Where am i going wrong?

leahruff

After a back injury i gained 8 stone, Ive lost 3 of it over the past 2 years just through swimming 2 or 3 times a week, but i think my body has just stopped agreeing with me. I now eat around 800 - 1200 calories per day and i do a circuits class 2 - 3 times a week ( Its a exercise class that has me lying on the floor for about 2 days after through the pain of it). I cant up my exercise much more because my back wont allow it.

I seem to be stuck at 15 stone i eat veg or salad with every meal, I drink loads of water, and i exercise but yet my weight just hasn't budged for about 3 month. Does anyone know what I can do to get myself going again!

Celliott411

Well you definitely need to be eating more than 800 calories! And when you reach 800 and 1200 is that before or after exercise? Increase your calories and make sure you eat back your workout calories. That's always a good place to start!

cckellympls

Yes I agree that you need to eat more. Eat more to lose more!!!

skywa

you either need to eat more or cut out one of those ciurcut classes n replace it with a long walk instead.

stanvoodoo

1200 min net calories, that's after exercise!!! Make sure you are getting lots of protein or that exercise is not helping you any!! Plus lots of water and fiber!!!

Hopefully once you feed your body it will know that it is ok to release and you will start to lose. You should alos take measurments, that works much better as far as seeing results than the scale!!!

leahruff

I didnt really think to include the calories that i work off while im exercising, the trainer said ill be burning about 500 calories per session so on the days i have 800 cals it must reduce to 300 calories.

I find it really hard to try to eat more, i think my body has just become used to not eating much, i used to be able to go to TGI fridays and have 3 full courses, now when i go i get a starter as a main!

Ill try upping my calories on the days i exercise and see how it goes over the next few weeks,

Thanks guys!

justinperry

a lot of people think that simply eating less is the solution to their weight problems and partly this is correct.
you need to make sure your body has enough calories to perform the tasks you set it, if you do nothing all day, desk job, drive home no exercise etc then you should have appropriate calories for that and depends on your body size, height etc as to what that will be, myfitnesspal works it all out for you. if you exercise for an hour you can burn anywhere from 200 to over 1000 calories and if you dont have the correct fuel to perform that task your body doesn't cope and switches into starvation mode and hold on to all the weight you have because it thinks it might not get any more calories any time soon which is why people struggle to lose weight when they do extreme calorie cutting and high intensity exercise plans for longer periods of time (i think your 3 months would count)
also, regarding your back injury, what kinds of exercise do you do? mostly cardio and group classes? i would highly reccommend some strength training, it will help build and strengthen the muscles in your back that, through the injury and recovery period were affected. making the back stronger and developing endurance in those muscles will help you go longer in your other exercise as well as have less pain after the stuff you are already doing.
being one myself i would insist you seek professional advice from a qualified personal trainer. although there would be a cost involved, personal trainers can help you do the best exercises in the best way to help you with the back issues.
sorry if i got a bit off topic there

leahruff

The Exercise class i do has a mix of half cardio and half strengthing, the first week i felt pain in muscles i never knew existed. I had a personal trainer and he was doing the same thing as i am currently doing in the class just not as costly.

The Trainer knows about my back and has advised me on the best exercises to do to strengthen the muscles in my lower spine.
The past month of the class has enabled me to come off my painkillers which is one thing i suppose i can be thankful for! I was on alot of tablets for a long time that were causing even more health problems.

yarwell

Its a exercise class that has me lying on the floor for about 2 days after through the pain of it

A sore muscle is a swollen muscle with water retention adding to the scale weight. I wouldn't do that for the minor calorie benefit.

How much protein do you eat per day ? I would think 80-100g is appropriate (based on little information !)

Helloitsdan

I now eat around 800 - 1200 calories per day and i do a circuits class 2 - 3 times a week ( Its a exercise class that has me lying on the floor for about 2 days after through the pain of it).

Found the issue here......

leahruff

I eat about 40-60g of protein according to my tracker.

hephzibah22

I completely agree with everyone that's saying to eat more calories...it'll help a ton.

Also, do you do any weight training? Adding that maybe 1 or 2 times a week will help you to retain the muscle strength you have (since too much cardio without weight training will result in a loss of muscle, which isn't very beneficial for healthy weight loss). It should help since having more muscle means burning more fat in a shorter amount of time.

Despite the notion that women "bulk up" when working out with weights, it's just not true (not unless you're taking steroids, tons of supplements like creatine or whey protein, and working out for 3 hours every single day. haha), so there's no need to worry about that.