Eating 1200 calories and not loosing weight! Please Help!!

leah9985

Hi everyone! I'm fairly new to MFP and have been logging my food for a few weeks now and eating at 1200 or loss wherever possible. I am 5'2" and weigh 110lbs which I know isn't a lot and I don't particularly want to loose weight but my problem area is my stomach and it's still no where lean enough. I use PHD Whey protein, usually have protein pancakes for breakfast and a shake post workout and then usually make a late night protein smoothie, plus I eat lots of chicken, veg, spinach, eggs, healthy fats etc but my stomach just won't budge! I exercise at least 4 times a week with a good mix or cardio and upper/lower weight training. I know you can't spot loose but I'm not sure if I'm under eating or whether it's not actually weight I need to loose to get a lean stomach? I could really do with some guidance as so many woman have nice lean tummies and that's all I want but really don't know where I am going wrong. Oh and also before I started logging I was doing James Duigans clean and lean diet where you didn't calorie count but just ate whole foods and not much fruit but didn't really see a change on this either! Appreciate anyone's help thanks xx

TimTomakin

When you say that your stomach is not lean enough, do you mean that you have noticable fat on your stomach or that your stomach is flat but you cannot see your abs?

_Zardoz_

According to your ticker your aim is to have a bmi which puts you under weight. You already have a bmi of 20. If you are after a look you need to concentrate on fitness. You do not need to lose any more weight. If you feel you do I suggest you try and address the issues that make you think you need to lose more weight. Good luck

la_te_ra_lus

Have you tried playing around with your macros.. Carb cycling has worked wonders for me. If you are doing a decent amount of cardio along with weight training.. often times body fat numbers go down but your weight will roughly stay the same (sustaining lean mass/or slightly building lean mass)

leah9985

I don't feel like I need to loose weight, I'm happy with my size and weight I'm just not happy with my stomach. I wouldn't say it's noticeable, except when I sit down its podgier then I would like, and it's more lean at the sides of my stomach compared to the middle if you know what I mean? I definitely do not have weight issues, I just want a change in my stomach. Would you say I'm under eating? I have decreased my cardio lately as read that weight training is better but not so sure this is he right thing to do? It's so confusing. I am aiming for a bikini body by June...I'm hoping with people's guidance I can do this! Also I don't know if it makes a difference but I am a mum of 2, the youngest being 8 months and both delivered by c section but this is the lowest weight I've ever been so I don think it's anything to do with that as to why it won't budge. I have posted some pics of my stomach on the profile if you wouldn't mind taking a look? X

leah9985

Pics posted! Please take a look

LarryDUk

Pics posted! Please take a look

Listen, its your body and you can try to get any look you want, but most people would love to have your stomach. Lift weights and eat properly (more food). That is the only way to change how your core looks.

jdad1

Lift weights. I looked at your pics. Your fine but your not happy. Start lifting weights and keep doing it. You will feel great about yourself even before you look any different.
Seriosly, no excuses. Do 50 pushups and 100 core excercises (crunches, leg lifts, planks, sit ups...whatever). Do them every day, start now. Get off the computer and start now.

starrylioness

Personally, I think you look great! But if your stomach bothers you, focus on toning and lifting and ignore the scales.

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jstout365

Looks good to me especially if you have had two kids. If you really want to change the look of your stomach, you will be better served doing a body recomposition than losing more weight to shed the stubborn fat that hangs out around the stomach.

This is one of my favorite resources for information: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com -- lots of articles on nutrition, fat loss, training methods, etc.

Eating at or just below TDEE and performing some progressive loading strength training would most likely give you the results you are looking for. There are many popular strength training routines around here like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, and Stronglifts 5x5.

sabrina31

Hi, I don't think what you actually want is to lose weight but work more on your body composition, you mention veggies / protein which are good but what about good whole carbs. I would suggest focusing on weight training and less cardio. When I integrated weight training (not circuit training) I did not see the balance budge a pound / kilo, but dropped centimetres / inches. I personally like fitness blender site with exercise; p90 strength training video...Good luck

JonnyQwest

Yeah you clearly DONT need cardio or a 1200 calorie diet....you need to eat more and hit the weights hard....your body is a clean slate, start lifting weights and eating more clean meals, protein, etc. and you will get to where you need to be.....you have to have muscle to shape your body proportionally....cardio and diet will only hinder you right now because there is no muscle built. Get busy in the gym and eat more so the muscle has fuel to grow!

