Confused about why I'm not losing weight... please help!

excitedaboutfitness

So, I don't understand why I am gaining (a little) and not losing any weight!

A typical day's eating consists of:

Breakfast:
Spinach and Egg White omelette (no cheese)
1 cup of fresh strawberries/blueberries mixed
2 cups coffee with nonfat milk and truvia

Lunch:
1/4 cup dry quinoa (3/4 cup cooked) with curry powder
1 zucchini
1/2 chopped onion
Either 5oz of smoked salmon or 6 oz chicken

Dinner:
1/4 cup dry quinoa (3/4 cup cooked) with curry powder
1 zucchini
1/2 chopped onion
Either 5oz of smoked salmon or 6 oz chicken

Snacks:
2 plums
1 cup berries
2 cups cut celery

I drink at least 80oz of water every day.

I exercise 200 minutes a week on average. I do stationary bicycling, Zumba, and Pilates.
In addition to those 200 minutes, I walk an average of 2 miles per day.

I take GNC's Ultra Mega Green Women's Multivitamin and an Omega Vitals supplement.

I feel like I'm being pretty darn healthy, and I am planning on upping my working out time to 300 minutes per week.

I currently weigh 175.4 pounds. I started recording everything 3 weeks ago at 173.6. I have stuck to the above eating and exercise patterns very solidly for these 3 weeks (and most time before then, but I've only been tracking it for 3 weeks - these are not brand new eating/exercise habits). I am 5'5 and not very muscular. I already had testing done on my thyroid, and the results were normal. I am 22 years old and a woman. During the 3 weeks I have only deviated by 1 bowl of pasta for dinner, 4 glasses of wine, and 2 french macarons. My average calorie consumption is between 1500-1700.

Should I be gaining weight?? My clothes don't feel any looser, so I don't feel like I've gained much muscle mass. Could there be something else wrong?? My goal has been to lose 1-2 pounds per week, and any advice that would help me get there would be great!

dohmenb

You sound just like me!! I eat really well and exercise at least 4-5 days a week. I do enjoy myself on the weekends but gave up the every Sunday Pizza! LOL . I yo-yo between 5-8lbs but cant seem to loose the extra 10! Suggestions!!

lindab0928

I don't know if you do this but only eat 1/2 of your exercise calories. It is really easy to over estimate how many calories you burn exercising. Just food for thought -- you have to walk 100 Yards to burn 1 MnM.

nomeejerome

3 weeks is not a plateau....

Are you weighing all of your food? Logging accurately? Would you be willing to open your diary?

AJ_G

The list of food is not going to help anybody find out why you aren't losing weight, it's not the type of food, it's the calorie intake. What is your body fat percentage

larodriguez02

Maybe try changing up your menu a bit, sometimes that helps get out of a plateau. Try a few new recipes or something. Been there i know how frustrating plateaus are. Hang in there, it will pass and you will start losing again.

jamiecarol84

bump

KenosFeoh

Celery can cause water retention, I've been told. (not sure it's accurate)
But try cutting out the celery; see if it helps.

Rambo529

Well, based on what you put in your post (your diary is not public) about height, weight, and age, your BMR is approximately 1600. and you're eating 1500-1700 calories. This to me says you're eating in maintenance, not at a deficit. Yes you're exercising, but you're likely overestimating calories burned. If you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories, only eat back a portion (1/2 seems to work well) instead of all.

shortmomma81

You sound healthy. You might actually have been building more muscle that what you think and retaining water, especially with your activity level. I read somewhere that you can get better weight readings if you drink green tea then wait two hours and weigh yourself. I know it helps me. My guess is that it helps to drain some stubborn water weight out, not sure though.

nomeejerome

Well, based on what you put in your post (your diary is not public) about height, weight, and age, your BMR is approximately 1600. and you're eating 1500-1700 calories. This to me says you're eating in maintenance, not at a deficit. Yes you're exercising, but you're likely overestimating calories burned. If you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories, only eat back a portion (1/2 seems to work well) instead of all.

Eating at maintenance would be TDEE, not BMR.

iclaudia_g

I find if I change my workout routine or eat some variety of food I lose weight more easily rather than if my days are cookie cutters of the days prior.

