Normal weight for a size 18 Woman.

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12357

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  • izzie_loves_2_run
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    i was pregnant size 16 and i was 266. I am a size 10 and 174... i lost nealry 100 lbs and only went down 6 sizes! it just depends, i will tell you that you arent eating enough calories for your weight! i know what you are thinking...( you are starving yourself) I'll explain, for my weight, i need about 1400 calories a day to stay the same size, which is 174......im about 110 lbs lighter and i eat more calories than you, now when i work out for an hour 4x a week and dont change my calories i lose weight! about 1lbs a week. now there was a time where i went down to 168.... i was eating only 1200 calories a day plus burning about 500 calories in excercise, i was starving myself, i wasnt hungry because i drank lots of water but the scale wasnt dropping either. i stayed that size for 8 weeks then eventually stopped working out for 4 weeks and gained 6 lbs because my body sensed starvation so what ever i wasnt burning it help on to and added water weight! so 80oz of water, 60oz on non workout days and go and see what your calorie in take is just to main tain your weight! you may be gaining muscle too.......if your pants size is getting smaller but the number on the scale isnt going down then you are still doing a good job
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    i was pregnant size 16 and i was 266. I am a size 10 and 174... i lost nealry 100 lbs and only went down 6 sizes! it just depends, i will tell you that you arent eating enough calories for your weight! i know what you are thinking...( you are starving yourself) I'll explain, for my weight, i need about 1400 calories a day to stay the same size, which is 174......im about 110 lbs lighter and i eat more calories than you, now when i work out for an hour 4x a week and dont change my calories i lose weight! about 1lbs a week. now there was a time where i went down to 168.... i was eating only 1200 calories a day plus burning about 500 calories in excercise, i was starving myself, i wasnt hungry because i drank lots of water but the scale wasnt dropping either. i stayed that size for 8 weeks then eventually stopped working out for 4 weeks and gained 6 lbs because my body sensed starvation so what ever i wasnt burning it help on to and added water weight! so 80oz of water, 60oz on non workout days and go and see what your calorie in take is just to main tain your weight! you may be gaining muscle too.......if your pants size is getting smaller but the number on the scale isnt going down then you are still doing a good job

    No. IF you weren't losing weight, you were not eating in a calorie deficit. You either overcalculated your calories burned or undercalculated your calories eaten. Your body does not sense starvation and hold on to fat. As long as you are in a deficit, you will lose weight. Period.
    Muscle gain is only possible if the person is eating a calorie surplus.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    Say what? Who do you think you are?!!

    Are you saying that I do not exercise?! That I do not incorporate fitness into my life?!

    I am on this journey to become a healthier me. I do stay away from restaurants, you jerk. I eat more at home meals, where I plan out what I am eat EVERY MEAL. This has been a hard journey for me, and it will be for the rest of my life. If pointing out that I am "FAT" --- a shaming word, and you shaming me for what I am -- to get me to be "more" motivated than what I am, you are sadly mistaken. Assumptions only do one thing.


    You keep saying eat less -- you know nothing. Thank you for wasting your time and posting.

    Why on earth are you being so rude to everyone???

    Now, I'm not saying anything about the value of this guy's advice. But he took the time to type out what (he thought) was a helpful answer. And you call him a jerk and ask him who he thinks he is? For suggesting adding in activity, something that many people don't really do and often it isn't that big of a deal? Which, by the way, I had to scour through 80+ posts to figure out if you ever even mentioned that you did, so I can't fault him for not having seen it...but you acted like it personally offended you that he suggested it? And you called someone else a "bully" for (correctly) mentioning that you typically can't build muscle in a calorie deficit?

    I'm sorry, I just don't understand your attitude at all. Good luck to you, though. I honestly hope you find something that works for you.
  • RAREBIRDART
    RAREBIRDART Posts: 100 Member
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    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    Say what? Who do you think you are?!!

    Are you saying that I do not exercise?! That I do not incorporate fitness into my life?!

