HOW am I still not losing?
 

I consider myself to be pretty well versed in what it takes to lose weight. I've always lived by "calories in vs. calories out". I lost 60 pounds before just by cutting back my calories and adding in workouts, so I've seen it in action.

But for some reason right now it's not working out like that for me.

2/1 I embarked on this new, final weight loss journey at 237lbs. I was so busy and couldn't make time to work out, so I focused entirely on cutting back my calories.

I calculated my RMR using four different calculators online and then averaged the number. I subtracted 1000 from that number and used that as my calorie goal, figuring 7k deficit a week would lead to a 2lb/week loss. I went from eating probably 2500 calories a day to 1200. I stuck to this for two months with my weight barely even budging - I came down two pounds to 235.

Now, I wasn't being as anal about tracking food as I could have been. I tracked but didn't measure everything, I did some eyeballing, no weighing things, etc. But to lose only two pounds in two months when I cut back my intake so much? That seemed super strange.

So 4/1 I bit the bullet and added back working out. I increased my calories to 1350 to account for the workouts (but don't eat back what I burn). I work out 6 days a week and according to my HRM burn 400-800 calories per workout, depending on the activity. I also started paying very, very close attention to tracking my food. I now measure and weigh literally everything.

It has now been almost four weeks, and I'm only down two more pounds. What is going on!? I am doing everything correctly! I'm going to make a dr's appt soon to see if I'm missing something. I have never in my life had issues losing weight when I did everything I was supposed to, my issue has always been just buckling down and doing it. I am so frustrated and annoyed by this. Any ideas??? I'd love any help or suggestions!

To answer the usual questions:

I drink 90oz of water a day
I sleep 7-9 hours a night
I don't eat processed foods
I drink only water and coffee, no soda (diet or otherwise) or juice or anything with calories.
my clothes fit the same, so I doubt it's because I'm adding muscle (also its been 3 months now and I've only been working out for 1 month)
I'm 24 and as far as I know have 0 health problems beyond being overweight

Weighed in today, still no change from last week. What is going on!!!!!!

You could try eating 1500 - 1600 calories for a week. Sometimes your body needs more calories. I carb cycle and calorie count. I have around 1500 - 1600 twice a week. But I have one week of 1500 -1600 every three weeks or so. I do low/high carb cycling. Good Luck VegTraveler.

Thanks for answering! I did consider trying that, but I'm so paranoid that if I'm not losing now, eating more will make me gain. I may give it another week and if I don't see a change, try upping my calories.

I will be honest. And this is not politically correct. Step back from the calories for a bit.

To lose weight you need to be feeling hungry. At least a little hungry.

Are you? Before going to bed? Before meals (should be definitely)? After working out you should be feeling ravenous (so be smart and time exercise to eating meals after). No snacking. At all.

I have never lost weight without feeling hungry. I have fine tuned it to feel just a little hungry. But hungry nonetheless.

If not. Eat less.

No hunger signals maintenance (or gains).

At 233 and 5'7" you should be dropping it like it's hot.

I've been wary of dropping below 1200 just because I feel like that's the number you always hear that you shouldn't go under. But you are right, I'm not feeling hungry. My stomach does start to growl a bit when I'm nearing lunch or dinnertime, but I'm very rarely ravenous.

I eat A LOT of food, because most of it is pretty low calorie - kale, lettuce, cucumbers, cauliflower, tomatoes - and even just 150 calories of those will keep me full for hours. I could probably drop to 1000 and that would get me feeling hungrier between meals. I currently eat 3 small meals and a slightly smaller snack - I've heard 5 small meals a day is good for your metabolism, but that's not really doable for me with work, so I stick to fourish. What about snacking do you think might be causing me problems? I'm not married to having a snack, I could easily cut that out and I would be at 1000 calories.

I am seriously baffled, because you're right - I SHOULD be dropping pounds fast. I have in the past. This is so, so strange to me. I have never ever had a problem losing weight before when I've actually tried.

I have a doctors appt for the 11th, so I hope to find out what she thinks and maybe I'll run the 1000 calorie plan by her.

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it! I was starting to think nobody had any advice!! haha

Nice. Again, try to step back from the calories. They really do not matter. It's just a number. What matters is how you feel (aim for a little hungry) and whether you can sustain how you feel (e.g. without binges; serious fatigue etc.) to achieve what you want.

If you weigh daily, try cutting for one day and review the results. If it works and was not too bad, repeat. If not, revisit.

