Advice on weight loss? (5'4, 195lbs.)

churrochi

I've been on the lifestyle change grind for around a month now, but I haven't seen even a single pound shed as of yet. I eat roughly 1300 on days I don't workout and 1500-1600 on days I do exercise. A normal regiment looks like this for me: 35-45 minutes of cardio (usually a combination of running, arc trainer, elliptical, stairmaster, and spinning depending on the day, in bursts of 20-25 and 15-20 mins). Following that, I workout with my personal trainer for 30 minutes. We do HIIT primarily, with kettlebells, jumping rope, and weightlifting (both assisted with the machine and free weights). My trainer is just as confused as I am sometimes because I haven't lost weight, though he insists that it takes the body a bit to adjust and start getting into the groove of weight loss.

I'm not sure I buy what my trainer said, however, because four years ago, I went down from 220 to 165 in 9 months with strict dieting/exercise and personal training (granted, I was only eating 1200-1300 regardless of whether or not I exercised). I don't expect to lose weight as quickly as I did in the past because I don't think eating that little is such a good idea in hindsight, but I am wondering how I can start seeing the numbers change on the scale.

On the bright side, I've been gaining muscle relatively quickly. My core still looks quite soft and unfit, but my arms, legs, and glutes look different from before I started working out. I can understand the argument that I may not see weight loss yet because muscle weighs more than fat...but how long until I actually start seeing any change?

If anyone has food/exercising tips, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

_Calypso_

Roughly looking at your diary I see you eat a lot of sodium packed foods. Sodium will make you retain water. Along with all the workouts. Your body could be holding water. Make sure to drink about 10 glasses a day!! MOre if you are going to eat a heavy sodium meal!!

However, that does not account for why you have not dropped any weight in the month you've been "grinding" away.

Find your BMR and make sure that you are NETTING at least that amount daily. Be very truthful with your logging. It only hurts you to not log everything you eat. Even a little bite here and there will add up.

The science says calories in vs calories out... so something in your equation is not right. Do you have a food scale? Do you guess or log accurately?

neng00

I usually don't post replies and I'm no expert either, but when I first started my lifestyle change, the pounds didn't come off at first for me either. I was working out, eating right, and working with a trainer as well. I got discouraged but got some great advice from my trainer. Don't focus so much on scale, also make sure to measure yourself and take pictures. So I did that. Despite the weight not coming off, I was losing inches. Some weeks, no pounds lost but almost 2 inches gone from body. Slow and steady. The scale will move. Maybe not as fast as you want it to, but I didn't gain the weight overnight so I'm okay with slow and steady.

Greenrun99

Do you use a food scale? If not, start
More Protein at the expense of carbs

Patience, Patience, Patience.. And your not gaining muscle.. not eating that amount.

churrochi

@_Calypso_: Good tip on the sodium. I usually season my foods with soy sauce, etc. but I think I'll move over to herbs and pinches of salt instead. I know the daily recommended amount of sodium is 2000mg/day, but do you recommend setting the bar even lower? I've heard that 1000mg/day is a safer number to stick by. I'll be honest and say I wasn't actually counting calories until a little over two weeks ago. Still, I've been keeping count now for 17 days. Would you still say it's abnormal for me not to have lost anything after that much time? My BMR's 1640 (I just used an online converter), but I honestly do not want to eat that much on the days I don't work out. I tried that in the past, and I blew up like crazy (even with cleaner eating than I do now; I admit, I'm not as clean as I could be now). I measure and record everything as I set it up on my plate and don't go back for seconds, so I'd like to think that I'm at least in the ball park of things? I don't have a food scale, but I follow rules of thumb (ex: 4oz of meat is the size of a deck of cards, etc.). Would you recommend purchasing one? Is there a specific one you recommend?

@neng00: Thank you for your inspiration! I actually can't remember if I started losing weight very quickly when I lost a lot back in the day. I think it took me around a month to regularly lose 1.5-2lbs/week, but I don't know if that was from straightening out my eating habits or from my body "warming up" to losing weight. I'll definitely take measuring into consideration, though!

churrochi

@Greenrun99: I noticed that I look less flabby than when I started, but I also wasn't counting when I first started a month ago. So I was definitely eating more than I do now. I actually started to track because I felt that I was gaining muscle because I was eating so excessively. Do you recommend eating back calories that you burn at the gym? What's a good way to make sure I don't overshoot how much I burn?

psuLemon

the biggest question is, do you use a food scale to measure food? And it's almost impossible to gain muscle while on a calorie deficit.

_Calypso_

You do have a higher BMR, but that has alot to do with your age. Given that information 1200 cal is too low.

Yes, sodium is a huge issue for many and could cause you to retain water. Avoid sodium when possible. Things will start to taste better after time. 1000mg is low...hard to do to be honest. I'd stay under 2500mg and drink lots more water.

Get the protein up especially after workouts. Rule of thumb - 1g of protein per lean muscle mass. For you - aim to get over 100g per day.

YES YES YES.... get a food scale. Eyeing your food will always be off and most likey to the negative. You will think you put 1tbsp when you actually put 2tbsp which is an extra 100+ cal depending on what it is yoru eating. Measure everything until you get better at guesstimating. Weigh everything. Log Everything!! Stay consistent!!

Also I agree watch your measurements b/c you could be losing inches and not weight. The scale is only a guideline.

Have you spoken with a dr about your thyroid? If you gain at 1690 cal a day and that is your BMR...there could be other issues. But in the meantime try to eat at least 1450 cal and be very truthful. Good luck!

WalkingAlong

If you're new to that exercise routine you're probably losing fat and retaining water in equal amounts, roughly. Ignore the scale for a while. Use your waistband to rate your progress. I find I retain water all over so my weight can plateau while my size/waist shrinks.

Saramelie

Focus on proteins
Focus on healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, nuts)
Decress carbs
Try eating more calories (you might be too low?)
Lift weights!!!

You can do it!! :-)

churrochi

Thank you for your advice everyone! Y'all just upped my motivation tons.