Frustrated...

monikagood

I've been a member of MFP for 135 days so far. I love the site, and am serious about weight loss. Since January 4th, 2010, I've lost 30 pounds. Most of it came off in the first 4 months. Since then, I've been pretty stagnant. I would love to lose another 5 pounds. I excercise every day for at least one hour. 3-4 times a week I excersise for 2+ hours. I work out hard, and I really watch what I eat. I'm always below the calorie limit, as well as the fat limit. When I close out the food section for the day, it always says that in 5 weeks I should weigh "X", and that number is always about 12-15 pounds less than where I am now. Well, that's been the case for the last couple months. I haven't lost any more weight despite the fact that I've bumped up the work out level and maintained the calorie intake. HELP!!! I am determined to lose this weight, but don't know what else I can do without going anorexic!

erickirb

You probably need to eat more. Are you eating your exercise calories? If not try eating most or all of them.
With only 5 pounds to lose you should adjust your weekly goal to 0.5 or 1 lb per week as well.
Have you changed up your workout routine or do you do the same exercises week after week? It is recommended that you switch up your routine every 4-6 weeks to shock your system as your body gets used to doing the same exercise over and over again.

Give the above a try for 4 weeks or so and you should drop some weight. And try not to come in under your calorie goal MFP has a deficit built in, even if you go over slightly you should still lose weight.

jrich1

Have you readjusted your calorie goals, and also since you bumped up your exercise, how much are you eating, make sure you arent starving yourself. Make your diary public so we can give you suggestions

monikagood

Thanks for your response and suggestions. I'm definately eating more than I was at the beginning. When I first started, I was eating no more than 1000 calories a day, and no more than 3 grams of fat per meal. Now I'm up more in calories, and even in fat, although I always watch to make sure I'm under the recommended amount. I'm a bit paranoid of going over and gaining weight.

As far as the work outs, I spin 6 days a week, run one day a week (only 3.5 miles since I hate every step of the way!), and do kickboxing, aerobics, body sculpting and some free weight training 4 days a week. So, I do try to shake it up a bit.

I'm toying with the idea of trying the P90X (hope I got that right) workout as I've seen a guy at my gym doing it. It looks hard, but he is totally buff without looking like a body builder. Just so you know, most people tell me that I look fine (I'm 5'11" ,16% body fat according to the hand held device at my gym, and now weigh 129-130), but in my opinion, it's all about how you feel. I don't want to be paranoid about gaining weight and I know that this is now my new lifestyle forever, but I also want to be able to go out to dinner with friends and family without worrying about making a "dietary mistake!" I'm at the point that I won't accept invitations to friend's homes for dinner since I can't control what they are offering, and I don't want to offend anyone.

I figure, if I lose the extra 5 pounds, then I have a little buffer to work with and can start enjoying going out again! Sounds a little crazy, but it's been hard work losing the weight and getting fit. I don't want to blow it.