Patience

[parsleyw]

Hello. I have been on my 1200calorie diet now for 5 weeks. I do half an hour cardio dvd six days a week and then walk five miles a day after the cardio dvd. I have only lost four pounds in five weeks and feel very disappointed. I hope to see the difference in weight loss on 1400 calories.

[DartmoorDumpling Restart Feb 2024]

Parsleyw; believe me, 4lbs in 5 weeks is excellent progress! Remember how slowly the weight arrived - less than a pound a week I am sure! Therefore it is the healthiest way (and most likely to stay off) to lose it slowly and steadily. There will be some fluctuations along the way according to your hormone levels, and some loss of fat will not show if you have been building stronger muscles from your exercise that you have been putting in.

Try taking some measurements - you might find your waist is smaller? Keep at what are doing - it is definitely working. If you need some variety in your routine, try swimming or gardening or some alternative exercise, and remember to vary your meals and experiment with new recipes too, so you don't lose interest. Stay focused and well done so far!

[IndigoBlue61]

Agree with DartmoorDumpling 😊 You also don't say how much you have to lose or how fit you are which may be another factor, but well done on sticking with it, you are eating a healthy diet for better nutrition and imoroved fitness. There is more to it than just numbers 😊 Very well done 😊

[teresina08]

If you eat 1200 kcal every day and work out so intensely, you won't lose any weight. your metabolism slows down beacuse you're not feeding your body. Basically, you turned your metaolism in to the starvation mode (google it) and your body is trying do save energy instead of burning it. The 1400 kcal allowance is for people who don't do any work out at all. It seems strange but the solution for you is to eat more. In the next 5 weeks you should lose around 3/3.5 kg.

[Zest Healthy BMI]

Hi parsleyw,

I am wondering if you have worked out your calorie range via the BMI NHS calculator? I would recommend having a look to see what it recommends if you haven't already done so, as it could be that you're not eating sufficient nutrients for your body's daily needs. The page that has the BMI NHS calculator is here, and you can find the calculator on the right-hand-side of the page:

nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss...

You can input your height, current weight and activity levels and it will give you a range of calories to eat within, and you should then lose weight.

However, I would also like to say that you are already losing some weight at a good rate - between half a pound to 2 pounds per week is really good, but I would recommend checking your calorie range and re-adjusting as necessary.

Just a suggestion of course, and it's up to you how you proceed. I am only suggesting this as an option to consider.

Wishing you a great weekend.

Lowcal

[esull]

Hi parsleyw,

That could be all that it is that you are not eating enough. I always think the lower my calories the more weight I'll lose but then somebody told me that your body thinks you are starving yourself so it will use stored fat to keep it going.

Once I heard this I thought no way am I going to eat next to nothing and potentially GAIN weight so I think that setting yourself a target of 1400 is a great idea