The weight should be coming off but it's not?

skiesofsunshine
skiesofsunshine Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm doing everything I should be to lose weight, but it's not coming off and I just feel like screaming. I'm female, 21, 5 foot 1 and 157 pounds. I went from drinking and eating garbage and eating over 2,000 calories a day and hardly exercising. For almost a month now I've been eating only 1100 calories a day, doing 45 minutes of cardio a day and cutting out all potato chips, ice cream, mayo, dressings, cookies, soda, ect. I've been eating fruits,veggies, and droning a ton of water and I lost only one pound. I'm so upset because I've been doing everything I'm supposed to be doing.


Something else I'd like to mention is that my stomach is so bloated all the time and I always look like I'm four months pregnant. One time I took a water pill and I was holding 8 extra pounds of water on me! I just don't get it. I think maybe I need to drink more water. 2 months ago I got off of Paxil that I was on for 8 months and I'm scared that it messed up my metabolism so bad that I'll never be able to lose weight. I'm feeling like I want to give up already because before this year, I would have been losing weight from doing this good. Now, nothing is happening. What can I do and what am I doing wrong? :(
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Replies

  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Do you use a food scale? If not, you are eating more than you think you are.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    1100 calories is too low but you are probably eating more than you realize.
    Get a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING solid that you eat!
    Measure by cups and spoons all liquids.
    Log it all on MFP everyday.
    You will lose.
    Be sure to eat back some exercise calories.
    Drink lots of water but don't take diuretics unless prescibed by your doctor!!!
  • MissTomGettingThin
    MissTomGettingThin Posts: 776 Member
    1100 calories is too low but you are probably eating more than you realize.
    Get a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING solid that you eat!
    Measure by cups and spoons all liquids.
    Log it all on MFP everyday.
    You will lose.
    Be sure to eat back some exercise calories.
    Drink lots of water but don't take diuretics unless prescibed by your doctor!!!

    This
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
    In addition, if you want help - open your diary.
  • dlb777
    dlb777 Posts: 13
    I get the stomach bloat, too. It is extremely frustrating and I have not found an answer yet.
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
    Go here http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator and verify your BMR. If it is around 1600, you should be losing about a pound a week on the rough average. You will have plateaus and days that your body gains due to retention. And then there's muscle.

    Are you seeing any other changes, on your face, hips, or waist? Are you feeling any better? Maybe your body is responding to the exercise and you're trading fat for muscle.

    Make sure that you're measuring your food portions and including condiments like butter, mayo, salad dressing, and etc.. Also make sure that some of your more frequent foods being counted correctly -- maybe the database has some wrong values.

    Also eat your food in three or four meals and avoid snacking or grazing between them. Eating little snacks throughout the day leaves no time for your body to burn body fat for energy, even if you're on a calorie deficit.
  • slg426
    slg426 Posts: 2
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/red-room/undereating_b_4123345.html

    Don't undereat! Also definitely make sure you drink enough water. I bloat an awful lot too, but the more water I drink the less I bloat. I also read that excess sodium is a big contributor to belly bloat!
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
    Make sure you weigh/measure your food/drinks. Log everything. Some people come from certain diets that count fruits and veggies as "free foods" but those calories add up. Also, 1100 is too low. The minimum should be 1200. Be sure to get as accurate as possible when measuring food, and underestimate your exercise burn to avoid overeating when you eat back your exercise calories (MFP and gym machines usually overestimate how much was burned).
  • missrobeena
    missrobeena Posts: 11 Member
    For myself, I found that I got bloated from too much sodium. I used to LOVE salt: processed meats, Chinese food, frozen entrees, etc.. I loved it all. But I also held on to a lot of water weight and constantly felt bloated.

    Now I try to stick to about half of what MFP recommends for sodium and I drink a TON of water (it helps that it's hot as balls right now. Yay summer!) and it's not much of an issue.

    Sometimes if I'm not careful and I have a really salty meal, the scale will say that I've gained anywhere from 1-3 lbs, but with lots of water, it's gone by the next day.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    First, see your doctor. Get some advice there. :)
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    Okay, so you're TDEE is approximately 2,110 calories. My suggestion would be to start back to about 2,010 calories and possibly practice some carb-cycling. Note that you do not eat-back your exercise calories with this method.

