Not losing weight, maybe too few calories?

I just started using my fitness pal to track my meals and calories. Before starting this, I found myself eating breakfast and maybe a sandwich during the day but nothing else. I am 5'5" and I weigh 270lbs. I know I'm very overweight but I want to change. I lost 5 pounds in the first 15 days, but now I've been stuck at 270 for over a week. I'm eating between 1200-1250 calories a day. I eat 3 small meals and 3-4 different snacks, which include a lot of fruits and veggies. I eat very minimal carbohydrates. I don't exercise much, I work in an office and I don't move around very much. I walk on my days off. I know that if I were able to increase my activity level I would probably lose weight, but I just don't understand why a person like myself, so overweight, wouldn't lose weight with consuming the amount of calories that I am. I feel like there's something wrong with me. I looked at a website that told me I should be eating 1800 calories a day, but I'm afraid that's way too much, especially because I often have difficulty eating the 1200-1250 calories that I have set up for myself now. I'm getting frustrated and I don't want to give up...

First, you are extremely delusional thinking you eat only
breakfast and maybe a sandwich and some how wind up at 270 lbs.
Second you are clearly still over eating by a lot if the scale is not moving.
Upwards of 2000 calories a day and realistically probably a lot more.

Here's some *possible* reasons why you are not losing weight.

you are eating more calories than you are burning
you don't log your food with a food scale
you do not log your food accurately or consistently
you go hide in your room and stuff junk down your throat but don't log it because you're embarrassed
you aren't moving your body enough
you are a truly unique special snowflake who doesn't lose weight in a calorie deficit

Note: that last point isn't one of them.

It's only been a week so there's no reason to panic but, nevertheless, it's unlikely your caloric deficit is as large as you think it is. Make sure you are measuring solid food on a digital scale and liquids in measuring cups or spoons.

Good for you for making a choice to live a healthier life! I started at 255 pounds, (5' 8") and have been up and down all my life. I don't have any special wisdom to share -- just wanted to cheer you on!!!! Keep going!!!!

Just give it time.Meanwhile, don't give up Find supportive friends here . Maybe a female your age that has lost a lot of weight. Don't give up.

I understand your frustration! You are probably right that you are consuming too few calories....and not drinking enough water. You want to burn fat, not muscle while dieting, so you must eat ALL of your calories each day. Water is important because as fat is burned, water exchange is needed to 'wash' the fat away from the cells. That's a simplistic explanation, but that's what happens.

One thing that is really helpful is to weigh, measure, and record every morsel you consume. That way, you don't overeat or cheat yourself out of calories. You can go to the 99c store and buy a bunch of measuring spoon sets and measuring cups, put them in a bowl on the counter, and that way there's always a clean one....no excuses!!!

Also, you can exercise by walking around the backyard a number of times each day. That way, you can walk when you want....even at night. You will know when your body is ready for more strenuous exercise.

If it is in your budget, you might try Weight Watchers Online. It really isn't that expensive and is very much like this site except a couple of things:

It has a MUCH better database
More user-friendly site
Great articles based on scientific research
Many, many forums for help and advice from NICE people who really understand what you are going through

I used WW Online for several months and since I'm on the way down am going to try this site to see if I can keep it up. If I start to slide, I'll go back!!!!

Best to you....feel free to add me as a friend.
Barbara

I understand all the points about accurate logging - but I don't think they apply here.

OP has lost 5lb in 3 weeks ( 15 days + 1 week if I have read correctly.)

I just think she is panicking because the last week showed no loss - but this is normal, no cause for concern. People often lose an amount, in this case 5 lb, and then have 1 week of nothing or even slight gain.
This doesn't mean the person is over eating, it just means weight loss is not exactly linear.

I think OP needs to continue as she is for a month before any conclusions can be drawn.

I just started using my fitness pal to track my meals and calories. Before starting this, I found myself eating breakfast and maybe a sandwich during the day but nothing else. I am 5'5" and I weigh 270lbs. I know I'm very overweight but I want to change. I lost 5 pounds in the first 15 days, but now I've been stuck at 270 for over a week. I'm eating between 1200-1250 calories a day. I eat 3 small meals and 3-4 different snacks, which include a lot of fruits and veggies. I eat very minimal carbohydrates. I don't exercise much, I work in an office and I don't move around very much. I walk on my days off. I know that if I were able to increase my activity level I would probably lose weight, but I just don't understand why a person like myself, so overweight, wouldn't lose weight with consuming the amount of calories that I am. I feel like there's something wrong with me. I looked at a website that told me I should be eating 1800 calories a day, but I'm afraid that's way too much, especially because I often have difficulty eating the 1200-1250 calories that I have set up for myself now. I'm getting frustrated and I don't want to give up...

