Not losing ANY weight!

I feel your pain. If you are not doing this with the help of a doctor who can check your blood levels (esp. glucose and thyroid) and a nutritionist's guidance, you may not see the success you are looking for no matter what you do. Others who do not have underlying causes for their extra weight don't understand. For the majority, it's a simple "calories in, calories used" formula that works for them. You may be eating things that you are sensitive to that cause inflammation and that will inhibit weight loss. I know from experience. Don't be discouraged. It takes time for your body to adjust to a new way of eating.

Please stop throwing starvation mode into the theory. Someone who is obese is not going into starvation mode even on 1200 calories or less a day (which she says she isn't doing). More likely your food intake is higher than you think it is unless you are weighing and measuring your food. Most of us are horrible at estimating portions.

It's been 16 days... chances are the problem is your expectations, not your method.

^^ agreed^^ it will take time, based on what you say your calorie intake is you are on schedule so be patient. Plus, you should also go by how you feel. I've been at a stand still for a few weeks but my body has felt SO much better when I really started taking care of it even though the weight is coming off slowly. If I've been feeling this good lately then that's progress for me too.

Please stop throwing starvation mode into the theory. Someone who is obese is not going into starvation mode even on 1200 calories or less a day (which she says she isn't doing). More likely your food intake is higher than you think it is unless you are weighing and measuring your food. Most of us are horrible at estimating portions.

Yup, as this rather famous study clearly indicates (and the obese participants were actually eating 1,200 calories per day...)

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199212313272701

and I quote:

The failure of some obese subjects to lose weight while eating a diet they report as low in calories is due to an energy intake substantially higher than reported and an overestimation of physical activity, not to an abnormality in thermogenesis. (N Engl J Med 1992; 327:1893–8.)

Please stop throwing starvation mode into the theory. Someone who is obese is not going into starvation mode even on 1200 calories or less a day (which she says she isn't doing). More likely your food intake is higher than you think it is unless you are weighing and measuring your food. Most of us are horrible at estimating portions.

This probably more than anything else screws people up. Are you eating 100 calories when you eat food X, or are you eating 100 calories per serving, and that tiny container contains three servings.

Do you assume your cereal bowl is "about a cup?" Use a measuring cup, and make marks in your cereal bowl to show what 1/2, 3/4, and 1 cup actually are. (Oh, and again, back to the label on the product -- almost every breakfast cereal tweaks the amount of "one serving" to get the calories to what a consumer might consider acceptable. Sometimes it is as much as a cup, sometimes it is as low as 1/3 cup. And don't forget that the milk you add to your cereal needs to be added separately.

Even something that seems tiny -- like cream in your coffee. First, it has to be counted. Second, if you are just pouring it in instead of measuring, how do you know how many calories you are getting. 2 cups of coffee with 2 tablespoons of cream each is 200 calories!

Unless your thyroid is a problem now then I doubt that's the issue. Stay consistent and get some movement in. I didn't really lose any weight until after the first 3 weeks. Your body needs time to get used to this new lifestyle and once it does you will probably lose weight a lot faster. Just stay focused!

THIS! Check/track your sodium too...that can really hinder losses...

what exercises are you doing??? in order to burn fat, you must do cardio (according to my supervisor and he's a health nut). walking, stationary bike, elliptical, stairmaster, take your pick. I started with walking. I live in nyc, so i have a lot of places where i can walk. i chose the brooklyn bridge. when i first started, it took me nearly 45 minutes to walk the bridge. now it takes me 25 minutes, on a good day (with little pedestrian traffic). I also walk the treadmill, i do the stationary bike and elliptical. I do at least 45 minutes cardio (that's up from 15 minutes 11 months ago). next month I am going to start running (that's after my birthday though) you could do it. I know you can

You said you have halved your calorie intake. How many calories are you eating exactly? Are you putting your body into starvation mode instead of weight loss mode?

Eating less doesn't mean losing more. Eating healthy and getting up and moving is the right way to go! Starvation tells your body " Oh crap, where is our energy?!! Halt all burning and slow the body down" So get eating right with a good fair calorie count and get moving ;-) Godpseed

Ack, that can be discouraging. First off, congrats on taking this step towards a healthier lifestyle. Keep at it until you find the right balance for you.

I agree with the poster providing the link to In Place of a Road Map that has resources listed to help calculate your BMR and TDEE. It does sound like you're at a decent calorie goal so that may not be the issue.

Not being able to see your diary I can only offer general suggestions.
-Weigh and measure your food so you're logging calories accurately.
-Try cutting down or out sugary and diet drinks (soda - diet & regular, bottled juices, etc.) and drink lots of water. Google "water infusion recipes" for tips on adding fruits and herbs to your water to modify the taste if you don't like drinking plain water.
-Watch your sodium which is inherently high in processed foods and restaurant foods.
-If you like them, up your fruit and veggie intake. If you don't like them, find ways to hide them in the food you make. This is a big issue with me and I'm still working on ways to hide them in my food.
-Unless it's going to triger a "binge" or a setback, don't deny yourself anything. One of the biggest downfalls in my previous attempts to lose weight was denying myself "bad" foods. I'd deny myself icecream until I got to the point I'd eat a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's and then feel awful. Now I take the approach of, if it fits into my calorie budget, I can have it. So if you look at my diary, you'll see I have Oreo's or icecream almost every night. The 2 or 4 oreos or the cup of ice cream keeps me from eating 15+ cookies or a whole pint.
-Don't go by the scale alone. Also take body measurements and pay attention to how your clothes are fitting. Some weeks you waon't drop an ounce but those jeans that were tight are not so much any more. This happened to me this week - Didn't lose a single pound and the jeans and shirt fit better.
-Move more. You can incorporate movement into your day even if you don't have access to a gym. Take a walk around the neighborhood or go to a park. Walk around your home while talking on the phone. Set out an "exercise game" for commercials - car commercial do crunches, food commercials do squats, toy commercial jog in place, bank commercial do push-ups, etc. Whatever exercise program you do you'll want both cardio and weight training. Cardio helps with the endurance and buring calories, weight training (including body weight exercises like push-ups or lunges) help preserve muscle mass.

If you feel that there's something up with your health that my be preventing weight loss - like thyroid or insulin resistance, by all means get checked out by a doctor.

Good luck!!!