I'm not losing weight and according to Reddit it isn't body recomposition

[Onlyrainbows]

I have an average calorie deficit of 500cals (that includes cheat days), workout regularly and in the past month I think I've lost 100g (if that). I know I look fit/toned and I'm losing inches here and there, but considering I don't lift it's not like I'm gaining muscle. I don't think I can reduce my calorie intake much more , I already feel fairly tired due to my iron deficiency. Shall I just do full cardio for that hour and try to see how that goes?

If you are losing inches, what is the issue?

Why are you not lifting?
There won't be any recomp if you aren't

And if you look fit/ toned, then maybe you are at a realistic weight.

I don't lift because a) don't have the time / space to get my own home set. B) I'm not really interested in body recomposition. I just want a svelte body but toned body. Think of Jessica Alba instead of JLo. I definitely could lose more pounds (I've been slimmer just 9 months ago). I asked on Reddit because somebody suggested here that if I was losing inches but not weight, it had to be body recomposition.

How many calories are you eating? Did you calculate your calorie needs on your current weight or adjusted weight?
Cheat days can completely annihilate your weekly loss.

A) current weight b) I'm eating an average of 1200 on non cheat days and about 2000 on cheat days

How many cheat days do you have in a week?

If you have 2 cheat days, you are not in a calorie deficit , reason why you won't lose.
And do you include your workout calories?

I wouldn't comment without knowing your current weight and height in case you have an eating disorder.

What are you doing to address your low iron levels?

I have two (Saturday & Sunday) but I see it all as weekly totals (or averages). In 7 continuous days I'll eat 9k calories, and will burn 13k.

There are a lot of factors here. What is your TDEE? Mine is 1600-odd before exercise. So if I ate 5 days 1200 and 2 days 2000, I would only have a deficit of 1270ish calories per week. You lose approximately 1lb for every 3000cal deficit. Assuming I had calculated everything spot on, it would take nearly three weeks to lose 1lb in this manner. 1lb is so small that salt or water intake could easily mean it doesn’t show on the scales.

Rather than cheat days, where you go all out, have some more modest treats throughout the week. You want to eat fairly healthily all of the time and fuel your body, not ration food some days and overeat on other days. Upping exercise is always a good idea.

I can only get iron infusions for my iron, but I have to be below a certain level to get a referral. My BMI averages to 26.7 in the past 4 weeks.

My BMR is 1400. My workout is about 400cals, and walking the dog is about 100. Which is why I believe when my Garmin us saying I burn 2100 calories on an active day

How do you get 9000?
1200x5 = 6000
2000x2= 4000
total 10.000 : 7 = 1428 calories

which roughly maintenance and the reason you don't lose.
Ignore the workout calories.
Cut the cheat days.They are sabotaging your week

Even then I would still expect SOME weightloss (not nothing). Like I wouldn't even mind 1kg, but nope, nothing. (For a month). I've been bloated/constipated so I'm sure there's at least 500g stuck in there. Plus it has to be somewhat manageable long term. An odd example is the previous month, my birthday was one of the weeks and wasn't as strict with my diet and lost at least 2kg in the 4 weeks. I've definitely lost volume in the past month (as I've taken measurements) but it looks like mass is the same.

Are you totally sure you're in a calorie deficit? Are you weighing and counting everything that passes your lips including drinks and cooking aids like oil etc? Even on treat days?

Another thought, are you overestimating you're energy expenditure? How many and what type of workouts are you doing and for how long?

If you don't lose, you are not in a calorie deficit, period.
You are either misjudging how much you eat or eating too much on cheat days.

Yup! And I don't think I eat enough (in general) the difference between Sat-Sun and the the week is that I have a bigger lunch and two drinks. I'm following exactly the same format as to when I run, and with running by now I would have lost at least 6kg.

But in average I have the following:

3 cups of black coffee = 15 cals
One carrot and 3 spoonfuls of hummus = 75 cals
Toast + slice of ham = 150 cals
5 spoonfuls of Skyr = 50 cals
10 grapes = 20 cals

I eat the above every day.

For dinner it varies, but it tends to be steak or chicken and a salad with just lettuce and no dressing (I only use spray oil).

So I'm assuming 800 for the steak and 100 cals at a stretch for the salad. (And around 600 for the chicken)

Oddly enough there have been weeks (like that month were I lost the 3kg) that I had cake, prosecco, beer, and daily ice cream, so to me something isn't necessarily adding up.

I do dance cardio and HIIT mon-fri for an hour and with an average HR of 130.

I look like someone who goes to the gym and is "fit" not necessarily the look I'm going for, but can't complain about the arms and general lack of rolls.

My non expert conclusion is that even though I don't lift I've managed to switch the fat for muscle.

If you want to look “toned” then weights are your answer. An hours steady state cardio won’t do much for you at all

I've been super uber toned with no weights. But no, that's not the look I'm going for in theory, in fact I look toned not svelte (which is what I'm actually trying to attempt).

Ignore this for starters. It's a wild overestimate. And, personally, I don't think you're eating enough. And the idea of a 'cheat' day is problematic to me but hey

PS HR of 130 is pretty low.....

If you're trying to look svelte and toned why do you care what the scales say?

How does reddit know it's not a change in body composition?

A few years ago I reduced my body fat by 30%. I lost 1kg on the scales.

Jessica Alba does weights. But some of your body shape is determined by genetics (and your skeleton!) so if you are more of a Jlo than jAlb then why not just focus on being the best version of you? (Hint - thay involves strength).

I've always had a lowish HR, but to give you an idea my normal running HR is of 140 (when I used to). My resting HR is 54. Because of the iron deficiency I can suffer from breathlessness and end up getting eye twitches, so I try to still raise it but not make me feel like I'm going to die (because I'm sure I wouldn't recover).

I'm struggling to understand why you have asked when you are disagreeing with pretty much every response you are getting. Not only are you underestimating your calorie intake, you're overestimating the calories you're expending on exercise. Unless you are personally monitored, you cannot be accurate about the calories you are burning through exercise. 90% of weight loss is down to diet. Ignore the exercise calories altogether when calculating your calorie deficit.

Houmous is calorie dense - is your spoonful a teaspoon, a dessert spoon or a tablespoon or are you using a measuring spoon and levelling it? I suspect the houmous could be twice the calories you're counting it at. Weigh things instead for accuracy.

Are you taking a good multi vitamin and anything to improve your iron level? Have you spoken to your GP about losing weight at all?

If you were starving you would lose weight. All the evidence points to you having maintenance calories and not having a calorie deficit.

I'm under referral for and waiting to be seen by a hematologist. Supposedly I'm also waiting to be used used as a research subject at Exeter University, but I've patiently waited rather than chasing it.