Why have I not lost weight?

2»

Replies

  • Snow__White
    Snow__White Posts: 1,650 Member
    i never lost weight eating 1200 or fewer calories
    When someone told me to eat more,i thought they were crazy!!!
    but i tried it and BAM first week 3lbs gone then every week after that i was losing 1-2lbs per week!
  • I think the OP is massively overestimating calories burnt! I suspect its half what was posted as 600 cals a day burnt off most days seems like torture

    Op weighs over 240 Ibs.
    A 240 Ib body burns a lot of calories.
    I am under 140Ibs.
    I often have 1100 calorie burns. Because I workout hard.

    ofcourse yeh I forgot about that, I was just thinking that at 125lbs I would need to run 6 miles a day to knock off that many calories
  • HealthyishWithMaggieG
    HealthyishWithMaggieG Posts: 397 Member
    I started working out last Thursday, March 13. I weighed myself this morning, Thursday march 20 and didn't lose any weight, not even 0.1lbs. I'll tell you what my remaining calories were everyday. (The first number is the number of calories I consumed that day, the second number I am subtracting if the calories I burned doing exercise and the last number total is the net.
    March 13: 1122 - 516 = 646
    March 14: 828 - 516 = 312
    March 15: 1830 - 646 = 1185
    March 16: 1315 - 688 =627
    March 17: 1807- 616 = 1191
    March 18: 1996-616 = 1380
    March 19: 1235 -673 = 562
    As you see, my net calories are very low, I don't starve myself or skip meals. I eat normally and work out at the gym (1 hour 5 min of AMT -advanced motion trainer- and then 15-20 minutes of strength). Today I was so pissed off that I didn't lose any weight I went and burned 913 just on the AMT (And probably more like 1000 when I was finished my entire workout) I am 18 years old, I'm 5'8 and I weigh 240lbs. My recommended calorie intake is 22, 113 cals a week to maintain my weight. Since last Thursday I had 5903 cals which means I should've lost at least 4.5lbs right? PLEASE HELP! I thought I would've lost 2lbs of water weight at least...thank you so so much :)
    Btw don't tell me to eat more. I already snack and pig out so much, I don't try and stay under my calorie goal of 1252 it just happens, that's just me on a regular day so I'm not going to eat more and stuff myself to lose weight. That doesn't make sense.

    If you'd like a sincere reply with constructive suggestions, would you open your food diary, please?
  • jenuwefa
    jenuwefa Posts: 1
    You do understand that your body needs some calories in order to function? If you're burning them all off at the gym, your body goes into "starvation mode" and hangs on to every bit of spare body fat it can. Your calorie goal is just that - it's not something to be beaten. If you are "snacking and pigging out" and still eating less than 1200 calories, what are you eating??? Styrofoam peanuts?
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    success2.jpg

    Same goes for fat loss.
  • HealthyishWithMaggieG
    HealthyishWithMaggieG Posts: 397 Member
    You do understand that your body needs some calories in order to function? If you're burning them all off at the gym, your body goes into "starvation mode" and hangs on to every bit of spare body fat it can. Your calorie goal is just that - it's not something to be beaten. If you are "snacking and pigging out" and still eating less than 1200 calories, what are you eating??? Styrofoam peanuts?

    No... she doesn't understand. She's 18 years old, asking for advice from a community of people that have experience, and yelling at them that they're wrong when they give her sound advice.
  • I'm 18, I do what a hywant! I been there too, we all have but if you're serious about losing the weight then... Well, actually... It sounds like you should be losing weight if all of that is true. I was just 190lbs when I decided to try Medifast for a month and I lost 15lbs. I was doing cardio and having about 1,500 calories a day. It was crazy weight loss for not being that "fat", I lost a lot of muscle too so I'm not entirely condoning it.

    You may want to look into "ketosis". It's a diet (like Medifast) that limits carb consumption. Basically your body runs on either carb or fat for energy, if you restrict the limit on carbs then your body will run on your fat source for energy (burns it like fuel). Some people live by this method entirely but I would only do it when I had a lot of fat to lose. Plus I too enjoy living a life where I'm not worried about what I eat as much but if you have a long way to go then you're going to have to make some sacrifices.

    I don't want to call you a liar if you've put in good work but see where you're at in a month. If it's all true and you've lost nothing then what do you want people to say, you're different than everyone else? You're a failure and should give up? Hell no. If you want, you can try to limit your carb consumption. It's really hard though, try to limit your carbs under 150g or up to 100g if you can. There are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate so that's only 400-600 calories a day from carbs alone (means you have to eat lots of protein or <gasp> fats!).

    Don't be too hard on yourself and just don't quit. People do that all the time or relapse back into poor eating patterns or lose consistency with their exercise routine, in fact everyone does that. It's all about learning the process of a new healthy you. There are people who could take over your body and drop 70lbs in 6 months but it's just not how it works. You simply just get better at figuring yourself out (your body) as you gain more knowledge about diet and exercise and figuring out whatever goal you may have.

