In a calorie deficit but not losing weight
leah9985
Posts: 66 Member
Hey everyone! I’m looking for a bit of advice. I started my diet on 1st Jan. Both diet and exercise. Working out around 4 times a week with a mix of cardio and weights. I am consuming 1200-1300 calories a day (never over 1300 calories), and eating a clean diet.
In the 13 days I have been doing this diet I have not lost any weight at all. Pictures have shown my shape has changed and I’ve lost 3.5inches off my waist, 1inch off my arms and 2 inches off my legs but no weight loss.
How can this be? Before people jump and say I’m probably not in a deficit. I 100% am. I weigh all of my food, even down to if I have a light salad dressing. I am not consuming more calories than I think, I am very strict.
I am 5ft 2inch tall and I weigh 61.2kg. My goal weight is 54kg.
Any ideas or advice would really help. Thank you x
In the 13 days I have been doing this diet I have not lost any weight at all. Pictures have shown my shape has changed and I’ve lost 3.5inches off my waist, 1inch off my arms and 2 inches off my legs but no weight loss.
How can this be? Before people jump and say I’m probably not in a deficit. I 100% am. I weigh all of my food, even down to if I have a light salad dressing. I am not consuming more calories than I think, I am very strict.
I am 5ft 2inch tall and I weigh 61.2kg. My goal weight is 54kg.
Any ideas or advice would really help. Thank you x
4
Replies
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I'm guessing the exercise is new? A new exercise regime, especially including weights, can lead to water retention, masking fat loss on the scale.
You're clearly seeing progress (losing inches), so just be patient. 13 days is nothing, evaluating your weight trend is best done over 4 to 8 weeks (at least one full mentrual cycle, since those can also cause water weight fluctuations).9 -
That’s very helpful thank you. Also, can I drink too much water? I am trying to drink 2 litres a day, should I reduce this? Patience is key, I know this, it’s just hard as the scales can become obsessive but actually, I feel I look better, which is why the weight not dropping is becoming frustrating x1
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That’s very helpful thank you. Also, can I drink too much water? I am trying to drink 2 litres a day, should I reduce this? Patience is key, I know this, it’s just hard as the scales can become obsessive but actually, I feel I look better, which is why the weight not dropping is becoming frustrating x
There's no benefit to drinking too much water or aiming for being more than adequately hydrated.
That hydration doesn't just come from water either.
2 litres doesn't sound a lot to me but personal needs are very varied which is why checking the colour of your urine is a better guide than aiming for set amounts.
Be happy you can see progress in such a short timescale, very smart of you to use more than one metric to judge progress.5 -
5.2 at 61.2 kg, I am no expert at female measurement but this seems to be ok, you are certainly not fat or obese. Why lose weight? If unhappy with shape and you want a better body that makes sense but you have progress so I wouldn't really worry to much about weight loss. I just think I could be wrong here, if the body feels it is at its ideal weight, it really doesn't want to lose any weight at all, it kind of recognises what is good, healthy and what is not. In your case the metabolism is probably slowed down by your own body to defend itself against unreasonable weight loss. If you are in calorie deficit there is no way not lose weight, excluding the impossible.1
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yes, all what litchi said. Patience, leah, patience. It's just been 2 weeks, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I take it you don't have too much to lose? Then the weight loss in two weeks will be very small anyway, maybe 2lbs, which can easily be masked by water weight. But congratulations to your change, and for using a scale
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You're only two weeks into this, it takes time for these changes to pay off.5
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply and pass on your advice, it’s greatly appreciated. I have taken all your comments on board and appreciate that patience is key. It’s easy to feel deflated when the numbers on the scales aren’t budging, but what’s important is I feel great. I feel fitter, healthier and stronger and maybe it’s time to not worry about the scales so much. I will persevere, I know I’m in a deficit (when at weekend) so I will continue on this path and hopefully it will pay off 🤞🏼5
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I want to lose a stone in total. Maybe that’s not realistic but we will see0
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You'll get there! Really, you seem to be doing everything correctly. With only a stone to lose (about 14lbs?) then 0.5lbs per week might be the most appropriate rate of loss. If mfp has given you 1200 then it means you've chosen a too high rate of loss as 1200 is the smallest you'll get for health reasons. So you might have lost 1-2lbs, but it's hidden in a bit of water weight. Yep, needs patience
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2 things: If you started with adding exercise, first your body will retain more water because it needs it for muscle repair AND 2nd when the body senses physical use of muscle, glycogen conversion rate is higher. Glycogen requires water to be stored in the cell.
