Why am I not losing weight on 1200 cals ?!

[IWantToBeNynaeve]

I'm 50 and have been doing Myfitnesspal since Jan 1, and have stuck to 1200 cals every day since (in fact I'm usually around 1100). I go walking pretty much every day too. I've lost 6 kg since Jan 1st but its really stalled lately, I've only lost 0.3kg each week for the past 3 weeks, its very frustrating! I started off at 84 kg which is far too heavy for my 5ft 4 height and am only down to 77.3kg today 2.5 months later, I can't understand why it is so slow? I'm absolutely diligent about sticking to my 1200 allowance, I never cheat or go over so why? I used to be able to lose weight so easily when I was younger a couple of weeks cutting back and I'd be down 5kgs. What am I doing wrong? I've read enough to know that starvation mode is not a thing! All help appreciated.

There is likely not much wiggle room in your TDEE, and so an inaccuracy of as little as 50 to 100 cals per day could be making the difference

Be meticulous, EG if you use oil, weigh the bottle before and after to see how much actually used. Use the USDA certified calorie amounts in apps (on MyFitnessPal they have a green tick)

Apps also tend to overestimate exercise calories burned so be careful with that

Also - there comes a point when it slows down the more you lose the more your TDEE comes down, and it becomes unreasonable and unsustainable to expect 1lb a week.

Switch to monthly weighing instead and expect 2lb per month - this smooths out the peaks and troughs of natural fluctuations as well

and don't be put off by the slower pace as there's not much you can do about that and the time will pass anyway whether you stick with it or not

and starvation mode is not a thing so don't let anyone knock you off track with that!

I've lost 126lbs and a big part of that was dispelling 'fatlogic' and adjusting mindset to not expect too much of myself especially when it gets so hard with low TDEE and no wiggle room for inaccuracies

It just gets harder as we get older to lose weight. Hormones, body composition changes. It sucks.

0.3kg lost in a week is still a respectable amount. Over a year it would be 15kg which isn’t too bad at all.

As well as walking consider adding in some weight training and / or HIIT training.

How much water/fluids are you drinking?

Your body needs water to break down the fat cells and shift it, if you're doing vigorous exercise then your muscles will retain water to heal and the way to stop that retention is to make sure that you're well hydrated.

Make sure you're having at least 1.5lts a day of non caffeinated, non sugared fluids and see if there's a difference on the scales after a week or 2.

Are you getting smaller though? I weigh the same now as I did on my wedding day but am 2 dress sizes smaller.

Throw away the scales. It’s a meaningless measure IMO

What sort of food are you eating? I would focus on high protein as much as possible. Aim for 3L water per day and resistance training will help to increase your metabolism

Make sure you are tracking measurements as well as weight. This might be a far more useful indicator.

Are you drinking alcohol at all? I have to cut it out completely to lose weight

It's horrible isn't it. Nothing more demoralising that half starving yourself for weeks on end with little to no reward!

You could have a read up about the plateau effect. There's a theory that your body starts to cling to weight when it feels like there's not enough resource and then you have a 'swoosh' drop. It's something that science can't really prove but that many people anecdotally have experienced. I definitely have experienced it. I can go for 2 weeks losing nothing and then all of a sudden drop 1.5kg overnight out the blue. With the numbers like TDEE and BMR and calories it should be that we lose weight at a steady pace. But it just doesn't work that way in reality.

You could also try the Fast800 diet for a few weeks? Have a look at their website.

Well done for getting that far though!

Weight training. Focus on building muscle and you will naturally lose fat. Weight training is especially important over 40 anyway, you’ll be doing wonders for your health.

Insulin resistant is a real issue as well, is / has your diet been carb heavy? It can take a while to fix.

I'm 49 and dieting/exercising but really struggling to see weight loss on my scales although I feel slimmer. I can't do cardio as I'm disabled but I do lots of strength exercises like squats.

I struggle to understand how it's possible to go down two sizes but weigh the same like pp (not disbelieving you at all!), I know it happens but can't quite get my head around the physics of it. A lifetime of being bombarded with weight loss advice and diets probably doesn't help.

I agree with chucking away the scales. Use a favourite pair of trousers and the way you can move as a measure. Don't be discouraged, it's harder in middle age but so worth it. Exercise in bursts throughout the day. Have an eating window of no more than 10 hours. And make sure you're getting enough protein.

I also suggest doing something like yoga or pilates which increases strength and muscle tone and keeps you aware of your body in a healthy way.

Weight training, drink more water, stick with it. On average you've lost around 1.4lb a week if 2.5 months is 10 weeks which is great. Don't be downhearted, you're doing really well. I'm the same height as you and lost 7lbs in a month on 1200 calories a day towards the end of last year. I would expect the weight loss to slow over time. Up your exercise - just more walking will be beneficial to your health and will help.

Congratulations OP, you've done so well so far!

And it's not like your weight loss has stopped - your still losing 0.3kg a week!

I've recently lost 11kg in weight- over the course of a year, I did 3 months of losing weight, then spent 3 months maintaining my 'new' weight, before dieting again. I found have the break fantastic for my mental health and also gave me confidence I can maintain my weightloss.

Have you thought about what you are going to do once you've lost the weight? Sticking with 1200cals will be miserable, but going back to how you used to eat will make you gain the weight.

A loss is a loss.
.3Kg is more than a pack of butter off your belly / thighs / bum.
Plus if you are walking and eating protein you might be adding muscle while losing fat, which does mean the inches are still coming off (muscle weighs more per volume than fat).

You have actually been losing weight very fast.

Try adding some weights into your exercise: body weight exercises are fine, you don’t need to go to a gym.

have stuck to 1200 cals every day since (in fact I'm usually around 1100). I go walking pretty much every day too

Are you logging this walking on MFP? The only time I never lost weight was when I logged my exercise, as MFP gives you extra calories back to eat.

You have lost a fair bit though so try not to be too disheartened.

Check your macros as well (% of carbs/fat/protein). MyFitnessPal does a breakdown on the app showing your target macros/progress against there. There are online calculators to give you your optimal macro % based on activity level. It usually comes down to vastly upping protein.

Yy to counting your macros. Use a calculator too, don't go by the auto settings on MFP.

If you are eating a lot of carbs within your allocated calories it will be a slower loss. Focus on high protein and lots of water.

Because people expect weight loss to be quick and it's not. You've lost a fair bit already but expecting a quick fix is unrealistic. It's why so many people fail at diets. It doesn't work quick enough for them. We see people losing 3lbs a week and assume that's a good rate.
0.3kg a week is fine. Yes you'll take longer to reach your goal but you'll get there.

I have to cut down to 800 cals or less a day to lose even a tiny bit of weight. Also massively disheartened.

@inheritancetrack

I have to cut down to 800 cals or less a day to lose even a tiny bit of weight. Also massively disheartened.

Me too - meh! sob

It’s also completely normal to plateau. Weight loss isn’t linear.

Having very effectively lost weight the same way, I found my weight would plateau too- I found eating a slightly higher calorie intake for a few days (1700-2000) before going back to 1200 helped. I can't explain it scientifically but have heard that your body can go into 'starvation mode' so conserves every calorie- by eating more it kicks you back out of this and you start losing weight again. Seems really counterintuitive but worked for me!

Have you tried intermittant fasting? it is the only thing that works now with my advanced age!