why isn't it working???!!!

Your goal is unhealthily low. Eat more and hang out with the girls on here who lift weights. They look amazing.

If it's not 'working', don't you think your body is trying to tell you something?

How many hours a day are you dancing? With what intensity? If it is significant, you are still eating far too few calories.

You probably gained because your body was telling you something - it was not getting enough fuel and now it is trying to hang onto it.

I'm on board with LoraF.

"Maybe you should consider doing strength training instead (and eating at a higher calorie goal) so you can can change the way your body looks, rather than aiming for a number on the scale."

At your height, ballerina or not, you probably shouldn't lose that much weight. Change the shape with strength training rather than just going by the numbers on the scale.

Have you calculated your body fat percentage? What are your numbers?

While i agree with Lora, my guess is the weight requirement is so the guys can throw her around during a performance. There are lots of unhealthy expectations put upon performers.

Losing 2lb/wk is not going to happen at your BF levels regardless of what MFP says in that handy calculator. I wish you would decide to work on adding some muscle, but it is your body. I know bodybuilders that slow down to a 0.5lb/wk loss towards a competition.

Please make sure you are consuming enough considering the amount of exercise you do. A good way to judge is to keep track of your energy, mood and cravings. If any of those are poor, odds are you are not eating enough. Our bodies are smart and adapt to protect themselves.

Go see your dr. 123 is already a low weight.

Unless you are planning on ballet as a career, AND you are in the top of your field, the health trade off of staying underweight and developing an eating disorder to do it is not worth it. There are plenty of dancers at healthy weights, and it's becoming increasingly common. If you have trainers who are encouraging this kind of crap with all the awareness that's out there about teen eating disorders, they should be charged with child abuse / endangerment.

Well, to start with, you are already at the low end of the suggested weight range for your height. 20lbs is pretty unrealistic. Trying to weigh 103lbs at 5'7" (and only 18 years old - or younger) is unhealthy.

I'm guessing you are eating 1200 cals or less, in an attempt to lose 2lbs per week? Your setting yourself up for failure and you might end up damaging your metabolism. You're so young too, so that makes me sad for you.

Maybe you should consider doing strength training instead (and eating at a higher calorie goal) so you can can change the way your body looks, rather than aiming for a number on the scale.

^^^ This.

What is it with young girls on here that think it's a good look to be skinny, men love curves and the weight you want to be ain't gonna give you curves, don't go for the lollipop look and it's so not worth wasting your life dieting when you don't need to

I am 5'7 and weigh about 123 pounds. I'm trying to lose about 20 of those pounds. Been on this diet for about a week, and at my current eating/burning rate I should have lost about 2 pounds by now. But I haven't lost anything! I'm kind of confused. What's wrong? I'm sticking to the calorie plan VERY much, and exercising a lot each day. Help!

It is because you are already underweight regardless whether you think you are or not.

You have nothing to lose, hence the lack of weightloss.

Sorry, but that is how it goes and I strongly suggest you get to the doctors because wanting to weigh 103lbs (7 stone 5lbs for those in the UK) is dangerous to your health.

I am 5'7 and weigh about 123 pounds. I'm trying to lose about 20 of those pounds. Been on this diet for about a week, and at my current eating/burning rate I should have lost about 2 pounds by now. But I haven't lost anything! I'm kind of confused. What's wrong? I'm sticking to the calorie plan VERY much, and exercising a lot each day. Help!

It is because you are already underweight regardless whether you think you are or not.

You have nothing to lose, hence the lack of weightloss.

Sorry, but that is how it goes and I strongly suggest you get to the doctors because wanting to weigh 103lbs (7 stone 5lbs for those in the UK) is dangerous to your health.

Note:123 is not underweight for 5'7", it's at the bottom of healthy. If the OP really wants to, she could even go down to 120 (maybe even 118), but 105 IS underweight.

What is it with young girls on here that think it's a good look to be skinny, men love curves and the weight you want to be ain't gonna give you curves, don't go for the lollipop look and it's so not worth wasting your life dieting when you don't need to

There are all kinds of people in this world, and for every type of person, I can guarantee that there is someone who is attracted to them. Probably more than someone.

Please don't start body shaming here. Most of us are concerned about the OPs health - this doesn't need to be made into a "you're not a real woman without curves" thread.

I'm not saying that at all but to go too low could spiral out of control, ive seen too many people with eating disorders, so please don't put words into my mouth

That is exactly my concern for the OP - an eating disorder/body image issues.

To suggest that only your definition of a perfect body is attractive to men is just as damaging as an internal voice that says she needs to be thinner. And your suggestion is also potentially damaging to the people who are reading this thread.

I'm not trying to attack you, but body shaming is rampant on this site, and I'm not ok with that. To say that "men love curves" and suggest that being curvy is the only acceptable body type to appear attractive to the opposite sex isn't helpful. And even if you feel like it's an innocent comment, things can get of control quickly around here.

Let's focus on suggesting alternative solutions to the OP - for being healthy and strong - no matter what her body type is.

This is a troll post, right?


I'm 5'1 and 103 would barely be considered healthy for ME.

Forget about your scale and work on body fat. You're at a healthy weight for your height. I would think that trying to get too low in weight would be detrimental to your ballet performance. Take measurements and eat closer to your maintenance while incorporating a strength training program.

The OP is a ballet dancer, however the ideal weight for a ballet dancer is 85lbs at 5 foot tall - add on 5lbs for every 1" in height, this takes the OP's ideal weight for ballet dancing to be 120lbs.

Dee.. Is that the post you found when you were searching out the question about ideal ballet dancer weight?

On paper, you are in the ballpark now. Rule of thumb is 5'-85 lbs and then add 5 lbs for every inch over that. so that would be 5'7" 120 tops. Ideally they do like them a bit smaller than that depending on the company. 4-7 lbs would do it. So 112-115 would work depending on how much muscle you have.
*to the other person who answered 105, this is totally dependent on your height. If you were 5'3" it would be too big. She is a tall girl and for 5'7" 105 would be a bit frail and lacking muscle to dance. Most companies don't like their female dancers to be over 5'7" so they won't be taller than the men when they are en pointe. I also would assume that she is not betting on being made a Principal right off. Either apprentice or corps de ballet depending on her past experience with other ballet companies. Nobody auditions for the position of Principal. You are asked from another company, or come up through the ranks. Many companies have all heights of dancers (within a specific target range) because some ballets are "short ballets" and others "tall ones." NYCB is a perfect example of this. Nobody gets cast in every ballet. Some girls are as short at 5'1" and others over 5'7".

I concur with the first girl's advice about up'ing your calories. I do not concur with the other semi-rude comments about your body image. I was training for a fitness competition a few years ago and had to eat, eat, eat because I was strength training and trying to lose. I lost 8 lbs. because I ate MORE not less.