On August 6th (almost 2 weeks ago) I decided to embark upon a mission to make a healthier me. I decided to lose a total of about 30 lbs, bringing me down to about 127, which would be an ideal weight for me.

Here's how I decided to go about it:

-Tracking calories on "the daily plate" on livestrong.com
-Exercising every day- most days I run about 2 miles, and walk about 2 miles, but about 2 times per week I walk all 4 miles, I use the shake-weight for about 6 minutes, and if the weather is too bad I get on my wii fit and do a comparable amount of cardio.
- Drinking plenty of water


I have been following everything to the T, really pushing myself athletically, and being really persistent about it, but the scale is not moving. I started at 157 ( 155 after exercising the first day ) and am still hovering right around 155 after 2 full weeks. Based on the number of calories I'm eating, I should be losing about 2lbs per week, I'm wondering if someone could help me troubleshoot what I could be doing wrong/ why it's not coming off/ and if I should be worried yet.


I have been eating 1200 - 1300 calories total each day and burning off about 350 to 400 in exercise. I know my metabolism is probably out of whack because I had been trying to lose weight unhealthily before. I was eating 500 to 900 calories per day for about a month, but then went back to my normal 1600 - 2000 for about a month (i know it's bad, that's why I stopped doing it. I'm trying to recover from it, but I'm not sure how to do so and continue to lose weight) Could I be eating too little to lose weight even at 1200- 1300 calories per day? Is that even possible? How much should I be eating to regain metabolism and still lose weight? Is -that- even possible? Has anyone else been here before? help!

You are tracking your food - are you measuring/weighing it or just eye-balling it. I recently started weighing stuff and was SHOCKED at how far off I was when eye-balling.

How long has it been since you did you month at 500 - 900 calories? If this was just last month, it could take some time for your body to recover.

When you run - do you run 2 miles, then wlak two miles or do you do intervals (i.e. jog a minute, walk a minute, jog a minute, walk a minute, etc.)? Intervals will be a big help in recovering from your month of eating too little.

I wouldn't worry about it after only two weeks, if you go four weeks without any loss then I would be concerned. If find that when I start exercising more intensely than I have been my body retains water and of course I drink more water too.

I am measuring food, and trying to be very exact with it, but I have not ventured in to weighing it.

It was in June that I was eating 500-900 calories per day. Almost all of july I was not watching what I ate, but probably landed somewhere between 1600 and 2000 as a rough guesstimate.

My typical runs tend to be a quick warm up, run for about 10 to 12 minutes, walk about 10 minutes, run 5, walk 5, run 3, walk 3, run 2, walk 2, run 1 walk 1, cool down.

In my experience it took about a month for my metabolism to kick in, plus I seem to be losing slower lately (which I will attribute to muscle gain since I'm doing P90X). So I would give it another week or 2 because your body is in shock maybe. Good Luck!

That all sounds good! I am betting that Jayjay is right - you may have to ride it out. I bust my butt for what feels like should be equivalent to an 8 lb loss and then I weigh myself to find I am down 0.8. I would give it a few more weeks and if you STILL aren't going down, then maybe look closer at WHAT you are eating. I know my body reacts differently to 1500 worth of calories of beer and doritos than it does to 1500 calories of chicken and brocolli.

Every body processes food differently; for me, I also originally tried eating a really low calorie diet & had little to no success. I was convinced I could never eat at a normal caloric range without gaining.

What I learned through my weight loss journey is that I have to limit starchy foods to 2 servings a day, eliminate milk & yogurt (even greek yogurt) & take calcium suplements, limit my fruits to 2 servings a day, drink LOTS of water, and eat lots of lean protein, healthy fats, and non-starchy veggies to actively lose weight. It goes without saying that I also eliminated any processed foods & refined sugar - it isn't for forever, but really makes a difference when you are trying to lose. Lastly, I limited my salad dressing consumption to 2Tbs/day to reduce sodium.

Now that I'm in maintenance, I find I feel best if my total carbs are around 40-45% of my daily intake, protein is around 30% and fat is around 25-30%. I still try to get most of my carb calories from whole grains, fruits & veggies - - but I'm not perfect.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you may need to play with the make-up of your diet more than the calories. I would not reduce to eating less than you currently are with your exercise regime. I tried that, too...bad idea.

You can do it!! Give yourself some time to adjust & know that the scale is only ONE piece of feedback regarding overall health. Congrats on your many successes thus far...even if they haven't been reflected for you on the scale just yet (they will!)