I'm obviously doing something wrong here

carloubrew

We both are doing something wrong. I am at the point of giving up. I try to eat the allotted amount of calories that MFP calculated but I am so used to eating 2000 calories until I feel hungry all of the time and I keep a headache.

I have just recently started to get more physically active but I can only do five minutes of Jillian Michaels at one time. By the time I catch my breath and do 2 of the 5 minutes I am like "forget it". I need some help. One weigh in will be positive and the next one will be aweful.

What do I do?

3laine75

make sure you have your activity level as sedentary if you are eating back your calories.

3laine75

don't cut the strength training - its not making you bulky - fat is. strength training will cut your body fat % and improve cardio health. everyone is different, fiddle with your calories till you find what works - MFP uses averages and NOBODY is average

MerBear1985

I don't know if anyone has said this yet but you need to switch up your workouts. Not just alternating the same two things on the two days. Try a class, or a new machine, or do intervals or something. If you keep doing the same exercise your body gets used to it and it's no longer burning as many calories as it was.

Just a thought...even though 0.5lb per week is a very sustainable weightloss.

Merithyn

We both are doing something wrong. I am at the point of giving up. I try to eat the allotted amount of calories that MFP calculated but I am so used to eating 2000 calories until I feel hungry all of the time and I keep a headache.

I have just recently started to get more physically active but I can only do five minutes of Jillian Michaels at one time. By the time I catch my breath and do 2 of the 5 minutes I am like "forget it". I need some help. One weigh in will be positive and the next one will be aweful.

What do I do?

Walk. That's the best advice I can offer: walk. It's what got me moving in the first place, and it's the only reason I can do any other kind of activity right now. It kept me mentally sane, and helped me work a little more every day. I started walking 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. Now, I walk 3-5 miles every day, plus hit the gym. Forget the Jillian crap, the hard-and-heavy workouts, etc, for now. Get to the point that you can walk 3 miles a day, THEN look into that other stuff.

Another suggestion is to make sure you try to focus on "filling foods" like fresh vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Protein also helps you stay full-feeling longer than carbs. Soup has been shown to make you feel fuller longer, too, so throw everything into a pot, add some fat-free veggie stock, heat and serve. Same calories but lasts longer.

I understand SO well the desire to just give it up, but I'm on the downhill side of middle age and I'm just not ready to give up on myself. I want to enjoy the last half of my life, and that means that I have to work hard now. It's only going to get harder as I get older. That's why I even posted this thread. I NEED to fix what's broken, one way or another.

slays1415

First, I think your food diary looks GREAT! I also wouldn't give up the strength training. That said, really try to mix it up - the classes at the gym that do weights plus cardio, bands, balls, strengthening using body weight, etc. are fantastic and will keep you from getting bored. I also find that kind of strength training to have no risk of causing bulky muscles. However, find good ones where you really feel like everything was worked when you're done (and it should include cardio bursts, in my opinion). I'm not a fan of eating back calories but rather eating the same every day, so I don't feel like I have to starve on days I don't work out. The most important thing is to keep tweaking things until something works - you've made it clear that you don't want to stay where you are!

jenngi620

I'd say if you are confident you are doing things as right as you care to, just be patient. My weight loss is never a steady slope. It took me 10 days to loose 6 lbs, gained it back, then 2 months to lose 10, then I zoomed down to 15 lost in one month, now bounced up a bit again. If you've improved your lifestyle and are a healthier person just roll with it. Or- you could quit and go back to being unhealthy and keep gaining weight like before. Steady state seems pretty good when you look at it that way, no?

kerchki

My non-expert thought... I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 173.5 (down 45 pounds) and when I entered that I want to lose 1-2 pounds a week and my lifestyle is inactive (not including my exercise that I track) MFP set my goal net calories to 1200. I noticed that yours is 1400. Perhaps, again just my non-expert opinion, that yours should be 1200 as well?

Merithyn

don't cut the strength training - its not making you bulky - fat is.

**SMH**

riverain

Have you been tracking your body fat percentage? That will tell you more about what is going on with your body. You mention that you feel like your muscles look too bulky. If you are losing fat at the same time as you are gaining muscle, your overall measurements are going to be the same, but the ratio of muscle:fat that creates those numbers are changing. HANG IN THERE! I know this is a hell of a lot easier for me to say than to actually do, and I have friends yelling this same thing at me because I struggle too... but you will reach that tipping point where you start losing faster because you have built up enough muscle for your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day. If you are concerned about looking bulky (I personally like the athletic look), look into pilates or ballet based methods which focus on low weights/high reps to strengthen without bulking.