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SpicesOfLife

Get busy in the gym and eat more so the muscle has fuel to grow!

^this

leah9985

Thank you all so so much! I appreciate all the advice and will look into body recomp which I have never really heard of so it's an afternoon of exploring this topic for me just so you know, I don't hate my body and don't have confidence issues as like I said I'm the healthiest weight I've ever been and feel great, just need to get it all toned up in the right places and it seems weights are the answer. In terms if calories, do you think I should up my cals from 1200? Thank you x

starrylioness

In terms if calories, do you think I should up my cals from 1200? Thank you x

Absolutely! You need fuel for your body, especially if you're going to be building muscle!

leah9985

Ok thank you, any ideas how many calories I should be eating? I don't want to gain wait so don't want to end up over eating xx

jstout365

In terms if calories, do you think I should up my cals from 1200? Thank you x

Absolutely! You need fuel for your body, especially if you're going to be building muscle!

+1 - - Look into TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and base calories on that, not on the MFP calories.

Another helpful link http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

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jstout365

Ok thank you, any ideas how many calories I should be eating? I don't want to gain wait so don't want to end up over eating xx

One thing you will need to get past for doing an effective body recomposition is the idea of being a particular scale weight. If you are successful with the recomp, you will look better than ever, but most likely weight more than you do now. The number on a scale doesn't have as much to do with how you look as overall body composition does.

Massive case in point: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

and yes, I am full of links.

SpicesOfLife

considering your hight and weight and that you actually dont want to lose but keep your weight and get toned, id say no less than 1400 on days you dont work out (depends if you are active apart from your workouts-if you spend a lot of time on your feet its closer to 1600). when you do work out, eat back your burnt calories.

leah9985

Haha! Thanks so much everyone! I think I need to get the scales out of my head and focus more on the way I look. I will definitely start with the weights, I am checking out all of the links you guys have posted now so it'll give me some idea of what to do when I hit the gym later! I usually tend to head to the gym around 4ish as that's when it fits in with lifestyle so any ideas of a good pre workout meal that I can have for lunch? Should I be eating protein and carbs before a workout? I tend to make a protein smoothie post workout and then have dinner around 7ish x

rosebette

Your belly looks like that after 2 babies! I'm envious. I would agree with everyone else, focus on toning, rather than losing. You might want to change the carbs/protein ratio because sometimes carbs can make you bloat, especially wheat.

By the way, everyone's belly "pooches" a little when they sit down.

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psuLemon

Based on your stats and the fact you workout 4 days a week, your total calories should be around 1700 total (an not eat back exercise calories). Also macros can be around 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. But if you wanted, you coudl drop protein 5% for more fats and still hit around 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. Second, if after a recomp, you don't get the results you want, I would suggest a bulk. Adding mass will make your more lean since muscle is more dense and compact. Also, when you add mass, you will lower your effective body fat %.

leah9985

Based on your stats and the fact you workout 4 days a week, your total calories should be around 1700 total (an not eat back exercise calories). Also macros can be around 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. But if you wanted, you coudl drop protein 5% for more fats and still hit around 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. Second, if after a recomp, you don't get the results you want, I would suggest a bulk. Adding mass will make your more lean since muscle is more dense and compact. Also, when you add mass, you will lower your effective body fat %.

Thanks for this! I don't particularly get as much healthy fat as I should do I guess so might be an idea to drop protein and add some healthy fats! I started my first recomp session today, I'm hoping it will lead to success! Thanks for your help

psuLemon

Based on your stats and the fact you workout 4 days a week, your total calories should be around 1700 total (an not eat back exercise calories). Also macros can be around 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat. But if you wanted, you coudl drop protein 5% for more fats and still hit around 1g of protein per lb of lean body mass. Second, if after a recomp, you don't get the results you want, I would suggest a bulk. Adding mass will make your more lean since muscle is more dense and compact. Also, when you add mass, you will lower your effective body fat %.

Thanks for this! I don't particularly get as much healthy fat as I should do I guess so might be an idea to drop protein and add some healthy fats! I started my first recomp session today, I'm hoping it will lead to success! Thanks for your help

If you want, slowly up your calories to mitigate some water weight increase. Adding 100-200 per week should help with that mitigation.