    I am on this journey to become a healthier me. I do stay away from restaurants, you jerk. I eat more at home meals, where I plan out what I am eat EVERY MEAL. This has been a hard journey for me, and it will be for the rest of my life. If pointing out that I am "FAT" --- a shaming word, and you shaming me for what I am -- to get me to be "more" motivated than what I am, you are sadly mistaken. Assumptions only do one thing.


    You keep saying eat less -- you know nothing. Thank you for wasting your time and posting.

    Why on earth are you being so rude to everyone???

    Now, I'm not saying anything about the value of this guy's advice. But he took the time to type out what (he thought) was a helpful answer. And you call him a jerk and ask him who he thinks he is? For suggesting adding in activity, something that many people don't really do and often it isn't that big of a deal? Which, by the way, I had to scour through 80+ posts to figure out if you ever even mentioned that you did, so I can't fault him for not having seen it...but you acted like it personally offended you that he suggested it? And you called someone else a "bully" for (correctly) mentioning that you typically can't build muscle in a calorie deficit?

    I'm sorry, I just don't understand your attitude at all. Good luck to you, though. I honestly hope you find something that works for you.

    I'm not being mean, it was uncalled for.

    And you did? if you re-read my first post it says, "I work out -- but I dont eat my calories back as I dont know how accurate they are. " I felt that he was shaming me for being "FAT" so if I was being rude, then yes, I was being rude. I don't put up with that. I am looking for education -- maybe there is something I can tweak/change to get past this. His post was not that he was suggesting that I put exercise into my daily routine -- He was saying i was fat -- and I am lazy. was I always as active as I am now? Absolutely not. That is how I got to where I was. I have worked VERY hard to drop from 343 down to where I am now. And in his ONE post he attempted to discount everything I have done by bypassing what I had said I had done.

    #2 was completely uncalled for. -- Oh it is? Is it not something I wake up with every day? I don't wake up and see 28 years of my life hanging on my body still?

    And the Bully comment - is how it was said. it was rude.
  • izzie_loves_2_run
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    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    I'd be pretty peeved if there was a women's menu or women's portion at a restaurant where I was eating.





    you are insulting...we dont call people of any size "fat" and you are sadly mistaken. sweet heart she is gaining muscle if she is losing inches and not pounds, muscle is more dense, thats EXACTLY WHY SHE IS GETTING SMALLER BUT THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE ISNT DROPPING......shes already NoT EATING ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS WHY THE POUNDS arent going away, do not call her fat! that fact that she is working out and trying to incorporate workouts DAILY, shes already on the right track!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    I'd be pretty peeved if there was a women's menu or women's portion at a restaurant where I was eating.





    you are insulting...we dont call people of any size "fat" and you are sadly mistaken. sweet heart she is gaining muscle if she is losing inches and not pounds, muscle is more dense, thats EXACTLY WHY SHE IS GETTING SMALLER BUT THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE ISNT DROPPING......shes already NoT EATING ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS WHY THE POUNDS arent going away, do not call her fat! that fact that she is working out and trying to incorporate workouts DAILY, shes already on the right track!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Hey, I thought the guy was a jerk too, but you are incorrect. You absolutely cannot build or gain muscle when eating in a calorie deficit. If she wasn't eating enough, she would be losing weight. Period. That's how weight loss works. In order to build muscle you must eat a calorie surplus, in order to provide the material necessary to add bulk to the existing muscle.
  • Jennisin1
    Jennisin1 Posts: 574 Member
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    215: Size 18
    205: Size 16
    190: Size 14
    175: Size 12
    168: Size 10
    164: Size 6

    I am 5'10
  • izzie_loves_2_run
    Options
    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    I'd be pretty peeved if there was a women's menu or women's portion at a restaurant where I was eating.





    you are insulting...we dont call people of any size "fat" and you are sadly mistaken. sweet heart she is gaining muscle if she is losing inches and not pounds, muscle is more dense, thats EXACTLY WHY SHE IS GETTING SMALLER BUT THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE ISNT DROPPING......shes already NoT EATING ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS WHY THE POUNDS arent going away, do not call her fat! that fact that she is working out and trying to incorporate workouts DAILY, shes already on the right track!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Hey, I thought the guy was a jerk too, but you are incorrect. You absolutely cannot build or gain muscle when eating in a calorie deficit. If she wasn't eating enough, she would be losing weight. Period. That's how weight loss works. In order to build muscle you must eat a calorie surplus, in order to provide the material necessary to add bulk to the existing muscle.










