Why am I not losing weight?

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,412 MFP Moderator
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    ps: I think her body looks sortta unhealthy. I can't quite pinpoint it, but there is something odd looking to her arms and shoulders. You look rather thin from your avatar pic (although I can't see your entire body)...maybe you are at your healthy weight already, but just need to do more exercises to get toned :smile: Good luck!!!

    It's because she has almost zero muscle. She is what you would call skinny fat. I bet if you ran her bf%, you will notice it's really high. that is what happens when all you do is control your eating and not adding weight lifting. It's why many people on weight watchers lose a lot of weight but have stuff like excess skin or look like twigs. I think it's a good program (hell my friends dad lost 65 lbs) but he looks like he could use some weight lifting.
  • cheesesandwich
    cheesesandwich Posts: 79 Member
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    ps: I think her body looks sortta unhealthy. I can't quite pinpoint it, but there is something odd looking to her arms and shoulders. You look rather thin from your avatar pic (although I can't see your entire body)...maybe you are at your healthy weight already, but just need to do more exercises to get toned :smile: Good luck!!!

    It's because she has almost zero muscle. She is what you would call skinny fat. I bet if you ran her bf%, you will notice it's really high. that is what happens when all you do is control your eating and not adding weight lifting. It's why many people on weight watchers lose a lot of weight but have stuff like excess skin or look like twigs. I think it's a good program (hell my friends dad lost 65 lbs) but he looks like he could use some weight lifting.

    Can we not do this? You cannot judge her health, or anyone else's, by the way her body looks. Calling her unhealthy because of the "odd" look of her shoulders being skinny is no different than calling a larger person unhealthy because you can't see their collar bone. We can be healthy at all sizes, kids. Let's not body shame here.
    And I'd hardly call her skinny fat. She's very thin and doesn't have large muscles bulging out, but there is some obvious tone there if you scroll through her later pictures, especially in her legs.

    Having said that, to the OP: Girl. The Tumblr "fitness" community will drive you crazy, don't judge yourself by the standards of people you don't even know! I know scrolling through all that inspiration and before/afters gets overwhelming, but you really need to focus on what's best for your body, not what someone else did to lose weight quickly.
  • kaitlinmre
    kaitlinmre Posts: 86 Member
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    So how does one become skinny fat? Maybe my perceptions are warped, but I'd rather look like that girl than Jillian Michaels.
  • dancam1
    dancam1 Posts: 7
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    I don't know if any of the others that have replied to your post have looked at the web site you provided but in a few of those pictures she looks sick. Good luck to her if she can keep it off but she looks unhealthy.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    So how does one become skinny fat? Maybe my perceptions are warped, but I'd rather look like that girl than Jillian Michaels.

    By losing lots of lean mass (muscle), and being thin but having a high percentage of body fat (not healthy, as it places lots of stress on heart/circulation and bones).

    That's going from one extreme to another. You don't have to get "big" muscles like JM, or be too thin/flabby - there is a middle ground. Eat healthy, do some exercise and you'll find the middle ground.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Also don't take the "if you ate like this everyday you'd weigh ___________ in 5 weeks".. I've found from reading on here it is not accurate for a lot of people. I like seeing that low number but know it is not always realistic.

    This is NEVER right for me. NEVER. I've stopped paying any attention to it when I was 250 calories UNDER my calorie goal, under on sodium, so-so on sugar, great on carbs and protein. It tells me ... if everyday was like today.. you'd weigh 152lbs in 5 weeks"

    WHAT? How does THAT make ANY sense? I'm 143-145lbs now -- I did what I was supposed to do and if I did that everyday for 5 weeks I'd be almost 10lbs heavier?

    Uh. Okay.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    So how does one become skinny fat? Maybe my perceptions are warped, but I'd rather look like that girl than Jillian Michaels.

    By losing lots of lean mass (muscle), and being thin but having a high percentage of body fat (not healthy, as it places lots of stress on heart/circulation and bones).

    That's going from one extreme to another. You don't have to get "big" muscles like JM, or be too thin/flabby - there is a middle ground. Eat healthy, do some exercise and you'll find the middle ground.

