Why am I having weight?

CaroleeKondra
CaroleeKondra Posts: 1 Member
in MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions
I am a 75 year old female and trying to lose 15 pounds. I eat 1200 calories per day. I have an office job and don’t get much exercise but manage to get 5000 steps a day. I have gained 2.5 pounds in a week why am I not losing?

Answers

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,203 Member
    edited September 2023
    A week is too short to know. Give it 4-6 weeks. Bodies are weird, they fluctuate.

    If weight gain continues, eating fewer calories or being more active is the answer, sadly. 1200 calories is pretty low, but calorie counting is a surprisingly subtle skill. I wasn't accurate in week 1, surely. Accuracy matters, for sure, though, if using calories as a guide.

    P.S. In case it matters for credibility, I'm F, 67, not some mere youth who doesn't relate. I lost 50+ pounds at 59-60, hanging around here now maintaining a healthy weight since.
  • Eldersmithsmom
    Eldersmithsmom Posts: 3 Member
    I am 52 but I was gaining and when I got a trainer they upped my calories by almost 500 calories a day and I started losing. When you eat too few calories your body stores everything because it isn’t sure when you will eat again. Try upping you calories! This also worked for my Mom. She was eating between 1100 and 1200 a day and she upped to 1400-1500 and the scale started moving.
  • TeresaWJ
    TeresaWJ Posts: 15 Member
    At 60, I was able to lose weight on 1200 calories, with zero "exercise." But after gaining it back, now that I'm 72, not so easy. As you know, our bodies take a major turn at the 70's mark, and our caloric and nutritional needs change. 1200 calories is a challenge (I know), but if you can manage it correctly, it's not going to hurt your health. But, WHAT you are eating may be contributing to your lack of weight loss; not all calories are equal. Make sure your 1200 calories come from as many whole foods as possible, not processed foods. Also, you did not mention what weight you are starting from, but I am assuming if you only want to lose 15 pounds, that you are not way over-weight. Losing 15 pounds from a higher weight is easier (done more quickly in the beginning), than losing 15 pounds from a lower weight. Hang in there.....slow and steady wins the race, think 15 weeks.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,624 Member
    edited November 2023
    Im not an expert, but I'm experienced with MY body. Yours may act differently.
    It sounds like you started getting serious about a week ago. Did you also start becoming more aware of water intake? At our age(I'm 74), our body reacts slowly to changes, and may not have decided exactly what it's going to do yet. Maybe extra water? Change vitamins?
    Again, speaking only about myself, I find that when I restrict calories for 7-10 days, then have 300-500 more 1 day only, my body reacts. The scale might go up a day, then down, but it definitely moves down. Then back to calorie deficit.
    (I'm on the last 11 pounds! )

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