5 weeks and nothing

cameron316

Hey guys... I'm getting a bit discouraged because I've been eating basically paleo very strict and exercising 6 days per week consistently for 5 weeks now and still nothing changing on the scale or in measurments. I've definitely toned up a little but haven't shed a pound or inch, which is a bit frustrating. I'm a 22 year old female 5'8.5" and looking to lose about 15 pounds. Any advice? Thanks everyone!

JoeDenison

What are you eating, how much are you eating? How does that compare with your daily calorie burn rate?

What exercise are you doing, and for how long, what intensity, etc.? Are you eating extra to compensate for additional calories burned with exercise?

Lleldiranne

Are you counting your calories? It doesn't really matter if you're eating Paleo, raw vegan, or any other diet style, if you don't consume less than you use, you won't lose weight. Invest in a kitchen scale and log everything you eat. Eat at a deficit (tell MFP you want to lose .5 pound per week, if you only have 15 pounds to lose), log your exercise, and eat back some of those calories.

You can do all of this while eating strict Paleo if you like, but unless you plan on that being the way you eat for the rest of your life, I wouldn't worry about it. Many, many people here have lost incredible amounts of weight by eating a reasonably well balanced diet, and even allowing room for treats, and making sure they eat less than they use.

westcoastgrl21

Uhhh....just because your food choices are "paleo" doesn't mean that you're creating a calorie deficit. You have to eat less than you burn to lose weight. Track your food, determine what your calorie intake is, then shave off a bit and see what happens. If you still don't see any losses, then reduce again.

cameron316

Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

JassiBear

Uhhh....just because your food choices are "paleo" doesn't mean that you're creating a calorie deficit. You have to eat less than you burn to lose weight. Track your food, determine what your calorie intake is, then shave off a bit and see what happens. If you still don't see any losses, then reduce again.

I'd like to second this post. Totally correct. Paleo doesn't guarantee weight loss, heck a cow gets fat and all they eat is grass and maybe some other feed.

JassiBear

Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

You look very fit from your profile picture. What are your weight loss goals and where are you starting at?

SherryTeach

How much do you weigh now? If that is you in your profile pic, it's possible that you don't need to lose 15 pounds and your body knows that. In any event, if you are weighing the same for five weeks, you are eating at maintenance.

Lleldiranne

How do you determine your portion sizes? If you're "eyeballing" it, you're probably eating several hundred calories more than you think. Even using measuring cups for anything other than liquids can lead to errors and enough extra calories to undo your deficit. The best option (especially when you're stuck like this) is to weigh everything on a kitchen scale.

PSMTD

Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

If you're not eating to compensate for exercise you might be eating too little, making your body store weight.

JoeDenison

Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

Can you share:
1. Your BMR and total daily calorie burn (w/o exercise)
2. Your food diary w/macro nutrient info for a typical day (just copy/paste from your diary in a reply), or make your diary public

cameron316

I weigh about 138 now I'd like to be at 125... I played college sports and I want to reshape my body some from that ya know lean out my muscles and lose some body fat... I know I have weight to lose I think that pic is a little out of proportion, I'm in good shape but I'd love to lose some and I'm determined but yeah maybe I should start measuring more carefully like suggested, I normally over compensate the amount but I guess measuring cups don't always work great...and I guess I don't see the point of eating back calories burned in exercise bc it seems like that defeats the purpose I guess

kikilareggae

When one is losing a lot of excess weight, cardio does a lot but one you are already at a generally healthy weight/size whittling down in size/weight, like the last 10-15 pounds in your BMI bracket, you should really be do weight training with cardio. A lot of interval training and lifting will work wonders. Try Jillian Michaels workouts or something like benderfitness.com or www.bodybuilding.com to help you get to the next level and break your plateau. Sounds like your cardio routing isn't cutting it. That's my two cents.

kikilareggae

Also, it's recommended to eat back your calories your burn- especially when you are already fit because as mentioned if you're eating too little your body will notice you're not replacing what goes out and will try to conserve.

mebepiglet123

So you exercise 2 hours a day and only consume 1500 calories and haven't lost any weight.how many calories do you burn in that 2 hours. Have your worked out your tdee? maybe you are not eating enough.
Something does not add here.

Weigh and measure everything.

