Why can't I lose weight?

Question

I've been dieting for a little over 3 weeks now. I've lost about 6-7 pounds depending on the day. I know this is about right..but I basically lost those 6 pounds in the first week and a half..and now I've been staying close to the same weight now for the past 2 weeks. I'm not sure if its muscle gain, or if I need to eat even less, or if I should break from exercise a little.
Here are the things I've been doing.
1. Stopped drinking soda.
2. Drinking more water.
3. 1 egg, one slice of lite bread and 1/2 cup orange juice.
4. Spinach salad with broccoli sprouts for lunch.
5. For dinner I usually cook a normal meal, but just eat a lot less of it.
6. I exercise for at least 1.5 hours a day.
7. I started at 248 and I'm at 241.5-239 for the past week.
8. Had my period last week.
26 year old female with no kids. Have been riding bike, running, and walking for exercise.

Answer 1

Well there are a couple of things i am thinking. One it doesn't sound like your eating enough, 2. You are working out alot so maybe you have built muscle, have your clothes started to get looser? Don't give up. Just keep staying on track soon the weight will start to come off again.

Answer 2

Hmm... strange as it may seem, you may need to eat more.

Start counting your calories - you need to have at least 1,200 to stay alive. With 90 minutes of cardio per day, it will probably be alot more than that. If you are not getting enough calories, you will go into starvation mode... which is exactly as you described - the scale not budging. Try adding 100 calories a day for the next week, and see what happens. Best yet, count all the calories you eat, and all that you burn - this will give you a good idea about what is going on.

Don't eat less - don't scale back on the exercise. You might want to add some strength training to the regimine. You have a great start, you should just tweak it a bit.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

First of all, you are asking this question far too early. The weight didn't come on overnight, and it's not going to come off overnight either. You should really benchmark your progress only after 8-12 weeks. At that point, re-evaluate your plan, see if it's working for you, and make the necessary adjustments. If you question and try to change things too early, you'll never know what really works for you.

Second, about your exercise...you say that you're exercising 1.5 hours a day, but is that workout time of the highest quality? I am a personal trainer, and I see far too many people who claim that they exercise every day, for hours at a time, etc., but when I actually see them doing it, they are sitting on the recumbent bike, pedaling at 3mph, reading a magazine, not even breaking a sweat. This is not exercise, people! If you really want to burn some calories, you have to work hard and sweat! You need to get your heartrate up and keep it up for a minimum of 20 minutes in order to see any benefits. (Search heartrate training for more details on what heartrate is safe for you.)

Finally, always remember that losing weight is not about "dieting" or "cutting back" or just exercising for a few months to get the pounds off....it's about changing bad habits and creating new ones that you will maintain forever! It is about lifestyle change, and overall health improvement! Good luck!!

Answer 5

You need to be drinking at least 8 eight oz glasses of water a day and then another 8 oz for every 20lbs you want to lose. (I think that is the right figure....been awhile since I read the literature on it) Also, double check your calorie intake. If you get it too low your body will actually have a harder time losing the weight then if you are getting the right amount to lose.
Sounds like you are off to a great start! Good job and keep going.

Answer 6

Sounds like you are doing everything right. Maybe it is muscle weight gain. Are you lifting weights? The period definitely might have something to do with it. I don't know. I lost 40 lbs doing Weight Watchers on my own so I really depended on that. If you want to look into doing the same check out www.dwlz.com Great website and free resources. Good luck, you're on the right track!

Answer 7

Only weigh yourself once a week; and do it at approximately the same time, and under the same conditions, e.g. after going to the toilet, not wearing shoes, etc.
Don't weigh yourself during your period week.
Make sure you don't suffer from any medical problems (such as Poly-cystic Ovary Syndrome, Hypo-thyroidism, etc.) that can affect your ability to lose weight.
Many people have bashed the low-carb (and no carb) argument, but The South Beach Diet really worked for me. If you read the book, the argument for this diet is scientifically convincing; you don't have to be hungry, and it's low-fat (heart-healthy), too.

Answer 8

well along with working out you do have to eat a healthy full coursed meal. and you have to eat breakfast.lunch.dinner.
try eating at least 1 of these items in each meal : grain.meat.veggie.fruit.dairy item. and drink some low fatting weight. also which helps is running/walking. it makes u loose alot of weight. and just eat good and exercize and u should be loosing some soon

Answer 9

you've just hit a small plateau. it will happen more as you lose even more weight. keep doing what you are doing. make sure you are eating a few healthy snacks too. have some fruit. you prob just have some water weight. keep doing what you are doing and it will come off.

Answer 10

unless u are incredibly over weight its very hard to loose 10 pounds every week. its all about cardio activities, and small amounts of wait training.