One month and one pound down - Help please!

JoyTLA

I have no idea what's going on and need some advice! I started at 132.5 (5'2) trying to lose 10 pounds and have been eating approx. 1200 calories a day. I don't log my water, but drink about 4-5 cups a day. I exercised 7 days the first week (cardio, 30 mins) and not much lately. Even without the cardio, how can I only have lost 1 pound in 4 weeks with such a calorie deficit?

Please, any suggestions???

lilpoindexter

Are you adding stuff like cooking oil, ketchup, salad dressing, etc?

mimieob

maybe you are not eating enough....

karbear1103

don't lose all faith, these things take time. i've "only" lost 2.4 lbs. in the same amount of time -- not much more than you. i obviously have the metabolism of a snail. i've been very good about portioning and being more active. before i started logging those things on here (and in my everyday life), i had a very physical job for nearly a year that toned me up and i saw loss in pant sizes (from a 16 to a 10/12 in fact!!) and the way all my clothes fit overall long, long before i shed even a pound (which of course drove me NUTS but now i see why, i wasn't controlling my intakes/activity at all). i'm giving myself an entire YEAR to get to goal weight. talk about a LONG, drawn-out, difficult (often, as i love to eat) commitment. but so worth it in the long run. all the best to you!! also a tip that may help you is a friend of mine has her diary listed in periods of time (i.e. 7:30 am - 10:30 am). this may help you better identify when you are consuming the most cals. everyone's different -- just throwing the idea out there. be well and above all don't judge yourself too harshly!!

Lozze

How tall are you?

getmefit22

The only way I can lose is to quit eating white sugar and flour.

dinosnopro

Seems legit, 1/2 a pound a week ( depending on TDEE, you could probably eat more though ) Women also have the disadvantage of TOM, it will mess with your loss numbers a bit.

KristieWade

muscle weighs more than fat. If you built any muscle then it could show you haven't changed at all. In the early stages it's best to go by what your clothes feel like and to measure yourself. you'll be surprised to wake up one day and realize that the scale is not reading that you don't have as much fat..it's reading your overall weight. I suggest (without looking at your diary) to measure yourself and track that as well. I noticed the changes in measurements before I noticed the change in weight on the scale.

Lalo_Nyc

I think you are being too hard on yourself. I would suggest you increase the water intake, give up the all sodas, and add movement throughout the day. You don't have much to lose so this is the hardest path.

Walk instead of driving, taking the steps instead of the elevator, take the long way from parking lot, go to snack bar/cafeteria the long way. I joined the gym in January and have been going about 3 times a week, some weeks I can go 4 times, others I can only make it 2 times. You may get discouraged at first because you are in gym and watching what you eat and the weight may not be coming off as fast you would like.

Track your progress with a pedometer. Drink plenty of water and please, try to get 7-8 hours of sleep a day. This is very easy to overlook in our busy schedule, http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/lack-of-sleep-weight-gain .

A trainer recommended I switch up my workout a bit to include interval or hill training. Elliptical machines and treadmills both have this setting. Here is a great article that covers the benefits of interval training, http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/interval-training-workouts.

Good luck,

Ed from NYC

stephallen139

You definitely need to drink more water, but you're also probably not eating enough, especially with 7 days of cardio per week. Make sure that the calories you are consuming aren't junk calories. If you haven't yet, you should look into BeachBody's Shakeology. It's a meal replacement shake packed with vitamins and nutrients (and it's yummy too).

Consider taking a day to rest, I know it might seem counterintuitive, but your body needs time to repair itself. Perhaps instead of doing heavy cardio, just take a nice walk or something. If you're not doing any strength training, you should find ways to add that to your routine, even if it's just push-ups in the morning and crunches before bed. Muscles burn fat, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn when you're not working out. Strength training is equally important in a fitness routine.

Most importantly, hang in there. Even if the scale isn't moving, you're still taking care of yourself and that is important.

nonafit

Scale is not the only indicator. Use measurement tape. Take couple of measurements for arms, chest, waist, hips, thighs etc and use that to gauge. You measure heart rate as well to see how you are improving will all that cardio. And measure body fay. When scale is not moving..something else is. Oh yes take some pictures ...have your own before and after. You probably can see better toning.

