exercising but not losing

karissastephens

Okay...so I am 5'7 and 125 pounds. I want to get to 120 lbs. I have 17% body fat and want to get to 15%. I exercise REGULARLY and watch what I eat a lot of the time but I am not losing a pound and havent for 6 months. I have friends who never exercise and are smaller than me. Im confused...help.

Here is an example of my work out

Cardio for 15 minutes (usually the elliptical on high resistance)
weights for 10-15 minutes
abs/obliques 10 minutes
Cardio for another 15-20 minutes

what am I not doing? Should I eat less calories? I am at 1,350 a day right now

dlestermfp

If you have been trying for six months and haven't lost anything you have taken the first step in recognizing the obvious; what you are doing now isn't working.

Based on what you have written though, one of two things is true. Either you are eating more than 1350 calories a day, or you need to see a doctor. Since you aren't overweight, there is a very good chance you don't have anything wrong with you that a doctor could help, so odds are you have calories going in that you aren't counting. Don't forget beverages, something a lot of people overlook.

karissastephens

I come and log everything I ate on here after I eat it. So i do log my calories

lotusfromthemud

is that 1350 net calories? Or are you not eating any exercise compensation calories?


Also, maybe the body weight is not what you should concentrate on, but just the percentage of body fat. If you are lean (as your percentage shows) then you'll be heavier than someone who doesn't have as much muscle mass.

Here's a good link from a while back with a formula for body fat % based goal weight.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/51419-goal-body-fat-weight-equation

twilight1542

First of all, muscle is more dense than fat so it weighs more. Weights build muscle so you should be tracking your measurements more so than your weight, especially given how little you have to lose. Second, if it's body fat you want to reduce, more focus should be on strengthening & toning than cardio because you could easily stay 125 but reduce body fat. If I were in your shoes, I'd invest in some personal training to figure out what routine is going to best to tone up because it's more about how you look than how much you weigh.

Just my 2 cents

orlandofatty1

It could also be that your current weight is as low as your body will tolerate. Isn't being 120 at 5'7'' a bit too skinny? Not being insulting...but I'm 5'4'' and it says the lowest I can go at a healthy weight is 130.

Just an observation...

BrendaLee

At 17% body fat, you're already in the body fat range of an athlete, why would you want to go lower? My 14 year old daughter has friends who are 5'3 and 5'4 who weigh 120, and they're teenie tiny girls. Just sayin'.

Cairo123

My trainer said that the first 15 mins on a treadmill don't count...it's the minutes after. Try running for 30 mins, even at a slower pace if necessary. That will help with burning calories.

Your bodyfat is REALLY low. So what exactly are you trying to lose..it's obviously not fat.

I'm 5'7" and my body fat is 29%, I have fat I need to lose.

chicynth

I would agree that 5'7" and 120 is probably not the healthiest weight.

I am 5'8" and enlisted into the military 20 years ago. I weighed in at 129 and was unable to attend basic training until I gained at least 5lbs. So, I know that 5'7" and 120 doesn't sound like a healthy weight goal.

However, if it is your desired goal and you plan to meet it, I would think about changing your exercise routine. It is possible that your body has become programmed (so-to-speak) and so your routine has shifted from weight loss to weight maintenance. Also, consuming a few more calories per week (not day) can "trick" the body into burning more calories.

Best regards!

dlestermfp

For those who are being a bit critical of her goal, keep in mind how much happier you would be right now if you had decided to take action when you were only five pounds over your desired weight. I know I would have been far better off!

jultwan

I am not trying to be rude but, why are you trying to lose more weight. If anything you might want to add a couple of pounds. You are already thin!

margaretthedevil

I agree with the person that already mentioned this. Cardio for 15 minutes doesn't even count as cardio. You need to do it for at least 30 minutes to get any good burn out of it. That 15 minutes would have just been a warm up. I would definitely look into changing your exercise routine since it obviously isn't working. Might want to get some advice from a trainer.

Since you're looking to decrease your body fat %, the scale seriously doesn't matter. You could be 120 lbs and have increased your body fat %. You might gain or stay at the same weight. So... The best way to burn fat is to build muscle. You're probably not going to be able to burn a lot of fat any other way as your body fat % is already really good for a woman. In order to build muscle one must eat more calories instead of less (takes energy to build muscle) and probably change up the macronutrient ratios by upping the protein intake. And building muscle a very slow process so you definitely shouldn't be expecting drastic changes any time soon. Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

As for your friends who weigh less than you and do not exercise (I've got plenty of those), chances are you're more fit than them for exercising and isn't that the ultimate goal: fitness and health. It's not all about the weight you know?

PlumCrazyGirl

This was happening to me. Granted it was only one week - other posts were suggesting I wasn't eating enough for my exercising.
I would be eating 1500-1600 calories. Exercising running 2 miles/3 days a week, Curves work out progam/ of avg 500+calories burned4 days a week, push ups (30 in 1 minute)/2 days/weekand situps (40 in one minute).

