Busting my *kitten* and not losing anything. Help!

shutterbabe

Ok. I'm a 26 year old female and 148 pounds. Goal weight is 125. I work out 4 to 5 days a week and watch what I eat. My schedule pretty much consists of:

Monday:
45 minutes pilates
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes circuit strength training

Tuesday:
45 minutes pilates
60 minutes cardio

Wednesday:
45 minutes pilates
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes circuit strength training

Thursday:
45 minutes pilates
60 minutes cardio

Friday:
30 minutes cardio
30 minutes circuit strength training

Sometimes I may miss a pilates class or do only two days of circuit training but for the most part this is my routine. For the first month I was only doing an hour of cardio 5 days a week. Then 3 weeks ago I started adding the strength training. So I've been busting my *kitten* for about two months and I've lost a total of........2 pounds. :huh:

WHY?

I feel so freakin' discouraged and dragging my butt to the gym is getting tougher and tougher because I feel like it's not making any difference anyway! Yes, I have better endurance and stamina and my mood is better. I see my body getting maybe a tiny bit more toned and I can almost make out a six pack outline but it's covered with fat! Why wont this fat go away? What can I do to lose this weight that I'm not already doing?

My food intake. I'm diligent at recording my food monday through friday. I dont really keep too much track on some weekends and when I'm on my period. I dont go drinking often at all; maybe a couple times a month. I do have an occasional candy bar or cup of ice cream. I probably indulge a little about once a week. When I do "cheat" I watch my portions. Do I really need to cut all indulgences all together? I figure with all the calories I burn (on average 400 - 800 monday thru friday) I can afford to cheat sometimes. My calorie amount is set to 1200 and I usually stay within that range. I've tried both eating back my exercise calories and not eating them back. Do I need to be eating more? I've been doing a lot of research but I'm scared to up my calorie amount because I already have a hard time hitting a 1200 base sometimes.

I dont think this can be appropriately labeled as a plateau because you have to actually LOSE weight first to hit a plateau. I havent really begun to lose at all. Period. I even gained a pound or two during a couple of these weeks. I dont know what to do. :frown:

daniellexcara

bump, i have almost the exact same problem. i work out at least 4 times a week and i eat well and after a month, NOTHING LOST.

SherryTeach

So if you don't track your food on the weekends or when you are having your period, that adds up to about 13 days a month, or more than a third of the time. I don't think that would be exactly considered diligent food tracking. Try a month of tracking everything you eat ALL the time and report back then.

stronglikebull

So if you don't track your food on the weekends or when you are having your period, that adds up to about 13 days a month, or more than a third of the time. I don't think that would be exactly considered diligent food tracking. Try a month of tracking everything you eat ALL the time and report back then.

yep!

open your diary up and we can give you a lot more advice

geekyjock76

Honestly, 105 minutes of exercise is an awful lot; so is burning between 400 to 800 calories. You likely are already creating a huge deficit from food. And let me understand this: you are struggling to even gross 1200 calories total?

shutterbabe

So if you don't track your food on the weekends or when you are having your period, that adds up to about 13 days a month, or more than a third of the time. I don't think that would be exactly considered diligent food tracking. Try a month of tracking everything you eat ALL the time and report back then.

I do track most weekends. And some days during TOM. It's not like I'm eating totally differently during these days anyway, I'm just not as active on MFP during these days.

NWCountryGal

Let us see what you are eating. Exercise is only half the total equation. A person can work their *kitten* off and not be losing totally because of their numbers being wrong(calorie-wise).

denise:drinker: :drinker:

74Bauer

I am feeling the same way. Myfitnesspal says I am not getting enough calories,but I am not loosing. I walk 21/2 miles a day plus my other work, so I am not sitting on my duff.

deevatude

u do need to eat more or u need to cut down on exercise

Music4Hym777

My guess is that you either need to scale back your exercise, eat more, or train differently. It looks like your body could be over exhausted from that kind of working out. Do you have any of the symptoms of OverTraining Syndrome?

ChappyEight

I am feeling the same way. Myfitnesspal says I am not getting enough calories,but I am not loosing. I walk 21/2 miles a day plus my other work, so I am not sitting on my duff.

You answered your own question. Eat more.

fairc3jam

I have the same problem and I know it's the food. Loosing veerrryyyy sssllllooooowwwllly. Guess I either go on an unsustainable meal plan or be patient. I'll be patient.

