I just can't lose weight!

SLLRunner

Also, are you eating healthy calories?

What's a healthy calorie? Calories are calories and we need them to survive.

Lifelink

I think that's too much exercise!

?????????????????????

yewbic

Help! Since early January, I have been religiously sticking to 1200 cals a day- with a day off at the weekend to stop my metabolism going into starvation mode. I also joined a gym and go for at least an hour a day. I lost 7 pounds in January, taking me down to 13 stone. I'm a 46 year old woman, 5 ft 6 inches tall. Since then, I haven't lost anything at all. In desperation , I upped my gym going to twice a day 3 times a week and once the rest of the week. Each session burns off 300 cals. I've shifted weight fast in the past by sticking to 1000-1200 cals a day, but this time I thought I'd exercise too,to get the weight off and keep it off. I would expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Can't tell you how frustrated I am , all this work and no gain! What am I found wrong?

i think an important question that everyone has missed is... are you making sure to eat back all of your exercise calories?

nessanoonoo14

Am I supposed to be eating back my calories after gym?
Ok, here's a typical day re. Diet and exercise.
7am - weetabix and skimmed milk
7.30-8.30 gym- 250 calories burnt ( I use a heart rate monitor hooked up to treadmill and input my age/weight/height and it tells me what calories I burnt up, so I guess pretty accurate?)
9am - 1 hard boiled egg
11.30am - half ham sandwich, whole meal bread , lean ham, no butter.
1pm - other half if sandwich
3.30pm - banana
4pm - gym session- weights, treadmill, cross trainer, vibro plate, rowing machine. According to machines, 250 calories burnt.
6pm - home made vegetable soup, 1 while meal bread roll.
So, where is the problem?
I relax my routine to Zumba on Sundays, 1 gym session Saturdays. My weekend due us around 1800. Enough to keep my metabolism up but not enough to stop me losing weight I would have thought???

yewbic

Am I supposed to be eating back my calories after gym?

7.30-8.30 gym- 250 calories burnt ( I use a heart rate monitor hooked up to treadmill and input my age/weight/height and it tells me what calories I burnt up, so I guess pretty accurate?)

4pm - gym session- weights, treadmill, cross trainer, vibro plate, rowing machine. According to machines, 250 calories burnt.

So, where is the problem?

there's the problem and i almost knew that it was the problem beforehand. if you're religiously sticking to 1200 a day, and then burning 500 calories a day on top of that, you're only leaving your body with 700 calories of energy to work with. your metabolism has probably slowed down a bit, or "adapted thermogenically," to compensate for the lack of energy available through food intake.

you should always eat back your exercise calories. dont think that you're exercising for nothing... your diet is going to do most of the work. the exercise is going to help build muscle and keep your metabolism revved up -- but not if you're not feeding your body enough calories to maintain healthy energy levels. you eat 1200, then burn 500: 1200 - 500 = 700... you should then eat back another 500 -- 700 + 500 = 1200 net.

the problem is your metabolism has probably slowed down a bit by now.... In my personal experience i have had good luck "resetting" my metabolism with about 3 days of eating up near maintenance, with no exercise (as it will just complicate things and you might underestimate calories or overestimate...) so 3 days of no cutting calories or eat just 100 or 200 below your maintenance calories.

On the 4th day, start exercising and cutting calories again, but make sure not to go below 1200, and make sure to eat back your exercise calories. This has always helped me break through my plateaus when i've held calorie deficits below 1200 for too long...

dont be afraid to spend those 3 days eating up near maintenance, it's going to do your metabolism good

nessanoonoo14

Thank you, that's really useful
Tbh, that's what I was kind of driving at when I said I have a couple of " cheat days" a week ( eating almost normally) to avoid starvation mode- ie the slowing of the metabolism due to consistently low calorie Intake. Others on here were pretty definite that there was no truth in this...... Sigh, I don't know whet to believe now....
But your advice seems very sound, so thank you x

MrGonzo05

Help! Since early January, I have been religiously sticking to 1200 cals a day

You are eating more than you think.

That's not what you want to hear. Hear me now and believe me later.

mmk137

Am I supposed to be eating back my calories after gym?
Ok, here's a typical day re. Diet and exercise.
7am - weetabix and skimmed milk
7.30-8.30 gym- 250 calories burnt ( I use a heart rate monitor hooked up to treadmill and input my age/weight/height and it tells me what calories I burnt up, so I guess pretty accurate?)
9am - 1 hard boiled egg
11.30am - half ham sandwich, whole meal bread , lean ham, no butter.
1pm - other half if sandwich
3.30pm - banana
4pm - gym session- weights, treadmill, cross trainer, vibro plate, rowing machine. According to machines, 250 calories burnt.
6pm - home made vegetable soup, 1 while meal bread roll.
So, where is the problem?
I relax my routine to Zumba on Sundays, 1 gym session Saturdays. My weekend due us around 1800. Enough to keep my metabolism up but not enough to stop me losing weight I would have thought???

seriously how are you not hungry? I'd be starving with how little you are eating.
IMO you are not eating enough protien, or carbs from veggies.
fat isn't the enemy, I'd recommend 40/40/30 macro's (carbs/protein/fat)

you may also be interested in the calorie myth podcast they also have a website.

donyellemoniquex3

Help! Since early January, I have been religiously sticking to 1200 cals a day- with a day off at the weekend to stop my metabolism going into starvation mode. I also joined a gym and go for at least an hour a day. I lost 7 pounds in January, taking me down to 13 stone. I'm a 46 year old woman, 5 ft 6 inches tall. Since then, I haven't lost anything at all. In desperation , I upped my gym going to twice a day 3 times a week and once the rest of the week. Each session burns off 300 cals. I've shifted weight fast in the past by sticking to 1000-1200 cals a day, but this time I thought I'd exercise too,to get the weight off and keep it off. I would expect to lose 1-2 lbs a week. Can't tell you how frustrated I am , all this work and no gain! What am I found wrong?

Open your diary.
Eat more.
Drink more water.