Why can't I lose weight??

Question

I don't know what to do. I've been drinking a good amount of water, I don't eat a lot at all... Under 2k calories definately, and I've been going for walks and doing sit-ups everyday.. But still I can't lose weight! I have been pretty thin my whole life up until I turned 18 ( I'm 21 now) and suddenly gained a bunch of weight. I have a desk job where i work sometimes more than 8 hours, 5 days a week, so I don't move around a lot, but I do try to get up and walk around whenever possible and I do filing which is like doing squats! But still, absolutely NOTHING! What else am I to do?? I don't want to revert to Diet Pills, because though make me very shaky and my boyfriend is against them entirely.

Any advice?

I used to keep a fitday at the beginning of the years, but I got tired of it! If you want to check, this day is my most usual eating/exercise habits to this day: http://fitday.com/webfit/publicjournals.html?Owner=smariette&Year=2007&Month=0&Day=3

Answer 1

find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter all your stats and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to maintain, take off 300-400cal off that number and thats how much you need to lose.
eat 5-6 small meals a day (eat every 2-3 hours)
5-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day
8 glasses of water
have complex carbs for breakfast - they give you energy
have lean meat (protein) for dinner - repairs muscle
cardio exercise 4-6 times a week for 30-50min, light weight training
dont consume foods that are made of white flour (white bread, cakes, past etc.), sugar loaded foods (cookies, icecream, candy etc) and nothing fried, oily.
ofcourse you can spoil yourself once in a while with a little treat:)

Answer 2

That's what you eat every day? I see your problem. Oddly, you need to eat more. Just to prevent your body from thinking you are starving you need to consume 1200 calories a day. That being said, you will need to go for longer walks or try running, but, by only fueling your body with 900 calories, it stores everything as fat b/c it thinks you are starving.

Your situation dort of sounds like mine. Not only was I thin growing up, but extremely skinny. Once I hit 20 or 21, I started to gain alot (for no reason at all) I started to do the eating only a small bit a day to lose, but, it didn't work. So, I asked a friend of mine, who is a personal trainer, & what I wrote above is exactly what she told me ( actually, she was more abrupt in it by saying " You need to eat way more, girl ! " *lol* ) Anyways, since I have been eating 4 or 5 small meals a day & making sure I eat between 1200 & 1500 calories a day, the weight has been coming off & , seeing myself losing weight has motivated me to push myself harder/longer at the gym.


Although fitday is a good site to track what you eat/burn, it doesn't tell you what to eat/how many calories. I currently use sparkspeople.com . When you first sign up (it's free), it asks you all your stats & how much you want to lose. From there, it tells you exactly how many calories you should eat a day ( a min & max amount) as well as burn. Not only that, but, it will give you suggested meals every day, as well as suggested exercises to help you out. It's highly recommended.

Answer 3

Work out more, Run instead of walking, in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume, so work out more, eat less!! Sit ups won't help until you lose the fat!! I have been through the same thing!

also...keep drinking the water, but do not drink too much!! 97oz is what i drink a day!

Answer 4

Diet pills are the absolute wrong way to go. - You actually should increase your caloric intake in reviewing your fit journal. When you eat under1300/day, your metabolism actually slows down because you are starving yourself. That way everything you eat gets stored instead of burned. Slowly increase your caloric intake back to between 1300-1500 per day, never skip breakfast, and eat small meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar high and keep burning food instead of storing.

Although you're eating a lower calorie diet, you may not be eating the adequate foods. You need whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables, and lean protein. Cut out refined sugar, trans fats, and also lower your sodium as it causes you to retain water.

Walking is not adequate exercise for losing weight unless you are obese. You need intense cardio - running, biking, etc. mixed with actual weight training to increase muscle mass which will raise your metabolism. Aim for exercise 5 days a week, with at least 4 cardio sessions and 3 strength sessions.

In reviewing your fitjournal, you are not burning enough calories. Aim for burning at least 500 calories a day, 5 days a week through exercise, have active rest a 6th day (frisbee, go rollerblading with friends, etc), and rest completely the 7th day to avoid burnout. You also need to increase your water intake (at least 1/2 oz for each pound you weigh), and reduce your sugar intake - dressings, etc. contain a lot of refined sugar that will ruin your diet. Avoid processed foods, especially any that contain words like "high fructose corn syrup" or anything of that variety. Aim for foods with less than 2g per serving of refined sugar.

Answer 5

sounds like youre doing the right stuff! just give it some time! you might add muscle before you lose fat, which is good. try taking the stairs instead of the elevator when you can, use half your lunch break to go for a walk, walk to coworkers desks instead of calling or emailing. also, maybe you arent eating enough- make sure you eat lots of fruits and veggies - they'll never make you fat- and eat whole grains and lean protien. and keep drinking lots of water! but make sure you dont drink soda! good luck!

Answer 6

You need to up the activity level.

you also probably eat more then you think working in an office. there is always someones birthday! and always something sweet in the office. Cutr it out completly.

ps. you cant tone a specific part of your body while you still have body fat on the rest of your body. it doesnt work that way!

Answer 7

Drink green tea green tea can help you lose weight

Answer 8

Not eating or skipping meals is not dieting If you do you may get more weight

Answer 9

Walk in the morning and eat breakfast within an hour of waking

Answer 10

Practice deep brearhing exercises to reduce the stress hormone cortisol