any other not-that-heavy girls trying to lose more weight?

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  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    Just curious...how many cals do you all eat to be losing the last five pounds? I'm trying to stick to 1200 plus exercise cals, but it's hard. I get so irritable, weak, and hungry. :( I'm 5'4" and I have been hanging around 120 lbs., 121 for months now. I have 5 kids and that always seems to be the number my body comes back to after babies. Is it possible to go lower? I wanted to get to 115, but maybe I can't....at least without feeling horrible.

    The first time I heard this I didn't believe it at all but...it worked for me, you may want to up your base calories. I'm a little taller than you but, 5 kids has got to put you in the lightly active lifestyle, at least. I was eating at the 1200 mark and my weight loss totally stalled at about 10lbs lost. I upped my calories to 1300 and lost 2lbs that week and lost a steady 1lbs every ten days to my goal. I also eat almost all my exercise calories, so I have 5 1800 calorie days a week. I think at some point I needed to feed the muscle I was toning and let the muscle burn the fat. I hope you find a way that works for you. Good luck on your journey.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    I think the hardest thing for me, when I hear people saying I don't need to lose so much weight is that I start to believe them. It's hard sometimes to get motivated to lose the weight when I'm already 125. But it's a fat 125.... I want to start wearing the jeans in my bottom drawer this winter season!!! I'm impatient and want results faster than I can get them :( but I know that slow and steady will eventually win the race :)

    I hate that! When people who are fatter than me say "you don't need to lose weight" it just makes me think they are scared because THEY are not losing weight. I did not look fat at 145lb/64kg, but now that I have lost 6kg, I look better than I did at 64kg. I need to work on the "getting fit" part so I can be proud of my body, but it is so easy to just give in!

    I totally get this. I have friends I wear my baggiest cloths around, because they don't get what I'm doing. I'm so happy with what I've achieved, I've eaten a ton of food and biked my butt off, literally. But I can't share that with them because they will just say I'm too thin. I think people think that in order to be thin you have to be unhealthy. I assume this because, I thought that was true before I tried to do it this way. Now I kick myself, Why didn't I do this before? Well I couldn't have done it without MFP and all of you, so I guess, like all things, timing is everything.

    Keep strong everyone you have made the right choice for you and good luck achieving your goals.
  • luvHim
    luvHim Posts: 35 Member
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    Thanks, Paige! I'm going to up it to 1300, plus exercise cals.
  • avgulik
    avgulik Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks for the warm welcome, asjerven.

    I'm a firm believer in exercise, but I found that when I increased my exercise too much - it was counter-productive. I was working out 4-5 times a week plus walking and using my elliptical and the scale didn't budge a pound! (for a full month!!) I did see my measurements improve and felt more energy so it wasn't a bad thing. However, too much of anything isn't good and balance is key.

    I might try increasing my calorie intake to 1300 as other MFP users have suggested to see if that makes a difference. Love keeping a food journal though, I think it makes the biggest impact on my success since joining this site.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    I don't know about upping cals, I have heard that works for some people, and there seems to be something about a cheat day that makes the scale move. Still, I really think that I believed I was stuck at a certain weight because it really takes time when you are close to goal weight, and not dropping under 1200 cals/day (and I couldn't, I would be so hungry!) your calorie deficit is so small, you have to be really consistent for a long time to lose one pound of fat, and even that can be masked by water weight, workouts, and so it's easy to get discouraged. If you could eat whatever you want and maintain 120 lbs, that is pretty good, losing weight for people closer to goal isn't maybe more difficult, it just takes longer.
    For the newbies, I thought this article was helpful, post it occassionally as a reminder:
    http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100260012
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
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    Thanks, Paige! I'm going to up it to 1300, plus exercise cals.

    I hope it works for you. You're so close to your goal, great job and congrats on all your hard work so far.

