HELP! Not losing weight even I eat a lot or very little?

First of all, I'm really sorry for this long post, but I hope you guys can bear with me, coz I really need help from you guys on losing weight. Thanks a lot!

Hi, I'm a 21 years old female. I'm 104 pounds, 5 feet.
I calculated my TDEE is 2200 and my recommended daily calorie intake to lose weight is 1700.
For the past 3 months, I've been doing HIIT training and strength training for 5-6 days a week. I eat healthily but I consume very little calories, around 600-800 calories per day.
This is becoz I eat lesser carbs, more protein and veges and hence I find them difficult to add up to many calories.
However, I found my diet comfortable for myself, I never felt hungry.
I've lost only very little weight about 2 pounds, but I've lost a bit of inches around my arms and thighs, they look more defined, my tummy was flat and my abs were getting obvious too.

I'm quite satisfy with my results but I'm also disappointed that the stubborn fats on my arms and thighs just didn't go off, and I had been losing too little after hard work for 3 months.

I thought becoz I've been eating too little, my metabolic rate dropped, hence it's very difficult for me to lose weight, and so I've decided to try eating more starting from this month.
I've also started Insanity workout for one month.
My daily calorie intake increases to about 1200 calories per day, but I'm still not losing weight, nor losing inches.
In fact, I feel that my tummy gets bigger, my face gets fatter and I feel "fat" overall as I'm constantly hungry and constantly eating.
I'm not sure whether I feel constantly hungry becoz Insanity workout has raised my metabolic rate, or becoz I just tend to feel more hungry when I start to eat more this month.
I also eat more carbs than I used to be as carbs makes me feel more full. (But I'm still consuming a balanced and healthy diet)
The most disappointing point is that my abs that I've built so hard are not that obvious anymore since the fats on my tummy are increasing.

I know my daily calorie intake is still below my recommended daily intake. I can never hit 1700 calories. They just seem too much for me. I'm already feeling very full by eating 1200 calories.
However, I wouldn't mind to increase my intake to 1700 calories if it really helps me losing weight.
My problem now is I'm really lost and I don't know how much should I eat.
Since I get better results by eating 600-800 calories and worse results eating 1200 calories, I have a little bit of fear to increase my calories further more.. Or should I? I'm really afraid that I will gain back the weight I've lost by eating more.

I've in a plateau for years and I really hope to break this plateau.
I feel so frustrated and lost.
I've thought about doing Insanty twice a day, 12 times a week hoping to break the plateau, but I'm not sure is this a good idea since I've heard succesful stories by just doing Insanity 6 times a week.
Sorry for the long post and I hope you guys can help me out by giving me suggestions on should I eat more or less.
Thank you so much!

Replies

  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    You don't need to lose weight. You're screwing up your metabolism with your VLCD and exercise trying hit a number on the scale.

    It sounds to me like your goal is more about losing fat and increasing your muscle definition, in which case you want to do a body recomp, and not weight loss. I know this is going to sound odd, but you would probably be better off doing a bulk and cut cycle, or a slow recomp, which means lifting heavy (for you) weights and eating at a slight deficit. The idea is to increase your muscle (you won't get bulky) and burn off the fat. The number on the scale may not vary, but your overall measurements will be smaller.

    Not saying you want to necessarily have this look, but here's a good example of body recomposition:

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    You don't need to lose weight. You're screwing up your metabolism with your VLCD and exercise trying hit a number on the scale.

    It sounds to me like your goal is more about losing fat and increasing your muscle definition, in which case you want to do a body recomp, and not weight loss. I know this is going to sound odd, but you would probably be better off doing a bulk and cut cycle, or a slow recomp, which means lifting heavy (for you) weights and eating at a slight deficit. The idea is to increase your muscle (you won't get bulky) and burn off the fat. The number on the scale may not vary, but your overall measurements will be smaller.

