Not loosing; Getting discouraged!

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NicoleFray
NicoleFray Posts: 82 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started at 225ish after I had my son (now 16months) And am down to 197 and can't get down from it! I'm getting so frustrated!
I've actually been working out more and eating better and now I can't shed anymore lbs. I have been eating very good so I'm getting very discouraged. I workout 5-6 days a week for a hour. I run and do the bike. Also have a trainer 2 times a week. And nothing! I workout with a friend and she's down 6 lbs and started 2 weeks ago (I know shes new to working out and will loose more fast i understand that) and it sucks seeing my number stay the same!
Any advice? I'm not gunna stop working out but It's making it harder to push as hard and eat well when I feel like it's not doing anything! :/
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Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    How many calories are you eating a day? Do you weigh and measure that food for accuracy?
  • NicoleFray
    NicoleFray Posts: 82 Member
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    I'm at 1250 a day and burn about 2,000-2500 a day which is why I dont understand. Yes I have a food scale and my trainer looks at everything I eat.. No carbs after 4. She says she sees me looking thin but the scale doesn't move. As much as I hate it I'm a scale person lol so it sucks.
  • ercarroll311
    ercarroll311 Posts: 295 Member
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    I'm at a plateau too. I can't say I've fixed it yet, but advice I've received is just change what you're doing. Your body gets used to things and adaps. Try a new kind of workout, eat different things (more, less, different types of foods)... It sounds like maybe you could be overworking your body a bit and need a rest. I'm obviously no expert, but I'm researching this now that I'm in it. Haha

    Best of luck!
  • Annerk1
    Annerk1 Posts: 372 Member
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    Are your clothes getting looser? You might be building muscle which could lead to the scale not moving. As long as your clothing is getting looser, it doesn't matter what the scale says. Get a body fat reader and go by that, it's a much better metric.
  • congaline
    congaline Posts: 1 Member
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    Set your calorie consumption target for your ideal weight, not your current weight. Also, you are working out quite a bit, but is it all cardio? Add some resistance training in the form of weights to build muscle to increase your BMR and drop some of the cardio if you are strapped for time.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Are you eating back exercise calories? There is no way (I'm sorry) that you are burning 2,500 calories per day just through exercise. Are you saying that is your total DAILY burn including your BMR?
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
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    Do you mean your total daily energy expenditure is 2,000-2500 or just your exercise? If it's exercise that seems high. Either way, that's a pretty aggressive deficit. And why no carbs are 4pm?
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    Can you open your diary for us please?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Have you had your thyroid tested? If you are in as much of a deficit as you calculate you are you would be losing, so maybe the cals burned are grossly overestimated.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    I'm at 1250 a day and burn about 2,000-2500 a day which is why I dont understand. Yes I have a food scale and my trainer looks at everything I eat.. No carbs after 4. She says she sees me looking thin but the scale doesn't move. As much as I hate it I'm a scale person lol so it sucks.

    First, you aren't burning 2000-2500 calories a day working out. Second, eat more. If your calorie target is 1250 and you burn 500 calories from working out, you have 750 NET calories for the day. You should aim to end the day with 1250 NET calories (again, assuming that's your target). If you net less than that, you aren't fueling your body properly (think a car with half a tank of gas). So, your body is hanging on to all it can get and that is why you aren't losing weight.

    And it's L-O-S-E, not L-O-O-S-E. :flowerforyou:
    Have you had your thyroid tested? If you are in as much of a deficit as you calculate you are you would be losing, so maybe the cals burned are grossly overestimated.

    Wrong.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Eating the "right foods" doesn't automatically guarantee weight loss. Please open your diary.
  • scottyg70
    scottyg70 Posts: 388 Member
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    The last two posters have some valid points and Bear is dead on. Try upping your calorie intake a little.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    I'm at 1250 a day and burn about 2,000-2500 a day which is why I dont understand. Yes I have a food scale and my trainer looks at everything I eat.. No carbs after 4. She says she sees me looking thin but the scale doesn't move. As much as I hate it I'm a scale person lol so it sucks.
    Burning 200-2500 overall per day, as in your TDEE? Or through exercise? If the latter, how are you calculating your calorie burns? Because as others have said, that is awfully high.

    Carbs after 4pm makes no difference. :tongue:

    And even if you are a "scale person", grab yourself a measuring tape and a camera and starting tracking that was as well. The scale loves to mess with your head - I went six months without a change on the scale, but dropped a full size during that time. I laughed at my scale and went out to buy new jeans.