    And remember, like asjerven says in her post, patients is your friend when you are working on the last few lbs. Your deficit is low, and has to be low, so it has to be slow. But slow and steady works. Good luck on your continuing journey.
  • SonyaVelonis
    SonyaVelonis Posts: 14
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    Yup. I'm 5'3" and weight about 110 right now. I'm just trying to get all the extra fat off my body. My goal is a tight six pack stomach and completely toned arms,legs and everything else. I know how to do it and am almost there. I just have to keep doing it over and over and over everyday for at least another 2-3 months I figure. It's not about the scale anymore but getting as fit as I possibly can. Good luck to you!
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
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    I think I need to stick to posting on this thread alone... I've been getting so much flak latetly about my goal weight! It's good to know that I'm not the only one who has set a low goal (still in my healthy weight range!!!!!).

    I think the hardest thing for me, when I hear people saying I don't need to lose so much weight is that I start to believe them. It's hard sometimes to get motivated to lose the weight when I'm already 125. But it's a fat 125.... I want to start wearing the jeans in my bottom drawer this winter season!!! I'm impatient and want results faster than I can get them :( but I know that slow and steady will eventually win the race :)

    Ditto. My MIL says that stuff. I am 124 right now and she says that I am fine and don't need to lose anymore weight. Well she hasn't seen my little belly pooch that clearly needs to go or the extra fat around my arms. I am just going to keep doing what i'm doing.
  • Bearjumps
    Bearjumps Posts: 10
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    Me! I'm 5'5 and 125lbs. I lost 35 lbs by jogging but just can't lose the last 10lbs. I really want to decrease my size from 4 to 2. I know at this point dieting is even more important than exercising but I'm horrible at keeping a good diet....I'm also new to this site so anyone who wants to work through a similar frustrating situation feel free to add me. :)

    Good luck to you all!
  • SonyaVelonis
    SonyaVelonis Posts: 14
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    To drop stubborn weight I recommend eating clean and Shakeology. I have been doing both and omgoodness! I've never gotten rid of fat like this before. Message me if you want more info :)
  • catrinpersephone
    catrinpersephone Posts: 30
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    I guess this would apply to me! I'm 5'1, 107.7lbs last time I measured! Hoping to lose those last 7lbs! My diet's been a bit haywire this past week and I'm weighing myself in the morning, so we'll have to see how that goes... Good luck everyone!
  • Bearjumps
    Bearjumps Posts: 10
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    To drop stubborn weight I recommend eating clean and Shakeology. I have been doing both and omgoodness! I've never gotten rid of fat like this before. Message me if you want more info :)

    Yes I'm definitely trying to eat my healthy now. No junk food for me. But what exactly is Shakeology? Do you just drink it once a day? Does it replace food? Does it taste good?
  • krislshoe
    krislshoe Posts: 459 Member
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    Im 5'8 and 145 lbs....want to get to 138...was at 132 this summer but hubby said my collar bones and chest bones stuck out too much so I would just like to get around 138ish.
  • Sparklewolfie
    Sparklewolfie Posts: 271
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    it really takes time when you are close to goal weight, and not dropping under 1200 cals/day (and I couldn't, I would be so hungry!) your calorie deficit is so small, you have to be really consistent for a long time to lose one pound of fat, and even that can be masked by water weight, workouts, and so it's easy to get discouraged

    Agree! This is why I love the note MFP puts at the end of your diary when you finish that says "if every day were like this, you would weight **.*kg in 5 weeks". It will take a while for the results to show when you are already getting close to your goal!


