Eating 1350 calories a day and exercise but not losing weight!! Need some advise please :-)

longblondie2004 · January 2019

Hey Everyone,

I've never posted a question on any message board but I love to read them. LOL. So, here's my question. I'm trying to lose weight; just about 7 lbs or so. I'm 5'4" and weigh 130 lbs. I would like to be around 123. I have been using fitness pal to track my calories and macros. I've been eating about 1350 calories with macros of 35% carb, 40% protein, 25% fat. I'm athletic built and have a lot of muscle naturally. I can build pretty quick too. My protein is a little higher because I am working out. I work out about 5 days a week; three days of 30 minute interval exercises (lunging, high knees, good cardio and strength training) and 2 days in the gym of about 2 hours of strength training and 30 minute cardio. So, I've noticed I'm losing inches in my waist and upper body and looking more lean but the scale won't go down. I'm was and can be okay with the scale number not going down but now it's a challenge to see if I can get the number to go down. What's the problem? According to my fitbit watch and fitness pal, I take in about 1300 calories and burn around 2,200 for the entire day (that includes my workouts and normal breathing and walking around). I've been doing this for three weeks. Should I increase my calories and/or cut back on the working out? I've struggled to know what my maintenance calories are because I take my metabolism into count and I'm not sure if it's working up to speed since I was sick for a while with mono.

Anyways, I appreciate anyone reading this and willing to give helpful feedback. Please be kind. I read some of these discussion boards and the comments can be so mean. I'm trying to learn. That's why I'm seeking out helpful information :-)

Thanks,
Heather

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

Increasing your calories won't help you lose weight, but with so little to lose a deficit of over 800 calories a day is quite aggressive. I assume you're just wanting to lean out a bit, which should be done with a much smaller defecit to preserve as much muscle as possible. Continue your resistance training, but make sure you're being accurate with your calorie count. Are you using a scale? How long have you been trying to lose? For me personally when I cut I don't weigh myself, I go by what I see. Since you say you're looking leaner then maybe that would be a better way to gauge your progress.

Panini911 · January 2019

with only 7lbs to loose, you need to go at a rate of 0.5lbs a week to ensure you don't lose muscle. it will be slow progress. eating only 1300 calories would be too little given what your workouts but there may be logging issues (see below)

have you lost NOTHING or just "very little" in three weeks?

is the exercise new? or increased lately? if so muscles may be retaining extra water.

Do you weigh your food (on a scale) and log everything? double checking entries you select (They are user generated so some are bad.

longblondie2004 · January 2019

Thank you all for responding. So, I want to lose about 5-7 lbs. I'm naturally muscle and I build quick, mostly my legs. I wouldn't mind to lose some of the muscle. I like the way I'm looking but now it has become a challenge to get the scale number to go down. I just don't know why the scale will not move. I have been doing this for 3 weeks and nothing. I log everything I eat on myfitness pal. I weight everything I eat...I don't do bites/licks/ or tastes...I drink about 60 to 80 ounces of water a day...and my fitness pal says I take in 1300 calories and burn around 2200 a day (that includes my normal walking/breathing). I've exercised off and on for over a year but I got sick with mono and didn't for about 2-3 months and started back at the end of December. That's why I wasn't sure if my metabolism was really burning good. So, the mirror shows changes but the scale will not. It will go up a pound one week and down a pound one week from 130 to 129. It's been 3 weeks...I'm just not sure to take up the calories or leave things alone. But, I want to see the some weight loss. Thanks again everyone. I'm really liking this discussion board :-)

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

Thank you all for responding. So, I want to lose about 5-7 lbs. I'm naturally muscle and I build quick, mostly my legs. I wouldn't mind to lose some of the muscle. I like the way I'm looking but now it has become a challenge to get the scale number to go down. I just don't know why the scale will not move. I have been doing this for 3 weeks and nothing. I log everything I eat on myfitness pal. I weight everything I eat...I don't do bites/licks/ or tastes...I drink about 60 to 80 ounces of water a day...and my fitness pal says I take in 1300 calories and burn around 2200 a day (that includes my normal walking/breathing). I've exercised off and on for over a year but I got sick with mono and didn't for about 2-3 months and started back at the end of December. That's why I wasn't sure if my metabolism was really burning good. So, the mirror shows changes but the scale will not. It will go up a pound one week and down a pound one week from 130 to 129. It's been 3 weeks...I'm just not sure to take up the calories or leave things alone. But, I want to see the some weight loss. Thanks again everyone. I'm really liking this discussion board :-)

It sounds like you're stressing yourself out about this unnecessarily considering your reason for losing weight is just to see if you can and you're happy with how you look now.

longblondie2004 · January 2019

LOL. Yes, it would sound like that. What I mean is I'm liking the way I look. I'm not there yet. I still have fat. I can tell I've lost in my stomach area with a tiny bit more definition and my shoulders and arms are a little smaller. However, I want to lose about 5 more pounds. I already have the muscle. I would like to see the scale go down...at this point 2 lbs would be great. It's tough to do all the calorie counting, food weighing, meal prepping, water intake, and exercising, but not see that you have lost a pound. I'm liking the way I look but I'm not there yet and I would like to drop a few pounds. Can't understand why the scale won't move

