6weeks in and no weight loss HELP!!!!

bitzee

Hi all, Ive lost weight successfully for a few years now, I tend to lose around a stone and then maintain for a few months (or maybe put a couple back on!) before refocussing and continuing to lose more. Only this time the scales havent budged and Ive been trying very hard for 6 weeks, in fact I exercise a lot more now than the other times. Its not as if its because Im near to goal because I have a stone to lose to get to the top end of my healthy weight range. Im eating 1200 calories a day and doing about an hour of cardio 4 or 5 times a week. Im also using light weights to increase my strength and hopefully improve metabolism. I have been taking measurements and have lost over an inch off my waist and I DO feel great and i feel like ive lost weight so I know i should be happy but this has never happened before, the weight has always dropped when I really try and Im starting to feel demotivated. Could it be my age (35)? I know muscle can weigh more than fat but even so the scales should have budged by now! And I know what Id say if I read this post, that I must be eating more than I think but i truly am trying hrder than ever before. Any ideas people??!! Thank you x

sophieshaped

Are you eating your exercise calories? Also, could be helpful to open your diary.

stefine1216

If you're working out 4 to 5 times a week and only eating 1200ish calories a day, you may need to up the amount you eat. Perhaps try eating back some (or most) of your exercise calories back to have a net of 1200 rather than 1200 minus exercise

liaalyn

You might need to eat more. More good foods, obviously. Have you used a calculator to determine how many calories you need? Also you should give circuit training a try. Gets your heart rate up. The type of cardio you are doing matters too. Switch it up.

chevy88grl

Are you sure you're eating enough? Working out intensely means you have to follow it up with enough fuel to keep your body humming along comfortably. If it starts to think it isn't getting enough food? Well. Weight loss generally slows WAY down or even stalls. So, I would definitely take a look at your caloric intake as a starting point. So many women think 1200 calories is the way to lose when in reality a lot of women need MORE than 1200 calories to lose the weight.

I am 36 years old and started losing consistently when I upped my calories.

jamiesadler

That is a tough one. Are you drinking enough water? Also you could try changing up your exercise routine to shock your body. Muscle does weight more than fat but you still should have seen some type of loss in 6 weeks. Maybe your scale needs replaced. You may also try eating more protein

hottottie11

Eat your exercise calories (at the very least half of them)

fitaliciag

you probably need to eat more. i just had to increase. but it depends. how much do you have left to lose? WHAT are you eating? that matters, too. also, you should pay more attention to what the measurements say, not the scale.

socialite1

Increase your intensity in both your strength training and cardio routines. Make sure you're switching it up and keeping your body challenged.

meli_medina

I would say the following (and not that you're eating more than you think):

A) If you're doing an hour of cardio 4 days a week, depending on the type of cardio, 1200 calories per day is not enough for someone of your size to thrive on AND be able to lose weight.

You're losing inches, so you're losing. This is a good thing and more important than the number on the scale. Most athletes are not in the "normal" BMI range for their weight because their muscle weight puts them over, even though their body fat percentage is low.

Also, it may sound counterproductive to eat more when you're trying to lose weight, but lots and lots of people that I know who started out at 1200 calories per day were not losing, no matter how much they worked out and how carefully they ate. (I never started at 1200 calories, but I was at 1490 and found that the same was happening to me after losing weight for 3 months straight - the 4th month no weight came off at all). When they bumped up to maintenance or a 250-calorie deficit (which equates to 1/2 pound loss per week), they started to lose weight again. Your body has to know that it is going to have the proper amount of fuel before it will release fat. I have tested this over and over again, and anytime I bump my calorie intake up, I drop weight almost immediately.

Of course, not everything works the same for every person, but it can't hurt to try. Good luck!

liaalyn

Maybe your scale needs replaced.

I like the way you think! I threw mine under my bed this morning!

liaalyn

I have tested this over and over again, and anytime I bump my calorie intake up, I drop weight almost immediately.

Nice thought, when you say eat more do you guys just eat every time you're hungry or are you TOO full when eating more? I thought I was eating enough but have recently STOPPED losing.