    OK, and I don't mean to bring up the abdominal fat thing again, but even after losing more weight my measurements have not changed. Does anybody know if DIET or EXERCISE is more important in losing stubborn belly fat? I don't want to be doing crunches only to find it makes my stomach bigger or something :tongue: Though I know "target" workouts don't work. Any suggestions? Thank you and sorry for noobish questions! I wish I had cared more about myself when I was in high school so I would have paid attention in Health class! :grumble:
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    sorry, sparklew., I don't think there is anything to spot reduce any area, just overall lowering body fat it will have to come off eventually, and the only way to lower body fat is to eat at a calorie-deficit, whether through exercise or diet. Ab exercises are not doing any harm, strong core is good for lots of reasons, and when the fat melts off you'll see the muscle-or not! i will never had Jillian's abs! no matter what I do, what I weigh...
  • Sparklewolfie
    Sparklewolfie Posts: 271
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    sorry, sparklew., I don't think there is anything to spot reduce any area, just overall lowering body fat it will have to come off eventually, and the only way to lower body fat is to eat at a calorie-deficit, whether through exercise or diet. Ab exercises are not doing any harm, strong core is good for lots of reasons, and when the fat melts off you'll see the muscle-or not! i will never had Jillian's abs! no matter what I do, what I weigh...

    Oh I know spot reduction doesn't work (that's what I meant by "target" I just couldn't think of the term!) I was wondering if i would be quicker/more efficient to eat less, or go running, or lift weights, or swim, etc.
  • Bearjumps
    Bearjumps Posts: 10
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    sorry, sparklew., I don't think there is anything to spot reduce any area, just overall lowering body fat it will have to come off eventually, and the only way to lower body fat is to eat at a calorie-deficit, whether through exercise or diet. Ab exercises are not doing any harm, strong core is good for lots of reasons, and when the fat melts off you'll see the muscle-or not! i will never had Jillian's abs! no matter what I do, what I weigh...

    Oh I know spot reduction doesn't work (that's what I meant by "target" I just couldn't think of the term!) I was wondering if i would be quicker/more efficient to eat less, or go running, or lift weights, or swim, etc.

    I don't know if it's true, but I've heard people say that "six pack is not made in the gym, it's made in the kitchen". So following that sense, diet would be more important. But pilate is a really effective tool to shed some inches around the waist, if you can keep doing it.
  • briteyes
    briteyes Posts: 435 Member
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    as far as the belly fat goes, I think all that we can do is just keep doing what we're doing - burning as much fat as we can through a healthy diet and exercise. but, I was researching ways to burn fat more efficiently the other day and really, there are two things you can do - 1) eat the foods that supposedly burn more fat (i don't know how true this is - you can do your own search and find tons of websites about it) and 2) interval training

    I am going to just keep eating how I've been eating because it's mostly good stuff anyways and usually on that list of fat burning foods

    I'm going to start interval training though - in theory, that is exactly what circuit training is, but I read an article that explained that interval training works best when the high intensity intervals last between 5 - 15 seconds and then the rest interval should be 1 1/2 x the length of the high intensity duration. i know there are so many different ways to do interval training, but that article really made the most sense to me - had lots of scientific backing...
    here's the link: http://www.stephenholtfitness.com/articles/guest_articles/interval_training_for_fat_loss.htm

    check it out for yourselves and see what you think. i'm trying to find an interval app for my iphone so that i can set my timers and have it beep for each interval start/stop.... i'll use it while running.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
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    I have heard about intervals, there was this one girl who said she did treadmill sprints, I think 1 min run as fast as she could, one minute walk, and she only did 20 mins. I also tagged this on intervals-called "tabata" and says you can basically do anything cardio but do it in "intervals" and I have heard it is good for fat burning but I am in Week 5 of Gateway to 8k and that's all I can manage right now. I will try intervals when I graduate!
    I can stay under my cals, but I have a hard time getting very strict with my diet, but I also read that 140 grams of protein, 100 grams of carbs, 30 grams of fat (daily) is ideal to lose fat.
  • Sparklewolfie
    Sparklewolfie Posts: 271
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    Thanks for all the replies! I've been having a hard time staying under my calories ever since my mad 3 day binge - gotta get that back in check first! I will look into interval training. It sounds like something I did in school before :) Though the fitness center here has far fewer machines and equipment than in America, maybe I will be able to make a routine with what is available :)

    I try to do some Pilates, but am thinking of joining a Yoga-Pilates class instead because I can only do Pilates on my bed at home XD No mats and all the floors are marble or wood T^T

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