Hi guys,

When I moved to the US about 2 months ago, I was determined to lose weight since I'm living alone and can completely control what and when I eat. But for the past 2 months, I've literally lost nothing. I've been eating a breakfast of about 400 calories and a lunch of about 800 calories, and normally a snack for dinner which is varies between 100-200 calories. I don't exercise too much, but I thought that around 1500 calories was enough to lose weight.

I currently weigh 205 lbs, and the frustrating thing is that I've been bouncing between 204 and 207 lbs for over a month now and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I had a general checkup before I left home and I know I don't have any medical reasons that I'm not losing.

Can anyone think of something I'm doing wrong? Any suggestions would be welcomed. I dreamed of going back home in a year a much healthier and slimmer person but it's been over 2 months already and I can feel the chances of that slipping away. Please help.

Well, do you measure your food? Or just guess?

I once poured what I believed to be a cup of cereal into a bowl, and then did an actual cup of cereal into a different bowl. My "Guess" was about double what a real cup was. After that, I weigh and measure all my food to get as close to the actual calories as I can. Huge difference, and my weight loss got better.

Try logging your food as well, I use MyFitnessPal.com and it's amazing at tracking my actual calories.

You also have to realize that calorie counting isn't exact. You can be logging 1200 calories a day, but really be eating 1400 calories a day just because of off measurements, you make a recipe and you get the piece with more cheese than the others (as it doesn't work out evenly in big recipes).

If you are burning more calories than you are eating, you will lose weight. It may be slower than we like, but it will start to fall off. Something that I notice that help me:

I drink water, days I drink water I feel fuller and it seems to help my weigh in the next day.

I keep a graph of my daily weigh ins. There are ups and downs, but the over all slope of the graph is a healthy 1lb a week down.

Sometimes sodium will make the next day a "up" I've noticed. If my previous day had a lot of sodium in my log and little water, my next day is a small up on the scale. I'm assuming water retention.

Shark week, aunt Flow, TOM, PMS... what ever you call it, can also effect my weigh ins drastically.

Switching up exercise can "shake" loose some weight. Start going on walks or try C25K, 30DS, Insanity, or something to get a little more calorie burn. I personally don't "eat back" calories I burned.

If you stick with it, you are eating less calories than you are consuming, the weight will fall off.Try lower the calories, measuring, or other things if it really is a standstill.

there is a 5:2 IF around here that I'm told really helps people. (Like a fast thing). I personally haven't done it, but I'm told people have good results.

Finally, if you are eating healthy, right, and the weight isn't coming off, don't give up. You don't want to have a year go by and have gained weight. It's better to stick with the healthy eating than go back to old habits. Even if it's slow, a year from now will come no matter what. If we lose weight, gain weight or stay the same, our choice what happens, but that year passes no matter what we do with it.

LAST, if you are having issues, you are weighing, measuring, and are creating a deficit. Ask the doctor if they checked your thyroid or other reasons you may not be losing weight. If everything is clean, consider consulting dieticians, nutritionist, personal trainer, or attempting something new like cutting out diet drinks. Shake it up.

I wish you luck!

You're a saint for typing out such a detailed reply, thank you.

I don't measure my food but a lot of what I eat I buy from a Deli near my workplace where they have calorie counts on most of the menu items, so I go by that. I don't know how else to do it because I don't cook at home so I can't measure meals exactly.

I've been exercising very rarely, so I think I'll increase that as well and see how it goes. I really don't want to get discouraged and give up.

On a side note, I've been cutting down on my smoking a lot. Is there any chance that has something to do with it? I haven't completely quit but I've gone from 10-12 cigarettes per day to 1 or 2.

I totally totally hear your well earned frustration. Kurisitaru is right. The year is going to pass no matter what you choose to do with it. Even if things haven't been going the way you want them to, you're still trying and that is positive.

