9 weeks of work and no weight loss. What's wrong?!?

Reiterating posters above: you are eating at maintenance. I'm a bit younger than you are, appear to be close to the same height, and lift 3 days per week (3 x 1hr, with a trainer) and run 2 days per week (2 x 1-1.5 hr)...sad as it is, my maintenance level isn't much more than 1800 calories/day (empirically determined over the last 6 months). If you aren't losing weight, you have to drop the calories-in side (eat less) of the equation or increase the calories-out side (move more). Two choices.

Folks, she's using a high quality Heart Rate Monitor. If anything, her exercise calories are spot-on.


I just broke through my own 4 month long plateau by switching up the types of foods I eat. I'm a habit eater: same breakfast, same 2 or three lunches, same 2 or 3 dinners all the time. I changed it up and it worked. Note: I did NOT change my workouts, my calorie intake, nor my macros, so I was NOT eating at maintenance. I think my body just needed the change.

Just my $.02

I can guarantee you that if you were not losing weight, and now you are, that you were eating more calories then and when you change what you were eating, you are now eating fewer calories. It happens to a lot of people. Highly unlikely that you changed up what you were eating and didn't change your macros nor your calorie intake.

If OP is not losing, she's not eating at a calorie deficit. Period.

Not sure I am much help but as an older female, what worked for me: Used 1200 as my base and then added back most of my exercise calories. I allowed for occasional feast days. Zig sagging with feast days seemed to help break plateaus. I keep the same philosophy, I eat what I want but in moderation. As an older woman I find you have to work harder, and with arthritis it adds to t the difficulty. The last 10 lbs was the hardest and I still struggle with them coming and going depending on the season (I have been in maintenance since 2011). I do yoga, walking and weights, but not real heavy due to my joint issues (would love to do heavy). So if you don't have weight training in your mix, add it, it really makes a difference!

Welcome to your late 40s. When we women get to this age, our hormones start changing. Our metabolism drops and we stop processing sugars as well as we did when we were younger. This causes us to add weight in our midsection more. The stored fat in our midsection then reduces our ability to break down the sugar even more. It is a vicious cycle.

To combat this, we basically need fewer calories. As you see, you seem to be maintaining on around 1800 cals now. I am 50 and my maintenance is around 1500-1600, and I have 30 more lbs to lose at 5'6". It sucks, but that is the way it is.

Lowering your carb macros to 30-40% will help. Not everyone needs to be concerned with carbs/sugar, but for us women at this age, we generally do.
Keep your protein and healthy fats around 30% each. We need the healthy fats to help with hormone levels and satiety. We need the protein to help us keep as much muscle mass as we can, to prevent even further reduction in our metabolism, and for healthy bones.
Lowering your carb levels and replacing them with protein and fats will also help you be satisfied on fewer calories to aid in staying under goal. Lots of veggies help with that as well. Fiber is our friend!

Most of the women have also found that we cant eat back our exercise calories and be successful. At least not all of them. They can help cover an occasional treat or dinner out, but as a rule, don't eat back more than half at the most.

Starting a lifting program will help you tremendously. You can strengthen your muscles and bones to prevent bone loss during menopause, and it can help you prevent lowering your metabolism even further. You might also find that you like the size and shape of your body without even needing to lose down to your goal weight.

Hang in there. It is harder at this age, but certainly doable!:flowerforyou:

Why don't you try the Atkins diet? The website is free and they send you a getting started kit. It worked for me and I am sure it will work for you.

Uh, because she's already explained her philosophy of trying to maintain a sustainable lifestyle in which she can eat healthy but fit treats into her calories. She is not interested in cutting out food groups or choices.

I'm going to say it again, it has NOTHING TO DO WITH CARBS.

For YOU it may not. But for some people it DOES. How about let the people who are most like the OP, give her some tips that have worked for THEM. Unless you are a premenopausal woman, you cannot say what works for you will work for her.

Have you had your body fat tested? What you needed to do to lose when you were younger may be different now because you have less lean body mass (including less muscle). After all, your fat doesn't need any calories and won't burn them either.

Even the best HRM doesn't take body fat percentage into account, so it may be overestimating your burn.

I'm going to say it again, it has NOTHING TO DO WITH CARBS.

For YOU it may not. But for some people it DOES. How about let the people who are most like the OP, give her some tips that have worked for THEM. Unless you are a premenopausal woman, you cannot say what works for you will work for her.

Meh. I'm premenopausal and don't have problems with carbs. You can't from your generalize your own experience, either.

In this case, it looks like there are some logging issues as well as an insufficient calorie deficit, as others have noted. Address the basics first, and worry about the rest only if it's necessary.

I did say that she needed to lower her calories as well. But WHERE should she cut those calories? Protein? Healthy fats? NO, she needs those nutrients more than she needs the extra carbs. She is around 60% carbs right now. If she keeps that percentage and drops her calorie percentage across the board, then she will be lowering her protein and fat numbers even further. a 40/30/30 ratio is a good starting point for her.

Easy people, she isn't recommending a "low carb" diet. She's just pointing out that the woman is ODing on carbs. 40/30/30 is a good starting point for anyone. She will be better able to maintain a healthy calorie intake if she will shift her percentages nearer to that than the 60% carbs that are leaving her hungry for more and potentially causing her to overeat.

I'm going to say it again, it has NOTHING TO DO WITH CARBS.

For YOU it may not. But for some people it DOES. How about let the people who are most like the OP, give her some tips that have worked for THEM. Unless you are a premenopausal woman, you cannot say what works for you will work for her.

