3 months, ZERO PROGRESS

I struggled with this once I started exercising as well. My first six months I only focused on nutrition and couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing once I was working harder with exercise. Come to find out, I wasn't eating enough and was depriving my body of fuel because I was only netting about 700 calories a day when my BMR was around 1600.

Do you eat back your exercise calories? If not, there is your problem. If you are eating 1500 and burning 300-600 then you are in too great of a calorie deficit.

I said and/or.

if your HRM does not have a chest strap and you are using it for weight training you are over estimating burns.

It doesn't matter the deficet in reality if you are at a deficet you will lose. People on VLCD (very low calories diet) lose weight not in a good way but they still lose.

End of story.

You're either overestimating how much you are burning off in your work outs or you are underestimating how many calories you are eating. Simple math, If you have a calorie deficit, you will lose. Period.

I too have seen little difference and am frustrated with my progress.
Things that have worked for me to boost weight loss is by switching up calorie intake constantly and what you are eating. Also bumping up cardio, I mostly lift and that is a much slower process in weight loss. Cardio will boost it, but still lift

I am pretty mush going through the same thins. Ive been working out for the past couple of months and haven't seen a loss in weight. People keep telling me just give it time. I think its great the effort your putting in to your dieting and working out. You are helping yourself in so many ways. So if you think you are doing everything right then just give it time. I have heard it takes about 6 months to really notice a change.. Keep positive!

I am OCD about my caloric intake. I DO measure, I DO count everything that goes in my mouth. Sorry, but it is not "end of story."

If I need to be eating back my calories, then I can do that. I was under the impression I needed to be KEEPING that deficit, not counteracting it entirely. Everything that I have read (and I have read all over the place trying to figure out the problem) says that to lose weight you have to create a deficit, not create it then eat over it.

I am so confused.

If your fitness goals are set to lose weight, it already calculated a deficit *for* you. I'm likely MUCH smaller than you and I'm supposed to net 1400 (food-exercise=net). Set it to lose half a pound a week and aim for netting that number.

You probably need to eat FEWER calories. When you figured your TDEE, you should have taken into account your activity level, you shouldn't be "eating back" calories you allowed for in that calculation. Your calorie goal should be 20% less than your TDEE, and that's all the calories you should eat. Hopefully you're getting enough protein and fat in your diet, so you feel satiated.

If 1500 calories isn't working, try 1400 for a month. Also, no cheat meals, unless you remain at your daily calorie goal. One 2000 calorie day will negate several days of starving. Our bodies don't respond to day-to-day stuff, they respond to steady trends. Your "cheat meals" are probably the main reason you haven't lost weight. Also, don't overestimate the weight-loss benefits of exercise. There are benefits of exercise, but it's more of an overall health than a weight loss thing. The vast majority of your weight loss will come from your diet, and staying at a consistent calorie goal that is appropriate for you age/height/weight/goals.

Perhaps you should go see your doctor for a checkup? If you are honestly recording every calorie eaten and burned and are as accurate as possible, it does not make sense that you would not lose weight in a 3 month period if you are creating a calorie deficit.

Hi, at 205 lbs and 1500 calories, you're right, you should be losing weight. It's not undereating, though you could likely eat more and still lose. You don't need to give up your french fries, either. If you are having a huge portion, cutting back a little may help, but it's hard to imagine that you are eating so many french fries as to eliminate your deficit.

If you are weighing/measuring and not losing weight, you should probably see a doctor. You are right that you should be losing at 1500 calories.

Do other scales put you in the same weight range?

I would try weighing again for awhile and see if that makes a difference. Portion sizes can easily mess up your deficit to maintenance.

I am OCD about my caloric intake. I DO measure, I DO count everything that goes in my mouth. Sorry, but it is not "end of story."

If I need to be eating back my calories, then I can do that. I was under the impression I needed to be KEEPING that deficit, not counteracting it entirely. Everything that I have read (and I have read all over the place trying to figure out the problem) says that to lose weight you have to create a deficit, not create it then eat over it.

I am so confused.

By eating 1500cal a day you ARE creating a deficit most likely (You really can't know that for sure without calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR). Google for BMR calculator or TDEE calculator. Put in your stats, work out your sedentary TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and then set your basic calorie intake to 80% of that number (a 20% cal deficit). Then, when you work out, eat back 80-100% of the cals you work off. Too great a calorie deficit will impede healthy weight loss, and if you're just picking a number (1500 cal) out of the air, there's no science behind it and you could be eating too much or little (although too much is unlikely if you're truly sticking to those numbers). Work with those figures for two weeks. If that isn't working, reduce your intake by another 10% or so.

If this still doesn't work, then you need to do one of two things: 1) see a doctor, because there could be an underlying health issue stopping you from losing. If not, then you need to do 2) - be more honest with yourself about what you're taking in/working off. Calorie counting isn't as easy as people make it sound even if you're a fastidious logger. People put incorrect calorie amounts into MFP all the time (seriously, the fact I can find 6 or 7 different sets of values for the same product that don't agree is proof of this), and it's possible you're just working from bad information. Equally, some people don't like to be truthful with themselves (not saying this is you necessarily) and will get cognitive dissonance when they think they are being good but are occasionally sneaking extra or cheating in little ways. Because they think they're being good and the little extras are just rewards or something, they can't accept that they are over-intaking or whatever - their worldview just will not accept that this is possible, and thererfore something else must be in play.

tl;dr - calculate your BMR and TDEE online, eat 80% of your sedentary TDEE. Eat back your exercise cals (but don't stop exercising!) If this doesn't work, reduce intake by a further 10%. If this doesn't work, you're either kidding yourself or you've a health issue.