AJ_G

Well, based on what you put in your post (your diary is not public) about height, weight, and age, your BMR is approximately 1600. and you're eating 1500-1700 calories. This to me says you're eating in maintenance, not at a deficit. Yes you're exercising, but you're likely overestimating calories burned. If you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories, only eat back a portion (1/2 seems to work well) instead of all.

Since when is eating your BMR calories maintenance? Also, determining BMR solely from height and weight is highly inaccurate...

walleymama

I am about the same height as you, and weigh around 150 lbs. I exercise about 200 min a week on average as well (cycling, running, walking). I was having some mixed results, playing around with daily calories to see where my "sweet spot" was for weight loss. I have been tracking the numbers for 3 weeks now.

Using a moving 7-day average and comparing this to weight loss I have determined that I need to eat around 1500 total calories per day to lose weight. When that number increased to 1600 my weight loss stalled, and when it hit 1700 I started to gain weight. So perhaps your total caloric intake is a bit high since your numbers are similar to mine.

I realize you may be sticking to what MFP or TDEE tells you, but as a wise person recently posted here, those numbers are meaningless if your own reliable data doesn't match up.

According to MFP I should be eating net 1330, but some days I exercise a lot and I always ate back all my calories so too many of those and suddenly I'm eating 1700 cal/day. According to the "TDEE - 20% method" I should be eating 1730 calories per day for weight loss, but that is too much - I started gaining again when I tried that.

So all of this is to say that I think you are eating too much, you are possibly hitting your maintenance level calories but not dipping low enough for weight loss.

QuirkyD

My first thought on your menu is that you seem to have no fats in there. You could add in some calories from fat and cut back to a half cup of quinoa. Some people have been reported to stop losing weight due to the sucrose in fruit. I know it sounds harsh but you could try to replace the fruit snack with vegetable snacks.

Weight lifting helps greatly increase burn during non-active times.

Kudos to you for having such clean meals and logging habits. I am sure if you change it up a little you will reach your goals in no time!

Akimajuktuq

You are following standard diet advice of extremely limiting calories, avoiding fat, avoiding healthy fatty meats, and filling up with fruits (veggies are a better choice-less sugar). That eating plan is effective for only a few and sustainable for almost no one.

Newsflash: you NEED healthy fats in your diet. First step, eat the egg yolks too.

Gianna44

I think seeing your diary would be helpful - are you sure that is actually 1500-1700 calories? I'm not seeing that unless you are adding oils, more egg whites, skim milk than realized. I'm actually wondering if it's not too low? (not trying to open the whole eat more/lose weight debate, but just what I'm wondering...)

petitebunny

Only thing I can think of is that you can find out how many calories your body burns without ANY exercise (as if you weren't to move anything at all). Then you can estimate how many calories you need to eat. And after that, add the calories you lose to the ones you lose naturally and you have as many calories you "lose" a day. otherwise your scheme seems nice :DD and remember to just have patiance. Ever tried High Intensity Interval Training? Very effective calorieburner.

Akimajuktuq

The list of food is not going to help anybody find out why you aren't losing weight, it's not the type of food, it's the calorie intake. What is your body fat percentage

Yes, the list of food says it ALL. Calorie intake is only one part of weight loss for those of us with metabolic issues. Please stop perpetuating the "it's ONLY calories in and calories out" oversimplification. There are many of us who have struggled for years, getting sicker and sicker, because of that BS.

jessitherese

Not everyone's body digests food in the same way. There are people who metabolize quickly and people that metabolize slowly, people that digest high pH food well, and people who can't digest high pH food at all. There is a chance that some thing (or some things) that you are eating is not digesting as efficiently as it should be. Try changing up your diet and see if that helps. I'd suggest starting with changing the kind of grains that you are eating. For example, try exchanging quinoa for brown or wild rice varieties. Also, try exchanging a few servings of the fruit that you are eating a day with vegetables. Although fruit is wonderful, the acidity and sugar (albeit natural) can slow down some peoples' metabolisms. Just don't give up!! if you are following the diet plan that you listed in your post, even if the scale does not say you are making progress, remember that you are. You are taking steps in the right direction toward a healthy lifestyle! Keep it up and don't get too discouraged. Also, although I am simply repeating the same thing other people have said, you need to make sure that you are not eating too many calories a day.

