Why am I not losing weight?

raineraven78
raineraven78 Posts: 42 Member
edited October 7 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone. I am 33 years old. I have a daughter. I have been on a 1200 calorie diet, I exercise regularly including cardio and strength training. I eat healthy and well balanced but I have not been able to lose any weight. I only want to lose about 10 - 15 pounds and tone up. I generally do get enough sleep but I often feel tired, depressed and stressed out. Thinking of going to the doctor because of a family history of thyroid disease, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc! But I would really appreciate some feedback! Thanks :)

Replies

  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    Have you tried setting your calories to the lowest weight loss setting and eating back your exercise calories? (i.e. eating more)

    The less you have to lose, the lower your setting needs to be and the closer to maintanence you need to be eating.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Tired, depressed, and stressed are all classic symptoms of not eating enough.You only have 10 pounds to lose, why are you starving yourself?
  • raineraven78
    raineraven78 Posts: 42 Member
    Have you tried setting your calories to the lowest weight loss setting and eating back your exercise calories? (i.e. eating more)

    The less you have to lose, the lower your setting needs to be and the closer to maintanence you need to be eating.

    I didn't think it was healthy to go below 1200 calories and I definitely eat my exercise calories.
  • hamullin
    hamullin Posts: 6 Member
    When you go to the doctor, also have them check your Vitamin D level. Many of us do not get enough Vitamin D and it may relate to your symptoms

    Best of luck
  • raineraven78
    raineraven78 Posts: 42 Member
    Tired, depressed, and stressed are all classic symptoms of not eating enough.You only have 10 pounds to lose, why are you starving yourself?

    I don't think I'm starving myself :) I eat - I love to cook and eat :) but maybe I do need to eat more to boost my metabolism
    ? I have a lot of muscle. My caloric intake is based on what MFP set for me. But I'm sure just going by someone's height and weight is not an accurate way of deciphering how many calories they need...
  • raineraven78
    raineraven78 Posts: 42 Member
    When you go to the doctor, also have them check your Vitamin D level. Many of us do not get enough Vitamin D and it may relate to your symptoms

    Best of luck

    Thanks!
  • mrsjennifermaffei
    mrsjennifermaffei Posts: 469
    Increase your intake to 1350 or 1400 and see how it does for your body. If that makes you gain weight either switch your diet around to less carbs and fatty foods or lower it some more.
  • stephyy4632
    stephyy4632 Posts: 947 Member
    what are you set at to lose per week? if you only have 10-15 pounds left to lose then you should be set at .5 per week the less you have to drop the slower it will come off. This will also up your cal count.

    I have about 25more pounds to drop and had to change mine to 1pound per week and a start cal alotment of 1450 each day before exercise cals and its working wonders 1200 was just not enough anymore to drop the weight
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you only have 10-15lbs to lose your weekly weight loss goal should be set at 0.5lbs/week. this helps ensure that you lose mostly fat instead of lean muscle, which you lose if your deficit is too large. And on top of changing your weekly goal you should also be eating back the caloires you burn from exercise.

    Here is a guide for setting weekly weight loss goals:
    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • Maychurro
    Maychurro Posts: 4 Member
    MEASURE YOUR INCHES NOT YOUR WEIGHT.
  • Elisirmon
    Elisirmon Posts: 273 Member
    I am the same as you I am 30 yrs old and have history of hypothyroidismin my family both sides. I have all the symptoms of it too so i am going to the doctor today to find out , I did take a holistic thyroid supplement for about a week and felt better and lost a pound so definitely if it runs in the family go get it checked and asked for the blood test harmone range that your at if it is low normal then you could be subclinical hypothyroidism and a natural supplement will help.
  • anner53108
    anner53108 Posts: 103
    ^^ What he erickirb said. I only have about 5-7 lbs to go, and I don't lose if I have it set higher than a half-pound loss per week.

    Also, when/if you go to the doc, have him/her check your thyroid levels as well.

    Good luck! :smile:
  • bodyrock22
    bodyrock22 Posts: 1
    Do you take birth control? Or have you recently stopped taking birth control? Could be a hormone imbalance.
  • sofy993
    sofy993 Posts: 17 Member
    Once i saw on the Tv Mbc4 - Dr oz program - and he was talking about Diet & as i remember he was talking about reasons that prevent losing weigh & one of them was : being depressed & STRESS >> he said that one some one feel stress the adrenal glands start screting hormones and that hormones may leads to some kinds of fats .. You can check for this info.

    Maybe this is the reason .. In my opinoin maybe you need some rest , you can give your self a holiday to go some where & have some fun
    Maybe that would help :)
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    Eat more.
  • Twasney
    Twasney Posts: 186 Member
    Have you tried setting your calories to the lowest weight loss setting and eating back your exercise calories? (i.e. eating more)

    The less you have to lose, the lower your setting needs to be and the closer to maintanence you need to be eating.

    I didn't think it was healthy to go below 1200 calories and I definitely eat my exercise calories.

    No they don't want you to eat less than 1200 calories...they want you to reset your MFP setting to your current weight, with a smaller goal so that you get more calories to eat each day. If you don't want to mess with your settings, do some google searches on Cycling and try that. I had a 5 month plateau and by eating more or cycling (despite the common sense feeling against it) I immediatley broke it and dropped again!

    Hope that helps!
  • mogadad
    mogadad Posts: 41 Member
    Just a thought, but it works for me and I'm in about the same spot. See-saw up and down on purpose and don't let you body try to recover. Too many days at low input and the body adjusts and nothing happens
  • grimrpr
    grimrpr Posts: 14
    How are you working out? Typically people overestimate their exercise calories as most machines in the gym WAY over estimate this. If the bike says you burned 200 calories round that to 150.