And keep a (mental) track of what you eat and how your weight is affected. Not losing is good experience for what to eat at maintenance.

Right, those are just numbers but even so, keeping a track of what and how many you take in is a good attitude!

The problem with calorie counting is we like to think it's an exact science, but it's not.

Even if we accept a calorie is a calorie (and I would dispute that), there is always the risk that our portion sizes are measured wrong; that we don't count some foods (that add up) and that the calories we think are in foods are not really the ones in them because the information is wrong.

So while you think you might be eating x calories, most times you are eating y calories. And in my experience y can be a lot different to x.

This a great post.

What I think might be happening is that the tracking may be off. The body doesn't care what calories could be, or approximations. It keeps track exactly.

Here's a link to find out, based on your weight, height, age, and activity level how many calories you should be able to eat in a day, and lose 1.5 pounds a week, which is a good goal: http://www.caloriecount.com/tools/calories-goal

Best of luck - you will find the right approach for you, with some fine-tuning! ;)

I was going to suggest seeing a doctor, then reread your post and saw you plan to. Hopefully this will she some light on the situation.

Before I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism right after I graduated college (age 23), I put on over 10 pounds with zero changes in diet/exercise schedule.

I eat about 1200 calories a day. I also track my food. My sense is that you don't have the calorie deficit you think you have.

1. Weigh and measure your food. It is better to weigh it than use a measure of volume. I was once eating some popcorn from a bag. The serving size was 3 cups or 1 once. I always measured 3 cups. One day I couldn't find my cup measure so I weighed it. It turned out that 1 ounce was about 1.5 cups! Don't eyeball. Weigh. When you are eating low calories, being off a little big matters.

2. Make sure what you are using to count calories is correct. I go by package when I have it. If a restaurant I go to the website for the most current data. I limit going to restaurants that don't post calorie counts. I count calories using MyFitnessPal. I scan in from the package bar code when I can. If I need to use something someone else has entered into MFP I check to make sure it is right. Sometimes it is old info and isn't right or the person just didn't do it right.

3. Do you have an activity monitor? I have a Fitbit Charge HR and it is super helpful to see how many calories I burn each day. I know it isn't exact, but it gives me a good ballpark. I sync MFP with it to see my calorie deficit. Again, it isn't exact but gives me some idea. Sometimes weight loss seems delayed from when you might expect it. That is, I have a week with a good deficit and lose little then the next week it all shows up.

4. On formulas to get your basal metabolic rate. I like to use the Katch McArdle formula because it uses body fat. Most formulas don't. You may find you have a lower BMR if you use it. If you don't have anything to measure body fat, you can use the Navy method (it uses measurements).

5. If you really want to know your BMR and body fat percentage find a place that does BodPod and metabolic rate testing. Some hospitals do it in their sports performance clinics.

6. Limit eating out. Restaurants are notorious for their calorie counts being understated. You can guard against that by not eating out much.

7. FWIW, the wait until really hungry to eat works for some people but not for others. I tend to eat before I get super hungry. If I wait until too hungry I get ravenous and eat too much. I do best when I fill in my expected day at MFP in the morning so I have a plan for the day. I leave 100 to 200 calories that I still have in reserve that I can use for snacks or small meals (yes, I snack a couple of times a day - usually nuts, berries or a square of dark chocolate).

Hi. Glad you will be seeing a doctor. When this happens to me, it is hypothyroidism. More common in today's world than people think. Thing is that doctors rarely run the whole dx panel that shows T3 and T4. Often the basic thyroid dx test TSH shows up normal. But the T3 and T4 are off. So it goes undiagnosed and untreated.

Example: my wonderful MD did the TSH test. To see if the thyroid armor RX I am on needed to be reduced or increased. The blood work came back Normal range for thyroid function. But I knew something was going on. Simply because no amount of dieting was showing a loss in weight. So I went to a naturopath. She figured out that cortisol was the culprit. Cortisol is related to T3 or T4. So, a naturopath figured it out. Made a huge difference when
I got on something for the cortisol. The weight started coming off. I still do have to be on thyroid armor for T1 function. Have to be on both.

This is just one possibility. Of course I am not thinking you have this condition. Some do. Many do not. Wishing you very best !

I've learned that with my Hashimoto's, I will not lose if my calories go too low. The wrecked metabolism just slows down further. I've played around with my calories and found a sweet spot of 1500-1700 per day works for me. I eat additional calories on days I exercise.

