Why am I not losing?

Creedthoughtsdotcom
Creedthoughtsdotcom Posts: 9 Member
in Motivation and Support
This may sound stupid but I don’t understand and I don’t want to get discouraged. I weigh 226.2, and have kept my calories under 1200. I exercise twice a day, walking outside for almost two miles in 30 minutes, and thirty minutes on treadmill. I was losing for a while but now I keep teetering between 226 and 227.
What am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,090 Member
    edited July 2021
    Several comments/questions:
    - how accurate is your food logging? Weighing everything? Making sure you're using accurate database entries? You may be eating more than you think.
    - how long have you been trying to lose weight, how much was your starting weight and since when has your weight fluctuated? What's your height? Weight loss takes time, it can take a few weeks for weight (fat) loss to show on the scale.
    - How much "under 1200" are you eating exactly? And why such a low calorie goal? You may be stressing your body unnecessarily by aiming for an agressive calorie deficit, which can cause water retention (and possibly health problems if you're undereating severely)
  • Creedthoughtsdotcom
    Creedthoughtsdotcom Posts: 9 Member
    I scan everything I eat, use a kitchen scale/ measuring cup to weigh food/ measure food.
    I use this app, scanning items in and have been trusting what it says which always matches the package.

    I started at 260 in February. I fell off the diet many times but have recommitted since June 25 at 235. For the last week I have been between 226-227.

    I am 5’2.

    I always eat at least 1000. But never more than 1200. My BMR is 1708 so I thought 1000-1200 was good. Also this app lets you end your calorie diary at 1000.

    Thanks for responding :)
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,090 Member
    Depending on the type of food, weighing is more accurate than using volume measurements.

    You've lost 5lbs in 3 weeks, which is great. One week of 'no loss' is perfectly normal. It might be because of hormonal weight fluctuations for example (I always go up in weight during my period for example).

    If you increase your food intake a bit, it might be easier to stick with it instead of 'falling off many times'.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,521 Member
    It sucks when the scale doesn't go down down down as you restrict calories, but the real answer is that your weight will vary daily by more than you can safely lose in a week, so you have to stay consistent and determined and let it take its course over time.

    Whatever caloric deficit you choose, it must be something you can sustain over many months. It sounds like you have set up MFP for 2lb loss per week, which requires a large deficit. That's fine, if you can maintain it. But, it will make for some pretty hungry days. It helps to calculate the calorie deficit as a % of "TDEE" (your average daily burn). I shoot for -25% max. You can play with the numbers here. Results are very close to what MFP uses:

    https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html

    My approach was to set for 1lb per week loss, then under-eat my exercise calories so that I often did a little bit better. I think if I tried for 2lbs per week, I'd often come up short and feel bad about it.

    It isn't really needed here, but I did recently post a double haiku about weighing, and I am overly proud of it, so here it is again:

    Fret not! Bodyweight
    Will vary by a few pounds
    Daily, as a rule

    Weigh yourself, you should,
    When you rise, after you pee,
    Average many days.
  • peiotter
    peiotter Posts: 35 Member
    A tip is that your body burns stored fat if you exercise before you eat. Try doing your morning walk before you eat your breakfast. Are you increasing your fasting hours? 12 hours to start and slowly increasing to 16?
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,090 Member
    peiotter wrote: »
    A tip is that your body burns stored fat if you exercise before you eat. Try doing your morning walk before you eat your breakfast. Are you increasing your fasting hours? 12 hours to start and slowly increasing to 16?

    Not necessary. Calories out need to be higher than calories in, that's it.
  • PPug05
    PPug05 Posts: 15 Member
    edited July 2021
    Edited bc didn’t see your comment above.
    Calculate TDEE. Multiply that amount by .85. That will give you a 15% calorie deficit. Cut out sugar, log foods as net carbs, and drink water in ounces equal to your weight divided by 2. You’ll plateau occasionally. It is your body’s way of resting. Make sure you take weekly photos and measurements. Muscle is more dense than fat, so a pound of muscle has a lower volume than a pound of fat. You could be gaining muscle, losing fat, and retaining water. Look up the whoosh effect.

    ADHD is not my friend today. Too many edits and typing this on my phone. 🤦‍♀️
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,462 Member
    Don’t let your brain wreck you. Looks like your plan is working. It takes about 4-6 weeks to establish that we are actually stuck. Give it more time.

    If the voice in your head is screaming now that you can’t possibly tolerate something that works that slow, tell the voice to shut up. It’s that voice that got you to 235 lbs and wants to keep you there. Keep going.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,481 Member
    Creedthoughtsdotcom wrote: »
    I scan everything I eat, use a kitchen scale/ measuring cup to weigh food/ measure food.
    I use this app, scanning items in and have been trusting what it says which always matches the package.

    I started at 260 in February. I fell off the diet many times but have recommitted since June 25 at 235. For the last week I have been between 226-227.

    I am 5’2.

    I always eat at least 1000. But never more than 1200. My BMR is 1708 so I thought 1000-1200 was good. Also this app lets you end your calorie diary at 1000.

    Thanks for responding :)
    Your BMR is 1708. That's what you SHOULD eat. If you add in your daily exercise, you're likely well over 2700-3000 TDEE so only eating 1000 is a 2000 calorie deficit. And it's obvious your body isn't liking that.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,481 Member
    peiotter wrote: »
    A tip is that your body burns stored fat if you exercise before you eat. Try doing your morning walk before you eat your breakfast. Are you increasing your fasting hours? 12 hours to start and slowly increasing to 16?
    Fallacy to a point. Your body will always burn glycogen first and foremost when starting physical exercise. Fat will then also be part of the equation, but training fasted DOESN'T speed up the fat burning process.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,481 Member
    PPug05 wrote: »
    Edited bc didn’t see your comment above.
    Calculate TDEE. Multiply that amount by .85. That will give you a 15% calorie deficit. Cut out sugar, log foods as net carbs, and drink water in ounces equal to your weight divided by 2. You’ll plateau occasionally. It is your body’s way of resting. Make sure you take weekly photos and measurements. Muscle is more dense than fat, so a pound of muscle has a lower volume than a pound of fat. You could be gaining muscle, losing fat, and retaining water. Look up the whoosh effect.

    ADHD is not my friend today. Too many edits and typing this on my phone. 🤦‍♀️
    Yeah, no you DON'T have to cut out sugar. That extremity isn't sustainable long term and anyone who understands physiology knows that if you add carbs back after doing this YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT in the form of storing glycogen and water.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • krjohnson1292
    krjohnson1292 Posts: 37 Member
    To me, it sounds like you’ve plateaued. You can either increase your caloric intake with nutrient dense food or increase your exercise activity to get your body out of its newly found homeostasis.

    Cutting calories will only add stress to your body and cause it to store more fat for energy reserves.
    Prolonged caloric deficits will cause your body to adjust to consuming less energy and the effects of fat loss will wane. Taking vitamins/supplements and SHORT TERM Intermittent fasting works wonders as well.
  • kaylarosabel19
    kaylarosabel19 Posts: 2 Member
    When I had started counting calories I was in the 205. I ate under 1200 and was exercising at the time and I stayed around 203 to 205 for days until I had started to eat between 1200 and 1300 calories and that's when I had started losing again. You might be eating too few calories since you are burning those calories you have eaten from the exercise.

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