Not loosing weight despite serious calories reduction

[ScubaAlex]

When I started out, I needed to loose about 12-13 lbs. I know that doesn't sound like much but that is what makes it all the more difficult. 

Of course the first 3 lbs came right off in barely a week or so, the rest has been a true struggle.

This past week, I have been exercising daily if not even twice a day, eating around 1000 calories (so a defiicit of 750-1000 calories per day!), no alcohol, drink an average of 100 fl oz of water per day, and I got the scale this morning to only see 1.2lbs gone.  WTF!  The week before, when I had my period and with an average of 800 calorie deficit per day, I didn't loose anything!!   This is totally depressing. 

I don't see how I can eat even less and still be functional.  Thoughts?

(I'm now 139lbs, 5'6, 45 y/o and aiming for 132lbs). 

[Heybales]

You can't build muscle that fast.

For woman, eating in surplus, doing progressive lifting routine and perfect lifestyle for it - 1 lb every 5-6 weeks.

Man 2-4 weeks if really going after it.

Throw in a diet, it'll be even slower if at all.

So you'd have to be eating at maintenance to not lose weight.

Measuring is great idea though, there are all kinds of reasons the body gains weight from exercise unrelated to gaining muscle mass.

[kamiller]

I agree with you 100% Maxit. The quality of the food intake and portions are important to a "lifestyle change", not a diet. You have to be committed to just eating good all the time. It feels much better than creating more stress and worry of trying to focus on just the weight loss. I enjoy walking now and I love challenging myself to exercise and the intensity of the workout. My friends and I are all helping each other and that helps too. 

[kamiller]

That's what I say. Rid yourself of the things that are not good for long-term good health and eat the things that produce longevity and youth. I am 52, 53 in April and I am going through change of life and I am making a lifestyle change because I don't want to be crippled up when I am 70. I am trying to be active for as long as I can. I don't have grandchildren yet, but I know I will one of these days. I need a good heart and good health to enjoy them. Good for you!!Keep it up!!!

[jwis86]

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@divedragon wrote:

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@Chess wrote:

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@kristhebooklady wrote:

When you go below 1200 calories the body see you are starving yourself and won't lose weight. It takes eating calories and not skimping on calories. If I burn 1000 more calories exercising thanI eat, I will lose two lbs a week. I 'm possible, not impossible. Slow and steady wins the race. I hope this helps.

kris:)

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That is absolutely FALSE.

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Absolutely never say absolutely!  You body is not a steady machine. - it's adaptive.  When you restrict calories too much, your metabolism slows down.  This is not as much as issue with people who have a BMI in excess of 30 (although there is evidence that an uptake of oxygen is significantly reduced), but it does become an increasing risk as your BMI drops.

-People on ultra low calorie diets often develop symptoms such as constipation/diaherra, nausea and fatigue and even Gallstones.  The added issue of ultra low calories diets is the restriction on a diversity of foods for different sources of vitamines and minerals.  Not to mention cannibalization of muscle for protein which in turn affects your ability to burn fat.

The Following is an excerpt from a study in the Journal of international society of sports nutrition.

"Metabolic rate is dynamic in nature, and previous literature has shown that energy restriction and weight loss affect numerous components of energy expenditure. In weight loss, TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) has been consistently shown to decrease [38,39]. Weight loss results in a loss of metabolically active tissue, and therefore decreases BMR [38,39]. Interestingly, the decline in TDEE often exceeds the magnitude predicted by the loss of body mass. Previous literature refers to this excessive drop in TDEE as adaptive thermogenesis, and suggests that it functions to promote the restoration of baseline body weight [13-15]"

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Calories are a unit of energy, your body burns energy it is calories in vs calories out.  There may be a thing such as starvation mode, but it is your body shutting down non essential functions first, then essential functions.  Regardless you will still lose weight.

Anything else would be violating the laws of thermodynamics.  I don't care who you are, you cannot do that.