This! Using a kitchen scale is a really good way to learn portion sizes and track accurately.

I am pretty covered on a lot of these things. And keep in mind, I would have to be off by A LOT (like nearly 1500 calories a day) in order to be maintaining my weight, and I just don't see that being possible. Remember I've done this before being a lot less anal and lost 60 pounds.

I do weigh and measure my food. I also overestimate. If a package says a serving size is 1/4 cup, I will fill the 1/4 cup measure just under full to be sure that I'm not underestimating the calories I'm eating.

I go exactly by what packages say and I don't estimate anything. I cook all of my own food so I know exactly what is going into it and in what amounts.

I have a HRM - the polar ft4. But like I said, I don't eat back the calories I burn, they should all be extra. That's an extra 400-800 calories a day on top of my existing 1000 calorie deficit.

I calculated my BMR using 5 different calculators, one of which took into account body fat percentage. The one that took into account my body fat was actually one of the higher estimations.

I only eat out once every two weeks, for exactly that reason. I hate not knowing for sure if their calorie counts are accurate, so I only eat out on my long workout days where I burn an extra thousand or so calories, which I figure will count for any miscalculation in eating out.

I do worry about just eating when I'm hungry and not counting calories. I don't really trust myself to do that without slipping up. I'm not great at distinguishing cravings from hunger all of the time.

Oh, LITERALLY step back from the calories. I thought you meant that amount-wise. Not like... stop tracking calories.

I'm not entirely sure I trust myself to do that. That is essentially how I put all of this weight back on after losing 60 pounds.

This is interesting. I'm playing with the idea of increasing my calories for a week to see if that changes anything. It's just hard to get over my paranoia that if I'm not losing at 1200, adding back calories is just going to make it harder to lose.

Have you taken body measurements? It's possible to lose fat without losing on the scale. Like Ian said though, follow the hunger. If you're not hungry then you need to eat less. I must say that there's something going on here, though. A woman with your height/size should be losing quite a bit at that calorie level.

VegTraveler,
You will lose weight with your plan! It just might not be in the time frame you expect. But you will lose. I also think upping your cals a bit to see what happens is a great idea if you can stand to do so. And consider having your thyroid checked. Hunger cues in some of us are utterly misleading so I would tread carefully there, except to avoid tanking your blood sugar on physically active days. Wishing you the best!

Go by the weight instead of the cup measurement - it's so much more reliable. If something says serving size 2T (30g) - go by the grams. You may be surprised at what a difference it is. I don't know who is estimating these measurements, but they're off! Weight all the way. If you try it for another few weeks and still have no weight loss, I'd say there is likely some other problem.

UPDATE!!!

Man, you guys. GUYS!

My parents have a pretty expensive and really accurate scale at home. I like to weigh myself on it when I'm at their house because my scale is cheap and I don't trust it 100%, so this weekend I hopped on to see if it thinks I'm still at the same weight I was when I last weighed myself two weeks ago.

Lo and behold... IT SAID I WAS NINE POUNDS LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AGO.

Nine pounds.

My scale still says I am the exact same weight.

HAS IT SERIOUSLY BEEN MY SHITTY SCALE THIS ENTIRE TIME?! ARE YOU JOKING ME?!

I've lost nine pounds in two weeks and my scale sucks.

I'm so angry because I've been freaking out all this time, trying to figure out why I wasn't losing. Apparently I was losing. At a pretty great pace, too. GEEZ.

And now that I know I'm losing, I'm noticing that my clothes are fitting differently and that I look quite a bit smaller in the mirror. Wow. Who knew my brain had that much power? Maybe I thought I wasn't losing so I just didn't notice all of the differences? Is that real?

Who knows. Anyway, problem solved. I'm throwing out my scale and sticking to weighing in at my parents' house.

You guys all had really great advice, and I'm going to incorporate a lot of it. It's good to focus on being accurate and doing things correctly!

Thanks :)

^ Sounds like you should also invest in a tape measure ;) Congrats on the loss so far! Keep it up!

Could be. I had an old scale that reported the wrong weight and I lost 5lbs overnight when I got a new one.

For most people it works the other way so I got lucky!

I have heard that hunger may be your body's natural response to burning its fat reserves for energy.

That said, we all lose at different speeds, best advice I can give is to stay the course even if it is slow. I have lost only about 3 lbs in the past 3 months but that is OK.