Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

iheartmytho · June 2023

I put on ~20 pounds or so during the pandemic. It was partially due to not tracking calories (one less stressor I needed at that time), eating and drinking alcohol a bit too much, and being a less active.

I've been trying to get back to my pre-pandemic weight, and it's been a struggle.

My current weight is 165 pounds. It would be nice to get back to 140 - 145 pounds. My main goal is to mostly be able to fit back into some of my pre-pandemic clothes, now that I'm going out a bit more. I'm 41, and 5'6". Another issue - I'm hypothyroid. Have been since I was 15. According to my endocrinologist, my levels are "normal".

I'm somewhat active, mostly through my line of work. It's an industrial environment, and I can easily get in 6,000+ steps a day just at work. When I get home in the evenings, I have an under the desk cycler, I use to bring my steps up to over 10,000 a day. It's not the most vigorous of exercise but I figure something is better than nothing. My heart rate does go up to 100 - 110 bpm. I've also been lifting 5 pound weights too. I know I could go to the gym, but that will be difficult to do with my work schedule + commuting.

As for food intake, I weigh and track everything. I prepare many of my meals at home. Carbs are maybe 100 - 150 g / day, and protein is 70 - 80 g / day. Lots of fiber too. I've also cut back on alcohol intake, and making healthier eating choices. I very rarely eat sweets, sugary drinks, fried foods, fast food, etc.

My average calorie intake is ~1750 calories per day. Some days I may go up to 2100 - 2200 and other days I may be 1500 - 1600. I track my calorie burn with a FitBit One and my Apple Watch. I know these devices aren't 100% accurate regarding calorie expenditure, but I have to be burning something, right? My TDEE for maintenance is 2000 calories. Although my FitBit says on average I burn ~2150 calories a day and my Apple Watch, ~2300 calories a day.

I've been keeping a spreadsheet with much of this information. Based on input vs. output, I should have easily dropped 10 pounds by now, but I've maybe only dropped 1 - 2 pounds. And it's not like it's muscle weight - my clothes still feel tighter than I'd like.

I'm going to next try for more of a calorie deficit. Currently, I'm probably eating better than I was pre-pandemic, where I was easily able to maintain 140 - 145 pounds, and that was with estimating the calorie intake, and not exercising.

Maybe, I'm just being impatient, but it sucks that despite my efforts, I'm not seeing results.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

How long have you been trying to lose the weight? If you lost 1-2 pounds over a couple weeks, that's pretty darn good. If it's been longer, you're probably not at quite enough of a deficit, regardless of what the calculators and fitbit are saying. So trying a little bit more of a deficit is a good idea. Just FYI, for calculating purposes, 6000 steps in a day is considered lightly active. Over 10000 is considered moderately active, so I would figure calories for lightly active to start.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

Oh, and don't trust the fitbit or apple watch. They regularly overestimate calories burned by as much as 50%. Which can easily wipe out a deficit if you eat those calories back. It looks at a quick glance like you're possibly at around a 250 calorie deficit, which would lead to about half a pound loss per week, roughly.

iheartmytho · June 2023

I'd say it's been 1 - 2 pounds over the course of 3 months. But I'd like to think I've been in at least somewhat of a caloric deficit for longer than that. I'm also getting my thyroid levels checked soon, as one of my other medications has recently changed and who knows if that impacted thyroid stuff. It's just tough eating so little. I did it years ago - eating 1000 - 1200 calories a day. I was able to maintain a weight of 135 pounds despite being sedentary, but I was also in my 20s. Although, I question if eating so little for several years messed up my metabolism.

iheartmytho · June 2023

And according to an online TDEE calculator, my maintenance calories for being "moderately active" would be 2200 calories / day. Or 2,000 for being lightly active.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

I would put you at lightly active. And you're probably eating a little bit more calories than you think. But it's ok to lose weight slowly. I would keep doing what you're doing.

AnnPT77 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

I'd say it's been 1 - 2 pounds over the course of 3 months. But I'd like to think I've been in at least somewhat of a caloric deficit for longer than that. I'm also getting my thyroid levels checked soon, as one of my other medications has recently changed and who knows if that impacted thyroid stuff. It's just tough eating so little. I did it years ago - eating 1000 - 1200 calories a day. I was able to maintain a weight of 135 pounds despite being sedentary, but I was also in my 20s. Although, I question if eating so little for several years messed up my metabolism.