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

LOL. Yes, it would sound like that. What I mean is I'm liking the way I look. I'm not there yet. I still have fat. I can tell I've lost in my stomach area with a tiny bit more definition and my shoulders and arms are a little smaller. However, I want to lose about 5 more pounds. I already have the muscle. I would like to see the scale go down...at this point 2 lbs would be great. It's tough to do all the calorie counting, food weighing, meal prepping, water intake, and exercising, but not see that you have lost a pound. I'm liking the way I look but I'm not there yet and I would like to drop a few pounds. Can't understand why the scale won't move

Three weeks isn't that long. Give it more time. If you're absolutely sure your counting is accurate then there is no reason why you wouldn't lose weight eating the amount you are. With that little to lose it will be very slow going. I still recommend upping your calories though, mostly to ensure that you're properly fueling your workouts and maintaining muscle mass.

TeaBea · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

LOL. Yes, it would sound like that. What I mean is I'm liking the way I look. I'm not there yet. I still have fat. I can tell I've lost in my stomach area with a tiny bit more definition and my shoulders and arms are a little smaller. However, I want to lose about 5 more pounds. I already have the muscle. I would like to see the scale go down...at this point 2 lbs would be great. It's tough to do all the calorie counting, food weighing, meal prepping, water intake, and exercising, but not see that you have lost a pound. I'm liking the way I look but I'm not there yet and I would like to drop a few pounds. Can't understand why the scale won't move

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10084670/it-is-unlikely-that-you-will-lose-weight-consistently-i-e-weight-loss-is-not-linear/p1

longblondie2004 · January 2019

Thank you Teabythesea_ I think I'm going to try to up my calories starting my 4th week for Monday. I think I may be eating too little and my metabolism is burning more than I think. So, maybe my body is holding on to everything. Would you agree with that? Or do you think I should keep the calories the same if I want to lose weight? I want to aim for a higher maintenance calorie and then maybe drop calories a little and keep cardio around the same. Hope that makes sense. LOL

Teabea...that was a great post to read...yes, you have to be patient. That's hard. LOL.

Maxxitt · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

Thank you Teabythesea_ I think I'm going to try to up my calories starting my 4th week for Monday. I think I may be eating too little and my metabolism is burning more than I think. So, maybe my body is holding on to everything. Would you agree with that? Or do you think I should keep the calories the same if I want to lose weight? I want to aim for a higher maintenance calorie and then maybe drop calories a little and keep cardio around the same. Hope that makes sense. LOL

Teabea...that was a great post to read...yes, you have to be patient. That's hard. LOL.

If you are menstruating, you need to take into account the fact that your cycling hormones affect fluid retention and you need 4-6 weeks just to get reasonable data. Also, your activity level with the strength training and intervals is likely contributing to fluid retention (inflammation response). The fact that you are looking leaner means you are on the right track. I would up calories a bit just to support your activity level and expect a "whoosh" in the next couple of weeks when your weight drops.

brower47 · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

Thank you all for responding. So, I want to lose about 5-7 lbs. I'm naturally muscle and I build quick, mostly my legs. I wouldn't mind to lose some of the muscle. I like the way I'm looking but now it has become a challenge to get the scale number to go down. I just don't know why the scale will not move. I have been doing this for 3 weeks and nothing. I log everything I eat on myfitness pal. I weight everything I eat...I don't do bites/licks/ or tastes...I drink about 60 to 80 ounces of water a day...and my fitness pal says I take in 1300 calories and burn around 2200 a day (that includes my normal walking/breathing). I've exercised off and on for over a year but I got sick with mono and didn't for about 2-3 months and started back at the end of December. That's why I wasn't sure if my metabolism was really burning good. So, the mirror shows changes but the scale will not. It will go up a pound one week and down a pound one week from 130 to 129. It's been 3 weeks...I'm just not sure to take up the calories or leave things alone. But, I want to see the some weight loss. Thanks again everyone. I'm really liking this discussion board :-)

You can of course do what you like but I caution against purposely losing muscle. I work with so many older women that would currently be much better off if they had worked to gain and keep a higher amount of muscle prior to middle age when it becomes more difficult to build it.

It can be the difference between enjoying the later years or experiencing poor mobility and worse. It may seem so far away and unimportant but it's not unimportant (but unfortunately too late) to the women I've worked with.

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

Thank you Teabythesea_ I think I'm going to try to up my calories starting my 4th week for Monday. I think I may be eating too little and my metabolism is burning more than I think. So, maybe my body is holding on to everything. Would you agree with that? Or do you think I should keep the calories the same if I want to lose weight? I want to aim for a higher maintenance calorie and then maybe drop calories a little and keep cardio around the same. Hope that makes sense. LOL

Teabea...that was a great post to read...yes, you have to be patient. That's hard. LOL.

