Haven't been able to lose a single pound in awhile...

Without seeing your diary it's kind of hard to tell. Can you try to exercise by doing something different than walking, maybe playing a sport ? Shaking your exercise routine a bit might help you.

What kind of food do you eat ? Do you keep track of your sodium intake ? Do you eat processed food ? Do you weight your food on a scale ? Do you drink plenty of water ?

You aren't eating enough...
Ok...for women, the minimum deficit is 1200 cals net/day, men is 1500 cals net/ day.
All you have to do is make sure your net is a minimum of 1200 cals.
If you eat 1200 cals, then burn 400, your deficit is at 800 cals, so you would need to eat that 400 to keep it at 1200. It has been proven in numerous studies that your body CAN, but not always go into starvation mode if you do not get your minimum. Some people hit their starvation mode after others, but it will happen. Not only can this happen, but you are also depleting your body of the nutrients it needs to stay healthy as well as fight off diseases. When your body goes into starvation mode, instead of digesting and dispelling the food you intake, it stores it because it "thinks" it needs it to stay alive. It's like your body is hoarding what it feels it isn't getting enough of.

I heard on a special the other day that you should keep your calories NO less than 1200 per day, other than that your body isnt getting enough to work off of healthy. AND they also said if you reach your plateau, change your diet up some. Instead of eating the regular carrots, turkey, rice or whatever, eat chicken breast, a 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes and green veges. Good luck at reaching your goal weight.

I think that there are possibly 2 solutions:

1.) eat at least 1200 calories a day

2.) make sure you are switching up what you are eating, it's not good for weight loss to constantly be eating the same thing


good luck

Read this:

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan

ETA The net calorie burn of walking is about 50 calories per mile. Are you really walking 8 miles a day? If you aren't, then you aren't burning 400 calories on your walks. Don't forget, when you calculate your net calorie burn, you have to subtract off the calories you would have burned just by existing. For me that's 60 calories an hour.

dont put yourself in starvation mode becase if that happens you dont lose wight

and musle wighes more then fat!!

I think that there are possibly 2 solutions:

1.) eat at least 1200 calories a day

2.) make sure you are switching up what you are eating, it's not good for weight loss to constantly be eating the same thing


good luck

Here is one that I haven't seen anyone else mention.... change what you are doing exercise-wise. The post I quote here, combined with a varied exercise regimin should get you going again. (I'm curious about the post saying you should increse to 1400 calories before dropping back to 1200 though...they may have something there too.) I have now had two trainers tell me that when I hit a plateau I need to alter my workout because my body has adjusted to doing the same thing.

ALSO... Now that I am down 75 lbs and within 10 of my goal, the trainers both tell me to up my calories, eat more protein, and do more strength than cardio. They tell me that I have lost some muscle along with all the fat by doing it mostly with diet and cardio. In order to kill off this last bit of fat I need more lean muscle mass, which will call on the fat reserves for energy when I am lifting.

So my question to you is... What is your body fat percentage? If you don't know, go get a pinch test done. If you are in the healthy range, then your goal may be unrealistic. If it's a little high, then you might try what I'm doing now.

I tell you what I done! I was undereating. Starving myself. NO weight loss, lack of energy and motivation almost gone. I up my calorie intake and took up jogging ang lift weights 3 days a week. I am now seeing the weights go down again. Dont give up. You have to remind yourself what brought you here in the first place. Good luck!!

1) I would say slowly but consistently up your calories. 50 cals every 2-3 days

2) Are you listing yourself as 'lightly active'? If not, make sure to log soccer and Lacrosse pratice as well as your walks. You calorie goal is in NET calories, not TOTAL (so you have to eat 1200, PLUS what you burn at soccer/lacrosse/running, usually 1500-2200 would be my estimate, depending on how long practice is)