So, I had to change my mindset that's ok to eat more. Tough to do...I'm still wrestling with that one.

karissastephens

I agree with the person that already mentioned this. Cardio for 15 minutes doesn't even count as cardio. You need to do it for at least 30 minutes to get any good burn out of it. That 15 minutes would have just been a warm up. I would definitely look into changing your exercise routine since it obviously isn't working. Might want to get some advice from a trainer.

Since you're looking to decrease your body fat %, the scale seriously doesn't matter. You could be 120 lbs and have increased your body fat %. You might gain or stay at the same weight. So... The best way to burn fat is to build muscle. You're probably not going to be able to burn a lot of fat any other way as your body fat % is already really good for a woman. In order to build muscle one must eat more calories instead of less (takes energy to build muscle) and probably change up the macronutrient ratios by upping the protein intake. And building muscle a very slow process so you definitely shouldn't be expecting drastic changes any time soon. Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

As for your friends who weigh less than you and do not exercise (I've got plenty of those), chances are you're more fit than them for exercising and isn't that the ultimate goal: fitness and health. It's not all about the weight you know?

I do cardio for 30 minutes.. Just 15 in the begining and 15 at the end of the weight training

margaretthedevil

Yes, but when you're weight training, your heart rate will go down significantly even if you're doing squats or something similar along with weights. Well at least that's from my own experience with using my heart rate monitor. The longer you can keep yourself at a high heart rate the better if you're trying to burn calories, because you're forcing your heart to work harder and eventually more efficiently. That's why I'm saying that 15 minutes at the beginning and at the end simply isn't enough as it obviously isn't working for you.

If your workout routine isn't working, you've got to try something different as you shouldn't expect to get any different results if you do not change it up.

I'm also confused as to why you would be eating 1,350 calories for a 5' 7'' person that's very little (hoping this is net calories), but that's probably because you weigh so little and are trying to lose weight. This might be counterproductive to your goal of losing fat and gaining muscle in the way that I mentioned before as in order to gain muscle you need to eat more than you would usually need. But do not be afraid to experiment for yourself with what works for your body. But again do not expect things to change if you continue to do the same thing.

karissastephens

Yes, but when you're weight training, your heart rate will go down significantly even if you're doing squats or something similar along with weights. Well at least that's from my own experience with using my heart rate monitor. The longer you can keep yourself at a high heart rate the better if you're trying to burn calories, because you're forcing your heart to work harder and eventually more efficiently. That's why I'm saying that 15 minutes at the beginning and at the end simply isn't enough as it obviously isn't working for you.

If your workout routine isn't working, you've got to try something different as you shouldn't expect to get any different results if you do not change it up.

I'm also confused as to why you would be eating 1,350 calories for a 5' 7'' person that's very little (hoping this is net calories), but that's probably because you weigh so little and are trying to lose weight. This might be counterproductive to your goal of losing fat and gaining muscle in the way that I mentioned before as in order to gain muscle you need to eat more than you would usually need. But do not be afraid to experiment for yourself with what works for your body. But again do not expect things to change if you continue to do the same thing.

Wow thank you! That helped a lot I get what your saying now. ill try doing cardio all at once now. and 1,350 net calories I think...what is net calories anyway?

April0815

Do cardio after your weight training. Are you eating your workout calories?

karissastephens

Sometimes i eat them. Not all the time though

margaretthedevil

Try to eat them all and wait a month to see if you get results or not (you will see a weight increase, but that's normal, it would go back down again after a week or two).

Net calories is just the amount of calories you consume minus the amount of calories you burned from exercise. If you go to the reports tab, click on the nutrition one. You can check how many net calories you are eating that is if you're logging in your exercise along with your food.

I know for me I really have to work out hard to see any changes or else I just maintain my weight even when eating to lose 1/2 lb per week. So if eating more by itself doesn't work, I would seriously consider a more challenging workout.

SHBoss1673

Couple of things, first, it doesn't matter if you do cardio 4 times a day for 10 minutes each time, or 40 minutes all at once, if you are at the same heart rate, you'll have the same calorie burn. That's been proven time and time again by clinical trials.
Second, generally, mixing weight training and cardio in the same day is only good if you're doing very light weights and high reps, and/or doing low intensity cardio like walking or a slow jog on the tread mill. Why? Well because when you weight train with any significant amount of weight, you're tearing down your muscle fibers, this requires a period of regeneration and recovery. Trying to do cardio with those same muscles (even secondarily) is not going to do nearly as much for you as it would if you isolate your routines. That isn't to say a light to moderate cardio session for about 15 to 20 minutes before you weight train is bad, it's fine, but working heavy cardio before weights, or vice versa can reduce the good the exercises are doing for your body by forcing muscles to work either while depleted, or during their repair cycle.

