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

[Asterope]

As above, it's not budging!

Yes but at a guess if they say your maintenance calories are around 1400 for your sex and height then it's a big clue

Guessing can be wildly out though, so testing using calories in and decent scales will narrow that down considerably

Go to 1400 calories, start to lift some dumbbells everyday (Squats, curls, rows, skull crushers etc), make sure you're getting 8 hours of sleep, drinking plenty of water and make sure that when you're calculating calories you are including the oils use to cook with. Weigh yourself everyday, take your measurements and then take the average then track over the month. After three months get rid of the scales as they'll be no use to you anymore.

I’d say your calorie intake is still too high, I’m 5”7 and eat 1500 calories to loose weight so I’m thinking at 5”2 you need even less.

Your 14 stone. Of course your number of calories for losing weight is more than 1200. You need a significant amount more than average to maintain your weight.

To get to a healthy weight, you would eventually need to get to around 1200 though.

The heavier you are, the more calories you need to maintain. But at just over weight (BMI slightly over 25) and needing to lose a significant amount less you would be closer to 1200. Cos it depends on your start weight.

The fact you have been on yoyo diets your whole life is connected to this. You've never grasped that as you lose weight you can't eat what you did before. You've been on diets but not a wholesale permanent lifestyle change. Therein lies your issue

OP according to this youd be borderline on 1500 calories. So if you slightly underestimate how much you are eating you'd just be stuck maintaining.

Ignore things like Apple watch for how many calories you eat. My experience is if you are significantly below average in size compared to the average human (man) then they don't work properly.

I generally manage my calories by having two meals a day and avoid snacks as they are the killer for me. Even then it's tough to split less than 1500 calories into two meals. Cutting back on meat significantly has helped me. And cutting back on carbs. It's doable with nice food I love eating but it does take a fair bit of thinking about.

I'd stick where you are calories wise if you aren't gaining. Try and do some resistance based exercise and have a good read of "Why we eat too much" by Dr Andrew Jenkinson and the Tim Spector books.

Then look at improving your diet within their recommendations with a view to losing weight slowly and gently. Restricting your intake too significantly messes with your metabolism and hormones making you more likely to yoyo. You aren't far off target so you want it to be easy to maintain long term.

I'm 5'3 and 9st 9.

I am trying to lose 1lb/week. I eat 1,200-1,400 a day, but try hard to stick to 1,200. I tend not to count the splash of milk in my tea so sticking to 1,200 means those little bits I don't count accurately can even out. I am having to workout 5x/week at the moment and still barely managing 1lb weight loss. I'm doing around 30mins of exercise per day (HiiT, Step areobics, kick boxing, running, zumba... I love a good mix as I get bored easily!), plus I try to hit 10,000 steps too.

I'd say cut calories down to 1,200ish and add in 3 more intense workouts that get your heart rate up a bit. I love walking but it just doesn't deliver the same workout burn and after-burn as other workouts where I get hot and out of breath. I've noticed a real improvement in my functional movement, flexibility and stamina too and its not been very long! Give it a go.

It absolutely sucks though. Totally sympathise as 1,200 calories is LOW and it can be a struggle to calculate what you can actually eat for that amount! My DH's maintenance calories are literally double mine... :-(

I'm trying to lose weight at 5'2" . The maintenance calories of 1500 is so depressing!
I lost weight about 7 years ago from 11 stone to 10 stone the weight loss was okish but I could not get it below 10 stone, just got stuck there ( early/ mid forties) .
Sadly I've now regained ( and more) and am restarting.
Losing weight is definitely harder after 40 and definitely harder for shorties as less calories and can't carry extra weight well.
What may help is restricting your eating to an 8 hour window every day.

Too many calories for your metabolic rate. I have to virtually starve before I lose weight. Like 800 calories.

Rather than worry about macros, focus on your overall calories and your grams of protein. The James Smith calculator up thread breaks this down. As long as your carbs are healthy eg vegetables and whole grains, and you eat good fats, eg full fat yogurt, avocado, olive oil, I wouldn't track fat and carbs. Just try to limit ultra processed food, rather than cut out filling whole grains and veg. Limit fruit to two pieces a day.

It may just be very slow, once I didn’t lose weight for three weeks then it started coming off. I would make sure you tighten up on logging your cals and ensure you are getting sufficient protein. The protein helps with satiety and the more protein you eat the less space there is for carbs and fat. I don’t think you need to drop under 1500 until you are sure you are definitely at 1500.

And who knows why you assumed that.
I'm glad your plan is working for you right now but when you are 10 pounds away from your goal weight you will understand.

Thank you, I’m glad your plan is working for you too (actually, think you said it wasn’t …)

I said I had experienced plateaus.

You admit you're lax at weekends. Tighten that up and make sure you're being accurate in tracking

At 5ft 1 and sedentary I have absolutely lost weight at 1500 calories, was doing 20 minutes work out a day on youtube, nothing intense. I was absolutely laser accurate with EVERYTHING. If I added cinnamon to my food or stock I added the calories for EVERYTHING. I measured all vegetables even salad leaves. I used measuring spoons AND accurate food scales for all liquids etc. I never guesstimated or ignored an extra slice of apple or tomato here and there and guess what? I lost easily, 2lb per week on average. My BMI was 28.

Back in my 20s when I wasn't very active I lost weight from being slightly overweight to normal weight of around a stone by weighing everything and sticking to 2000 calories a day. Unless people weigh/measure things it's difficult to know how much you are having. Cereal is the perfect example. A portion is around 30g but a bowl full is 3-4 times that. Oven chips was about 10 small chips but the amount normally on a plate was twice that much. Calories in drinks soon add up too. Sweeteners play havoc with your pancreas leading to sugar cravings. I kicked my Diet Coke habit about 9 years ago now and mainly drink water. I don't drink alcohol except at Christmas and don't take sugar in my tea, just skimmed milk (I was brought up on skimmed and don't like semi or full fat at all). Calories are sneaky little fuckers.

Managed 1233 and 93g protein yesterday with 1133 steps. Am now scrupulously weighing anything. Can't get those Fulfil bars anywhere where I am unfortunately!

As many have said you'll be consuming more than 1500, especially if your a bit lax at the weekends (nothing wrong with that, but you won't drop kg's)
Work out your BMR, the work out what deficit you'll need to be in per week to drop a slow and steady loss.
Up your steps, we should do 10,000 a day as a standard. Then exercise on top. Good luck OP

@Hop27 to be fair, there is little evidence that step count adds any more benefit over about 7.5k

Just keep going, log everything and reassess in about 6 weeks.

I am 5'1 and 37 this year and I have lost weight on 1700 calories. I'm trying to lose the last few kgs now and I'm aiming for 1500-1800 weekdays/weekends, I'm walking 4 miles a day and exercising at least 5 times a week plus my job is quite active. I'll keep a log of everything then go back over it in 6-8 weeks and see how I'm getting on.

Don't go below 1200 especially if you are exercising. It's not sustainable or healthy and you will end up binging or becoming ill. I tried to do a couple of weeks and I lasted a day before I raided the fridge.

Don't give up, keep going, there is no rush. Keep your protein levels up, eat well and try find room for one small treat a day, even if it's a bit of cheese or a square of chocolate, really helps it be more sustainable.