    well i sure built muscle, toned up, shrank in inches, never increased my calories, the size on the scale didnt budge, but i went from a 14 to a 10....... i didnt change my calories, BUT i did change the foods i ate, i ate mainly dark greens and white meats!!!!! never increased my calories..... also didnt lose pounds but im 4 whole sizes smaller, and again, built muscle! so how do you explain that???
  • izzie_loves_2_run
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    215: Size 18
    205: Size 16
    190: Size 14
    175: Size 12
    168: Size 10
    164: Size 6

    I am 5'10


    interesting. I am 173-174 and wear a size 10...i was years ago and was in a size 14 i am also much shorter than you
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    Mccindy72, before you repeat that a 4th or 5th time... overfat beginners are one of the demographics known to be able to put on muscle while losing fat. They can't do this forever, because at some point they will have lost enough weight and they will no longer have the fat stores necessary to do this - but it can and does happen. Moreover, calorie cycling/recomp plans result in the loss of fat and the gain of muscle over time. You'll almost certainly not see 1:1 gains/losses as it's much harder to add a pound of muscle than to lose a pound of fat, but it's simply not impossible to lose fat while gaining muscle. In short, please stop spreading misinformation - it's not as clear cut as what you keep repeating.

    That said, if the OP has been stalled out for 6 months, she's almost certainly eating too much for your body's metabolism or her bathroom scale is busted. As I said earlier, I would talk to a doctor to make sure you don't have a medical condition that is causing the stall. If your doctor says your body is perfectly fine, then you need to reduce how much you're eating.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Options
    you are insulting...we dont call people of any size "fat" and you are sadly mistaken. sweet heart she is gaining muscle if she is losing inches and not pounds, muscle is more dense, thats EXACTLY WHY SHE IS GETTING SMALLER BUT THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE ISNT DROPPING......shes already NoT EATING ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THATS WHY THE POUNDS arent going away, do not call her fat! that fact that she is working out and trying to incorporate workouts DAILY, shes already on the right track!!!!!!!!!!!!
    [/quote]

    Hey, I thought the guy was a jerk too, but you are incorrect. You absolutely cannot build or gain muscle when eating in a calorie deficit. If she wasn't eating enough, she would be losing weight. Period. That's how weight loss works. In order to build muscle you must eat a calorie surplus, in order to provide the material necessary to add bulk to the existing muscle.
    [/quote]



    well i sure built muscle, toned up, shrank in inches, never increased my calories, the size on the scale didnt budge, but i went from a 14 to a 10....... i didnt change my calories, BUT i did change the foods i ate, i ate mainly dark greens and white meats!!!!! never increased my calories..... also didnt lose pounds but im 4 whole sizes smaller, and again, built muscle! so how do you explain that???
    [/quote]

    You were eating at a surplus and building muscle, the increased muscle mass burned the fat as it grew and your metabolism increased.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Mccindy72, before you repeat that a 4th or 5th time... overfat beginners are one of the demographics known to be able to put on muscle while losing fat. They can't do this forever, because at some point they will have lost enough weight and they will no longer have the fat stores necessary to do this - but it can and does happen. Moreover, calorie cycling/recomp plans result in the loss of fat and the gain of muscle over time. You'll almost certainly not see 1:1 gains/losses as it's much harder to add a pound of muscle than to lose a pound of fat, but it's simply not impossible to lose fat while gaining muscle. In short, please stop spreading misinformation - it's not as clear cut as what you keep repeating.

    That said, if the OP has been stalled out for 6 months, she's almost certainly eating too much for your body's metabolism or her bathroom scale is busted. As I said earlier, I would talk to a doctor to make sure you don't have a medical condition that is causing the stall. If your doctor says your body is perfectly fine, then you need to reduce how much you're eating.