    Not saying you want to necessarily have this look, but here's a good example of body recomposition:

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/


    Thanks for the link to the inspiring story! She looks really great!
    Yeah, my goal is to lose fats and gain muscles. I don't really care about the numbers on the scale if I'm gaining muscles, but the thing is I don't see I gain muscles or lose any fats. Or is it just too slow to be noticable?
    So, do you mean that I should do more strength training apart from doing Insanity? (I've stopped my strength training since I started Insanity as the program incorporates strength training).
    Also, from the blog, it seems that she focused more on strength training, but it didnt mention much about her doing cardios.
    So, should I focus more on cardios or strength training for now?
    I've always think that no matter how much I lift, if I don't do enough cardios, my muscles will just be covered by my fats. Hence, I've decided to start Insanity as it's an intense workout to help me burn off more calories.
    Thank u so much!
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    So your goal weight is 95? I don't think that's healthy. You are at the ideal weight for your height. If you undertake insanity you will have to up the calories and carb load I think. You are hungry alot because your body is starving it needs those cals for those intense workouts. Or you will start eating muscle. Eating more wull help you trim down. The scale may not reflect this and should not be looked at at this point you are looking more for inches lost and definition bc your body may not need to lose any more in weight but only in inches.
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    There is this guy who is on youtube he is a bodybuilder he used to be a anorexic and has since built his body up he weighed 120 now he is 250 he looks amazing. Very fit. He does a vidio think called drastic transformation. I think his dangerous pete or something pete. His vids are very good. Might be helpful to you to get you on right track.
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    So your goal weight is 95? I don't think that's healthy. You are at the ideal weight for your height. If you undertake insanity you will have to up the calories and carb load I think. You are hungry alot because your body is starving it needs those cals for those intense workouts. Or you will start eating muscle. Eating more wull help you trim down. The scale may not reflect this and should not be looked at at this point you are looking more for inches lost and definition bc your body may not need to lose any more in weight but only in inches.

    Thank you so much for the advice, I'll try to add more calories then!
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    There is this guy who is on youtube he is a bodybuilder he used to be a anorexic and has since built his body up he weighed 120 now he is 250 he looks amazing. Very fit. He does a vidio think called drastic transformation. I think his dangerous pete or something pete. His vids are very good. Might be helpful to you to get you on right track.

    Thank you, I'll definitely check it out!
  • I think you damage you're metabolic rate by consuming very little calories and you're daily energy expenditure is very high. Our bodies try to adapt to these low calories in VS. high calories lost, which is called homeostasis. Since you're doing insanity 2x a day everyday and eating 600-800 calories, i recommend you to do what is called a reverse diet. Basically the goal is to get you're maintenance calories back up (so it will be easier for you to drop weight after since you're maintenance calories is higher) and bring you're cardio (insanity) back down to normal levels (so you can do less and still lose weight because of homeostasis) to start losing weight again. An easy way to break down what to do is, add 100-200 calories per week and watch you're weight, if you lose weight the next week keep increasing you're caloric intake, if you gain weight stay at the same calories for the following week, at the same time reduce you're insanity sessions accordingly (but when reducing you're insanity session make sure you don't add too much calories since you're energy expenditure is going down). Reverse diet till you calories you eat stay stable for weeks or until you feel better (mentally and functionally).
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    I think you damage you're metabolic rate by consuming very little calories and you're daily energy expenditure is very high. Our bodies try to adapt to these low calories in VS. high calories lost, which is called homeostasis. Since you're doing insanity 2x a day everyday and eating 600-800 calories, i recommend you to do what is called a reverse diet. Basically the goal is to get you're maintenance calories back up (so it will be easier for you to drop weight after since you're maintenance calories is higher) and bring you're cardio (insanity) back down to normal levels (so you can do less and still lose weight because of homeostasis) to start losing weight again. An easy way to break down what to do is, add 100-200 calories per week and watch you're weight, if you lose weight the next week keep increasing you're caloric intake, if you gain weight stay at the same calories for the following week, at the same time reduce you're insanity sessions accordingly (but when reducing you're insanity session make sure you don't add too much calories since you're energy expenditure is going down). Reverse diet till you calories you eat stay stable for weeks or until you feel better (mentally and functionally).