    I want to be in the "middle". I want to have muscle definition but I don't want to look ripped like Jillian. I don't want to lose all my lean muscle and look flabby and saggy either though.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    Yeah, I understand that losing 2 lbs a week is unrealistic sometimes but look at this girl:
    http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/beforeandafter
    She ate between 1000-1200 calories a day, and did an hour of cardio every day and that's the results she got. I'm eating around 1200 and doing the 30 day shred, and I'm not losing weight at all.

    Eating 1000 calories a day and doing an hour of cardio isn't the right way to go about losing weight. You're starving yourself by doing that and while you WILL lose weight... eventually it will stop completely. Your body NEEDS food (fuel) to feel comfortable enough to lose weight. Starving it to death isn't what you want to do for long term weight loss success. Eat. Eat. Eat. That is the key to losing weight. Keeping your body fueled makes it happy - like a car with a tune up. Sure, cars will run when things aren't maintained but the gas mileage suffers, it doesn't have a lot of pick and go, etc. Once you do what you're supposed to do for it -- it runs efficiently and like it is supposed to run.

    Same with our bodies. Starving them, forcing them to work out without enough food and such makes them NOT run very efficiently.

    You want long term weight loss success - NOT short term lower numbers on the scale.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    So how does one become skinny fat? Maybe my perceptions are warped, but I'd rather look like that girl than Jillian Michaels.

    By losing lots of lean mass (muscle), and being thin but having a high percentage of body fat (not healthy, as it places lots of stress on heart/circulation and bones).

    That's going from one extreme to another. You don't have to get "big" muscles like JM, or be too thin/flabby - there is a middle ground. Eat healthy, do some exercise and you'll find the middle ground.

    Personally, I want to look like me, a me I'd like to be. When I first reached goal weight I had underarms like caves, and when I started the 30DS my own arms looked so bony that I grossed myself out every time I did a push up :laugh:

    After the 30DS that was no longer the case. I was heavier but liked the way I looked more, and then lost that little weight again without going back to having skeletal arms.

    We all have our own preferences and our own body types. I lost too easily on 1200 and just my normal everyday routine (over 2 lb a week) but have since discovered that my maintenance calories are way off mfp's scale (around 2250, I think).

    So aim to be you. That girl on tumblr
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Ooops... iPhone playing up...

    That girl on tumblr is gorgeous, fat or thin, because she always looks vibrant and happy. Jillian is gorgeous because she looks proud and strong (just let me swoon a moment :laugh:). Be your gorgeous... not theirs!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    You'll have to eat your exercise calories back. When you start trying to lose weight with a lot of weight to lose, you can get by with a larger calorie deficit but being that you look already pretty thin, you can't lose much more weight eating as few calories as you are. Your body doesn't have anything to live off at this point with so few calories in your body. Your net for everyday should be at least 1200.
  • gandydancer
    gandydancer Posts: 171 Member
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    O wow you sound just like me, I wish I knew how to post like you did, I put something out and don't know wheree it ended up and don't know if anyone answered me or not, any help? But back to your dilema I wish I had an answer, am wondering if it is because we don't have a lot to lose? I need to lose 6 to 7 lbs and am not losing anything either, if you get any info please let me know..thanks so much gandydancer
  • gandydancer
    gandydancer Posts: 171 Member
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    Hi, are you saying you should eaat at least the 1200? I can't lose anything in 3 weeks, tracking, eating some junk food, but never going over 1200 and usually under and exercising and raarely use the exercise calories, any tips?
  • change_happens
    change_happens Posts: 491
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    Ooops... iPhone playing up...

    That girl on tumblr is gorgeous, fat or thin, because she always looks vibrant and happy. Jillian is gorgeous because she looks proud and strong (just let me swoon a moment :laugh:). Be your gorgeous... not theirs!

    I love this
  • kaitlinmre
    kaitlinmre Posts: 86 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I changed my calorie goals to 1350, I'm continuing the 30DS and I'm going to try and net at atleast 1200 calories, which I have to admit is hard with the routine I've gotten into as far as eating goes! Thanks for all the advice, I know a lot of my success will come from changing my mindset, but I'm the worst about comparing myself to other people. <3
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    Yeah, I understand that losing 2 lbs a week is unrealistic sometimes but look at this girl:
    http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/beforeandafter
    She ate between 1000-1200 calories a day, and did an hour of cardio every day and that's the results she got. I'm eating around 1200 and doing the 30 day shred, and I'm not losing weight at all.

