5'5" @ 163 lbs, been logging for 37 days, only 1.5 lbs lost!!! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

well you aren't being accurate enough, if you were eating an actual 1400 cals you would have dropped a lot more weight, buy a digital food scale and measure every single thing you consume, that's the only way to be sure.

You should actually be eating between 2000, and 2100 calories per day at maintanence, so knock just a couple hundred off of there, and you're talking about 1600-1800 calories per day for sustainble weightloss.

If you were truly eating 1400 calories per day, you'd be losing more weight, and would likely be extremely lethargic considering 1400 is under even your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

You're eating more calories than you believe. You should be using a food scale, and the grams measurements on the nutrition label rather than the cup measurements. 1.5 pounds in 5 weeks is still at a deficit, so you're at least doing something right. But .3lb/wk might be a little too slow, so the deficit isn't quite enough.

I wouldn't push it too hard though, you're still going to be looking at between 0.5 - 1lb/wk to do this in a healthy way, and not just randomly blackout while walking down the sidewalk because you're starving yourself.

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

You should actually be eating between 2000, and 2100 calories per day at maintanence, so knock just a couple hundred off of there, and you're talking about 1600-1800 calories per day for sustainble weightloss.

If you were truly eating 1400 calories per day, you'd be losing more weight, and would likely be extremely lethargic considering 1400 is under even your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

Without knowing her current height/weight/activity level (and I apologize if I've missed this), I'm not sure its fair to make an assessment of what her calories should be. I eat at 1400 calories/day, plus any fitbit adjustment/exercise, consistently since May, and I've never once felt lethargic. Well okay, maybe the morning after a few glasses of wine, but thats not my calorie intake.

It really comes down to accurate logging. Without it, its hard to tell. There are days I feel like I eat like a cow, and stay within. Other days I feel like I made great choices, but they add up.

A fitbit is great. I use one too.

If you can open your diary, it will be easier to give help.

brightsideofpink wrote: »

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

You should actually be eating between 2000, and 2100 calories per day at maintanence, so knock just a couple hundred off of there, and you're talking about 1600-1800 calories per day for sustainble weightloss.

If you were truly eating 1400 calories per day, you'd be losing more weight, and would likely be extremely lethargic considering 1400 is under even your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

Without knowing her current height/weight/activity level (and I apologize if I've missed this), I'm not sure its fair to make an assessment of what her calories should be. I eat at 1400 calories/day, plus any fitbit adjustment/exercise, consistently since May, and I've never once felt lethargic. Well okay, maybe the morning after a few glasses of wine, but thats not my calorie intake.

It really comes down to accurate logging. Without it, its hard to tell. There are days I feel like I eat like a cow, and stay within. Other days I feel like I made great choices, but they add up.

A fitbit is great. I use one too.

If you can open your diary, it will be easier to give help.

This.

do your clothes feel looser? If you have been exercising, you may have lost some fat but added muscle tissue.

brightsideofpink wrote: »

peachyfuzzle wrote: »

You should actually be eating between 2000, and 2100 calories per day at maintanence, so knock just a couple hundred off of there, and you're talking about 1600-1800 calories per day for sustainble weightloss.

If you were truly eating 1400 calories per day, you'd be losing more weight, and would likely be extremely lethargic considering 1400 is under even your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).

Without knowing her current height/weight/activity level (and I apologize if I've missed this), I'm not sure its fair to make an assessment of what her calories should be. I eat at 1400 calories/day, plus any fitbit adjustment/exercise, consistently since May, and I've never once felt lethargic. Well okay, maybe the morning after a few glasses of wine, but thats not my calorie intake.

It really comes down to accurate logging. Without it, its hard to tell. There are days I feel like I eat like a cow, and stay within. Other days I feel like I made great choices, but they add up.

A fitbit is great. I use one too.

If you can open your diary, it will be easier to give help.

It's right in the title. 5'5" 163, and then the original post is "almost 30."

Either way, it comes down to if you're not losing weight as quickly as you believe you should be, you're eating too close to your maintenance.

I've been logging my food for over 100 days and working out consistently for seven weeks (running) and I have not lost anything. It is really frustrating so I understand your feelings. I think every body is different. Just keep doing what you're doing. Sorry!

Your average intake over the 37 complete days is 1,620 calories per day, assuming that you're counting accurately. You're close enough to my size for approximation purposes, and consume fewer calories than I do; I'd lose almost exactly a pound a week on average at your intake.

