How do I kick this up a notch? Is my intake holding me back?

medeering14

Hi everyone, restarting MFP after trying it last year and quitting. I didn't realize there were groups, and I felt badly about posting my 5 lb questions when others had much bigger goals.

I'm 27, 5'4, and 112 lbs, very small boned. I've always been small,but I was unemployed last year and got pretty soft in the middle. I took control again in February, and have done 30DS, Ripped in 30, and am midway through Body Revolution. My legs look good (ie not scrawny chicken legs) for the first time ever, and my arms are getting strong, also for the first time ever.

My waist... not so much. My profile picture looks great, I took that about a month ago. It doesn't look like that anymore. The definition is gone. My torso is very short, so I see (and probably magnify) every roll of skin, any bit of fat. But it's coming back. Not a plateau, coming back. And the workouts are getting harder, I'm not shirking.

I plugged in my food for the first time this week, not controlling it, just entered what I had eaten that day. Apparently, it was 700 calories. Ridiculous! Not even close! Yesterday, I tried to be more conscious of it, had a snack, added to my lunch. WITH a glass of wine, 1000 calories. I'm not starving myself on purpose, I eat when I'm hungry. I try to be mindful of WHAT I'm eating, but I don't go hungry. If I assume that that is my norm, is that the root cause? If not, should I change my workout? It's just so discouraging to look at myself and see no waistline at all. I'm getting married in September! I'm working so hard and it doesn't show.

Kettle_Belle14

What are you eating that you only get 700 calories?

medeering14

I made my (two day... I didn't know that the old stuff wasn't saved.) diary open. There you see it. It certainly wasn't much, but I ate only when I wanted and what I wanted. The next day I deliberately had a snack, which boosted the total, but same thing. Today, I had a midmorning snack, which I don't usually, but now I'm not hungry for lunch. I'm not starving myself, it's just what I eat. But it's so little. And I've always been that way, though I've never recorded it before. Wouldn't my body TELL me if I was starving to death?

Squamation

My stomach as been the last to go as well, and it seems to be that way for a lot of people.

It sounds like you're trying to cut fat. Here's a great article/calculator I recently found. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/6-pack-abs-diet-strategy-that-gets-results.htm

I just started implementing their calorie suggestions (the lower cals on non weight days and the higher cals/protein on lifting days) so I can't give results yet- but I can check back in with you next Monday if you want and let you know how it goes.

As far as your workouts, have done much weight training? If not then I would suggest adding it in.

stephanj

I hope you don't mind, I peeked at your diary. This is your mother speaking, lol, you need way more veggies! Your body won't look as healthy as it can if you are taking in tons of glorious nutrients, I speak from experience. But that is just me not minding my business ;-)
I think you look great - your stomach would change a lot just from body recomposition, I don't see a lot of fat there, you just need to pump up the muscle tone. Sodium and carb water retention goes straight to the abs, so try and cut down on sodium to 1500 grams, see if that helps, drink twice as much water.

summer8it

Overall, you'll probably see the best results if you eat more, especially more protein and veggies. You don't need to lose weight - to see the kind of body you want, you need to build some lean muscle, which will also help lean out any remaining excess fat.

However, I looked at your diary, and I wonder... are you really sure that it's accurate? 1 ounce of a chicken salad sandwich for dinner? Did you really just eat one bite of sandwich for dinner? 2.5 ounces of malbec? 4 ounces of wine is a tiny glass, it doesn't even fill a normal sized wine glass halfway, but the glass you're reporting is smaller than that.

FWIW, I'm maintaining at roughly 100 lbs, eating about 1700 calories a day. You can definitely be eating more.

medeering14

Overall, you'll probably see the best results if you eat more, especially more protein and veggies. You don't need to lose weight - to see the kind of body you want, you need to build some lean muscle, which will also help lean out any remaining excess fat.

However, I looked at your diary, and I wonder... are you really sure that it's accurate? 1 ounce of a chicken salad sandwich for dinner? Did you really just eat one bite of sandwich for dinner? 2.5 ounces of malbec? 4 ounces of wine is a tiny glass, it doesn't even fill a normal sized wine glass halfway, but the glass you're reporting is smaller than that.

FWIW, I'm maintaining at roughly 100 lbs, eating about 1700 calories a day. You can definitely be eating more.

Ha... yeah, it is. I made myself a slider that night. Wasn't hungry. Two tablespoons on a home made roll. And I do, always, cut my wine with seltzer. Half a serving. (Not bad either, actually; the flavor barely changes, and straight wine gives me a headache now.)

Thank you all for the input. I do need more veggies, and I did (try) to adjust my macros to ask for more protein. And today's sodium, if my approximations were right, was horrible, though I can hardly imagine it. I really am having a hard time, if I don't fill the corners with garbage, meeting my calorie goal, which I never realized til I was recording it. I put down two burgers for dinner tonight, intending to get the protein, but I couldn't eat the second one, I was full to the gills. I AM drinking tons of water. Seltzer, which some people say is bad, but it's how I got myself out of the soda habit. The only way I could have made room is to drink less water. But I need it. Right?

Ugh. Eating is very easy, but eating well is hopelessly complicated.