    TLDR; Something doesn't sound right, try keto, don't quit, you get better along the way.

    Peeeeeace
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Keep up your program, and you can get ready for this down the road, sooner or later depending on how you deal with this oh so awful week of no weight loss.

    http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/truth-about-metabolic-damage

    And a life time of yo-yo dieting. Each time gaining more fat, each time harder to lose.
    And what's your body going to do as it keeps going up in weight each time?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i_cmltmQ6A

    You probably aren't even aware that you yourself can mess up your hormones that control feelings of hunger.

    You feeling full and your body being fully fed for your level of activity are 2 entirely separate things.

    You can also mess up your thyroid, requiring meds at some point just for normal metabolism.

    Life can get really interesting then. If you think this week is a bummer - get ready to be depressed, or get really pissed.
  • Honestly all of you were almost no help except a couple of you. You were basically yelling at me, and saying I'm wrong and to do this and do that and to stop complaining. Obviously it's aggravating, I came here for support and got that from almost none of you. I have experience with this and as I said I lost 20lbs last year which is why I'm confused to why I can't lose weight now. I eat salads and snack on carrots and dip, all low low low calories. All I put into my body is nutrients so that's why it's low. Most of my calories come from my breakfast which is eggs and bacon and toast. That has a lot of salt so I think I didn't lose weight because of water retention. Thanks anyways.
  • Sreneesa
    Sreneesa Posts: 1,170 Member
    I think the point is you need to eat at least 1200 calories and half your exercise calories back as you body needs a certain amount of calories in general to function properly.

    So just eat at least the 1200, preferably more, and half your estimated exercise calories back and you will loose weight.

    Give it a try. I understand you lost weight a certain way before but now its not working. So again, give what I said a try and I'm sure you will see results.

    If you are open to another suggestion go to this link and put in your information and it will give you the correct calories you need to loose weight..and the cool thing is it counters in your exercise calories.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Good luck and I hope that you are open to my suggestions. I think they would really help you. :flowerforyou:
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Honestly all of you were almost no help except a couple of you. You were basically yelling at me, and saying I'm wrong and to do this and do that and to stop complaining. Obviously it's aggravating, I came here for support and got that from almost none of you. I have experience with this and as I said I lost 20lbs last year which is why I'm confused to why I can't lose weight now. I eat salads and snack on carrots and dip, all low low low calories. All I put into my body is nutrients so that's why it's low. Most of my calories come from my breakfast which is eggs and bacon and toast. That has a lot of salt so I think I didn't lose weight because of water retention. Thanks anyways.

    Huh?

    Water retention would explain 3-5 pounds at most...and only if your sodium is consistently high...and even still, you would lose weight in a deficit...it would just be 3-5 pounds higher than it would otherwise have been...and in times of lower-than-usual-sodium, you would lose some of those pounds.

    TL;DR - water retention is not the explanation for long-term inability to lose weight.

    ETA: And there were a lot of helpful replies...that you didn't realize they were helpful might be a clue as to what the real underlying problem is here.

    Also, this kind of indignation in the face of obviously sound advice is making my trollometer twitchy.
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
    Keep at it, OP. You got this! :flowerforyou:

    That's the good ole MFP support !

    Thumbs-up.jpg
  • A_Fit_Mom
    A_Fit_Mom Posts: 602 Member
    I think the OP is massively overestimating calories burnt! I suspect its half what was posted as 600 cals a day burnt off most days seems like torture

    I am a healthy weight for my height and I can easily burn over 700 a day. If i do 45 mins on my treadmill and then a Jillian video. So I could see how she could do it. But I wouldn't want to work out on that low of calories a day. I would feel weak. When I burn over 700..I eat at least half of it back.


    OP, you definitely need to eat more. And we aren't saying eat more junk. Just shoot for at least a 1200 net and try that for a couple weeks and see how it goes. You won't gain weight by netting 1200. So why not try it and see if it helps you lose.
  • MsJulielicious
    MsJulielicious Posts: 708 Member
    Just in case this is a real post here are some helpful links:

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/?gclid=CPekiJnSp70CFWxp7Aod_0oAHg

