Eating clean and really active - NOT LOSING WEIGHT

caitlingettingfit14

Over the summer, I was working a stressful job and put on about 15 pounds in a month.
Ever since, I have been trying to lose the weight, and nothing seems to be working.
I have been eating on average 1300 to 1500 calories every day (closer to 1500 when I work out).
I take intense cardio dance class 4 days a week for an hour and twenty minutes and walk at least a mile every day, since I am a college student. I thought that when I got back to being super active in school, it would come off more easily. I have only fluctuated about 2 pounds, and have stayed hovering around 150 lbs. What should I be doing differently?!

Random notes:
5'4 and was averaging 135 lbs for the past 2 years, until this summer I skipped up to 150 lbs very quickly (I was eating more,less healthy, less active, and very stressed out)
I am vegetarian - get protein from protein powder, tofu, greek yogurt, nuts, and beans.
I eat clean but do give into cravings every now and then.
I eat on average 3 times a day with bigger breakfasts and dinners than lunch.
I am in college, so I drink about 300-400 extra alcohol calories usually two nights a week.

I have read that strength training is what can really make a difference. I am just confused, because I am very active and eat clean about 90% of the time. What can I try?

progressnotperfection84

I'm thinking that maybe you aren't eating enough to properly fuel your body now that you are way more active. Cutting the alcohol out for a bit might help too. I do minimal cardio and focus primarily on strength training (lifting heavy) and have been getting great results. Take your measurements too. You may not be losing pounds but you could be losing inches. Break up with your scale for awhile and go by the tape measure. Scales are hateful B's anyway.

Cindyinpg

I'm thinking that maybe you aren't eating enough to properly fuel your body now that you are way more active. Cutting the alcohol out for a bit might help too. I do minimal cardio and focus primarily on strength training (lifting heavy) and have been getting great results. Take your measurements too. You may not be losing pounds but you could be losing inches. Break up with your scale for awhile and go by the tape measure. Scales are hateful B's anyway.

Agreed! Read this 3 part thread if you like. It is inspiring!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/977538-halp-heavy-lifting-made-me-supah-bulky

thatbelinda

From the looks of your diary, you're eating a lot of calorie dense food (trail mix, peanut butter, bread, gnocchi) and a lot more carbs than protein.

If you're underestimating the amounts you're logging on those calorie dense foods, you could be eating a lot more calories than you think you are. I don't know how much you drink (you've mentioned you're in college) but a glass of wine can have 100 to 300 calories, so it's really easy to underestimate. I drank about 1000 calories on Friday night, which was not difficult to do.

My recommendation would be to weigh and measure everything you eat, cut back as much as possible on the alcohol, try to add more protein to stay fuller for longer, and add in the strength training if you want to. I'm a big fan of lifting heavy, but realistically all you need to do is create a calorie deficit to lose weight.

If you're not losing, you're either eating more than you think you are, or burning less than you think you are.

silken555

Clean eating doesn't affect weight loss at all...calories in vs calories out. Exercising 3x a week is plenty for weight loss however I calculated your TDEE based on 5-6 hours of strenuous activity per week. According to scooby, your TDEE-15% is 2200 cals per day. You don't eat back exercise cals using the TDEE method and you need to recalculate once you're within 5lbs or so of goal at TDEE-10%.

Here's the link:http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

If you reduce your activity level, make sure to select the right amount.

Good luck.

MonaRaeHill

I just read Bob Greene's book (he's the guy that helped Oprah lose weight) and he says that ANY alcohol, will interfere with weight loss. He said he would help Oprah work out, then do his own 20-minute workout. He also said he had been trying to lose that last 15 pounds that kept him from shifting his BMI numbers, and the only thing he could think to cut out, was the twice weekly beer he'd have, with his friends. As soon as he did that, the weight came off. Alcohol and weight loss are NOT simpatico, unfortunately. Especially if you are down to the last chunk of weight. (I used to have 1-2 beers, monthly, and still lost, but it was verrrry slow going........:(

reppinplates

If you're serious about losing the weight, cut the alcohol. It's really one of the worst things you can consume if your goal is to lose weight. Also I'd look into measuring your portion sizes correctly. I have the feeling something is off.

MonaRaeHill

Thanks Silken 555 for the link.

