I am 23, female. My old diet was between 2000 - 3500 or more calories a day, most of them consumed at night. I would never eat breakfast and have big lunches, huge dinners and lots of snacks (cakes, chocolate). I never exercised. I lost 8lbs late last year by trying to eat less, but it was very slow. Then I sort of slipped back into bad habits and gained 2 lbs back.

For the past month I have been eating between 1200 - 1650 calories a day, balanced, healthy food, I have been eating breakfast, drinking more water and doing about 10 minutes exercise a day (jumping jacks, squats, hulua hooping, lunges or just dancing around).

I have not lost a single gram, in fact I feel like I have gained weight (even though the scale doesn't register, my clothes feel tighter).

I am depserate. What else can I try.

Oh ... I always get shivers when someone answers questions like this with "oh come try what I'm doing" but ... I'm really happy eating primally (low carb). We have a thread going (the link is in my sig). Several great, level headed, smart posters.

I'm sure you'll get more ideas Every one is worth a read.

Hey!

You don't say how much you weigh--but regardless, I'd suggest more exercise. For instance, go for a 30 minute walk in the morning, and then do something else--even more walking--in the afternoon. Or get some exercise videos, some dance videos--lots of things you can do. Try for 5-6 times a week on the exercise. I think 10 minutes a day is probably not quite enough.

Good luck!
Jay

I weigh 160lbs and am 5'6.

I have read that weight loss is 80% diet, and I really expected to see results from chaning my diet too. I realise I could do more exercise, but I thought i would lose weight by lowering my calories and even with a little bit of exercise, then when I hit a plateu I could increase the exercise.

Thanks! You are just barely overweight according to BMI, so it's going to be a little harder for you to lose. That's not a bad thing! It just means you need to be patient.

Also, be really consistent. Try to avoid going really high on one day and then trying to "balance" it by going really low the next. Instead, stay close to a middle number, even on weekends. Plan out your meals so you pretty much know what your choices are, and even if you go out, think in advance of what you'll choose from the menu. Check out calorie counts on line.

You do want to add exercise because active muscle burns fat. However, the muscle has to be active for longer than about 12 minutes at a stretch.

Do you use a calorie tracker like FitDay? Those can be helpful.

Jay