I'm eating so little but not losing weight!!

[SprayPaint]

For 2 weeks I've been eating around 750-900 calories a day. My bmr was 1350 and read you need to eat less than 500 calories less than this to lose weight. I have an app where I am recording my food intake and also have been weighing stuff out when at home. I have increased my protein slightly but apart from that I'm eating like normal. Not much sugar or anything.

I am currently 8.5 stones and 5ft2 and I haven't even lost 1lb. This is my first time I am ever trying to lose weight I am disappointed that I haven't lost any weight.

Where am I going wrong or is this normal?! Could there be something else at play

I understand where you are coming from. I have always been 7stone odd and people tell you “you don’t need to loose weight because you look fine”. It is not really about how you look it is about how you’d feel.

I have lost about 9lb because I have found that not all calories are equal. Some, by their very nature absorb more fluid than others and some settle in different areas of your body.

Stop drinking any milk switch to almond not oat
Cut out bread, pasta, rice and breakfast cereal completely.
Eat only chicken and fish in its simplest form, no sauces.
Drink lots of tea, fruit tea, Rooiboos, Camomile or peppermint.
Eat lots of fish, especially salmon,
Get calories from root vegetables not pulses, but potatoes in moderation are fine. Even chips and roast potatoes if cooked in olive oil
Eat raw veg and salad.

While I don’t agree that at 8.5 stone you need to lose weight, you’re eating too few calories. I had much more success losing weight eating 1500 calories and exercising than I did eating 1000 calories and not exercising.

I am 5'3 and 9 stone 7. I can't lose weight however hard I try. It's my age I think. I have just turned 40. It's really upsetting.

Our bodies change as we get older - why do you feel like you need to lose weight?

So what exercise are you doing?

Your calories may be low but if your not active and burning the calories, nothing will happen. I just look at it like output has to be more than input

OP

8stone 2, for your height, is absolutely lovely .

I am your height and 7stone 9lb, and frankly look unwell (just my own estimation)
IMHO you don't need to lose.

The op really does not have to answer why, I expect that like many slim people she gets this all the time. Everyone has a weight at which they feel comfortable, healthy and fit.

I wonder how it would be if when people posted, about weight loss the answers piled on. Why are you so over weight, why are you eating the foods that make you fat or ill.

A recent poster stated that she was a size that she was so unhappy with but she ‘did not have the time to eat healthily’. Nobody challenged them.

Sorry , 8stone 5 ,not 2.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of calories it takes to keep your basic bodily functions going, this figure doesn't include the amount of calories you burn through activity/exercise etc. You shouldn't be taking 500 calories off your BMR.

The figure that you should use to calculate your calories deficit is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) that's the amount of calories that you burn throughout the day in total and it's highly unlikely to be as low as 1350 unless you're 4 foot nothing or in a coma.

If you go for something that is higher and more sustainable then most likely your adherence will be better and you will lose weight.

Do you drink any alcohol? That can make a huge difference to belly fat.

Go veggie and teetotal and start walking for an hour each day - break it down into 3 x 20 minute walks if that fits into your daily routine better.

I’ve never understood why it’s considered offensive to remark on somebody’s weight when they are heavier but it’s not when somebody is lighter. I’m 5’1 and have spent my whole adult life around 7st 7lbs but perimenopause has happened and I am now 8st 5lbs and I feel hugely uncomfortable. OP I think your calorie intake is far too low and your body is holding on to calories, your metabolism has slowed because it’s kind of gone into starvation mode. You probably need to up your calories to kick start your metabolism again but focus on increasing protein - this will likely make you feel fuller.

@Horriblehistoree well it's rude to comment on anyone's weight unless they deliberately start a conversation / thread about it. How can you have a conversation without mentioning it.

The OP would be better off toning up what she has to change her body shape ( possibly putting on a little weight in the process) which will then likely fit clothes better as she'll be more dense rather than just losing more weight when she is already slim.

I'm 5ft 3 and 7stone 10. I still have some rolls of fat around my hips, so I get what you mean. I think your body is holding on to fat as it feels it is being starved. You need to eat slightly below the maximum calories to lose it and take it slowly. Try measuring your waistline as well as weight. And at the same time of day each time you do it.

You don't have rolls of fat. You have looser skin. That's what skin does as you age.

Trying to lose weight would be a really stupid unhealthy thing to do.

We've lost sight of normal weight. I used to be 7 stone 10lbs at 5'5. I was a size 8-10 and felt great. Now I'm 10 stone and look awful, I can't move as well as I used to, clothes don't fit properly. We're so used to seeing overweight people that we've lost sight of normal and healthy, toned and fit.

Are you drinking enough water op? That's the key for my body, drinking tonnes and fasting with no sugar. Very boring which is why I'm 10 stone 😂

It's not when you're very short. I'm only about 3lb more than the OP and have about three pinchable inches of back fat and a mum tum.

Healthy BMI at 5ft 1in is between 7st 2lb and 9st

Op, how old are you? What's your diet like in terms of balance? I found that dropping carbs to the v minimum but still loading up on loads of veg and high fat protein helped me more than any calorie counting.

If you're not a petite height please don't lecture the OP.

A healthy BMI at a short height is relatively low weight.

If I reached 9st I'd be wearing a size 16-18.

I'm currently 8st 8lb and feel terrible in my own skin. I look healthy at 7st 8lb-8st 2lb

You need to focus on body recompisition OP as it sounds like you are skinny fat. I have a small frame and understand how you can be fat at a low body weight. I am5'4" and was fat at 65kg. and look better at 55kg.

I have gained muscle and lost fat by
A) shifting what I eat. Stop counting calories but make sure you are eating as much nutrient dense food as possible. Think lots of fibre to feed your microbiome, zero added sugar or processed carbs and aim for 30g protein at each meal.
B) shifting your eating window. Give your body at least a 12 hour rest from food overnight
C) resistance training. You need to build muscle to increase your BMR. Everyone looses muscle with age unless they actively work them.

5ft1 at 9 stone is not a size 16-18

I don't think these threads help anyone with disordered eating really. Like attracts like.

You are eating too little calories.

If OP weighed 9 stone, she'd have a BMI of 23, which is well within the healthy range and not even approaching a 16, let alone an 18

@SprayPaint I would recommend increasing the calories again, including a bit more protein and fewer carbs and starting some resistance Pilates. Loads of classes on YouTube and Instagram. It sounds like you just need to tone up.

I’m a similar size to you, small frame, naturally skinny, have always been 8st. I now weigh more than this because I have more muscle but all my clothes still fit me from when I was 8st because I’ve just toned up. No rolls of fat at all.

Op you eat 500 less to lose a pound a week.

The amount of calories you are eating is tiny. However, if you were eating that everyday. Every single day consistently you would eventually lose weight. There's no such thing as too little calories to lose weight. Eating too little calories can cause a stop in weight loss temporarily, but it would come off. If too little calories stopped you losing weight, people with anorexia wouldn't end up losing weight to an unhealthy point.

However, with too little calories you will also lose muscle mass and it's terrible for your health. Your BMR is the minimum you need to keep your body functioning. Your tdee which is your BMR plus what your body uses just moving around, walking about etc will be higher the the 1350.

Either you are eating such tiny amount your body is in panic mode but fat and muscle will eventually come off or you are eating those calories most days then eating more other days and it's averaging out around your tdee.

But the amount you are eating is dangerously low.

If I reached 9st I'd be wearing a size 16-18.

As per my previous post, I'm 5'3" and petite. I have lost 2.5st and currently weigh 11st 8lb. I'm now size 14-18 depending on fabric and fit.