    - 2010 calorie nutrition plan:
    Intense exercise days (a walk is not intense, hard strength training, HIIT cardio, etc)
    Fat: 63gm's
    CHO: 221gm's
    Pro: 141gm's

    Non-exercise days or light exercise days (long walk, low intensity cycling, light Yoga)
    Fat: 116gm's
    CHO: 100gm's
    Pro: 141gm's

    Make sure you're measuring your food with a scale, measuring spoons, cups, etc. Know exactly how much of everything you're eating. Watch your sodium intake, could be part of your bloat. If you want to be more aggressive with your nutrition, trying going Keto for TWO weeks, and then go back to carb-cycling. Your two weeks of Keto would look like...

    Fat: 145gm's
    CHO: 35gm's
    Pro: 141gm's

    The purpose is to help improve your insulin sensitivity and get your body use to using fat for fuel. Just my two-cents... Best of luck.

    Edit: If your metabolism truly is messed up, then the last thing you want to do is an extreme calorie deficit. 1100 calories is 50% of your TDEE, not good. You want to try and lose weight on as many calories as possible for long-term success.
  • Missfit35
    Missfit35 Posts: 75
    Quite possible that your body may take some time to reset itself. Don't give up NEVER give up. Continue to diet, maybe weighing your food would be a good idea portion is key in this game. Once your body resets itself the weight will begin to fall, patience is a virtue. Good Luck
  • misselleknits
    misselleknits Posts: 37 Member
    It took me 12 weeks to lose my first pound. Seriously! I had to fiddle with everything on here, MFP says I should be eating about 1400 calories a day just to lose 0.5lbs a week, but doing all the TDEE calculations had me eating more, so once I tried that and stopped eating my exercise calories I started losing.

    The only reason I didn't give up was because I started seeing muscle definition instead of just flabby bits, so I figured something was working
  • skiesofsunshine
    skiesofsunshine Posts: 8 Member
    I definitely know that I'm not eating more than I realize because I'm marking literally everything and I have measuring cups that I use when I eat things like dry cereal, nuts, ect, and most days I have to force myself to eat just to get up to my 1100 minimum. I'm never hungry and not losing weight just makes me want to eat less. The frustration is really getting to me. This is the most serious I've been about losing weight. The first two weeks out of this past four my calorie count was at 1100 but I still was changing my diet, but these past two my diet has become so much healthier. I'm really worried but people keep telling me that it just takes time and that me stressing out so bad can make it a lot harder.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    I definitely know that I'm not eating more than I realize because I'm marking literally everything and I have measuring cups that I use when I eat things like dry cereal, nuts, ect, and most days I have to force myself to eat just to get up to my 1100 minimum. I'm never hungry and not losing weight just makes me want to eat less. The frustration is really getting to me. This is the most serious I've been about losing weight. The first two weeks out of this past four my calorie count was at 1100 but I still was changing my diet, but these past two my diet has become so much healthier. I'm really worried but people keep telling me that it just takes time and that me stressing out so bad can make it a lot harder.

    Don't stress, and this probably won't help that, but:

    They said food scale. You said measuring cup. See the difference?

    Read these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1296011-calorie-counting-101

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • skiesofsunshine
    skiesofsunshine Posts: 8 Member
    These are very helpful posts and I'm going to see what I can do. I think my mother might have a food scale at her house, maybe she'll let me use it. Thanks! :)
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    If you're new to exercise it's possible you are losing fat from the diet but the scale isn't showing it due to water retention from the exercise. Either wait it out or just walk for a week and see what happens.

    Also, if your diet excludes all the foods you love, your patience level will be worse. Eat some food you like. Try to make this a long term thing.

    Good luck!
  • davidpoolman5
    davidpoolman5 Posts: 18
    you have to write down everything you eat and count your macros . You have to have good post workout meals . protien shakes. creatine helps too. Only one cheat day evey 30 days. Have refeed days to even out your macros
  • queenbea77
    queenbea77 Posts: 404 Member
    1100 calories is too low but you are probably eating more than you realize.
    Get a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING solid that you eat!
    Measure by cups and spoons all liquids.
    Log it all on MFP everyday.
    You will lose.
    Be sure to eat back some exercise calories.
    Drink lots of water but don't take diuretics unless prescibed by your doctor!!!