EmilySG2011

I'm also in your same boat....although I'm not working out like you are. I have cut my calories way back focusing mainly on protein keeping carbs to a minimal in my diet. I don't like food in general so this diet isn't too hard for me. However, I'm adding lbs instead of losing. I would be excited to see a drop in any increments at all. I have however lost a few inches. It's so hard to know the right mix and what is most effective---I think this varies from each indiviudal. I have also heard from a friend that met with a dietician---they recommended 3 weeks of lower calories 1 week boosting calories to a higher level. This helps increase your metabolism. I think sometimes our bodies get in a rut from routine.

peppa33

I'm not an expert, but it could be that if you've only just started working out you'll be delveloping your muscles, muscle weighs heavier that fat so you may have lost weight in terms of fat but the scales don't reflect this because of the developed muscle. Please don't be disheartened, keep going and the scales will start to show a difference as will your clothes x

EmilySG2011

We both are doing something wrong. I am at the point of giving up. I try to eat the allotted amount of calories that MFP calculated but I am so used to eating 2000 calories until I feel hungry all of the time and I keep a headache.

I have just recently started to get more physically active but I can only do five minutes of Jillian Michaels at one time. By the time I catch my breath and do 2 of the 5 minutes I am like "forget it". I need some help. One weigh in will be positive and the next one will be aweful.

What do I do?

____
Try the Special K Protein shakes. These are great for breakfast or snacks and will help with the hungry feeling. Increase protein snacks---they stay with you longer.

Merithyn

Have you been tracking your body fat percentage? That will tell you more about what is going on with your body. You mention that you feel like your muscles look too bulky. If you are losing fat at the same time as you are gaining muscle, your overall measurements are going to be the same, but the ratio of muscle:fat that creates those numbers are changing. HANG IN THERE! I know this is a hell of a lot easier for me to say than to actually do, and I have friends yelling this same thing at me because I struggle too... but you will reach that tipping point where you start losing faster because you have built up enough muscle for your body to burn more calories 24 hours a day. If you are concerned about looking bulky (I personally like the athletic look), look into pilates or ballet based methods which focus on low weights/high reps to strengthen without bulking.

Is there a way to do this without a body fat caliper? Or a way to get a cheap set of calipers? My gym doesn't have them, so I have no way to track this. I think it would do wonders for me if I could!

Actually, a lot of my measurements are going up (biceps, calves, thighs), so I know I'm building muscle. The question is why am I not losing fat? Diet seems the most likely culprit, specifically carb/protein/fat ratios. Time to shake that up a bit and see what happens.

SatchGallamax

My primary focus is NOT gaining strength. It's to lose fat/gain better cardio.

I could be wrong here, but the best way to lose fat and have better endurance is by gaining strength.

I can say from my personal experience that it takes time... I'm in my 6th week of a weight lifting & cardio routine (alternating days) and I'm just now s-l-o-w-l-y starting to see the inches come off and the weight go down. I do my best to eat clean, eat enough, and hit my macros. I'm not perfect, but I know if I stick with it I'll get where I need to be - even if it takes longer than I'd like.

Don't give up!

Merithyn

I can say from my personal experience that it takes time... I'm in my 6th week of a weight lifting & cardio routine (alternating days) and I'm just now s-l-o-w-l-y starting to see the inches come off and the weight go down. I do my best to eat clean, eat enough, and hit my macros. I'm not perfect, but I know if I stick with it I'll get where I need to be - even if it takes longer than I'd like.

Don't give up!

Thank you. This may be exactly what I need to hear right now. I need to get off the instant-gratification wagon, I guess. Damn microwave mentality. *sighs*

mturgeon05

I can say from my personal experience that it takes time... I'm in my 6th week of a weight lifting & cardio routine (alternating days) and I'm just now s-l-o-w-l-y starting to see the inches come off and the weight go down. I do my best to eat clean, eat enough, and hit my macros. I'm not perfect, but I know if I stick with it I'll get where I need to be - even if it takes longer than I'd like.

Don't give up!

Thank you. This may be exactly what I need to hear right now. I need to get off the instant-gratification wagon, I guess. Damn microwave mentality. *sighs*

I completely agree. Weight training is exactly what you need, but you need to be consistant and patient...so hard, right? If you love the cardio, then don't give it up. Maybe cut down on the weights a bit...I do 3 weight training sessions a week with at least a day of rest in between them to allow my muscles time to heal. I don't think you are helping anything by lifting so many days in a row...and if you don't like it, all the more reason to cut back a bit, but don't eliminate it completely!

This is such a mental journey. You need to be realistic and patient with yourself. You are going to have days when you feel amazing about your progress and other days when you feel like you have taking 2 giant steps backwards...this is all normal! Keep your goal in mind and focus on the small victories.

