Please help me understand why I'm not losing...

Habgirl

Hello:

I have been using MFP for one month and an Up bracelet for two weeks. I eat 1200 calories or less a day. I am a vegetarian. I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. My sugars are over every day but that is due to fruit sugars rather than refined white sugar. I don't eat that. I am very careful about what I eat.

I walk a lot and use a treadmill that incorporates incline. I use the "fat burn" setting. I make sure my heart rate is in the "zone" for burning fat.

I am 5'10", 44 years old and started off at 150. I know this is a normal BMI but I feel heavy. I am more comfortable at 140, which is my goal.

So far, I have managed to get to 147.2 as my lowest. I held that for three days and then this morning I am back to 147.8.

I am getting so discouraged that I am tracking everything I am eating and still not losing weight. I was patient at first and now I'm just getting frustrated.

Any help or advice that can be offered would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/Habgirl

ladynocturne

Honestly, you need to lower your deficit to 250 a day to lose .5lb per week (or less). With so little to lose (none really) it's just not realistic to try to lose 1lb per week.

The very best thing for you since you're not happy with your body fat is to start eating more and incorporate a lifting routine. You won't get huge or bulky, but cardio isn't going to help anymore.

Lmans77

You've lost 2.8 lbs in one month. You have lost something.

for someone with only 10lbs to lose, you are doing VERY well. Be patient and stay the course. Be true to your calorie counts. If you are only eating 1200 day in and day out, I am worried you are in for a crash and burn (binge), which will hinder progress.

MommyisFit

I think you need to add some more healthy fat into your diet -olive or coconut oil, butter, nuts, etc. (use these to increase your calories a little). I also agree with the weight training. I think that is really what makes the biggest difference in your appearance.

Habgirl

Honestly, you need to lower your deficit to 250 a day to lose .5lb per week (or less). With so little to lose (none really) it's just not realistic to try to lose 1lb per week.

The very best thing for you since you're not happy with your body fat is to start eating more and incorporate a lifting routine. You won't get huge or bulky, but cardio isn't going to help anymore.

I am seriously bigger physically than I have ever been. All of my clothes are tight.

I would have been happy to lose a pound a week or even less if it kept coming off. I keep staying in the same place which is what makes me crazy.

I do strength training but with light weights and usually while I am on the treadmill. All kinds of arm curls for bicep and tricep as well as wrist curls. I would imagine this would be seen as cardio as I do it fast - to the pace of my walking.

When you say "my deficit" do you mean anything under the 1200 calories or the net calorie amount?

Thanks...

Habgirl

You've lost 2.8 lbs in one month. You have lost something.

for someone with only 10lbs to lose, you are doing VERY well. Be patient and stay the course. Be true to your calorie counts. If you are only eating 1200 day in and day out, I am worried you are in for a crash and burn (binge), which will hinder progress.

I do eat a lot of fruit and veggies. My salads are huge but I am very stingy with the dressing. I really don't like a salad laiden with fat. It ruins it for me. I feel like I eat a lot but I try and steer clear of carbs in terms of bread and pastas.

I am a sinner or a saint. When I am working this hard at losing weight, I'm not a sinner. I don't binge. The weight sometimes comes back gradually and then I catch it and drop it.

My husband thinks its getting older and menopause that is slowing my weight loss results. Perhaps all the working out too...who knows?

ladynocturne

Honestly, you need to lower your deficit to 250 a day to lose .5lb per week (or less). With so little to lose (none really) it's just not realistic to try to lose 1lb per week.

The very best thing for you since you're not happy with your body fat is to start eating more and incorporate a lifting routine. You won't get huge or bulky, but cardio isn't going to help anymore.

I am seriously bigger physically than I have ever been. All of my clothes are tight.

I would have been happy to lose a pound a week or even less if it kept coming off. I keep staying in the same place which is what makes me crazy.

I do strength training but with light weights and usually while I am on the treadmill. All kinds of arm curls for bicep and tricep as well as wrist curls. I would imagine this would be seen as cardio as I do it fast - to the pace of my walking.

When you say "my deficit" do you mean anything under the 1200 calories or the net calorie amount?

Thanks...

