iv been doing alot more excersise and eating approx 1200 cals per day for 3 weeks,why havnt i lost any weight?

Question

i have spent 1 wk doing 20 mins aday,1 wk doing 30 mins a day and 1 wk doing 50+ mins per day on my excersise bike(and yes i am working hard at it not just sittng there!),and i have been carefully watching what i eat,keeping as close to 1200 cals a day as poss.so why after 3 weeks have i not lost more than about a pound?i have a 3 year old child so i have a pretty active life.and its not cos iv no weight to lose as im 2 stone overweight....
can any one enlighten me?no pun intended!

Answer 1

You don't mention your height or current weight, but my guess is you may not be eating enough for your body. You could be going into starvation mode where your body will hold on to every single calorie, every single ounce. I would suggest you shake it up a bit. Try eating a bit more one day, exercising less another or skipping the exercise altogether for a day. Change the types of foods you eat. See if that helps you. You could also talk to your doctor who'd be able to let you know more specifically why you're not losing.

Answer 2

1200 calories is simply too little. If you want to lose weight, you must EAT. Your body needs even better nutrition when you are working out. The more intense the workouts, the better you should be eating. This means snacking and eating meals made of predominantly fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains! I am also trying to lose weight and have done a lot of research. I also believe that the idea that muscle weighs more than fat is a myth. Are you looking at the number on the scale or have you examined your legs? Do they look a little leaner? The stationary bike is mostly for the lower body, if I were you I would consider adding some exercises which also get the upper-body moving. Maybe run 15-20 minutes to begin with, and lift some light weights. If you could provide some details about what you are eating in the 1200 calories, that could be the difference. It is better to eat 1600 of healthy foods than 1200 calories of unhealthy, fattening foods. Good luck! :)

Answer 3

You may be building muscle which weighs more than fat, but takes up less space. Don't pay attention to the scale - pay more attention to the way your clothes fit. You may also not be eating enough - sounds strange, but true. Try 5 meals a day every three hours for a total of 1500 calories: breakfast - 300, snack - 200, dinner - 400, snack - 100, supper - 500. At 3 weeks you shouldn't really see too many results anyway, but you should be feeling better and in another 2-3 weeks you'll start to see results. It sounds like you workout regimine is good though so keep at it. You may also want to incoropate some strength training though.

Answer 4

it all depends on what you are eating! I have tried many diets and the one i can say that works is trying low carbohydrate food. look for foods that slowly release their energy. No sugary treats. Drink lots and lots of water, and try not to just bust everything on the exercise bike. speed walking/jogging round the park or SWIMMING, you can't beat it. If you have rushed into your exercise then your body will currently be in a state of shock and trying to absorb and store any fat possible. Muscle weighs more than fat! remember that. Keep at the exercise but the more variation the better. Don't be put off by the fact that the scales havn't dropped like a stone. Stay positive, If u stay vigilant it will melt away. Best of Luck!

Answer 5

I"ve noticed that I can't lose weight unless I take in at least 1500 calories a day, so my goal is 1500-1700 a day. Have you lost weight during the last few months or so? It may be that you've hit a plateau if you have. Or, if you've been doing the exercise bike for a long time, it could be that you need to shake up your exercise routine with some new moves.

Answer 6

you need to ensure that you are eating 4 meals a day and with the exercise drink loads of water, what you need to do with the exercise is to build it in stages

start of slow for a minute then for the next minute build a bit more speed and so on till 15 minutes you should really battle to do the last minute of your 15 and then start again for another 15 minutes, if you do have a heart rate monitor take your age and minus 220 from it so lets say you 20 then its 220-20=200 this is your maximum heart rate and this is to build your heart muscle but to loose weight keep it at 65-75% if you wanting to loose weight...

In the shower everyday tell yourself that you have losed weight so as to programme your mind, the power of your subconsious mind is great, every bit of spare time that you have in the car or on the train keep telling yourself this and you will see the difference, its MIND OVER MATTER!!!

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions, been a personal trainer now for 10yrs so let me know when you start getting down to your goal weight and if the tips helped.. Oh try and mix your training up like walking so as to not get bored with your schedule, best time to train is in the morning on a empty stomach...

Answer 7

It's possible your body has gone into starvation mode as you are eating to few calories - if your body thinks there is not enough food it will automatically convert food to fat in order to store energy. Women should eat 2000 calories per day, men 2500 so aim for a figure more like 1800-2000 and let the exercise burn the fat instead of eating too little. Your body will then know you have enough food so will burn fat instead of storing it.

Answer 8

Sure it could be because your muscle mass is building...however there is also a possiblility that it could be an imbalance of hormones which could affect your metabolism. Why not go to your doctors just for a check over.

And actually the recommended daily intake is 1500 calories a day for a woman

Answer 9

In order to lose weight you have to have a calorie intake of 1500 per day,if you have more than a stone to lose you need to increase this to 1750 per day and if you are exercising you need to increase it even more.I know it sounds mad but it does work.Im a member of weight watchers and ive got all the info.

Answer 10

Because you have built muscle and muscle weighs heavier than fat. It will level off in the next couple of weeks and you will start to notice your clothes fitting better and the weight start to come off.