Or maybe you are at your optimum weight. You look pretty darn good to me...

cameron316

I can't get that stuff to copy and paste and I'm not too sure the answers to BMR and total calorie burn, I did it awhile ago but can't remember, and yeah that makes sense about the weight training stuff it's just that I'm trying to not get more muscles bc I already have a lot so I thought cardio might help them go away some I guess I know it's kinda lame I just hate wearing size 7 jeans just bc I'm muscular from DI tennis for 4 years

Muzica1959

I'm no expert, for certain but I'm sure it would help if you made your food diary public. Kind of hard for the ones with more experience to help like this. However, I've looked at your pic and I don't see any fat on you at all. Size 7 jeans is not unreasonable for someone of your height and build.

cameron316

I don't understand either even if I was underestimating some of my calories there's no way I'm just eating enough for maintenance, and there's no way I don't have weight to lose... I really don get it, someone suggested my body is used to the routine so it won't let go of anything but still...

JoeDenison

You won't gain muscle if you don't lift heavy, but the other person is correct: do some high intensity interval training; strength training 3 times a week, HIIT cardio on the alternate days. You MUST calculate your BMR/TDEE accurately to know how many calories to eat, based on calorie restriction of 500 calories / day for 1lb loss weekly. Consider getting a body composition test to learn your lean body mass and percentage of body fat and an accurate BMR value ... This can help you determine how much weight to lose (or, that you may not want to lose any fat ... Possibly the weight you consider as excess is muscle?).

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cameron316

Okay BMR is 1436 and TDEE is 2163
I've done the body composition test quite a few times in college and said my body day was 16.5 but when they did the hand held thingy at the gym it said 20

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Barbellarella_

Your TDEE is 2351. This includes exercising everyday.

This is how many calories it takes to maintain. To lose, you should drop about 15% to 20%, or 1880 @ 20%. This is still high since you don't have much to lose.

My suggestion would be, try eating closer to 1900 a day, instead of 1500.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but try it. I don't think you're eating enough to support your activity. Just try it for a month or two.

This,

And measure yourself. You said you look like you're toning up. If you're exercising a lot, you might not see as much movement on the scale. I know I hold on to a lot of water weight when I lift.

cameron316

You think that's possible?? I would think I still would've lost something... I could try but I'm afraid to gain weight since I haven't even lost any yet

cameron316

Well I don't think I look much different and unfortunately my clothes fit the same, my parents say they can tell a difference though... But I have measured since the beginning and so far nothing different... Is it possible that it takes this long to lose weight?

PSMTD

Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

If you're not eating to compensate for exercise you might be eating too little, making your body store weight.

No, she is not going to just store weight. If she is in a deficit she will lose weight. If she is not losing weight then she is not in a deficit.

If she eats 1500 a day but burns off 600 she's only really eating 900 cal a day which is not healthy.

It's late and I don't feel like finding a .org source of information but this is taken from Livestrong:
"If you consume less than 1,200 (for women), you may not be giving your body the fuel and nutrients it needs to stay healthy, which might be stalling your weight-loss. Consuming too few calories can force your body into starvation mode, causing it to hold onto fat and even slow your metabolism leading to stagnant weight loss."

Like others have said you could also be under estimating the amount of calories you eat and over estimating the amount of calories you burn.

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Barbellarella_

I'm sorry, but you are 5'8.5". You are already on the lower end of a healthy weight for your height. Losing 15 pounds would put you in the underweight bracket.

Maybe you should consider the fact that you are not being reasonable. You already look very fit. You might want to consider dropping the cardio, and if it's your Body shape you're unhappy with, try some weight training. While eating at Maintenance, or slightly below.

SLLRunner

Hey guys... I'm getting a bit discouraged because I've been eating basically paleo very strict and exercising 6 days per week consistently for 5 weeks now and still nothing changing on the scale or in measurments. I've definitely toned up a little but haven't shed a pound or inch, which is a bit frustrating. I'm a 22 year old female 5'8.5" and looking to lose about 15 pounds. Any advice? Thanks everyone!

It's neat paleo is your thing, and that you are exercising six days a week, but if you are not eating at a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. From what you say in your post, I am concluding that you are assuming you are eating at a calorie deficit by the type of diet you chose. Am i correct?

In order to lose weight, you need to your calorie cap to lose .5 pounds a week (any more for 15 pounds will not be sustainable in the long term) and stay within that budget. You might also weigh your food, measure your liquids, log everything you eat and drink, log your exercise calories, and eat a portion of those exercise calories back.

Be patient as well, because 15 pounds is not much to lose at all.

SLLRunner

maybe you are not eating enough.

It seems to me if she's not losing weight she's eating too much. Most likely a combination of not having much to lose anyway and overestimating food intake.

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