What do you suppose is happening with my friend's body?

[Anonymous]

She's been working out a lot. She's always been fairly heavy (225) and she'd like to get down to 140.

Well she's been working out and eating right for a year and has experienced next to 0 results.

The only thing that has happened is she's gone down 2 sizes in her jeans, but she has not lost any weight.

I thought that perhaps she had lost fat but had replaced it with muscle since muscle is more condensed than fat but weighs more, but then I thought maybe that's only part of the issue, because then she'd have gained weight, right?

When do you think she'll be seeing results?

She's been eating 1000 calories a day (a nutritionist told her to do this), and has been running 3 miles a day along with just being on her feet all day at her job and doing core work.

So... any fitness guru's out there care to explain what is happening?

[NotJustAnotherGuy]

The reason she may have gone down two sizes but retained the same weight, could be due to water retention. However, that's a fluctuation of 10lbs at most, with a year long diet of 1000 calories on top of running 3 miles a day (must be 40-60minutes at that weight) she would have lost 50+ lbs easily.

She is not a scientific phenomenon capable of consuming less than she burns and staying the same weight. Mathematically this is not possible, she is not an exception. Bodies that starve always lose weight, 100% of the time, every time. She clearly just really sucks at counting calories or lies for the sake of appearances (ironic).

In extreme cases like this, I'd recommend water fasting. Have her cut out any high intensity activities ( don't do a sprinting workout) while on a water fast. It's very simple, you only drink water and consume no food, sodas, or juices. Your body is then forced to break down fat into glycogen to maintain sugar levels in the blood stream (homeostasis). I only recommend this in extreme cases, where all else fails, because there is no miscounting calories because you consume 0, it is super easy to follow, but if you engage in intense activities for lengthy periods you could easily blackout. However, in the end, reducing her chances of heart disease make it more beneficial than letting her continue to fail. So introduce her to water fasting. Have her do it for 2 weeks. If she actually does it, she'll lose the easiest 10lbs of her life and hopefully realize that fat isn't magic and obesity is curable with real commitment.

[Anonymous]

muscle gain

eating too many calories

doing the same exercises over and over again

[Opinion Owner]

Thank you for best Answer. What did you finally deduce?

[Asker]

I asked my boyfriend - he is a fitness enthusiast, and he said he wasn't surprised at her results at all given her workout. Turns out she was over estimating her workout (she was counting being on her feet at work) and wasn't genuinely "swimming" I guess. I don't know hahaha. We're going to be headed back to school soon and I'm going to help her get on a more rigorous and varied workout schedule.

[Willow4]

She must either be not sticking to her diet/exercise plan or has a thyroid condition of sorts (although I suspect her doctor would have picked up on this already). 1000 calories is definitely eating to a calorie deficit although she might be eating less but still eating all the wrong things. 1000 calories of high fat/sugar foods probably wouldn't be allowing her to lose weight.

She should definitely be losing very quickly at her weight so maybe try to find out if she's been cheating a little with her weight loss plan, that's all I can think of I'm afraid :)

[BertMacklinFBI]

she's not sticking to her plan. she's cheating or something. going through that kind of exercise her body should be melting fat away, especially at her weight. or her heart rate may not be high enough during exercise.

[JustinCaseUDontKnow]

Experts suggest that women eat 1200 calories a day
and men eat 1800 a day when they're trying to lose weight
for women, that means three 300-calorie meals and a total
of 300 calories in snacks during the day, whereas for men
meals can be 450 calories each, with snacks adding up to 450

Your friend might be eating more than what she should be
or the diet the fitness trainer gave her is failing for her

[gotc147]

Those "experts" must be high... How many calories you eat per day depends greatly on how tall you are, I've had doctors tell me at my height and weight I should be consuming 3,300 calories per day.

[yaddayaddayadda02]

For a year doing that? C'mon. She'd lose weight. She's not exercising or she's consuming more than 1000 calories.