    Thank you for your advice, I'll try to increase my calories slowly!
    Anyway, you might have misunderstood. In my post, I mentioned that I start eating more (about 1200 calories) since I started Insanity, and for now I'm only doing Insanity one time per day. I planned to increase to twice a day to burn more calories since I didn't see much fat loss, but I'm still considering whether is it a good idea.
  • In that case i suggest you stay at one session of insanity a day because cardio is only the icing on the cake and nutrition is the cake. You should slowly increase calories weekly and track you're weight daily to make a 7 day running average, and stop when you keep gaining weight when you add calories. You'll be able to tell when you're calories become a maintenance calories and unable to keep adding. And from there to lose weight you want to slowly lose weight(meaning reducing calories slowly) and making sure once you finish losing weight you another reverse diet.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
    It's nice to see OP reply to their own threads, gotta love your enthusiasm! I would like to gently ask, are you sure what you see as 'fat' is actually fat? Sometimes the way we see ourselves is not accurate.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    You don't need to lose weight. You're screwing up your metabolism with your VLCD and exercise trying hit a number on the scale.

    It sounds to me like your goal is more about losing fat and increasing your muscle definition, in which case you want to do a body recomp, and not weight loss. I know this is going to sound odd, but you would probably be better off doing a bulk and cut cycle, or a slow recomp, which means lifting heavy (for you) weights and eating at a slight deficit. The idea is to increase your muscle (you won't get bulky) and burn off the fat. The number on the scale may not vary, but your overall measurements will be smaller.

    Not saying you want to necessarily have this look, but here's a good example of body recomposition:

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/


    Thanks for the link to the inspiring story! She looks really great!
    Yeah, my goal is to lose fats and gain muscles. I don't really care about the numbers on the scale if I'm gaining muscles, but the thing is I don't see I gain muscles or lose any fats. Or is it just too slow to be noticable?
    So, do you mean that I should do more strength training apart from doing Insanity? (I've stopped my strength training since I started Insanity as the program incorporates strength training).
    Also, from the blog, it seems that she focused more on strength training, but it didnt mention much about her doing cardios.
    So, should I focus more on cardios or strength training for now?
    I've always think that no matter how much I lift, if I don't do enough cardios, my muscles will just be covered by my fats. Hence, I've decided to start Insanity as it's an intense workout to help me burn off more calories.
    Thank u so much!
    You want to gain some muscle? I'm going to be blunt.

    Cut out this very low calorie diet nonsense. You CAN eat more if you want to by adding in some calorie dense foods. Nuts. legumes, avocado, etc. etc.

    If you want to gain muscle, you MUST increase your calories to your TDEE or slightly above and weight lift. Get yourself to the gym three times a week and do some heavy weight lifting. Squats,lunges, rows, bench press. Find a program that fits you. After doing some routines from New Rules of Weigh Lifting for Women, along with high intensity interval training between sets I tried Strong lifts. HATED it. Went back to my old routine and I'm doing peachy creamy now. Google for a routine that works for you, or buy/borrow New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women.

    You do not need to lose any weight at all.

    Best of luck to you. :smile:
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    In that case i suggest you stay at one session of insanity a day because cardio is only the icing on the cake and nutrition is the cake. You should slowly increase calories weekly and track you're weight daily to make a 7 day running average, and stop when you keep gaining weight when you add calories. You'll be able to tell when you're calories become a maintenance calories and unable to keep adding. And from there to lose weight you want to slowly lose weight(meaning reducing calories slowly) and making sure once you finish losing weight you another reverse diet.

    Thanks a lot for the info!
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    It's nice to see OP reply to their own threads, gotta love your enthusiasm! I would like to gently ask, are you sure what you see as 'fat' is actually fat? Sometimes the way we see ourselves is not accurate.

