Help??? Not losing weight???

sashabee25

I am 18 years old, and I would really like to lose 10 pounds of fat. I have been trying to do this for the last 4 months, but not a single pound has come off my body. I exercise every day (walking, running, HIIT, strength training) and have been cutting calories. I eat about 1500 calories a day, sometimes less. I don't count calories exactly, but I don't have to because I know for sure I am below my maintenance. For example, all I ate today was a sweet potato, 2 eggs, and 2 slices of bread (i don't have to count to know that I am in a deficit). I fast at least 18-20 hours every day, and I did OMAD for an entire month. I eat super healthy too (no junk food, ONLY drink water, 90% of my diet is whole, nutrient rich foods). By all logic, I should be losing fat.

The only possibility I would consider affecting my weight loss is low estrogen. I have missed my period for a month (even though my weight barely changed). Would this have any impact on my fat loss? Looking for any advice/opinions. Thanks!

harper16

10 lbs is a weight loss of .5 lbs a week. That's not a lot of room for counting errors. You likely are eating more calories, and aren't in a deficit to lose weight. If you think a health issue is the reason contact your doctor.

kakemery

I would say, based on the description above, that you are not eating enough calories. If you are not meeting your base calories, your body goes into starvation mode and clings to fat. With that deficit, whenever you work out, you will burn muscle instead of fat. Since muscle helps with burning fat, you are doing the opposite of what you intend.
I would actually log everything you eat and see how many calories you are consuming. Try to get at least 1100/day.
It wouldn't hurt to see a dr and get things checked out. If you are regularly in the deficit you described though, the missed period could very well be a byproduct of poor nutrition. In the end even though you are eating the right foods, you might not be eating enough of them.

jayemes

You said you're eating super healthy but today you ate a sweet potato and 2 eggs and some bread. How is that super healthy?
If you want to lose weight with MFP's methods, weigh and measure everything and eat the recommended number of calories. Period.

harper16

kakemery wrote: »

I would say, based on the description above, that you are not eating enough calories. If you are not meeting your base calories, your body goes into starvation mode and clings to fat. With that deficit, whenever you work out, you will burn muscle instead of fat. Since muscle helps with burning fat, you are doing the opposite of what you intend.
I would actually log everything you eat and see how many calories you are consuming. Try to get at least 1100/day.
It wouldn't hurt to see a dr and get things checked out. If you are regularly in the deficit you described though, the missed period could very well be a byproduct of poor nutrition. In the end even though you are eating the right foods, you might not be eating enough of them.

The minimum a sedentary female should be eating is 1200 calories a day. 1100 would be to low.

kakemery

harper16 wrote: »

kakemery wrote: »

I would say, based on the description above, that you are not eating enough calories. If you are not meeting your base calories, your body goes into starvation mode and clings to fat. With that deficit, whenever you work out, you will burn muscle instead of fat. Since muscle helps with burning fat, you are doing the opposite of what you intend.
I would actually log everything you eat and see how many calories you are consuming. Try to get at least 1100/day.
It wouldn't hurt to see a dr and get things checked out. If you are regularly in the deficit you described though, the missed period could very well be a byproduct of poor nutrition. In the end even though you are eating the right foods, you might not be eating enough of them.

The minimum a sedentary female should be eating is 1200 calories a day. 1100 would be to low.

Yep, it should have said 1200 but I hit 11 on my phone.

paperpudding

no, OP's body is not going into so called starvation mode.

I would think the most likely reason is you are eating more than you think (and possibly burning less than you think in activity) - especially since you are not even counting calories at all to know that your self reported 1500 calories is that at all.

The other points about OMAD, fasting windows, eating super healthy foods (whatever you define them to be) is all white noise.

If you have not lost weight for 4 months you have not consistently been in a deficit.

PAV8888

She may not be in starvation "mode" but, for all we know, based on what I hope is NOT a typical eating day, she could well be in actual starvation <no mode> depending on starting weight and while trying to implement insane deficits.

paperpudding

well, not likely if she has lost no weight in 4 months despite eating her own estimation of 1500 calories (despite one day of definite under eating but she didnt say that was a typical day) - unless the starting weight is already way too low, in which case weight loss is the wrong goal altogether.

