Extremely Frustrated, please HELP!

laddyboy

1st off congrats on your success. That's amazing!!!

I would stop all the cardio and switch to weight training. All you are doing is buring up the muscle and lowering your metabolsm.
Lift heavy and intense. Build some muscle...muscle burns fat. You'll be so glad you did.

mkbledsoe

you might want to try changing up your workouts a little more. Sounds like you do the same things over and over. You may want to add some strength training. Bob Harper's workout videos are awesome. He has 10 different videos. As far as your diet goes you will probably just need to experiment until you find what works. Don't follow any of the fads. Get a book on nutrition. You may also try talking to a nutritionist.

laddyboy

Thank you baileyboo, I was wondering if 30DS was going to be enough. and mransom, i will definitely look into Chalean Extreme - I've heard good things about it.

And Chris, the biggest concern I have with dropping my calories back down to 12-1300, is that yes, I may start to lose weight again, but I don't want to gain all that weight back when I bump my calories back up to maintenance, which seems to be what has happened to me now.

Um, if you bump your calories up to maintenance and gain weight then that's not your maintenance anymore.

doloreskent

Hi,
Congratulations!
Many times the body will resist for a while and not respond to your good habits. Specially after loosing some weight. Be patient!!
I think you may need to check your thyroid just to make sure it's okay. But I would stick with the recommended calories from MFP. Make sure you work out daily and lift weights three times per week. You need to push your workouts a little harder to keep the weight off or/and to make your body respond better to your diet.
I hope this helps.

hippietofugirl

Thank you baileyboo, I was wondering if 30DS was going to be enough. and mransom, i will definitely look into Chalean Extreme - I've heard good things about it.

And Chris, the biggest concern I have with dropping my calories back down to 12-1300, is that yes, I may start to lose weight again, but I don't want to gain all that weight back when I bump my calories back up to maintenance, which seems to be what has happened to me now.

Um, if you bump your calories up to maintenance and gain weight then that's not your maintenance anymore.

well according to MFP and numerous other websites I calculated it on, it was at least AROUND my maintenance, but who knows. I went to the Eat More To Weigh Less group and did that metabolism rest by eating my TDEE (which I thought was the same as maintenance?) for 6 weeks, and gained like 8lbs

doloreskent

when you get to your desired weight, for maintenance wait about a month or two before you up your calories to the total maintenance level. To be honest with you, I have found through the years that I always need to eat on the low side of the recommended (about 100 calories less) for maintenance.
specially after loosing weight since the body (for a while) will want to go back to where it was. It takes another year for the body to get used to being in your new slimmer weight. Lift weights! Strength exercises will build muscle and will keep your metabolism running better (muscle burns fat!)

mommyweighless

Bear with me here, as I tried to read that paragraph but my eyes glazed over and I got distracted by a water bottle on my desk (I've also been up and working since 1am)

So, the thing I hate about TDEE is how wildly inaccurate most calculators for it are. Trying to take it into account will trip you up most likely.

The simplest and most sure fire way is that you figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, and then eat 500 or so under that.

Now, your BMR for your weight/height/sex should actually be closer to 1400 if I am not mistaken, so I would focus on eating 1200-1300 calories. Also? I'm not sure who that man Jillian is or wtf a 30 day shred is, but you should really start picking up heavy things and putting them down again (lifting weights).

There is nothing wrong with not worrying over eating back exercise calories, its just a way to increase the deficit of your daily calories. You have body fat just for that reason; so that when you run out of the crap you put in your face hole, your body taps into that stuff. Don't stress about starvation mode, seriously. The only way you enter starvation mode is if you are actually starving, like in a North Korean work camp.

If you are adverse to lifting weights because you don't want to get big? That's pretty f*cking idiotic. The average man can gain around 0.5 pounds of lean body mass (muscle) a week, less for women, and you have to generally be at a caloric surplus to do so. So start weight lifting, something simple, followed by some cardio. Mix that with eating at maintenance or slightly below and your body HAS to obey the laws of physics, you will lose fat.

