Trying to lose bodyfat!

JennEason1
JennEason1 Posts: 32 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am a 5'4,130lb female and trying to drop body fat. I have been stuck at 19% for a couple months now. I can't figure out what to change to make that number go down. I really only want to drop to 15% so we are not talking that much. I currently go to Crossfit three times a week, run twice a week and lift weights (usually heavy weights) on my lunch break two to three days a week. I feel like my exercise level is not the issue. I'm sure it's my diet! I eat a paleo diet with a couple cheat meals (not cheat days) a week. I don't eat packaged food and stay away from alcohol. I only drink coffee in the am and water the rest of the day with an occasional iced tea. I try to eat at least 1700 calories a day but sometimes don't get there. Anybody have any advice on what else I should do? I'm not sure if my diary will help if you want to take a look, I was on vacation so it's kind of all over the place this past couple weeks so don't judge me on those numbers...HA! Oh and, I'm not the best about logging all the time, maybe that's my problem? Okay GO....

Replies

  • monolith66
    monolith66 Posts: 168 Member
    Your calorie consumption is spotty.. You might want to start there..
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    Find your calorie total happy place (it's right below maintenance). Stay there err day, and lose the last little bit of fat.
    110045-happy-gilmore-happy-place-dwar-W58b.gif
  • SrMaggalicious
    SrMaggalicious Posts: 495 Member
    Your workouts are good, but maybe add one more weight training (heavy lifting) day and one less cardio?
  • JennEason1
    JennEason1 Posts: 32 Member
    lol, love the gif! Forgive me if this is a silly question but how do I figure out that number? Without me actually wearing a heart rate monitor and knowing exactly how many calories I burn what is your advice of figuring what my calorie intake should me?
  • JennEason1
    JennEason1 Posts: 32 Member
    Your calorie consumption is spotty.. You might want to start there..

    Yeah, it appears to be because I don't always log my food and like I said earlier, if you look at the past couple weeks, my dairy is all over the place due to a vacation so it's not really a true dictation of what I eat on a daily basis. But I guess that would make it awfully hard for you to give me advice then, huh? Maybe I should be diligent on logging everything for a couple weeks then ask the question again.
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    Your calorie consumption is spotty.. You might want to start there..

    Yeah, it appears to be because I don't always log my food and like I said earlier, if you look at the past couple weeks, my dairy is all over the place due to a vacation so it's not really a true dictation of what I eat on a daily basis. But I guess that would make it awfully hard for you to give me advice then, huh? Maybe I should be diligent on logging everything for a couple weeks then ask the question again.

    Yes. Doesn't matter how hard you train - If you are eating at or above the amount of calories you are burning, you will maintain or gain weight. If paleo is your thing than that's cool, but your food choices have nothing to do with body fat loss. Cals in vs cals out
  • IIjesterII
    IIjesterII Posts: 1
    Well, I couldn't help but taking a look at your diary (whoops!)

    As you said, you’re not logging in all your foods so is it possible you might be eating more than a few cheat meals? And if not, how big are these meals? It depends on many factors as to what they consist, where you got them, how big they are, etc.
    Either that or you might want to cut back a bit (such as one cheat meal per week).

    It also depends on what you’re eating (EX: 200 calories of spinach is way different than a 200 calorie candy bar!). I know how often foods will have words on them such as, "sugar free", "reduced fat", but they may not always be good for you. That trail mix might have some unhealthy things in there, or that rice crispy treat. A look at your food diary also tells me that you seem to go over your intakes sometimes (such as sugar, carb, or fat intakes). And since you don’t log all your foods, you might be going over your calorie intake and all that other stuff even more.

    And the days you don’t log in your food at all, I can’t really tell if you’re eating unhealthy or not. I’m also not sure if you’re over estimating your servings (no way to know that). And if you are estimating, you might be wrong on how much you’re actually eating.

    I would normally eat healthy for the whole week and on one day (such as Saturday) I'll allow myself a cheat meal. Like a meal from burger king, ice cream, or something along those lines.

    Honestly, this is all I could come up with as to why you’re not loosing body fat but I hope that eventually you figure it out! :p
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    Well, I couldn't help but taking a look at your diary (whoops!)

    As you said, you’re not logging in all your foods so is it possible you might be eating more than a few cheat meals? And if not, how big are these meals? It depends on many factors as to what they consist, where you got them, how big they are, etc.
    Either that or you might want to cut back a bit (such as one cheat meal per week).

