Looking thinner, feelings thinner, but not losing weight? HOW?

[SpokenWord2344]

26 years old - Female - 5'6

I've started cutting down on calories starting November, 14, 2018. I've been using Myfitnesspal, tracking my calories and cutting out the junk food, and fast food (only eating these things once a month... if that). I've been pretty much just eating chicken, fish, beef, wheat bread, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, eggs, sushi and etc. I don't eat junk food as much, I may have some low fat ice cream once in a while. But Junk food and high carbs has been my downfall to gaining weight. & I've always binged out on them.

I started at 180 (5 ft 6), Nov 14, 2018 and today Jan 29th I am 171 and it's been this way for this whole month, fluctuating from 171 and 173/174 with clothes on. Why am I not losing weight, I'm staying within my calorie range. I don't lift weights, so I'm not gaining muscle and I do cardio around the house, I clean up and dance for an hour or two every day as my cardio.

Any tips on how to get my weight to 140 or 150 within the appropriate time frame (losing 2 pounds per week). I've always been in the 148 - 154 range throughout my life! I just gained weight due to some depression and just eating for comfort.

Any tips?

[Curmudgeon7]

26 years old - Female - 5'6

I've started cutting down on calories starting November, 14, 2018. I've been using Myfitnesspal, tracking my calories and cutting out the junk food, and fast food (only eating these things once a month... if that). I've been pretty much just eating chicken, fish, beef, wheat bread, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, eggs, sushi and etc. I don't eat junk food as much, I may have some low fat ice cream once in a while. But Junk food and high carbs has been my downfall to gaining weight. & I've always binged out on them.

I started at 180 (5 ft 6), Nov 14, 2018 and today Jan 29th I am 171 and it's been this way for this whole month, fluctuating from 171 and 173/174 with clothes on. Why am I not losing weight, I'm staying within my calorie range. I don't lift weights, so I'm not gaining muscle and I do cardio around the house, I clean up and dance for an hour or two every day as my cardio.

Any tips on how to get my weight to 140 or 150 within the appropriate time frame (losing 2 pounds per week). I've always been in the 148 - 154 range throughout my life! I just gained weight due to some depression and just eating for comfort.

Any tips?

Over a short period of time, changes in your weight may be quite misleading due to water weight fluctuations, so you shouldn't worry about that.

But, it does sound like your deficit is too conservative to promote substantial weight loss.
You can safely lose about 7 lbs per month if you're in 170s at 5'6". I suggest try increasing your caloric deficit by around 200-300 kCal and see how that works out. Overall, target a weekly deficit (from both diet and dancing) of around 4500-5000 kCal. A day or two of fasting may work.

[Zykanthos]

You could take a dump and step on the scale afterward and see a decrease on the scale.

Reasons for no change on the scale: loss of fat but increase in muscle mass, sodium increase, water retention, food in the gut, hormonal fluctuations, food in the gut, etc. Scales are good for showing weight loss trends over time. Scales are good at weighing your entire body and everything in it. They are not good for gauging progress in terms of actual fat loss.

The scale is just a tool. Don't put more stock into it than you have to. It's only part of the puzzle.

[mavd]

1. You need to tell us how many calories you're eating. As you lose weight, you're TDEE (calorie needs) will decrease and you need to eat less to get similar results.
2. You won't be able to sustain 2 lb/week loss all the way to 140. It just isn't healthy or sustainable. You will need to adjust your expectations.
3. While you say you've cut the junk a lot of the foods you list as still eating are full of sugar and lacking in healthier carb options (veggies, fruits). **** like low-fat ice cream is typically loaded with added sugar. You're better off just eating a bit of the real thing instead of pretending like you're having a healthy treat.

[katya422]

Experienced with Myfitnesspal.

- Are you using a scale to weigh your portions and using weight based vs. volume based entries for your food tracking?
- Are you double checking that the entries you are using on MFP are accurate? There are many bad entries made by users.
- Are you "eating back" exercise calories? MFP is known to be very generous in the calculated calories for activities.

The above are the most common MFP issues that I'm aware of. If you want to "eat back" your calories, then trying only using half of them vs. what MFP calculates.

[Tahliaco]

26 years old - Female - 5'6

I've started cutting down on calories starting November, 14, 2018. I've been using Myfitnesspal, tracking my calories and cutting out the junk food, and fast food (only eating these things once a month... if that). I've been pretty much just eating chicken, fish, beef, wheat bread, peanut butter, jelly, cereal, eggs, sushi and etc. I don't eat junk food as much, I may have some low fat ice cream once in a while. But Junk food and high carbs has been my downfall to gaining weight. & I've always binged out on them.

I started at 180 (5 ft 6), Nov 14, 2018 and today Jan 29th I am 171 and it's been this way for this whole month, fluctuating from 171 and 173/174 with clothes on. Why am I not losing weight, I'm staying within my calorie range. I don't lift weights, so I'm not gaining muscle and I do cardio around the house, I clean up and dance for an hour or two every day as my cardio.

Any tips on how to get my weight to 140 or 150 within the appropriate time frame (losing 2 pounds per week). I've always been in the 148 - 154 range throughout my life! I just gained weight due to some depression and just eating for comfort.

Any tips?