    The only reason you would not lose weight is if you are burning all the calories you eat and nothing else. (most likely scenario anyway)

    MFP does a HORRID job of partitioning your macronutrients (protein/carb/fat). Try increasing your protein and decreasing fat/carbs. This will help you 1) not eat as much, and 2) feel full longer.

    stress plays in very little despite what all the 'experts' say. I know several people who are totally stressed (college student carrying 4.0, single mother(s), with a 35hr a week job).. They are losing weight. Stress impact weight gain the same way depression does. By lowering your activity (gosh, I'm so tired), and by your body telling you to eat more. The end result is more calories in, less calories out = weight gain.

    I had to do a lot of research on this stuff before my weight really started moving, I'm pretty happy with the developments in the last little bit, and I'm sure you will succeed as well.
  • rautaty
    rautaty Posts: 44 Member
    Same happened to me, joined gym 2 weeks ago and i am 125-126 , i'd like to be 115lb, so i noticed that everytime, after my workout routine (i lift weights and i also do cardio) i'd gain about 2 pounds. Also my scale is showing same weight and even a bit more every day( i weight myself every morning). So what i did is that i took mesurements at the end of every week and yes, i am getting smaller, lost some inches already. Maybe you should do that too.
  • Tara4boys
    Tara4boys Posts: 515 Member
    I am severely hypothyroid. One suggestion. Go to an actual endocrinologist not a general doctor. Many family doctors just look at the lab work alone. My endocrinologist really looks at me as the whole person and has of goal of me being not just normal but optimal.
  • tinalouiseh2
    tinalouiseh2 Posts: 6 Member
    Definitely have your thyroid checked. If you are borderline, discuss taking natural supplements with your doctor before you start. Your thyroid is extremely important to the function of your body and even those on medication like me :) find very slight fluctuations in weight can affect it. Other medications have to be taken into consideration as well with anything which doesn't need a prescription. I didn't lose wait at first but raising my calories by 200 made a huge difference. I figured it had something to do with hormones as well. Be honest with your doctor and share your concerns.
  • mattemery
    mattemery Posts: 38 Member
    Of course, don't know for sure, but, looking at your goals, your picture, and the fact that you have already dropped a couple of pounds, maybe it is expectations. As a couple of others have said, setting goal at 0.5 pounds a week is realistic with a goal of 5-10 total.

    But as a couple of others have pointed out, indirectly (i.e. measure your inches, not your weight), it's possible you don't need to loose that. Here is a good article (I think).

    How Much Should I Weigh?
    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/how-much-should-i-weigh.php

    My doctor told me yet a different way. Start with 100 pounds. For every inch over 5 feet tall, women add 5 pounds, men add 7. So, a 5'10" man should weigh 170, and a 5'6" woman should weigh 130. Then she allowed +/- 10% on either side. Using all of these methods should give you a good idea of what a healthy weight is.
  • grimrpr
    grimrpr Posts: 14
    Same happened to me, joined gym 2 weeks ago and i am 125-126 , i'd like to be 115lb, so i noticed that everytime, after my workout routine (i lift weights and i also do cardio) i'd gain about 2 pounds. Also my scale is showing same weight and even a bit more every day( i weight myself every morning). So what i did is that i took mesurements at the end of every week and yes, i am getting smaller, lost some inches already. Maybe you should do that too.

    This is due to muscle GAIN. Cardio doesn't really BUILD muscle, but weight/resistance training does. Muscle weighs more than fat. That being said, a professional bodybuilder will usually TRY and FAIL to gain 20lbs in a year. If you notice that after several months you are still gaining a pound or 2 a week.. that isn't muscle.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Tired, depressed, and stressed are all classic symptoms of not eating enough.You only have 10 pounds to lose, why are you starving yourself?

    I don't think I'm starving myself :) I eat - I love to cook and eat :) but maybe I do need to eat more to boost my metabolism
    ? I have a lot of muscle. My caloric intake is based on what MFP set for me. But I'm sure just going by someone's height and weight is not an accurate way of deciphering how many calories they need...

    Are you trying to lose 2 pounds a week? Because that's what it sounds like, and if you only have 10 pounds or so to lose, it's incredibly unrealistic. You shouldn't be trying to lose more than half a pound a week.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Same happened to me, joined gym 2 weeks ago and i am 125-126 , i'd like to be 115lb, so i noticed that everytime, after my workout routine (i lift weights and i also do cardio) i'd gain about 2 pounds. Also my scale is showing same weight and even a bit more every day( i weight myself every morning). So what i did is that i took mesurements at the end of every week and yes, i am getting smaller, lost some inches already. Maybe you should do that too.

    This is due to muscle GAIN. Cardio doesn't really BUILD muscle, but weight/resistance training does. Muscle weighs more than fat. That being said, a professional bodybuilder will usually TRY and FAIL to gain 20lbs in a year. If you notice that after several months you are still gaining a pound or 2 a week.. that isn't muscle.

    That's not muscle gain, it's water retention. Muscle takes weeks to add, not after every workout.
  • raineraven78
    raineraven78 Posts: 42 Member
    Thanks everyone. I looked at my goals. Didn't realize I had set myself to lose 2 pounds per week. I changed it to .5 but it upped my calories to 1500 and I really felt that was too much. I changed my calories to 1300 and I'll take it from there and see what happens.
  • dovesgate
    dovesgate Posts: 894 Member
    Have you tried setting your calories to the lowest weight loss setting and eating back your exercise calories? (i.e. eating more)

    The less you have to lose, the lower your setting needs to be and the closer to maintanence you need to be eating.

    I didn't think it was healthy to go below 1200 calories and I definitely eat my exercise calories.

    Sorry, I don't think I was clear. I meant the .5 setting rather than a 2lb setting.
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