Help, please! Apparently in dire need of some advice!

JAllen32

I plateaued for 4 months after losing 48lbs. So my bootcamp instructor told me to drop my cals to 1200 two days a week. I'm at 1470 the other 5 days, and eat back my exercise cals. I've also added weight training, which I think you mentioned you are doing. So maybe just do the cal thing a couple days a week and see what happens. The first day I tried it, I was too hungry and I ended up going over. The next time I planned better and stayed at 1200, the next week that happened again. So even though I haven't been totally on point with it, I broke my plateau and lost 3lbs. Good luck!!!!

2getgeorge

no offense but every time I hear "i don't want to bulk up" from a woman.....GRRR
women "usually" don't produce enough testosterone to bulk up.
you need to push yourself, if its easy your not taxing your muscles enough to burn fat.
when I see women at the gym all dolled up, they are there to socialize. you need to sweat.to burn.

are you using a heart rate monitor?
Its most likely that your burned calories are not accurate.
I'm an advocate for using heart rate monitors. If your serious about YOUR weight loss you should use one.
your body is different from everyone else s. you will burn a different amount of calories doing the same exercise than say me.

Also I have noticed that people are eating the right amount of calories but the ratio of protein/carbs/fats are wacky.
I came to this site from using livestrong.com due to lack of android app. on that site there was a pie chart which showed you an easy grah of your calorie intake.if you have one of the phone apps the chart is there.
I strive for 40% protein/40% carbs/20% fats.
MFP uses the usda standard of 40%carbs/ 30% protein/ 30% fats

use a food scale to weigh everything
use a HRM to baseline everything you do from the time you get out of bed to you go to sleep.
I geek out on the numbers,

just my 2cents I hope it helps.

George

Lift_hard_eat_big

Hit the weights and go heavy 3-4 times a week. High protein intake, like 30% of your daily calories. Get lots of sleep, 7-9 hours a day. And do cardio 2-3 times a week max to preserve your hard earned muscles :-)

Gigilly

No worries! Do not stress yourself about it. It is great that you are following your caloric intake and you are doing exercise most days of the week. So let's say you work out 5 to 6 hrs a week plus you walk your dog, maybe 7 hrs a week? So of the 159-160 hours remaining in the week are you active? I do not mean full work outs but how much time do you stand and walk about during the day? Do you walk everywhere or drive? Do you take stairs, do you have other hobbies, interests that are physically active? Often we think that by doing a strenuos activity once a day that should be enough with a sensible caloric intake and then we drive to work, take the elevator, sit at a desk for hours on end, drive home, make a fast meal and sit on the couch unitl it is time to go to bed.
I am not saying that you do all of this but you might find that by just adding a little more time standing and moving around each day can help you with your weight loss and also help to initiate another lifestyle change.
I realise that I do not know your routines but I hope this can help. Keep up the good work!

auntiebabs

Did you take you measurement when you started?
with as hard as you are working out you MAY be losing FAT, but gaining MUSCLE?
(Since muscle is denser than fat, you may not see a difference on the scale, but in your measurements)

When I was your age I would always put on 5 lbs every spring when I started being more active again.
I would gain muscle before I lost the fat... I would lose that initial 5 lb bump and end up at my start weight, but be a denser more compact me. (Bicycling 8-16 miles a day I had legs like iron. Geez, I miss those days:grumble: )

Also you are starting out in a healthy range (& your goal is also in a healthy range)
So first things first, keep healthy and watch your nutrition.
If you have to kill yourself to get those last 9 lbs it may not be worth it, it doesn't matter if you lose it if you can't maintain it...
and those who lose and gain back usually gain back PLUS more.

Don't get caught up in yoyo dieting... focus on your health and live a great life!!!!!!!!!

gregavila

I would also agree with the guy who noted that its likely time to add some real resistance training and weight lifting to your workout. Get a copy of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. You are close enough to your goal weight that if you started lifting and toning you will get there.

Unfortunately the last 10 pounds are often the hardest. I've not seen any weight change in two weeks now.

neverstray

Go heavy on the weight, with less reps. You won't bulk. Women need to get rid of this myth. Even guys have a hard time bulking up. It takes a lot of very hard work to do that.

Snelllee

Whenever you start a new exercise program (from doing nothing) your body holds onto some water weight because its not sure whats going on. I usually gain weight when I start an exercise program (sadly I've had to start a few times). This also happened to my friend when she started exercising. This goes away for me at about 6 weeks. Make sure you're drinking tons of water to flush all that out, keep your sodium low, eat protein and fiber, lower carbs, and being sure to log your exercise and food accurately. Also measure yourself and see if you're losing inches. Oh, and keep it up! You'll get results!

courtneymal17

Might be a stupid question, but how are you measuring your exercise calories? You said you eat back most-all of them? It's been my experience that MFP DRASTICALLY over-estimates the calories I burn if I rely on that to input my exercise calories. When I was, I found I lost less weight the week that I actually ate my exercise calories back. If this is the way that you're using to determine your calories burned, I'd suggest either eating only about half of your exercise calories back or getting a heart rate monitor...You can find all different price ranges and values. I have a polar ft7 that I loooove. It's pricey but it's been invaluable in my weight loss.

britniseubert

Thanks, everyone! It sounds like there's a few slight chances I can make to make this a little easier.

I have been trying to focus less on the scale; when I lost weight the first time I unfortunately became obsessed with weighing myself and ended up on the scale 2-3 times a day. Now I realize this is ridiculous. I've made Wednesdays my weigh-in days and I've done well so far this week at sticking to that (I know it's only Friday, but it really had turned into an obsession)!

I have been thinking about getting a HRM, anyone recommend a certain brand or type? I don't know much about them.

Thanks for being so helpful. This is exactly why I like MFP so much!

NICOLED73

Ignore the scale!
I've lost a bunch and I'm down to that last 20 or so. My scale hasn't budged in months but I'm down almost 2 sizes. Hang in there!

2getgeorge

You know your body composition changes throughout the day?
your weight WILL fluctuate throughout the day.
You should weigh yourself the same time, I weigh myself first thing in the morning before I eat.
that way your body composition is consistent. (best time)

You can do the research but through mine I found that Polar had the best ratings.
I use a polar FT40. some HRM will sync with the cardio equip at your gym. Mine works with the precor equip. at the gym.

courtneymal17

Thanks, everyone! It sounds like there's a few slight chances I can make to make this a little easier.

I have been trying to focus less on the scale; when I lost weight the first time I unfortunately became obsessed with weighing myself and ended up on the scale 2-3 times a day. Now I realize this is ridiculous. I've made Wednesdays my weigh-in days and I've done well so far this week at sticking to that (I know it's only Friday, but it really had turned into an obsession)!

I have been thinking about getting a HRM, anyone recommend a certain brand or type? I don't know much about them.

Thanks for being so helpful. This is exactly why I like MFP so much!

I spent WEEKS agonizing and seeking advice from people about HRMs...like a ridiculous amount of anxiety lol! I ended up getting sick of looking for the perfect one and bought the one they had at my local sports store lol! I ended up getting a polar ft7 because it has a chest strap (which is more accurate), stores my workouts, and most importantly for me was waterproof. Oh and they also had it in my favorite color lol! It was a bit pricey ($100ish) but it's by far one of the best things I've bought.