I don't know what to do :(

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Hi everyone

I'm feeling really deflated and not sure what else to do.
I'm calorie counting, I walk around 4-6 miles at least 4x a week. I go to the gym 5x a week and have a PT once a week.
I have been to the Drs to check my thyroids etc all clear.

I just can't lose the weight and it's really getting to me. I lose a Lb then the next day the Lb is back up and its constantly like that. I don't understand what else I can do. I'm eating lots of protein, I'm in a calorie deficit and drinking around 2-3 litres of water a day. Everyone says it will happen but I've been doing this for a while now and no change does anyone have any advice?

Gosh, if only all the overweight/ obese people had thought of that.

What a shame they can't all have a chat with you to put them right.

Have you considered a career in public health? Just think, we would have such a healthy society with no one overweight if only you were advising.

The point is the basic message is the same

The real questions are

Why do people make excuses that it's metabolism or inevitable due to age etc?

And

Given it's conceptually simple what makes it so difficult for people to lose weight ?

And
What makes people go back to old eating habits once they have lost weight ?

It’s not simple to lose weight as there are many psychological and lifestyle factors.

the process by which weight can be lost if one wishes to do so is very simple.

One other thing to remember is that as you start to lose weight , the amount you need to eat will go down

So you will reach a plateau unless you recalculate your basic daily needs

On your last point, I think a lot of people just don't understand they can't just revert to their old eating habits and not put on weight. Once you've lost weight you're likely used to eating less than you used to and will probably not go back to old ways for a while. Then it builds gradually. This is where being disciplined to still count calories helps or weighing yourself so you restrict for a week or two to lose a couple of pounds instead of a couple of stones.

Please keep in mind that if you do incorporate weights into your routine, you will likely see the number on the scale rise, as muscle weighs more than fat.

I put on over one stone after using weights for approx two years before I stopped. I was, of course, much physically stronger, I also looked bigger in my arms, glutes, and thighs and have never been able to lose the muscle so still weigh significantly more than I ever did. For some, this is a huge positive. For others not, it's very personal.

I never personally noticed weight loss from having more muscle, I know that's what it says online, but it wasn't the case for me. I was also incredibly hungry due to growing new muscle mass.

The only exercise I've ever noticed helps me lose weight is lots of long walking, but I think this is mostly water loss.

I think you may be over exercising, your cortisol could be high, which encourages the body to hold onto fat.

For the calories, burned exercise actually increases appetite, making it harder to stay within calorie deficits.

You need to be in a deficit, I'd occasionally go above maintenance to stop your body from adjusting to the lower calories.

Exercise has benefits, but not necessarily weight loss.

I wish you luck xx

You'd have to work out like an athlete to build that much muscle, surely? What were you eating? Plus athletes bulk up to build muscle then diet to lose body fat.

I lost two and half stone while doing three, sometimes four weights sessions a week. I got stronger and have a better body shape with some definition where I had none - I possibly look less fat than I did before. The great thing about combining weight training with weightloss is that you can trim quite a few inches off your body measurements.

Let's not discourage other women from lifting weights.

Weight loss is 80%+ diet rather than exercise. So doing weights and walking on their won't help you lose weight.

I wasn't discouraging her at all, I was letting her know the scale went up for me, you can rely on a scale to tell you if you're loosing body fat when weight training.

Yes I worked out considerably and was underweight when I started.

**Cant

You don't put on weight if you build muscles

A kg of muscle weights exactly the same as a kg of fat

But it will take up much less space - so people can be much heavier than they look if they have good muscle development

If you are currently eating "at balance " - no weight loss or gain - and keep eating the same - you will lose weight when you start to convert your fat reserves to muscle as it costs more energy to create and maintain muscle

Of course if you are training hard your body will try and make you eat much more

Why is it always so much easier to have too much than too little?!

You cannot convert your fat reserves to muscle. It’s not possible. Physiologically impossible.

You cannot convert your fat reserves to muscle. It’s not possible. Physiologically impossible.

Chemically impossible, for sure.
However, if you're eating and exercising appropriately then you can burn some of your fat as fuel and build muscle using some of the protein you're eating.