So water will be stored at a higher rate than when you were more sedentary. This can last 2-3 weeks initially. Just keep up with the program. It'll all catch up.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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It might help to consider why you want to lose weight. What is it about a less heavy you that will please you? It's easy to get fixated about the number on the scale (as you are discovering) but I don't know of anyone who only cares that the scale says X. They think that's the case but often they will reach X and discover they don't look or feel how they thought they would.
You say you feel fitter, healthier and stronger and you have made some impressive inch losses already. The loss on the scale is bound to follow given the information you have provided, but it's probably only validation of the results you already have. The process is hard enough, so I'd suggest you celebrate the wins along the way1 -
That’s great thank you all so much! It’s so good to get what I would say is an expert opinion. You all sound like experts!
I will of course stick with it, I had no intention of quitting as I feel great and I will celebrate the change regardless of whether the number on the scales moves.
Just one other thing, I’m not sure if anyone knows, but is cream cheese (such as phillidelphia), acceptable on a clean eating diet? I know cheese seems to be a big no no (especially cheddar), but I’m not sure where I stand with soft cheeses. I am thinking of lunchtime choices and wondered if eating ryvita and cream cheese is an option. I want to be as lean as possible so don’t want to risk eating a food that could prevent that. Thanks in advance xx0 -
What does clean mean to you since it really doesn't have meaning?
Why would cheese be a no no in general?
And it's the calories that matter, not a certain type of food.
Misunderstanding there it appears.
Certain foods may allow you to sustain your eating goal easier, or recover from a workout, ect.
But calories is what matters to leanness if that means losing fat weight.12 -
Your entire diet could come from cheddar and as long as you are still in a calorie deficit you would still lose body fat. Your body fat is an energy store, without an excess of energy (calories) you aren't going to be adding to it, a calorie deficit with whatever diet will result in a loss of bodyfat.
Don't understand why you would consider cheese as being not "clean" - perhaps you can explain?10 -
Aww ok, so I thought a clean diet meant only eating whole foods, nothing processed?
I am worried that if I don’t eat only whole foods...vegetables, fruit, fish, meat etc then I won’t get the results that I am looking for.
I eat all of the above daily, but sometimes I don’t feel like chicken/ fish and veg/salad for lunch so looking for an alternative.
I feel so lost when it comes to foods. I understand that being in a deficit means that I will lose weight, but why do so many fitness fanatics live off chicken and veg for pretty much their whole diet? It must have some benefit? Or am I wrong.
I have whey protein daily to up my protein intake as well as sourcing it from normal foods but feel like I shouldn’t touch anything processed if I want the results I am after.
Sorry for the long reply! Feeling so confused.2 -
the reason fitness fantatics live off basically protein and fiber is protein helps you build muscle and increases satiety (ie: you don't get hungry as soon) and veg is high fiber, which is high volume, which means you get to eat a lot and, again, not feel hungry.
There are micronutrients and protein is sure necessary for healthy functioning, but that doesn't make the other food 'bad' or mean there is an inherent health benefit to living on fish/chicken/veg. Just that those things will allow you to eat more food and feel full longer for fewer calories.
Also 'processing' food - like milk to cheese, or whey to powder - is... not really inherently adding anything. If there are certain additives you want to avoid, cool, you do you, but cheese in particular is milk, bacteria cultures for cheese making (or rennet), and salt, so. Changing the form the milk is in changes the calorie and fat density per ounce, but it does not inherently change it from 'good' (natural) to 'bad' (highly processed with a ton of preservatives).
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That’s very helpful wunderkindking, thank you so much! I want to be realistic about it all. I want to exercise, eat well but also not deprive myself of some of the foods I like. It’s ridiculous that I am even classing ryvita and soft cheese as ‘bad’, but it’s hard when living in a world full of salmon and asparagus posts!! 🤦🏻♀️3
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Aww ok, so I thought a clean diet meant only eating whole foods, nothing processed?