Good luck.

riverain

I don't know if it's true, but it seems like it takes less time to build muscle than to burn fat (for women at least). And there is some universal law that the body part with the fat you dislike most is going to be that last stubborn area to let go.

Your gym should have one of those handheld body fat devices, they are not as accurate as calipers but they should be willing to let you use it for free. I have a Tanita brand body fat scale at home which was about $50 and worth every penny, I have had it for 10 years now. Omron is supposed to be a good brand too.

[I don't really think these online calculators are useful for monitoring change, but more as starting points]. This thread (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12) points to an online fat estimator (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/). The Military one might not tell you much since it is so general, but the Covert Bailey might be more informative since it makes you measure body parts you haven't really thought about where fat loss might be occurring.

I just did a quick search on amazon.com, and there were also several different calipers for less than $10! I might invest in one myself.

Now, I really just need to motivate myself to be as motivated as you have been! I have great days and ok days and then days I would rather not remember, but entering them into MFP has really forced me to be more honest with myself. :-)

lilylight

My non-expert thought... I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 173.5 (down 45 pounds) and when I entered that I want to lose 1-2 pounds a week and my lifestyle is inactive (not including my exercise that I track) MFP set my goal net calories to 1200. I noticed that yours is 1400. Perhaps, again just my non-expert opinion, that yours should be 1200 as well?

I was wondering this, too (above). When I gave MFP my age, height and weight data, put in "sedentary," and said I wanted to lose 1 lb. per week, it gave me 1200 calories. But even that is too many to lose 1 lb per week, based on other calculations. When I compute my BMR on MFP, and use that to compute TDEE (from another site -- it says multiply BMR by 1.2), I get 1505 calories -- i.e., what I need to maintain. If I net 1200, this is a calorie deficit of 305 per day or 2135 per week or only .61 of a lb., not 1! In actuality, I've averaged .8 of a lb per week loss (thus far) -- maybe because I tend to net a bit fewer than I'm allowed. One week I showed NO weight loss whatsoever! But the 3-week average is .8 per week. Out of curiosity, you might want to try these calculations if you haven't.

I certainly share your frustration! When I was younger, all I had to do was cut back on food, and I would definitely lose more than this. And I'm dreading my weekly weigh-in tomorrow because I fear if I have enough "no loss" week I'm going to get depressed.

But hey, make sure you're giving yourself a big pat on the back for all the exercise! Even if you're not getting thinner as fast as you would like, you're surely healthier, stronger, firmer. And like others have said, if the current weight training is neither giving you the look you want nor helping you lose fast enough, I say, a change is in order!

Merithyn

My non-expert thought... I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 173.5 (down 45 pounds) and when I entered that I want to lose 1-2 pounds a week and my lifestyle is inactive (not including my exercise that I track) MFP set my goal net calories to 1200. I noticed that yours is 1400. Perhaps, again just my non-expert opinion, that yours should be 1200 as well?

I was wondering this, too (above). When I gave MFP my age, height and weight data, put in "sedentary," and said I wanted to lose 1 lb. per week, it gave me 1200 calories. But even that is too many to lose 1 lb per week, based on other calculations. When I compute my BMR on MFP, and use that to compute TDEE (from another site -- it says multiply BMR by 1.2), I get 1505 calories -- i.e., what I need to maintain. If I net 1200, this is a calorie deficit of 305 per day or 2135 per week or only .61 of a lb., not 1! In actuality, I've averaged .8 of a lb per week loss (thus far) -- maybe because I tend to net a bit fewer than I'm allowed. One week I showed NO weight loss whatsoever! But the 3-week average is .8 per week. Out of curiosity, you might want to try these calculations if you haven't.

Because I walk so much, Berry suggested that I change my activity to lightly active, and then not log the walking. It's not really beneficial to me anymore since my average distance is 4 miles a day, so it made sense. I've since tweaked a few things in my goals (macros, etc.) and changed it to 1300 calories. That seems a happy compromise between what MFP suggests and what I feel is appropriate for me.

I certainly share your frustration! When I was younger, all I had to do was cut back on food, and I would definitely lose more than this. And I'm dreading my weekly weigh-in tomorrow because I fear if I have enough "no loss" week I'm going to get depressed.

But hey, make sure you're giving yourself a big pat on the back for all the exercise! Even if you're not getting thinner as fast as you would like, you're surely healthier, stronger, firmer. And like others have said, if the current weight training is neither giving you the look you want nor helping you lose fast enough, I say, a change is in order!

Thanks! Hope it all goes well for you, the scale notwithstanding!