question about how weight loss works.

twinsies041

I've been doing my fitness pal for about 3 weeks now. I'm beginning to get frustrated. I"m STUCK at 140 (i'm 5'9) and I've always been 130-135. Right now I would be happy with 135. I feel like i'm doing pretty well. My calorie goal is 1200 and occasionally I go over by about 100 but not often. I've gotten serious about exercising this week because I was irritated with my results. I'm on day 3 on the 30 day shred and walk at least 30 minutes every other day. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? I'm getting so irritated. I feel like the only way to do it is to starve myself and I know that's not the answer. I will say that i do occasionally indulge in sweets but I always add them to my food log.

Do you think it's time to get serious and cut out sweets and carbs? I have 3 month old twins and Im going to my husbands family for thanksgiving and I would really like to be down to 135 by then.


Someone PLEASE help me out here. What would you do in my situation?

Sublog

You're probably not counting your calories right. Most people don't. Its normal. Weight your food with a food scale instead of using volume measurements. Double check everything you log to ensure the macros meet the calorie amount. Its also possible you have a very moderate deficit which is being masked by fat loss.

0PhAtDaDdY

R U drinking lots of water....

twinsies041

You're probably not counting your calories right. Most people don't. Its normal. Weight your food with a food scale instead of using volume measurements. Double check everything you log to ensure the macros meet the calorie amount. Its also possible you have a very moderate deficit which is being masked by fat loss.

Where can I get a food scale? are they expensive?

twinsies041

R U drinking lots of water....

...kinda
probably about 4 to 5 of the regular sized bottled waters. I'm not drinking any other calories though.

d2footballJRC

You're probably not counting your calories right. Most people don't. Its normal. Weight your food with a food scale instead of using volume measurements. Double check everything you log to ensure the macros meet the calorie amount. Its also possible you have a very moderate deficit which is being masked by fat loss.

Where can I get a food scale? are they expensive?

I bought mine from Amazon.com for like $20.

Exercise will help a lot, it's going to take longer then 3 days though. In fact at first when you start working out you'll most likely gain as the muscles take on water to repair themselves.

Jemmuno

I know this sounds counter productive, but you probably need to eat more. If your eating below your BMR on a regular basis your body is going to go into starvation mode and hold on to everything it has. Also, do you eat back your excersise calories? That would probably help as well. Your body needs a good balance intake and whats burned for you to be able to lose weight.

Personally I've calculated my BRM at about 1500, on a regular day with out exercise I burn about 2000-2200 calories, then on days that I do excercise I burn about 2800-3000 calories. For me by eating between 1500-2000 each day depending on exercise I consistently lose weight. I also, take a womens one a day and calcium everyday I'm not sure if that helps with the weight loss though.

12skipafew99100

Wal-Mart has them for 5 or 6 bucks.

skierxjes

You're probably not counting your calories right. Most people don't. Its normal. Weight your food with a food scale instead of using volume measurements. Double check everything you log to ensure the macros meet the calorie amount. Its also possible you have a very moderate deficit which is being masked by fat loss.

Where can I get a food scale? are they expensive?

I got mine from Walmart for like 5 bucks

d2footballJRC

I also want to add... It's a weird cycle working out and exercising.

I will go a week where I don't lose much if anything I might even gain a bit then the next week it'll drop like it's hot. I was told by Dr. that is how it'll be a staggered loss. You can't expect it to just go off instantly like that. Keep at it!

chubiD

In amazon you can get food scales for ~10 bucks (and more, of course), they work nicely and give you a better idea. I can't live without my scale and my measuring cups/spoons.

I'd say increase the intensity of your cardio workouts, and take your measurements! You might be losing inches...

