No weight loss with weight lifting

[galnaros]

37/F 137-138 lbs and 5’4” been doing 3-4 weightlifting sessions weekly and mostly hitting 10 k steps daily for almost 10 weeks now with no significant weight loss. I eat around 1450-1500 calories and hit 120 g of protein daily. It’s been so frustrating. What else can I do to help the scale move? Although I feel stronger and have been progressively overloading weights, there have been barely any non scale victories either (measurements are no change to .25-.5 inches difference). Am I missing something? Should I just up my cardio at this point?

 

[dhay20]

@galnaros Eating less calories is the fastest way to lose weight. Eat low calorie foods that are filling. Look at foods with a lot of protein and/or fiber.

 

[predrag]

@galnaros Are you tracking your food daily? Are you weighing yourself in the morning and taking a weekly average (to factor out fluctuations)?

Training has minimal impact relative to fork putdowns.

 

[sandy33]

@galnaros You're not eating 1500 calories a day.

 

[jackson12]

@galnaros If you arent losing weight, you arent eating at a deficit.

 

[tomhanch]

@jackson12 This. But also OP, how are you looking in the mirror? Might be putting on a tiny bit of muscle, even though that hardly seems like a calorie surplus. Could be a slight recomp though, just curious.

 

[lvsjesus]

@galnaros I echo what others have said. Lots of posts saying they are eating a certain amount of calories but then say they aren't weighing their food. So no accusation but genuinely wondering if you're weighing and tracking everything? I lost almost nothing exercising alone, it was only once I weighed my food and tracked every bit I saw the scale move. Then I got a good idea of portions and later could more eyeball my meals

 

[metrolimousines]

@galnaros I posted a similar quandary on here a few weeks ago, so I feel like we are in the same boat! Similar fitness strategy, same height, same cals, I have a few more lbs on you. I have seen some results from a loss of inches but not much, so I keep telling myself that I won’t be seeing a lot of actual weight loss because of muscle gain. The majority of responses included potentially looking at a reverse diet, but then also the comments about calorie deficit. So it is VERY confusing. Overall, I was also encouraged to trust the process, it takes time. But as each week goes one I worry I could be tweaking this differently to get better results but I am so unsure. Are you tracking macros with a strong emphasis on protein intake?

 

[kyrie_eleison]

@galnaros The fact that you said you eat “around 1450-1500 calories” indicates to me the possibility that you’re not tracking very carefully.

Are you weighing your portions and tracking all snacks, drinks, condiments, sauces, etc?

Are you eating back calories your app tells you were burned through exercise? (I advise against this.)

If you are not using a food scale and/or tracking with granularity then it’s very likely you are eating more calories than you think you are. This is further evidenced by the fact that you have not lost weight.

Additionally, if you are eating back calories burned through exercise, know that a lot of trackers and apps vastly overestimate the calorie burn of workouts. For this reason, it’s usually recommended to follow TDEE - deficit strictly, rather than eating back calories burned.

 

[babylonisfalling]

@galnaros Stop looking at the scale. We obsess over weight because it is easy to measure. You could literally make a significant drop in your body fat, improve your physique dramatically and never loose an ounce of weight. As long as you are trading muscle for fat, you are accomplishing a lot.

Do you look better in the mirror? Do your clothes fit looser? Do you feel good about your progress? If you do then stop worrying about your weight.

 

[heartboy]

@galnaros Has your body changed in composition? Could be that you are adding muscle while losing fat.

If not, then you most likely miscounting your calories. Are you measuring everything with cups/spoons/scale?

 

[cosmic321]

@galnaros As others have said, it's likely miscounting calories. 1500 is around your TDEE so if you're slightly above that by miscounting, the 10k steps aren't going to work. You should not count on weightlifting as a calorie burn to contribute to weight loss.

 

[chozenwun]

@galnaros How are your clothes fitting?

 

[ajest001]

@galnaros Weight lifting isn't an efficient way to lose weight because it isn't a high calorie burning activity. If you are trying to lose weight, you need to do more cardio or HIIT workouts - these are the calories torchers. 10k steps really isn't that significant, and if it's from walking, you aren't burning calories quickly that way. You definitely need to track calories too - if there's no deficit you don't lose. You can lose weight by lifting but because it doesn't burn as much, you have to eat less. By incorporating cardio, you can eat normally but you will still be in a deficit because you burn more with exercise

 

[dekaewaii]

@galnaros That's probably not enough food. Eat more. Your NEAT won't be supressed