Can't seem to lose weight!!!

newNRGkate

I'm getting very frustrated with my attempts to lose weight. I do Zumba for 60 minutes twice a week, HITT workout for 25 minutes twice a week, I do PiYo 3 or 4 times a week and bowflex (muscle work) for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I am very careful about what I eat and have managed to cut out my favorite evening treat of air popped popcorn with the exception of 1-2 nights a week.

I feel like if I even cheat a small amount during the week that it has disastrous results. I will lose 0.4 and then the next week go back up that much or more. The lowest I have weighed was a couple of summers ago at 137. I would love to get down to 135, I am 5'4", but would settle for 140lbs. Right now I am 148 and can't see to get below 145. I just keep going up and down between 145-149lbs.

I keep my base calories at 1200 but then do eat some calories back on really active days.

Would love some tips to help me reach my goal weight. Someone told me I am not eating enough calories and that I should boost my base to 1500-1800 but I am hesitant to do that for fear I will put on even more weight.

Please tell me what I am doing wrong!!

Liftng4Lis

Can you open your diary?

queenliz99

newNRGkate wrote: »

I'm getting very frustrated with my attempts to lose weight. I do Zumba for 60 minutes twice a week, HITT workout for 25 minutes twice a week, I do PiYo 3 or 4 times a week and bowflex (muscle work) for 30 minutes 3 times a week. I am very careful about what I eat and have managed to cut out my favorite evening treat of air popped popcorn with the exception of 1-2 nights a week.

I feel like if I even cheat a small amount during the week that it has disastrous results. I will lose 0.4 and then the next week go back up that much or more. The lowest I have weighed was a couple of summers ago at 137. I would love to get down to 135, I am 5'4", but would settle for 140lbs. Right now I am 148 and can't see to get below 145. I just keep going up and down between 145-149lbs.

I keep my base calories at 1200 but then do eat some calories back on really active days.

Would love some tips to help me reach my goal weight. Someone told me I am not eating enough calories and that I should boost my base to 1500-1800 but I am hesitant to do that for fear I will put on even more weight.

Please tell me what I am doing wrong!!

It sounds like you are eating at a maintenance level. If you were eating 1200 calories you would be losing. Do you use a food scale? That will make a big difference in your success.

caitconquersweight

Yeah, it sounds like you really do need to up your calories if you're working out as much as you say. It's almost impossible for someone of an average weight, height, and activity level to not lose weight on 1500 calories. Do you use a food scale to weigh your food, or do you use measuring cups and estimates?

Serah87

Your eating to much. If you not losing you are not in a deficit.

Get a food scale and weigh ALL solid foods and measure liquids ONLY!!!

vegwrangler

With how active you are, I bet you would see killer results if you broke up with your scale for 3 weeks, ate most of your "exercise calories," and checked in again after 21 days or so.

Last time I was at this (lost 54 pounds (gained some(most) back (thanks stress))) I plateaued EXACTLY like this. I swear, you sound EXACTLY like I did in the last 10 lbs of my journey.

My advice, in short:

Ditch the scale.
Eat raw vegetables A LOT in addition to your already awesome eats.
Don't be afraid of plant-based, non-processed, raw fats.
Keep being rad!

You're doing great! Sending love and high hopes!

999tigger

Are you weighing your food. the answer is normally you are eating more and burning less than you think.

As they said its helpful if you open your diary.

What deficit are you running?

In eatback, then how are you estimating burns? MFP, HRM? What % of calories are you eating back?

The answer will be something like eat less, move more or log more accurately. That covers most situations.

zoeysasha37

Are you weighing and measuring everything consume?? Sometimes it's very easy to eat more then expected if not weighing and measuring consistently

BrianSharpe

You're either overestimating your caloric expenditure from exercise or underestimating your consumption or a combination of the two (there is also a very small probability that you may suffer from metabolic disorder, but that would need to be diagnosed by a medical practitioner).

Weigh / measure your food and log every morsel you consume.

How are you estimating your calorie burn from exercise (the MFP database is notoriously "generous")?

newNRGkate

I use my Fitbit to track my calories burned but have only had it a couple of weeks. Before that I was just using the estimations in MFP. I WILL take everyone's advice and start weighing/measuring my food and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks for all your helpful advice!!!

ana3067

You should also probably lower your goal to 0.5lbs/week instead of to what I'm guessing is 2lbs a week just based on the default 1200 setting you are using. If you are working out as much as you say with that low of a goal, I could see you easily working out less intensely as you think or also compensating for the low goal by eating more than you think due to hunger.

Liftng4Lis

Okay, start using a scale. Seriously every little thing counts. Just one example here, you have consistently a small banana logged. I weigh mine and on average they are 128 + calories. Additionally, do NOT use generic if at all possible. When you only have 9 pounds to go, EVERY calorie counts. I now count my gum.

999tigger

newNRGkate wrote: »

I use my Fitbit to track my calories burned but have only had it a couple of weeks. Before that I was just using the estimations in MFP. I WILL take everyone's advice and start weighing/measuring my food and see if that makes a difference.
Thanks for all your helpful advice!!!

If you are using the MFP defauly method as opposed to TDEE, then eat back at most 50% of calories burned as the estimates are soemthimes exaggerated plus people overestimate the effort they put in. You are just looking to establish a deficit again by accurate logging. Once you are consistently in deficit, then you should start to lose again.

leilacarmichael

I am having the same issue. I work out doing Zumba, cardio, weight lifting and the scale actually went up after an initial loss. I have had 1200 to 1500 calories a day. No booze, sugar, lots of rest.

NoelFigart1

I mean this as kindly as possible. IF you are working out as much as all that, are eating 1200 calories a day and not eating back exercise calories, you need to see a doc because you have symptoms of a metabolic disorder.

It is CONSIDERABLY more likely there are inaccuracies in recording how much you eat. No, not because you are stupid or careless, but because weighing and logging EVERY.Single.DAMN.THING you eat is legitimately a total pain in the *kitten*, so we can easily let calories slide. You know, like that grape you ate (20 of those and it's about 100 calories more), or you don't record your half-n-half in your coffee because that "doesn't count" or whatever.

amtru2015

I may be going against the flow here but I don't eat back my exercise calories. Also, go to bed hungry---close the kitchen about 4 hours before bed. Just my two cents