Not seeing results

shaunalepak

I know there are tons of threads that are similar to this one. I know the main areas where I could improve in my dieting/exercise (better calorie counting, more activity etc) but I figured I'd write a thread so I can get more specific and personal advice, hopefully helping others that are in the same space I am now.

To start, a little information. I'm 23 years old and female. My height is 5'2 (rather short) and my weight is 155lbs currently. I began exercising in September of last year and calorie counting sometime in November/ early December.

I was coming out of a really sedentary period of my life in September 2016 and so I started biking to work 3x a week to increase my activity, about a half hour each day. I did this when I was 18 and lost around 30lbs between that and just living a mostly active lifestyle. No calorie counting, and I definitely wasn't a clean eater.

Anyways, I noticed the biking wasn't enough around the end of September, I didn't feel like I was losing anything at all. So I decided to get serious. I started going to the gym instead, calorie counting and creating a deficit to ensure I would see results. I did a first weigh-in...165..YIKES..Haven't seen that much on the scale in a long time, but it definitely jump-started my motivation.

Anyways, the first 10lbs melted off like butter within 4-5 weeks. I figured it was a good testament to calorie counting and my gym time. But I've been stuck at 155 ever since.

I go to the gym diligently 3x a week. I've been considering adding another day but it's difficult with work. I do a combination of strength training and cardio. Usually around 20 minutes HIIT on the elliptical, 20 minutes walking uphill/running on the treadmill and occasionally I add in the bike or stair climber to finish up with a final 10 minutes. And follow up with an hour or so of weights, doing Mostly free weights ( a good fit friend of mine gave me a program to follow that alternates the muscle groups each day, usually targeting two or 3 muscle groups each session. The training is hard on me so I'll admit I don't Always finish, but I make sure to get through at least 75% of my strength workout so that the bulk is still there.

As far as food, I continue to eat around 1200-1500 a day. MFP gave me a daily intake of 1500 but I try to go lower when I can. My choices of food have improved over the last 4 months (I no longer drink soda or eat fast foods) but I'm not perfect about eating veggies and not junk. More so concerned about the caloric value in food (I'm pretty anal retentive about checking but I do not have a food scale). I log everything. Even double and triple checking to make sure I've covered condiments, seasonings, calorie laden drinks etc...But still..No more weight loss. Wtf.

It's so easy to get discouraged 4 months in with a bare minimum of results, everything I've read says I should see something already, uhg.

If anyone could provide me advice (be nice, I'm a relative fitness noob lol) on where I can improve, if I should add another day at the gym or lower my calorie intake to a strict 1200 or just get more strict about the Types of foods I eat?

I can see the muscle tone in my body when I flex now which is rewarding..But the flab just won't go away whyyyy.

Lol, anyways long story short, please halpp.

If I missed any necessary info comment and I will provide it.

I track calories burned with a Fitbit. On days I barely move at all, I burn around 1400, and on days I move a lot (gym or work days) it's well over 2000. I have been more diligent than ever before these last 4 months..just curious to know why it seems like my hard work is going to waste

The success stories are the only thing keeping me going at this point haha.

Whitezombiegirl

I think its the measuring. Buy a kitchen scale and measure in gramms. Its the best way to be certain.

livingleanlivingclean

You're probably eating more than you think - another vote for buying a scale!

shaunalepak

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

I think its the measuring. Buy a kitchen scale and measure in gramms. Its the best way to be certain.

Yeah I see that on here a lot. I think I was avoiding it intentionally because it seems like so much work to measure everything before it's eaten I guess I'll have to suck it up if I want my results and invest some more mulah

LisaEatSleepRun

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

I think its the measuring. Buy a kitchen scale and measure in gramms. Its the best way to be certain.

Agree for sure. It is so easy to underestimate everything I eat! I had a month-long plateau recently and got losing again by not eating back my exercise calories. The weight loss will happen again if you are diligent in your measuring and logging I am sure. I don't think it will be a problem for you as you seem on top of things except for the food scale, so get one! Good luck!

livingleanlivingclean

shaunalepak wrote: »

Whitezombiegirl wrote: »

I think its the measuring. Buy a kitchen scale and measure in gramms. Its the best way to be certain.

Yeah I see that on here a lot. I think I was avoiding it intentionally because it seems like so much work to measure everything before it's eaten I guess I'll have to suck it up if I want my results and invest some more mulah

You're surely measuring in some way already, aren't you? (using cups/measures?)

weighing takes a little extra time... Minimal, but completely worth it if you have goals to achieve. You can pick up cheap scales!

shaunalepak

Alright you all seem pretty sure it has to do with food and not activity so that's where I'm going to focus on improving. To be honest (I'm ganna get crap for this haha) I don't weigh foods..I generally check the nutritional info on things, cross reference so I have a general idea of its caloric value, divide up my food in recommended portions, grab and go.

Example: box has 3 servings at 150 each, I will divide box into 3 even servings and put them away for later.

Things that are individually packaged are easy, fruits and veggies get cross referenced online and I usually go with the higher end estimate.

It Feels like I'm always overkilling it on the calorie estimates but I'm probably missing something somewhere.

Kitchens scale -will- definitely happen soon.

Christine_72

Weighing food is quicker and easier than using measuring spoons and cups, and much more accurate.

Even the most experienced calorie counters underestimate their food/calories. It's way too hard to be even close to accurate when you're eyeballing/guesstimating. I've been weighing my food for over 2 years, and i still wouldn't trust my "eyeballing" skills, portion distortion and portion creep are real.

VintageFeline

I'm a pretty good eyeballer. The trouble comes with subconscious honesty. Subconcious me likes to stretch the truth of what a portion is. Weighing things takes as long as putting my dish in the scale and turning it on and keeps me honest.

And some things will be a pleasant surprise, other things, not so much.

savithny

Without seeing your diary - what kind of stuff are you eating? I'm not going to say "You shouldn't eat a whole category of food," but there are foods that are easier to "eyeball" and foods that are really easy to go overboard on if you're not weighing and so you don't know what a "portion" looks like.

Some places I've seen people's counting failing spectacularly:
1) Count any cooking oil. People say "but I lift it out of the skillet and the oil stays behind." No, it doesnt.
2) Count cream and sugar in your coffee. If you add multiples to your cup, or if you drink a LOT, it adds up fast.
3) Count alcohol. Count it accurately and don't fudge the numbers.
4) Assume all restaurant portions are much larger than their website states. MUCH LARGER. If you're eating a lot of prepared food, even if its not fast food, this could be an issue.