    Thanks for your reply as well! Yeah, I know how we see might not be accurate, but generally I can see that my tummy becomes slightly bigger, and my abs are less obvious, as compared to last time.
    Of course, it might just be my own illusion or psychological reaction.
    But what Im sure is that I did not lose inches nor lose weight for this month, and so i really hope to cut down those fats around my thighs, arms and belly.
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
    It's nice to see OP reply to their own threads, gotta love your enthusiasm! I would like to gently ask, are you sure what you see as 'fat' is actually fat? Sometimes the way we see ourselves is not accurate.

    Thanks for your reply as well! Yeah, I know how we see might not be accurate, but generally I can see that my tummy becomes slightly bigger, and my abs are less obvious, as compared to last time.
    Of course, it might just be my own illusion or psychological reaction.
    But what Im sure is that I did not lose inches nor lose weight for this month, and so i really hope to cut down those fats around my thighs, arms and belly.

    Just remember that you can't spot reduce. A calorie surplus and weight training (plus cardio) is what helps you tone and build muscle, but you can't really choose where you lose. It comes off when it comes off, so don't be discouraged if you follow the advice and don't see the results you want right away.
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    You want to gain some muscle? I'm going to be blunt.

    Cut out this very low calorie diet nonsense. You CAN eat more if you want to by adding in some calorie dense foods. Nuts. legumes, avocado, etc. etc.

    If you want to gain muscle, you MUST increase your calories to your TDEE or slightly above and weight lift. Get yourself to the gym three times a week and do some heavy weight lifting. Squats,lunges, rows, bench press. Find a program that fits you. After doing some routines from New Rules of Weigh Lifting for Women, along with high intensity interval training between sets I tried Strong lifts. HATED it. Went back to my old routine and I'm doing peachy creamy now. Google for a routine that works for you, or buy/borrow New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women.

    You do not need to lose any weight at all.

    Best of luck to you. :smile:

    Thank you so much! I've been lifting a lot of weights in the gym for 5-6 times a week, for the past 3 months.
    However, by focusing so much on strength training, my cardios were not as intense as doing Insanity.
    For the past 3 months, my cardios are just 20-30 mins of HIIT training on the treadmill everyday before strength training, sometimes swimming on days that I don't feel like running.
    Since I see that the fats hanging around my arms and thighs are still a lot and unbearable, hence I've decided to stop going to the gym during this month and start Insanity to burn off more fats.
    The reason that I stop going to gym when i start Insanity is that I felt that there's already strength training incorporated in the programme and I see people have gained beautiful muscles which are more defined at the end of the program, even without liftimg weights.
    So, do you recommend that I stop Insanity and instead go back to lifting weights in the gym and do HIIT on the treadmill?
    Or should I go to the gym but at the same time continue Insanity?
    I MIGHT not be able to do both together everyday, as u know, it's already feel like dying doing insanity everyday. But I can try to if it really does help!
    Thanks in advance!
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    Just remember that you can't spot reduce. A calorie surplus and weight training (plus cardio) is what helps you tone and build muscle, but you can't really choose where you lose. It comes off when it comes off, so don't be discouraged if you follow the advice and don't see the results you want right away.

    So sorry, but I'm a bit confused here. You've mentioned calorie surplus to gain muscles, but I thought that to burn fats, we are supposed to have a calorie deficit? So if I have a calorie surplus, how am I supposed to gain muscles while lose fats?
    Thanks for the encouragement too, i will not give up and will continue to work harder. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    You want to gain some muscle? I'm going to be blunt.

    Cut out this very low calorie diet nonsense. You CAN eat more if you want to by adding in some calorie dense foods. Nuts. legumes, avocado, etc. etc.

    If you want to gain muscle, you MUST increase your calories to your TDEE or slightly above and weight lift. Get yourself to the gym three times a week and do some heavy weight lifting. Squats,lunges, rows, bench press. Find a program that fits you. After doing some routines from New Rules of Weigh Lifting for Women, along with high intensity interval training between sets I tried Strong lifts. HATED it. Went back to my old routine and I'm doing peachy creamy now. Google for a routine that works for you, or buy/borrow New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women.

    You do not need to lose any weight at all.