[cutie]

I'm in the same boat.  5 3' weigh 140, eating 1200 a day.  10,000 plus steps a day. Love water.  I'm stuck.  Haven't lost anything since December.  Going to try 1,00 calories during lent to see if that helps. 😞

[SunsetRunner]

http://www.wcgh.org/how-to-understand-the-risks-of-eating-too-few-calories/

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-taking-calories-bad-you-2624.html

http://www.livestrong.com/article/521199-signs-symptoms-of-eating-too-few-calories/

http://www.everydayhealth.com/weight/fewer-calories-stalls-metabolism.aspx

[tanz78]

Dont forget measurements are sometimes far more accurate than the scales , and how your clothes fit you.

[Heybales]

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@jwis86 wrote:

Calories are a unit of energy, your body burns energy it is calories in vs calories out.  There may be a thing such as starvation mode, but it is your body shutting down non essential functions first, then essential functions.  Regardless you will still lose weight.

Anything else would be violating the laws of thermodynamics.  I don't care who you are, you cannot do that.

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True, you keep eating less and less and you will eventually keep losing - as the body can only slow down so much - those studies show only 20-25%.

But how well will adherence be then, how long to reach goal weight?

How much will maintenance suck, and will be you be like majority then and gain all or more of the weight back?

And it isn't shutting things down, it's slowing things down, and becoming more efficient than it was before, for all calories burned.

Your calories-in increases despite eating the same amount of food, because your body is less wasteful with what is eaten.

Your calories-out descreases with that efficiency increase.

You have just by your eating level and amount of deficit change the CICO equation, shifted in what I'd bet most would consider a negative direction.

But if you could lose the same amount while eating more, and with exercise included cause a better body transformation - why wouldn't you?

[mmandy93]

I know the feeling. I had this problem for years!!!I have been dieting for 10 months now, starting at 16 stones!! I have lost 4 stones with 2.5 to go. I was a yo yo dieter for years sticking to diets religously only to plateau early on and lose no more which was utterly soul destroying, and I tried all the diets, whether you have 2 stones or 2lbs to go!! This all changed for me when I discovered a book called burn the fat,feed the muscle by Tom Venuto (amazon) which is also how I came to buy my first fitbit as he recommends them. Life and health changing for me. He explains all about the problems of fat loss plateaus and how to overcome them to lose that last amount of fat. (fat not weight) The book also shows you how to claculate your correct basal metabolic rate and how much you need to eat, a lot of people dont eat enough and this is the cause of the plateau. This led me to a second book called weight training made easy by Joyce Vedral(1p from Amazon) which is an older book so dont be put off. These books are as much about the mentality of fat loss as the physical aspects which is why I have been successful this time.  I didn`t realise that at the age of 26 you start to lose muscle and bone density which is the main cause osteoporosis and the only way to reverse this is with weight training which also boosts your metabolism by around 15%. Weight training is arguably the most important activity in health and fitness. Its not fair for others to say it`s soley what you put in your mouth that makes for weight loss as my diet is not the greatest but I stick to my 1500 calories a day and eat as healthily as I can, I do free weights 4 times a week (or a great DVD called weights with Kelly Coffey Meyer)  in my kitchen and also hip hop abs/rockin body workout dvds with Shaun T.  Fitbits have been great motivators. Further calorie reduction will only harm your health.If you read these books I guarantee you will be able to eat much more and burn your excess fat!!

[jwis86]

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@Heybales wrote:

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@jwis86 wrote:

Calories are a unit of energy, your body burns energy it is calories in vs calories out.  There may be a thing such as starvation mode, but it is your body shutting down non essential functions first, then essential functions.  Regardless you will still lose weight.

Anything else would be violating the laws of thermodynamics.  I don't care who you are, you cannot do that.

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True, you keep eating less and less and you will eventually keep losing - as the body can only slow down so much - those studies show only 20-25%.

But how well will adherence be then, how long to reach goal weight?

How much will maintenance suck, and will be you be like majority then and gain all or more of the weight back?

And it isn't shutting things down, it's slowing things down, and becoming more efficient than it was before, for all calories burned.

Your calories-in increases despite eating the same amount of food, because your body is less wasteful with what is eaten.

