Can't lose weight

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dorener
dorener Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 5'3", 42 yr old female and my weight is fluctuating between 119-121. I have been eating extremely healthy and working out 3-5 days a week but only 30 minutes each day and the scale won't budge. My happy place is 110 but I would be ok with 114-115. I'm exercising to stay in shape and tone but I don't know what more to do. Help!
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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Eating healthy is going to be less important to weight loss than the number of calories you're consuming. How many calories are you consuming each day? And are you using a food scale to determine how much you're actually eating?
  • Ngegee
    Ngegee Posts: 35 Member
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    A watched kettle never boils.... try making enjoying your exercise your goal rather than some over-simplified metric. (Ps, it will take time)
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    I do not use a scale and I just started tracking calories but averaging 1100-1300 and I drink a lot of water. My typical day is 2 egg whites and 2 turkey sausages for breakfast or a bowl of puffed rice with unsweetened coconut milk. Snack is a magic pop with polaners fruit, lunch is zero point tomato spinach soup, snack is a piece of fruit and dinner is a salad with some chicken and feta. Sometimes I'll eat some lowfat cottage cheese if hungry in evening or a small bowl of special k. And I typically have a teaspoon of peanut butter at some point during the day
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    dorener wrote: »
    I do not use a scale and I just started tracking calories but averaging 1100-1300 and I drink a lot of water. My typical day is 2 egg whites and 2 turkey sausages for breakfast or a bowl of puffed rice with unsweetened coconut milk. Snack is a magic pop with polaners fruit, lunch is zero point tomato spinach soup, snack is a piece of fruit and dinner is a salad with some chicken and feta. Sometimes I'll eat some lowfat cottage cheese if hungry in evening or a small bowl of special k. And I typically have a teaspoon of peanut butter at some point during the day

    If you just began tracking, I think it's too early to conclude that you can't lose weight. You have to give it a chance to work.

    I recommend a food scale for greater accuracy. Things like sausage, cereal, fruit, meat, peanut butter, and cheese can vary widely in calorie count if you're using measuring cups instead of the actual weight.

    When you're already at a healthy weight, accuracy in calorie counting becomes even more important. Your deficit to lose weight is going to be small and can be easily wiped out by extra calories consumed in those foods.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
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    Cereals were a shocker when I got my food scale. Ex: Wheat bran cereal. 1/2 cup was way over the grams. Actual serving for weight was a bit more than 1/4. Target, walmart and bbbeyond have food scales.
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    Ok thanks! Pretty sure I have one I need to dust off in a cabinet!
  • Rdsgoal16
    Rdsgoal16 Posts: 302 Member
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    BMR is 1178 (activity level is a guess at a factor of 1.2) for a grand total of=1413, if you are eating 1300 kcal a day then you daily deficit is 113. So your weekly loss would be 791kcal. (3500 being a pound) it would take you 4.4 weeks to lose a pound. You are pretty freakin fit for age, height. As said above full on food scale weight is needed to improve when at your level. An increase of 100 in exercise or a decrease of 100 cals will make a difference. Good luck, I hope to be experiencing your problem next year at this time!
    Rob
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    Your normal BMI ranges from 107-135 lbs. Maybe concentrate on the right types of food to improve your nutrition instead of Frank weight loss.
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    Ok this is helpful! I'll do scale and reduce calories by 100 and log everything. When you say increase exercise by "100" - what exactly does that mean? Right now because I work and have 4 kids I can fit in a half hour and I mix it up between tae bo, kickboxing, cardio and t25 ( all DVDs at home) my desk is also on a treadmill so I walk all day long while I work.
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
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    What they said about the food scale, but also make sure you add in strength training exercises. I don't know what some of those are like the t25 you mentioned. It looks like you do a lot of cardio. Try some basic strength training exercises if you don't already. They help burn calories longer than cardio exercises. Here's an example: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-30-day-strength-building-challenge-for-beginners/
  • bostonwolf
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    At your size and weight, I'd be less worried about the scale and more worried about how I looked naked or at the beach.

