My Struggle to lose weight

Robincantrell21

Hello, I am desperately trying to lose 45 pounds. I usually eat about 1500 calories a day and I workout 4 times a week doing intense cardio burning about 1400 calories per workout. I do have a slice of pizza or some low fat ice cream occasionally, but I have completely cut out red meat and pop. I have lost 6 pounds within 4 weeks so far, but I think what is prohibiting me from losing more is maybe my carb intake which is usually around 150-170 grams daily. My sodium intake does tend to be kind of high too. My diet plan usually consist of
Breakfast: 1 cup of strawberries w/ cottage cheese, 2 strips of bacon with 2 eggs scrambled
Morning Snack: roasted salted cashews or an Atkins protein drink, an apple
Lunch: turkey burger with low cal hamburger bun w/ pickles, lettuce, and mustard, and 1/2 of a minneola
Afternoon Snack: same as morning snack
Dinner: 8oz of chicken breast w/ 1/4 cup of brown rice with 1 tbsp. of butter and chicken broth.
Ocasionally I will have some lipton soup which is high in sodium so I tried a new option of cooked shrimp (no batter) and a side of cocktail sauce and broccoli florets. I never eat back all my calories. If I burn 1400 calories, I only at probably 1300 for the day, which brings me to -100 calories and I may eat back about 300-400 of them back. So I would think I would be losing weight at a rapid pace! I also try to drink half of my weight in ounces of water which is 90 oz., but some days I only drink 60 oz of water.

BTW, I am a 5'5 female and my current weight is 175 pounds.

Can someone tell me if I am doing something wrong or am I doing things right and just need to be patient?

VintageFeline

I think the problem is expectations. 1lb per week is a reasonable goal and won't lead to muscle loss and burnout. Much of the 6lbs you have lost so far will be water with some fat. Fast is not better.

Carbs aren't a problem unless you have a health condition that means you should monitor intake. Calories are what matter for weight loss. And consistency.

I also think it highly unlikely you are burning 1400 calories unless you are doing 3 hours of cardio during your workouts. I'm 5lbs lighter than you, same height, also female and in a pretty intense hour I can maybe push 500 calories, more like 400.

RoxieDawn

Carb intake is not gonna change how you lose weight any faster or better. You have setup MFP to loose x pounds a week, so you should not be losing any more faster. Your weight loss is a process to be managed in a healthy manner every day/week, so stay the course.

Keep up the exercise along with your calorie deficit and yes be patient.

trigden1991

It is all about calories and time. If you are in a deficit, you will lose weight! Macronutrients have minimal bearing on weight loss, especially with 45lbs to lose.

jkal1979

You are losing at a good pace. I agree that your expectations need to be adjusted.

I'm also wondering about your exercise calories. How long do you exercise for and where are you getting your numbers from?

laur357

Since your goal is to lose 45 pounds and you're eating 1500 calories, you're actually right on track losing about a pound a week. That's a good rate of loss!
Neither sodium or carbs will prevent you from losing weight if you eat at a caloric deficit, but it's totally fine to cut back your intake if you want - I think a good idea is to pick something you can do long-term so you can sustain your weight loss. They may contribute to slight water retention on some days, so don't worry if your weight fluctuates a little from one day to the next.

Dentice143

Forgive me, but it seems you are eating much more than 1400 calories...more like 1800. Breakfast: 47 cals for strawberries, 222 for cottage cheese, 86 for two slices of bacon, 182 for scrambled eggs. Lunch is around 250, Dinner is 281 for chicken, 110 for brown rice, and 100 cals for butter. That is 1278 alone. Then add in another 100 cals for each apple, and 160 for each Atkins shake.

T0M_K

what are you doing to burn 1400 calories per workout! that is HUGE. and are you weighing your food intake? you have to weigh and log everything.

kendahlj

Cut out some carbs and you'll eat fewer calories and feel better. But 6 pounds in four weeks is a nice, healthy rate of loss. Patience is a challenge for sure...

z4oslo

kendahlj wrote: »

Cut out some carbs and you'll eat fewer calories and feel better.

??

RoxieDawn

kendahlj wrote: »

Cut out some carbs and you'll eat fewer calories and feel better. But 6 pounds in four weeks is a nice, healthy rate of loss. Patience is a challenge for sure...

OP this is bad and unsound advice. Please ignore this.

quiksylver296

Other than probably over-estimating your exercise calories, you're doing fine! Keep it up! If you'd like to dial in even more, buy a food scale, weigh everything you eat in grams and log it religiously. Just for reference, here's @lemonlionheart's chart.

JeromeBarry1

When you accurately log your food and exercise and do have a calorie deficit day after day, you lose weight.
A binge day, a cheat day, a refeed day, whatever you want to call a calorie surplus day, can wipe out 6 days of accumulated calorie deficit.

You've lost weight. That's good. Keep learning more about logging food accurately. Learn about logging exercise accurately.