Your calories-out descreases with that efficiency increase.

You have just by your eating level and amount of deficit change the CICO equation, shifted in what I'd bet most would consider a negative direction.

But if you could lose the same amount while eating more, and with exercise included cause a better body transformation - why wouldn't you?

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You're absolutley right too.  I by no means was advocating a low near starvation caloric intake.  It isn't practical in the long term.  I have lost 60+lbs.  It took 3 years but I now look and feel great.  the first 40lbs came off in about 7 months the last 20 took over two years.  Slow losses.  Heck there were plenty of weeks where I gained a bit.

I'm want to lose some more weight now to get down to my marathon weight, about 10 more pounds (which will be skinny for me 5'10'' 160lbs 28y.o.).  It's going to take several months of hard work and slow loses.  I hope to hit it by the end of summer. 

[Sabern]

I have a very hard time loseing weight. I am a diabetic and the medication makes it hard to lose. But I am still trying. my fitbit gives me about 990 calories a day, I lost 3 pounds then gained them all back. Everyone says not to go below 1100 or 1200 calories. ok then why does the fitbit drop me below 1000? I would like to lose 1 lb a week at least. I am very small bone, but need to lose about 20 lbs. I am walking about 5000 to 8000 steps daily and working out about 30 60 minutes daily . I tried moving my calories to 1200 and gained back the 3 lbs that I had lost. I am very confused. any advice appreciated.

[Katsomm]

Although I only initially get 1100 calories (I'm tall) after I do 10,000 -12,000 steps and then work out (and input it to get additional calories - ie. 1 hour workout +400).  I actually get to eat as much as 1550 - 1600 calories a day and I'm losing 1lb-1 1/2lb per week as per program.  The fitit adjusts to what you need and gives you more calories as you walk and workout (you have to add in your workout manually).  I actually workout and do more walking so I can have those extra 400 -500 calories later in the day - just so I can eat with my family at night and not live on salad alone!

Are you sure you are not getting additional calories as the day goes on as you do steps? (you could check by doing a big walk ( ie 4000 steps) and look at calories remaining - it will go up)  When you put in your daily 30 minute workout do you put it into the log to get additional calories?   Also, are you meeting your "active minutes" per day goal?  A brisk walk to meet that "active minutes" goal every day will go a long way to burning calories and loosing weight. good luck.

[Sabern]

Thanks for your reply,, Yes I am imputing all workouts etc, and Yes I do see the calories go up. Guess i was not thinking about the additional calories that I earn from moving. but most days I can not eat all the calories given.but i still do not understand why i am not loseing at least some each week . I did lose some inches. but i also need the scale to come down at the same time. I am only 5'2" and weigh 161 and then moved back up to 163. my goal is 140. and should be lower then that. im also 78 years of age. and feeling pretty good.thanks

[Ccl33]

I have the same issues. We are similar in size and age and it is difficult. I recently increased my calories to 1200 but usually don’t eat all of them. About a month ago, I decided to try the green smoothies in place of one meal. I entered the ingredients so that the calories would be accurate, but I am not having any luck with that either.
If you find the answer, I would appreciate the heads up.
Regards

[Katsomm]

Maybe try walking more - at least 10,000 steps a day and make sure that it's brisk enough to make the "active minutes" recognize it.  I find I have better results when I meet all the goals...water intake, active minutes and calories.   Maybe that will help?  Oh, and walk in the morning to get your metabolism up and have your lightest meal at the end of the day...that helps too.  

[cutie]

I'm in the same boat. Have not gone over 1000 calories for last three days scale didn't budge a bit. Maybe it's the weather. Very cold in WV lol
Sent from my iPhone

[Katsomm]

It's hard to see results in 3 days!...I'll have 3 or 4 days where I will put on weight (doing everything right) and then is will drop back off quickly soon after.  I think it has something to do with my monthly cycle...mid-month and just before the end of my cycle (hormones that cause water retention I assume).    Try averaging it over two weeks rather than looking day by day...hope that helps.  Keep track of it in a journal….you might see a pattern. 