P.s.- are you consuming a lot of artificial sweetened products (aspartame in particular)? Artificial sweeteners can (supposedly) retain belly fat and increase water retention.

DaniLynn01

def need to know your total intake for the day..... just reading that seems like it is not enough calories for the amt of time you exercise.... Which will put you into starvation mode and hurt your matabolism. Good luck!!

rowanwood

Well, based on what you put in your post (your diary is not public) about height, weight, and age, your BMR is approximately 1600. and you're eating 1500-1700 calories. This to me says you're eating in maintenance, not at a deficit. Yes you're exercising, but you're likely overestimating calories burned. If you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories, only eat back a portion (1/2 seems to work well) instead of all.

Eating at BMR is not maintenance unless you are in a coma.

I second the opening the diary and getting more info. Sometimes, it seems to help me to eat at TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure, which is actual maintenance) for a few days and then go back to my cut to break a plateau.

Doone33

There is a few things I believe that every new MFP person should be told right off.... You need to get a HRM to accurately track the calories burned during your exercise or walks, You need to get a set of scales and keep your measuring cups, spoons and scales out on the counter... use them.. do not GUESS it. The First thing.... Talk to your doctor about your journey.. if you have real struggles or are honestly keeping accurate records and nothing works... This is what you should be sharing with your doctor! No one here can eliminate the possibility of any of the three things I suggested as to that being the problem or not being the problem... I know until I started measuring... I had NO idea what 3 oz of taco meat looked like... or one tablespoon of peanut butter... I could only guess.. and could not keep an accurate count of calories in and calories out. I just know its hard to get healthy.. its even harder when we think we are doing things right to find out we have not and that's why wee see no progress. The HRM.. will give you an accurate count of the calories burned on your walks... do not guess at these... DO you really know how much one mile of walking at my quick pace burns for me?

This is me trying to help.. I hope you view in a positive way! THanks!

MyaPapaya75

a list of food only gives insight to one day an open diary helps more. If you plan to eat back a portion of your workout calories I hope you have a HRM

AJ_G

The list of food is not going to help anybody find out why you aren't losing weight, it's not the type of food, it's the calorie intake. What is your body fat percentage

Yes, the list of food says it ALL. Calorie intake is only one part of weight loss for those of us with metabolic issues. Please stop perpetuating the "it's ONLY calories in and calories out" oversimplification. There are many of us who have struggled for years, getting sicker and sicker, because of that BS.

If you have a metabolic issue, than that's a different story, the OP said she had her thyroid tested and it was normal and she did not mention any metabolic issues. Most people with metabolic issues will mention right away that they have them, so since she did not, my advice was sound. I'm not going to change my advice to everybody because a minority of the population has metabolic issues. If you have metabolic issues, go to a doctor for advice. If you don't have metabolic issues, then energy balance and calories in calories out is ALL that matters for weight loss and weight gain, it is not an oversimplification, it is scientific fact...

husseycd

You should be losing at those calories. I'm your height, but 37, and 130 lbs. I'm maintaining while eating between 1800-2000 calories/day. Sometimes more (on weekends), but rarely less than 1800.

I had my RMR tested and it was 1580 calories/day, which is in-line with my BF% (at 20%). It also seems to be work out with what my bodymedia fit says I'm burning (2150 calories/day on average) and my activity level. I do work out every day, but not excessively. I'd say I get an average of 200-250 "exercise" calories/week. I have a desk job but I don't sit still for long, so my "movement" exercise tends to be much higher, like 2.5 hours/day. This makes a huge difference in my TDEE. If I'm not active, my bodymedia tells me I only burn about 1800 calories/day.