OP, what is your weight and height?

sashabee25

I am 5'5 and 125 lbs. I do want to get down to 115 even if that's on the lower end of my BMI. However I don't think it will be unhealthy since I do have prominent fat stores I would like to get rid of.

Additionally, I weighed in at around 110 just a few months ago (before I started college) and I was the healthiest I had been with way more energy than I have now. I was able to eat until I was totally satisfied and not gain a pound, but now it feels like the opposite...

harper16

sashabee25 wrote: »

I am 5'5 and 125 lbs. I do want to get down to 115 even if that's on the lower end of my BMI. However I don't think it will be unhealthy since I do have prominent fat stores I would like to get rid of.

Additionally, I weighed in at around 110 just a few months ago (before I started college) and I was the healthiest I had been with way more energy than I have now. I was able to eat until I was totally satisfied and not gain a pound, but now it feels like the opposite...

Start by buying a food scale and weigh and log everything you eat for the next 4-6 weeks.

sashabee25

A lot of people are also saying I have not been in a deficit, but I don't think that's the issue. A few months ago, I was at 110 lbs and I had maintained that weight for 2 years while eating whatever I wanted. Now (after I started college lifestyle) I am eating half of what I used to eat in an attempt to lose some weight so there is no way I could possibly cut down on calories even more without screwing up my health.

harper16

sashabee25 wrote: »

A lot of people are also saying I have not been in a deficit, but I don't think that's the issue. A few months ago, I was at 110 lbs and I had maintained that weight for 2 years while eating whatever I wanted. Now (after I started college lifestyle) I am eating half of what I used to eat in an attempt to lose some weight so there is no way I could possibly cut down on calories even more without screwing up my health.

If you think there's a medical reason you aren't losing weight make an appointment with your doctor. Since you don't use a food scale, and only guess on your calories you don't know if you are in a deficit.

PAV8888

Many people have not yet finished growing into their adult bodies before they've turned 18. You're at an age where past weight cannot always be compared directly to your current weight.

A more appropriate goal may be recomposition as opposed to aiming for arbitrary weight loss.

Lillymoo01

If you have not lost any weight over 4 months you are eating at maintenance rather than a deficit. If you were eating fewer calories than you burn you would be losing weight. The question to ask is whether this is because you have a medical condition resulting in you burning far fewer calories than the average person with your stats or whether you are inaccurate with your logging. I'd bet on the second one and an appointment with your doctor could either confirm or deny this.

Lillymoo01

I'd also suggest you go by the advice you were given here. A doctors appointment is something you will really benefit from if you are honest with them.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10797947/should-a-teenager-water-fast-starve-for-a-few-days/p1

PAV8888

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

A doctors appointment is something you will really benefit from if you are honest with them. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10797947/should-a-teenager-water-fast-starve-for-a-few-days/p1

paperpudding wrote: »

in which case weight loss is the wrong goal altogether.

PAV8888 wrote: »

A more appropriate goal may be re-composition as opposed to aiming for arbitrary weight loss.

@paperpudding... I think we're just getting closer to the day when, in spite of your public protestations, we will discover that you secretively enjoy consuming cornichons and some of their relatives of the Cucumis genus!

PAV8888

To the OP. Seriously. Do yourself a real favour.

For a second STOP thinking about "how am I am going to move the numbers on my scale". And seriously think about your WHY.

Then pretend that I am real dumb and explain to me WHY you think that it is so important that you move the numbers on this scale to the point that you are willing to go days without eating any food?

i.e. you're willing to go into extremes to achieve this new number.

So what is this number going to offer you? Can you achieve what the number will offer you in any other way? Can others maybe help you figure this out?

Remember the part where you stated that you were maintaining your weight effortlessly before you started trying to lose weight?

Avidkeo

OP I'm more worried about the fact your period has stopped, any chance you are pregnant? Otherwise that's a warning sign that you are doing something unhealthy.

The meal you quoted may not have enough calories, but there is every possibility that other days you are eating enough to create a maintenance. I know there are days where I can eat way above my maintenance, and other days I'm in deficit, therefore overall at maintenance level.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

Yep the period loss is a red flag for me plus the level of intense exercise and reported low calories (even though only one day lsintske is given so hard to generalise from that)

OP see ur doctor about the period. Do less exercise.

