Help! I've been under my daily calories and not losing weight!

Can you open up your diary?

Your ticker says you only have 12 pounds to lose. If he's much more overweight, he's going to lose quicker because he can afford to eat at a greater deficit.

Also, are you weighing your food on a food scale and making sure that the entries you are choosing for your foods are correct? I have noticed that some entries do not match the information found on the food labels.

How many calories are you eating on those cheat days?
Maybe you're overeating and canceling your deficit of the week.

ceoverturf wrote: »

Denisebhenson wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Yep

Denisebhenson wrote: »

We are eating healthy and every 4th or 5th day we are eating more calories to "shock" our system.

You're wiping out your calorie deficits with this completely unnecessary "shock" meal.

That's what I think too.

Maybe you should fast once a week to shock your system into going the other way.

Well, you could be not losing weight for many reasons.

1. Your diet is extremely high in sodium, this is seen many times with people who eat "low calorie microwave meals" or "low calorie / low fat / low sugar" foods. It's best to eat what you want and not have it be a diet food.
2. You're eating a lot of pickled foods, yes they are low in calorie but they cause your body to retain so much water.
3. You're at a plateau, you may want to switch up the types of food you're eating, try eating 200 calories more one day, 200 less the next day. That might break the plateau.
4. You aren't logging your food right. What you think you might have eaten and logged may be more in reality.
5. You have a health problem that doesn't allow your body to lose weight easily (most unlikely of all the reasons).

Good luck with everything and I wish you luck in continuing your weight loss journey.

Denisebhenson wrote: »

I started counting calories and keeping a food journal in January. I lost 6 lbs in 8 weeks, but for the past 2 weeks, I've gained 2 lbs even though I've been under my daily calorie count. We are eating healthy and every 4th or 5th day we are eating more calories to "shock" our system. Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? My husband has been counting calories with me and he has lost 20 lbs. I'm relative active. I go to the YMCA 2 or 3 days per week and work out with weights and walk the treadmill. Getting very disheartened.

There is never a reason to "shock" your system, and the only ways to do that would be by sticking something in a light socket or getting hit by lightning, which I would not advise.

You can eat as healthy as you want, but if you don't eat at a calorie deficit you will not lose weight.

In order to lose weight, you are required to eat less calories than you burn.

If you lose 6 pounds in 8 weeks, that's terrific. That 2 pounds could be natural weight fluctuation, and you just might need patience.

That said: do you weigh your food, log everything you eat, and ensure you are using correct food entries? Do you log your exercise calories and, if so, where do you get those estimates from?

Denisebhenson wrote: »

I drink 8-10 glasses of water per day. On my "cheat" days, I only consume between 1700-1800 calories. A lot of days when I go to log in my calories for the day, it says I haven't consumed enough calories to remain healthy (over 1200). I haven't weighed my veggies, but we do weigh the meats we eat. I'm eating lean meats, veggies, protein shakes, and NO bread.

Youre eating more than you think. If you truly were eating less than 1200 you would not have gained.

Weigh all your food. All of it. And since you say between two numbers, you're also guessing on your shock meal.

You're eating more than you think you are.