little to lose but no progress?

ishq88

Hi guys, I am struggling a little bit with my weightloss and am hoping you can provide some insight. I started taking my diet/exercise regime seriously since march 15. Since then I have only lost 3 pounds. My goal is to lose 10 lbs in total. I am of an average bmi, but my body fat percentage is about 30%. I want to turn the fat into muscle without bulking up. My target areas are my hips and arms.

I am 5`4 currently weigh 134 lbs. my tdee minus 20% is about 1600-1700 calories. I set my mfp to 1560 calories and am usually under my goal and I log my exercise and eat back my calories. I am moderately active. I do 2 days of strength training 30 min sessions. and 2 days of cardio either elliptical or zumba for wii. Burning 200 calories each time.

when I do cardio I am drenched in sweat but can never burn more than 250 calories a session. I do HIT as well. i feel like ive hit a plateau and I am losing pretty much nothing on a daily basis. I have heard that people who have less to lose usually take longer to lose it?

I don't know what to change up any more. I have used mfp calculations, I have used tdee. I have changed up my weight routines, my cardio. I am totally confused on what I am doing wrong. Anyone been in a situation like this?

OnTheGround

are you using a heart rate monitor to track how many calories you're burning? or just guessing?

yes, I dropped LOTS of weight fast when I was overweight. Now that it's just 10lbs to lose, it's REALLY HARD. But you obviously are doing something right if you are seeing progress. I say stick with it. It'll probably take a while but you're heading in the right direction!

JustSomeEm

Go more by what your clothes feel like than what you weigh. This is a more accurate indicator of fat loss. Also - if you're using MFP to calculate calories burned, try only eating a portion of those exercise calories back. MFP is notoriously OVER on calories burned calculations.

Regardless of whether or not you have 10 or 100 pounds to lose, if you eat what MFP calculates for you, you should lose at the rate you chose. With only a few pounds you want to lose, you should really be only attempting to lose a 1/2 pound a week. That 3 pounds you lost since march 15th is spot on with the loss you should be getting.

sweetpea03b

OK... your TDEE (I assume including your exercise) is 1600 but you're eating 1560 plus exercise calories? THat's why you're not losing. To lose 1#/week you need to eat 500cal less everyday than your tdee because your tdee includes your exercise. You don't have much to lose so lets just say you only eat at a 250 deficit/day for a .5lb loss each week.

That should mean you would eat 1350. Add 150 on lifting days for your protein shake.

denise31992

Exactly how hard is to lose the last few pounds? I have lost 7lb so far, and I am pretty much in the same boat...I cannot get my weight under 140!

manoorman

You are at the point where you are losing what is called "vanity pounds". When you are overweight and need to lose a ton of weight, it's much easier than when you are fit and only need to lose a little. It sounds to me like you are doing everything right. You just need to be patient and keep with it. If you keep up what you are doing, the weight will come off slowly but surely.

miss_phat_booty

Try weighing your food, invest in food scale. You could be eating more than you realize.

lrmall01

OK... your TDEE (I assume including your exercise) is 1600 but you're eating 1560 plus exercise calories? THat's why you're not losing. To lose 1#/week you need to eat 500cal less everyday than your tdee because your tdee includes your exercise. You don't have much to lose so lets just say you only eat at a 250 deficit/day for a .5lb loss each week.

That should mean you would eat 1350. Add 150 on lifting days for your protein shake.

This, combined with a re-evaluation of your logging accuracy should get you pointed in the right direction.

Regarding food log accuracy, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+accurately

Good luck!

rachelg145

You are for sure eating too much if you are eating that many calories + eating back your exercise calories. When you do that you do not create a deficit. Agree with the poster above on how to adjust your calories, etc. to lose 1/2 pound/week. If you want to eat more, exercise more. 200 pounds is barely anything burned. That's 20 minutes walking on an incline or running. If you're doing zumba for an hour and burning 200 pounds you should try something like spin that will burn 600 calories in an hour. Also, add two more days of cardio for a total of 4.

sweetpea03b

In doing your TDEE calculations I did it both ways... light exercise (1800) and moderate exercise (2100) so I'd say stick between them at 1900 becuase they're just estimates.... minus 20% would be 1500 calories. This includes your exercise so you don't eat those calories back. Also... make sure you're weighing everything and logging accurately.

Nice2BFitAgain

When using TDEE - don't eat back you calories.
Don't expect huge weight loss progress when you only have a couple of # to lose.
You're doing everything else right! Keep up the good work!

ishq88

Thank for the motivation!!

Yes, I use a heart rate monitor to track calories burned.

I have set my fitness pal for .5 weight loss per week. Its given me 1560 as my calories intake per day. I go over it maybe twice a week. But ie. when you look at the week like for example last week I was 817 calories under my net goal. I eat back most of my calories when I exercise.

I tried the tdee method at the beginning and didn't eat back my calories. and it just didn't work for me. Maybe my calculations are all wrong. I used this calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

my tdee to maintain weight is 2127
my tdee minus 20% is 1700 which is approx. 0.9lbs per week

what method has been working for you guys?

im thinking of adding another exercise session. would you suggest more weight training or cardio?

callie006

Ugh the last 10-15 lbs are torture. I lost 17 (11 here) without much of a problem, but these last 9 are driving me batty.

Does taking a rest day seem to move scale? If not and you aren't losing weight, you're unfortunately probably going to have to bump down your intake or stop eating back all of your exercise calories (If you add activity and eat back the calories, your deficit will stay the same).

The equation you used is fairly accurate, but it doesn't take into account lean body mass. Is 30% body fat accurate? If so, that equation is going to overestimate your lean body mass and consequently, your caloric requirements. Just for example, if I run your numbers using the Katch-McArdle equation based on 30% body fat, I get a TDEE of 1776 if I set an activity level of lightly active, so TDEE minus 20% would be 1421.

lrmall01

I have set my fitness pal for .5 weight loss per week. Its given me 1560 as my calories intake per day.

Can you clarify what you put in for your activity level? Note that MFP is asking you for your daily activity without exercise. In other words, what you do at work or home. Your number seems high to me, given your current weight and height.

I tried the tdee method at the beginning and didn't eat back my calories. and it just didn't work for me. Maybe my calculations are all wrong. I used this calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

my tdee to maintain weight is 2127
my tdee minus 20% is 1700 which is approx. 0.9lbs per week

Again, explain what you put into the site because 2127 seems high to me. I'd bet you may be over-estimating your activity.

Just to clarify why I think this. I used the BMR calculator on this website using female, 34 y/o, 134lbs and it gives me 1288. You'd have to use an activity modifier of about 1.6 to get up to a TDEE of 2100. In my experience that is really, really active. Not trying to be negative, but you probably exercising that much. IMHO you would be better off to start conservative with a 1.375 modifier and a 0.5lb per week loss, which would give you 1288 x 1.375 - 250 = 1521 daily calories. Do this accurately for a month then average your weekly loss to see if it is between 0.5 and 1lb per week.

what method has been working for you guys?

Either method works fine if (1) you are realistic when calculating calorie goals (2) you track food accurately. I've already commented on #1. For #2, read this and seriously consider if you are doing these things and look for ways to improve: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=logging+accurately

i'm thinking of adding another exercise session. would you suggest more weight training or cardio?

Probably HIIT cardio but adding both wouldn't hurt.

ishq88

On MFP, I put in lightly active, since this describes regular job activity.

In the tdee calculator I put in the following.

weight 134 lbs
height 5'4
activity level- moderately active ( since I exercise 3-5 time a week)
age 34