No matter what I do, I simply can't lose it

Siansonea

"No matter what I do, I can't lose the weight!"

And that's because you think if you exercise and "eat healthy", you're supposed to lose weight, right?

Nope. Wrong.

To lose weight, you must do ONE thing and ONE thing only: Eat at a calorie deficit. If you eat 20% fewer calories than you expend each day for an extended period of time, you'll lose weight. It doesn't matter what you eat, or how much or how little you exercise. Just do that one thing, and you'll lose weight.

You can also exercise and eat healthy if you want, but all you'll get from that is bragging rights and health benefits or whatever. Weight loss is math. Do the math.

rileysowner

I sadly don't have time to go through this whole thread. I read some of it and some points were very good.

You are young being in your teens. You will have muscle gains in that period of life that people older than that will not have. Not to mention you are still growing, so weight is not a good measure of progress. I would suggest at the very least get a measuring tape that a tailor would use to measure at least your chest, waist and hips; but probably also your upper arms, and thighs as well as that will give a much better measure of progress than weight. Also, taking pictures every couple of weeks can help you see changes you would never see normally.

I would also suggest based on your height and weight that you need to focus less on losing weight and more on body re-composition. If you have a gym available to you start a weight lifting program like Stronglifts 5x5 or New Rule for Lifting for Women. Do this while eating at a very small deficit or even at maintenance for a few months.

jonnythan

Wow, I'm truly overwhelmed by all the answers! I'd never thought I'd get that many responses. I appreciate all your opinions, although I must admit I found myself getting a bit offended by some of them. But hey, that's how it works in the public. Anyway: some of you noticed that I don't keep a fooddiary, nor do I track my exercises on this page. I used to count my calories, weigh all of my food etc, but stopped when I didn't see results after a couple of months. I don't see how my diet isn't cutting it though - everything I ever eat is oatmeal, chicken, tuna, cottage cheese, avocado, nuts, quinoa, lots of veggies and salads etc. No sugar, no white bread, no potatoes or pasta, no read meat, yeah you get the picture. I thought of going back to counting calories, that's part of why I turned to you guys, wondering if that really is the only way since it's sometimes hard to do that because I have lunch in school (I live in Finland, free lunch you know, and I eat salad only, but still) and don't have access to a scale. How do you do with the counting part?

As for my weight, I am, like I said, quite satisfied with it. I know it's a good weight for my height. The thing is that I have too much fat. I want to slim down and tone my overall look, and that isn't going well. My measurements haven't gotten any shorter since I first measured myself many months ago.

And also, since I haven't been tracking my food on mfp I haven't checked my page either. I realize I have a few changes to do in the description .. my age is wrong as well!

Someone who feels they know what I should do next? Feel free to message me as well! I appreciate all of your support!

You're eating too much. It doesn't matter how "healthy" the food you're eating is if you're eating too much of it.

Log your food. Weigh your food. Adjust your calorie goal down the line if you are 100% sure of your intake and are still not losing.

I'll bet money you're not using a food scale.

snufs

and i just realized that i suck at trying to quote/respond to a certain person here. but i guess you get the point. Everyone who says I'm overeating, not weighing my food, etc - you're right and you're probably right about that that's what's stopping me from getting more toned. I'll change my eating habits - again. thank you.

snufs

[/quote]

You're eating too much. It doesn't matter how "healthy" the food you're eating is if you're eating too much of it.

Log your food. Weigh your food. Adjust your calorie goal down the line if you are 100% sure of your intake and are still not losing.

I'll bet money you're not using a food scale.
[/quote]

This seems to make sense, yes. You're right, I don't use a food scale anymore since I didn't see any results whatsoever when I used it a couple of months ago. I started using it again today, though. I never thought you could eat too much of the right food, but obviously you can. From now on I will eat the same, healthy food as I already do, but weigh and log and track and make sure that I don't go over my daily calorie goal intake.

Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions. It means the world to me!

jonnythan

I never thought you could eat too much of the right food, but obviously you can. From now on I will eat the same, healthy food as I already do, but weigh and log and track and make sure that I don't go over my daily calorie goal intake.

Thank you everyone for your support and suggestions. It means the world to me!

Calories are calories whether they're from avocado and chicken or ice cream and pizza.

If your body receives more calories than it burns, it stores them away. If it receives fewer calories than it burns, it taps into those stores. Period, end of story.