SocWkrBee

u do need to eat more or u need to cut down on exercise

This is what I am thinking. MFP sets your calorie goal so you can lose weight based on diet alone. Once you exercise it gives you those calories back to consume, should you choose to do so. You are very active and 1200 calories is barely enough to sustain you without all of that activity. With about 20 pounds to lose, I would think that a deficit for 1 to 0.5 lbs lost per week would be sufficient.

Hopefully some other more wise owls will chime in.

le20togo

This is me exactly, though I have been doing it for six months!! I started doing an intense boot camp class in Jan this year, that is 3-4 days a week for 1 hr , then I try to do cardio or walking on other days. I recently injured my foot so I haven't been able to run much. I have noticed a difference in my stamina and how much I'm able to lift/do but no change in weight...slight change in inches. I have consistently stuck to 1200 calories, but recently decided I'm going to increase calories to 1800-2000 per day because nothing seems to be working. I only have about 15-20 lbs to lose, but its so discouraging!!! I'll let you know how the calorie increase goes...so far I've gained about 3 pounds but they say to give it 8 weeks, I have to force myself to eat sometimes cause I got used to eating so little. Hopefully this works!!

waffleflavoredtea

Stop your current routine, take a 3 day break from any exercise except light walking, then change your routine and do something completely different. I had the same problem and I talked to a personal trainer who said that our bodies need to be challenged with new types of exercise and intensity so we don't adapt, or our weight loss will halt for a looong time. I'd highly recommend taking up a strength training class and do that 3-4x a week every other day, and add in a NEW form of cardio (dancing, elliptical, stair treadmill, anything), then do that for maybe...2 weeks. Then take another couple rest days and reevaluate from there.

The trainer I know is super smart and after I started taking his advice I've lost weight and inches already. It's so important to change it up!

jah0217

I had the calorie problem, and you need to start eating most of those calories back, your body is in starvation mode! I know how hard it is to eat that many calories, so try things like nuts, avacados, eggs, dairy, and meat. These are higher calorie items that aren't just "junk." I also try to cut out processed foods. I mean, have some salad dressing, but your main course should not come out of a can or package of any kind. Hope this helps!

wlkumpf

try what the person before me said and changing it up and for 3 weeks eat at least 1/2 of your excersize calories back. IT takes a while for our bodies to get out of starvation mode.

i didn't look at your diary, but make sure you are getting enough protein with all your excersize. Try having carbs earlier in the day to get your metabolism going and then more protein the rest of the day. That has worked for me anyways. But for sure, 3 weeks! Your body has to reset from starvation mode.

Gregnwo

I agree. Your body needs a good shock of something different. You should be continually changing up your routine and exercises otherwise your body learns the pattern and plateaus. It's one of those things that is so easy to fall into you have to be mindful of it.

shutterbabe

Stop your current routine, take a 3 day break from any exercise except light walking, then change your routine and do something completely different. I had the same problem and I talked to a personal trainer who said that our bodies need to be challenged with new types of exercise and intensity so we don't adapt, or our weight loss will halt for a looong time. I'd highly recommend taking up a strength training class and do that 3-4x a week every other day, and add in a NEW form of cardio (dancing, elliptical, stair treadmill, anything), then do that for maybe...2 weeks. Then take another couple rest days and reevaluate from there.

The trainer I know is super smart and after I started taking his advice I've lost weight and inches already. It's so important to change it up!

I do alternate different cardios each time and change up the intensitys regularly. That circuit strength training I do is also different each day. I give myself a rest in between each strength training day and I rest two days on the weekends.

amrita0286

My honest advice would be to maybe slow down on the exercise. Your body may be exhausted and since you are not fueling it properly, it may have gone into starvation mode, making it incredibly difficult for you to drop any weight.

My suggestion would be to start tracking down everything you are eating, even when you are on your period and even when you are snacking on the weekends. It's important to know exactly how many calories you are eating. You might be severely low in calories, since you're burning a whole lot from exercising daily OR you might be severely mistaken and are actually eating too much. Sometimes eating things high in sugar or processed packaged foods can contain a lot of calories even though they might appear to be healthy. So the only way to help you is to figure out where you are going wrong. I would start with these suggestions.

I'm losing weight and I'm not exercising as hard as you, the most I do is 75 minutes, so you might be exhausting yourself out. Also, try to change up your workouts, if your body gets too use to a certain workout, it becomes routine and harder to lose. That's why I alternate between cardio and hot yoga and it seems to be working for me.

geekyjock76

Based on your comment that you are scared to up your calories as you already have a hard time eating 1200 calories, I'm going to guess that you have been eating well below your predicted maintenance range for quite a long time. You do that and you can wave your Resting Metabolic Rate goodbye and expect to lose true body fat at a snail's pace.

knowwhentoshutup

If you are serious about wanting to lose weight:

1. Start by educating yourself. If you are new, try starting here to learn more about the difference between your BMR and TDEE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

You should always net above your BMR (base metabolic rate), which is what your body needs to function if you were to do nothing but lay in bed. Again, net means calories consumed minus calories expended during exercise.

