Please help me understand

stang41992

Hello!

I am a mom of one 18 month old daughter. I nursed her up until 2 weeks ago when she self weaned. I lost all 51 pounds of my pregnancy weight, but would still like to lose 15-20 more pounds. I am currently around 148. I can't seem to lose any more. I go to the gym 7 hours a week at least. I do weight lifting, intervals on the treadmill, Body Flow, Body Combat, and a cycling class. I work very hard. I eat a very clean diet where I cook most nights, eat minimally processed foods and eat clean 85% of the time. I sneak in indulgences here and there. I eat around 1800 calories a day. I would love to start losing again. Any tips?

madhatter2013

Make sure to get plenty of water and weight everything. If you're not weighing your food, you're eating more thatn you think. If you know, FOR SURE, that you are getting 1800 calories, I would try cutting your calories to 1600 and see what that does for you. Keep in mind, it takes a good 4-6 for any new routine to make a difference so give it time and shoot to lose half a pound a week.

Branstin

Here is a great place to start:

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

swallace0067

Have you tried completely changing up your workout? I find when I really get into the flow if things that I stop losing weight! My body becomes accustom to these specific workouts, now it time to flip in on it's head! Good luck

martinel2099

Hey there,

My recommendation is to re-evaluate how you are recording your meals and exercise. Eating "clean" and eating less processed foods will not help you lose weight, only eating at a calorie deficit will. You can get fat off organic or other proclaimed health foods just as easy as eating "junk" food if you are eating at a calorie surplus.

Double check your food choices and make sure you are measuring food / liquids properly. Measuring cups for liquids, food scale for solids. I have a food scale at home and work to make things easier for me. When you cook make sure you are honestly recording the use of oils and butters too, and even veggies have calories.

How do you treat your exercise calories? Remember fitness pal isn't super accurate as to how much calories you burn when exercising. You are doing a good amount of exercise so great job on that, just make sure you're not eating back more calories than you are burning.

Keep up the hard work and be patient with your weight loss results. If you are consistently eating at a deficit you will do it+++.

BerryH

How tall are you and how have you determined your goal weight? You look in great shape, and 148lb is slim for many women :flowerforyou:

MamaFunky

If you don't already have one, a food scale is a great way to make sure your portions are correct. I purchase mine brand new on Ebay for $8.

A heart rate monitor can be a great tool as well. It can give you a better idea of how many calories you are burning during exercise. A food scale and HRM work hand in hand IMO....calories in vs. calories out.

Good luck!! You can do it!

stang41992

I do have a food scale and use it regularly. The reason I do 1800 is I feel my fitness and weight need it. I am STARVING if I only do 1600 calories. I am 5'5"; my picture is me about 5 pounds lighter than I am now. I did some research and to maintain my weight, I need to eat 2300 calories a day. I never get close to that. I am so confused by this....

stang41992

And I regularly change up my cardio/weights

BerryH

Here is a great place to start:

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

^^^ This. You're already a healthy weight, so I wouldn't focus too much on the scales if I were you.

SteveyBrule

I do have a food scale and use it regularly. The reason I do 1800 is I feel my fitness and weight need it. I am STARVING if I only do 1600 calories.

I think you answered your own question there. 1800 is apparently sustainable for you, cut it down by 250 and see if you notice a difference. There's got to be a caloric imbalance somewhere that's causing it. As far as feeling hungry, try eating more fat-rich foods (red meat, things with oils), these will make you feel more satiated throughout the day.

What's really helped me is a fatty coffee in the morning (if you drink it). 2 tbsp of grass fed, unsalted butter, 1 tbsp of coconut oil and a scoop of vanilla whey protein gets me through the day with a very small lunch. I usually have about 1500 calories left when I get home that I use on dinner to keep me full.

MamaFunky

I agree too about not focusing so much on the scale. You look great in your profile, even if you are 5 lbs more now. When I started I was within my healthy weight range as well.

What really worked for me was making sure to push myself and sweat! I have been doing a combo of Jillian DVD's and some lifting with free weights and have really seen a decrease in my BF% and lost 21 lbs in the process. Now I am in maintenance and focusing on building more muscle. Most days I still have a calorie deficit, but feel full and satisfied, this helps one the days we do go out to dinner, etc.

Maybe try to set your calorie goal to maintenance and focus on more strength training. There is a lot of info on here about strength training. I have learned a lot just by using the search feature and looking up old threads.

Great job on losing the baby weight! You look great!!

stang41992

But I should be able to lose weight without starving myself. I lost weight on here before, but I wasn't as active and was eating 1600 a day. I was maintaining at 141 for a couple of years, gained a few and THEN got pregnant. I feel if I'm getting headaches and heartburn from not eating enough it isn't healthy or worth it. That's why I feel I need the 1800 calories a day.

stang41992

I forgot to mention, I know they are inaccurate, but I used one of those bathroom scales with body fat percentage on it. It says I have 28%. I want to be around the 22-24% range.

SteveyBrule

There are foods that will make you feel more full, try those and portion them out so you won't be as hungry, then, you won't be starving yourself.

SteveyBrule

But I should be able to lose weight without starving myself. I lost weight on here before, but I wasn't as active and was eating 1600 a day. I was maintaining at 141 for a couple of years, gained a few and THEN got pregnant. I feel if I'm getting headaches and heartburn from not eating enough it isn't healthy or worth it. That's why I feel I need the 1800 calories a day.

And all of those side effects are likely not from lack of eating, they're usually from eating the wrong things. That's where nutrition plays a role.

And this is a great read, being hungry doesn't mean you're starving, and the odds of actually starving on anything over 1100 calories is very, very slim:
http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

Squamation

If you really just recently stopped breastfeeding that is going to mess with your weight loss.

Breastfeeding burns calories, and now your body isn't. It will also take a few weeks to a month for your hormones to reset after breastfeeding.

I would wait 2 months for the above to figure itself out and if you're not back to losing weight look into possibly upping your exercise or cutting back your calories.

Also are you tracking other progress: photos, measurements, clothing, ect?

*edit* - I breast fed both my boys and found that when I stopped I had a plateau in weight loss.

alisonmarytuck

Remember that muscle weighs more than fat and your exercise will be building muscle. Are you sure you NEED to lose more weight. Your exercise must be toning and streamlining and I am sure you must look and feel good. Think how you look not just pounds! You don't say how tall you are?

stang41992

My diet is very good, I don't think I'm eating the wrong things (lots of healthy proteins, good fats, healthy carbs). I barely had any milk left, we were only nursing in the mornings and I think there was hardly anything there. As stated before, I am 5'5" and I definitely have more to lose. I have lost 2 pounds since November. I work very hard and take care of myself so I feel I should be much lighter than I am. I know it's a healthy weight, but I want to see arm definition, a little more abs. I have monitored by checking measurements, clothing, etc and NOTHING is changing. I have tried so many things, but nothing seems to work.

lmh2515

How tall are you and how have you determined your goal weight? You look in great shape, and 148lb is slim for many women :flowerforyou:

Maybe there is something else going on? I am in a similar position (sans babies). I Crossfit 3+ days a week, play soccer 2x a week and just started TRX. I eat extremely clean as well (no dairy, no grains, no processed foods, no sugar, etc.) at about the same caloric intake as you (but I don't find myself hungry) and I do measure everything. And while my lean muscle mass is going up, my body fat/size is not going down. It remains the same. I am thinking my next step needs to be some bloodwork with a naturopath because I am not really sure what my other options are.

stang41992

I am 5' 5".