I am worried that if I don’t eat only whole foods...vegetables, fruit, fish, meat etc then I won’t get the results that I am looking for.
I eat all of the above daily, but sometimes I don’t feel like chicken/ fish and veg/salad for lunch so looking for an alternative.
I feel so lost when it comes to foods. I understand that being in a deficit means that I will lose weight, but why do so many fitness fanatics live off chicken and veg for pretty much their whole diet? It must have some benefit? Or am I wrong.
I have whey protein daily to up my protein intake as well as sourcing it from normal foods but feel like I shouldn’t touch anything processed if I want the results I am after.
Sorry for the long reply! Feeling so confused.
Usain Bolt was famous for his enjoyment of chicken nuggets! He did quite well.....
Ever seen what a Tour de France winner eats including loads of carb gels?
How can you regard whey protein as being clean but cheese is not when whey powder is far more processed than the cheese as whey powder is a highly processed by-product of cheese making? I could (sort of) see the argument turned round the other way..... (Other whey?
)
Where does processing definition start and stop? Frozen, canned, packaged - even if those items might be highly nutritious single ingredient items?
Cooked? That's processing too.
Can see you are confused but you are making this very restrictive and complex for no good reason - neither of those things is helpful for success.14 -
Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️2
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Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
There is an ED called orthorexia (focused around 'healthy/clean eating) that can be a major, major problem for some people. If you can prevent yourself from going down that road... do.
These personal trainers and body builders are often doing 'cutting' to get to temporarily very low levels of body fat that THEY do not sustain, on a temporary basis, for the purpose of a show. Most competitive body builders cut for a show and then LET SOME BODY FAT COME BACK because your body needs it to function.
Also please remember there are fat soluable vitamins. If your diet is truly 'salmon and asparagus' (or chicken and broccoli) low all the time, indefinitely, you are going to have problems
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It's probably because they'd rather get their protein from a high protein source that is not possibly full of fat, and use their fat source as something else.
Some consider cheese high protein - considering the fat content, usually not, it's high fat with some protein.2 -
Also randomly:
My blood pressure my whole life, even obese, has trended low. When I went to far in cutting out 'processed' food and trying to be 'healthy' I just about killed myself.
Don't do that, either.2 -
wunderkindking wrote: »Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
There is an ED called orthorexia (focused around 'healthy/clean eating) that can be a major, major problem for some people. If you can prevent yourself from going down that road... do.
These personal trainers and body builders are often doing 'cutting' to get to temporarily very low levels of body fat that THEY do not sustain. Most competitive body builders cut for a show and then LET SOME BODY FAT COME BACK because your body needs it to function.
Also please remember there are fat soluable vitamins. If your diet is truly 'salmon and asparagus' (or chicken and broccoli) low all the time, indefinitely, you are going to have problems
Funny you say that. One of the plans I have recently seen is from a body builder who is training for a competition and has what looks like zero body fat (madness!!)
Ok so, I’m going to take your advice. I need to remain in a calorie deficit but also not deprive myself of foods that are not deemed to some as “clean”.
I have been obsessed with eating before and dropped to 7stone 10lbs! A very unhealthy weight and I am very conscious not to go down that road again. That’s why sometimes it’s good to get other peoples advice and make sure I’m going to go down the correct path this time. So thank you 😊3 -
Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
Be very careful please.
That is a real concern that you would say you are "scared" to eat perfectly normal and nutritious foods or start to assign moral judgements ("worst") to everyday foods.
Hmm lets think about mayonaisse, if you made it from vegetable oil, egg yolk, and vinegar (or lemon juice) then which of these ingredients is unclean or bad? Or do they only become bad when mixed together? Or are they clean if you made it in your kitchen but not if someone else made it for you?
Hope you are seeing this isn't logical.
It's a sad fact that some personal trainers (who are not dieticians, they are exercise professionals) often push the most awful bro-science at their clients.
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Aww ok, so I thought a clean diet meant only eating whole foods, nothing processed?
I am worried that if I don’t eat only whole foods...vegetables, fruit, fish, meat etc then I won’t get the results that I am looking for.
I eat all of the above daily, but sometimes I don’t feel like chicken/ fish and veg/salad for lunch so looking for an alternative.
