0 lbs since February - what am I doing wrong?

i_miss_donuts

I think you may be right! I am going to change it up a little - add in some hills with the speed intervals. Maybe add in another day of cardio as well. PS - love the video - very inspirational!

My steady state run is usually 3-4miles which I do at an 81/2 to 91/2 minute mile pace. Maybe I should add in another cardio day? I figured the walking I was doing covered it - but maybe I need more intensity?

I can't do that pace due to a bad knee but run at about a 12 min mile pace. Sounds easy right? And actually it has gotten pretty easy but adding just a 3% incline will kick your butt. I'm willing to bet your body is conditioned well enough to pull off that pace. Tell it go guess again and alternate the incline on and off at 3% for 4-5 minute periods. Most treadmills will do this automatically if you select a weight loss or fat loss mode. I'm just talking about doing 30 min of cardio not hour long sessions so this shouldn't kill any hard earned muscle.

Increase your HIIT cardio to 4-5 days a week too. Too much? How bad do you really want it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsSC2vx7zFQ

Shellyeubanks

If your goal is to gain muscle then you need to back down on the cardio and up your protein. It's not simply about calories in versus calories out. You need to have the right combination of macronutrients for your body. Right now looking at your food dairy, you are not eating enough protein and too many carbs.

And excess cardio burns weight (muscle and fat) so you don't need to go overboard on the cardio or up it even more than what you are doing now.

Again this is if your goal is to add muscle and not just to simply lose weight.

You can still be skinny fat (skinny looking but high bmi).

FitForLife81

I have a fitbit and I think it is dead on with being accurate. I even checked it against my HRM and it was spot on. I think you are not eating enough personally

stacie48

I want to read this whole thread....coming back....we are the same age and height. You look amazing...just real quick have your thought about upping your protein to 150g a day and keeping your carbs below 100g a day?

msudaisy28

Get a food scale.

Her post says she has one

I don't have any advice for you, but wanted to tell you to hang in there! It took me over 2 months to see any change on the scale AT ALL and then it's been slooooooow since then.

Yes I do have one and was shocked to see how I was under estimating my calorie intake. I think a lot of us do. A food scale helped me lose all the weight I wanted. :flowerforyou:

Wow, you really didn't carefully read the original post *or* this response to your post, did you? The OP states that she has a food scale... that's not the problem.

iWaffle

have your thought about upping your protein to 150g a day and keeping your carbs below 100g a day?

Didn't even look at that but yes I think at least 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. 1 gram per pound would be tops but the former should be a minimal goal. I know everyone can't squeeze in that much protein every day.

Disagree slightly with morrisonkm9. She's not trying to lose weight but change body composition. Switching to a better protien/carb ratio and adding in more HIIT cardio should help a lot. If the weight has been constant for months then she's dead on with the calories for maintenance. She just needs a bit more intensity on the cardio and 30 min sessions won't break the bank on muscle development.

eknobbe

BUMP

dethjester

Scanned your food log going back a couple of weeks. I am NOT getting down on you for your adult beverages, but you might think about the sugars you are taking in, you seem to be a bit of a fruit junkie, and alot of the reading I have been doing suggests fruit sugars are some of the most easily converted to fat. Maybe switch in more vegetables for some of the fruit? Maybe check out the Paleo Diet for hints on that score.

2 cents worth is all.

zia130

I feel your pain, I too joined in February and initially saw a decrease but then an increase and steady plateau...i've tried upping calories, decreasing, eating exercise calories back, not...i've saw a brief change in my measurements (decrease) with an increase on the scale but now everything seems to be plateaued....i've beyond frustrated but still try to hang in there. I too am open and grateful for any advice / tips that work. also, feel free to friend me, we can support each other on this journey

also, while i think you look fantastic, i understand your want and desire to lose weigtht, I myself am currenlty about 132 pounds, a year ago i was 122 pounds, i'd love to get back down to that or even in the 125 - 128 range...just to feel better about myself and have my clothes fit better again - we all have our reasons for wanting to lose weight and feel healthier, i disagree with those making negative comments about your want to do this (again i think you look amazing), we should all be supporting one another, our journeys are all very different with the hope of having similar outcomes - smaller numbers on the scale, decreased measurements and a healthier body