Find where you need to be, usually 20% under your TDEE will give you weight loss. If you undercut that amount you are not adequately fueling your body, and will train your body to require less, which can slow your metabolism.

2. Understand that food is fuel. Your body needs it. Period.

3. Track more than weight. Consider other goals, not based on the scale. Measurements, endurance, etc.

4. Be patient. Give your body time (at least 4 weeks) to respond to changes.

nstenzer

if you really are (and I can't vouch for your intake) creating that large of a deficit for that long of a time, even if your body is in a "starvation mode" you still will drop fat if it's over several months, it's just a slower process, so check your intake records including those you miss.

that said, is there any possibility you are building muscle at the same pace as losing fat? muscle is more dense, so if you're feeling/looking more toned you could be offsetting your fat loss with substantial muscle gain. if that is the case, i would turn the frown upside down ;-)

last thing, look into "wheat belly", it's a new hypothesis with the way the now ubiquitous dwarf wheat retains fat in the human body. if you're calorie intake is low, you probably are not consuming many carbs, but if you might steer clear of flour, that might help with the stubborn belly fat.

and with that, i think i'm out of ideas, good luck, keep up the good work and be prudent about your recording, cheers!

vsetter

I'm with everyone else. Up those calories. You are not eating enough for the amount of exercise that you are doing. You've got to eat more to build muscle (and you wouldn't want all of your strength training to go to waste

viad25720

I think you may need to take a month or two off and start over. You have probably destroyed your metabolism! So let's say you eat 1200 cals one day, burn 800, your body has 400 cal to run off of when your bmr is probably around 2,000 cals +/- so that means you have about a 2-4 lb weight loss roughly just from cal deficit. But you have lost nothing. This means your body is in starvation mode. You need to reset yourself, stop all the exercise n low cal intake, be care free several weeks then start over. I'm not saying pig out and be lazy, just cool it down a lot. Let your body rest. Then, jump back I'm but try and make it so AFTER you subtract exercise you're at 1200 min. Should be about 1600-1700 to start and then work your way down. Hope this helps.

CMcD1445

What you eat is as important as what you don't. If you feel you are stuck; try to experiment with your habits.

I highly recommend reading "The Primal Blueprint" by Mark Sisson. Even if you don't decide to follow a primal diet, there is some very good information in there about conventional wisdom of food and exercise.

no1canadianangel

food is 3/4 of it... open your diary... also, are you drinking enough water? that could also be a huge part of it

Yummamamma

measurements, measurements, measurments

Masterdo

I don't get the point of this thread...

You already know the answer, and it seems you started the thread just to argue with people telling you that answer...

You are not eating enough to fuel those workouts, and you are not consistent with food intake tracking 43% of the time (TOM + weekends). Since diet alone is around 80% of the efforts towards losing fat (not just famishing, actual educated eating habits, sustainable and geared towards recovery), you are roughly sabotaging 35% of all your efforts on a monthly basis.

In this month's Triathlete magazine, a pro tracked his food intake for a week just for fun and ended up at 5900 calories. You are not there, but with 105 minutes of workout daily and not even intaking 1200 calories, it's just delusional to think you are doing anything else other than killing yourself for no reason or result.

To quote some cheesy Internet trendy saying : If you do what you've always done, you'll get the results you've always gotten. You tried this, doesn't work. Try something else.

starving2Bskinny

I had the same problem, and around the same time I happened to get a blood test done and found out I had hypothyroidism which is a condition that slows your metabolism down, among other things. Once I got treated I began losing again by continuing with my routine.
Hope this helps!

MemphisKitten

Our bodies adapt very quickly to workouts. It could be that your body is just used to the cardio and pilates that you are doing every day. Try mixing up your workouts so you don't do the same workout twice in one week. Like this:
Monday- Running and Upper Body Strength Training
Tuesday- Elliptical
Wednesday- Stairmaster and Lower Body Strength Training
Thursday- Swimming
Friday- Bicycling and Abdominal Strength Training
Saturday- Play a Sport or go Hiking with Friends
Sunday- Off Day

This should take care of your plateau if you continue the same eating patterns.