Of course your situation is going to be different than mine, but I know seeing others' stats helps. I do follow a Paleo/Primal type diet 80% of the time, and although I don't usually advocate any special diet, this one did help me drop those last 8 lbs I'd been trying to shed. I have a friend who is strictly following it and has lost 20 lbs where she wasn't able to lose anything for years before. Hard to say if it's really the diet or if she (and I) are just stricter about food/calories, but it would be worth a shot to me. I do have another friend who just cut gluten and swears the weight fell off without changing a thing. :shrugs:

Kittyvicious1

Im in the same boat with one foot in the water. My scale refuses to move but inches are dropping and I gained lots of muscle. What I am going to do as of today I lowered my calorie intake to 1300 and continue workingout. I know my wkouts are working because Ive gained muscle so I figured it must be what or how much I am eating.

I looked up Chris Powell and he said take your weight x 12 equals the amt your body burns at rest and you should no eat over that amt also.

I alsp read if you want to drop 1lb you need to burn 500 calories a day.

Hope it helps, its best you do some research and make your own adjustments. It sounds weird but losing weieht is an
experiment. What wks for one does not wk for all.

GothBunnyy

Metabolism is a personal thing and different for everyone; and weight loss is far more complicated than calories in / calories out.
Perhaps better questions to ask should be am I healthy? Am I eating nutritious food? Can I move my body as much as I want without pain?
~Goth Bunnyy
Health At Every Size!

AJ_G

Metabolism is a personal thing and different for everyone; and weight loss is far more complicated than calories in / calories out.
Perhaps better questions to ask should be am I healthy? Am I eating nutritious food? Can I move my body as much as I want without pain?
~Goth Bunnyy
Health At Every Size!

A small minority of the population has actual medical problems with their metabolism. Let me start by saying that if you think you might have a medical problem with your metabolism, go see a doctor and find out for certain because you will have to do things differently because of that. For the vast majority of the population that does not have medical problem with their metabolism, weight loss is not complicated, it is very simple: you must burn more calories every day, then you consume, period, end of story, that is it. If you don't agree with me, that's fine, but this is not just some theory I came up with one day on a walk through the park, it is scientific fact that has been researched and backed up time and time again. Many people do not track calorie intake as accurately and diligently as they should and often underestimate calories consumed, and many people often overestimate calories burned from exercise, so their recorded calorie balance, and their true calorie balance are way off and this leads to frustration because they are not seeing the results they want. As far as what it takes to be healthy, you just have to make sure you're getting enough protein, fat, fiber, and micronutrients, and eating within your calorie goal. Eat whatever you want to hit those goals and exercise, and you will be healthy.

excitedaboutfitness

Hey everyone! I'm the OP! I wasn't expecting so many replies so quickly!

I unlocked my diary http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/excitedaboutfitness

I do eat fats, but I didn't really put them on the list. I mostly look to the smoked salmon for fats, as well as olive oil. I use an olive oil mister to cook the onions and zucchini, and I've had to estimate how much olive oil I actually use (it seems to be about 2 tablespoons per day from my measurements from filling the mister).

Are there any potential digestive issues that could be causing this? Or, if 3 weeks isn't long enough to really tell, how long would you suggest I wait before looking to determine if other issues are causing the plateau?

As for the exercise calories, I typically do not take those into account when eating. I shoot to eat 1500-1700, regardless of how much I exercise that day.

I do not know my body fat %

AJ_G

Hey everyone! I'm the OP! I wasn't expecting so many replies so quickly!

I unlocked my diary http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/excitedaboutfitness

I do eat fats, but I didn't really put them on the list. I mostly look to the smoked salmon for fats, as well as olive oil. I use an olive oil mister to cook the onions and zucchini, and I've had to estimate how much olive oil I actually use (it seems to be about 2 tablespoons per day from my measurements from filling the mister).

Are there any potential digestive issues that could be causing this? Or, if 3 weeks isn't long enough to really tell, how long would you suggest I wait before looking to determine if other issues are causing the plateau?

As for the exercise calories, I typically do not take those into account when eating. I shoot to eat 1500-1700, regardless of how much I exercise that day.

I do not know my body fat %

My best advice would be instead of picking a 200 calorie range to hit, actually pick a calorie goal, like say 1600 calories a day, and hit that goal as closely as possible every day for 2 to 3 weeks and see how that affects your weight. Try to be as accurate in your food weighing and measuring as possible. If you gain or are the same weight after that time, drop 100 calories and repeat the process.