CMmrsfloyd

I started out eating around 1400-1600 calories per day (this was in the very beginning when I was just starting to learn how to NOT eat 3000 calories per day LOL so a big success! LOL) with very little exercise. Then I went to eating 1200-1300 calories per day, again with very little exercise. Then I bought my heart rate monitor and started tracking the calories I burned during exercise, which really motivated me to exercise harder and longer, and I started eating my 1200 *plus* the exercise calories I burned. (so if I burned 400, I ate 1200 + 400 = 1600). Now I try to eat pretty close to my BMR (a little under 1400). My official MFP goal is at 1210 for a 1 lb per week weightloss, but what I do is eat my 1400 (most days, sometimes it's a bit lower if I know I'm not going to get to exercise) and if I exercise I might eat back 'some' of my exercise calories. Yesterday I burned 772 calories through exercise and ate back 357 (so I ate a total of 1557). I work out in the afternoons and sometimes if I burn a lot I just can't make myself eat that much more food in the evening. So far it's working well for me. But more than likely I'll do this for a couple of weeks and then switch up my plan again. A lot of people find that changing things up now and then helps them keep losing. Anyway, all that is to say that I agree with others that say maybe you should try eating a bit more for awhile and see if it changes things for you. If you're keeping track of the calories you burn when you exercise, try eating back at least some of it. If it freaks you out to be eating calories that you just worked so hard to burn off (b/c I totally know that feeling), then make those extra calories really healthful snacks so you can feel like you're doing something good for your body. Fresh fruits, veggies, protein. That's the good stuff. :-) Plus, if you're not already tracking your sodium in your diary, try adding that into your goals so you can see how much you're eating. If it happens to be way too much, you might be retaining some water weight.

bitzee

thanks everyone. I try to eat some of my exercise calories but it doesnt feel right to eat them all, Im a bit worried about doing that but i do know its right i just find it hard to do. I eat a healthy balanced diet so im not usually hungry on 1200 calories, I studied nutrition so i tend to eat whats good for my body, although I do allow myself a treat every now and then! When i work out i work at a high intensity as i feel if im going to dedicate my hour to exercise i might as well burn as many cals as poss! I wear a heart rate monitor to get the exact amount burnt. At the weekends tho if im out then i can go over my calories with a few wines so was wondering if this could be halting my progress? I think im going to try to eat maybe 1400 calories and see if that works.

bear_nakey

I had that same problem, and so I ate an additional 200 cals and started losing weight again within a few days. Also, drink lots of water!

Good luck!

CMmrsfloyd

Well, I know I've seen people on here talk about 'zig-zagging' their calories, like if they already know they are going to go over on certain days (like special occasions or the weekends) they will go a bit low for a couple of days before or after to make it balance out. Or do an extra workout to burn off those 'special' calories. Different people find different methods that work for them. I'd just try something for a couple of weeks and if that doesn't seem to be working, try something else. :-)

bitzee

Thanks theres lots of great advice there. I am definately going to eat my exercise calories as healthy snacks, Im going to drink more water and Im going to eat more protein. Im going to keep at the cardio and strength and most importantly Im going to remember how healthy I feel and that Im the fittest physically than Ive EVER been!!! Im going to worry less about the scales and focus on the tape measure!! Thanks to you all, I am now re-motivated and ready to try out your advice!! THANK YOU X

ysamatar

Great replies!

meli_medina

I have tested this over and over again, and anytime I bump my calorie intake up, I drop weight almost immediately.

Nice thought, when you say eat more do you guys just eat every time you're hungry or are you TOO full when eating more? I thought I was eating enough but have recently STOPPED losing.

It depends on the day! hahaha... Actually it's funny. This all came about, for me, because I have CFS. When I have a "crash," I have to up my calorie intake. All of September, I hadn't lost an ounce, even though I was religiously tracking, measuring, etc. I hadn't had a crash for a couple of months, but I did in September. I upped from 1400 to 1900, eating lots of calorie-dense but still healthy foods, and within a week, dropped 2 pounds. I wrote it off as water weight but went to a -250 deficit in October, eating around 1700 calories per day. Didn't really lose all this month, either, and then started having appetite issues due to TOM and upped to maintenance again. There were a couple of days I couldn't even keep that going, and ate a 500-1,000 overage. In the past two weeks, I've lost 3 pounds.

I'm not the only one this has happened to in my MFP friends, either.

ignatiusreilly

You have to make your diary public if you want any meaningful advice.

bitzee

I know, I'm new to the forums, Ive been trying to do that. Ill work it out before I post another question lol