Good luck!
Dani

NeverQuit222

you may have hitten your first plateau, which basically means you have reached the limit of weight you can lose doing the excersises your doing. the best way to break them are to increase your excersise reps/times. if youre lifting, increase either the weight of the reps, if youre running, cardiovascular workouts, increase the time doing it or add some resistance. your calories sound good though. plateaus suck haha but if u stick to it, you can break them

abellante_0205

how long have u been doing this? You will not get results right away. It took me a year to lose 24.3 lbs!!!!! Everyone's different... I didn't stress too much about what I was eating, I was trying to work out everyday and I did for the most part. I didnt get MFP until March 2011, because I didn't think I needed to count calories, but I got stuck trying to lose my last 19.3 lbs.. I have lost at least 10 of those lbs so far and I'm struggling again to lose the 9.3 lbs or so that I have left -- last time I checked weight which was on the first of October and I was 109.8 lbs. I am trying to lose 9.8 lbs. Btw, no that weight isn't too low for me, I'm 4'11" and i have physical disabilities that if i am overweight I have a hard time walking, and I did for a couple years but ignored it until the beginning of 2009. You may want to check your carbohydrates and sugar/sodium levels, sodium is the culprit most of the time. Plus empty calories.... like pop or candy... may need to be cut down if not already! I quit drinking pepsi a few months ago -- I'll admit, i drink it once in a while, but not everyday like i used to, and honestly I do not miss it!

babyblake11

You should change your goals to lose half a pound a week and keeep up the exercise and eat back most of your calories. You dnt have much more to lose so your body is demanding more food. Still get a food scale though, they are helpful as.

chubiD

I just came across another post of yours, where you say that sometimes you're 200 cals under your goal... that certainly doesn't help

twinsies041

In amazon you can get food scales for ~10 bucks (and more, of course), they work nicely and give you a better idea. I can't live without my scale and my measuring cups/spoons.

I'd say increase the intensity of your cardio workouts, and take your measurements! You might be losing inches...

Good luck!
Dani

Dumb question but how does a food scale work?

neuro316

If you only have 5 pounds to lose, I would change your MFP settings to lose 0.5 lb/week. You are well within the healthy range for your height (and heck, I'm trying to get down to 130-135 as well and I'm 6 inches shorter than you are!), so even though you might think you need to lose 5 lbs, your body doesn't necessarily agree. It may also be worth it to focus on strength training and toning exercises, and use your measurements as a gauge more than the scale.

hazelnut861

That's exactly where I platued and my same goals! I started zigzag zagging my calories to net between 1200 and1500 after exercise. Sometimes depending on how hard I exercised id eat up to 1800. I think my bmr without exercise is 1600a or something. It's changing lol. But anyways, after a week or so the scale budged. I gave it a while longer and it moved a little more. Then I dropped to 1300 and more often than not I eat back all my exercise calories and sometimes I go over. I'm still steadily using about a pound a week. And I always go over my protein especially on workout days (6 days a week) and watch my fiber closely. I also switch up what exercise routine by switching around days and exercises. And a food scale will be sooo helpful! And double check what you log into mfp because there's a lot of inaccurate things in the database.

hazelnut861

In amazon you can get food scales for ~10 bucks (and more, of course), they work nicely and give you a better idea. I can't live without my scale and my measuring cups/spoons.

I'd say increase the intensity of your cardio workouts, and take your measurements! You might be losing inches...

Good luck!
Dani

Dumb question but how does a food scale work?

you set the dish on the scale, push tare, set food on plate. Usually there's a booklet included that tells you calories per gram.

twinsies041

I just came across another post of yours, where you say that sometimes you're 200 cals under your goal... that certainly doesn't help

That's from before I lowered my daily intake. also sometimes If i don't know how to add something I just don't

Rae6503

Eat more. You should only be trying to lose a half pound a week. Let MFP set your goal. I bet it'll be above 1500. I never went below 1750.

As I understand it:

You only have 5-10lbs to lose, which means you have very little fat stores as far as your body is concerned. It doesn't like to release said fat stores unless it is sure it is getting enough food. It will start using muscle as fuel and/or adjust your metabolism so it can live off the 1200 you are feeding it.