Loss much slower than predicted?

Xiao_Ya_

I've been on here for at least 5 weeks and my loss is nowhere near what they have predicted... I almost always eat far less than the prescribed 1,200 calories a day, and struggle to become hungry. I know that if you don't eat enough, it's harder to lose, but I can't make myself hungry. I do a strenuous 30-60 min workout daily.
I'm female, 4'11", and currently 102 lbs... only 3 lbs less than when I started a while back.

Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Panini911

at 102lbs you are already well in the middle of healthy range. You should be trying to lose more than 0.5lb/week to be safe.

if you added or increased exercise that can lead to your muscles retaining water to repair themselves for awhile masking weight loss.

so 3lb/5 weeks is right on par for 0.5lb/week rate of loss recommended for someone who is well within healthy weight range on top of possible water fluctations/retention.

You may also consider a recomp VS weight loss. let me find a link...
ETA LINK: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

concordancia

At your size, everything has to be 100% accurate. Even then, all of the things that affect water weight will have an impact on your reasonable loss from day to day and week to week.

LyndaBSS

How much are you looking to lose?

apullum

You're only 10 pounds from the absolute lowest end of your healthy BMI range. If you are unhappy with how your body looks, I would strongly suggest starting a recomp routine rather than weight loss.

Hannahwalksfar

At your weight I would not be looking at losing, rather gaining muscle if anything.

Sharon_C

apullum wrote: »

You're only 10 pounds from the absolute lowest end of your healthy BMI range. If you are unhappy with how your body looks, I would strongly suggest starting a recomp routine rather than weight loss.

100% agree with apullum. You need recomp, not weight loss

Xiao_Ya_

@Panini911 Thanks for the tips and chart! That is quite helpful, so I guess it is true if I suddenly went from 102 to 93 in 5 weeks like predicted, that would be a bit drastic. I guess I just have to be patient. I'd like to be a bit more muscular and have less fat in places but I know the recomp would take several months.

Xiao_Ya_

@concordancia How would I know if I actually lost or if it was just a water weight fluctuation? That confuses me...

Xiao_Ya_

@LyndaBSS On the BMI chart for Asian girls, I am actually quite heavy, nearly overweight. On the BMI chart for American girls, I am average. As I am Asian, I do not believe it would be unhealthy to drop to 86 lbs.

NovusDies

The MFP 5 week prediction is useless if that is what you were going by.

mmapags

RyotaFujikawa wrote: »

@Panini911 Thanks for the tips and chart! That is quite helpful, so I guess it is true if I suddenly went from 102 to 93 in 5 weeks like predicted, that would be a bit drastic. I guess I just have to be patient. I'd like to be a bit more muscular and have less fat in places but I know the recomp would take several months.

And how long would it take to be more muscular and have less fat without recomp. You are already near the low end of your BMI. To lose more fat will just cause you to look more skinny than you do now and you would be flirting with an unhealthy underweight.

To be more muscular you have to put in the time. If you don't, how do you intend to accomplish it?

apullum

RyotaFujikawa wrote: »

@LyndaBSS On the BMI chart for Asian girls, I am actually quite heavy, nearly overweight. On the BMI chart for American girls, I am average. As I am Asian, I do not believe it would be unhealthy to drop to 86 lbs.

You are not "quite heavy" or "nearly overweight." You are in a healthy weight range for your height. Your current BMI is 20.6. This is true regardless of your race/ethnicity.

Race/ethnicity has some importance when it comes to health, as different racial groups do have different risk factors and rates of various health problems, including obesity-related problems. Some research suggests that Asian populations are at risk for Type 2 diabetes at lower BMIs than other populations, and there is debate about whether the upper end of the "optimal" BMI range should be lowered for Asian groups. However, the World Health Organization has not set race/ethnicity-specific BMI ranges. Japan defines "overweight" BMI as 24 or above, while the Asian American Diabetes Initiative defines "healthy" BMI for Asians and Asian Americans as 18.5 - 22.9.

As you can see, you are nowhere even remotely close to being overweight, no matter what standard is applied.

If you still believe that you are very heavy, then I would encourage discussing your body image with a therapist.

Sources: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/ethnic-differences-in-bmi-and-disease-risk/, https://aadi.joslin.org/en/am-i-at-risk/asian-bmi-calculator

Xiao_Ya_

@mmapags Yes, I am planning two years for getting my muscles in the shape I want them to be and then maintaining. I hoped I would lose some fat, and gain weight back as muscle mass.