I feel so lost when it comes to foods. I understand that being in a deficit means that I will lose weight, but why do so many fitness fanatics live off chicken and veg for pretty much their whole diet? It must have some benefit? Or am I wrong.
I have whey protein daily to up my protein intake as well as sourcing it from normal foods but feel like I shouldn’t touch anything processed if I want the results I am after.
Sorry for the long reply! Feeling so confused.
Usain Bolt was famous for his enjoyment of chicken nuggets! He did quite well.....
Ever seen what a Tour de France winner eats including loads of carb gels?
How can you regard whey protein as being clean but cheese is not when whey powder is far more processed than the cheese as whey powder is a highly processed by-product of cheese making? I could (sort of) see the argument turned round the other way..... (Other whey? )
Where does processing definition start and stop? Frozen, canned, packaged - even if those items might be highly nutritious single ingredient items?
Cooked? That's processing too.
Can see you are confused but you are making this very restrictive and complex for no good reason - neither of those things is helpful for success.
I like your humour! 🤣
I think you’re right, where does it start and stop. Why will I have whey protein but not cheese? Now you’ve said it like that it sounds ludicrous!
I don’t want to restrict myself completely. Of course I want to consume healthy foods, but that should be for no other reason than the fact I enjoy them and they are beneficial to my health.
I don’t know enough about anything really. It’s been really helpful reading all of your replies.
I will definitely be eating my ryvita and cream cheese and I may even treat myself to a chicken nugget....Usain Bolt style! 😂
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Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
Be very careful please.
That is a real concern that you would say you are "scared" to eat perfectly normal and nutritious foods or start to assign moral judgements ("worst") to everyday foods.
Hmm lets think about mayonaisse, if you made it from vegetable oil, egg yolk, and vinegar (or lemon juice) then which of these ingredients is unclean or bad? Or do they only become bad when mixed together? Or are they clean if you made it in your kitchen but not if someone else made it for you?
Hope you are seeing this isn't logical.
It's a sad fact that some personal trainers (who are not dieticians, they are exercise professionals) often push the most awful bro-science at their clients.
I totally get your point and I completely agree. My friend have recently signed up to an online personal trainer and I have seen the meal plan. It’s basically chicken, salmon, tuna, greek yoghurt and veg. There isn’t much more to it so I think that’s another reason why I have been worried about eating anything that doesn’t fall into those categories!
It can become obsessive, I have been there before and I am determined not to be there again. I have to remind myself that as long as I am in a deficit then I will lose weight, even if it takes time.
Thank you for your help and advice. It’s a slippery slope and one I do not want to fall down. So thank you for shedding some realistic light on things 😊
2 -
Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
Be very careful please.
That is a real concern that you would say you are "scared" to eat perfectly normal and nutritious foods or start to assign moral judgements ("worst") to everyday foods.
Hmm lets think about mayonaisse, if you made it from vegetable oil, egg yolk, and vinegar (or lemon juice) then which of these ingredients is unclean or bad? Or do they only become bad when mixed together? Or are they clean if you made it in your kitchen but not if someone else made it for you?
Hope you are seeing this isn't logical.
It's a sad fact that some personal trainers (who are not dieticians, they are exercise professionals) often push the most awful bro-science at their clients.
I totally get your point and I completely agree. My friend have recently signed up to an online personal trainer and I have seen the meal plan. It’s basically chicken, salmon, tuna, greek yoghurt and veg. There isn’t much more to it so I think that’s another reason why I have been worried about eating anything that doesn’t fall into those categories!
It can become obsessive, I have been there before and I am determined not to be there again. I have to remind myself that as long as I am in a deficit then I will lose weight, even if it takes time.
Thank you for your help and advice. It’s a slippery slope and one I do not want to fall down. So thank you for shedding some realistic light on things 😊
You are very, very welcone.
A healthy diet is a fantastic aim but I would always start from what to include rather than what to exclude. Food should be a joy as well as fuel.4 -
Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
If losing weight were a simple matter of getting the right number of calories, and nutrition could be achieved by common sense, how would lots of personal trainers, etc., make a living?
They have a vested interest in making it complicated, making us think we need professional help, and very arcane eating patterns that only they can prescribe.