one other thing...no need to answer, but are you on any medication? i'm starting to think that perhaps my meds for my heart condition are part of the reason behind the lack of loss

islandnutshel

Your diet, exercise, expariments with calories levels all are great. I have only one suggestion, because it worked for a friend. Try removing all wheat from your diet. You can replace it with other grains. Some people do not digest wheat well and get a wheat belly.
This may not be your problem but if you have tried everything then this is another option. Food combining also works for me.
(you certainly don't look like you have a wheat belly.)

I am sorry for your frustrations, i understand it. Keep it up you are doing things the healthy way.

wahmx3

Lots of people have great suggestions.... personally I see a few things when I looked over your diary for the past couple of weeks.
Where are you vegetables? Some days you had 1 or 2 but not enough, try to get 3-5 most days. You could make some of your eggs into omlettes, it would give you vegetables there quite easily. I think you need to eat more, most days at least. I am sure you said you tried that, but have you tried it for at least a month, let your body adjust to the higher calories and let it know it can let go of some of the fat as you are fueling it properly. You do a lot of exercise and I think it is important to eat enough to fuel our body. My BMR range is 1383-1643, I have my daily calorie goal set at 1400. My BMR is based on me being 45, 5'4", cw 145 and exercising 3-5 days a week. I don't eat back my exercise calories and haven't been losing much lately but then again, I slowed my exercise (I know what I need to do). The other thing I noticed in your diary is sodium.... most days you are close to the 2500 or over. Sodium is bad news for my weight (no other health issues though). I aim to stay under 1900 or I will gain.
Hope this helps, I know your frustration.

Rhea30

D-bates - I scan nutrition labels and weigh everything unlabeled (fruit, meat, etc.) and input it - so it must be the fitbit is wrong on how many calories I am burning. Anyone have a better idea how to estimate calorie burn? Maybe I should get a HRM and wear it working out and only log that? Fitbit gives calorie adjustments for all my activity - but since I don't eat back those calories I didn't figure it mattered.

HRM is a good idea, it'll probably give you a more accurate count.

i_miss_donuts

I do need to get more veggies in daily! I am so focused on protein that I tend to scrimp on the veggies - particularly because I have a hard time hitting my protein without going over on sodium or carbs. I am not a huge fan of protein shakes or bars - they often taste nasty and two years ago Consumer Reports did a big writeup on studies conducted by independent labs that found very high levels of toxic substances including heavy metals (arsenic, etc). If anyone has more recent data on which shakes are safe and tasty - please share!

I really appreciate all the good advice - which I could sum up as eat more/eat less, workout more/less, eliminate wheat, stop being such a lush, make friends with veggies, break up with fruit and accept your body. :laugh:

Seriously though - I love how helpful folks are here! I think it is a wonderful community and it provides a great wake-up call when you are doing things you shouldn't (umm...hello evening glasses of wine)! I am going to change things up a bit - refocus on circuit training and add another day of intervals and see what happens. I still have no clue how many calories I should be consuming and there doesn't seem to be any consensus out there. However, while I figure that out I am going to aim for 115-125 grams of protein per day while minimizing my carbs.

Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions! Feel free to keep them coming!

Chokis

Here's my 5 cents, and I will agree with some posters above.

1. You need to eat back your exercise calories, because otherwise you're putting your body in a starvation mode and it is trying to hold on to all the fat in your body. Your daily calorie goal is fine, but you need to eat whatever you burn and you seem like a moderately active person to me.

2. Not all the calories are equal. You need to adjust your fat/protein/carb ratio. You already heard about protein, that's good. But besides that you need to increase your FAT. Yes, don't be afraid of the fat. You have hardly any fat in your diet (maybe in a form of nuts). Add olive oil, coconut oil (the best thing), butter, fish, avocados, bacon. Increase your fat and reduce your carbs. Carbs should be nutrient dense and high on fiber: think of the greens (spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, zucchini, etc.). If you want fruit, stick to berries, they are the best.