    Other than that, make sure your numbers are all correct. Honestly 1250 seems like a low intake unless you are eating back at least some of your exercise cals. And make sure your burns are as accurate as possible - machines and MFPs estimates can be way too high. Invest in a good HRM if you can for a better estimate.
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
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    Whatever you do, don't get discouraged! I lost 52 lbs Jan 2012 - Sept 2012 then I was stuck through April of this year - even with modifying my cal intake, changing up exercises, started lifting weights.... I WAS STUCK. I've never gone a day without logging in my food no matter how bad it was (even though MFP messed up my logging in and continues doing so), I basically started not caring so much and have now gained back 25 of what I lost. So, no matter how discouraging it is to be stuck, at least be proud of what you've accomplished and never give up - continue counting, continue with your exercise, drink lots of water and stick with it! I'm struggling everyday now with getting my calories where they should be and I'm working 13.5 hr days on average & getting almost no exercise, take out has become the staple in my life and I feel miserable every day. I would give anything to get back where I was.... GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    Have you had your thyroid tested? If you are in as much of a deficit as you calculate you are you would be losing, so maybe the cals burned are grossly overestimated.

    Wrong.

    How is that wrong? caloric deficit = weight loss, the larger the deficit the larger the weight loss, though a larger portion of said weight loss will come from lean muscle vs. fat if the deficit is too large. And over time you will slow your metabolism down to where you though you have a 1500 cal/day deficit, may only be 1200 or so due to the lowered metabolic effect of your body shutting down non life sustaining functions, and loss of lean muscle.
  • QuietBloom
    QuietBloom Posts: 5,413 Member
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    The last two posters have some valid points and Bear is dead on. Try upping your calorie intake a little.

    I don't think that is something we can recommend until we get more information. If someone is not losing weight, it is rarely because they are not eating enough.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    The last two posters have some valid points and Bear is dead on. Try upping your calorie intake a little.

    I don't think that is something we can recommend until we get more information. If someone is not losing weight, it is rarely because they are not eating enough.

    ^^^ This. You don't maintain your weight eating at a deficit, especially a deficit as large as you say you have.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    Have you had your thyroid tested? If you are in as much of a deficit as you calculate you are you would be losing, so maybe the cals burned are grossly overestimated.

    Wrong.

    How is that wrong? caloric deficit = weight loss, the larger the deficit the larger the weight loss, though a larger portion of said weight loss will come from lean muscle vs. fat if the deficit is too large. And over time you will slow your metabolism down to where you though you have a 1500 cal/day deficit, may only be 1200 or so due to the lowered metabolic effect of your body shutting down non life sustaining functions, and loss of lean muscle.

    Caloric deficit only equals weight loss if the body is being fueled properly otherwise. If a person is not eating enough and not providing the proper nutrition and/or energy for their body, they will not lose weight unless, as you said, the body starts cannibalizing itself for energy (which is clearly not what anyone wants).

    So, say someone has entered a goal of losing a pound a week. They would have a daily 500 caloric deficit BUILT IN (this point is often misunderstood) to their target that MFP provides. If that person NETS whatever their MFP target is (let's say it's 1500) every day, they will lose a pound a week. If that same person NETS 1000 calories a day, their body probably wouldn't be getting the proper fuel for them to function so their body will likely hold on to everything it can. Therefore, the dreaded plateau and posts such as this one where the OP is frustrated and discouraged.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
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    The last two posters have some valid points and Bear is dead on. Try upping your calorie intake a little.

    I don't think that is something we can recommend until we get more information. If someone is not losing weight, it is rarely because they are not eating enough.

    Untrue. It actually happens quite often on this site. Just search it and you will see.
  • skyegsd
    skyegsd Posts: 14
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    Don't get discouraged!! Very recently I had posted a similar post frustrated and not understanding why the scale wasn't moving. It took about a month of a steady weight training routine for my body to get used to it and allow the weight to come off. Now I am losing at a decent rate and am back in the grove so to speak. I know that I personally could not survive off of 1250 calories!I I would be on the verge of a binge constantly... I always make a point of eating most or ALL of my exercise calories, I do not want to compromise my metabolism by eating 1200 calories a day like I see a lot of people on here doing. Trying to find this "prime" calorie range can be difficult and is a case of trial and error, but since i've upped my calories I have actually started to lose more weight and I am having more energy to complete my workouts. Not sure what your stats are, but i'm 5'8" and my BMR is around 1550 calories (without exericise), and I also have a desk job. I found that MFP gave me a very low calorie range of 1320, I don't eat that little EVER. I stick to my BMR and eat my exercise calories and it is working for me. Good luck, if you want a buddy to keep you accountable or seek advice add me :)

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