This short gal can’t seem to lose weight or inches

[made2worship]

I started a caloric deficit of 1600 3 1/2 weeks ago. After a week of that and not losing anything, I changed my deficit to 1400 for the past two weeks.
I work out 6x a week. 1 hr weights+ 1 hr cardio 4 of those days. Then the 2 days I walk 6 1/2 miles.
On average my watch tells me I burn around 300-550 cal when I workout (although I know these things are not accurate)

I do not binge, I count ever single thing accurately. I use a food scale and yes I am eating 1g protein per lb of body weight. And yes I eat lots of fiber and veggies.

I am 23 female, 5 foot nothing and still weigh 144lbs.
All my measurements are the same and the number on the scale. I do NOT eat back calories I burn from working out. I have no known health issues and have had thyroid and hormones checked in the past for something unrelated.

What is wrong with me. If I drop my calories any lower I’m afraid I won’t be able to sustain that.

 

[jswish89]

@made2worship Make sure that you continue measuring your food intakke correctly and stay at 1400kcal. The scale will eventually start to drop. Sadly for us short girls we can't achieve a huge deficit so any water retention cancels out all progress on the scale. 3,5 weeks isn't enough to see a noticeable change in measurements either. I know how frustrating it is but stay patient.

 

[jasonm420]

@made2worship My girl you only gave it 3 ½ weeks lol!!! This is nothing to stress over, you just need to give it more time and decide on your goals:

Do you want to lose weight, build muscle, or both?

Lose weight = caloric deficit + light cardio (walking)

Build muscle = caloric surplus + heavy lifting + protein

Both = Recomp, and Recomp is when you eat at maintenance to "turn current fat" into muscle. Your weight should be roughly the same but you'll see definition.

What most people do is lose the (fat) weight first then build muscle (weight lift) after being closer to their goal weight. It sounds like you want to lose weight but what you're doing is Recomp. I suggest keeping the 1400, but move weight lifting days to 2-3 days/week while prioritizing 5-10k steps a day. Also, weight lifting initially makes your body retain water, so it takes a while to see effects from it on the scale, which is why I "laugh" at the 3 ½ weeks, because you gotta give it maybe 2 months at least to really really notice stuff!

Good luck & you got this!!

 

[made2worship]

@jasonm420 Crying because I go on vacation in two months and I just wanna be skinny.
I’m trying to lose fat but keep or gain some muscle. Without muscle I’ll just be skinny fat. I just feel like 3 1/2 weeks should be enough to see something even if it’s tiny.
I’m going to stick with it but it’s very discouraging. Especially when people around me seem to lose weight so much easier, even if they’re the same size as me.

 

[roman101]

@made2worship Because of my short height. I expect to see about a pound of weight loss a month. But I can also have a couple pounds in weight fluctuation just from day to day! So no, a month of a deficit isn't necessarily long enough to see the weight loss. Or even 2-3 months. You gotta give it time.

 

[made2worship]

@roman101 Oh that’s not gunna work for me. I will suffer not eating before I lose weight that slow. I know it sounds excessive, but I simply don’t have the patience for that. But also I don’t care so much about weight as I do my looks. Weight is just a form of measuring if this is working or not lol

 

[ayrus87]

@made2worship That way of thinking jeopardizes your health. Please seek professional counsel. Your health is most important.

 

[made2worship]

@ayrus87 I go to counseling. I am okay. I get that my way of thinking isn’t healthy in that instance. I was referring to if I was only able to lose a pound a month that I would take more extreme measures. Not right now. The only thing really affecting my mental health is being fat. Losing weight will help that (I know myself enough to know this)

 

[ayrus87]

@made2worship Thanks for replying. I understand the frustrations. Sadly it takes a long time to gain weight and just as long or more to lose it. Setting a date to lose weight has never worked for me, but consistency in diet and exercise will 100% get you to where you want to be in the future. Please be kind to yourself along the journey.

