Why am I not losing weight? [calorie counters] [losing weight]
im 19, male, 59, was 215, now 210, and I went around 2 weeks eating 1500 calories a day and about 5 pounds lost it two weeks. After the third week I only lost 1 lbs and im still eating 1500 calories. I need to reduce it to 1200? ive only had 750 today and im about to eat another 500-700 for dinner. it is possible that not enough calories and my body im using isnt so many calories or eat? whats the deal? : Confused:
according most calorie counters . a boy of my age and height, weight and lifestyle has about 2500-2700 calories per day to maintain weight . so I figure I need about 1000 calories per day deficit . meaning losing about 2 pounds per week . Am I right?
Reply:and whats even more weird…..even eating that few of calories….im not really hungry…..seems like when i was eating 2500+ calories a day, i was hungry more often than i am eating 1000 less each day…..is that bad??
Reply:well i went from comsuming 2500-3000 calories a day most of my teenage life in the form of fast food, dr pepper, and chips……….down to about 1500 calories a day in the form of mini muffins for breakfast (320 calories), a hot pocket and water for lunch (380 calories), and a couple slices of pizza or equivalent for dinner (600-800 calories) and more water…..then when i get hungry again about 10pm i eat a sugar free jello (10 calories)……..then i go to bed about 12 or 1 am. been doing this and it seems to be working…..slowly……however i saw my ex girlfriend last weekend and one of the first things she said is "have you lost weight??" so that kinda made me feel good even though i dont really feel like i have…..anyway…thats my rant for the day
Reply:maw,
Don't use too small a time frame. Your results get lost in the day to day variations. You will continue to get close to that 2 pounds a week for quite some time if you stick with 1500 calories. For every week you lose 1 you;ll have a week where you lose 3.
Maybe something like 1700-1800 calories might be easier to stick with because if your goal is 30-40 pounds loss it's best to drag it slowly and SURELY. With dieting the turtle ALWAYS beats the hare:D!
Reply:those first two weeks included increased water loss as a result of decreasing your caloric intake. Less calories mean less sodium in your body which means less water required to keep your body operating.
So now that your water loss is over your body is burning pure calories.
Also, are you counting your calories strictly? if you are snacking bits here and there and not counting, youd be surprised how you can be eating more cals than you suspect.
Also, don't assume that 3500 calories = 1 pound. I mean, scientifically that is the rate at which fat burns (and you should use that general benchmark for constructing your diet.) That said, everyone burns fat differently, ie. our metabolism are all different. Some people may cut their calories but they also cut their daily activities (without even knowing it.) They have less energy so they do less, this offsets their reduced calories.
Throw some exercise in to make sure you metabolism is staying up and you should be able to reach your 2lb a week goal.
J
Reply:I don't think you should go below 1500 calories. If you do, you'll lose muscle. Instead, you might need to be more careful about measuring what you eat; it's easy to guess wrong on portion sizes. And you may want to increase your exercise. Sometimes, when you've been dieting, you start to feel run-down and do less than you normally would.