Much of the vomit coming out of my mouth, you can find here, and you really should read it, top to bottom:

http://4chanfit.wikia.com/wiki/Harsh's_Worksheet_(WIP)

This is awesome, thank you for posting

Everyone has been consistently telling me to up my calories but I have hardly lost any wieght...I do notice a difference in the way my clothes fit but that is it. I know I sound like an idiot for asking..but would I be okay with a 1200-1400 calorie diet? MFP recommends 1390 but everyone else says I need about 1800 a day. Would love some advice.

Emili03

Bear with me here, as I tried to read that paragraph but my eyes glazed over and I got distracted by a water bottle on my desk (I've also been up and working since 1am)

So, the thing I hate about TDEE is how wildly inaccurate most calculators for it are. Trying to take it into account will trip you up most likely.

The simplest and most sure fire way is that you figure out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, and then eat 500 or so under that.

Now, your BMR for your weight/height/sex should actually be closer to 1400 if I am not mistaken, so I would focus on eating 1200-1300 calories. Also? I'm not sure who that man Jillian is or wtf a 30 day shred is, but you should really start picking up heavy things and putting them down again (lifting weights).

There is nothing wrong with not worrying over eating back exercise calories, its just a way to increase the deficit of your daily calories. You have body fat just for that reason; so that when you run out of the crap you put in your face hole, your body taps into that stuff. Don't stress about starvation mode, seriously. The only way you enter starvation mode is if you are actually starving, like in a North Korean work camp.

If you are adverse to lifting weights because you don't want to get big? That's pretty f*cking idiotic. The average man can gain around 0.5 pounds of lean body mass (muscle) a week, less for women, and you have to generally be at a caloric surplus to do so. So start weight lifting, something simple, followed by some cardio. Mix that with eating at maintenance or slightly below and your body HAS to obey the laws of physics, you will lose fat.

Much of the vomit coming out of my mouth, you can find here, and you really should read it, top to bottom:

http://4chanfit.wikia.com/wiki/Harsh's_Worksheet_(WIP)

Thank you, I got all worked up over only netting around 1200-1300 calories because of all this talk about "starvation mode," which is why I increased my calories in the first place. I will probably go back down to that amount again, and eat my exercise calories back. I was worried about only netting around 12-1300 because I've heard it really takes a toll on your energy when working out. 30DS actually incorporates some weight training in it, and as I've never done anything of the sort, I figured it was a good place to start as far as weights go, but I don't have an affordable gym in my area, so until I get some money to invest in some exercise equipment, the weight training will have to be done with dumbbells.

School gym? work gym? apartment gym?

YMCA?

Even if you can only get access to a few sets of dumbells up to like 40lbs you'll be able to accomplish a lot.

As soon as you can get to a squat rack though, you're golden.

I just HAVE to say...I have indeed experienced starvation mode first hand...did a 500 cal diet, then had one cheat meal and gained 5 lbs which it then took me a week or more to "re-lose." Then, when I went into eating "maintenance cals" I gained rapidly! Just sayin...this is why I am a firm believer in the "Eat More to Weigh Less." And btw, when we run out of cals, our body often eats muscle not just fat.

No, seriously, no.

If you had one cheat meal and gained 5lbs of pure, delicious fat; said meal would have had to have been an additional 17,000 calories or so over your maintenance calories.

If you suddenly intake a larger amount of carbs than normal, you will retain water; temporarily. The same goes for sodium and a variety of other things. Unless you went full bore fatf*ck like I said on that cheat meal you did not gain 5lbs of fat. Your body still has to obey the laws of physics. As for when you run out of calories? Sure! Your body may indeed go catabolic, to a degree. A number of things counter and curb this.

Plenty of documented, factual sources documenting that here: http://4chanfit.wikia.com/wiki/Harsh's_Worksheet_(WIP)

I know that it doesn't make sense but it is my true experience and I can tell you exactly what I ate...1 grilled hamburger w/ pickles and a hamburger bun, 2 tbc guacamole and 5 chips....not 17,000 cals. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was also eating low carb at the time but I wouldn't say it if it weren't true. My 4th of July dinner treat became 5 lbs!

