34 days in and only 1 lb!

[almost52]

I started a healthy diet 34 days ago and have only lost 1lb. I am 5'0" and weigh 139. I have been logging my intake and average 1200 calories per day. I eat a bit more when I burn extra calories but never go over what I am allowed. I began doing step aerobics for 30 minutes a day, am drinking 8 glasses of water, and eating a high protein diet. I wonder if my age is playing a role, I am 51. I am so discouraged. I feel much better and have more energy, which is worth the effort bu want to lose weight. Any thoughts? 

[Baltoscott]

Hi @almost52 

That's frustrating.  I put your numbers into this BMR Calculator and because you are on the smaller side you just don't burn that many calories.  So tell us a little bit more about your history.  When you changed your diet did you reduce your calories from what you were eating before? Change your diet completely?  Do you feel like you can maintain the change long term?  Have you been at your current weight for a while or do you tend to go up and down?

There can be a lot of error in calculating how many calories you eat, so you may or may not be hitting your 1200 every day, but you probably don't want to try going much lower than that (hard to get all the nutrients you need).  Accuracy will be better if you weigh what you eat and make it yourself, but even then it is easy to undercount.

The other end of the equation is how many calories you burn a day. Your fitbit is helpful there.  Take a look at how many calories you burned over the last couple of weeks, and start taking steps (literally) to increase the burn.  Try to increase the weekly number by 10%. The step aerobics is good exercise, but try some strength training too.  And planned workouts isn't enough.  Get up and move throughout the day. Take the stairs more, walk around the house more, park further away when you drive, and so on.  See if you can't move your weekly steps up by 10% next week, and maybe another 10% the week after. It all adds up and will help increase your weekly burn.

I know it can be discouraging when the scale doesn't move, but it takes time.  

Let us know how it goes.

[Dominique]

In addition to all the good questions asked by @Baltoscott, I’ll enquire about your average daily step count so far. It’s often a good proxy for your overall activity level.

Like Scott, I’m going to use on an online calculator. My favorite calculator is this one, but they all work in the same way. With your personal data (female, 52, 5’0, 139), your calculated BMR is 1162 calories. Your calculated TDEE (calories burned in total) can be as follows:

• light activity level: 1598
• moderate activity level: 1801
• high activity level: 2004

Your BMR is pretty much a given (not much you can do to increase it), but your TDEE is something you can have an impact on. Significantly increase your step count and your TDEE will go up, resulting in the caloric deficit needed to lose weight.

Take calories burned reported by Fitbit with a grain of salt: they can often be inflated. This is why I like to use a calculator as a way to double-check numbers. If your Fitbit says you are burning 2000 calories or more, but your average step count is 10k or less, calories out are likely on the high side.

The quality of your diet (eating "healthy") is good for health, but for weight loss, the quantitative aspect of it (calories) need to be in check. As to formal workouts (for instance, doing step aerobics), view their main benefits from the point of fitness rather than weight loss. For weight loss, any activity will do, even mundane ones like walking, house-cleaning etc.

The good news is you only need to lose 12 pounds in order to enter what is considered the normal/healthy weight range. You can do it without having to resort to extreme actions in terms of eating and exercising.

[emili]

@almost52  I think your stature has more to do with it than age. although, I will admit it is harder for me now to stay at my best weight than it was just a year ago, so age definitely plays a factor. I think eating better to feel better is amazing, but as a fellow female, I get that you want to see a difference in your appearance as well. There is no short or right answer. Weight loss is a constant try and try again until you get it right. Certain foods do not "digest" as well than others so you carry it for longer than you want to. Activity is a huge factor. But mostly it starts in the kitchen. Healthy eating doesn't always mean low calorie which is what you need to reduce fat. Take milk, eggs, nuts, avocados, bananas- super healthy. huge benefits. But.. low calorie- nope. Should you avoid them no, should you measure them twice to make sure you are counting the calories per serving accurately- yes. When I was losing weight, I kept it super simple to make sure what I measured was exactly what I was eating. I stuck with just the ingredient so I knew exactly what I was getting. For example, shrimp and broccoli. no sauces.. a little balsamic and spices. I knew exactly what I was eating. Or just fruit and a whole wheat waffle for breakfast. Or just raw veggies for lunch and some pretzels. Simple. No big recipes to calculate. Once I was where I wanted to be, the rules stayed in place, but the recipes came back and the scale went back in the cupboard... good luck in your journey... and happy new year!

[almost52]

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I will keep trying!

[almost52]

Thanks so much for your thoughts! I will make adjustments and keep trying!