Really struggling despite diet and exercise...

It seems you did everything you should do.

The simple answer is that your eating more than you think you are. All the healthy food in the world won't help you lose weight if you're eating too much of it.

How are you measuring your intake? As @SLLeask says above, if you're not weighing all of your food you don't know how many calories you're actually consuming.

You probably should consult a nutritionalist that will work with you to hone in on your diet and see what is preventing you from losing weight.

You may need to cut your daily calories by 200-450.

When you don't have much to lose, 1.) It is slow going. Figure on 1/2 pound per week. 2.) With not much to lose, there is no room for error.

I agree that it's time for a food scale, so you can be sure of your portions. $20 on Amazon (or at Target or other big store.)

It took me nearly a year to lose the last 15 pounds, and I was really careful. The only way to do it and not lose your mind or under-eat (IMO) is to have really accurate records.

I think you are eating too many calories for your height and activity level. Everyone is initially crabby and hungry when they first reduce calories and you will not go into famine mode with 1500 calories a day. If you do not want to eat less or burn more than just stop chasing unicorns and be happy where you are at since you are probably at a healthy BMI.

Tonight I made roasted vegetables, a cookie tray full. I had 4 ounces of them (weighed) and chose a food out of the database that sounded like what I made and it came to 50 calories. But then I got to thinking that I didn't want to be lazy about it and made a recipe that included my ingredients and what they had weighed raw (I did weigh them) and how much oil and spices I used. After I weighed the finished vegetables, I added in the 4 ounces I'd eaten and put the total ounces as number of servings for the recipe. After I saved the recipe I logged 4 servings (4 ounces) to my food diary .. and guess what .... my own version was 75 calories!

That's half again how many calories I thought I'd had ... just from a small desert plate of a few vegetables. .... It is so easy to underestimate the amount we are taking in. I never cease being amazed at how little food it can be take to eat up my calorie allowance.

Find a online calculator to estimate how many calories you should be eating to maintain your weight on a sedentary lifestyle. That will give you an idea of how many calories you should be eating to maintain. Then cut 250-500 calories per day. That would put you at 1/2 to 1 lbs per week. Just on your diet alone.

I don't eat my exercise calories back. 80% of weight loss is your diet. You may benefit from Pilates or power yoga to lean out and tone your body.

Withdrawal symptoms are normal when you cut calories or carbs from your system. Headaches, anxiety, nausea, irritablesness are common and normal. The first month. It goes away. I recommend yoga, meditation, walking, swimming, etc.


Since you are 5'5, 1800 calories per day would just maintain your current weight.

You could try exercising a lot more every day to put yourself at a calorie deficit to lose abut that may be hard and exhausting.

Don't go looking for problems where there are none. I understand your are frustrated about not losing weight but the last thing you want to do is to give yourself a diagnosis, when you don't have one. You took the tests for hypothyroidism, be thankful it is normal. You don't want to go down that road if you don't have to.

As for food. You need to invest time in yourself. Take time to find foods that you like, are filling, and keep you within your calorie budget.


I am 5'11, I have been eating an average of 1300-1400 calls per day for the last 7 months .and I am losing weight consistently and gradually. It takes time.

It may take you longer because you have less weight to lose. The last 20 are the hardest but it is do able.

I recommend YouTube fitness gurus and bodybuilders. They have the most accurate info on how to reach your weight loss goals even if you are not into bodybuilding. They are info meccas. Medical doctors have little education and training on nutrition. They can tell you about the consequences of eating too little or too much. But their area of specialty is diagnosing and treatment of disease.

Consult experts, who work on health and fitness everyday, all day. It's like going to a French man to learn how to make Korean authentic cuisine. He may know a little about Korean dishes but he cannot rival a Korean chef who was raised on the palate of Korean cuisine. In essence go to the experts.


You can do it, just give yourself time.

How about split the difference and go to 1650 for a few weeks to a month- see if that shifts you and can avert the hangries.

There is no such thing as "famine mode". And even if there was, it wouldn't be striking at 1500 cals a day! Unfortunately GP's really don't know much about nutrition. You really do need to start accurately logging EVERYTHING on here. It's good you are going to rule out any medical issues, but that aside, it's just science, less calories in + more calories out = weigh loss. If you aren't losing weight then you are eating more than your body needs. It really is that simple.

You have very little to lose therefore you don't have the luxury of being inaccurate with your tracking. If you feel 1500 is too low, but you're not losing on 1800 then go to 1700, if nothing changes, drop to 1600. The numbers are there for a guide, each person is different, you may just be one of those people who need less than "average".

Good luck with finding the solution.