Hi. I've had the same problem. I lost 5 kilos(convert that to pounds) within a month.
Since then, some weeks have been faster and some slower.

What I found were two things: try to vary your calorie intake. Make sure that the ceiling so to speak is still lower than your break-even. Secondly, don't underestimate exercise.

Get a garmin fitness band(you don't have to charge it every few days like fitbit) and make sure you monitor your movement. Eating has a bigger impact than exercise, but exercise is a must. Those 500-600 calories extra per day really add up over time.

I'm 155 kilos and I'm 193 cm. So I have a high calorie intake. My BMR(read what BMR is, it is *not* the same as total calorie requirement for a day, counting exercise) is 2200~ ish. If I move 15-20 km per day, that means I burn 1000+ calories per day. I vary my caloric intake between 2000-2800. Some days I go below 2000 and some days I go above 3000.

Why do I vary so much? Isn't it better to be near 2000 all the time? That was my thought, too, but then I noticed the same pattern as you. When I vary my intake - while still keeping my ceiling in a zone where I lose weight - I've noticed a much smoother - and consistent - downward pattern in my weight, I started at 166 kilos in the beginning.

I'm also going to vary my exercise. Instead of just walking, I'm also building muscles as a secondary option. By diversifying your exercise and your caloric intake, your body is constantly adapting its metabolism. Ask any gym trainer and they'll say that doing the same exercises all the time means that you're reducing the efficiency of said exercises because of muscle memory. I've found the same with calorie intake. Plus you probably took in too few in the beginning.

But remember, in order to vary your intake you need a higher ceiling, and that means you gotta move your *kitten* a lot more

I have seen some images depicted lately of a pound of fat and a pound of muscle and they really opened my eyes. If you have lost 5 lbs so far, then YAY! I don't believe that your current stall will be permanent and I do agree that there is a risk of eating too few calories, but it sounds like you are already looking at ways to review the nutrient density of what you are eating.

Not sure if I can post images to my reply, I will try, or maybe I can post URL's so I will try that, too:

http://missamyscerra.blogspot.com/2011/11/one-pound-of-fat-looks-like-that-live.html

http://guysandgoodhealth.com/2013/04/26/what-are-some-differences-between-fat-and-muscle-tissue/

I hope this makes you feel cheerful seeing how much less of you there is already having lost 5 lbs. Again, YAY!

Hey! Stop kicking yourself in the butt-- all you'll do is make your foot hurt! Be proud of yourself. You did a great thing-- you decided to do something about your weight. And you already proved to yourself that you're capable of losing weight. Like someone said, the weight didn't come on overnight, and it won't come off overnight. Every day, you have to be vigilant. Every day, you have to tell yourself that you can succeed. Just when you think you'll never see the scale move in the right direction, it will happen. I'm only 5'1" (almost), and I weighed 256 on January 1, 2014. I've lost 72 lbs. as of today. Sure, there are days when I could swear that my scale is broken because it seems stuck at a particular number. But there are also days when I could swear that my scale is broken because of the lower numbers I'm seeing. You don't sound any different from most of us on MFP. We have all dealt with this issue at one time or another. Be a little patient, and give things a chance to work. I know you can do this. Good luck!

hmmm some people get drunk on a saturday night and come here and act like big meanie heads.

or so i assume.

anyway. when you are very overweight, a change in diet will cause a large weight loss usually for the first three weeks, maybe two. then that weight loss will decrease to a healthy 1-2 pounds a week, and sometimes nothing.

sometimes it will even go up.

but losing a lot per week after the first few weeks is not even something you want. rapid weight loss is not healthy. i wont go into the details but you should research why, in the long run, you will be better off being patient and learning how to tailor your program, eat enough food so that you can imagine yourself with a better lifestyle, but not so much that you dont lose. and enjoy yourself. dont obsess on what the scale says. it is only part of weight loss. measure yourself. take before pics. do some strength training and cardio so your body looks and works better as you go.

find fun in it.

you will not succeed if you dont find the fun, most likely.

find the fun in making and following your program.

forget about obsessing on the scale. make sure every day you do what you need to do, do something extra to make your body better, and end the day with a calorie deficit.

the beginning is trial and error.