Your body doesn't hold onto anything when your calories are low, it taps into other energy stores (i.e. fat and muscle), so no, I don't agree. You should input your stats into mfp, aim for .5 lb loss a week and eat what that gives you. If your goal is a higher TDEE then losing weight will have the opposite effect.

longblondie2004 · January 2019

I definitely think the strength training and interval work is contributing to fluid retention because after my rest days, I'm usually a pound less. LOL. I know my leg muscles have some inflammation because they are sore. So, I drink about 60 ounces of water to help with any fluid retention and inflammation. I sure hope I get a "whoosh" in the next week or two. LOL or three if I have to be more patient!!

I also agree that I don't want to purposely lose the muscle...I just don't want to keep building in the legs but I'm sure that will stop or hopefully the size of my legs will go down when I lose more fat. Which is really what I want to lose a few pounds of fat. LOL.

Thanks everyone...I'm taking everything into consideration and I truly appreciate your time and effort. I will take all the feedback I can get and try to learn everything that will help :-)

Any other suggestions is welcomed :-)

brittlb07 · January 2019

All I can say is that I’m heavier than you at 140 now and I’m only eating 1200-1348 calories so if you are lighter than me, your body would require less calories. I am also 5’4. And my goal is 120. Don’t let anyone try to tell you that you don’t need to lose weight. When I weighed 130 last summer I was also not satisfied. I have a small frame and 130 (let alone 140) is NOT good for my body. I have fat around my mid section and arms at the weight. I am best at 120.

longblondie2004 · January 2019

Thanks brittlbo07...how much exercise do you do a week and have you lost any weight? I'm trying to lose a few pounds and most people say its calories in versus calories out. So, Ive been going above and beyond with tracking macros and everything. It looks like I have a huge calorie deficit for 3 weeks and haven't lost a pound. Yes, I've toned up but my gosh if its as simple as calories in versus calories out then I should be losing something, either fat or muscle.

kami3006 · January 2019

brittlb07 wrote: »

All I can say is that I’m heavier than you at 140 now and I’m only eating 1200-1348 calories so if you are lighter than me, your body would require less calories. I am also 5’4. And my goal is 120. Don’t let anyone try to tell you that you don’t need to lose weight. When I weighed 130 last summer I was also not satisfied. I have a small frame and 130 (let alone 140) is NOT good for my body. I have fat around my mid section and arms at the weight. I am best at 120.

The amount she needs to eat is not just based on her height and weight though. There are many women smaller than you who eat much more due to a higher NEAT.

And really, I don't recall anyone saying you didn't have weight to lose, just that you were in a healthy weight range already. Those are two different things. Plenty of people look and feel better at the lower end of their range.

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

brittlb07 wrote: »

All I can say is that I’m heavier than you at 140 now and I’m only eating 1200-1348 calories so if you are lighter than me, your body would require less calories. I am also 5’4. And my goal is 120. Don’t let anyone try to tell you that you don’t need to lose weight. When I weighed 130 last summer I was also not satisfied. I have a small frame and 130 (let alone 140) is NOT good for my body. I have fat around my mid section and arms at the weight. I am best at 120.

I am also 5'4", weigh 132 and can lose weight eating around 1900 calories. There is no one size fits all and her being your height and weighing less is only a part of the equation. You also have to take into consideration daily activities, exercise, body composition, etc.

kami3006 · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

Thanks brittlbo07...how much exercise do you do a week and have you lost any weight? I'm trying to lose a few pounds and most people say its calories in versus calories out. So, Ive been going above and beyond with tracking macros and everything. It looks like I have a huge calorie deficit for 3 weeks and haven't lost a pound. Yes, I've toned up but my gosh if its as simple as calories in versus calories out then I should be losing something, either fat or muscle.

If you feel like you've "toned up" then try taking measurements. You could easily have lost some inches but not have it show up on the scale for a variety of reasons. When I was losing those last pounds, it took a good three weeks for the scale to show losses because it was lost in the daily water weight fluctuations. Measurements were going down though.

longblondie2004 · January 2019

Yes, I want to try to move my calories as high as possible, do as little cardio, and still lose weight. So, I can up my cardio and start cutting calories little by little

longblondie2004 · January 2019

But, it's a little confusing when I've done all this stuff and the scale won't even move. I either need to increase to lose weight or decrease. And, I'm not sure what to do. One would have thought I would have at least lost a pound after 3 weeks with a high deficit, even if it was muscle/fat/something

Teabythesea_ · January 2019

longblondie2004 wrote: »

But, it's a little confusing when I've done all this stuff and the scale won't even move. I either need to increase to lose weight or decrease. And, I'm not sure what to do. One would have thought I would have at least lost a pound after 3 weeks with a high deficit, even if it was muscle/fat/something

As I've already stated, input your stats and eat what MFP tells you to. Give it more than 3 weeks and adjust as needed. I recommend weighing daily so you can become aware of fluctuations and get a good idea of your weight range. We can't tell you what to do because, as @brittlb07 unintentionally highlighted, we vary drastically even with similar heights/weight and what works for us may not work for you.

Eating 1350 calories a day and exercise but not losing weight!! Need some advise please :-)

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