In term of food can't help...don't know what you are eating. As for exercise...keep that cardio going

ocukor1

It is harder to lose weight once when your weight is already low, you might want to do some strength exercise and avoid the sugary stuff. The trick is not to under cut your calories a lot, but to clean up your diet as much as possible and have a slight deficit. Your body reacts to every change you make, if you eat too little it will slow down metabolism, sometimes you just have to eat more often (not more, more often) but smaller quantities of clean food to speed up your metabolism. Oatmeal is fine, but anything flavored and processed with added sugar will get in your way of your goal. People also have different sensitivity to carbs, simple carbs tend to spike your insulin hormone which pretty much shuts your fat burning for a while, so if you like having a chocolate bar every once in a while throughout the day, you pretty much rob yourself from losing fat all day.

BR3ANDA

Try to add fresh veggies, minimize the sweet treats to a couple times times a week and replace them with fresh fruit if you have a nagging sweet tooth. Going through your diary I hardly see any fresh fruit or veggies at all. They are very important for your digestion as they help "move" stuff, fiber is very beneficial. Try to drink more water, plain water, not fluids, and dont be afraid to consume more than 1200 cals, most days you dont get there. It could take a while to lose 10 lbs since you dont have much to lose, but dont get discouraged, it'll come off.

hyde1977

Eat More....Drink more water.....when you are that low already you need to eat more to lose.....I know its hard to beleive but it is true.....

Try changing your goals to 1 pound or 1/2 a pound per week. Give it 3-4 weeks and re-adjust as necessary....if you are working out 7 days a week you are not giving your body enough fuel!

snelson0511

Maybe it's how your body burns fuel and you aren't eating your calories all spread out throughout the day. My body when I only eat 3 meals I can't seem to lose because my body goes into starvation mode it seems like. What works best for my body are 200-300 calories mini meals every 2-3 hours. Even though I seem to eat more I lose weight and feel great all day.

I also think I might be hypoglycemic so that's my problem too...no energy between meals with the 3 meal plan...

GrettaBaker

There are numerous factors that could be contributing to the slow lose, especially when you don't have a large amount of weight to loose. The following come to mind first.
1. Are you eating 6 small meals daily? (metabolism increases with 6 small meals daily) key to remember you have to have a deficit, i.e. burn more than you take in daily.
2. What is your Carb, fat, sugar and protien ratio? (need carbs for energy but too many can affect you weight lose)
3. Staying active is key to any weight lose, even if you do 10 - 15 mins a couple times daily to equal 30 - 40 min

Don't get too discouraged, at least you have lost something. Keep tracking you food, drinks and exercise, it can be very enlightening. Good luck!

JoyTLA

Thank you all so very much!!! You are the nicest most helpful bunch ever!!

To answer a few questions, I'm short (about 5'2) and did 7 days of cardio only the first week and then 2-3 days of cardio the other weeks, so I'm not working out that much.

I'm really honest in my food diary. I log everything I put in my mouth and weigh with a food scale.

I was hoping for a 4 pound loss this month, not 4 pounds in 4 months

I'm going to cut out the chocolate bar at night, add more fruits and veggie, and not sure what else?

Lozze

Sorry I did miss your height in the OP. You are a healthy weight currently so it's not going to be easy to lose the weight. It might be worth looking into weight lifting as that will change your body composition which would seem to be the better option for you.

anjsdav

Seems legit, 1/2 a pound a week ( depending on TDEE, you could probably eat more though ) Women also have the disadvantage of TOM, it will mess with your loss numbers a bit.

Hey that Male / Female thing just is not fair! The guys tend to loose faster! Well I looked up the acronyms and found that TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) gives me a different take on how much my body burns from idle to little activity to heavy activity. My health insurance company's weight management counselor says that I should have 1000 calorie deficit per day to get the 2lb per week goal I just can't seem to hit (hitting half that with myfitness pal's calculations). Right now...I'm leaning how to be patient. Hope this site helps: http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html