You could look into recomp if you are wanting to look toned/muscular.

paperpudding

PAV8888 wrote: »

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

A doctors appointment is something you will really benefit from if you are honest with them. https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10797947/should-a-teenager-water-fast-starve-for-a-few-days/p1

paperpudding wrote: »

in which case weight loss is the wrong goal altogether.

PAV8888 wrote: »

A more appropriate goal may be re-composition as opposed to aiming for arbitrary weight loss.

@paperpudding... I think we're just getting closer to the day when, in spite of your public protestations, we will discover that you secretively enjoy consuming cornichons and some of their relatives of the Cucumis genus!

Had to look up what a cornichon was - oh, a fancy gherkin.

Can assure you I am not a secret consumer of either gherkins or their fresh version cucumbers - although good to see we are on same page with other thoughts.

Everybody else, please return to your regular broadcast and ignore next episode in cucumber wars.

playhardkf2017

OP, you are at your ideal body weight which is for a female: 100 lbs for the first five ft and 5 lbs for every inch afterwards. If you want to change the way your body looks, I’d follow the recomposition suggestion in a previous post. I highly recommend working with a registered dietitian who has been trained in this area. They have all sorts of ways to help you reach your goals and the ability to work with your doctor to order some labs to make sure everything is working the way it should in your body. (Also make sure it’s a registered dietitian not just a nutritionist... RDs are credentialed and have gone through years of schooling and an almost year long internship.)

janejellyroll

OP, there are plenty of people here who want to be on the lower end of their BMI, including me. There's nothing inherently wrong with that.

The issue is that it is going to require patience and consistency. And, to be healthy, you'll need to to be reasonable with your food choices and calorie goals. None of that is in evidence from your posts.

If you're at the point where your cycle is getting messed up, that's a major wake-up call. You need to set a *reasonable* calorie goal with a *moderate* deficit. You'll want to accurately log to hit that goal consistently. And you'll be measuring your progress over weeks and weeks (even months and months), not jumping around from punishing fad to punishing fad.

JK1542020

Hey OP. I was you 15 years ago. Slim but wanted to be skinny. Worked put exessively, ate very little because I thought it was healthy, my periods stopped.

Now I'm 35, my periods never did come back so I couldnt have children. I'm obese (because eventually no matter what you think now you WILL eat and your body will make you play catch up on all those lost calories by way of bingeing) and a size 20. I've been trying my whole life to get it under control and I wish I could go back in time and never go down that road.

Eat food. Work put in moderation. Your periods are a huge sign you are doing something wrong. Your number 1 priority right now is to restore your menstrual cycle. End of. Forget weight loss until you've done that.

harper16

JK1542020 wrote: »

Hey OP. I was you 15 years ago. Slim but wanted to be skinny. Worked put exessively, ate very little because I thought it was healthy, my periods stopped.

Now I'm 35, my periods never did come back so I couldnt have children. I'm obese (because eventually no matter what you think now you WILL eat and your body will make you play catch up on all those lost calories by way of bingeing) and a size 20. I've been trying my whole life to get it under control and I wish I could go back in time and never go down that road.

Eat food. Work put in moderation. Your periods are a huge sign you are doing something wrong. Your number 1 priority right now is to restore your menstrual cycle. End of. Forget weight loss until you've done that.

I developed an eating disorder in my early 20's, and also stopped having my periods. It took spending thousands in fertility treatments to get pregnant.

OP you've gotten lots of great insightful advice. Please care about your health, and not just reaching a number on the scale as quickly as possible.

Strudders67

OP, you've been given a lot of good advise in this post and also in response to your question a few days ago about whether you should fast / starve yourself for a few days. Please read them and then look into recomp rather than further weight loss.

And make sure you really are eating enough. Like others, I think it's alarming that your periods have stopped.

madagirl81

5'4" and 125 pounds is skinny, you don't need to worry about losing weight

nooshi713

There is a good chance that you were way more active in high school and less active now. I agree with others who suggested you start counting calories again. Also, you don’t need to lose weight.