5 weeks and nothing

Hey guys... I'm getting a bit discouraged because I've been eating basically paleo very strict and exercising 6 days per week consistently for 5 weeks now and still nothing changing on the scale or in measurments. I've definitely toned up a little but haven't shed a pound or inch, which is a bit frustrating. I'm a 22 year old female 5'8.5" and looking to lose about 15 pounds. Any advice? Thanks everyone!
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Replies

  • JoeDenison
    JoeDenison Posts: 18 Member
    What are you eating, how much are you eating? How does that compare with your daily calorie burn rate?

    What exercise are you doing, and for how long, what intensity, etc.? Are you eating extra to compensate for additional calories burned with exercise?
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
    Are you counting your calories? It doesn't really matter if you're eating Paleo, raw vegan, or any other diet style, if you don't consume less than you use, you won't lose weight. Invest in a kitchen scale and log everything you eat. Eat at a deficit (tell MFP you want to lose .5 pound per week, if you only have 15 pounds to lose), log your exercise, and eat back some of those calories.

    You can do all of this while eating strict Paleo if you like, but unless you plan on that being the way you eat for the rest of your life, I wouldn't worry about it. Many, many people here have lost incredible amounts of weight by eating a reasonably well balanced diet, and even allowing room for treats, and making sure they eat less than they use.
  • westcoastgrl21
    westcoastgrl21 Posts: 172 Member
    Uhhh....just because your food choices are "paleo" doesn't mean that you're creating a calorie deficit. You have to eat less than you burn to lose weight. Track your food, determine what your calorie intake is, then shave off a bit and see what happens. If you still don't see any losses, then reduce again.
  • cameron316
    cameron316 Posts: 14 Member
    Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha
  • JassiBear
    JassiBear Posts: 268 Member
    Uhhh....just because your food choices are "paleo" doesn't mean that you're creating a calorie deficit. You have to eat less than you burn to lose weight. Track your food, determine what your calorie intake is, then shave off a bit and see what happens. If you still don't see any losses, then reduce again.

    I'd like to second this post. Totally correct. Paleo doesn't guarantee weight loss, heck a cow gets fat and all they eat is grass and maybe some other feed.
  • JassiBear
    JassiBear Posts: 268 Member
    Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

    You look very fit from your profile picture. What are your weight loss goals and where are you starting at?
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    How much do you weigh now? If that is you in your profile pic, it's possible that you don't need to lose 15 pounds and your body knows that. In any event, if you are weighing the same for five weeks, you are eating at maintenance.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
    How do you determine your portion sizes? If you're "eyeballing" it, you're probably eating several hundred calories more than you think. Even using measuring cups for anything other than liquids can lead to errors and enough extra calories to undo your deficit. The best option (especially when you're stuck like this) is to weigh everything on a kitchen scale. :smile:
  • PSMTD
    PSMTD Posts: 106 Member
    Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

    If you're not eating to compensate for exercise you might be eating too little, making your body store weight.
  • JoeDenison
    JoeDenison Posts: 18 Member
    Sorry I wasn't very specific at all, I'm eating 1500 calories a day, haven't gone over that for 5 weeks and I'm not eating to compensate for exercise... I run, walk, elliptical, light resistance training, cycle, I do lots of exercise probably about 2 hours a day. I've been eating fruits veggies chicken ham occasionally red meat and fish and almonds. It's getting boring haha

    Can you share:
    1. Your BMR and total daily calorie burn (w/o exercise)
    2. Your food diary w/macro nutrient info for a typical day (just copy/paste from your diary in a reply), or make your diary public
  • cameron316
    cameron316 Posts: 14 Member
    I weigh about 138 now I'd like to be at 125... I played college sports and I want to reshape my body some from that ya know lean out my muscles and lose some body fat... I know I have weight to lose I think that pic is a little out of proportion, I'm in good shape but I'd love to lose some and I'm determined but yeah maybe I should start measuring more carefully like suggested, I normally over compensate the amount but I guess measuring cups don't always work great...and I guess I don't see the point of eating back calories burned in exercise bc it seems like that defeats the purpose I guess
  • kikilareggae
    kikilareggae Posts: 289 Member
    When one is losing a lot of excess weight, cardio does a lot but one you are already at a generally healthy weight/size whittling down in size/weight, like the last 10-15 pounds in your BMI bracket, you should really be do weight training with cardio. A lot of interval training and lifting will work wonders. Try Jillian Michaels workouts or something like benderfitness.com or www.bodybuilding.com to help you get to the next level and break your plateau. Sounds like your cardio routing isn't cutting it. That's my two cents.
  • kikilareggae
    kikilareggae Posts: 289 Member
    Also, it's recommended to eat back your calories your burn- especially when you are already fit because as mentioned if you're eating too little your body will notice you're not replacing what goes out and will try to conserve.
  • mebepiglet123
    mebepiglet123 Posts: 327 Member
    So you exercise 2 hours a day and only consume 1500 calories and haven't lost any weight.how many calories do you burn in that 2 hours. Have your worked out your tdee? maybe you are not eating enough.
    Something does not add here.

    Weigh and measure everything.

    Or maybe you are at your optimum weight. You look pretty darn good to me...
  • cameron316
    cameron316 Posts: 14 Member
    I can't get that stuff to copy and paste and I'm not too sure the answers to BMR and total calorie burn, I did it awhile ago but can't remember, and yeah that makes sense about the weight training stuff it's just that I'm trying to not get more muscles bc I already have a lot so I thought cardio might help them go away some I guess I know it's kinda lame I just hate wearing size 7 jeans just bc I'm muscular from DI tennis for 4 years
  • Muzica1959
    Muzica1959 Posts: 206 Member
    I'm no expert, for certain but I'm sure it would help if you made your food diary public. Kind of hard for the ones with more experience to help like this. However, I've looked at your pic and I don't see any fat on you at all. Size 7 jeans is not unreasonable for someone of your height and build.
  • cameron316
    cameron316 Posts: 14 Member
    I don't understand either even if I was underestimating some of my calories there's no way I'm just eating enough for maintenance, and there's no way I don't have weight to lose... I really don get it, someone suggested my body is used to the routine so it won't let go of anything but still...
  • JoeDenison
    JoeDenison Posts: 18 Member
    You won't gain muscle if you don't lift heavy, but the other person is correct: do some high intensity interval training; strength training 3 times a week, HIIT cardio on the alternate days. You MUST calculate your BMR/TDEE accurately to know how many calories to eat, based on calorie restriction of 500 calories / day for 1lb loss weekly. Consider getting a body composition test to learn your lean body mass and percentage of body fat and an accurate BMR value ... This can help you determine how much weight to lose (or, that you may not want to lose any fat ... Possibly the weight you consider as excess is muscle?).
  • cameron316
    cameron316 Posts: 14 Member
    Okay BMR is 1436 and TDEE is 2163
    I've done the body composition test quite a few times in college and said my body day was 16.5 but when they did the hand held thingy at the gym it said 20