weight loss mystery? possible medical issue?

[DDDD]

I have been thin/atheltic my entire life. However by my late twenties I had stopped exercising regularly and was smoking. I quit smoking 1.5 years ago and right afterwards I gained some weight (as expected) I have also been a vegetarian for the past 3-4 years. I eat 3-4 meals a day and a healthy snack. I also drink a lot of clean water (2Litres+ per day)

13 months ago I started to go to the gym again. I was 32 years old, 6ft tall and weighed 210lbs (with a high body fat %). I started a routine of going three times a week: 1 hour of weights and 1 hour of moderate cardio.

I have also been watching my calorie intake and the types of foods I eat.

A year later I have lost ZERO lbs! In fact I am about 215 lbs now.

This past two weeks I started an even stricter plan: every single piece of food I eat or drink is logged, measured and calories accounted for. I have been limiting myself to 1800 calories a day as part of a schedule to lose 2lbs per week. I also increased my workouts to 4 days a week.

After two weeks I should have lost 4lbs but I have lost NOTHING!

I am definitely way stronger than when I began (and I can lift more weights than the average guy in the gym) and my cardio is great. I am just completely baffled as to why I am not losing weight.

Is it possible there could be a medical problem I am not considering?? e.g. an issue with my liver not metabolising fat? water retention?

 

[KaraCooks]

Hm. Is the scale the only way you're judging progress? Is it possible that your body composition is changing? Do your clothes fit differently and/or have you lost inches? Have you had your body fat % measured since you started the plan?

I use the scale to monitor my progress, but I don't use it as my only form of progress either ... sometimes you have to walk away from the scale. OTOH, a year w/out dropping any weight seems odd.

I will say that probably 99% of the time when someone tells me that they're watching what they eat and working out, they're often not eating as little as they say or not working out as hard. But it does seem like you know exactly what you're doing and are really working on keeping track.

Perhaps it's time to go to the doctor and get a physical? It's possible that you have a thyroid issue or even just a hormonal issue (men get them as well as women). Probably be a good idea to test for those, I think.