I wouldn't stress over it - likely just fluid retention/fluctuation! But if it doesn't change after another month, try changing your exercise up, do more cardio or lift weights as this helps fat loss and increases metabolism.

[spradish]

If you haven't lost weight all month, you need to drop your calories a bit. I'd drop them by 200. But the first thing I'd do is start losing weights or doing some other sort of resistance exercise in order to minimize muscle loss.

You are not going to be losing 2 lbs per week at this point. At your size that would require a 40%+ calorie deficit. That's not sustainable or healthy. Most women who are not heavily overweight/obese cannot come near that rate of loss past the first few weeks of weight loss.

[Tommy W.]

To parrot others, you need to drop calories on a weekly basis.

[AlBHappy]

Cut out the wheat bread, cereal and jelly. Use sweet potato, quinoa, and beans as your carbohydrate source.

Lift some weights.

[Tommy W.]

Cut out the wheat bread, cereal and jelly. Use sweet potato, quinoa, and beans as your carbohydrate source.

Lift some weights.

Unless that lowers the calorie intake it won't make a difference

[latverian41]

As stated a abiut a small fast might shock yiur body up or do hardcore keto for abiut 4 weeks.

Tons of water and cardio/skip rope, jog,sprints

[Tommy W.]

As stated a abiut a small fast might shock yiur body up or do hardcore keto for abiut 4 weeks.

Please explain

[hardyboysare]

As stated a abiut a small fast might shock yiur body up or do hardcore keto for abiut 4 weeks.

Tons of water and cardio/skip rope, jog,sprints

+1 how will that help in fat loss...

[hardyboysare]

Cut out the wheat bread, cereal and jelly. Use sweet potato, quinoa, and beans as your carbohydrate source.

Lift some weights.

Tad confused here I'm certain (actually I know it is) its calories in v calories out how does changing one carb to another carb make any different? Both have 4 calories per carb macro. If you eat the same amount of total calories.

[BS57]

Tad confused here I'm certain (actually I know it is) its calories in v calories out how does changing one carb to another carb make any different? Both have 4 calories per carb macro. If you eat the same amount of total calories.

You Sir obviously never give pause to the magazine isle at the local retail grocery establishment.

I bid you a good day Sir...........

[hardyboysare]

You Sir obviously never give pause to the magazine isle at the local retail grocery establishment.

I bid you a good day Sir...........

My bad of course I need more information from the broscience, just a quick question is that the magazine on the top shelf.....

[latverian41]

+1 how will that help in fat loss...

If his body is in a stall then a fast or keto could break it out of that

And you can easily lose inches Bro and not pounds

Stay away from the scale it can mind phuck yiu. Weigh once every two weeks or so.

[hardyboysare]

If his body is in a stall then a fast or keto could break it out of that

And you can easily lose inches Bro and not pounds

Stay away from the scale it can mind phuck yiu. Weigh once every two weeks or so.

Do you happen to have any scientific articles that support that fasting/ keto helps break fat loss plateaus?

I am sure fasting is just a eating schedule and Keto does nothing more except cause more weight loss through loss of water weight due to the restriction of carbs. This however would occur natural overtime if you carried on in a calorie deficit not to mention all the water weight just returns when you start consuming carbs again on Keto.

Lyle Mcdonald talks about as the 'whoosh effect' so I can imagine Keto may help induce one but then its only water weight not fat so not that helpful in the long run as I stated earlier

https://bodyrecomposition.com/fat-lo...ishy-fat.html/

[spradish]

As stated a abiut a small fast might shock yiur body up or do hardcore keto for abiut 4 weeks.

A stall just means a person's eating at maintenance. Dropping calories will get the weight loss moving. No need to add unnecessary complications.

[Tommy W.]

If his body is in a stall then a fast or keto could break it out of that

And you can easily lose inches Bro and not pounds

Stay away from the scale it can mind phuck yiu. Weigh once every two weeks or so.

Go back to the Misc section...

[latverian41]

A stall just means a person's eating at maintenance. Dropping calories will get the weight loss moving. No need to add unnecessary complications.

A person can be in a small defect and still be in a stall. I've seen it many times and to the post who asked about scientific studies

Yeah the best kind personal experience fr but from my self and others I have know who have gone through it and those things snapped them right out of it

[hardyboysare]

A person can be in a small defect and still be in a stall. I've seen it many times and to the post who asked about scientific studies

Yeah the best kind personal experience fr but from my self and others I have know who have gone through it and those things snapped them right out of it

Ok I have to ask how is you 'seeing it' scientific supporting evidence, a abstract opinion means nothing in real science. I'm sorry I completely disagree Keto and IF does nothing to aid fat loss above calorie restricting therefore has no effect on causing an individual break through a fat loss plateau. And as I have never read a meta-analysis study which shows any benefits of either method for fat loss I am afraid until I see one my opinion (and known knowledge) will not change, to break through a fat plateau you have to eat less or move more.

[AnnPerkins]

It's all about how you look and feel in the end. This same thing happened to me when I was doing a lot of weights and building muscle mass. Not to be alarmed unless you are trying to meet some minimum weight requirements.

[Tommy W.]

It's all about how you look and feel in the end. This same thing happened to me when I was doing a lot of weights and building muscle mass. Not to be alarmed unless you are trying to meet some minimum weight requirements.

OP doesn't lift and is attempting to lose fat