3. Your exercise looks great, you don't need to change anything, unless you want to.

4. Weigh loss success = 80% food + 20% exercise.
You need to change the quality of your food (and some quantity too).

Chokis

Also, check out this weight loss simulator online:
http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/

Just plugin your numbers and you'll see how many calories you should be eating.

googsgirl

You shouldn't be eating any less calories for fat loss. You should be doing HIIT cardio and lifting heavy for fat loss and eating your TDEE so you don't lose muscle. You don't want to lose weight, especially since at your weight for your height, you're perfectly fine scale wise. You want to change body composition and it's EXTREMELY hard, and some think it's damned near impossible to put on muscle while eating at a deficit.

THis^^^

I didnt start losing weight until I ate 2000 calories and just took my deficit from moderate exercise ( 2 full rest days)
I dont think you are eating enough.

Chokis

Go to the Weight Loss simulator that I suggested. I just put in your info there and it shows that if you want to get to 130 pounds, let's say in 180 days, just to be reasonable, you need to eat about 2112 calories. This is for weight loss. If you want to maintain your current weight, your TDEE is about 2374 calories.
So having said all that, right now you're eating way under your calorie limit for your activity level, which slows down your metabolism.

dovesgate

You're eating negative calories and you have been for a long time apparently. Try doing all the calculations in this link:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

Don't freak if you initially gain weight from a large increase in calories. It will come back off.

i_miss_donuts

Hi There - I have spent a lot of time on the Fat2FitRadio site over the past few months. The past two months I have been eating at/near the recommendation for lightly active after all the calculations. I think figuring out what level you are (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active) is one of the tricky aspects. I do like the advice from the in place of a roadmap to try and net at least your BMR + 200 and think that is sound.

You're eating negative calories and you have been for a long time apparently. Try doing all the calculations in this link:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

Don't freak if you initially gain weight from a large increase in calories. It will come back off.

mjhuff1121

I'm with ya sister. I'm 5' even, and have been sitting at 130 for 4 months. Sucky to all get out. I cried this morning. I've run 45 miles in May, running 3-4 miles 3-4x/wk and walk with a friend 2-3x/wk for an hour - and I haven't lost a single pound and lost no inches (I weigh and measure every 2wks). I've stayed at 1200 cal/day (plus exercise cal) - I've zigzagged my intake - I've weighed my food - I've taken vitamins. I'm at my wits end and just want to curl up and cry. And cry. And cry. If you figure it out, let me know, ok?

i_miss_donuts

mjhuff1121 -

So today - I was down to 136.8 - my new low since starting (and 1 lb below last weeks low). Yesterday - 79g carbs, 30g fiber, 41g sugars, 60g fat and 112g protein. I also drank about 20+ glasses of water and ran 3 miles. Overall I don't think I ate enough - so I will need to eat more today - but was super happy to see the scale go down! Now if I can keep it from creeping back up over the weekend, since that is pretty much my pattern.

iWaffle

I wonder how bad it is for you to occasionally be way under like that if it's just one day every other week. I did that a couple times over the last month just by accident. I had really busy days and didn't plan meals/snacks well enough and ended up shorting myself over 500 calories. I always dropped weight on those days and you can tell you're there because your stomach will let you know it's beyond empty. Would this be considered zig-zagging or an acceptable option if you're stuck?

Really busy today at work and over 1 hour late for the first half of my split lunch. I was feeling hungry for sure.

hillbillyannie

I've always heard that muscle weighs more than fat. With all the workouts you're doing that might be the case. Maybe someone who knows more about this could comment. I realize you want to lower your body mass but you certainly don't need to lose any weight.

hillbillyannie

I've always heard that muscle weighs more than fat. With all the workouts you're doing that might be the case. Maybe someone who knows more about this could comment. I realize you want to lower your body mass but you certainly don't need to lose any weight.