It's not a calorie calculator or MFP or a fitness tracker that tells us whether we're in a deficit. It's how our bodyweight behaves over many weeks (6+, whole menstrual cycles if that applies) that tells us whether we're in a deficit. If not losing weight over a long period, not in a deficit. (Noting, though, that human bodies are dynamic, not static: Undereating or undernutrition can reduce energy level, perhaps subtly, and slow weight loss.)

Bottom line, though, it's calories that determine weight loss, and calorie needs are personal/individual. The calculators and fitness trackers just spit out averages for similar people - nuanced averages in the case of trackers, but still basically population averages.

If you have spreadsheet calorie data for many weeks, correlate that with your bodyweight changes averaged over that whole time period, and that will tell you how big your effective actual calorie deficit is. (As a bonus, doing it that way also tends to compensate for any unhelpful patterns in logging issues.) If you want to lose faster, use the assumption that 500 calories a day is a pound a week, and adjust goals accordingly. With 20 or so pounds to lose, don't try to lose faster than a pound a week, and reduce that to half a pound a week when you get to around 10 pounds to go.

If you have a history of eating 1000-1200 calories for long time periods in the past, that possibly wasn't helpful from an adaptation standpoint - our bodies tend to get good at whatever we train them to do and expect, and eating low calories in effect trains the body to expect continuing famine. (It really isn't a "messed up metabolism", though.) If that adaptation's in the picture, it can reverse, but extreme diet or exercise isn't the way to accomplish that.

There's a good thread here about the effects of hypothyroidism on weight management. It was written by a (former?) MFP-er, a scientist in the field, hypothyroid himself, who lost weight by calorie counting. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it for a solidly science-based perspective:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10767046/hypothyroidism-and-weight-management

Nutritionwise, FWIW, I'm about your size (5'5"), and severely hypothyroid (properly medicated), but smaller (low 130s pounds right now) and much older (67). From that biased perspective, 70-80g protein/day isn't bad, but I personally would want more. (My maintenance goal is 100g minimum, and I average around 120, on 1850 calories + exercise.) Many people find protein filling, though not all. Protein also has a higher TEF, which is minor, but on the helpful side.

You don't mention fat intake, but it's fat and protein both that are technically essential nutrients: Our bodies can't manufacture all of their vital subcomponents out of any other nutrient, so we have to eat some. Carbs are more flexible and individual: If you find that they spike your appetite, low carb eating may help; if you find that eating too few tanks your energy level, low carb is probably a bad idea.

I'm a virtual poster child for the idea that eating healthy foods doesn't automagically lead to weight loss: I was obese for decades while eating plenty of healthy foods. Way too plenty, obviously. I don't eat different foods now, just different portion sizes, frequencies, and definitely a different calorie total. It's true, though, that nutrient dense whole foods are more filling for many people than highly-processed ones, and of course nutrition is important for health. It can also have an indirect effect on weight management through energy level or compliance with calorie goal.

I don't agree with Sollyn that trackers regularly overestimate. Quite a few people here seem to find that good trackers, worn 24x7, are reasonably close for them. But they can estimate noticeably high or low for some people, and surprisingly high or low for a rare few. That's the nature of statistical estimates. (My good brand/model - one that others here have reported works well for them - is off by 25-30% in all day calorie estimates. MFP is off by about the same. 🤷‍♀️ I was able to lose weight very predictably, once I figured out my personalized calorie needs.)

If you prefer to work out at home, you might look into bodyweight strength programs. Even if 5 pound weights are enough for you for some exercises to be challenging, it's unlikely that a single weight will give enough challenge for all muscle groups within a manageable number of reps, realistically, and even those exercises for which it's enough will top out soon.

I think you can work your way through this and succeed, if you treat it as a sort of fun grown-up science fair experiment. It won't be easy every minute subjectively, for sure (it isn't for anyone) . . . but it should be fairly straightforward methodologically.