    That doesn't work nearly as well for women as it does for men; unless the woman is doing some etraordinarily heavy lifting, it's not going to work. It's quite difficult for women to bulk up by building muscle, they have to eat at a surplus to do it.
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
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    This is a tumultuous post that I can't stay away from.

    Here's why:

    OP - you want help and I get that. I think you look beautiful and you are definitely losing inches somewhere and maybe i'ts not reflecting on the scale. However, you also seem a tad defensive when some people are offering suggestions. Maybe I'm misreading - I'm not trying to upset you but I've seen a lot of push back. When you post something on here you will get everyone's opinion.

    Are you completely 100% honest with what you are tracking? Do you have one day a week where you might eat or drink more than normal and maybe not log it? This was a problem I had - I intentionally gave myself a cheat day and made it my long run day where I burned a ton more calories. But I didn't log it and I would go to the bars, etc and probably undid all the good I did all week. I'm not saying you do this, but evaluate your overall habits.

    Also, if you do talk to someone I urge you to see a Dietitian instead of a nutritionist. Nutritionists do not have the same regulations/education that an RD does. It isn't a bad idea for your Dr to run some tests on you, too to make sure everything is OK.

    And just try to change it up a little bit from what you've been doing. Try doing some kind of intervals? Take a different class? See if you notice any difference.

    I was a size 18 bottom at 5'10" and 285 pounds....err they buttoned at that weight I should say. I'm now 183, a size 8/10 bottom and if I'm trying to buy a blazer or a very fitted top I'm an 18.... it's all about individual build.

    Also, I quite honestly don't get where people say you can't build muscle eating at a deficit. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding. I'm losing weight by eating at a deficit. However, I'm also getting stronger and lifting heavier weights - like grabbing 20 pound dumb bells instead of 10 or whatever it is. How would this be possible then? I also now have a noticeable bicep. I don't get it? :(

    I hope you don't take my post the wrong way
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Options
    Mccindy72, before you repeat that a 4th or 5th time... overfat beginners are one of the demographics known to be able to put on muscle while losing fat. They can't do this forever, because at some point they will have lost enough weight and they will no longer have the fat stores necessary to do this - but it can and does happen. Moreover, calorie cycling/recomp plans result in the loss of fat and the gain of muscle over time. You'll almost certainly not see 1:1 gains/losses as it's much harder to add a pound of muscle than to lose a pound of fat, but it's simply not impossible to lose fat while gaining muscle. In short, please stop spreading misinformation - it's not as clear cut as what you keep repeating.

    That said, if the OP has been stalled out for 6 months, she's almost certainly eating too much for your body's metabolism or her bathroom scale is busted. As I said earlier, I would talk to a doctor to make sure you don't have a medical condition that is causing the stall. If your doctor says your body is perfectly fine, then you need to reduce how much you're eating.
    Agreed and bolded the part that is most applicable here. The OP may have some newbie gains, although no one seems clear on how long the gains last or how much you can gain before you lose the newb gains. But, any gains should be fairly low compared to how much she should be losing considering her deficit over 6 months.

    OP, I weighed much less than you in an 18. I'd agree with checking with a different scale (or have your bf get on it and see if it's close to what he weighs) and possibly a doctor if everything is accurate and you still aren't losing.

    Be sure to use your new kitchen scale and log honestly. (Not that you're lying, it's just sometimes easy to forget the tastes while cooking or the bite of someone else's whatever. I'm completely guilty of this!)

    And definitely keep at it, you're looking great!
  • SaraB_82
    SaraB_82 Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    215: Size 18
    205: Size 16
    190: Size 14
    175: Size 12
    168: Size 10
    164: Size 6

    I am 5'10

    I like this. It kind of proves that there is no "normal weight" for a size 18. I'm currently an 18 and I'm around 195 at 5'3". It all depends on height, where you carry your weight, and what brand's vanity sizing you're putting on. There's just so many variables in women's sizing that it's almost pointless to compare yourself to others.

