Why can't I lose?

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SuziQGettinFit
SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have any answers for me? I stick to a strict 1200 calorie a day diet - making sure it's well rounded with plenty of protein. I walk an hour at least 4 times a week (more often 5-6 times a week). I can't lose anymore weight. Lost 12 lbs in 8 weeks, now nothing. So frustrating!
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  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    how tall are you? And how much do you weigh? How long have you not lost weight?
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    you are either over estimating burns and/or under estimating intake....

    do you weigh your food? eat back all your exercise calories? Log accurately?
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    you are either over estimating burns and/or under estimating intake....

    do you weigh your food? eat back all your exercise calories? Log accurately?

    This. If you truly want help, you need to give more info. Height, starting weight, etc. It also looks like you have lost 8 pounds according to your profile, so I am confused.
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    Does anyone have any answers for me? I stick to a strict 1200 calorie a day diet - making sure it's well rounded with plenty of protein. I walk an hour at least 4 times a week (more often 5-6 times a week). I can't lose anymore weight. Lost 12 lbs in 8 weeks, now nothing. So frustrating!

    Your walking might not be burning as many calories as you think. Roughly a 150lb person will burn 100 calories per mile walked. It is not just how long you walk it is the distance and speed of that walk that determines how many calories you burn. The larger that you are the more calories that you will burn during that hours walk. From you ticker (with only a total of about 25lbs to lose) I would assume that you are not in the obese range.
  • petefromguelph
    petefromguelph Posts: 84 Member
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    Need a titch more info to figure this one out OP. Previous answers are valid and make sense... underestimating food and overestimating calorie burn is usually the culprit... sorry to ask the big question but.... do you use a food scale?
  • SuziQGettinFit
    SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
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    Thank you all so much for the advice. Yes I measure and weigh everything - especially protein. I usually have even less than the 1200 calories and I don't eat more when it says I have earned more with exercise. I spread my calories out through the day but stick to basically 3 meals. I have at least one meal per day of a protein shake - all organic with no gluten, sugar, dairy or soy. I'm not hungry and don't feel I need to eat any more at all. I don't ever have trouble with snacking - I have good willpower. To answer your questions, I am approximately 5'4" and right now weigh 174 - I started at around 186. I am 58 years old. I also have fibromyalgia and arthritis so I can't walk all that fast - and certainly not at an incline. But, like I said, I don't even take those calories burned into consideration.
    Thank you all for your interest in my problem and for trying to help.:flowerforyou:
  • thevoice1973
    thevoice1973 Posts: 55 Member
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    Without knowing more, you might consider eating back a portion of your exercise calories (not all of them) and see if that gets things going. I find that if I am under my daily amount by as little as 200 calories, the weight loss slows to a crawl...

    Good luck!
  • SuziQGettinFit
    SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
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    Thank you. I have often wondered if it is because I'm not eating enough. But, like I said, I'm really not hungry and I don't want to start adding starchy or high fat foods in just to get my calorie count up. I will often add an apple or an orange at some point - but that's less than 100 calories. But I will try your suggestion and on days that I exercise, I will try eating a little bit more.
  • SuziQGettinFit
    SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
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    I hadn't changed my starting weight from a couple of years ago - I should of updated it when I started up again. I started at 186 lbs this time.
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
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    How long have you been stalled?
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    If you are not losing, you are not in a deficit. Don't measure food, weigh ALL your food!!
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.
  • acarmelo1
    acarmelo1 Posts: 76 Member
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    Start doing a more intense workout
  • _HeartsOnFire_
    _HeartsOnFire_ Posts: 5,304 Member
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.

    QFT
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Start doing a more intense workout

    She has health issues which prevents her doing intense workouts.
  • monstergirl14
    monstergirl14 Posts: 345 Member
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.

    This! You may be 'starving'
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.

    This! You may be 'starving'

    Nobody has ever failed to lose weight by eating too little.
  • smokeytex74
    smokeytex74 Posts: 55
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.

    ^^^ I second this ^^ I recently hit a plateau and had not lost anything for almost a month.. my body was holding on to everything, if your not eating enough, your body thinks that it is starving and will stop the weight from coming off. I upped my calorie intake this last week and lost 1.5 lbs., exactly where I wanted to be.
  • cherys
    cherys Posts: 387 Member
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    Susan, aside from the walks, do you get much exercise in the general run of a day?

    I lost nothing last week, despite exercising lots and eating under my calories. But except for when I was out for a jog or at bootcamp I was sat absolutely still at a desk for hours every day working on a PhD thesis. Most people have to move around during the day: walk to the station, pick kids up from school, move around the shop or office floor etc. If your daily life is very sedentary apart from the walks, maybe you could look at getting some more small amounts of exercise into it?

    And I agree, try to eat the whole 1 200. Also watch invisible calories like milk in tea. If you have a few of those a day, it adds up.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
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    BMR = 1454 (this is the amount you need just for your body to function if you did nothing)
    TDEE = 1972 (this is the amount where you would not gain or lose any weight, i.e. "maintenance")
    20% cut = 1577

    This is based on "lightly active, exercise 1-3 hours per week" setting.

    To get calories up, eat peanut butter, add olive oil to salads or when you cook, add seeds/nuts to salads, use full fat dairy, etc.

    When you don't eat enough, your body produces excess cortisol which prevents weight loss. Other stresses, lack of sleep, hormonal imbalances, also effect cortisol, and those are harder to control, but you can control your calorie intake.

    This! You may be 'starving'

    Nobody has ever failed to lose weight by eating too little.
    Who wants to lose lean muscle mass?

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