    Also, I'm sure somebody linked the guide to sexypants. That's a good one

    The people that have responded that 500 net calories is too low are absolutely correct. Find your tdee (with one of the mentioned calculators), eat at a modest deficit (say - 20%), get in some cardio and some strength training and have some patience. One week is not at all enough time to see results. You are being unrealistic and are exhibiting problem eating behaviors and attitudes. I also provided a link for eating disorder information in case you may sense that this is an issue. GL and well wishes.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    Is your profile pic you?
  • SrJoben
    SrJoben Posts: 484 Member
    I started working out last Thursday, March 13. I weighed myself this morning, Thursday march 20 and didn't lose any weight, not even 0.1lbs. I'll tell you what my remaining calories were everyday. (The first number is the number of calories I consumed that day, the second number I am subtracting if the calories I burned doing exercise and the last number total is the net.
    March 13: 1122 - 516 = 646
    March 14: 828 - 516 = 312
    March 15: 1830 - 646 = 1185
    March 16: 1315 - 688 =627
    March 17: 1807- 616 = 1191
    March 18: 1996-616 = 1380
    March 19: 1235 -673 = 562
    As you see, my net calories are very low, I don't starve myself or skip meals. I eat normally and work out at the gym (1 hour 5 min of AMT -advanced motion trainer- and then 15-20 minutes of strength). Today I was so pissed off that I didn't lose any weight I went and burned 913 just on the AMT (And probably more like 1000 when I was finished my entire workout) I am 18 years old, I'm 5'8 and I weigh 240lbs. My recommended calorie intake is 22, 113 cals a week to maintain my weight. Since last Thursday I had 5903 cals which means I should've lost at least 4.5lbs right? PLEASE HELP! I thought I would've lost 2lbs of water weight at least...thank you so so much :)
    Btw don't tell me to eat more. I already snack and pig out so much, I don't try and stay under my calorie goal of 1252 it just happens, that's just me on a regular day so I'm not going to eat more and stuff myself to lose weight. That doesn't make sense.


    Relax.

    You should see my weight chart. I think it will explain things nicely.

    I'm bulking...but just...look at it upside down or something. ;)

    Each of the little circles is my scale weight on a day.

    The red line is an average.. Note how it's trending up even though there are several times when I weighted the same on two days about a week apart.

    Also note the fluctuations. Multiple pounds gained, lost and gained again within 72 hours. If you're weight had been lower on the 20th than on the 13th that would not actually show that you were losing weight. Comparing your weight on any two days a short time apart tells you absolutely NOTHING.

    You either need to weigh in less often or you need to chart this stuff.

    eta: MFP img code why you no work with dropbox urls? o_O

    edit again: Or photobucket...the hell. Here's the dang link: http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff79/SrJoben/Libra_2014-03-18_zps3c4aa041.jpg
  • sisterlilbunny
    sisterlilbunny Posts: 686 Member
    Snack and pig out and hit my TDEE of 1800? Girl, you aren't going to read this or think I'm mean but yeah, you need a good "coming to a god of your choice". You still have to fuel you body in a way that makes it run properly. If you don't fuel it correcly, it doesn't RUN correctly. If it doesn't run correctly it's going to do everything it's power to maintain the status quo. If you really think your stuff is the way to go (300 calories is just insane), go check out the mulitple success stories of people who eat 1500, 1800, hell even 2500 calories a day and drop weight.

    Yeah there's basic math involved but that only counts if your body is working right. #justsayin'
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I think the OP is massively overestimating calories burnt! I suspect its half what was posted as 600 cals a day burnt off most days seems like torture

    If there was any kind of eating exercise calories back the estimates of calories burned in exercise would matter.

    Since they aren't, they don't.
  • CLFrancois
    CLFrancois Posts: 472 Member
    Honestly all of you were almost no help except a couple of you.
    Nobody can tell you what the problem is for sure, all people can do is lend their opinion, which is what you asked for in your title to this post.
    I eat salads and snack on carrots and dip, all low low low calories. All I put into my body is nutrients so that's why it's low. Most of my calories come from my breakfast which is eggs and bacon and toast.
    In the first post, that you edited, you stated that you snack and pig out. Above says you only put nutrients in and it is low calories.
    You have sort of contridicted yourself.

    If you cannot accept (I am not saying agree) people's advice and opinions that you asked for, why come and ask in the first place?
    It almost seems you came looking for a fight.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    I believe there's been a good lot of cases of a new exercise routine also causing water retention.

    So, OP; how do you know it is NOT water retention?

    Further, women's weight tends to fluctuate through the month.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Honestly all of you were almost no help except a couple of you. You were basically yelling at me, and saying I'm wrong and to do this and do that and to stop complaining. Obviously it's aggravating, I came here for support and got that from almost none of you. I have experience with this and as I said I lost 20lbs last year which is why I'm confused to why I can't lose weight now. I eat salads and snack on carrots and dip, all low low low calories. All I put into my body is nutrients so that's why it's low. Most of my calories come from my breakfast which is eggs and bacon and toast. That has a lot of salt so I think I didn't lose weight because of water retention. Thanks anyways.

    the people giving you advice are people that have lost weight and kept off over the long run ….your problem is one of the following"

    1. Not correctly estimating calories.
    2. Not correctly estimating burns
    3. You have an unhealthy relationship with food, are eating way too little, and have damaged your metabolism due to chronic underrating…
  • kmash32
    kmash32 Posts: 275 Member
    When I first started I was eating about 1200 calories a day and burning 400 - 500 calories a day working out and didn't lose much. I started eating about half my workout calories back so then about 1450 a day and lost 25 pounds in about 3 months. I do think you need to eat a little more if you are working out that much, but you do not have an eating disorder. A lot of people come on this sight and it takes them a while to figure out what works for there body.

    And those of you that have been harassing this poor girl about an eating disorder leave her alone. She came on here to get some advice and encouragement not to be made to feel bad.