Best wishes!

ddsb1111 · June 2023

For your height and activity level that seems like a higher amount of calories, at least it is for me. Your carbs are irrelevant unless you feel like you’re starving. I really like that you included as much honest and direct information as possible, I can tell you really want to figure this out to reach your goals. I would highly consider the amount of calories you eat by weighing everything, track, and adjust as necessary after a month or so. I’m sorry this isn’t a glamorous answer and it sounds like you’re doing a lot of work but when you’re ready this might be another option. It’s so incredibly hard to change habits and find what satiates you to lose that last 20lbs or so and I wish there was more info and support about it. I can easily maintain around 15lbs above my comfort level, but to be where I want to be, it takes very serious mental and physical changes that are difficult to adapt. It can be done but the tracking and focus has to be near perfect and consistent for a long period of time. Wishing you all the best!!

codes017 · June 2023

I am literally in the exact same boat as you! I could’ve written this myself. For me I think the issue is metabolism got messed up, age and stress. I seem to need a bigger calorie deficit, decent paced biking or jogging as anything intense just increases cortisol and it works against me, and consistency. I think the days I don’t follow my plan really set me back even if I didn’t go completely off the rails, and they probably happen more likely than I’ve wanted to admit. So my main focus now is the mental state of getting and staying calm and focused on my process each day.

cwolfman13 · June 2023

If your TDEE is in fact right around 2000 calories and you're consuming on average 1750, that is a very small deficit of about 1/2 Lb per week which is going to be difficult to discern on the scale because natural bodyweight fluctuations can easily mask that. That small of a deficit also doesn't provide much in the way of wiggle room for error and higher calorie days would reduce that deficit even further or wipe it out altogether.

tomcustombuilder · June 2023

If no change after a month of trying to lose fat and it isn’t working then it’s a calorie balance issue. Regardless what an app tells you and how accurately you think you’re tracking calories, the proof is always in the results

beckajw · June 2023

While weight loss is mostly calories in vs calories out, the type of calories does make some difference. Try to keep your diet based on whole foods and avoid sugar free/fat free stuff (unless it's found that way in nature). You'll find eating lots of legumes and fish and with vegetables and olive oil will make you feel fuller longer, which leads to eating less, and will cause more weight loss than expected based on the number of calories (in general). Oppositely, eating highly processed foods will leave you feeling hungrier and result in less weight loss than expected.

2,000 TDEE seems high to me, but I'm not 5'6" and maybe my perspective is just off

kshama2001 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

I'd say it's been 1 - 2 pounds over the course of 3 months. But I'd like to think I've been in at least somewhat of a caloric deficit for longer than that. I'm also getting my thyroid levels checked soon, as one of my other medications has recently changed and who knows if that impacted thyroid stuff. It's just tough eating so little. I did it years ago - eating 1000 - 1200 calories a day. I was able to maintain a weight of 135 pounds despite being sedentary, but I was also in my 20s. Although, I question if eating so little for several years messed up my metabolism.

Giving you a loss of 2 pounds in 12 weeks, you are losing 0.17 pounds per week. So while you are indeed in a deficit, it is a very very small one.

You probably have some combination of underestimating calories in and overestimating calories out. While this is extremely common, metabolic damage is not. See this recent thread:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10891930/need-advice

My post:

kshama2001 wrote: »

outdoorskid2011 wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

outdoorskid2011 wrote: »

I have a very big dilemma in my eyes, and I'm hoping somebody can help me out and give me advice because I've tried a lot of things. I believe my metabolism is shot but that's because I had lost a lot of weight and then increase my calories to my activity level and maintain a good weight level and then when I left that job I guess I kind of lowered my calories and then I felt like I was getting weight again so I lowered him some more and now I'm struggling to keep the weight from coming back as I went from 198 to 187 and then back to 220 in a span of four years what are your thoughts?

You went back to old eating habits and are less active. Weight gain is a product of too many calories over maintenance calories. Your metabolism is fine.

that's the thing, I don't normally eat more Tham 1500 or 1700 cals a day.

https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/reason-youre-not-losing-weight#Reasons_Youre_not_Losing_Weight_Realities

...Underestimating Your Food Intake

In all honesty, this is usually the explanation for why people can’t lose weight. Simply, they are eating more than they think. Research shows that people may underestimate their food intake by 20-50% at least. That is, what they think they are eating is 20-50% less than what they are actually eating.

Literally everybody misreports their food intake. Lean people, overweight people, active people, inactive people are all terrible at estimating their food intake. Even registered dieticians are bad at it.

...And in a weight loss context, this means that people who think they are only eating 1200 calories may be eating 1800. And that’s why they can’t lose weight. There are all kinds of TV shows where they find someone who says they have a broken, slow metabolism. Who say they don’t eat very much. And they add up the daily food and it’s like 8,000 calories or more. People are terrible at his.