3rd, at 17% body fat, there's absolutely no reason for you to even care what you weigh. 17% is outstanding, and I can guarantee that you have very little, if any, body fat that you can see, now if you don't have a lot of muscle, then lose skin can look a little like body fat (many times this happens around the middle), but that's something that time and a healthy diet with a healthy amount of good fats, minerals, and exercise will fix.

4th, make sure your calorie deficit is VERY small, at 17% body fat, almost any significant deficit is going to panic your metabolism, forcing it to start storing fat and slowing down organ function, you need to feed your engine, and make sure, at that %, that you're eating exercise calories, the body doesn't care whether the calories it needs are from general daily activity or from exercise, all it knows is that it has caloric demands, and if you're constantly depriving your body of the needed calories, it's going to fight back in the only way it knows how, which is to slow you down and store more energy.

karissastephens

Couple of things, first, it doesn't matter if you do cardio 4 times a day for 10 minutes each time, or 40 minutes all at once, if you are at the same heart rate, you'll have the same calorie burn. That's been proven time and time again by clinical trials.
Second, generally, mixing weight training and cardio in the same day is only good if you're doing very light weights and high reps, and/or doing low intensity cardio like walking or a slow jog on the tread mill. Why? Well because when you weight train with any significant amount of weight, you're tearing down your muscle fibers, this requires a period of regeneration and recovery. Trying to do cardio with those same muscles (even secondarily) is not going to do nearly as much for you as it would if you isolate your routines. That isn't to say a light to moderate cardio session for about 15 to 20 minutes before you weight train is bad, it's fine, but working heavy cardio before weights, or vice versa can reduce the good the exercises are doing for your body by forcing muscles to work either while depleted, or during their repair cycle.

3rd, at 17% body fat, there's absolutely no reason for you to even care what you weigh. 17% is outstanding, and I can guarantee that you have very little, if any, body fat that you can see, now if you don't have a lot of muscle, then lose skin can look a little like body fat (many times this happens around the middle), but that's something that time and a healthy diet with a healthy amount of good fats, minerals, and exercise will fix.

4th, make sure your calorie deficit is VERY small, at 17% body fat, almost any significant deficit is going to panic your metabolism, forcing it to start storing fat and slowing down organ function, you need to feed your engine, and make sure, at that %, that you're eating exercise calories, the body doesn't care whether the calories it needs are from general daily activity or from exercise, all it knows is that it has caloric demands, and if you're constantly depriving your body of the needed calories, it's going to fight back in the only way it knows how, which is to slow you down and store more energy.

Thank you! That really helped. The only thing is im doing a "challenge/contest" at the gym for body fat %.... And yesterday I gained 2%! So now im at 19% body fat which is not good at all. I was trying to lose body fat not gain...

SHBoss1673

Couple of things, first, it doesn't matter if you do cardio 4 times a day for 10 minutes each time, or 40 minutes all at once, if you are at the same heart rate, you'll have the same calorie burn. That's been proven time and time again by clinical trials.
Second, generally, mixing weight training and cardio in the same day is only good if you're doing very light weights and high reps, and/or doing low intensity cardio like walking or a slow jog on the tread mill. Why? Well because when you weight train with any significant amount of weight, you're tearing down your muscle fibers, this requires a period of regeneration and recovery. Trying to do cardio with those same muscles (even secondarily) is not going to do nearly as much for you as it would if you isolate your routines. That isn't to say a light to moderate cardio session for about 15 to 20 minutes before you weight train is bad, it's fine, but working heavy cardio before weights, or vice versa can reduce the good the exercises are doing for your body by forcing muscles to work either while depleted, or during their repair cycle.

3rd, at 17% body fat, there's absolutely no reason for you to even care what you weigh. 17% is outstanding, and I can guarantee that you have very little, if any, body fat that you can see, now if you don't have a lot of muscle, then lose skin can look a little like body fat (many times this happens around the middle), but that's something that time and a healthy diet with a healthy amount of good fats, minerals, and exercise will fix.

4th, make sure your calorie deficit is VERY small, at 17% body fat, almost any significant deficit is going to panic your metabolism, forcing it to start storing fat and slowing down organ function, you need to feed your engine, and make sure, at that %, that you're eating exercise calories, the body doesn't care whether the calories it needs are from general daily activity or from exercise, all it knows is that it has caloric demands, and if you're constantly depriving your body of the needed calories, it's going to fight back in the only way it knows how, which is to slow you down and store more energy.

Thank you! That really helped. The only thing is im doing a "challenge/contest" at the gym for body fat %.... And yesterday I gained 2%! So now im at 19% body fat which is not good at all. I was trying to lose body fat not gain...

what tool are they measuring with? If it's calipers, then 2% is within the margin for error, I wouldn't even count it. Also, calipers greatly depend on the skill of the person using them, and everyone measures a little bit different. if you REAAAAALLLY want to know, go find a hydrostatic test center or a bod pod, they cost around 75 bucks and are accurate to within 1% usually.

karissastephens

That is a lot of money just to find out your percentage.... hmm.. but thank you anyway! :laugh: