I know I know but HELP!!

TiffanyW1014

According to BMI, 5"8 should be between 120-165, baring in mind that this chart doesn't consider skeletal frame size, or body fat levels, take it with a pinch of salt. Obviously people with more muscle mass or larger frames should be higher, less muscle mass or smaller frames lower.

I'm 5"7, medium frame, about 24% BF, and I look scary at 120. My cousin's 5"9, 125-130, and looks perfect. Lean, but not skeletal by any means.

Back to topic, Tiffany, I peaked at your food diet and congrats on being so honest with your diary! It's really good because when a little plateau does come along, it's so much easier to pinpoint what you could change. It does look like you eat a LOT of sodium, so that could be one of the reasons why you're not seeing the results you want on the scale. ( nothing some extra water and cutting it down for a bit won't cure.)

If that doesn't help though I'd suggest lowering your calories, and trying to limit the processed food. It looks like you're eating about 1800-2000 a day, so it's pretty awesome that you've managed to lose steadily this far. Maybe try cutting down to 1400-1500 net a day? Just be sure to eat all of your exercise cals back!

I was thinking a net of 1200-1300 or do you think that is to low! Right now I'm at 1600 and eat my exercise cals back on most days but I really try not to drop below 1200.

TiffanyW1014

I would definitely agree that 2lbs/week is no longer safely attainable for you (congratulations! you're too thin to lose a lot of weight at a time!). I'm 5'10 and 169, and I'm lucky if I get 0.5/lb a week.

That said, I did look at your diary (no judgement here...I keep mine closed for a reason :ohwell:)

Do you have your MFP set to calculate a 2lb/wk loss? 1800-ish calories seems kind of high for a daily intake with loss figured - unless that's a net which includes your workout burns. Are you using a HRM for your exercise calories?

I notice your diet consists of a lot of fast food and herbalife. I hate to cook, so I understand the convenience of fast food, but you may want to try some fresh food and scale back the 800+ calorie meals. What your body can't use right away, it stores - so when you eat huge meals like that, there's more to store. I'm personally a fan of eat a little bit every couple hours. You can drop the herbalife and save yourself a lot of money and a couple hundred calories per day.

For convenient foods, I like the Bistro Ready Pac salads - ready to go with everything included and only 270-290 calories. Great for a lunch. And for dinner, maybe try some of the Healthy Choice meals - even Marie Callendar's has some yummy < 400 calorie meals. The Bertoli bag meals are pretty good and reasonable for dinner too - but I should mention I don't watch my sodium because i have low blood pressure and actually have to have more sodium in my diet so I don't get dizzy.

Are you absolutely sure you're entering your portions correctly? A cup of cereal, for example, barely fills the bottom of the bowl, so most people underestimate it. Every once in a while, I'll go back and start measuring everything again to make sure my visual cues on portions haven't distorted over time.

Thanks for the help and you are right I do need to cut out the "fat foods" but you are also right in the lines of it is easy. Looks like I need to reevaluate everything and start over. Guess its back to the drawing board for me.

TiffanyW1014

Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.

ldon37

Congrats on your weight loss thus far! I am by no means an expert here, but I just wanted to add that as we lose weight, our bodies need fewer calories. You have lost over 70 pounds. You will now require less calories than when you started your weight-loss journey. Have you adjusted your calorie requirements for your current lower weight? Just a thought....

TiffanyW1014

Congrats on your weight loss thus far! I am by no means an expert here, but I just wanted to add that as we lose weight, our bodies need fewer calories. You have lost over 70 pounds. You will now require less calories than when you started your weight-loss journey. Have you adjusted your calorie requirements for your current lower weight? Just a thought....

Just did that tonight and it lowered me to 1200/day. That is alot different from the 16-1700 I had before. I also put 0 exercise calories so I figure any time I exercise is a bonus. I think!!!!

mschelle

Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.

Yes, you will absolutely need to eat your exercise calories. 1200 should be your absolute lowest net (net = burn - eat). Setting your exercise to 0 on this site doesn't really affect your calorie counts. The exercise goals are just so you can track them. You can set it to whatever you want. Just make sure you log your cardio workouts, and it will adjust your total calories then.

Don't be hard on yourself if you don't lose a lot each week anymore. At this level, it's not safe, and barely possible, to lose multiple pounds per week without starving yourself. All those "diet" products that claim otherwise are misleading or flat out lying and typically defend themselves by using a massive water weight loss in the first week as a baseline. That's why they use soft terms like "lose UP TO x pounds per week".

Slow and steady, girl. You'll get there! Remember, if you want it to last, we're working on lifestyle changes, not quick fixes.

TiffanyW1014

Well I reset my goals and it lowered me to 1200 cals/day. So that means I have to eat back all my exercise calories correct??? I set my exercise at 0 (good idea?) I'm still going for 2 lbs a week but we will see I'm going to give this 2 weeks and see what happens. Wish me luck!! Now the only other thing getting in my way is ME and we all know the only person to fix that is also ME. This is so much harder than I thought but I really feel like I am letting alot of people down (including myself) since i'm not putting up such big numbers week after week.

Yes, you will absolutely need to eat your exercise calories. 1200 should be your absolute lowest net (net = burn - eat). Setting your exercise to 0 on this site doesn't really affect your calorie counts. The exercise goals are just so you can track them. You can set it to whatever you want. Just make sure you log your cardio workouts, and it will adjust your total calories then.

Don't be hard on yourself if you don't lose a lot each week anymore. At this level, it's not safe, and barely possible, to lose multiple pounds per week without starving yourself. All those "diet" products that claim otherwise are misleading or flat out lying and typically defend themselves by using a massive water weight loss in the first week as a baseline. That's why they use soft terms like "lose UP TO x pounds per week".

Slow and steady, girl. You'll get there! Remember, if you want it to last, we're working on lifestyle changes, not quick fixes.

Thank you so much. Like I said i'll give this a few weeks and see. I do feel that 1200 is low but I better kick my butt in gear with the exercise so i can eat just a bit more;)

meggonkgonk

1200 IS low- Try manually adjusting it to 1300. That should give you a decent deficit and give you some wiggle room in your calories (so your NET number can be between 1200 and 1300 without giving you those angry red numbers for going over)

TiffanyW1014

1200 IS low- Try manually adjusting it to 1300. That should give you a decent deficit and give you some wiggle room in your calories (so your NET number can be between 1200 and 1300 without giving you those angry red numbers for going over)

Ok 1300 sounds good to me!!