Why do I lose weight slowly???

Mahdi22

Or, why do I not lose weight at all? I try my best to eat healthy and exercise an hour but it's futile. Any tips? Its frustrating not seeing results as other people who do the same thing.

gamerbabe14

You are eating more than you think. Weigh your food with a digital scale and count every calorie you eat. And stop comparing yourself to others. You are it them, you don't live their life.

musicfan68

We need a lot more info than what you provided in your post. What are your stats, how much weight do you want/need to lose, how do you measure your food/calories? The usual reasons people lose slowly is that they don't have much to lose, or they are not weighing food accurately, or they are way over estimating calorie burns from exercise.

explodingmango

Judging by the fact that you're asking this question, one huge factor may be mental - I say this because it's a problem that I have, and it's pretty common. You seem to be having a hard time seeing a difference between slow progress and no progress - and that can be incredibly discouraging, and when you get discouraged, you start to cheat a little because you start thinking "what difference does it make?" - but it makes a lot of difference, and it brings your slow progress to an actual stop.

The best thing that I have found to keep moving in spite of this potential discouragement is to create mini-goals that are more about just getting out and doing things than meeting numerical milestones. I've been working at getting into new sports that I've been wanting to do since I was a kid - that's easy for me to stick with because it's something I enjoy doing for its own sake. I've also downloaded an app that shows projected progress on my weight, not just the data points I input, so that even when progress is slow, I can see that it's happening.

As for reasons why it may be slower than you're trying to make it - what is your goal/expectation? 1 pound a week or even less is generally considered a good long-term rate, if you have less than 50 pounds or so to lose. If you're not meeting that, despite avoiding discouraged cheating, then you're probably eating more than you realize and it's a good time to tighten up your logging. Do you use a food scale and/or measuring cups, or do you just eyeball your portion sizes? Generally speaking, a scale is better than a measuring cup, and a measuring cup is better than eyeballing it. Even registered dietitians will usually underestimate what they're eating when left to eyeball it. You can get away with eyeballing if you really don't have the time or energy for that tedious extra step - but usually only if you make an effort to overestimate how much you're eating.

Mahdi22

musicfan68 wrote: »

We need a lot more info than what you provided in your post. What are your stats, how much weight do you want/need to lose, how do you measure your food/calories? The usual reasons people lose slowly is that they don't have much to lose, or they are not weighing food accurately, or they are way over estimating calorie burns from exercise.

I hate my stats lol but here it is

I'm 215 pounds, 5'9, a dude and 22. I believe that for my height, a "average" or "healthy" weight should be 170ish.

I stopped eating healthy, and using this app after getting an injury while also getting frustrated from not seeing any results other than feeling good (can't describe the feeling)

When I was eating healthy, I would eat anywhere from 1200-1600 calories, and losing anywhere from 400-1100 calories a day (sometimes I did 2 workouts, and used a Fitbit)

So yea...I tried. Really tried. No cheating, real measuments but futile. I don't get what I was doing wrong. Maybe someone can help me

Mahdi22

explodingmango wrote: »

Judging by the fact that you're asking this question, one huge factor may be mental - I say this because it's a problem that I have, and it's pretty common. You seem to be having a hard time seeing a difference between slow progress and no progress - and that can be incredibly discouraging, and when you get discouraged, you start to cheat a little because you start thinking "what difference does it make?" - but it makes a lot of difference, and it brings your slow progress to an actual stop.

The best thing that I have found to keep moving in spite of this potential discouragement is to create mini-goals that are more about just getting out and doing things than meeting numerical milestones. I've been working at getting into new sports that I've been wanting to do since I was a kid - that's easy for me to stick with because it's something I enjoy doing for its own sake. I've also downloaded an app that shows projected progress on my weight, not just the data points I input, so that even when progress is slow, I can see that it's happening.

As for reasons why it may be slower than you're trying to make it - what is your goal/expectation? 1 pound a week or even less is generally considered a good long-term rate, if you have less than 50 pounds or so to lose. If you're not meeting that, despite avoiding discouraged cheating, then you're probably eating more than you realize and it's a good time to tighten up your logging. Do you use a food scale and/or measuring cups, or do you just eyeball your portion sizes? Generally speaking, a scale is better than a measuring cup, and a measuring cup is better than eyeballing it. Even registered dietitians will usually underestimate what they're eating when left to eyeball it. You can get away with eyeballing if you really don't have the time or energy for that tedious extra step - but usually only if you make an effort to overestimate how much you're eating.

its definitely mental as much as its physical. this year I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone, but its really hard to do that when i don't feel comfortable in my own skin. i hate introducing myself, meeting new people, and doing new activities. I feel like losing the weight would help with my confidence a lot.

Thats why i hate slow progress...because i watch all these youtube videos and they accomplish more in 2 months than i can in twice that time. its frustrating knowing i measure everything, do the workouts (HIIT) and still lose 1 pound in 3 weeks.

Anyways, im trying again...i don't know what the point of the post was. maybe just a little rant. heres to me trying to lose weight again for the 4582394328th time.

i feel like the boy who cried wold irl lol

Mahdi22

wolf

MichelleSilverleaf

Real measurements as in weighing solids and semi-solids, and measuring liquids? Easiest way anyone's going to be able to help you is to know that, and if you feel comfortable enough open your diary so folks can take a look.

explodingmango

Okay then.

I'm not going to tell you to stop comparing yourself to others. That would make me a massive hypocrite. I know that's a million times easier said than done. What you need to do is work around that tendency to compare yourself to others - make it into a positive. Okay, maybe lots of people are making faster progress than you - but you're making faster progress than the majority of people who have improvements to make. You're making an effort. You're troubleshooting your diet and exercise program. It's a tough process, but you're doing it - millions of people are not. Millions of people are just sitting around, swearing up and down they'll start making changes...tomorrow. It's not hard to find examples of these stories on social media.

You may be on the slow side among the runners in this race, but you're still doing laps around everyone who's still on the couch. A lion only has to be faster than the slowest gazelle to get fed.

Another thing you can do is try to shift your focus from the number on your scale to the numbers describing your workouts. Worry more about how long you can run for, or do whatever other sports you may be interested in, than how much you weigh. This will help keep you on track with weight loss not only because it's exercise and burning calories, but because the less extra weight you have hanging on, the easier it is to meet any goals you set in that regard, so it's extra motivation to keep an eye on what you're eating. And, again, if you find yourself comparing yourself to others...most people in this day and age aren't very athletic. It won't take you long at all to build yourself up to well above average, if you're not there already.

You can do this. Just don't give up.