[Urchin]

I know I am only one individual and my experience is by no means the same as everyone, but I am kind of baffled by those who are blue-face arguing that weight loss is as simple eating minimal calories, and that not eating enough has zero effect on weight loss.

Again, this is only my individual experience, but when I was eating a low calorie diet, the scale was stuck and I would not lose for anything. I came across the theory that eating based off of BMR requirements is a better approach and went that direction.

So I went from eating 1200-1400 cals per day to upping it to 1900. I am 5'1, was 128lbs when I started eating more cals (I am also breastfeeding). Since upping my calorie intake, my weight is dropping off at a good, healthy pace. I am now down to 120.8lbs. ..So the "eating enough food to lose weight" rather that restircting worked for me.

Good luck to the OP. I do hope you find something that works for you & helps you get to your goal!

[Grumpy1]

Using my Surge to see my daily caloric burn, shows me that I rarely burn 2100 cal/day or more, but my nutrition coach wants me to eat 2100-2300 every day-----she knows that my goal is to lose weight, but I don't see how this will work if there is not a DEFICIT...........She doesn't think the Surge is accurately detecting my calories burned- I exercise 2 -3 times per day (CrossFit, running, yoga usually, with 2 rest days per week).....I don't think she really knows how slow my metabolism is!!!  It took 21 months of 1200 cal/day and 1 hour of exercise daily to lose 97 pounds.....Have kept that off for 6 years now & want to finish the job with losing the last 20 pounds that are stuck on my tummy below the belly button.  A rest day shows I only burn 1450-1500 cal/day.........

[Heybales]

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@Sabern wrote:

I have a very hard time loseing weight. I am a diabetic and the medication makes it hard to lose. But I am still trying. my fitbit gives me about 990 calories a day, I lost 3 pounds then gained them all back. Everyone says not to go below 1100 or 1200 calories. ok then why does the fitbit drop me below 1000? I would like to lose 1 lb a week at least. I am very small bone, but need to lose about 20 lbs. I am walking about 5000 to 8000 steps daily and working out about 30 60 minutes daily . I tried moving my calories to 1200 and gained back the 3 lbs that I had lost. I am very confused. any advice appreciated.

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Why would Fitbit give you a goal of 990?

You could have selected an unreasonable goal loss of 2 lbs weekly, despite wanting to lose 1 lb weekly.

Did you actually select 500 cal deficit?

You could be very short, and not very active, so even with 500 deficit, it's down at 990. That would be correct then.

You could be starting the day at that low level, but by suppertime it's gone up.

How fast did you gain back the 3 lbs?

Because always do the math if you think it's anything other than water weight.

For instance, if you possibly thought it was fat, here's the math required to cause that.

3 lbs x 3500 / days for that change = deficit or surplus from maintenance level (not eating level).

So if that was 1 week or 7 days - that would imply you ate 1500 calorie DAILY above maintenance.

And since you said you only ate 1200, that's not possible.

Therefore it was water weight only. When you go in to a diet, everyone stores less carbs in their muscles with attached water, it's part of the initial big weight drop.

Eat more and that can restore somewhat, though not 3 lbs worth.

So you could be using invalid weigh-in days. Only valid weigh in day to base anything on is:

Morning after rest day eating normal sodium levels, not sore from last workout.

You could also have terrible food logging, and while you think 1200 was eaten, you ate out several times and have very inaccurate food logging as a result, or you do not weigh all the food that goes in your mouth, or you had a binge day or two because of eating so low.

If indeed short, you'll have to get used to eating much less than taller people, or doing more cardio to burn more daily. Go to any running race, the number of short women, if you can see them, is usually pretty good sized number. For a reason.

But good lifting routine causing damage, requiring body to heal, also burns a lot. Not as much as cardio, but it'll retain muscle at least.

Caught later reply, where you do actually get more calories because you do more than sleep all day - which is what initial eating goal was likely based on.

Suggest you meet your goal by eating your food.

You wouldn't miss your goal weight by 20% and call it enough, would you?

Then don't miss your eating goal by 20% and say enough.

50 cal over is better than 100 below.