Instead of blaming external sources and believing tabloids, just eat at a deficit. She hasn't expressed any medical issues that would suggest she needs to cut carbs. She's just eating too much.

I did say that she needed to lower her calories as well. But WHERE should she cut those calories? Protein? Healthy fats? NO, she needs those nutrients more than she needs the extra carbs. She is around 60% carbs right now. If she keeps that percentage and drops her calorie percentage across the board, then she will be lowering her protein and fat numbers even further. a 40/30/30 ratio is a good starting point for her.

And BTW, I do not read tabloids, nor do I watch Dr Oz. I get my information from my gynecologist- who is highly trained and specializes in WOMEN'S bodies, and also from Diabetes specialists and nutritionist specializing in how the body processes various nutrients.

And her medical issue that wasn't expressed, is that she is a 48 yr old female. Unless you have done extensive research on the female body and how hormones affect it as we age, then please quit strutting your tail feathers and give up your incessant need to be right in every thread.

When I want to gain, I increase all my calories, not just carbs. When I want to lose, I drop all my calories, not just carbs. It works. Try it sometime rather than whining about external sources and believe crap you read in the tabloids. Which, despite your denial, you do, or you wouldn't be saying the things you say.

I don't need to know about females vs males. Humans are the same. That's why medicine and science work. You're not different.

You just proved your ignorance with "I don't need to know about females and males - Humans are the same' LOL..... Obviously you don't understand "science"

I'm 48, female. Need to lose 20-30 lbs.

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I've faced my fears and opened my food diary to you all because I am desperate. You will see that, while I love chocolate, I am counting it carefully, and I am also eating lots of kale, spinach, sprouts, brown rice, unsweetened almond milk, beets, squash, yogurt, and other healthy foods. I drink only water and herbal tea sweetened w Stevia. There ARE one or two bad days in there (one day, I ate 7.5 chocolate chip cookies), and there are one or two days I didn't record, but the VAST MAJORITY of the days, I am recording fastidiously and staying in the calorie goal. I'm not cheating on my recording, because what would be the point of that.

I've always said, I don't want to do a diet I can't sustain, so I have thus far refused to banish any specific food stuff. In other words, I've said I can eat anything (white flour, potatoes, dairy, sugar) as long as I fit it into my calorie budget. I can sustain that sort of regime for the rest of my life.

BUT I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THAT DOESN'T WORK FOR EVERYBODY. And it's stopped working for me.

It is indeed brave to open a diary around here.

You and I have a bit in common as far as age. I, too, used to be able to eat pretty much anything I wanted and still lose weight in my younger days, as long as I exercised and kept calories around 1,500. Not happening any more--the older I get, the fewer carbs I can tolerate. There's a history of type 2 diabetes on my father's side of the family, so I suspect it's related.

Your food list looks pretty good with all the veggies. However, I see a lot of floury starches--biscuits, bagels, cookies, crackers--and sugar. Some days, you have around 100g (400 calories) of sugar, mostly from sweet treats. There are also days you aren't getting anywhere near your protein target.

You might try cutting back on the sweets and starches, and adding protein (meat, fish, fowl, eggs, cheese) and fat (butter, olive oil, coconut oil) to replace the calories. One serving of bread a day, not three or four. Two cookies OR a candy bar, not both. Experiment a bit to see what works for you.

What's the best way to get more protein? I thought I would be doing great amping up fruits and vegetables, but guess what? They're all carbs!! I can add an egg a day. I have a friend who dumps a can of tuna on her salad--I could try doing that.

What are some of your favorite protein boosts?

Chicken, fish, lean beef, pork tenderloin, eggs, protein drinks/bars, yogurt, cheese, beans & rice (together they are a complete protein, apart, they are still protein but not complete).

If you're not losing weight it means there is no calorie deficit. Simple.

Make sure you log everything - this includes oil in cooking, any herbs and spices, little nibbles and sips.
Weigh everything - including fruit. Weighing is more accurate than measuring cups

Don't eat back ALL your exercise calories - MFP overestimates calories burned. Eat back 50% and see if that makes a difference

I am not a dr or expert of any kind but I do know carbs have a lot to do with weight loss. I am living proof. Being a diabetic, carb counting is my life. I was 140#, 5'5" tall when diagnosed but dropped to 105# due to lowering my carb and fat intake. I stayed there for 2 years with very little exercise. Stopped counting carbs and up to 125 in just a few months.

Eat more fruits (healthy carbs) (I have a max of 3/day but that's me) and at least 2-3 servings of fresh veggies/day and LOTS of water. Cut down on breads, pastas, rice, candy, things like that. One serving is considered about 15g carbs. I keep mine at 1 serving of "bad" carbs and add a pc of fruit (ex. a whole lg apple is about 2 servings of good carbs), but again, that's me. I only looked at a few days but your diet doesn't really look all that bad except too much food in 1 sitting and the candy & cookies. I definitely know about liking sweets and bad carbs (My weakness, any kind of bread and chocolate) but once you are eating the right kinds of foods the cravings for that type of sugar goes away for the most part. Fruit helps to curve those cravings as well. Of course the biggest thing is your will to give it up. Kind of like a smoker, if your not willing, you won't, no matter what you try.

I have never watched calories so I wouldn't even know the effect that would have, though I have noticed with my low carb diet, the calories seem to be very low as well (< 1400/day). BUT lowering carb count requires you to increase protein since those things are what give you energy. Eating 5-6 small meals/snacks per day instead of 3 will help a lot too.

Good luck to you and hope you find what works for you!