Weight-Loss WHY on earth am I not losing weight? Could I be in famine mode??

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pinkpanther_x

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Hi all - I'm a newbie here, and really could do with some advice as I'm a bit confused as to why I am not losing any weight.

I am 32 years, 5'8" and 12 stone 11lbs. I would love to get down to about 10 - 10 and a half stone, and was hoping to lose about 1 - 2 lbs per week.

I am relatively active anyway, as I walk my dogs for about 45 - and hour a day, plus I sometimes walk extra 2-3 times a week. I have just recently started a fitness dvd, and am burning off about 400 calories each time I do it (5 days per week) so in total, with just the one walk a day I'm burning roughly 600 calories per day. I have been doing the extra fitness dvd for 3 weeks now and have lost precisely nothing!

For the past few days I have been writing down what I am eating, and working out the calories consumed. The first day, I actually found that I had only eaten 1,200 calories so I have increased it to about 1,500 - 1,800 (which I am trying to consume today). Am I eating too many calories - or have I in fact not been eating enough??

Please please help, as at the moment I feel incredibly frustrated and don't know what I should be eating!

(By the way, I know how many calories I am burning as I have purchased a calorie/heart rate monitor watch, which is supposed to be pretty acurate).
 
How are you measuring your food and where are you finding your caloric values?

And what is your weight in pounds?
 
Hi Steve - I am literally checking the calorie values on packets, and then measuring out (if necessary) the quantities. I don't eat a lot of meat (the very occasional bacon sandwich as in today!), but I do eat fish. I am in my opinion eating a healthy, balanced diet. Today for instance I have had muesli this morning, a snack of fruit after exercise, 2 rashers of grilled bacon (with the fat cut off) in a wrap and a low fat yoghurt afterwards. I have also have some grapes and a low fat fruit bar. this afternoon Tonights dinner will probably be a meat free stir fry with noodles and another low fat yoghurt.
 
But are you measuring out every single thing that doens't come pre-packaged.

Like pasta for instance.

Most everyone would be surprised how far off their actual caloric intakes are from what they originally thought, once they start using a food scale.
 
Yup, everything, especially in the past few days. Any ideas why I am not losing? How many calories should I be consuming, when taking into account the exercise?
 
Well if I'm being blunt and honest, which I tend to be, your numbers aren't adding up here.

For starters, you haven't been dieting long enough from what I can tell to be experiencing the "starvation mode."

You just started from the sounds of it.

At 179 lbs, being female, your maintenance is most likely someplace around 2100-2300 calories.

You claim to have been taking in 1200 then 1650 calories on average, which is obviously below your maintenance.

My only thoughts are:

1. You haven't given it enough time. I'm not sure how long you've been following this plan, but if it's only for a few days, wacky fluid retention for whatever reason could be masking true fat loss.

2. Your numbers are inaccurate, which to be honest, in my experience, is most often the case. You're eating more than you realize. This is even noted in research where people promised they couldn't lose weight regardless of what they tried, yet, when they studied said people and put them in clinically controlled settings with clinically measured diets, they lost weight. Go figure. In my experience, people lose compliance on the weekends or they don't weigh everything, or they leave off a snack here or there or they leave off caloric drinks... whatever the case is, they're supposed intake is inaccurate.

3. For some reason your body is depressing your metabolism.
 
I'm definitely measuring and adding up the calories correctly - although I have only been calorie counting since Sunday. Sunday's added up to 1,200, Monday's 1,450 and yesterday was 1,589. And I am measuring everything. I haven't suddenly started to exercise as I have always exercised in the form of walking, every day for approx an hour, sometimes more. It's only the past 3 weeks I have added in the exercise dvd, and only the past two days I have been working out how many calories burnt during exercise. I am wondering if I have always eaten too little, because I was shocked to work out I had only consumed 1,200 on Sunday, hence trying to increase it.

If I burn approx 600 calories in exercise alone each day - how many calories should I be aiming to consume? (To lose weight!)
 
pinkpanther_x said:
I'm definitely measuring and adding up the calories correctly - although I have only been calorie counting since Sunday.
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Not to beat a dead horse and nothing against you at all, but I've heard that before.

What type of food scale do you have?

Sunday's added up to 1,200, Monday's 1,450 and yesterday was 1,589. And I am measuring everything. I haven't suddenly started to exercise as I have always exercised in the form of walking, every day for approx an hour, sometimes more. It's only the past 3 weeks I have added in the exercise dvd, and only the past two days I have been working out how many calories burnt during exercise. I am wondering if I have always eaten too little, because I was shocked to work out I had only consumed 1,200 on Sunday, hence trying to increase it.
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You wouldn't have a weight problem if you always under consumed.