...And, going back to metabolic damage, THIS is why those people reporting gaining fat on low calories were doing nothing of the sort. They were simply underreporting their food intake.

iheartmytho · June 2023

I weigh / measure all food prepared at home. When I made a pot of chili the other week, I weighed all of the produce, looked up the nutritional information, read the nutrition label, and put that in a spreadsheet to figure out the number of calories per serving. This pot of chili, filled with ground turkey, veggies, and beans, had ~600 calories per serving. The only time when my calorie counts may be off is when I go out to a restaurant, which isn't too often. And even then I try to be mindful of portion sizes, etc. I went out to a Mexican restaurant the other night. I had a shrimp and a fish taco. The shrimp and fish didn't have any breading, and the tacos weren't smothered in a creamy sauce. I also had 7 tortilla chips and a little bit of salsa. It wasn't a chain restaurant, so no nutritional information was reported. I had to go by something similar in my calorie tracking app - I figure the was the best approximation.

tomcustombuilder · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

I weigh / measure all food prepared at home. When I made a pot of chili the other week, I weighed all of the produce, looked up the nutritional information, read the nutrition label, and put that in a spreadsheet to figure out the number of calories per serving. This pot of chili, filled with ground turkey, veggies, and beans, had ~600 calories per serving. The only time when my calorie counts may be off is when I go out to a restaurant, which isn't too often. And even then I try to be mindful of portion sizes, etc. I went out to a Mexican restaurant the other night. I had a shrimp and a fish taco. The shrimp and fish didn't have any breading, and the tacos weren't smothered in a creamy sauce. I also had 7 tortilla chips and a little bit of salsa. It wasn't a chain restaurant, so no nutritional information was reported. I had to go by something similar in my calorie tracking app - I figure the was the best approximation.

It’s easy to be off when trying to figure those things, it’s super easy to mis calculate calories with recipes and eating out. Bottom line is the the results tell the tale and not the perceived accuracy of counting and tracking calories.

staciehankinson · June 2023

I can relate to this feeling. Wonder if we start a support group if we can all improve

iheartmytho · June 2023

Got it. So even though I ate ~1500 calories today, it was actually more like 2,000 or something like that, because despite weighing, portion control, etc, I'm still over estimating my intake. And even though, I'm somewhat active at work, and working out in the evenings, my calorie burn is not what 2 different activity trackers state. In reality, I really should shoot for 1,000 calories a day or so, because of over estimation, and up my activity. This is all so frustrating.

Pre-pandemic, I was definitely eating / drinking more than I do now, and not working out, yet I maintained 140 - 145 pounds readily. I would like to think that since I have a larger body mass now, going back to those habits, if not better, would mean some faster weight loss. Apparently, not.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

Got it. So even though I ate ~1500 calories today, it was actually more like 2,000 or something like that, because despite weighing, portion control, etc, I'm still over estimating my intake. And even though, I'm somewhat active at work, and working out in the evenings, my calorie burn is not what 2 different activity trackers state. In reality, I really should shoot for 1,000 calories a day or so, because of over estimation, and up my activity. This is all so frustrating.

Pre-pandemic, I was definitely eating / drinking more than I do now, and not working out, yet I maintained 140 - 145 pounds readily. I would like to think that since I have a larger body mass now, going back to those habits, if not better, would mean some faster weight loss. Apparently, not.

Pretty much.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

Got it. So even though I ate ~1500 calories today, it was actually more like 2,000 or something like that, because despite weighing, portion control, etc, I'm still over estimating my intake. And even though, I'm somewhat active at work, and working out in the evenings, my calorie burn is not what 2 different activity trackers state. In reality, I really should shoot for 1,000 calories a day or so, because of over estimation, and up my activity. This is all so frustrating.

Pre-pandemic, I was definitely eating / drinking more than I do now, and not working out, yet I maintained 140 - 145 pounds readily. I would like to think that since I have a larger body mass now, going back to those habits, if not better, would mean some faster weight loss. Apparently, not.

But nobody's saying you have to lose weight. You can also learn to be ok with the weight you're at.

middlehaitch · June 2023

@iheartmytho, you are sounding really frustrated and I can’t blame you, it’s hard when a problem is hard to solve.
Try another tack. Forget the calorie estimators, Fitbit, Apple Watch, MFP, and TDEE calculators and look at your spreadsheet.