    It also depends on what you’re eating (EX: 200 calories of spinach is way different than a 200 calorie candy bar!). I know how often foods will have words on them such as, "sugar free", "reduced fat", but they may not always be good for you. That trail mix might have some unhealthy things in there, or that rice crispy treat. A look at your food diary also tells me that you seem to go over your intakes sometimes (such as sugar, carb, or fat intakes). And since you don’t log all your foods, you might be going over your calorie intake and all that other stuff even more.

    And the days you don’t log in your food at all, I can’t really tell if you’re eating unhealthy or not. I’m also not sure if you’re over estimating your servings (no way to know that). And if you are estimating, you might be wrong on how much you’re actually eating.

    I would normally eat healthy for the whole week and on one day (such as Saturday) I'll allow myself a cheat meal. Like a meal from burger king, ice cream, or something along those lines.

    Honestly, this is all I could come up with as to why you’re not loosing body fat but I hope that eventually you figure it out! :p

    ^No. Fat loss is calories in vs out. 200 calories of spinach vs a 200 calorie candy bar for weight loss is still 200 calories. Sure the spinach is more micro nutrient dense, but over eating "healthy" foods will still cause weight gain. Also, you need to look at one's entire diet, along with fitness, morale habits etc to define something as healthy or unhealthy. Going over on carbs or fat doesn't matter if the OP is meeting her caloric needs for fat loss.

    Bottom line OP. Track your intake consistently then re-evaluate.
  • JennEason1
    JennEason1 Posts: 32 Member
    Well, I couldn't help but taking a look at your diary (whoops!)

    As you said, you’re not logging in all your foods so is it possible you might be eating more than a few cheat meals? And if not, how big are these meals? It depends on many factors as to what they consist, where you got them, how big they are, etc.
    Either that or you might want to cut back a bit (such as one cheat meal per week).

    It also depends on what you’re eating (EX: 200 calories of spinach is way different than a 200 calorie candy bar!). I know how often foods will have words on them such as, "sugar free", "reduced fat", but they may not always be good for you. That trail mix might have some unhealthy things in there, or that rice crispy treat. A look at your food diary also tells me that you seem to go over your intakes sometimes (such as sugar, carb, or fat intakes). And since you don’t log all your foods, you might be going over your calorie intake and all that other stuff even more.

    And the days you don’t log in your food at all, I can’t really tell if you’re eating unhealthy or not. I’m also not sure if you’re over estimating your servings (no way to know that). And if you are estimating, you might be wrong on how much you’re actually eating.

    I would normally eat healthy for the whole week and on one day (such as Saturday) I'll allow myself a cheat meal. Like a meal from burger king, ice cream, or something along those lines.

    Honestly, this is all I could come up with as to why you’re not loosing body fat but I hope that eventually you figure it out! :p

    ^No. Fat loss is calories in vs out. 200 calories of spinach vs a 200 calorie candy bar for weight loss is still 200 calories. Sure the spinach is more micro nutrient dense, but over eating "healthy" foods will still cause weight gain. Also, you need to look at one's entire diet, along with fitness, morale habits etc to define something as healthy or unhealthy. Going over on carbs or fat doesn't matter if the OP is meeting her caloric needs for fat loss.

    Bottom line OP. Track your intake consistently then re-evaluate.

    I should say that I measure and weigh ALL my food!!! Even if it doesn't get logged I still know how much goes in my mouth. I am going to do better by logging EVERYTHING and see what happens. As far as my macros go...I'm not really sure I have them set up correctly and i'm not really sure how to figure them.
  • 87Djones
    87Djones Posts: 145 Member
    I would suggest switching up your cardio to more of an intervals style to shock the body. That what help me by performing sprints on treadmill or outside than I will switch it up with performing intervals on the stairmaster.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    lol, love the gif! Forgive me if this is a silly question but how do I figure out that number? Without me actually wearing a heart rate monitor and knowing exactly how many calories I burn what is your advice of figuring what my calorie intake should me?

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

    That will help to figure out your maintenance and with the macros. I'm guessing you're around 2000 calories maintenance, and the sweet spot is 1800-1900 daily. But it's just a guess.

    Test out a daily calorie total for two weeks and then adjust from there.

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