Not losing weight

bri_red
bri_red Posts: 2 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been dieting for about 9 weeks and my weight loss has completely stalled. I started the first 3 weeks eating 1450 calories a day. I was losing about 1 pound a week. I cut down to 1350 calories a week and continued to lose about .5 per week. Now I've completely stopped losing. I'm now at 1400 calories a day, my macros are 150C 39F 115P. I haven't lost any weight for 3 weeks now. I weigh every single thing so I know I'm not underestimating what I eat. I'm 5'1, 120 pounds and I workout 5 days a week. I lift heavy 4 days with 2 days of 15 minutes HIIT cardio and 1 day 45 minutes steady state cardio. Also, I have taken measurements and pictures and those haven't changed either. What do I need to change to start losing fat again?

Replies

  • missrebekahleigh
    missrebekahleigh Posts: 6 Member
    If you are lifting heavy 4 days a week and working out 5 days a week, I would increase your calories. You may not lose if you are not eating enough, as silly as that sounds.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Are you using a digital kitchen scale to weigh all your food? Are you using correct food database entries? Is your food diary completely accurate and open?
  • zorander6
    zorander6 Posts: 2,713 Member
    From the sounds of it you are not eating back half of the calories you burn doing the exercise. You are also in the normal range for your height based on Rush Universities guide. You may need to adjust your figures and where are you trying to get to? With that much exercise you are going to be building muscle as your body is Recomping. Also it does not appear you are logging your exercise at all. At least if I'm looking at it correctly. Start logging your exercise and make sure you are eating half what you burn. I may be estimating wrong but I think you are going below 1200 a day with what you earn in exercise.
  • Unknown
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  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Is the exercise routine or intensity new? Your muscles will hold onto water for repair which will mask weight loss. When I started lifting, I stalled for a long time. Then suddenly one morning, whoosh, big drop that stayed off. If you are certain about your calories (I only looked at the one day, and it looks like you are weighing nearly everything), keep steady and have some trust in what you are doing. Give it a little more time. On the plus side, you aren't gaining, which is important.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    1400 net calories, or gross?

    1500-1600 net calories is maintenance for me at 120 lbs and 5' 3", so if your number is net then you're either at maintenance calories, or you have a very small deficit and you'll probably only recognize a loss every 4-6 weeks. Otherwise, the loss will be slight enough for water weight fluctuations to mask it.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    edited December 2016
    You may be eating at maintenance. Due to your height and weight, that might be about 1400 calories. 15 mins of HIIT isn't much. Weight lifting doesn't burn much and it takes a long time even at a surplus of calories for women to gain muscle. So really it's just one day a week of larger burn from cardio.

    Do you know how much you burn during you HIIT routines? Take your heart rate at the low points and the high points. Use the highest and lowest and get an average. Then put that average heart rate into this equation:

    "The following equation from the Journal of Sports Sciences calculates the calorie expenditure for women: Calories = [(0.074 x Age) + (0.4472 x Heart Rate) – (0.05741 x Weight) – 20.4022] x Time / 4.184. "
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/538127-benefits-of-running-intervals/

    Also.. I noticed your diary is often incomplete.... you need to log correctly and fully every day if you want to succeed.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    OP, I don't have any answers, other than there might not be anything wrong. You are already small, so it may be very hard for you to lose at a more obvious pace. I am 5'4", and I started at 145, goal of 130. It took me over a year to lose that 15 lbs, which is around 1 lb per month. Which means most of the month, I didn't see any loss, until that one lb showed up on the scale! Basically, I was eating 1500 cals and I just couldn't eat less without being miserable. So I focused on strength training to try to change my shape, and I kept trying to get more steps to burn a few more cals. Sometimes it was demoralizing, but I hung in there and eventually reached my goal.

    My only suggestion would be to give it a couple of months and see if eventually the numbers inch down. Can you increase your daily activity level and see if that helps? Sorry you are frustrated, hang in there!
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I would ask if you need to lose "weight" or if you are more interested in improving body composition. You are certainly at a great weight for your height. If you're lifting heavy a bunch, then perhaps you should shift your gears to improving performance (getting stronger, more agile, more powerful, etc). I've seen a lot of people begin to make progress when they stop worrying about the weight on the scale, especially if they are already at a healthy weight.

    Also, those calories are fairly low. I would bump it up to 1450 for a week or 2. If you maintain your weight/measurements, then bump it up again. This is a reverse diet and will maximize your metabolism over time. I've had ladies do this and end up maintaining weight (~115-122 lbs) up to ~2100 cal/day. When you get your metabolism that high, and maintain it for a while, it's pretty easy to cut back a bit and get leaner.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
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  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
    From your description, sounds like you're going into starvation mode - increase your calories
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    Raptor2763 wrote: »
    From your description, sounds like you're going into starvation mode - increase your calories

    No. It doesn't work like that. If they aren't losing weight now, the answer is to DECREASE calories not add more.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Raptor2763 wrote: »
    From your description, sounds like you're going into starvation mode - increase your calories

    :lol: No. Stop with the starvation mode already. There have been countless posts where others have shown you legitimate scientific evidence against 'starvation mode' as you describe it, yet you still post about it...

    Don't increase your calories, OP.

    OP, your deficit is very, very small...like stealthq mentioned, you may only see a notable loss every 4-6 weeks or so.
    You can:
    1. swap out the HIIT for another type of cardio, but continue with the same caloric intake and lifting
    2. Eat less calories, keep exercise the same
    3. Accept that you are possibly in a recomp. Do everything the same but start measuring yourself.

    Can you open your diary?
  • bri_red
    bri_red Posts: 2 Member
    I've decided to lower my calories to 1250 and see how that goes. Hopefully I can continue a steady weight loss at that intake and once I hit my goal, start a reverse diet. Thanks to everyone who commented and offered their advice. Sometimes it can be hard to know what to do.
  • courtneyfabulous
    courtneyfabulous Posts: 1,863 Member
    Have patience. You've only seen no weight loss for 3 weeks. Guess what? I only lose weight for about 1 week out of the month. I usually stay the same, then gain a little, then lose a bunch for a week. Then the cycle starts over. The weight goes up & down on the scale but over time it trends down. Try comparing your current weight only with your weight from 1 month ago, not yesterday or a week ago. That monthly hormonal cycle will mask weight loss with water retention, so just be patient. Also try to de-stress and focus on the process not the results.
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