    That girl is WAY too thin. I would not base your goals on her. I would recommend making some sort of change. Maybe 30DS isn't working for you, or maybe you're gaining muscle.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Yeah, I understand that losing 2 lbs a week is unrealistic sometimes but look at this girl:
    http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/beforeandafter
    She ate between 1000-1200 calories a day, and did an hour of cardio every day and that's the results she got. I'm eating around 1200 and doing the 30 day shred, and I'm not losing weight at all.

    That girl had loads of weight to lose to start with, so its always easier than when u only have 10 pounds and are at a 'normal' weight anyway.

    And 30DS isnt the same as an hour of cardio, its more strength training really.
  • kaitlinmre
    kaitlinmre Posts: 86 Member
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    I was doing the 30DS in hopes of getting toned and losing fat, but it seems as though I should be doing cardio instead? Ugh. Haha
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    I was doing the 30DS in hopes of getting toned and losing fat, but it seems as though I should be doing cardio instead? Ugh. Haha

    You need both: cardio and strength training. Her workouts are usually a good mix, but if you're looking to lose pounds quicker you should up the cardio.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,412 MFP Moderator
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    I was doing the 30DS in hopes of getting toned and losing fat, but it seems as though I should be doing cardio instead? Ugh. Haha

    If you want tone, then you have to do weight training. Building muscle is what gives you a tone look. Cardio burns a ton of calories which in trun will use up proteins from your muscles; this leads to leaner and smaller muscles. This is why weight training is so important and eating enough calories is important. Below is how I measure my caloric needs and my perceptions/as well as many others on eating back your exercise calories. Also, the link I posted is something I put togeth to see what people's bodyfat is compared to your caloric intake. The majority of the people with lower body fat are eating 1800+ calories (even for women). I would consider looking at tracking your bodyfat more than your weight. You will be surprised that even if you gain weight, you might like the look better.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat

    Here is my perception on the matter. I actually use this site just to track my calories. I use a different method to determine how many calories I should be eating and suggest it to many. According to this website, if you use their calculations, if you workout and burn 300 calories, than you should eat an extra 300 calories that day because the site has already built in a deficit for you. The more you have to lose the bigger an acceptable deficit is but the closer your goal is, the smaller your deficit should be. This is because the more muscle you have, the lower the body fat, the more fuel you body needs to sustains it's functions. Also, a deficit is should never been more than 1000 calories a day (which would allow for 2 lbs per week loss) but it more acceptable to do 1 lb a week or 500 calorie deficit. Additionally, a woman should eat not less than 1200 net calories. This is the amount of calories after you workout. So if you burn 500 calories, you need at least 1700 calories; men should be no less than 1500-1700 after workout calories from my research. Also, a large part of these calories should be driven by protein based sources. The ammino acids in the protein is what stimulates muscle growth. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn at rest.

    My approach looks at Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you slept 24 hours, for me, my BMR is 2000 calories. I then mutliply it by my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE); how many calories I should eat to make up for daily activities (walking, working out, etc) to get a total number of calories. Because I do a program like p90x, I multiply my 2000 calories by 1.725 which equals 3400 calories. This amount of calories is the amount I need to eat to maintain weight. I back off 500 caloires as my deficit and eat 3000 calories in a day. This is the website I use.


    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    I then go into a custom setup under my goals and set my daily intake for 3000 calories (well I will starting sunday, right now it's 2800 because I haven't officially started p90x until sunday). Additionally, to follow the p90x food guide, I set up custom ratio's. I do 45% of carbs, 35% of protein and 20% for fats. As I progress, I will lower protein and increase carbs. This method has worked for me and others I have worked with on the site. MFP just makes it simple for anyone to come on and lose weight. I take more of a scientific approach to weight loss. When I started I was 210 & 18% body fat. Now I am 189 and 12% body fat and hoping to break single digits within 3 months.

    Cliff notes: if you go by the sites calculations, you absolutely should eat back your workout calories as they preload the deficit. If you go by the more scientific method, you don't have to worry about it, it's already figured in your number.

    Good luck everyone.

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