I don't know what to do to lose any more weight

honestlysweet

I have been dieting and exercising for three months now. I have lost four inches on my hips and three on my waist. (gained two in my thighs, maybe because of building muscle, not sure).

I go to cardio classes, body combat classes, bodypump, all at my gym at six in the morning five days a week. I burn a lot of calories, as I push myself hard, using the heaviest weights that I can handle, and pushing myself through the cardio tracks until I feel like I'm going to die!

So I have lost inches and went down a pants size. But I can't seem to get off of this five pound loss. Five pounds. Three months. That's it. I see all these other posts from people who lose twenty pounds in three months or eight in two weeks or fifty in six months. I am working as hard as they are, but the scale won't move. I started at 1200 calories in Jan but it was impossible to maintain, with all the energy I expend, not even including I am a stylist and am on my feet all day. So I upped my calories to 1560 and I eat my exercise calories but the scale is still not moving.

I haven't lost my drive, because as I mentioned before, I am seeing a lot of nsv's. They keep me going, plus others have noticed and said I look like I have lost a lot of weight. But I don't tell them it's only been five pounds.

I am forty eight, female. I am 165, wanting to be 130, like I was in the nineties even after two babies. After my babies, I was able to lose thirty pounds in six months, no problem. I was in my twenties. Can it be an age thing?

bms34b

I refuse to believe it's an age thing. My mom is super active, almost 60, had two kids, and weighs less than I do.
Although I lost most of my weight by diet only, I am coming from a different place, I think that the muscle you are gaining is probably why the scale isn't moving.

Suggestions of things that worked for my plateaus:
-drinking lots of water and green tea, no other liquids
-toning down SUPER strenuous activity and doing just walking for a while
-switching up nutrition: if you eat more carbs, substitute for proteins. if you eat mostly proteins, substitute for veggies. if veggies, switch to more fruit. if you balance, try doing mostly veggies and fruits.

These may not work for you as we have pretty different lifestyles, but these are things that have worked for me in the past.

Sl1ghtly

Are you using a HRM? Your exercise calories burned seem a bit generous.

honestlysweet

Are you using a HRM? Your exercise calories burned seem a bit generous.

No I don't use one. I have thought about getting one.

The classes I take are advanced and very strenuous and they are an hour long. They are said to burn five hundred to six hundred calories. I only log three hundred, because I want to be on the safe side and not log too many. Maybe a HRM would be a good investment.

honestlysweet

I refuse to believe it's an age thing. My mom is super active, almost 60, had two kids, and weighs less than I do.
Although I lost most of my weight by diet only, I am coming from a different place, I think that the muscle you are gaining is probably why the scale isn't moving.

Suggestions of things that worked for my plateaus:
-drinking lots of water and green tea, no other liquids
-toning down SUPER strenuous activity and doing just walking for a while
-switching up nutrition: if you eat more carbs, substitute for proteins. if you eat mostly proteins, substitute for veggies. if veggies, switch to more fruit. if you balance, try doing mostly veggies and fruits.

These may not work for you as we have pretty different lifestyles, but these are things that have worked for me in the past.

These are good suggestions, I will try them.

smileybooliz

-I would definitely get a HRM to be sure and know how many calories you are burning.
-drink LOTS of water, at least your eight glasses, more if possible
-maybe take a week off from exercise and try just eating the calories you need to eat, see if you lose without exercise and then you'll know at what calorie level you lose weight with. Reset your clock basically.
-I've noticed if I zig-zag my calories that helps kick things into gear
-watch your sodium
-maybe up your calorie intake, many have lost by eating more. You sound pretty active and your body may be holding onto the weight because you're not eating enough. Sounds crazy huh but it works for a lot of people, Do a search in the topics area and you'll see lots have lost by doing this.


Sounds like you're still doing an awesome job even without the weight loss. NSV are just as important as seeing the scale go down. Over all I bet you're healthier where you are now than you were at 130 years ago. Those things all count for something too! Good luck figuring things out. I've found this weight loss thing is often a try this then try that sort of process that needs to be tweeked along the way. :flowerforyou:

ahavoc

The amount of weight you have to lose may sometimes determine how quickly the pounds come off. A HRM to verify your calorie burn is very important. Do you weigh everything you eat? Are you honest about what you put in your log? It makes no difference to me, but if you aren't accurate about your calories your scale isn't going to move.

I took a look at your food diary and it's loaded with salt. That's a problem. Lot's of peanut butter and processed foods doesn't help either. Have you thought of trying a salad? Tons of fresh raw veggies piled up with calorie free dressing will fill you up and is a lot healthier than what I see you eat. You have to learn to eat differently if you want to take the weight off and keep it off.

If you go on a "diet" to lose weight, then lose weight, and then return to how you ate before you lost it all, you will gain all the weight you lost back. Unless you change your eating habits forever, it's never going to happen.

honestlysweet

The amount of weight you have to lose may sometimes determine how quickly the pounds come off. A HRM to verify your calorie burn is very important. Do you weigh everything you eat? Are you honest about what you put in your log? It makes no difference to me, but if you aren't accurate about your calories your scale isn't going to move.

I took a look at your food diary and it's loaded with salt. That's a problem. Lot's of peanut butter and processed foods doesn't help either. Have you thought of trying a salad? Tons of fresh raw veggies piled up with calorie free dressing will fill you up and is a lot healthier than what I see you eat. You have to learn to eat differently if you want to take the weight off and keep it off.

If you go on a "diet" to lose weight, then lose weight, and then return to how you ate before you lost it all, you will gain all the weight you lost back. Unless you change your eating habits forever, it's never going to happen.

I appreciate your opinion, I just don't understand it. I eat less than half of my allowed sodium just about every day. Peanut butter I use in my protein shakes mostly. And P.B. is loaded with protein. I still usually manage to stay under my fat, so as long as I can do that, P.B. should be ok, right?

And the only processed food, if you call it that that I have eaten lately is an organic frozen meal by Cedarlane which has no crap in it. It is frozen, but made with all natual ingredients. Oh, and a tiny bit of cheeto type puffs 50 calories.

I do measure everything. The culprit may be when I go to Japanese restaurants at least twice a week. I don't know how to log this. They are my weakness, but I still try to stay away from fatty fried foods. I always order lean meat or chicken and loads of veggies, so I just don't know. I will keep trying my best and be patient.