Unless you have some sort of suppressed metabolism.

Possibly try taking your waking temperature for a few days and report back.

Or go get a full thyroid panel done.

If you're thyroid is functioning properly though, I'm telling you something is off in the numbers. You weigh and measure your food 7 days per week?

Oh wait, you only just started. You need to give this more time before you jump to any conclusions.

If I burn approx 600 calories in exercise alone each day - how many calories should I be aiming to consume? (To lose weight!)
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I told you want your estimated maintenance is above.

I'd cut 20-35% from there.
 
Lol, I really am measuring everything out correctly, I'm no wet lettuce and can weigh and add up pretty well :D

Surely then, from what you have suggested I consume in the way of calories - I haven't been eating anywhere near my daily intake? In which case, doesn't that point towards my body being in 'famine mode'? Wouldn't that explain why I'm not losing? If this is the case (assuming I don't have an underactive thyroid) - would I actually gain weight by increasing my calorie amount? Because I really don't want to gain anymore!!

I'm more than happy to have my thyroid checked if necessary though, something isn't right, and it isn't my calculations lol
 
pinkpanther_x said:
Lol, I really am measuring everything out correctly, I'm no wet lettuce and can weigh and add up pretty well :D

Surely then, from what you have suggested I consume in the way of calories - I haven't been eating anywhere near my daily intake? In which case, doesn't that point towards my body being in 'famine mode'? Wouldn't that explain why I'm not losing?
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Have you not read the possibilities I typed above?

1. Your calories are off.

2. You didn't give it enough time, weight loss is not a linear process.

3. Something is screwy with your metabolism and you might need to get it checked. You can start by taking your morning temp for a few days.

4. You haven't been dieting long enough to be in starvation mode. You just started. You then claim that maybe you've always under eaten. But if that were the case, you wouldn't be having a weight loss problem. Unless, of course, you have something going on 'medically' with your metabolism in which case we're back at # 3.

You seem confident in #1. I'm not, but that doesn't matter.

Move on to #2. Give yourself a couple of weeks.

While you're at it, assuming your not currently sick or taking any meds/supps, you can take your waking temps as a precursor to number 3.

I'm not sure what else I can say.

There's no magic to this.

If this is the case (assuming I don't have an underactive thyroid) - would I actually gain weight by increasing my calorie amount? Because I really don't want to gain anymore!!
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IF you were in starvation mode, which you're not, adding calories back into the picture to 'reset' some things may or may not add weight. But it shouldn't matter if it does. The immediate problem in the case of a depressed metabolism from chronic stress/diet/exercise/inadequate rest is recovery which involves eating.

After things are reset in this case, you can start dieting and exercising using sane dosages with a better understanding of the need for recovery.

But as noted above, I wouldn't suggest this to be the problem.

I'm more than happy to have my thyroid checked if necessary though, something isn't right, and it isn't my calculations lol
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If you had my experience, and you were me, you'd laugh at you laughing at this statement.
 
pinkpanther x,

3 months ago I joined a gym and started working out a lot; probably about 5 hours a week. I figured I should be able to kick start some weight loss with that and work from there. It didn't work out that way at all. I didn't lost a pound in 2 to 3 months of working out like crazy but (in my estimation) not changing my diet. It wasn't until I had a calorie target to keep under for an entire week that I saw a loss, of 4 pounds at that. And I swear, I was the same; the first three or four days I thought I was going to go through the whole thing without a loss at all. You just started, give it some time. Keep to your target for 7 days. If theres honestly no loss, decrease it again a little bit. THEN if there's no loss you can start to worry theres something funny going on. Until then relax a bit. :)
 
My point exactly.

To boot, as noted by me already, remember weight is not measuring fat alone.
 
Ok - I will stick at it and see how it goes. I am so determined to lose this weight and tone up, I just want to do it properly and keep it off. I just feel a bit deflated at not losing anything in these 3 weeks, so came on here for advice.
 
Pinkpanther, just give it time. Make sure you get your thyroid checked, if your thyroid is fabulous, and you're pretty sure you don't have any other condition like hypothyroidism that might suppress your metabolism then I'm quite certain that keeping up with diet and exercise, you will eventually lose weight.

I'm sort of in the same situation as you. But I also will admit, I have only started eating right and exercising. I just got back from the clinic (to get my thyroid levels tested) I don't think theres anything wrong, like I'm not feeling really tired or anything but I just wanted to get it checked anyway.
 
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