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MyFitnessPal Community

But seriously... why am I not losing weight?

telepathe

Now it's my turn to pose the dreaded question :grumble:

I'm 20, 5'4'', 134 lbs, trying to lose around 14-15 pounds. Body fat is high, around 27-28%. I've never had too much trouble losing weight - as much as 2 lbs per week - as long as I kept to a low carb diet (I'm hyperinsulinaemic - insulin resistant - and, consequently, reactive hypoglycemic) and 1200 kcal per day. I'll add that I'm "pre-hypothyroid". But again, never had too much trouble dropping the weight if I put my mind to it.

A couple of weeks ago I looked at myself in the mirror, noticed I was definitely a lot pudgier than I'd like and decided to diet. This time I'm doing it "right": unlike the other times, I'm actually exercising regularly (doing resistance training 3x per week, took up the C25K program, cycling every day a lot) and basically busting my butt. I upped my calories between 1400 and 1500 per day, I'm keeping my diet low carb (under 50-60 g per day) and well...

I'm losing (slowly) cm on my waist and hips but I haven't lost anything on the scale!

How is that possible? I lost weight SO easily when I just ate 1200 kcal and didn't exercise (at most walking 1 h per day going to and from my university) but now that I've taken up a serious fitness regimen - which is also supposed to help with my insulin resistance - the kg won't drop.

I'm not complaining too much I guess, because I can already see a little difference in the mirror and well, I am getting "smaller"... I'm just puzzled by the paradox.

ETA: my height

Replies

ladynocturne

You're a healthy weight for your height, since you only have <10lbs to lose, it is going to be slow going. Like 1/2lb a week.

Change your settings for .5lbs per week and understand that it's going to take some time to "do it right" this time. (log and eat your exercise calories as well)

I would definitely recommend measuring yourself instead of using the scale, the scale is a decent tool, but it really doesn't show the whole picture.

d2footballJRC

I'd go about it differently, don't worry about weight.. forget about it.. Start lifting, work on cutting body fat. Forget about the scale, concentrate on body fat %.

Ninkyou

I agree with d2. Forget losing weight. Work on lifting/toning. That will decrease your inches and BF% better than losing weight. You're already at a healthy BMI. Losing more may put you in the underweight category.

telepathe

Thank you all for your answers. I'm definitely going to focus more on losing inches and bodyfat % than on the weight itself. Still, I continue being confused by it.:grumble: Exercise should make me lose faster, not stall ANY weight loss (at least in numbers), shouldn't it?

The body is such a weirdly complex thing

Ninkyou

No.

Calorie deficit = weight loss
Exercise = Fitness

When you exercise, it just means you get to eat more. You'll still be in a deficit. And too large of a deficit will stall your progress, so always eat back your exercise calories... cause your body needs fuel for the work you do.

d2footballJRC

Thank you all for your answers. I'm definitely going to focus more on losing inches and bodyfat % than on the weight itself. Still, I continue being confused by it.:grumble: Exercise should make me lose faster, not stall ANY weight loss (at least in numbers), shouldn't it?

The body is such a weirdly complex thing

No, working out will require your muscles to take on water for repair, that alone will stall weight loss. Add in you are already close to desired weight, and other factors, working out stalls the scale numbers but usually shows up in the toning and strength increase department. Take measurements, measure bf %, ignore scale. Scale is evil... Bf% and measurements are good.

To put it into perspective, this girl weighs 134lbs.: Muscle and Toning is > then numbers on scale.

tonynguyen75

If you are losing cm's then don't worry about it. You're good. You're losing fat, but your body is holding onto water, MOST LIKELY.

mamatummy

someone told me muscle is heavier - so perhaps you are putting on more due to increase muscle gain due to all your exercise - go by your clothes fit.

ktsimons

The body is such a weirdly complex thing

[/quote]

truer words were never spoken!

diannethegeek

Thank you all for your answers. I'm definitely going to focus more on losing inches and bodyfat % than on the weight itself. Still, I continue being confused by it.:grumble: Exercise should make me lose faster, not stall ANY weight loss (at least in numbers), shouldn't it?

The body is such a weirdly complex thing

It's not uncommon to see no change or even a slight gain on the scale when you start a new exercise program or increase an old one. Our bodies flood sore muscles with water to help cushion and repair them. Drink plenty of fluids and give your body some time to adjust. Two weeks isn't long enough to decide whether or not any program is working.