    Note that looking better naked might mean you need to add some muscle just as much as you might need to lose fat (though at your size there can't be much fat to lose)
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    One very key thing I inadvertently left out which I know does impact things is that I quit smoking Jan 1. So any recommendations on what more I can do to increase metabolism would be appreciated. In terms of how I look naked - there in lies the problem - I have a very small upper body, and carry everything in hips, thighs, butt and even around the knees.
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
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    dorener wrote: »
    One very key thing I inadvertently left out which I know does impact things is that I quit smoking Jan 1. So any recommendations on what more I can do to increase metabolism would be appreciated. In terms of how I look naked - there in lies the problem - I have a very small upper body, and carry everything in hips, thighs, butt and even around the knees.

    Ah...quitting smoking can lead to some weight gain. It did for my husband. What with all the free time your mouth has :smile: He started having a much better appetite and food started being way tastier when he quit, so he was tempted to keep on eating. When he started making more intelligent choices and differentiating hunger from boredom, the weight came off. Some things that helped, sugar free gum, a small square of dark chocolate, celery or carrot sticks, super thin slice of cheese(40 calories or so), half an apple.

    Besides, you're already at a very healthy weight and you just want to go down 9 lbs or so. It is going to take time. But this is what my take is, you're MUCH healthier as a heavier non-smoker than you were as a thin smoker :smile: All the best!
  • krithsai
    krithsai Posts: 668 Member
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    dorener wrote: »
    One very key thing I inadvertently left out which I know does impact things is that I quit smoking Jan 1. So any recommendations on what more I can do to increase metabolism would be appreciated. In terms of how I look naked - there in lies the problem - I have a very small upper body, and carry everything in hips, thighs, butt and even around the knees.

    On the naked look bit, strength training is your friend! You may see some temporary weight gain from water retention when you start working out, but it'll make a remarkable difference to your body. Us women need all the muscle that we can get. Nobody needs osteoporosis. If you're new at strength training, I highly recommend Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    Thanks! Fortunately I am eating much healthier since I quit smoking because I feel better about myself and am doing a complete overhaul. I think some of the road block is the slowed metabolism but I will look at strength training.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
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    You do not have a slowed metabolism. Why do you think you do?
  • dorener
    dorener Posts: 52 Member
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    It is known that smoking increases metabolism so when you quit it automatically slows down. If you quit smoking and consumed the exact same calorie count and activity level you would gain weight.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    dorener wrote: »
    It is known that smoking increases metabolism so when you quit it automatically slows down. If you quit smoking and consumed the exact same calorie count and activity level you would gain weight.

    My understanding was smoking suppresses appetite so you tend to eat less. When people quit, they experience both an increase in appetite and some people substitute their old habit of smoking with snacking, both of which can lead to weight gain.
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    http://www.livestrong.com/article/400612-does-your-metabolism-slow-down-when-you-quit-smoking/

    There is no prove that quitting will make you gain weight... but apparently you do burn some calories while smoking. I didn't gain when I quit, but I was already in a normal workout routine and had been for quite some time.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
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    OP, you have a lot of misconceptions on "weight" loss. I assume 110 lbs is your happy place because at some point you weighed that and you like the way you looked then. You can get back to that weight but you may look completely different if you lose too much lean body mass. Don't worry about the number on the scale--you are at a healthy weight. Your goal is fat loss, not weight loss,

    You are eating a lot more than you think. With all your exercise, walking while working, and taking care of 4 kids, your body needs a lot of calories to do that.

    Smoking does not increase metabolism nor does quitting slow it down. Quitting can increase hunger or you can try to sooth craving with food--that is why quitting smoking leads to weight gain.

    Start resistance training and get a digital food scale.

    Read the posts here

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300331/most-helpful-posts-getting-started-must-reads#latest



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