You have everything you need right there! How much you have eaten (if the odd thing is not dead accurate it doesn’t matter so long as you are consistent) and how much you have lost.

Do the maths, total cals in (over at least a full menstrual cycle) plus how much you have lost divided by the days will give you your daily maintenance. From that you can derive your daily deficit.
It may not match with the estimates you are working with, but it should give you better information to work with.
And no you don’t have to drop your calories to 1000 or work out 8 days a week, you just have to take a step back, take a big breath, and work with the information you have. It is the most accurate.

Cheers, h.

Do follow up with the thyroid as that could make a difference
.

Lietchi · June 2023

middlehaitch wrote: »

@iheartmytho, you are sounding really frustrated and I can’t blame you, it’s hard when a problem is hard to solve.
Try another tack. Forget the calorie estimators, Fitbit, Apple Watch, MFP, and TDEE calculators and look at your spreadsheet.

You have everything you need right there! How much you have eaten (if the odd thing is not dead accurate it doesn’t matter so long as you are consistent) and how much you have lost.

Do the maths, total cals in (over at least a full menstrual cycle) plus how much you have lost divided by the days will give you your daily maintenance. From that you can derive your daily deficit.
It may not match with the estimates you are working with, but it should give you better information to work with.
And no you don’t have to drop your calories to 1000 or work out 8 days a week, you just have to take a step back, take a big breath, and work with the information you have. It is the most accurate.

Cheers, h.

Do follow up with the thyroid as that could make a difference
.

Totally endorsing this.
Based on 1lb over 3 months, your actual deficit would be 40 calories a day.
So, for example, eat 210 calories less on average and the rate of loss should be around 0.5 lbs a week.
No need to be drastic and cut down to 1000 calories a day.

I would recommend using a weight trending app like Libra or Happyscale. At slow rates of loss it makes it easier to see what's happening (its not foolproof, but it helps). Using your trend weight (average over a period) instead of individual weigh-ins makes it easier to calculate your loss when calculating your true TDEE.

csplatt · June 2023

I would change to lightly active and see what happens. I actually use the sedentary setting then log any fitness from there.

springlering62 · June 2023

staciehankinson wrote: »

I can relate to this feeling. Wonder if we start a support group if we can all improve

Ummm……use these boards that way. I have and have been very successful. No more supportive group of people anywhere!

kshama2001 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

Got it. So even though I ate ~1500 calories today, it was actually more like 2,000 or something like that, because despite weighing, portion control, etc, I'm still over estimating my intake. And even though, I'm somewhat active at work, and working out in the evenings, my calorie burn is not what 2 different activity trackers state. In reality, I really should shoot for 1,000 calories a day or so, because of over estimation, and up my activity. This is all so frustrating.

Pre-pandemic, I was definitely eating / drinking more than I do now, and not working out, yet I maintained 140 - 145 pounds readily. I would like to think that since I have a larger body mass now, going back to those habits, if not better, would mean some faster weight loss. Apparently, not.

Please don't take this personally. I've been logging 10 years and still catch myself making mistakes.

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

kshama2001 · June 2023

kshama2001 wrote: »

iheartmytho wrote: »

Got it. So even though I ate ~1500 calories today, it was actually more like 2,000 or something like that, because despite weighing, portion control, etc, I'm still over estimating my intake. And even though, I'm somewhat active at work, and working out in the evenings, my calorie burn is not what 2 different activity trackers state. In reality, I really should shoot for 1,000 calories a day or so, because of over estimation, and up my activity. This is all so frustrating.

Pre-pandemic, I was definitely eating / drinking more than I do now, and not working out, yet I maintained 140 - 145 pounds readily. I would like to think that since I have a larger body mass now, going back to those habits, if not better, would mean some faster weight loss. Apparently, not.

Please don't take this personally. I've been logging 10 years and still catch myself making mistakes.

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public. In the app, go to Settings > Diary Setting > Diary Sharing > and check Public. Desktop: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

Speaking of still making mistakes, I thought my dinner calories were suspiciously low, and sure enough, when I took a closer look at my recipe, the 650 calories of rice in the recipe builder had disappeared. Adding them back in added another 97 calories to dinner.

