HELP! Not losing at all...

emilypaige1992

Hello everyone!! My name is Emily and currently I weigh about 133 lbs. I lost about 25 lbs last year (from 148 to 123) and gained some of it back last fall (got back up to 138). Since January, I have only lost about 5 lbs. I just started really exercising along with diet tracking about two months ago. Since then, I have only lost 1 lb. Every once in awhile I go a little crazy with eating bad things, but I am usually within my calorie limits (1240 cals) and don't eat that bad usually. I know I'm gaining muscle too, but I feel like my fat loss should be greater than my muscle gain. Do I need to be on a stricter diet? Any help is appreciated! Thanks. (added note: When I do exercise I get back those calories, so the 1240 is just my baseline)

bonitacash08

You might not want to hear this, but unfortunately you're not gaining muscle. The only way to truly gain muscle is to eat at a surplus. At 1240 calories, your body is going to hold on to any excess weight because of the huge shock of trying to run on so few calories. You don't have a lot of weight to lose, so you might try upping your calories and lifting weights.

I know it's hard to do either of those, because it's pretty much the opposite of what we as women are told to do. However, there's no reason to starve yourself and the amount you're consuming is starving yourself. Try upping your calories, give it 6 to 8 weeks, and then check back in!

JenMc14

The little tidbit about sometimes going over is key. It's probably a lot more than you think. I could've written this post. I got down to 117, got back up to 133 over the holidays, have gotten as low as 125 since then, but am hanging out at 130. I know I did gain some muscle, because I was consciously lifting heavy while I was eating crappy over the holidays in the hope that I could keep all my gain from being fat. Not a clean, conscious bulk, but a dirty, semi-conscious one, if you will. but, I know that very little of that was muscle. I cannot wrap my head around being back on a cut. I can't. I'm mentally drained. I'm eating like crap with intermittent good days. So, I'm letting myself. I'm not going to log at all next week while I'm on vacation. I fully expect my pants to become too tight. I'm hoping the mental break will allow me to focus on my training and a good, healthy, no binge cut when I get back.

Give it time. Meticulously track everything. I know people freak out around her at low calories, I lost all my weight before hovering between 1300 and 1400 going off the advice/plan given to me at SparkPeople. Right now I'm upwards of 1700 almost every day and not losing at all. Everyone is different. Stick to where your comfortable for 3 or 4 more weeks, reevaluate, you may need to up them, you may see it is just taking time. The last pounds are always the stubborn ones anyway.

kcregger2

Lifting weights will help you since you dont have a lot to lose. You need to eat more calories. By atleast 300 or more. If you just added exercising then you for sure need to eat more than 1240!! Your body is holding onto every single thing you put in there. Also drink close to 80-100oz or water a day. I just started doing that a week ago and im 7 pounds down in one week.

emilypaige1992

Well whenever I exercise I eat back the calories I burn. That is just what I have my daily calorie goal set to.

bonitacash08

Well whenever I exercise I eat back the calories I burn. That is just what I have my daily calorie goal set to.

I still think 1240 is too low of an overall goal. It might get you to where you want to be, but it won't keep you there. I did 1200 net for months and it's not very sustainable. I wasn't hungry but I was exhausted and irritable. You don't have to fill up on junk food, more of the healthy, yummy stuff you're already eating would be perfect.

diannethegeek

Well whenever I exercise I eat back the calories I burn. That is just what I have my daily calorie goal set to.

Are you using MFP's exercise estimates or a heart rate monitor to determine how many calories to eat back? Sometimes MFP's estimates are too high and you might be eating back too many.

If you can't invest in a HRM right now, can I suggest checking out the TDEE - 20% method? You plug your numbers into a TDEE calculator like http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to figure out how many calories your body burns in a day (including exercise) and eat about 20% less than that. No need to worry about eating back calories or machine estimates this way.

purple4sure05

Hello everyone!! My name is Emily and currently I weigh about 133 lbs. I lost about 25 lbs last year (from 148 to 123) and gained some of it back last fall (got back up to 138). Since January, I have only lost about 5 lbs. I just started really exercising along with diet tracking about two months ago. Since then, I have only lost 1 lb. Every once in awhile I go a little crazy with eating bad things, but I am usually within my calorie limits (1240 cals) and don't eat that bad usually. I know I'm gaining muscle too, but I feel like my fat loss should be greater than my muscle gain. Do I need to be on a stricter diet? Any help is appreciated! Thanks. (added note: When I do exercise I get back those calories, so the 1240 is just my baseline)

My suggestion is to make sure you log any of your treat meals as accurately as possible and try to make up for at least half of them. People will tell you 1250 is too low, but if you're eating back your exercise calories, I can almost guarantee that you're fine. I can't vouch for whether or not it's the healthiest for your body, but I know that I went from 145 down to 117 eating less than you are. Eating out and not counting calories can add up to thousands of calories if you aren't careful, and that could be your problem. If your sodium intake is too high, you could also be retaining water, making it seem like you aren't losing fat.