Why the heck am I not losing weight???

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slb260
slb260 Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all - I am under a naturopath's care, and have been trying to lose weight since January. I'd like to lose anywhere from 20-30 pounds. Currently I am doing food combining, which is difficult, but at first was quite effective. I am having acupuncture. I am sticking to my calories for the day. I have been using this site for the last month or so. I have food allergies to dairy, gluten and soy, and am eating really healthy - no sugar/caffeine etc. I'm just very, very frustrated. I feel like even small changes should be happening and they are not. Honestly, it just makes me feel like cheating in the short term, and giving up in the long term.

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    well we can't see your food / exercise diary and you haven't said how much you eat, exercise, weigh or how tall you are, so gives us a clue !!
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
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    Do you exercise?

    I think you could get better answers if you opened your diary.
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
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    All of that stuff sounds grand, but you will lose weight when your calorie intake for the day is less than your calorie outgo for the day. Are you tracking your calories on here? Are you weighing and measuring? Most of us have lying eyes and a tendency to under-estimate our calories eaten and over-estimate our calories burned.

    You can get maintain (or even gain) on very healthy food if you eat too many calories and don't burn them off.
  • Trojanlc75
    Trojanlc75 Posts: 12 Member
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    How much water are you consuming on a daily basis? How much exercise? What are you calories in? Weight loss is very, very simple - Calories out must be more than calories in. A person could lose weight eating only candy bars, as long as they made sure they were burning more calories than were in the candy bars.
  • phinphanbill26
    phinphanbill26 Posts: 574 Member
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    I'm with yarwell and colie on this one. We need to be able to see your diary. vy makes a great point about measurements. The scale is only a number. Take your measurements and track progress that way. The scale won't help you determine how much better shape you are getting in...only how much lighter or heavier you are.
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
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    I am 5' 2", 48 years old, and weigh, right now, 158, sadly. My calorie intake for the day is 1260 or less. I walk my dog 5 times a week, do Jillian Michaels Shred about 3 times a week, and swim about 3 times a week. I can still make my food diary public if that would help.... :)
  • GreenEyedLady1
    GreenEyedLady1 Posts: 67
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    imho, with as active as you are, 1200 cals a day is not enough for you. your bmr is roughly 1400 cals a day. plus add in all the activities/exercise you do... you should be eating more.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I am 5' 2", 48 years old, and weigh, right now, 158, sadly. My calorie intake for the day is 1260 or less. I walk my dog 5 times a week, do Jillian Michaels Shred about 3 times a week, and swim about 3 times a week. I can still make my food diary public if that would help.... :)

    opening diary would definitely help
    Also, have you spoken to naturopath re your lack of progress?
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
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    I see my naturopath on a regular basis. We are working hard to figure this out. I'll see if I can figure out how to open my food diary. :) Also, I drink between 8 and 9 glasses of water a day.
  • rajivdubey
    rajivdubey Posts: 382 Member
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    How much is your water in-take?
  • south001
    south001 Posts: 19
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    excercise 60 mins hard a week and 240 mins easy like walking, have high protein and less carbs, eat 6 times a day then you will see a massive difference, its not all about calories.
  • wgn4166
    wgn4166 Posts: 771 Member
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    I feel your pain. Since I joined MFP I have only lost a couple pounds. Every time I step on the scale, I want to just throw up my hands and give up.
  • allirep
    allirep Posts: 26
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    there are several very helpful posts on the boards about why you can't lose weight when you aren't eating enough. i know it sounds crazy. i am following the primal diet and have a ridiculous time some days eating close to what I should (protein is filling).

    if you aren't losing weight - then try adding quality calories to your daily intake. maybe 100-200 for a few weeks. here is a great article that walks you through figuring out how many calories to eat: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/02/26/level-up-your-life-4-determining-your-calorie-level/

    best of luck. a plateau is very frustrating :( but you can do it!
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I see my naturopath on a regular basis. We are working hard to figure this out. I'll see if I can figure out how to open my food diary. :) Also, I drink between 8 and 9 glasses of water a day.

    I would change my macro percentages to decreases carbs and increase protein. You are wasting your calories on snacks - on the bars etc. You should have protein at each meal - your breakfast is always light on protein. Up veggies and salads.
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
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    Part of the food combining "thing" I'm supposed to follow is that breakfast can only be fruit, veg. juice, or broth. So...there's no way to get protein in there.
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    Part of the food combining "thing" I'm supposed to follow is that breakfast can only be fruit, veg. juice, or broth. So...there's no way to get protein in there.

    I would be hungry quicker without protein.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
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    How much weight have you lost since Jan. and how long since you lost any weight at all?
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
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    I have lost 7 pounds since January, most of that in the last six weeks or so. I have not lost anything in 2 weeks, and in fact gained a little.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Calculate BMR. Calculate TDEE.

    Eat MORE calories than your BMR.
    Eat LESS calories than your TDEE.

    Set your deficit to 500 to 1000 calories a day. This can be achieved by the deficit between TDEE - BMR, and some exercise thrown in.

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