5ft 2, 1500 kcal and 10,000 steps - why aren't I losing weight?

[Asterope]

As above, it's not budging!

ok, can you point me to the bit in the book where he says you can lose weight by overeating? which page is that on?

That confirms sadly that I need to stick to a lower end of 1266 to lose weight. I know it's an approximation but going over it wouldn't help me get back in my size ten jeans. Ok, I'd be happy with size 12.

I'm your height and I've been doing 10,000-15,000 steps per day recently, including 3-4 short runs per week (20-30 minutes of jogging). I try to eat intuitively and don't worry too much about restricting quantities or certain types of food. Some days I eat around 1500, other days it's well over 2000. I think my average is probably around 1700. (I know this because occasionally I have one day of calorie counting just to get an idea of roughly how much I'm eating.)

At the moment I'm 54kg so 8.5 stone and I'm pretty much maintaining. It fluctuates and sometimes I seem to be gaining or losing weight but in the long term I'm staying roughly around this weight and I feel healthy and happy.

I only started running a year or so ago and there have been times where I've had to stop due to illness but I really think it's improved my health a lot. I feel like even just three 20-30 min runs a week and the 10,000 steps a day basically means I can eat whatever I feel like without calorie counting. Obviously I try not to go completely nuts with excessive evening snacking etc but I do have biscuits or chocolate with my afternoon coffee every day, I'll eat a "treat" breakfast a couple of times a week (big 500kcal filled croissant), I have a can of non-diet Coke one evening a week... My policy is don't try and cut out certain foods, instead add good stuff - i.e. more vegetables with meals.

Maybe just adding 20 mins of cardio exercise three times a week will kick start your weight loss without having to reduce your calories even further, and it helps with other aspects of health too - better energy levels, better mental health, better mobility as you age etc.

@SausagePourHomme I think you can control your hunger by eating the right things and that's great but there's a cohort who believe that we're all thick and eating cornettos and nutella on white toast and wondering why we're not losing weight when we only had 1200 calories. Sad fact, I need to eat healthily and watch portions to lose weight.

There might well be others ways of measuring portions. But calories is the one I know. If somebody said to me, ok, eat from these two bowls today. That might work. But I don't know about that ''method''.

@JoyPeaceHealth calories are a tool, like BMI.
Your pancreas and insulin are vital, like gut biome.

Tim Spectors earlier research on twins is facinating.

Your likely not tracking all your calories. You need to include every coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate, sauces, oils everything it’s amazing how it all adds up.

I am on a programme at the moment and once I set my commitments which is 3-4 exercises a week and an aim to lose one pound a week my daily calories are set at 1700 a day. I also get around 15000 steps in too. I have lost 4 pounds in two weeks. However I do tend to do two work outs a day and not just 3 or 4 a week.

I never claimed you could lose weight by over eating. I merely said that calories are not as fixed as some believe and how you consume them matters. OP eat 1500 cals, it does depend on how she does this.
If she ate 3000, then we are playing a different game.

Once you have read the book, there is a 30 page bibliography to get through.

“…there's a cohort who believe that we're all thick and eating cornettos and nutella on white toast and wondering why we're not losing weight when we only had 1200 calories”

You seem offended by the suggestion that there might be a different way. I am 36, mother of one, 5ft3 and 194lbs. I have been on yo-yo diets my whole life, tried every diet under the sun (including low calorie diets) and have always eventually packed on more weight than I lost. But I have somehow managed to lose a steady 1-2lbs a week without counting a single calorie or feeling remotely hungry or deprived, certainly not eating 1200 calories. You seem to be pretty happy with your current approach and I wasn’t actually suggesting you try a different way, my original comment was aimed at the OP.

I'm a similar height and weight (5ft 3" and 9st 11) and losing weight on 1700 calories a day. My maintenance is 2000 because I'm very active. Are you logging everything you eat and drink on something like my fitness pal? Weighing your food? It's an eye opener how small a portion of most things is. Try logging and it will show where you are perhaps going wrong. I use my fitness pal and log everything. I use my Fitbit to monitor steps and my goal is 15000 a day but I always exceed that. I walk briskly up and down hills and bounce on a gym ball.

Eating less calories will just cause you to regain all the weight when you go back to eating normally. You should be aiming for a healthier lifestyle overall but log your intake as a starting point to see what you are actually consuming.

@AdventFridgeOfShame yes, I read/watched something about that so im now mixing a bit of kefir in with a bit of no sugar plain yoghurt. Haven't seen any difference yet, but keeping on keep8ng on.

Mumsanetta, I'm not offended that there is a different way, I am not a belier in "calories in v calories out" but you assumed that. I eat healthy food. You seem to want to educate me with no knowledge of what I already know about food, health, the metabolism, new science.

A person can eat very well and yet eat too much of that to lose weight which is the goal here on this thread.

Being healthy is a goal too but I would like to lose weight too if that's OK.

And ps @Mumsanetta I am not assuming you don't know this but when a person is 60lbs away from their goal weight the pounds to come off more easily.
When you are just ten lbs away from your goal weight your body may not oblige. You may be happy with that, or you may have to look at it all again, very closely.

You're eating too many calories for your height.

I'm 5ft 2 and can only lose weight on 1200-1300 cals. Diet is 80% and exercise 20% of loss.
Steps don't make a difference to me. If I'm on 1500 cals a day, then I won't lose weight.

Two weeks isn't long. Keep going!

5'2" here. To lose weight I have to go lower than 1500. That's around my maintain weight level doing 10k steps.

@JoyPeaceHealth i didn’t assume you were unhealthy, I assumed you were on a low calorie diet and hadn’t read the most recent research on weight loss.

Totally confused by the macro thing and how to get protein up that high but I'm gonna research it all today

Sorry @Asterope, your thread is getting derailed. Good luck, two weeks isn’t long enough to see significant difference and a slow weight loss is usually healthier anyway.

Thanks @Mummayaa hope so!

Up the exercise or reduce the calories….I’d rather exercise more….I love eating lol.

If you have accurate digital scales, then use them and calories in to establish your maintenance calories.
you need to drink water at the same rate, measure 1500 calories and finish eating at 6pm

having weighed yourself naked in the morning, then weigh the next morning and make nite of your weight. Repeat for a few days 3 days should do, keep to the same calories and if you lose weight it’s less than your maintenance and if you stay the same then it is your maintenance

it’s not exact but if you can keep each day the same then you’ll have a good idea where you stand on calories

Use an online calorie calculator? There are plenty around - James Smith for example

Pay attention to your fat grams, carbs, sugars and protein amount as well as the calories and you will be on your way. Aldi and lidl have some great protein yoghurts and puddings at the moment which will help give you a protein boost. They're low on sugar and fat also and perfect for a snack or treat. Drink plenty of water too everytime you have a meal and it will help you fill up.
Be careful of low calorie snacks as they may be high in other things. Keep going you will smash it 😀

Use an online calorie calculator?

problem with that is, human bodies are not all built the same, don’t have the same muscle and hormonal input out put etc