    This

    This
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    Forget about the scale. Has your body changed? Do you own a tape measure?

    Often times, you'll be able to measure the changes in your body more quickly than you'll see movement on the scale. Why? Because your body measurements are actually less affected by water retention than the scale is (which is to say, they are still affected, but not as much).

    Get out your tape measure. Take the following measurements: neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, upper thigh, calves, upper arm and forearm. Write those measurements down. Re-measure each month. *That* will give you a more accurate picture of what's happening with your body than your scale. Although you won't have a point of comparison, I'd be willing to bet that if you had your previous measurements, you'd probably show more progress than that 1 pound the scale is showing.

    And the other suggestions you've been getting here are good as well with regard to sodium intake, making sure your calorie counts are accurate, etc.
  • Jim_Barteck
    Jim_Barteck Posts: 274 Member
    you have to write down everything you eat and count your macros . You have to have good post workout meals . protien shakes. creatine helps too. Only one cheat day evey 30 days. Have refeed days to even out your macros

    Creatine, by its very nature, causes significant water retention in the muscles. It's great for allowing you to lift more weights, but it's going to cause you to gain and retain a decent amount of water weight. It takes about four weeks after stopping creatine supplementation for your muscles to release that water (which is why muscles don't appear as puffy and look more lean after you stop). Just something to be aware of if this is a route you are considering.
  • TheOddOne
    TheOddOne Posts: 45 Member
    Yes, it can be VERY frustrating when you don't see the pounds come off when you KNOW you are doing the all of the "right" things. Just stick with it though. Play around with your intake. Don't eat your exercise calories back.. eat your exercise calories back.. find what works for YOUR body. We're all very different. I find that I bloat if I eat sweets (candies, cakes, etc) and had to cut them out completely. I've replaced them with fruits and I don't have that issue anymore. The bloating may be from something specific your body is reacting to.

    But do not give up. :) Find a fitness partner - someone to help motivate you and you do the same for them. It's better to lose it slowly over time anyway. When I first added exercise to my weight loss journey (I started with getting my diet in check before becoming physically active) I gained weight and it was so discouraging. I had to focus on everything non scale related. How was I feeling? What could I do now that I couldn't do prior to making the decision to become healthy? ... I had more energy and I was able to play with my son more. I could walk for more than 10 minutes without getting out of breath. Exercising and eating healthy do so much more than just make you lose weight. Weight loss will come in time. And if it doesn't, be happy knowing that you are healthy and be proud of yourself for making that commitment to exercise and eat right. :)
  • RamonaFr
    RamonaFr Posts: 112
    Well, you've had lots of good -- although somewhat conflicting -- advice already, but I'll add my two cents' worth. I agree that using a scale is important. Weighing most of your food is more accurate than measuring by volume. Bloating can be caused by many things, it can be hormonal, for instance, or due to excessive salt intake. It can also be due, in my experience, to having a lot of fiber in your diet when you aren't used to fiber.

    Don't give up! You've already put in a month or more -- don't waste it, but keep going. I think 1100 calories is too little, unless you are very petite. Maybe bring it up to at least 1200 calories a day, and if you exercise very hard, eat back some of the exercise calories too.

    Good luck!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I definitely know that I'm not eating more than I realize because I'm marking literally everything and I have measuring cups that I use when I eat things like dry cereal, nuts, ect, and most days I have to force myself to eat just to get up to my 1100 minimum. I'm never hungry and not losing weight just makes me want to eat less. The frustration is really getting to me. This is the most serious I've been about losing weight. The first two weeks out of this past four my calorie count was at 1100 but I still was changing my diet, but these past two my diet has become so much healthier. I'm really worried but people keep telling me that it just takes time and that me stressing out so bad can make it a lot harder.
    Setting any medical conditions aside, if you are not losing weight you are eating too much. This happens by unintentionally underestimating calories in and overestimating calories burned.

    If you were truly eating 1100 calories, you would be losing weight.