    Take my jeans for example. They're 18s, but they're also a "skinny" cut. I'm pretty sure if I tried on some "boyfriend" cuts or wide leg jeans, I could rock a 16 with no issues. I can also wear a large "vintage" style tee from Old Navy, but I'd have to step it up to an XL if I wanted their "perfect fit" tee.

    I might be rambling, but I just wanted to point out that you can't find the "normal weight" for a size 18 because it doesn't exist. I actually wish it did to make online shopping easier, but that's the world we live in.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Options

    Also, I quite honestly don't get where people say you can't build muscle eating at a deficit. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding. I'm losing weight by eating at a deficit. However, I'm also getting stronger and lifting heavier weights - like grabbing 20 pound dumb bells instead of 10 or whatever it is. How would this be possible then? I also now have a noticeable bicep. I don't get it? :(

    I hope you don't take my post the wrong way

    Except for the very small exceptions already mentioned, you can't build any significant muscle without eating more calories than you're burning...it just doesn't work that way. You can't build mass without something to build it out of (extra calories). That said, you can absolutely build strength without building muscle mass, up to a point, at least. It's not the same process. If you have a noticeable bicep, it's far more because you reduced the fat surrounding it, not because you increased the muscle itself (much).
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Options
    Also, I quite honestly don't get where people say you can't build muscle eating at a deficit. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding. I'm losing weight by eating at a deficit. However, I'm also getting stronger and lifting heavier weights - like grabbing 20 pound dumb bells instead of 10 or whatever it is. How would this be possible then? I also now have a noticeable bicep. I don't get it? :(
    Random side note in response to this. Increasing strength is different than increasing muscle mass. You can definitely get stronger on a deficit. In fact, one way to help preserve muscle mass is to progressively overload the muscles. The progressive part is important because you do get stronger, and once you are stronger, the same weight is not as useful. You want to keep pushing yourself to continue to build your strength.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Options
    1. Don't be tricked by yourself or others into thinking you are packing on muscle and that is why you are not losing weight. Adding muscle weight is a hard, slow process that is even more difficult for women. Besides, when you reduce calories to a necessary deficit to lose weight, you will lose weight...fat and muscle.

    2. Your primary weight contributor is obviously fat.

    3. To lose the fat you will need to continue experimenting (reducing) calories (increasing calorie defecit) until you lose weight (fat). Unless you have a medical issue, in which case, seek medical attention - you are probably pretty normal wrt calorie needs and will react the way the rest of us do who actually stay in a true calorie deficit condition...you will lose fat and weight. So eat less.

    4. Stay away from restaurants - they make women fat. Think about portions... Do restaurants serve women a smaller portion than men...NO. Is there any difference between a woman's meal and a man's meal at a restaurant - is there a women's menu? Heck no. You all get the same amount of food as we do, and they give us too much! The calories that restaurants are serving women is so much more than they need, i cant imagine having the self control that a women needs to eat a proper portion at a restaurant, regardless of the healthiness of the food - too much.

    5. Incorporate fitness. Unfortunately it is easier to do this when you are not as fat as you are - do what you can, and keep increasing fitness levels as you get trimmer.

    6. Eat less - you'll lose weight.

    Say what? Who do you think you are?!!

    Are you saying that I do not exercise?! That I do not incorporate fitness into my life?!

    I am on this journey to become a healthier me. I do stay away from restaurants, you jerk. I eat more at home meals, where I plan out what I am eat EVERY MEAL. This has been a hard journey for me, and it will be for the rest of my life. If pointing out that I am "FAT" --- a shaming word, and you shaming me for what I am -- to get me to be "more" motivated than what I am, you are sadly mistaken. Assumptions only do one thing.


    You keep saying eat less -- you know nothing. Thank you for wasting your time and posting.

    Why on earth are you being so rude to everyone???

