At my wits end, really need some advice.

LongIsland27itl

How's this for easy, figure out your maintenance calories and eat 500 less than that number each day. No points, bells and whistles, and you will lose weight!

honsi

Yes I will have a look at the 5:2 diet, I have 2 rest days out of 7 so it would fit well with that.

55in13

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

A report from an individual in an internet forum is not a study that anyone should take seriously. For all you know, I am really over 400# and enjoy messing with dieters while I eat honey buns, so I can't use my personal experience to prove anything either. Anyway, I don't view metabolism reduction as positive or negative. I view it as inevitable if you want to lose weight. Studies I have read about peg the reduction at between 4% and 10% for people with a BMI over 20 on a reduced calorie diet and it does seem to be pretty linear. Much of the difference in reductions seemed to be random also; different individuals with similar routines got different outcomes within the range.

anniegail1961

Good Morning: I've read all the replies to your weight loss challenge.
May I suggest you read "The Eat-Clean Diet" by Tosca Reno
Good Luck!

LongIsland27itl

Buddy you don't NEED to follow any diet if you approach weight loss in a smart manner.
Go to IIFYM dot com or google IIFYM CALCULATOR, plug in your information and it tells you how much calories protein fat carbs to eat.

sprale

You may benefit from getting your body composition tested. You have been working hard in your classes and have probably been building up muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. There is a chance you are closer to your goals than you think.

I recently got my body composition tested, and found out that my goal of weighing 130 lbs was unrealistic as I have about 120 lbs of lean mass. A more realistic weight for me is 150 lbs. Had I not gotten the composition test, I would have had no idea.

There are different ways to get it tested, from calipers or electrical impedance testing to using a measuring tape and plugging your measurements into a formula.

Try to have patience with your body, too -- and like others have said, maybe play around with the amount you eat. You could try eating some of your exercise calories for a couple weeks and see if it makes a difference. Or, cut back a little, and see if that helps. When I reach a plateau, I like to calorie cycle, where you vary the amount you eat each day to keep your body guessing. There are some good calculators for that online.

Good luck reaching your goals!

honsi

Yes I have definitely put on muscle, I do strength/weight training 3 times a week and increase my weights regularly.

LongIsland27itl

Honsi, how long have you been went training for?
If you're a newbie, sure you might put on some muscle weight, but it is not likely in a caloric deficit.
If you've been lifting a while like me, there's no way you'd put on any weight in a caloric deficit

honsi

I had a look at the IIFYM CALCULATOR, it looks quite interesting I'll have a go once I figure out how to use it.

honsi

I've been training for 10 months. Both high impact cardio and strength /weight training. (Before that i was doing lighter exercise like aerobics and zumba for a few months to build up my fitness)

yarwell

The OP has consistently consumed approx 1200 for eleven months. Nearly a year.

I've read the OP twice and also the reply where she said she would try 1400 as a reduction from 1800 calories that she stated in the OP. So nowhere does she appear to be consuming 1200 as you claim.

If you're going to pull some net calorie stunt about her exercise needs then you also need to understand her TDEE etc which isn't made clear. You also need to consider that with at least 30 lbs of excess fat to go at the OP can supply over 900 calories a day from adipose tissue which is (many of us believe) the objective of weight loss.

So eating 1800 plus 900 from fat makes 2700 available to "fuel the machine" or whatever bro-speak is coming next, dropping to 2300 with the proposed food reduction.

LongIsland27itl

Any questions ask me. Keep the formula on the Miffins setting. On the fat loss part, if you're just trying to lose weight slowly, check the box that says cautious. For a little faster loss, hit textbook. If you want to lose it fast you hit the aggressive option,*Note this allows you about 300cals less than the first option*

Fr protein, keep it set to 1g per lb
For fat keep it set to .45

RobynLB83

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

She said she doesn't WANT to eat more or exercise more. That leaves eating less or exercising harder as the other two things to try. I have do idea why the OP hasn't lost weight, but I'm guessing it's a miscalculation somewhere that might be corrected by eating less. I personally wouldn't try to eat less than 1,200 (or even 1,200 calories for that matter). I would be crazy uncomfortable eating that little.

acpgee

I broke a long plateau by taking a total diet break for almost 3 weeks. Ate just under TDEE and thankfully didn't gain weight over the period. It seems to have sped up my metabolism, which I guess slowed down due to calorie restriction for many months. Once I started restricting again, the scale started to move, albeit slowly.

I plan to do this every three months or so.

bob_day

Do this and you *will* lose weight:

1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.

2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.

3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.

4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.

5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.

6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.

7) Maintain your exercise program.

honsi

OK I'm totally confused now. TDEE?Adipose tissue?
I'm really not sure what to do now. Eat more? eat less?
I'll try eating less for a while if that doesn't work i'll try eating more om my exercise days. I'll around with it till something clicks....
I'll keep of everything really carefully.

Annahasababy

For what it's worth the block could be mental

Try researching Louise hay, shakti Gaiwan, and Joyce reynolds to help your mind / body relationship accept more weight loss.

RobynLB83

OK I'm totally confused now. TDEE?Adipose tissue?
I'm really not sure what to do now. Eat more? eat less?
I'll try eating less for a while if that doesn't work i'll try eating more om my exercise days. I'll around with it till something clicks....
I'll keep of everything really carefully.

Lol. Don't get too discouraged. Celebrate the little things, like getting stronger, having more energy, noticing a little more definition.

RobynLB83

Do this and you *will* lose weight:

1) Eat mostly to get the nutrition your body needs, and less for enjoyment. Establish a healthful diet and find pleasure in other things.

2) Three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's it. No snacks, and no "in between" meals.

3) Give up sugar. No sugar in coffee, soda, or on cereal. Give up fruit juice -- it's mainly just another form of sugar. Water is the only liquid you need.

4) In the beginning, establish a very regulated moderate calorie diet. Don't follow any sort of fad. Just pick a selection of foods that add up to a normal balanced diet -- whole grains, veggies, fruit, dairy, a little meat, etc. But start out by having exactly the same three meals each day -- the same foods and the same amounts. Weigh the portions on a scale. Consider frozen dinners. Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Smart Ones, and probably other brands have several that are low in calories and saturated fat, 25% daily value or less of sodium, and high in fiber.

5) Weigh yourself every day on a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale. Your weight should go down over every two or three days. If it doesn't, eliminate items from your diet or reduce the size of portions until your weight does go down. (If you don't have a 0.2 lb. accuracy scale, I'd recommend the EatSmart Precision Plus Digital Scale, which is sold on Amazon.) Don't obsess over the scale — let it be your friend and point the way to a weight losing diet.

6) When you have achieved a weight losing diet, then you can start making adjustments to add variety, but make sure that you keep losing weight.

7) Maintain your exercise program.

This is quite methodical. You must be an engineer!

honsi

I agree. I was hoping not to have to dedicate my entire life to this as a scientific endevour. :laugh: But I really do appreciate everyone's suggestions and interest so Thanks.
I am very pleased with how my body has changed in other ways such as fitness and muscle tone, my original aim was to get fitter and stronger and that has and still is happening.