Sure, we all want to lose weight and look amazing (moreso than we already do)...but maybe this year is all about getting more active and forming healthy habits. Maybe you return home in a year as the girl with a million fantastic, healthy recipes who is always down for urban exploring or a nature hike.

This is your year! The changes you can make can be about so much more than just the scale, and it sounds like you have a few avenues to explore on that front still. Congrats on cutting down on smoking, too!

well, who knows if that Deli is having its numbers right?

Could you start preparing your meals at home? that doesnt have to be difficult or time consuming, promise

excercise is awesome too. I play for my exercise for example. an hour of dance dance revolution has me sweating and my heart pounding each day. It isnt boring, I dont even realize I work out until the sweat keeps running into my eyes. I did the math, and with one pause day each week and at a rate of 350 (more like 450 now, since I upped in difficulty) calories per hour this will burn me 15 Kilos! (33 lbs!) in a year. they say diet makes the most important point in weight loss, but that number is convincing!
350 calories are 50 grams of body weight a day, or 500 grams in 10 days, 5 Kilos in 100 days or 15 Kilos in 300 days.
A workout worth 350 calories can even be done under an hour, just check out some calorie burn websites. I use myfitnesspal.com to track myself, just like kurisitaru. it is a diary for calories and exercise, and you can also put the calories from your deli in there. very comfy.

And I also have a graph like kuri... Several, even
I am a girl of numbers, and I love to track myself. I dont only just track weight though, but also my workouts and measurements, and made pictures of the "before", so if my weight doesnt move I have the measurements and piccies. I am sure ONE of these will move if I stick to plan

Try a tweak. Sometimes it's a really small thing that makes the difference.

For me, it's not reducing calories- it's reducing carbs. Some people will say a calorie is a calorie, and for them that may be true. For me, it's not. If I eat a high carb diet, I cannot lose weight. Period. If I replace those carbs with protein and fat, the weight starts falling off at a rate of 2-3 lbs per week.

Don't do too much at once. I'd read other threads here where people detail what worked for them. Then pick something and try and it and see if it works for you.

I remember when I was at one plateau, my doctor suspected that I was overestimating what a portion looked like. She said to me, "Cut your portions in half." No weighing or anything complicated- just "cut your portions in half" and she said I could have as much veggies as I wanted if I were still hungry. That tweak worked. Apparently I'm WAY off when it comes to eyeballing a portion size. Haha.

maybe a food journal could be your best bet! I'm also coming out of this period where I just could not lose anything. For me, I'm sure it's the portion sizes and what I choose to eat.
As stated above, if you are counting calories (which I don't do myself but have tried), MyFitnessPal is great. Be brutally honest with yourself and try to see objectively what you can cut down or replace and focus on making little changes at a time.

Oh man... DDR is GREAT! I love DDR.

My matt is all messed up from too many drunken nights smashing into it. Perhaps after I finish my SHRED and Insanity I will have a trip to the store. Seriously, fun. I also like Tennis, hiking, biking, swimming (I'm NOT a lap swimmer and when no is watching I still pretend I'm a mermaid... just a tad. XD).

I have no idea about the cigarettes, but good for you! That's a GREAT habit to get out of.

I found out why I'm not losing, and I feel like a complete and utter idiot.

I asked the lady at the deli about the calorie counts, and she said that it was per serving, but in each meal they tended to give two or even three servings in one. I've been so careful to calculate whenever I buy random bars and chips and stuff, but for some reason this didn't even cross my mind.

I really am silly. But at least I know what the issue is. After calculating how much I've been eating per day, it's a wonder I haven't gained anything, let alone lost.

Sorry about the fuss, and thanks to those who answered

hah, that was what I was thinking

Then your loss can start now, I wish you all the best

Edit says: I knew it! that is also a little mean trick stores would do . do they also put up the info there that each meal (which for sure will be bought and eaten by single people) contains 2 or more "servings"?

The U.S. also has more additives and preservatives than other countries, so your body may be shocked! Go for foods that don't have a long list of ingredients. Deli meat can even me coated in sugar.