Emili03

Here's my story. I lost 80lbs in 1 year, on my own before joining MFP. I did it by eating 1200 calories and less than 25g of fat a day. I did develop my own exercise routine which consisted of 200 jumping jacks, 200 crunches, and some 5lb weight exercises which I did about every other day. I finally got down to 120lbs for about a week, and then slowly went up until I averaged around 127 (all while maintaining the same eating/ exercising habbits.) At this point, I joined MFP.

I decided that 127 wasn't good enough and I wanted to lose the rest of my flab on my belly and arms. I decided to try Eat More to Weigh Less, and did a metabolism reset eating my TDEE for about 6 weeks. After that I did a 15% cut from my TDEE, AND started doing 30 Day Shred EVERY DAY. I have since gone up to 135lbs, and have lost NO inches after doing this program for over a month. I then, lowered my calories further, and am now down to around a 20% cut from TDEE. Still seeing no results.:frown: What Do I need to do to get the rest of this flab off of me?!! Its been 2 years since the start of my weight loss journey and I still feel I have such a long way to go! I have tried switching up my macros, I've tried eating more, I've tried eating less, I've tried exercising more...I just don't know what to do at this point. I am however considering calorie cycling since I've probably ran my metabolism into the ground with dieting at this point.

I would be extremely appreciative to anyone who can offer some advice!! Thank you in advance!!:flowerforyou:

Congrats on your weight loss! I understand your frustration, I think you are correct in worrying about lowering to 1200-1300 cals and then basically you may end up stuck where you have to continue on a 1200-1300 cal diet in order to maintain that weight. I would use www.fat2fitradio.com to find out what your maintenance cals should be and go with the sedentary then create a slight deficit from there. I would also seriously consider lifting heavy. There are LOTS of studies that show how it boosts your metabolism and burns more calories, as well as providing toning to many "trouble spots" that cardio didn't touch. Best of luck to you! I KNOW you will be successful because of what you have already accomplished!! There was a before and after pic on here a while back of a lady who went from 125 to 135 or so and looked so much more fit and even looked smaller because she was more muscular. Muscle does indeed weigh more than fat. You CAN do this!

LadyOfOceanBreeze

yep, our bodies are very smart when it comes to finding a level to hang out at:grumble:
:ohwell: it is frustrating....i wonder if it has anything to do with hormone levels???:frown:
:huh: i don't know i just know that a ton of ppl talk about it on here, haven't seen a definitive answer yet

best wishes:flowerforyou:

Here's my story. I lost 80lbs in 1 year, on my own before joining MFP. I did it by eating 1200 calories and less than 25g of fat a day. I did develop my own exercise routine which consisted of 200 jumping jacks, 200 crunches, and some 5lb weight exercises which I did about every other day. I finally got down to 120lbs for about a week, and then slowly went up until I averaged around 127 (all while maintaining the same eating/ exercising habbits.) At this point, I joined MFP.

I decided that 127 wasn't good enough and I wanted to lose the rest of my flab on my belly and arms. I decided to try Eat More to Weigh Less, and did a metabolism reset eating my TDEE for about 6 weeks. After that I did a 15% cut from my TDEE, AND started doing 30 Day Shred EVERY DAY. I have since gone up to 135lbs, and have lost NO inches after doing this program for over a month. I then, lowered my calories further, and am now down to around a 20% cut from TDEE. Still seeing no results.:frown: What Do I need to do to get the rest of this flab off of me?!! Its been 2 years since the start of my weight loss journey and I still feel I have such a long way to go! I have tried switching up my macros, I've tried eating more, I've tried eating less, I've tried exercising more...I just don't know what to do at this point. I am however considering calorie cycling since I've probably ran my metabolism into the ground with dieting at this point.

I would be extremely appreciative to anyone who can offer some advice!! Thank you in advance!!:flowerforyou: