Am I doing this right?

tinklemar

I know I am eating well and working out, and the weight will come off...Just be patient, you will all say. I just have in my head I am doing it wrong.

I am 5'4, started on 1/8 and 158 lbs, and was down to 147 2 weeks ago, but last weigh in it was up to 148 and now I am looking at 149 this week. I zumba about 2 times per week for 60 minutes and work out at home 2 or 3 days to Jillian Michaels. I plan on starting T25 here in the next week or so. I know it could be muscle, and I am ok with that, as long as I am doing everything ok. Can someone please just shed some light on what I can do differently or change to make this more effective?

4legsRbetterthan2

Well you had a pretty big drop right away which is pretty normal when you start a new diet. If the weight gain started right after you started exercising then it might be water retention by your muscles which will drop back off in a week or so when they adjust to the new routine. Most likely it was just an adjustment in how much water you body is storing and its normal for that to fluxuate day to day; you have to take small changes in the number on the scale with a grain of salt. It is most likely not muscle gain if you are eating at a deficit. As long as your calorie goals are in line and you are logging acurately then you are on the right track. Remember that your set to lose up to 2 lbs a week so keep your expectations realistic to that. You have lost 8-10 lbs in a month so you are seeing results.

tinklemar

I did change my profile to only lose 1 lb a week, because I always seemed hungry. I did increase how much I was eating, especially when working out because I was hungry. I guess I just was confused because (I forget the term) but the amount of calories I burn just by doing nothing was only around 1350, so if I go over my 1200 at all, I am not going to be losing anything. I will just keep doing what I am doing

auburngirl06

Just dropping in to say we're almost twins. I'm 30, 5'4 and around 146 right now. Is 1350 your BMR? You definitely need to be eating way more than 1200 calories. I'm eating around 1500, working out 3-4 times a week for 30-45 minutes and losing pretty good. What is your goal weight? One pound per week is a pretty hefty goal when you only have 10 or so pounds left to lose.

Edited to add: Ok I see you are wanting to lose 18 more pounds. One pound per week is good but make sure you are eating atleast your BMR.

Jgal8123

I think your protein intake is low for the amount of exercise you are doing. Try upping protein - it will help with the hunger pangs too!

4legsRbetterthan2

Generally you do not want to eat below your BMR. You should lose if you are eating at or below BMR because you burn more calories than that daily, you are not in a coma after all. You burn all day moving around and then alot when you are exercising. If you are only trying to lose 10 lbs then Auburngirl is right and you should probably be shooting for about half a pound a week. Being smaller gives you less of a window to create a deficit with so you have to lose slower.

tinklemar

I am really glad I posted. I thought that the BMR is what my body burned normally a day, so I wanted to eat below that I guess I should know what my acronyms all mean! I will up my calories and work to get more protein. I have a HRM and a blender coming in the mail today so can start to eat more smoothies and can easily add some of my protein powder to them. Thanks everyone for all of your help !

tinklemar

I believe my confusion came from MFP telling me 1210 calories net per day and my BMR = 1372 and my TDEE = 1947. (from iifym.com)

So many numbers = confusion!!