1DayAt_aTime

Bump

FitLink

Get a food scale.

Not to put to fine a point on it, but she has said TWICE that she has and uses a food scale. Why bother posting if you didn't bother to read?

FitLink

I have a fitbit and I think it is dead on with being accurate. I even checked it against my HRM and it was spot on. I think you are not eating enough personally

I don't have an explanation for the OP, but my experience with FitBit, and I've used one for almost two years--since they came out--is that it'e spot on accurate for things it's able to measure.

kiratowle

Hi Yoovie - I understand that I could be changing my body comp, but as fat is less dense than muscle, if I were losing fat and adding muscle, wouldn't my measurements change? Thus far, they have not (which I mentioned in my post). Part of the reason I did the BodPod was to get an accurate picture of where I stand so I can assess what is/isn't working.

In your original post you said "Right now, I am 41, 5'9" CW 138-140"

You're not losing because you don't need to. You are already at the low end of your ideal weight range. What makes you want to lose more weight? I think Yoovie has a point-it's not weight that's the issue here.

Hopefully I don't sound defensive. I know not everyone understands why I would want to get leaner. However, for a small framed woman my height - the healthy weight range is actually 129-140 according to multiple charts. So really I am at the top end of my range for my height and frame. That said, my goal is reducing my body fat while increasing or maintaining my lean muscle mass (which is why I put that as goal rather than weight). I gained 8 lbs when my MIL was diagnosed with cancer and died last year. I put it on thru drinking and stress eating + a calf injury that limited strenuous workouts. I don't think wanting to lose the fat I put on is unreasonable.

Ok, so i had to look up what a fitbit is because i was reallly confused. Also, can everyone explain these other acronyms too..ex: TDEE and HiiT.. HRM

I think you must look fabulous... if only i was 5 inches taller... i too am 41 and the last two years have been a struggle for me.. but i have a LOT more to lose. My thyroid is fine too... i was drinking too many empty calories and am on the wagon so to speak. With that said,I seriously think you can over analyze your food. I am all about weighing and measuring but don't think about it all the time. IF you are hungry then eat (that's what the rumbling in your stomach is for ) Choose a good snack and be prepared.

I have a question for everyone. Why does MFP add your exercise calories to your balance? Can anyone explain the whole process? Does it tell everyone to eat 1200 calories a day or is it based on your weight? I do 68 minutes of elliptical at least 4 times a week keeping my heart rate at 152 at least for 60 minutes ... i also strength train for an additional 30-45. MFP says i burn 786 calories on the elliptical although the elliptical says something like 850. How many pounds will i lose in a month if i don't eat my exercise calories? I appreciate everyone's help and i cannot believe this website is FREE

dovesgate

Hi There - I have spent a lot of time on the Fat2FitRadio site over the past few months. The past two months I have been eating at/near the recommendation for lightly active after all the calculations. I think figuring out what level you are (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active) is one of the tricky aspects. I do like the advice from the in place of a roadmap to try and net at least your BMR + 200 and think that is sound.

You're eating negative calories and you have been for a long time apparently. Try doing all the calculations in this link:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

Don't freak if you initially gain weight from a large increase in calories. It will come back off.

Ah but you work out 5 times a week and you do HIIT. That's going to automatically raise you above the lightly active level. Even I am borderline moderate level and I'm way heavier than you and do less intense exercise. Try eating at moderate or better yet, going all the way to the top.

If your focus is to lose fat then you need adequate fuel to burn fat instead of muscle (our bodies find muscle easier to burn or so I have read).

graysmom2005

I would go over to Eat More To Weigh Less. Post this message over there and Kiki or Lucia will help you out. You are doing everything right...and you probably aren't eating enough. You need a small deficit to lose those last pounds. You have to give your body permission to lose it. It has to know it will be fed. They should give you some great advice. Also go over to
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

Plug in your info. You should be eating that every single day. :-)