Yeah I mean like a strong lifting program, not light weights while walking.

By deficit I mean find out what you maintain your weight on (easiest way is to set MFP to lose 0lbs a week and see how many calories it gives you to maintain). Then subtracting 250 from that (or set MFP to lose .5lbs a week). That would be a 250 calorie deficit. I think 1200 calories net or otherwise is too low.

There isn't really a way for me to tell if your body fat percentage has gone up from your diet because you've lost lean muscle mass, or if maybe it's psychological. I don't think you need to lose more weight, I think you need to gain muscle.

According to your current stats you should maintain you current weight on 1692 calories a day. A 250 calorie deficit from that is

1692-250=1442 calories to net everyday.

Habgirl

Thanks...I will give it a try!

Alta2000

Hubgirl, eat more. Eat olive oil, avocado, peanut butter, avoid light, or fat free stuff.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

You seem to need toning. Along with cardio add some total body workouts and pilates from fitnessblender.com; also do the JM 30 days shred, you can find all levels on youtube and can do it even with small weights.

born2drum

So you eat mainly carbs and wonder why you're not losing? Water retention!

You didn't mention protein so yea that may be a problem. I do know, I tend to gain a couple of lbs on days that I eat over 200g of carbs which isn't hard at all

celadontea

Try doing different types of workouts. Some mentioned weight training, but I'd even change the cardio up and see what happens. Good luck and you're still doing well.

Ninkyou

Do not eat below 1200 calories. 1200 calories is the BARE MINIMUM a person needs to get all of their nutrients, and even then that's kinda iffy.

Like others have said, eat more. And yeah, try lifting for toning. Your inches will change better this way and your clothes will probably fit better.

leslturn8

30 day shred, today is my 8th day. I have lost 11.4 cm's in 7 days. Its a 30 minute program which will benefit you into toning.
Another great program is P90X. Around $100, buy some real weights, i use upto 4kg as i am a weakling. Thats a 12 week program, 6-7 days a week that works your body into "slimmer sexier you" etc etc, has meal plans and in the first 7 days doing that I lost 11 cm's.
Or there are random fitness challenges going around like "squat challenge, abs challenge, walk challenge, run challenge." etc.

I am not a beach body coach, but www.beachbody.com has great workouts and proven to work-if your dedicated. I have struggled with being dedicated, but i have the resources and the mind set now to achieve and I am working on my commitment to completing programs from start to finish without having a loser lesley day/week/month.
Beach body programs I have purchased (in order) over the past 4 years.
Turbofire- i love the atmosphere, im very uncoordinated and stuck to a few dvds then life threw a lesley ball and i stopped.
P90X- 7 days, seen good results so i gave myself a break...restarted a few times, its a little boring but it has proven results.
Hip Hop Abs- i like this one, times vary per workout- 30 day commitment. lost 4 cms's around my wasit in 7 days.
Insanity- looks really good, havnt tried it YET, too hard core for me atm, im too young to die.
Slim in 6- i have ordered it, its in the mail, reviews are good, in my capabilities, this is my next program after 30 day shred!

Prior to these I had purchase:
30 day shred.- restarted this 5 times, by day 4 its that boring i quit,. Day 8, getting results and sticking with it! quitter no more!
The firm express.- the ladies voice irritated me, i couldnt stand it anymore, workout was boring and day 5 just didnt bother.
Belly dancing dvd- did this like 5 times, uncoordinated and my fat moving put me off of doing this again til im less wobbly.
Zumba- dvd and wii game...enjoyed it, wii games boring. Dvd stopped working so i stopped.
walking dvd.--- talk about watching paint dry! I have my treadmill now, not like i get to use that had blood clots in my leg, which made my leg swell with anything faster then a slow walk. For a month i couldnt walk more then a few metres, now i can walk, just not fast, so my interval running dreams are over, jogging is nil, walking at 4km/h my leg hates on me.

Habgirl

So you eat mainly carbs and wonder why you're not losing? Water retention!

You didn't mention protein so yea that may be a problem. I do know, I tend to gain a couple of lbs on days that I eat over 200g of carbs which isn't hard at all

I don't eat mainly carbs. I have protein as well. I have a protein shake in the morning and have either a bean based or tofu based protein at dinner and lunch.