That calculator says my maintenance number is 2450, too! How weird. It even gave that number, when I changed my exercise level to figure less! Well, I like food, so that makes me happy, but I really don't believe I can lose weight with that number. I am going to try and stay around 1600, for the month of November, we'll see what happens. Can someone post a link to the forum link that talks about TDEE? Thanks everyone.

SORRY. THIS GOT POSTED TO THE WRONG FORUM.

fityese

I would increase the calories. 1300 calories is not sufficient to properly fuel your body. It could be harmful.
I also use the calculator that silken555 recommended above:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

I didn't start seeing positive changes until I traded my cardio (6-9 mile runs) for strength training. I do cardio 2-3 times a week for only 30 minutes. My workout sessions are HIIT. I do a 5 minute warm-up, the 30 seconds fast and 30 seconds slow repeat until you only have 5 minute left for the cool down for a total of 30 minutes. Don't be afraid to lift heavy weights. You won't get a muscular bodybuilding physique but what you will get is a fit body with definition.

Best of luck!

gigglesinthesun

eating clean and being really active doesn't mean a lot for weight loss, being in a calorie deficit means a lot for weight loss. The former can help weight loss and is good for you, but a calorie deficit is necessary.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

thatbelinda

eating clean and being really active doesn't mean a lot for weight loss, being in a calorie deficit means a lot for weight loss. The former can help weight loss and is good for you, but a calorie deficit is necessary.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

This

JessHealthKick

you have to weigh everything. I'm a university student too, and a 'few drinks' might be 300 cals EACH, so best to avoid alcohol altogether a few turns onto a lot very easily.

Are you weighing everything you eat?

TeresaB1979

eating clean and being really active doesn't mean a lot for weight loss, being in a calorie deficit means a lot for weight loss. The former can help weight loss and is good for you, but a calorie deficit is necessary.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

This article is genuinely the one you need to read. It It's very easy to think you are eating less than you are (I know from experience).

fionarama

I think that link is so smart *kitten*. Yes obviously you are not eating at deficit if you're not losing weight - everyone knows that. What they're trying to figure out is WHY. Because they absolutely can't stomach the idea of eating less again . And they train 5 x a week so simply don't have the time to train more.
I'm in the same scenario, put a lot of weight on quickly over 2-3 months and now struggling to get it back off. My problem IS not eating enough. I have to focus on NOT skipping meals, NOT thinking carbs are bad and cutting them down/out all the time. Yes I will eat less over all and more consistently as a result and hopefully wind up with a deficit again.
There are all sorts of different aspects to cause you not to eat in deficit and that's what you need to figure out. Will eating smaller meals every three hours help you be more consistent? Will exercising less but focusing on the food more (as its 70% of the equation) be easier? Its always a case of trial and error and trying to reset your bad habits into good ones. We all have our trigger points - whats yours?

TeresaB1979

I think that link is so smart *kitten*. Yes obviously you are not eating at deficit if you're not losing weight - everyone knows that. What they're trying to figure out is WHY. Because they absolutely can't stomach the idea of eating less again . And they train 5 x a week so simply don't have the time to train more.
I'm in the same scenario, put a lot of weight on quickly over 2-3 months and now struggling to get it back off. My problem IS not eating enough. I have to focus on NOT skipping meals, NOT thinking carbs are bad and cutting them down/out all the time. Yes I will eat less over all and more consistently as a result and hopefully wind up with a deficit again.
There are all sorts of different aspects to cause you not to eat in deficit and that's what you need to figure out. Will eating smaller meals every three hours help you be more consistent? Will exercising less but focusing on the food more (as its 70% of the equation) be easier? Its always a case of trial and error and trying to reset your bad habits into good ones. We all have our trigger points - whats yours?

It's not 'smart *kitten*' at all. I was wondering why I wasn't losing weight when I was 'doing everything right', read that and thought 'Right, time to be a lot more accurate about my calorie intake and track things properly' and what do you know? It worked?! It's a bit tongue in cheek, yes but are we not supposed to have any sense of humour when it comes to weight-loss? :huh:

My intention was to pass on what worked for me. Why wouldn't/shouldn't I? It works. Surely the OP wants the truth, even if it is presented in a no bull**** manner?

