Why am I having so much difficulty losing weight?

[melanie9282004]

I have been walking about 13,000 steps a day during the week and about 18-20K on the weekends and I've been eating about 1500 calories a day and havent seen a change on the scale. I've been doing this for about one month and feel super discouraged. I would love to hear if others have experienced something similar...I usually read about how people lose a ton in the beginning and plataeu after a few months...Id love to hear words of encouragement or similar stories that end with success. Thanks so much!

[Quaters5o]

Hello maybe you are not drinking enough water, also you may need more calories, just a sugestion

[ndhorse]

Look online for a BMR calculator.  That stands for Basal Metabolic Rate.  That is the amount of calories you burn if you just laid in bed all day (your brain and organs burn a bunch).  It can be quite a lot acutally.  Don't eat less than that.  If you do, your body can go into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down.  This may be your problem.  Hope that helps.

[SunsetRunner]

It may also be what you are eating.  Do you use something like MyFitnessPal to track what you are eating?  If not, check it (or some similar program) out.  Do you measure/weigh what you are eating or just eyeball the amount?  [If you don't have and use a food scale that measures in grams, you are just guessing. Same for measuring.]  I know that I found the serving size of many of the items I was eating was WAY different when I actually measured what a serving size was.  For instance a serving size of ganola barely covers the bottom of a small bowl.  While that is enough when mixed with yogurt if the granola was going to be breakfast it would not go very far.  Do you eat mostly processed, i.e, out of a box, foods or whole foods as close to the "real deal" as you can get?  Exercise, including walking, is great for helping to make you healthier but unless you are in the gym all day, every day it is not going to do much for weight loss - that will largely come from what you are eating.  For example, one slice of bread is about 100 calories.  You would need to walk about a mile (~ 2000 steps) to burn that off.  So if you normally have two slices of bread when you have a sandwich you can save 100 calories by just using one slice.  There are a lot of success stories here and at MFP (and Weight Watchers and I expect most other sites).  The common denominator for those who have been successful is finding a program that works for them (which may be different from one that works for you or for me) and then sticking with it for however long it takes.

[Heybales]

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@melanie9282004 wrote:

I have been walking about 13,000 steps a day during the week and about 18-20K on the weekends and I've been eating about 1500 calories a day and havent seen a change on the scale. I've been doing this for about one month and feel super discouraged. I would love to hear if others have experienced something similar...I usually read about how people lose a ton in the beginning and plataeu after a few months...Id love to hear words of encouragement or similar stories that end with success. Thanks so much!

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That is true.

But were you already in diet prior - already losing that initial water weight?

Or did you truly start the Fitbit without having done any adjustments to your diet prior.

And you log all foods you eat - and weigh them for accuracy - NOT measuring anything but liquids.

Also, with that difference in walking amounts, you should be eating different amounts if you following the Fitbit possibly reasonable plan of eating less than you burn. I say possibly reasonable, you may not have that much to lose - but still select an unreasonable weekly loss amount - which isn't a benefit.

Or did you figure you knew a better amount to eat daily no matter what you do, and made that a manual setting?

[jenefur]

Melanie,

I completely understand the pain behind your post, as I too, myself have been exercising for 2 months , and been really watching my food intake for a month of that. I have lost 2 pds .

Try looking at other things, other than just your scale. I have not lost weight "poundage", but my jeans fit differently in areas, I feel better and my sweet husband keeps making comments that are sweet and encouraging (course that might be to stay out of the doghouse   )  Also keep in mind if you are more active not than prior to your weight loss journey you will gain muscle which weights more than fat.

I am not sure of you age, but I can tell you at 35 I am struggling with weight loss, more than when I started my journey at 25 and over 200 pds, now at 35 and trying to complete my journey to get to the goal I didn't make  years ago are harder now than I would have ever imagined.

Hang in there, for me once I find my niche and what works for your body, you too will shed pounds weekly. Finding that niche, is the trick, and some individuals have stubborn bodies that just don't want to give up. Just remember to be more stubborn than your body.

[gigismawmaw]

I have been having the same trouble, with the scale not budging and I have been walking on morning work breaks and 1hr lunches and still the same and some days a lb or 2 more.  I have been walking since July 7th with no change.  I dont know what else to do, but to keep moving because if I'm not doing what I am doing how much worse off would I be?  I even got my Thyroid checked and it is fine. But my Dr. did say that my estrogen levels came back showing that I am definitely going through the change which may have alot to do with weight gain.  I am just bouncing between 172-175 back and forth and have been this entire year....Errrrrrr :smileyfrustrated  Don't give up, we can do this!