Habgirl

Thanks everyone! I am going to incorporate different exercises into my program and see how that goes. I will try 30 Day Shred and see how that is!

AmyRhubarb

I eat 1200 calories or less a day.

I am 5'10", 44 years old and started off at 150.

I'm about your age, two inches shorter, and was about that weight two years ago. I eat 1800+ calories a day, easy, and have had my best results with fat loss while doing so. Food is fuel! I would definitely look into finding your TDEE and BMR and increase your calorie intake.

My story & progress are on my profile if you want to check it out. My average weight for the past 6-8 months is around 136 (goal weight is/was 135, but working on lowering body fat percentage at this point, & the scale number doesn't matter to me all that much!).

Have a read through this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

Great info there, and links to tools along with step by step instructions on setting up your intake and macro goals. Worth reading through - at least it was for me. Best move I ever made was eating more, fueling my body properly, which resulted in losing the fat and keeping the lean muscle!

Habgirl

Thank you Amy! I read through that information and it was great!!! Makes way more sense now!

MaryJane_8810002

I heard it is hard to lose weight with age...

Seriously I am vegan and I get way more protein and fats than you. Something about your diary seems a bit incomplete.

Making_changes7

I had plateaued from losing weight because I also have only 10(ish) pounds to lose. I started doing high intensity interval training and, man, the pounds came off.

Treadmill: 1 minute at a fast pace and an incline, 2 minutes walking/jogging at no incline- repeat for as long as you can (I started at 10 minutes and am now up to 30 minutes)

Elliptical: 1 minute at a fast pace and high tension, 2 minutes at a slow pace at little to no tension- repeat for as long as you can

Try it for a week or two and let me know if that works. It did for me. Also make sure you're incorporating some weight training.

linalovekitty

I think its bc you are probably quite thing to begin with and I know from my own experience in the past, losing beyond my normal weight (133lbs) was always a huge challenge. Your body is probably resistant to lose bc it doesnt have much to lose. also, adding muscle can increase size. my booty got much rounder and fuller from squats and I went up a pant size from it even when my weigh on scale didnt change

sevsmom

Wow! I had a hard time getting past the 5'10" and trying to get to 140. You're 5 inches taller than me and trying to get to about 2 lbs heavier than me. That's, well, wow! Everyone is different, but for me, with over 25lbs to lose, the scale didn't budge until about 5-6 weeks in. You've made some progress, so that's good. When I plateau, I try to shake things up with my exercise. Up the intensity. Change up what I'm doing. Add heavy weights. (I'm currently doing 20lb bicep curls to give you MY idea of heavy.)

When you do the same thing over and over, you won't get different results. You've got some good advice from earlier responders. . .try some of those ideas and see if you don't start moving in the right direction.

Minnie2361

Ideal weight loss is about 1 - 2 pounds a week. I have been at for three months there has been one week where I have gained a pound others where I have lost. For about a two week period I lost .5 and .8 of a pound. However at the end of three months my weight is down over 12 pounds . For me it is steady weight loss in small increments. People who drop too quickly will more than likely eat it all back in starting at the 26 week mark. It is a pattern scientists noted.
I am like the turtle , it is slow and steady that wins the race.

Also keep in mind weight can change up or down by 2 pounds over the day.

Calliope610

The closer you are to your goal weight, the more slowly the weight will come off.

ninerbuff

The closer you are to your goal weight, the more slowly the weight will come off.

This. Shoot for 1/4 pound a week.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Habgirl

Thanks to everyone who took the time to try and answer me. I know that being 5'10 and wanting to be 140lbs sounds crazy but I don't have big bones. My middle section is big. No one says I am too thin at all. People who know me have said I have gained weight...including my husband! Everyone's body is different.

I have incorporated some weight lifting into my program and reduced the cardio. I have upped my calories and am making an effort to increase good fats and protein. Hopefully this will make a difference.

I am religious in documenting everything I eat because it keeps me on track. Some have questioned my diary but it is the truth. That is how I eat. I really prefer raw foods with not much in terms of sauces and add ons.