 

[balaclava]

@made2worship “I just wanna be skinny” that’s your problem right there. You aren’t going to lose the weight you want with that being your goal. If you were wanting to be healthier and had a more positive mindset rather than worried about out “when people around you seem to lose weight much faster” you’d probably see better results. Also, you haven’t really given yourself much time to make true progress. It takes much more work to lose weight than it does to gain it. I do hope you’re able to find a more positive and healthy way of going about your weight loss journey.

 

[made2worship]

@balaclava Sorry over comments I can’t insert any tone or sarcasm. It was a funny way of saying I want to look and feel comfortable in clothes that I wear on the trip.

 

[swing1987]

@made2worship Do you look different in the mirror? Look, the scale is likely not your friend here and it will make you obsess if you don't see the number go down or (even) go up. Over the last 3 weeks and next 8 weeks, your body will change if you keep it up and it will be most noticeable in the mirror. There was a post from a woman somewhere here on reddit that had a 6 pack and weighed like 150. If I was her height and weighed 150, I would look dramatically different than she does. The scale is a unit of measurement but it's likely not going to do anything helpful to your goal. I've been working out consistently for 8ish months now and am likely the same weight as when I started but my body looks very different now. Focus on eating healthy, having your deficit and keeping consistent in the gym.

 

[made2worship]

@swing1987 No. I look and feel the same just more hungry.
I don’t care much about the number on the scale, I just use it as a form of measuring any ounce of progress

 

[swing1987]

@made2worship Ok- kinda seems like you're not open to your brain getting in the way of what your body is actually doing or maybe you look exactly the same after working out 1-2 hours a day and dramatically cutting your calories. Then do that more- cut to 1200 for two weeks and if that doesn't work, cut more. Careful though, I wouldn't do this without having 'before' pictures and a 3rd party to help make sure you're not sliding into anorexia or dysmorphia.

 

[godloving011354]

@made2worship Keep focusing on eating lots of veggies, fiber, lean protein, etc... remember, if you cut your calories too much (either through dieting or exercise or both) your body may go into starvation mode and you can seriously screw up your metabolism.

 

[marekaelie]

@made2worship Did you also just start lifting weights at the same time as your deficit started? Lifting weights can cause you to retain water and cardio can cause an increase in blood volume that make it seem like you are not making progress when you could be. There is a post by a physiologist on r/loseit about this. Will link it here if I can find it quickly!

 

[diakoneo10]

@made2worship I am 4'11 and down 20 lbs in a span of 1.2 years. 134 to 113 as of current date. Imo If you are on a time crunch the most you can do is a severe cut with cardio. I would only do this for 3-5 weeks at most. Avoid high sodium foods and weigh yourself everyday and take the average at the end of the week. Whatever your watch is counting is incorrect. I use a math equation to calculate my calories lost for 10- 12% treadmill incline at 2.5-3 speed with my height and weight, keeping my bpm at 135+. Eat super clean and focus on cardio, skip the weights to retain your energy. Water retention can screw up your numbers.

However this is NOT sustainable. You have to be realistic with yourself on what your goals are, short and long term. It seems like you're aiming for short term, just be aware you risk yoyoing back to a higher weight after vacay is over.

As someone with a massive appetite, inconsistent hunger cues, and years of yo yo ing my weight, I have come to accept leaning out takes time being our size. One thought that has helped me accept the idea is 5 lbs on us short gals will be way more noticeable physically vs 5 lbs on a 6 foot tall individual.

Good luck

 

[intermediary]

@made2worship I’d recommend Macro Factor app. It will show you exactly what you need to do to get to your goal and monitor your progress and recommend adjustments based on your scale weight and nutrition logging.

 

[made2worship]

@intermediary I already have a calorie calculator but I went ahead and downloaded it and gave me the range of 1700 for slower weight loss and 1400 for faster weight loss.
So apparently I’m on the right track just not seeing any progress.

 

[intermediary]

@made2worship Once you use it for a couple of weeks, it will really narrow down the right calorie amount. Mine is slow, but my TDEE isow so my deficit range is low. but it’s working.