I'm doing everything right. Why am I not losing fat/weight?

[mon4thelord]

27F, 155cm, 68kgs

I started working out and following a diet since first week of January.
I've been counting calories since then and hitting the gym regularly but I'm not losing any weight. I lost one kg some days back but now I've gained it all back and been heavier than my starting weight.
I don't have thyroid issues, neither PCOS.

At the gym, I do beginner level strength training workouts, i.e., pull, push and legs.
Cardio is 15 minutes of treadmill, elliptical and cycling each.

I try to do 10 minutes of treadmill on incline even on strength training days.

I have also been eating very clean and tracking my calories. Sometimes i eat 1300, sometimes 1500 but that's the maximum. I also find myself getting bloated on drinking water.

I take vitamin D and b12 supplement everyday.

Even my body measurements have not changed in the very least. Why am I not losing fat?

Details below:-

Workout : 3x strength + 2x cardio/week

Diet : 1400-1500 calories (vegetarian)

Protein: 50-70grams (anymore protein than this makes me constipated)

Sleep : 5-7 hours everyday

Water - 3+ litres

Steps - only gym

 

[georgedanielleonard]

@mon4thelord If you're only doing strength training, you're not increasing your TDEE with cardio (which is FINE) the scale may not be moving but you may be gaining muscle, but cause we're ladies the amount of muscle we can gain on average per month without chemical intervention is uh.... saddening so don't look it up

But you're not eating in a surplus, which is needed to build muscle, so you're technically body recomping which admittedly takes AGES. It's why many people do bulk/cut/maintain cycles when lifting

It takes a long time for us shorties to lose weight cause a lot of us maintain at 1500kcal. So the deficit just isn't as big. That 1lb lost a week thing normal height people achieve eating a 500kcal deficit is more like 0.5lb a month cause for many of us a 500kcal deficit would mean we'd be eating about 1000kcal a day

In all honesty, it took about 6 months for me to notice a difference. And even since making DRASTIC changes to my physcical fitness and strengh, my measurements are not all that different. By a few inches at most.

Remember, it's only been one month. A health/fitness journey is one that doesn't have a finish line. Keep doing what you're doing and results WILL come, it just won't happen overnight, or even in a month. It takes longer unless you're training specifically and know exactly what you're doing (which most of us don't! me included)

 

[bethany35]

@mon4thelord People really seem to overestimate how many calories are burned during exercise. I don't mean to be rude, but 10 or 15 minutes of walking is good for your heart but is burning very few calories. (Maybe 50-75).

I am a cardio queen but I only burn 350 calories in a pretty intense hour of cardio kickboxing.

 

[marieflore]

@mon4thelord are you doing vegetarian for ethical reasons? i found that it takes me forever to lose weight when my macros have high carbs rather than high protein and fat. at the end of the day, it’s calories in calories out, but i strongly suspect that i am insulin resistant. i’m not going to be like DO KETO, but maybe see if increasing protein/fat (more so the fat if you can’t poop with 100g protein) and lowering carb helps you like it did for me. i would also completely put a stop to restaurant food or pre-made grocery store meals for two weeks - i have a theory that they highly underestimate their calories and salt. you should maybe do a deep dive on why you can’t poop right with more protein - maybe see a doctor to rule out GI issues, endrocrine issues, gynecological issues, that may make it hard to lose weight.

 

[sweetkf]

@mon4thelord How are you tracking your foods/calories? I can attest in my own journey that weighing foods to the gram on a food scale was a game changer. It really is all about calories in and calories out. So if you’re already tracking to the gram, you might need to move more during the day, not just the small amount during a workout.

Us shorties don’t always have the freedom to guess or assume calories since our deficits are typically on the lower end. We don’t have a lot of calories to work as it is so mis-measuring can have a big impact on progress.

 

[vegetable2]

@mon4thelord Some things to consider, 1) weight training causes inflammation which could cause a temporary spike in what you see on the scale.

2) if you’re only weighing yourself certain days you may have missed the day where the scale actually went down. That said it’s important to pay attention to the trend more so than what you weigh day to day and the more data points you have the easier it is to see that trend.

3) I’d encourage you, if you’re not already, to track your gym progress. Are you getting stronger in the lifts that you’re doing. As someone said you could have added some muscles and the scale only measures weight so just say you lost 2 pounds of fat but added 2 lbs of muscle the scale doesn’t move.

4) if you’re going to manipulate your macros and increase fat remember that fat has 9 calories per gram compared to 4 for carbs and protein. So more than double. That can add up quickly.

5) expect the process to not be a linear thing. The scale will go up and down as well as your workouts at a certain point. Somedays you’ll be able to lift more or push harder than others.

6) if you can’t poop maybe your fiber intake is a bit low. Also, carbs hold on to water so even though the scale isn’t moving you could still be making progress.

7) not saying this is you but alot of ppl misunderstand serving sizes and therefore miscalculate how much they are actually eating and like someone mentioned earlier you don’t burn nearly as many calories as you’d think from exercise.