    Now, I'm not saying anything about the value of this guy's advice. But he took the time to type out what (he thought) was a helpful answer. And you call him a jerk and ask him who he thinks he is? For suggesting adding in activity, something that many people don't really do and often it isn't that big of a deal? Which, by the way, I had to scour through 80+ posts to figure out if you ever even mentioned that you did, so I can't fault him for not having seen it...but you acted like it personally offended you that he suggested it? And you called someone else a "bully" for (correctly) mentioning that you typically can't build muscle in a calorie deficit?

    I'm sorry, I just don't understand your attitude at all. Good luck to you, though. I honestly hope you find something that works for you.

    I'm not being mean, it was uncalled for.

    And you did? if you re-read my first post it says, "I work out -- but I dont eat my calories back as I dont know how accurate they are. " I felt that he was shaming me for being "FAT" so if I was being rude, then yes, I was being rude. I don't put up with that. I am looking for education -- maybe there is something I can tweak/change to get past this. His post was not that he was suggesting that I put exercise into my daily routine -- He was saying i was fat -- and I am lazy. was I always as active as I am now? Absolutely not. That is how I got to where I was. I have worked VERY hard to drop from 343 down to where I am now. And in his ONE post he attempted to discount everything I have done by bypassing what I had said I had done.

    #2 was completely uncalled for. -- Oh it is? Is it not something I wake up with every day? I don't wake up and see 28 years of my life hanging on my body still?

    And the Bully comment - is how it was said. it was rude.

    Let's ignore #4 in the dude's list, which was ridiculous and misogynistic. Past that, I see absolutely nothing wrong with anything he said. It was all very polite and not wholly inaccurate. In #2, I read it as meaning that you are currently overweight because of too much body fat, rather than muscle mass - which is a reasonable observation since a lot of previous posts, including your own, seemed to be pushing the idea that your weight is somehow due to increased muscle mass (which is probably not the case). Are you basing your entire judgment of what he said because in #5 he used the word "fat" to describe your current state, rather than something like "overweight?" He didn't even say it in a rude way. I still don't get it, but whatever. He never said you were lazy or in any was discounted any work you had done. He said "incorporate fitness." That's it. That's pretty run of the mill standard advice. He may have been incorrect about what you're currently doing, but if you infer that he's calling you "lazy" from that, then that's an issue that YOU have with your own self worth, not an issue HE has with his post. Stop being so defensive and taking everything so personally.

    With regard to the bully comment...did you happen to notice that she wasn't even talking to you? What was rude about it? The extra exclamation point?
  • sweiland1
    sweiland1 Posts: 183 Member
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    I would suggest eating more. Look up EM2WL in the community. I weigh 275. I am 5'-10" and wear a size 22. I eat 2000 calories a day and am losing.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
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    Also, I quite honestly don't get where people say you can't build muscle eating at a deficit. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding. I'm losing weight by eating at a deficit. However, I'm also getting stronger and lifting heavier weights - like grabbing 20 pound dumb bells instead of 10 or whatever it is. How would this be possible then? I also now have a noticeable bicep. I don't get it? :(

    I hope you don't take my post the wrong way

    For one, strength and building muscle are not the same thing, although they're certainly related. You can get stronger without adding additional muscle mass to your body, at least up to a point.

    And I'm not trying to say the other posters are entirely wrong; it's just what they're saying isn't entirely accurate. It's worth pointing out that for many people, they probably can't build muscle and lose fat while simply eating a caloric deficit (i.e., not doing a recomp/calorie cycling). If you're a beginner starting close to 300 lbs and lift heavy from the get go, you may well add a bit of muscle to your body during the cut down to <200 lbs. Not a lot, mind you, and there's no way it would account for a 6 month stall as the OP is having, but it's possible you could add a bit. On the other hand, if you're 150 lbs and trying to drop to 140 lbs, you might as well forget the idea of losing fat/adding muscle at the same time (again, unless you look into a recomp plan).

    A 6 month stall though almost certainly comes down to not eating at a true caloric deficit. Even if the OP was building some muscle, it's much easier to lose fat than to build muscle, and so her weight should still be coming down. It's possible there's some medical condition that's causing her to stall out at this caloric intake, but given it's been 6 months, I'm highly skeptical it's just elevated cortisol levels due to stress from eating too little and working out.