New and need help

malsipos

I'm getting married next march and so now it's down to business. I'm approx 170 pounds and 5"6. I want to be 135 by October to start dress shopping. I've been working out 5-6 times a week with a mix of strength and cardio. I've been tracking all my food and haven't really gone over my daily goal at all. But it's been 3 weeks and I haven't lost any weight? Suggestions? Do I just need to give it more time?

dizustyross

If youve never exersized before it could be losing fat and gaining muscle, leaving you at a steady weight(the mirror will tell you that one). Also the daily goal is just a guideline, being everyones different you could still be eating over what your body needs, if thats the case i would suggest dropping calories by 3-500 and go from there.

Liftng4Lis

The weight loss will come from the deficit, not the exercise (your burns look high), you have 20 minutes of spinning 280 calories? Additionally, remember a new exercise program will often cause you to retain water.
Are you weighing and measuring your food? For instance you have a banana, 90 calories. I have rarely ever had one come in under 105. These things DO add up and it's imperative to tighten logging if you're not losing.

beckalec79

How about the quality of food? Are you getting enough protein/fiber and drinking enough water? I stalled in my weight loss until I focused on nutrition. The trainer I met with said I wasn't eating enough, and wasn't eating the right things. Nutrition is actually just as important, if not more, than exercise.

How often do you eat? You should eat at least 5 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks in between. Eating every few hours helps your metabolism. The goal is to cut out as much added sugar and salt as possible and consume more protein and healthy fats.

It's great that you are giving yourself a reasonable amount of time to lose this weight. It sounds like you're still very stressed. This might sound silly, but how stressed are you about the scale? Whenever I've been close to a milestone weight I step on the scale every day to watch the ounces go...and that's usually when I stall. Can you try being focused on something other than the scale? Can you perhaps picture the joy on your wedding day and health and happiness in your marriage? Maybe it would be good to skip a week weighing in and just check in with your body and how you feel.

Finally...you can still have a fantastic, healthy, fit body and be in excellent shape even if you weigh more than 135. The best body I've ever had was in my 20s and I was pushing 150...and was the strongest and most flexible I've ever been. I also was a size 8.

Linzer140fit

Did you happen to take any of your measurements before you started working out? Sometimes those are changing when the scale is not budging. Also agree with the other poster maybe you're over estimating your calorie burn, this happens a lot on many programs. If you haven't cut out drinking diet soda try that, switch to water, watch your sodium and try to limit your simple carb consumption if you've not done that already. I haven't looked at your food log. You may also lose most of your weight each month post the week of/after your cycle, so look for that and don't give up.

malsipos

Thanks for the tips. I've ordered a fitness band to help me more accurately track my burned calories but for now I just go by what the machines tell me which I'm sure isn't always correct. I haven't drank pop at all. Mostly water, the odd smoothie, and a coffee here and there. Ad even when I do I have cut back a lot of the amount of sugar and light cream I put in it. I don't measure/ weigh my food. I have just been estimating so I think I'll pick up a scale and see if it helps!

elphie754

dizustyross wrote: »

If youve never exersized before it could be losing fat and gaining muscle, leaving you at a steady weight(the mirror will tell you that one). Also the daily goal is just a guideline, being everyones different you could still be eating over what your body needs, if thats the case i would suggest dropping calories by 3-500 and go from there.

Nope. You can't gain muscle in a deficit.

malsipos

dizustyross wrote: »

If youve never exersized before it could be losing fat and gaining muscle, leaving you at a steady weight(the mirror will tell you that one). Also the daily goal is just a guideline, being everyones different you could still be eating over what your body needs, if thats the case i would suggest dropping calories by 3-500 and go from there.

I also don't think it would be healthy for me to consume any less then 1200 calories a day. Dropping my 3-500 would leave me eating 7-900 a day which is not enough. I don't want to starve to lose weight.

TimothyFish

elphie754 wrote: »

dizustyross wrote: »

If youve never exersized before it could be losing fat and gaining muscle, leaving you at a steady weight(the mirror will tell you that one). Also the daily goal is just a guideline, being everyones different you could still be eating over what your body needs, if thats the case i would suggest dropping calories by 3-500 and go from there.

Nope. You can't gain muscle in a deficit.

Why do people keep repeating this when we know it isn't true?