help! why am i not losing weight?!?

malouii

Hey everyone,

So, I've been been researching online but i can't seem to find ONE answer!

i weigh 119 pounds and i'm trying to get to my goal weight of 110 (i am 5'2 and i'm 24 years old). i'm consuming 1200 calories a day and i do intense cardio Monday-Friday (45-60 min).

I eat the same thing every day! oatmeal for breakfast, one egg for lunch with onions and peppers, a little avocado with one slice of whole wheat toast, for snacks i have an apple and raisins with almonds and for dinner i have cooked ground turkey meat with vegetables and for desert i'll have a yogurt.

what am i doing wrong?!??! i'm eating healthy, i work out like crazy and i'm not eating more than 1200 every day it's just really frustrating

if anyone knows more about this stuff than i do, please let me know thank youuuuu xoxo

meeper123

Try eating more its what your going to hear and trust me its true i was eating 1200 cals for the longest time wondering why the weight wasnt coming off then i ate more ate back cals i burned and wham lost weight like nuts

GracefulDancer4Christ

hi welcome to the forums. for starters I would go to scoobysworkshop.com type in your current weight, activity level, age and what percentage of body fat you want to reduce to. this will give you the calories you need to eat. many will suggest the in place of a road map forum,/ group or the eat more to weigh less group.

eating the same thing everyday is not a good thing. your body needs to have variety of nutrients. my uncle would eat the same thing and the right calories but he was missing a lot of veggies, fruits, grains and rice that he needed. even though his calories overall were good. try searching for new receipes and new ideas. they have a clean eating group here on mfp.

Wrenbot87

I would say change up your workout routine. You're body does "get used" to certain exercise. I would say change it up. I've you're always on a treadmill or always on an elliptical try a step aerobic class, or use a workout DVD. You have to keep changing it up on your body! Also, try a little variety in your diet you'll be happier that way and it will make it more sustainable long term! Good luck!

spaingirl2011

I'd say you're doing one of two things:

You're either eating more than you think you are (underestimating portion sizes/ calories for food, not writing down things like olive oil to cook your veggies in, etc.).

Or, you're not eating enough to fuel your intense workouts and your body doesn't want to let go of the weight.

First, I would make sure that you weigh and measure everything you eat. Then, I would bump up your calories a couple hundred calories (while still weighing and measuring all your food-- this is important) for at least 4 weeks and see what happens.

Weight loss sometimes requires experimentation and patience. You can do this

dad106

You have 9 pounds to lose... which is nothing in the grand scheme of weight loss. It's going to take awhile.

Eating 1200 calories isn't going to make it come off faster... that's actually the amount for people to want to lose 2 pounds a week a lot of the time.

My suggestion is to up your goal to a pound a week or less, and try that for a while. I bet you'll see a change.

malouii

spaingirl2011, i do measure everything i eat

you're right i will try to bump up my calories a little and see what happens. because this is so frustrating!!

thank you so much!!!!

malouii

thanks dad106.... exactly i was losing 2 pounds a week when i weighed 128 after college. these last 9 pounds just don't want to leave! maybe 1 pound a week is more reasonable at this point. thank you!

malouii

thanks Wrenbot87!! i know, i definitely need some variety in my diet. i am a very picky eater that's why i stick to what i like haha. but i'll have to see what else i can incorporate into my diet. thank you

RumOne

following this may help

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

malouii

thanks meeper123. i'm starting to think this is the problem because i can't possibly eat less than what i'm eating now. i need my food!!! thank you

originalcookiemonster

i do measure everything i eat

you're right i will try to bump up my calories a little and see what happens. because this is so frustrating!!

thank you so much!!!!

The scooby calculator will do the job, but I suggest you read this link. It will explain things in a very clear concise way.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937709-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

How long have you even been doing this? Your body takes a while to adjust. Eat at no more than a 20% deficit of your TDEE (all explained in link) and exercise. You will burn calories, more specifically fat, by lifting heavy weights roughly 3x a week and adding some cardio. Cardio will burn calories but will also eat lean muscle mass. You are pretty small already so maintaining your lean muscle mass is very important. And keep eating healthy, you can vary your diet, don't make it super strict it should be a lifestyle change not a diet. Soooo read the link, keep eating healthy, and I suggest lift heavy. 9 pounds is not very much so it may take you a while.

*sidenote- you are actually already at a healthy body weight. if you want to lose fat and lose some inches, I suggest eating at maintenance and lifting heavy. The inches will come off

ChrissieP80

It does sound like you might need to eat more. I also started on 1200 cals and 'exercising like crazy' and although the weight came off very fast I did hit a plateau for a month where I lost nothing. The first 9 lbs came off in a month and the next 9 lbs took nearly 4 months to lose because I hit a plateau. I agree with changing things up by eating more, do strength training if you can. That made the biggest difference for me. Good luck.

Skrib69

The first poster had the answer right. Eat more. You need to eat back your exercise calories as well. Your diary is closed, but there is no way that you can exercise that much and eat that little and still eat back your burned calories.

kmcosgrove115

I posted this a few weeks back - you need to eat way more then 1200 - I stalled too and now the weight is coming off!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

Mock_Turtle

define "way more"?

I would agree she should bump her calories up, but not drastically. Maybe from 1200 to 1400-1500 and try that for a month. At 119 lbs her BMR is going to be pretty low as it is.

OP you could also try going from 5 days of cardio to 3 days of cardio + 2 days of lifting weights. That way in the interim while you're figuring out the best calorie needs to drop the last 9 lbs you could be getting some of the benefits of strength training.

777twist

I agree with everything said here... But the best thing you can do when you hit a plateau is to change things up. You don't have to change everything all at once, but do change some things.

Things you can change:

- Daily Activities (increase/decrease)
- Workout routine
- Sets/Reps
- Duration of workout
- Time of day you workout
- Cardio/Weightlifting split
- Calories
- Types of food
- Sleep/Rest (getting enough?)
- Supplements (increase/decrease)
- Meal numbers
- Meal times
- etc...

So there's lots of stuff you can alter to give your body a boost.

Hope that helps! And (everyone) feel free to add me as a friend... increased motivation can help too!

malouii

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