8) if you’re adding those calories that you think you’ve burned back into your total daily intake, I wouldn’t recommend that. So just say you burned 200 calories during exercise, you don’t add that back in to your calories which would put you anywhere from 1500-1700. Stick with whatever your caloric range is regardless because like activity trackers regardless of the type are just not that accurate.

9) sometimes ppl don’t see the scar drop for weeks at a time and then what’s called the “woosh effect” happens and they may drop 2-4 pounds seemingly overnight.

10) stay consistent. Get stronger. Push yourself in the gym. Get your protein, sleep etc. be patient. Hopefully you’re in this for the long haul and if all else fails, consider hiring a coach. Jordan Syatt, Eric Roberts, Danny Matranga, Megan Hardy, Cody McBroom, are a few you could look into and see who fits you best.

Hope this helps

 

[lily01]

@mon4thelord Small suggestion - get more sleep. 5 hours isn't adequate enough. Body will hold on to fat when it is stressed and low on rest

 

[dawn16]

@mon4thelord You’ve been at this for one month. How long are your strength training workouts? It’s common for newbies to hold onto water while adjusting to a sudden increase in activity/strength training.

What is your activity level outside of working out? Do you have a desk job? How many steps a day do you get? What’s your bf %? All of these things can impact your TDEE significantly.

As far as the protein thing goes - you can help to counteract constipation by eating foods high in fiber and taking a magnesium supplement. You’re going to have a very difficult time realizing any gains through your strength training when you’re barely hitting the bare minimum protein requirements.

 

[brightflame]

@mon4thelord I understand your frustration. At the start of my fitness/weight/fat loss journey I was about your age and had all the same feelings. Let's adopt the "yes AND" approach. Keep up the good work AND what else can you do? (In my case, it's great that I don't drink alcohol AND I can also remove added salt from my diet. It's great that I walk everywhere AND I can also lift weights). Also keep in mind what is realistically sustainable. We are changing habits to get the physique we want not looking for a magic bullet or bandaid solution. Then all the weight will just come back and you'll enter a terrible cycle of gaining and losing the same ten pounds. What can you see yourself doing for life? Also, it's important to accept change takes TIME. In this world of instantaneous everything, that's easy to forget. Also, if counting calories and tracking and all those numbers are doing more harm than good, stop. You CAN meet your body goals without doing that because the most important thing is healing the relationship with your self image and generating compassion for youself. That's what not talked about enough.

 

[ewells36]

@mon4thelord Last month I’ve been lifting 3-4x week 1hr (+15min cardio).
I’ve been maintaining or even slightly gaining.
Before that I was maintaining for 2 months being almost sedentary with same calories (1800)
My trainer said let’s give it at least 12 weeks, so I’m not worried.

 

[rose0427]

@mon4thelord Hi there, I had similar stats to you but I’m 59kg now and started at 71kg at 155cm age 27F.

The best advice I can give right now if you are counting calories and keeping track of your eating habits/water consumption is:

MOVE MORE and stay hydrated.

• Consume more water. And green tea. Green tea has so many health benefits and can even boost your metabolism temporarily so great for before working out. I drink about 17-30oz of water every hour and half. that’s almost 2 water bottles worth. My skin has cleared up, I don’t feel as bloated, overall feel GOOD that I’m not loaded up on pop and Gatorade bc those used to be my favorite drinks.

-Increase your cardio. I see that you go to the gym, but 15 minutes of inclined walking isn’t enough cardio. Bump it up to 30, then 45, then 1hour. I do laps around my house for at least 1.5 hours to get 10k steps in. If walking gets difficult, get on a stationary bike/trainer and ride at a moderate intensity for 30-45 minutes. You can even do HIIT on the bike by doing intervals of high tension for 30 seconds full power and 1 minute of slower/moderate riding with low tension and do that for 20 minutes.

-Sprinkle in planks, push ups, sit ups, squats, wall sits, yoga, strength training and Pilates at HOME if you can. I follow a workout app that gives me 100% free videos to choose from. I do my yoga and Pilates there and really focus on the breathing, focus and form aspect of the workouts. I have noticed an increase in my strength, and definitely noticed inches/fat melt off as I’ve increased my workouts.

I think with our height, we have to put more effort into moving more while eating below our TDEE in order to lose the weight. It was so easy when I was younger because I walked everywhere. Now that I don’t do that anymore, I HAVE to put in effort to be active. I don’t eat all of the calories I burn off back, but it’s nice to have room for a little extra on those days where I’m feeling hungrier than usual(like when I get my monthly)

My routine looks like:
Drink cup of green tea 1 hour before working out**** always

Walk about 5000 steps in about 40ish minutes
Pick 1 full body strength training video
If I’m able to, pick 1 Pilates video
1 light yoga video
Upper body toning/strength video
Lower body toning/strength video
Core workout videos
Finish other 5000 steps as a form of “break”
Hop on stationary bike and ride for 90 minutes at a moderate to high intensity on medium tension while I play video games or watch TV/read

^ I don’t do all of these every day, some days I’ll just do cardio and strength, or I’ll do Pilates and HIIT on the bike. It really depends on how I’m feeling but these have all been working for me so far.

I wish you the best and good luck!