P.S. It clearly isn't 'obvious' to the OP that she's not eating at a deficit- she states she is eating 1300-1500. If that was the case she would be losing weight. as the article explains, it is very easy to think you are eating fewer calories than you are. It happens a lot of us.

gigglesinthesun

I think that link is so smart *kitten*. Yes obviously you are not eating at deficit if you're not losing weight - everyone knows that. What they're trying to figure out is WHY. Because they absolutely can't stomach the idea of eating less again . And they train 5 x a week so simply don't have the time to train more.
I'm in the same scenario, put a lot of weight on quickly over 2-3 months and now struggling to get it back off. My problem IS not eating enough. I have to focus on NOT skipping meals, NOT thinking carbs are bad and cutting them down/out all the time. Yes I will eat less over all and more consistently as a result and hopefully wind up with a deficit again.
There are all sorts of different aspects to cause you not to eat in deficit and that's what you need to figure out. Will eating smaller meals every three hours help you be more consistent? Will exercising less but focusing on the food more (as its 70% of the equation) be easier? Its always a case of trial and error and trying to reset your bad habits into good ones. We all have our trigger points - whats yours?

actually I posted the article, because it was spot on for me. Once I started weighing and measuring only the liquids and itemised logging, some extra 250 calories materialised in my diary. So whereas before I was thinking that I mightn't be eating enough, turns out I was. Accurate measuring is at the heart of the calorie counting approach.

However, there are at least 50 posts during any given 24h period where people are saying they are doing everything right, eating a deficit and not losing weight and reality is that aside from the people that don't give it enough time (i.e. I started yesterday and nothing is happening, why haven't I lost 10lbs already) chances are that they are not actually creating a deficit, but they ALL think they are. There are countless people here who don't log fruit or vegetables or supplements with calories or food they eat during a midnight feast or that little refill of wine that they sneak in late at night, in fact quite a few people who try to lose weight have whole days missing from their diaries. The devil is in the details.

In the end your body is keeping a pretty accurate diary of all the calories in and out, and I feel that the blunt tone of the article conveys exactly that.

silken555

Thanks Silken 555 for the link.

That calculator says my maintenance number is 2450, too! How weird. It even gave that number, when I changed my exercise level to figure less! Well, I like food, so that makes me happy, but I really don't believe I can lose weight with that number. I am going to try and stay around 1600, for the month of November, we'll see what happens. Can someone post a link to the forum link that talks about TDEE? Thanks everyone.

SORRY. THIS GOT POSTED TO THE WRONG FORUM.

You're very welcome...:)

I was leary as well until I did it and I was losing 1-2lbs a week at 1900cals daily with 3-5 hours of moderate activity...:)

I'm having FMS issues right now so that 1900 is basically maintenance currently until I'm able to get back up to my 5-6 hours.

If you want to see how it works you can read this post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

ndj1979

if you are not logging/weighing everything then more than likely your calorie estimates are way off and you are actually eating more then what you think ...

try and log every single thing that you eat for a day and see how much that really ends up being..you might be surprised...

caitlingettingfit14

Thanks for the advice everyone! I definitely think it may be a result of not logging my calories correctly. I usually use measuring cups -- Would you recommend a food scale instead?

gigglesinthesun

Thanks for the advice everyone! I definitely think it may be a result of not logging my calories correctly. I usually use measuring cups -- Would you recommend a food scale instead?

yes, definitely :-)

Francl27

Yes, use a scale. And if you have intense dance lessons 4 times a week, you probably need to eat a lot more.

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

TeresaB1979

Yeah, scale is really good idea. :-)

sklebar

If I'm honest, you still have a little too much sugar in your diet and I think the problem, which isn't your fault, is that to watch exactly what the calories are because most of the calorie amounts on MFP are wrong. If they vary wildly on the database, I look it up on the internet to figure it out myself and a lot of the time, it's way off. I also know it's easy to underestimate your calories as people said unless you measure accurately. Also, I'm not sure what your exercise calories are, but those are also questionable on MFP. Again, this isn't an attack on you, it's just that MFP is still a bit of a basic tool and not really accurate and it's what stopped me from losing weight properly, until I had to do my own work on measuring, etc. too. Just trying to help out. Judging from your posts though, the Kashi stuff isn't as healthy as you think. Loaded with sugar. Same with fruit smoothies. I wouldn't take out alcohol entirely. I'm at a low body fat percentage and eat about 10 veg a day and still have a couple of glasses of red wine and I'm fine. Beer is what can make you put pounds on. This worked for me and isn't necessarily everyone. Again, take it as advice from a friend that you could clearly refute, as with any friend.