    Best of luck to you. :smile:

    Thank you so much! I've been lifting a lot of weights in the gym for 5-6 times a week, for the past 3 months.
    However, by focusing so much on strength training, my cardios were not as intense as doing Insanity.
    For the past 3 months, my cardios are just 20-30 mins of HIIT training on the treadmill everyday before strength training, sometimes swimming on days that I don't feel like running.
    Since I see that the fats hanging around my arms and thighs are still a lot and unbearable, hence I've decided to stop going to the gym during this month and start Insanity to burn off more fats.
    The reason that I stop going to gym when i start Insanity is that I felt that there's already strength training incorporated in the programme and I see people have gained beautiful muscles which are more defined at the end of the program, even without liftimg weights.
    So, do you recommend that I stop Insanity and instead go back to lifting weights in the gym and do HIIT on the treadmill?
    Or should I go to the gym but at the same time continue Insanity?
    I MIGHT not be able to do both together everyday, as u know, it's already feel like dying doing insanity everyday. But I can try to if it really does help!
    Thanks in advance!
    I don't know anything about the Insanity workout program. Is that weight lifting or cardio? Weight lifting is how you build muscles, cardio builds endurance. You need to eat more, though, to support your workouts. You are already pretty small as it is.
    Just remember that you can't spot reduce. A calorie surplus and weight training (plus cardio) is what helps you tone and build muscle, but you can't really choose where you lose. It comes off when it comes off, so don't be discouraged if you follow the advice and don't see the results you want right away.

    So sorry, but I'm a bit confused here. You've mentioned calorie surplus to gain muscles, but I thought that to burn fats, we are supposed to have a calorie deficit? So if I have a calorie surplus, how am I supposed to gain muscles while lose fats?
    Thanks for the encouragement too, i will not give up and will continue to work harder. :)

    You absolutely can't pick a part of your body and make it smaller. Burning fat means you are on a campaign to lose weight, which i not good due to your already low weight. You also don't gain muscles and lose fat at the same time. With a calorie deficit, you lose fat. With maintenance or slightly above, you generally grow some muscles. However, it takes a long time and dedication to achieve Measurements are essential when weight lifting to try and grow some muscles.

    I am 52 and cannot tell you the amazing changes I've seen in my body from weight lifting, especially AFTER losing the weight and eating at maintenance, and sometimes slightly above, and heavy lifting three times a week.
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
    Just remember that you can't spot reduce. A calorie surplus and weight training (plus cardio) is what helps you tone and build muscle, but you can't really choose where you lose. It comes off when it comes off, so don't be discouraged if you follow the advice and don't see the results you want right away.

    So sorry, but I'm a bit confused here. You've mentioned calorie surplus to gain muscles, but I thought that to burn fats, we are supposed to have a calorie deficit? So if I have a calorie surplus, how am I supposed to gain muscles while lose fats?
    Thanks for the encouragement too, i will not give up and will continue to work harder. :)

    It depends on what you want to do first. Staying at maintenance with exercise will put you in a calorie deficit unless you eat back the calories you burn (which most people recommend). Eating at a surplus with exercise and eating back calories will build muscle and help define your body- it's what a lot of people call body re-composition. Either way, you can't pick where you'll tone or build muscle.
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    I don't know anything about the Insanity workout program. Is that weight lifting or cardio? Weight lifting is how you build muscles, cardio builds endurance. You need to eat more, though, to support your workouts. You are already pretty small as it is.

    Insanity workout is a 45 mins HIIT session, 6 days per week, it does a lot of cardios, with a lot of jumps, so it's really intense.
    It also incorporates a lot of push ups, squats, abs exercises etc., so generally it helps to lose fats while building more defined and toned muscles.
    You can check Insanity out in youtube and so far I feel that it's a really great workout. :)
    You absolutely can't pick a part of your body and make it smaller. Burning fat means you are on a campaign to lose weight, which i not good due to your already low weight. You also don't gain muscles and lose fat at the same time. With a calorie deficit, you lose fat. With maintenance or slightly above, you generally grow some muscles. However, it takes a long time and dedication to achieve Measurements are essential when weight lifting to try and grow some muscles.

