Advice needed please

pangy1958
pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello
For the last 6 weeks I have been 219.5lbs to 219lbs, I track my food everyday and have rarley been over my daily calories. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and do cardio and weights, but I just can't get the weight to go down. My daily calorie allowance according to MFP should be 1480 before exercise, and I try to eat my exercise calories to.

When I started this over a year ago my body fat was 52% and the other week it is now down to 48%, my gym instructor says that although my weight isn't changing, my body shape is and the fat is being replaced by lean muscle. I have noticed the inches going down, but I wouls love to get the weight off too. Has anybody got any ideas I would be grateful. Thank you

Replies

  • arafaa
    arafaa Posts: 9 Member
    Don't be afraid to eat back your calories after you work out. If you burn 200 calories, for instance, after you are done with your workout, be sure to eat a 200 calorie snack on top of your set daily calories. In total, you should eat 1680 if you burn 200 calories. I was skeptical of this, but it worked for me. Your body just needs a little help to burn more fat, so give it a little more fuel! Also, I think it's best to eat 3 meals a day with 2 or 3 small snacks in between. That way you constantly get your metabolism going. My favorite snack is 15 baby carrots with 2 tbsp of hummus. It's only a little over 100 calories :)
  • teeduran
    teeduran Posts: 54 Member
    If the inches are coming off the weight will too. Just make sure you are using the weights to sculpture .. not build, unless you do want to look like a body builder. Be patience it will happen, if inches are coming off so is the fat. Muscle weights more then fat good to remember also. Good luck
  • chani8
    chani8 Posts: 946 Member
    Hey, you lost around 30 pounds in a year. Me too. Sounds like you're doing great. Just keep it up and let the weight come off slowly.

    You might also want to open your diary so we can all yell at you to weigh and measure and log better. ;)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Will you open your diary? It makes answering these type of questions much easier.

    How do you measure your food?
  • runnergirl0419
    runnergirl0419 Posts: 17 Member
    Muscle metabolizes calories faster than fat does-- so although you may not be losing weight right now, by gaining the muscle it will help you in the long run. Although, if you want to lose weight just eat fiber-rich foods and load up on the water. Carry a water bottle on you and focus on hydrating whenever you get hungry. Drink water before every meal-- drinking one or two glasses will make you feel fuller! You do not need to cut down dramatically on calories to lose weight but try cutting out anything not essential for your body! Example-- at the end of the day I think about what I ate and what was unnecessary. Most of the time it is snacks such as cheez-its or crackers. Everything you put in your body should be to fuel it, not to satisfy taste.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    A 4% change in body composition toward muscle sounds like things are going in the right direction. If you are looking to accelerate your weight loss then your calorie deficit needs to increase. I'd stick to the steady eddie plan.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
    Just make sure you are using the weights to sculpture .. not build, unless you do want to look like a body builder.

    I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was sarcasm.

    If it wasn't, you don't know what you're talking about so don't post.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    OP, have you calculated your TDEE rather than using MFP's method?

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Calculate it. With your body fat, you can eat at 20-30% below your TDEE (higher body fat percentage allows for a deeper deficit). Taking your lean mass to fat ratio into consideration, you may be overeating using MFP's method of eating back your exercise calories. TDEE doesn't require you to eat back exercise calories, so less guess work. (there's always some guess work)

    Give it a try for a month or so and see what happens.
  • Mbierschbach
    Mbierschbach Posts: 94 Member
    If the inches are coming off the weight will too. Just make sure you are using the weights to sculpture .. not build, unless you do want to look like a body builder. Be patience it will happen, if inches are coming off so is the fat.

    You cannot sculpt muscles, you cannot remove LOCALIZED fat (like unwanted belly fat...stupid commercials). Muscles get bigger or smaller. Women do not have enough testosterone naturally to look like a man no matter how much they lift. Look up Christmas Abbott or watch a CrossFit event on ESPN. Those are the fittest women in the world and they still look like toned beautiful women.
  • cmay89
    cmay89 Posts: 337 Member
    Just make sure you are using the weights to sculpture .. not build, unless you do want to look like a body builder.

    I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was sarcasm.

    If it wasn't, you don't know what you're talking about so don't post.

    OP it takes determined effort to body build, even if you are lifting larger weights, if you aren't following a specific plan to bulk and cut, you're NEVER going to look like a bodybuilder. To the poster who made this comment, please feel free to look at my pictures and the weights that I have listed in my "about me" section and then tell me again how moving large weights to build muscle makes one into a body builder without them trying.

    OP, don't worry about the lbs right now, it sounds like they will start to go later. A 4% loss in BF is awesome! Keep tracking and eating back your exercise calories. You will start to see weight drop soon!
  • pangy1958
    pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
    Sorry I thought my diary was open for people to see
  • pangy1958
    pangy1958 Posts: 151 Member
    Thank you all for you advice and encouragment. I take everything on board that you have said thank you all again
  • Chain_Ring
    Chain_Ring Posts: 753 Member
    You gotta keep on keepin' on.................it'll come off.
  • teeduran
    teeduran Posts: 54 Member
    I was trying to say tone sometimes I say things wrong but thank you for the rudeness...and i was trying to point out muscle weight more so i don't post funny good. ooops.. happy easter
  • Chaskavitch
    Chaskavitch Posts: 172 Member
    If the inches are coming off the weight will too. Just make sure you are using the weights to sculpture .. not build, unless you do want to look like a body builder. Be patience it will happen, if inches are coming off so is the fat.

    You cannot sculpt muscles, you cannot remove LOCALIZED fat (like unwanted belly fat...stupid commercials). Muscles get bigger or smaller. Women do not have enough testosterone naturally to look like a man no matter how much they lift. Look up Christmas Abbott or watch a CrossFit event on ESPN. Those are the fittest women in the world and they still look like toned beautiful women.

    Mmm, Christmas Abbott is my background on my phone. Awesome inspiration, considering how often I end up looking at it throughout the day.

    Definitely continue to lift weights, and push yourself at it. When you're losing that much weight, there is going to be some muscle loss as well. Think about how strong you are already, though! If I had to carry around as much extra weight as you wanted to lose, I'd be dead tired by the end of the day. Try to maintain that muscle with serious lifting, and you'll come out ahead as your body fat % continues to drop. Intense weight training is a great workout, I am always exhausted after leg day. Also, I've heard from multiple people that they got stuck with weight loss until they upped their calories a little, so don't drop it any more. I'm losing weight on 1700 cal/day, so under 1500 is pretty low. Good job changing your body fat percent so much! Keep up the good work :)

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