But I've been doing this long enough to know approximately how full I should feel after meals of X calories, and that none of my casseroles are ever less than 1 calories per gram, so I knew to double check.

iheartmytho · June 2023

To be honest, I’d be OK with my current weight. It only puts me at slightly overweight. However, I have a closet of fun dresses that no longer fit. I do have some sentimental attachment to these clothes and I’d like to fit into them again. Some of the dresses were even custom made for me. Unfortunately, I don’t know how many of the dresses could be altered to fit my slightly larger body.

sollyn23l2 · June 2023

iheartmytho wrote: »

To be honest, I’d be OK with my current weight. It only puts me at slightly overweight. However, I have a closet of fun dresses that no longer fit. I do have some sentimental attachment to these clothes and I’d like to fit into them again. Some of the dresses were even custom made for me. Unfortunately, I don’t know how many of the dresses could be altered to fit my slightly larger body.

Something to consider... if it's counting calories that's problematic for you, you don't have to. Try increasing your fruits and vegetables. This leaves less room for the more calorie dense foods. Many people find this causes them to lose weight without necessarily tracking calories.

springlering62 · June 2023

Or……consider some strength or weight training?

I dropped too low during Covid, when the gyms were closed, and looked awful.

I’ve stepped up my weight lifting (nothing spectacular, slow and steady, like my weight loss) and have deliberately added back 15 pounds, but am still wearing the clothes I was at my lowest weight.

Strength training changes your shape.

And, no, I don’t look like a bodybuilder. No giant biceps, no massive thighs. I just look like a slim person with muscle tone.

It’s also fun. Like I said, I don’t do particularly heavy, but it’s very satisfying to quietly challenge myself, get a new personal best once in a while, and silently congratulate myself “yep, I can do this!”

ByteLily · June 2023

I didn't read thru all the comments but I wanted to reply because I am almost exactly the same as you. I weight the same. I put on the same weight as you during the pandemic, I am nearly the same age as you although I'm 48. I am the same height as you. I walk the same steps a day. I get in walks after meals. However MFP gives me only 1200 calories a day with the goal of one lb a week, and I don't log / eat back any exercise. I have set my activity level to be not very active because if I'm honest with myself, I sit alot of the time. A lightly active person is on their feet much of the day.

A couple of things could be at play here. Could you be overestimated your tde ? Bc my husband, at 6'3 and moderate active has that tde. He's on 2000+ for maintenance and he's a very fit and active person.

Another thing I have recently learned is menopause, / perimenopause comes with some metabolism changes as well. For one your metabolism slows down. You start to accumulate fat in different areas you didn't before like the abdomen. Your body is much more sensitive and likely to turn carbs into fat. It's harder to put on muscle. What worked in the past for weight loss suddenly isn't working now. I did alot of reading on this from the may clinic and health line and am following their advice to really, really be honest about how many calories I need in a day and really trying to drop those carbs. At age 41 you could be entering perimenopause and the changes that come with it.

I also have eliminated all sources of empty calories like alcohol, chips, sugar, salad dressing, processed foods. I simply don't eat between meals with the exception of one tony snack in the afternoon. They also advised to build as much muscle as possible .I haven't started that but rn I am walking. Taking the advice I read about I'm losing a pound a week . This is a new approach for me and it leaves me eating pretty much the same things every day. It's boring but I'm seeing results.

For breakfast, at 255 cals I'm having a packet of plain oatmeal with just a smidge of Brummel and brown, frozen blueberries for other fresh fruit, and one boiled egg. Lunch is a large salad with one tsp olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and a lean proteins. Dinner is a lean protein and a small serving of carbs, and lots of plain vegetables. No butter, no sauce. I enjoy one snack a day at 200 cals, a gluten free fig bars. My total calories is right on 1200 and Its been a wakeup call on how little food I need to nourish my body and how much I was eating for pure entertainment and how many empty calories there are in life.

I don't eat back my exercise calories because I'm just walking and not really doing a thing intense. Eating back calories is something I've seen disputed here. For some it just doesn't work. I'm one of them.

I saw someone mention accepting the weight you are at. I tried that and couldn't because I've seen it just creeping up. I look around my town and there are very few slim older women. The slim older women I know work really hard at it and I'm trying that approach as a lifelong change o need to make that at my age and dealing with menopause, my bodys needs have changed and I'll adapt my eating according to stop this weight gain. I have RA that can make exercise difficult so I can't count on being active and I need to keep my weight down for my joints. I wish you the best !

Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

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