3 months, so you are within that range. If you want to lose at a greater weight, follow my reread my first paragraph. Good luck.
  • junodog1
    junodog1 Posts: 4,792 Member
    One other thing to consider in your comparison of now to before is that your body is starting to reach, or has reached, the end of it's 'growth spurt' if you are 19. Growth burns a lot of calories. We quickly see the end of that bonus.
  • becca6879
    becca6879 Posts: 20 Member
    junodog1 wrote: »
    One other thing to consider in your comparison of now to before is that your body is starting to reach, or has reached, the end of it's 'growth spurt' if you are 19. Growth burns a lot of calories. We quickly see the end of that bonus.

    I stopped growing (height) at age 15, if that's what you mean. But yes that could play a factor!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    becca6879 wrote: »
    junodog1 wrote: »
    One other thing to consider in your comparison of now to before is that your body is starting to reach, or has reached, the end of it's 'growth spurt' if you are 19. Growth burns a lot of calories. We quickly see the end of that bonus.

    I stopped growing (height) at age 15, if that's what you mean. But yes that could play a factor!

    Height wise you may have stopped growing but your body hasn't quite finished developing at 19.

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