    Measuring cups/spoons are deceiving because they never are the same as the actual weight of food. Also, beware of those generic entires in any food database that say small, medium, or large anything at all.

    i have a banana on my oatmeal every morning. If I were to log it in as 110 calories every time, I'd be doomed. In any week, I've bananas with calorie counts of anywhere from 80 calories to 130 calories based on grams.

    Two tablespoons of peanut butter generally weigh more than the 32 grams per two tablespoon serving, so there again a person is eating more calories than he/she thinks.

    Small, medium, and large are in the eye of the beholder, so you could be eating a large apple when you think it's medium or small.

    Weigh all your food instead.

    Also, don't forget about non-calorie beverages, condiments, anything extra you add to your food.

    Do you exercise? If so, where do you get your calorie burns? If you use MFP, gym machines, or any source other than a heart rate monitor, you might want to eat only about 3/4 of those exercise calories back.

    ETA: don't take anymore diuretics. Talk to your doctor about your water retention issues, as it could be something that needs attention.
  • kimpossible262
    kimpossible262 Posts: 7
    I agree with everything everyone said about measuring your food, 1100 calories isn't enough, watch the sodium, etc. Also, you said you're doing 45 mins of cardio. Try some strength training also. It will build lean muscle faster, and more muscle means more fat burn. Let me know if you want some tips on how to do that. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I agree with everything everyone said about measuring your food, 1100 calories isn't enough, watch the sodium, etc. Also, you said you're doing 45 mins of cardio. Try some strength training also. It will build lean muscle faster, and more muscle means more fat burn. Let me know if you want some tips on how to do that. :)
    You don't build muscle at a calorie deficit unless you are a new to weight lifting and/or obese, and even that isn't continual. However, you might reveal muscle that's already there.
  • jameselam12
    jameselam12 Posts: 9
    1100 calories is too low but you are probably eating more than you realize.
    Get a digital food scale and weigh EVERYTHING solid that you eat!
    Measure by cups and spoons all liquids.
    Log it all on MFP everyday.
    You will lose.
    Be sure to eat back some exercise calories.
    Drink lots of water but don't take diuretics unless prescibed by your doctor!!!

    This

    This

    this is exactly right with the added caveat that, like others have said, use the mirror - don't look at the scale exclusively.

    and definitely buy a $15 food scale on amazon if you don't have one. volume and weight are 2 completely different measures - density of food counts. food scale is your friend.

    and patience.
  • kessler4130
    kessler4130 Posts: 150 Member
    Your protein is dangerously low, and calories in general are even more concerning. You could cut weight at 1600 calories a day, 95 grams of protein, 55 grams of fat, and 195 grams of carbs. You are shutting your body down the way you are trying to lose weight.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcM8HablpZk
  • Missfit35
    Missfit35 Posts: 75
    Try Gluten Free Diet here are some facts.

    Fat Loss = How you balance your blood sugar insulin.

    Gluten causes Inflammation and constipation as well

    Processed foods cause BLOATING which is INFLAMMATION. AVOID sucralose, soy, corn ,crackers, microwave diet meals, yogurts,hydrogenated oil, canola oil,margarine, substitute butter products.

    INSTEAD EAT = Quinoa,Fruits,veggies Real butter,eggs,avocado,raw nuts,steak,sweet potato,berries,chocolate,fish,coconut oil accelerators,your metabolism will soar and your weight will drop.

    Carbohydrates AVOID THESE- Whole wheat,bread,processed snacks,pay attention many light dressings have hidden carbs they turn to sugar increase insulin..

    I hope this helps you. I'm uncertain which diet plan you follow but I use Gluten free it works if you work it!

    Counting calories is not always the best for everyone eat gluten free/balanced meals.
  • Kate7294
    Kate7294 Posts: 783 Member
    Looks like you've gotten mostly good advice so far so I'll only add this....as far as the belly bloat I found un-cooked green vegetables like green peppers make me bloat. I had to stop eating broccoli altogether because it caused so much distress; bloating and severe heart burn. You may need to do an elimination thing to see if it's anything your eating. I also have started avoiding or at least limiting peanut butter and peanuts they were causing stomach cramps. I also drink 1/2-1 ounce water per/body weight.

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