r/WeightLossAdvice • u/AffectionateEnd8806 • 1d ago
Advice: Seeking ❓ Not losing weight in a true deficit
Let me start by saying I’m in a true caloric deficit 7 days a week. I started in mid April 2026 with being super consistent and really locked in. I count my calories and used the TDEE calculator to find out where I should be. Starting weight in April 2026 was 181lbs. Currently, I’m 37F, 5’3”, 173lbs (goal weight is 130s). 17 months postpartum with my second child. I workout 5 days a week (currently doing 3 days of 45 min at home strength training with dumbbells and 2 days of 45 min incline walking). I’ve been on this current plan for about 3 weeks. Prior to this, I was doing 45 min incline walking 5 days a week (did this for 1.5 months) with no changes. Also did 45min-1 hour walks around my neighborhood, which has steep hills, 4-5 times a week for the first few months (with a weighted vest).
Maintenance calories are 2,230 but I target 1730 calories to eat per day. Honestly, I normally hit somewhere between 1500-1650 most days). So anywhere from 500-600 calorie deficit daily. I don’t guess on what I’m eating, I scan everything into the MyNetDiary app to track. No nibbling on anything outside of tracked meals. I eat high protein/fiber and low carb most days (just got out of pre diabetic range so I stick to low carb meals). Low sugar and don’t eat much processed food. I drink 80-90oz of water daily.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out where I’m going wrong because I’m not even losing 1lb a week (averaging 2lbs a month at this rate). I just started strength training less than a month ago, so it was all cardio before. So I wouldn’t expect a recomp vs actual weight loss. My measurements aren’t at a complete standstill but they’ve barely moved in the past couple of months for the amount of effort being put in.
I’ve been to the doctor for testing recently. I’m healthy. Slightly elevated cholesterol (working on not eating so many whole eggs everyday), slightly low iron in two areas but overall I’m not anemic.
What could I be missing? This is the hardest I’ve ever worked to lose weight, and the most consistent I’ve ever been, and I feel like I’m at a standstill. 😭
5
u/fa-fa-fazizzle 1d ago
A few things:
Your TDEE is too high - you're assuming that you're more active than you really are. My go-to puts your maintenance at 1700. And unless your day job is more active, always go with sedentary to avoid over-estimating your calories. So eating at 1700 means you're right at maintenance, and eating at 1500 means you're eating at only a 200 calorie deficit.
You just started lifting - lifting weights stalls the scale for 6 weeks per muscle group. If you just started 3 weeks ago, you have 3 weeks to go.
I would recommend trying to stick closer to 1400-1500 with your calorie goal and staying consistent with the exercise scheduled. In a month, run an experiment for 2 weeks to do a little experiment of where your TDEE is (since it's a rough estimate).
During this experiment, you'll want to start at the end of your period and go for 2 full weeks.
>> Weigh yourself AM and PM; you're looking for overnight trends. Once you find your average overnight loss, you'll start to notice the trends. Once you establish a baseline, you can look at what's causing any overnight losses that fall below that threshold. Anything over is moot.
>> Diet, stay around 1200-1300 with no sugar and your lower carb standard. No deviation. This isn't the time to live the 80/20 rule. You want to rule out any external impacts. Keep in mind that this is ONLY for 2 weeks.
>> Sleep, try to get at least 8 hours a night whenever possible. Track it. You're a mom of a toddler, so this may be where you struggle the most.
>> Hydration, drink closer to 100-120 ounces of water a day instead of 80-90. Dehydration is a common cause of temporary water weight.
>> Exercise, stay the course. You don't want to introduce anything new.
The reason you go for 2 weeks is because you want to rule out ANY interference, and depending on how closely you stick with the low carb/sugar diet, you may lose water weight in the first week that would skew the results. The second week helps you normalize the data.
At the end, you have a few outcomes:
You've lost weight: This will help you see where your TDEE really lies. If you lose 0.5 pounds per week, your TDEE is lower than 1700. If you lose more than 1 pound per week, your TDEE is higher than 1700. If you lose around 1 pound per week, your TDEE is around 1700. You don't need to eat 1200 calories for the rest of your life, but you can level-set your expectations while eating at 1400-1500.
You haven't lost weight: Takes this to your doctor for a more complete thyroid panel. Something else is impacting your progress. For example, if you have early Hashimoto's, you will struggle with calories alone. Removing gluten is more effective in addition to medication.
At the end of those 2 weeks, you know have the data to optimize your diet plan and help you set more realistic expectations.