I suspect you're losing slowly enough that an actual loss is being masked by water weight. I personally do not see a lot of water weight fluctuation (+/- 2 pounds would be an extreme outlier in daily scale change for me), and if I calculate my scale movement over a 37-day period, there's one 37-day period in there where my end weight was only 2.0 pounds lower than my start weight. I've also got a 37-day period where my end weight was 7.2 pounds lower than my start weight. My actual loss averages more like 0.9 pounds a week, or 4.75 pounds over 37 days.

There are a bunch of websites that will calculate the trend in your weight, attempting to separate out random fluctuation from actual fat loss. You might find that to be helpful in keeping you motivated.

"Pretty accurate" isn't enough. If you're going to count calories, you have to weigh (to the gram!) everything you eat. Weigh every solid and measure liquids!

Nope, it doesn't take your body months. It will lose immediately when you burn more than swallow.

Stop eliminating sugar. You can't eliminate it from your body, even if you try. If you literally swallowed NO carbs, your body would make it's own sugar. Sugar is vital. You cannot exist without it. This "sugar is toxic" stuff is BS from people who don't know what the hell they're talking about. You've been poorly advised.

Eat fruit!!

In fact, swap out sugar for fiber in the tracking. Fiber is important (keeps you FULL and keeps you regular!) and fruit gives you nutrients that your body needs. It's yummy, too.

Stop fad dieting and get serious. That means lots of fruits and veggies! You want to be good to your body.

http://www.fitness.gov/eat-healthy/how-to-eat-healthy/

You're off to a good start! You've lost some weight and that's awesome! Now, it's time to start doing it right.

Also, try swimming. Swimming burns more calories that anything, is easy to do, doesn't feel like you're working out - no hot and sweatiness, is easy on the joints and the water is ONE place where being fat cannot hold you back. (I always plug it, lol.)

It's a lot of hard work, this losing weight thing. But you can do it!

Another vote for the food scale. You can't possibly be anywhere near accurate measuring solids in cups. Also, for basic fruits, vegetables and meats, find the entries in the database that don't have an asterisk next to them. These ones are MFP-entered and more likely to be accurate.

Hey! I recently started about the same time as you and I had only lost 2lbs as well until this past week! I was working out 3-5 times a week and incorporating weight training as well. I have noticed myself getting significantly stronger in my workouts / ability (like I am able to run almost 5 miles at 11min/hr now!!). I am 5'9" and 178 lbs and barely over 30 so we are close. My body structure is probably medium to large and I build muscle pretty fast (I'm pretty active even before this).

I accurately took measurements in my bust, under bust, waist, hips, thighs, and arms when I started and a month after. After a month, I lost 10" over all of them in the same time it took me to lose 2 lbs. I notice my clothes fitting better and I have been able to fit into clothes I wasn't before but just this past week all of a sudden weight starting decreasing dramatically (well 2 lbs this week, dramatic compared to before). I truly believe you build up your muscle first and then your body will start shedding fat / weight. Also I think my muscle gain was more significant than my weight loss so it just didn't show on the scale. I also started drinking a TON more water (my water weight does have a tendency to fluctuate as well).

I also had been accurately monitoring my calorie intake and kept it under 1400, and that isn't accounting for my exercise unless it was heavy exercise. Hope this helps! I am in the same boat....175.2 lbs today after four weeks of NO weight loss past that first 2 lbs in the first week. Yay!

Some of the people commenting here have been awesome, some are really snarky and rude, sorry about that. I will tell you that I do NOT believe you need a food scale and start measuring grams if you are honest with yourself about proportions. 100 calorie "miss" shouldn't prevent you from completely losing weight at all, just make sure you are accurate. I WILL say I used a food scale when I was first learning to measure my intake years back (when i lost weight before) and it's a good learning experience just to be able to identify proper serving sizes if you don't have good knowledge on that.

In the end, if I'm losing inches then I can care less what my weight is. I am making a lifestyle change if that means my loss is slower so I can still live my life, so be it. So if your experience is like mine, maybe we are BOTH special snowflakes and it really DOES take a month or so to lose weight while your body builds up muscle.

Runyan2002 wrote: »

Oh and I DEFINITELY yo-yo'ed that first month. This past week has been more straight loss, but the first four weeks have been from 1-4 lbs weight loss back and forth! It drives me insane! Hopefully my body keeps up the losing streak. LOL!

Which is probably because you aren't weighing your food so you don't really know what you are eating. Politeness doesn't ensure correctness.