Guess what? It's really not that complicated: Proper calorie level for weight management (doesn't matter where the calories come from), reasonable overall nutrition for health. That's pretty much it. I admit, nutrition can be a complicated subject (that's why we do have registered dietitians to help in complex scenarios), but the basics are common sense: Get enough protein, enough healthy fats, a variety of nice, varied, colorful veggies/fruit, and that's the bulk of it.
If cheese prevented a person from losing weight, I'd still be obese (like I was from the 1980s or earlier to 2015), not at a healthy weight (as I have been since 2015). I eat cheese every day . . . lotsa kinds, including indulgent triple-cream cheese. Cheeses give me a little bit of protein, and are a bit calorie-dense, but that's not a problem if I pay attention to portion size. Easy.
Really, there aren't bad foods, unless you have a health condition that requires eliminating them, an allergy/sensitivity, or they're actually poisonous. (Processing doesn't inherently make things poisonous despite what the silly blogosphere may claim).
There can be bad overall diets, though, if there's poor overall nutrition. Guess what? A person can eat entirely unprocessed, whole, clean foods (by anyone's definition of the term) and still get poor overall nutrition. "Clean" is not only ill-defined, it's an unhelpful tangent.
Proper calorie level, good overall nutrition. That's the stuff that matters.
And this is 100% true:Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
Be very careful please.
That is a real concern that you would say you are "scared" to eat perfectly normal and nutritious foods or start to assign moral judgements ("worst") to everyday foods.
Hmm lets think about mayonaisse, if you made it from vegetable oil, egg yolk, and vinegar (or lemon juice) then which of these ingredients is unclean or bad? Or do they only become bad when mixed together? Or are they clean if you made it in your kitchen but not if someone else made it for you?
Hope you are seeing this isn't logical.
It's a sad fact that some personal trainers (who are not dieticians, they are exercise professionals) often push the most awful bro-science at their clients.
I totally get your point and I completely agree. My friend have recently signed up to an online personal trainer and I have seen the meal plan. It’s basically chicken, salmon, tuna, greek yoghurt and veg. There isn’t much more to it so I think that’s another reason why I have been worried about eating anything that doesn’t fall into those categories!
It can become obsessive, I have been there before and I am determined not to be there again. I have to remind myself that as long as I am in a deficit then I will lose weight, even if it takes time.
Thank you for your help and advice. It’s a slippery slope and one I do not want to fall down. So thank you for shedding some realistic light on things 😊
You are very, very welcone.
A healthy diet is a fantastic aim but I would always start from what to include rather than what to exclude. Food should be a joy as well as fuel.
7 -
Hey everyone! I’m looking for a bit of advice. I started my diet on 1st Jan. Both diet and exercise. Working out around 4 times a week with a mix of cardio and weights. I am consuming 1200-1300 calories a day (never over 1300 calories), and eating a clean diet.
In the 13 days I have been doing this diet I have not lost any weight at all. Pictures have shown my shape has changed and I’ve lost 3.5inches off my waist, 1inch off my arms and 2 inches off my legs but no weight loss.
How can this be? Before people jump and say I’m probably not in a deficit. I 100% am. I weigh all of my food, even down to if I have a light salad dressing. I am not consuming more calories than I think, I am very strict.
I am 5ft 2inch tall and I weigh 61.2kg. My goal weight is 54kg.
Any ideas or advice would really help. Thank you x
My own scale went UP 7 POUNDS when I started lifting weights again, so, like others have said, it is likely water retention from the new exercise program. It came back off and kept going down in a few weeks.
If you are ovulating or premenstrual, that can also cause water retention.4 -
Sijomial - I don’t actually know why to be honest. I think because when I see these diet plans from a lot of personal trainers etc, there isn’t a slice of cheese in site. If there is then it’s protein cheese (which I recently found out was a thing!). I guess I’m scared to eat anything other than non processed foods. The worst thing in my diet at the moment is a little bit of salad cream or Mayo on my salad 🤦🏻♀️
Technically, if I pick an organic strawberry from my garden, stem it, brush off the straw, and throw it in the freezer, I have "processed" it.
Here are some categories of "processed" that may be helpful:
https://world.openfoodfacts.org/nova
Cheese is a Group 3 Processed Foods.
Off MFP, when I see people talking about limiting processed foods, they mean Group 4 Ultra Processed Foods.2
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