Help Please! I can't seem to lose anything...

cari4jc1

Okay so here's my story...I weigh 193. I eat about 1300 calories per day and exercise 3-4 times a week. I have 3 kids so I workout at home doing Jillian Michael's DVD's or something similar. I usually workout at least 30 minutes, but lately I've been doing an hour. I have been doing this for several months now and I haven't seen any loss on the scale. I haven't taken any measurements, but my clothes are still the same fit. A couple years ago is when I first started working out and eating healthy. I weighed 200 at the time. I ate about the same way...maybe more actually and exercised about the same as now too. I lost no weight then, but lost a TON of inches. I dropped 2 jean sizes in less than 2 months. Guess I replaced the fat with muscle since I didn't lose anything...not sure.

So what's my deal now?? It's incredibly frustrating. Is it maybe my metabolism?

sehrler

I took a quick look at your diary, and your protein is WAY low. I make sure I get at least 100g or more a day. You also have a lot of processed foods on there, and they are very high in sugar content. Instead of ice cream, chocolate and frozen yogurt all the time for snacks try substituting a protein shake (if you love ice cream like I do, you can blend in a lot of ice and it gets an shake-like consistency to satisfy) or other healthy alternatives. It's not just about hitting your calorie goals, it's the content of the food. If you fill up with empty calories then you won't get results the same as if you eat clean.

I would adjust your macros to make sure you raise your protein goal up (some people say 1g for every pound but I just make sure i'm always over 100g, the more the better) and watch your sodium and sugar.

Try to eat more fresh and less processed foods, they are a killer. And consistency in your workouts is really important, I didn't go crazy trying to see if you work out every day but it didn't seem like it. Even 30 mins of walking can help. The only thing that works for me is clean eating, high protein, less carbs/sugar/sodium, and working out consistently. If I don't do that the weight won't come off. And I am 44 so I know how hard it can be! I also vary my workouts now, I do 45 mins of cardio every day but also add in about 25 mins of strength training, pilates, calisthenics etc. It helps with muscle tone/building muscle (which in turn burns fat) and keeps me from getting stuck in a plateau. I just fought my way out of one thanks to changing things up. It was hard but I kept going and worked harder. Also I limit treats to once a week or less, and I don't do a full "cheat" day. I am a full blown sugar addict, I need to cut them out and only have something if I really want it, break the habit I had of sweets every day.

cari4jc1

Thank you! I agree about my protein. I try to bump that up a little by having a protein bar in the afternoon. We used to eat a LOT of chicken, but we have been making the transition to eating organic as much as possible. Grass fed, no anti-biotics etc kinds of meat are incredibly expensive so we don't have it more than a couple times a week usually. Did you look back farther than the last week in my food diary? I'm not very good at logging everyday, but last week is not a typical week for us. 2 of our kids had birthday's so Chuck E. Cheese was a must for them. Guessing that's the processed foods you were looking at. I'm confused other than that though. I try to eat organic most everything else, including the pizza I make.

As for the working out, I only work out about 3-4 times a week. Maybe I should try to up that..? The DVD I have been doing is Jillian Michaels Extreme Shed & Shred. I love her workouts because they are definitely cardio, but she adds in a lot of strength stuff too. I have noticed that I feel stronger and in the last couple weeks of doing it I'm able to do more and more of the "advanced" moves during the workout. So I guess I'm seeing improvement there.

michellekicks

You need to eat more. You should probably be eating 1300 calories/day PLUS what you earn from your workouts... or closer to 1700-1800/day at least. I'm assuming your BMR is somewhere around 1600.

IveLanded

I think you also need to committ to doing this and be consistent. Your comments are filled with "I TRY to stay in this range" "I TRY to log every day" "I TRY to work out 3 days a week".........don't try, just do it. I would be willing to bet that you are eating more than you're tracking and on the days you don't track, you probably aren't staying in range.

I started off at 186 and I lost it by eating BETTER, not just less (less processed foods, more protein, more veggies) and I worked out every day, without exception, for at least 1 hour. I cut sugar and alcohol for the first three weeks and I had zero cheat days until I had lost 25lbs (about 3 months).

You have to do it....not just TRY to do it. That's the only way you'll see results. If you aren't seeing results, it's because you aren't sticking with the program.

cari4jc1

I apologize for putting "I try" in my wording. I should re-phrase....I do workout at least 3 times a week, but 9 out of 10 times it's 4 times a week. On the days I don't log it's because I get too busy with the kids and just life in general, but I continue to eat the same on those days. When I do log I am brutally honest about what I log. I log everything including any oil I use or if I have a few chips or something...which never happens, but you get the point.

I do keep reading on here about people eating back their burned calories. I've never heard of it before MFP so I'm definitely a skeptic, but I'm starting to wonder if it will help. I'm also fatigued all the time and have headaches all the time. (I drink a LOT of water so I know I'm not dehydrated.)

purpleipod

I apologize for putting "I try" in my wording. I should re-phrase....I do workout at least 3 times a week, but 9 out of 10 times it's 4 times a week. On the days I don't log it's because I get too busy with the kids and just life in general, but I continue to eat the same on those days. When I do log I am brutally honest about what I log. I log everything including any oil I use or if I have a few chips or something...which never happens, but you get the point.

I do keep reading on here about people eating back their burned calories. I've never heard of it before MFP so I'm definitely a skeptic, but I'm starting to wonder if it will help. I'm also fatigued all the time and have headaches all the time. (I drink a LOT of water so I know I'm not dehydrated.)

Fatigue and headaches is a pretty common symptom of not eating enough. Why would you eat so little if you don't have to?

kalynn06

I apologize for putting "I try" in my wording. I should re-phrase....I do workout at least 3 times a week, but 9 out of 10 times it's 4 times a week. On the days I don't log it's because I get too busy with the kids and just life in general, but I continue to eat the same on those days. When I do log I am brutally honest about what I log. I log everything including any oil I use or if I have a few chips or something...which never happens, but you get the point.

I do keep reading on here about people eating back their burned calories. I've never heard of it before MFP so I'm definitely a skeptic, but I'm starting to wonder if it will help. I'm also fatigued all the time and have headaches all the time. (I drink a LOT of water so I know I'm not dehydrated.)

The reason people on here eat back their exercise calories and other sites that give you calories, with some exceptions, don't is that the other sites figure your exercise in your activity level, so start you with a higher calorie allowance based on you saying you workout 5x a week or whatever. MFP starts you out with the assumption that you are only burning your BMR plus whatever you use for daily activities without working out. This means that if you work out, the MFP calories are pretty low, especially if you have an aggressive weight loss goal.

cari4jc1

Today is the 1st time I've logged onto MFP in a reallllly long time. I have used the app on my phone, but it doesn't have all the forums on it and is just a basic counter. I have learned a LOT by reading on here today. I went and updated my profile information and it jumped my calorie goal to 1530 instead of 1200. I even put that I was sedentary and put a goal of exercise 4 times per week for 30 minutes. (I'm a SAHM of 3 boys so I'm definitely NOT sedentary...haha) I always want to eat more fruits for my snacks during the day, but I never have enough calories so by upping my calories I can actually do that now. I feel like I actually have hope about this again! I'm so glad I posted in the forums asking questions today!!