    I am 52 and cannot tell you the amazing changes I've seen in my body from weight lifting, especially AFTER losing the weight and eating at maintenance, and sometimes slightly above, and heavy lifting three times a week.

    Wow, glad to hear that and it's really inspiring that you are so determined! :)
    You've mentioned that we can't lose fats and grow muscles at the same time. But according to what I've known, we must lose those fats that cover the muscles, in order for the muscles to be visible, isn't it?
    Thanks a lot.
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    It depends on what you want to do first. Staying at maintenance with exercise will put you in a calorie deficit unless you eat back the calories you burn (which most people recommend). Eating at a surplus with exercise and eating back calories will build muscle and help define your body- it's what a lot of people call body re-composition. Either way, you can't pick where you'll tone or build muscle.

    Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation! It certainly helps. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I don't know anything about the Insanity workout program. Is that weight lifting or cardio? Weight lifting is how you build muscles, cardio builds endurance. You need to eat more, though, to support your workouts. You are already pretty small as it is.

    Insanity workout is a 45 mins HIIT session, 6 days per week, it does a lot of cardios, with a lot of jumps, so it's really intense.
    It also incorporates a lot of push ups, squats, abs exercises etc., so generally it helps to lose fats while building more defined and toned muscles.
    You can check Insanity out in youtube and so far I feel that it's a really great workout. :)
    You absolutely can't pick a part of your body and make it smaller. Burning fat means you are on a campaign to lose weight, which i not good due to your already low weight. You also don't gain muscles and lose fat at the same time. With a calorie deficit, you lose fat. With maintenance or slightly above, you generally grow some muscles. However, it takes a long time and dedication to achieve Measurements are essential when weight lifting to try and grow some muscles.

    I am 52 and cannot tell you the amazing changes I've seen in my body from weight lifting, especially AFTER losing the weight and eating at maintenance, and sometimes slightly above, and heavy lifting three times a week.

    Wow, glad to hear that and it's really inspiring that you are so determined! :)
    You've mentioned that we can't lose fats and grow muscles at the same time. But according to what I've known, we must lose those fats that cover the muscles, in order for the muscles to be visible, isn't it?
    Thanks a lot.
    Here's my understanding. When you lose weight (fat), you reveal any muscles that were beneath the fat. You don't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, except for newbie gains or if you are very obese and doing heavy weight training with your dietary plan.

    To gain muscle, you must eat at maintenance or a calorie deficit and it takes a long time to build. Measurements are the most accurate way to see if you are building muscle. In other words, if your weight is the same or you have gained a pound or two over a period of time but your measurements have decreased (and keep in mind they often don't decrease in all places all at once or even in proportions you think they should) and your clothes are feeling looser, you have most likely gained some muscle. Why? Because muscle is more dense than fat and fits into a smaller space. Of course, this is for women. Men generally bulk up.

    This is why you can stand two women next to each other--one who is 130 pounds and wears a size four to six and another who is 130 and wears a size six to eight--changes are the former weight lifts and the latter does not.
  • natalwen
    natalwen Posts: 14
    Here's my understanding. When you lose weight (fat), you reveal any muscles that were beneath the fat. You don't gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, except for newbie gains or if you are very obese and doing heavy weight training with your dietary plan.

    To gain muscle, you must eat at maintenance or a calorie deficit and it takes a long time to build. Measurements are the most accurate way to see if you are building muscle. In other words, if your weight is the same or you have gained a pound or two over a period of time but your measurements have decreased (and keep in mind they often don't decrease in all places all at once or even in proportions you think they should) and your clothes are feeling looser, you have most likely gained some muscle. Why? Because muscle is more dense than fat and fits into a smaller space. Of course, this is for women. Men generally bulk up.

    This is why you can stand two women next to each other--one who is 130 pounds and wears a size four to six and another who is 130 and wears a size six to eight--changes are the former weight lifts and the latter does not.

    Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I think I'll eat at maintenance calories and increase my strength training then. Thanks!