Any other "slow losers"?

rdecember6

Hey everyone! I just wanted to put out a search for anyone who like me, is on a slow track to lose a (smaller?) amount of weight. I started on the site weighing in at 150 at 5' 4". That was on July 20th. Two months later I'm at 144.5. That's right folks. Two solid months of being a very good girl and I've lost only 5.5 pounds. My goal is 135. I don't doubt that there are a lot of people out there who are the same height as me and would say that 125 or so is a more appropriate weight for 5' 4", but I've been 135 as an adult, I know what it took to be there, and frankly-I look fabulous at that size!

I am at 1500 calories per day. (about .5 pounds/week) By choice. I simply am unwilling to go lower. I'm hungry enough as it is! So, I choose to excersize as my main way of creating the calorie deficit necessary to lose. (Nothing too insane-4 cardio and 2 weight workouts a week.) My eating habits for right now are as "sterling" as I can handle. I drink very little alchohol, 2 big nalgene bottles of water, 95% of what I eat-including dairy is organic, no bleached flours, no refined sugar, no "convenience foods," no fast food. Seriously-I could be the spokesperson for all-natural eating!

So. Is there anyone out there that is on the same track? I feel like I'm doing all the right things...It really can be just as hard to lose 15 pounds as 60 pounds. Especially because it can take longer! I guess a lot of people would get discouraged to only have lost 5.5 pounds after two months. Just to be clear-I'm not exactly complaining that it's slow going-since I'm choosing to go at it slower-I'm just looking for others who are doing it that way to chat with. I would love to hear from anyone in the same boat! Thanks for enduring the super long post!!

rdecember6

Hey everyone! I just wanted to put out a search for anyone who like me, is on a slow track to lose a (smaller?) amount of weight. I started on the site weighing in at 150 at 5' 4". That was on July 20th. Two months later I'm at 144.5. That's right folks. Two solid months of being a very good girl and I've lost only 5.5 pounds. My goal is 135. I don't doubt that there are a lot of people out there who are the same height as me and would say that 125 or so is a more appropriate weight for 5' 4", but I've been 135 as an adult, I know what it took to be there, and frankly-I look fabulous at that size!

I am at 1500 calories per day. (about .5 pounds/week) By choice. I simply am unwilling to go lower. I'm hungry enough as it is! So, I choose to excersize as my main way of creating the calorie deficit necessary to lose. (Nothing too insane-4 cardio and 2 weight workouts a week.) My eating habits for right now are as "sterling" as I can handle. I drink very little alchohol, 2 big nalgene bottles of water, 95% of what I eat-including dairy is organic, no bleached flours, no refined sugar, no "convenience foods," no fast food. Seriously-I could be the spokesperson for all-natural eating!

So. Is there anyone out there that is on the same track? I feel like I'm doing all the right things...It really can be just as hard to lose 15 pounds as 60 pounds. Especially because it can take longer! I guess a lot of people would get discouraged to only have lost 5.5 pounds after two months. Just to be clear-I'm not exactly complaining that it's slow going-since I'm choosing to go at it slower-I'm just looking for others who are doing it that way to chat with. I would love to hear from anyone in the same boat! Thanks for enduring the super long post!!

TNTPete

I'm not the same height but, I'm a slower loser too.. I think that's a safer way for you body and a good way to keep it off. Not only is it going to stay off but... you will have developed a better diet and your taste buds have been given time to adjust during this change so you'll be more likely to stick with it.

Don't get discouraged because it seems others lose faster.. that's what I tell myself!! everyone is different

cltimes2

I bought a new scale to let me see the changes in my body composition - % body fat vs muscle mass. I am trying to lose weight but I want to make sure that while I am at it, I am not losing weight at the cost of lean body mass. It has been interesting to say the least. Over the last week and a half, I lost one net pound, but of that, 2 pounds of fat went away and I added one pound of muscle. Since muscle is more compact, and burns more calories, I figure it was a pretty good trade and am not at all disappointed in the change.

denmother46

Dont be discouraged. You're probably losing so slowly because you have so little to lose. The last 10 lbs are the hardest. If you had 100 to lose you probably would be losing 2 to 3 lbs a week at the beginning without even pushing too hard.

Hang in there!!

missjacki

I'm purposely losing weight slowly as well. I am 5'5" and 135 trying to get to about 125-127. I've been working out 2x a week for almost a year . I've only lost 2 pounds in a year!!! But I'm OK with that because I didn't change my diet at all and as my trainer told me each pound of lean muscle needs an extra 500 cals a day just to maintain BMR....so for every pound of fat that I convert to muscle I get to eat 500 cals just on BMR alone!!! I don't know how many pounds of fat I've converted but I started with 25% body fat and now I'm down to about 22%, so I know I'm heading in the right direction.

Also, even though I've only lost 2 pounds my clothes fit better and people occasionally remark that I look more "fit".

Now I realize that if I want to reach my goal I'm going to have to adress my diet problems as well so that's why I'm on this site. I'm making the switch from refined carbs to healthy carbs and boy is that an eye opener!!! I love refined carbs....that's all the stuff I look forward to and crave. But, it has to be done, and it's not healthy for my cardiovascular system to eat all those bad carbs, so here I am. It seems like we're on the same track. I'm also on 1500 cals a day like you, but I'm "zoning" so 40% come from good carbs, 30% come from lean protein and 30% come from good fats (such s monounsaturated).

Like the last poster said, that last 10 pounds really is the HARDEST!!!

SugarBearRetired

Count me in. I'm 5'3" and have been doing this for about a monthI went from 154 to 151.5 so far, which doesn't seem like much. I think age plays into it, too. I'm 44 now and know that losing weight was easier when I was 20!

sanlin20

Here is a trick that I learned that can give you a little extra push, especially for those last 10 pounds. Schedule your exercises in the evening (before dinner). For dinner, have lettuce and meat (zero-carb meats like chicken, fish) and lots of water. That means you will have to schedule your high-carb foods earlier in the day and reserve significant portion of your protein allocations for dinner. Due to the early carbs, your body will have enough energy during the day, and will also have an opportunity to burn body fat during the night.

brife17

ok if you are staying one solid weight for awhile, let me let you in on a little secret.......but shhhh its just between us. lol. if you havent been slipping up and you have been sticking to your diet. crash for a day or weekend. but no longer. when your body gets use to the same routine it will keep you where you are. so if you are doing the same exercise routine switch it up a little. but yes you should trest yourself for being so good, just for about three days. then get back in the routine and you should start to see the pounds come off again.
hope it hleps, tell me about it.
Bailey

lotusfromthemud

I am a slow loser. I changed my life, didn't go on a diet. In December of 2005 I weighed 208 pounds. I now weigh 140 (I'm aiming for 135) and I'm 5'6". When I first came on this site to lose the "last ten", I set up at 1200 a day, and wasn't losing. I went up to 1500ish (more when I exercise) and tah-dah...I'm losing.

Also, I'll second Bailey's secret advice to take a few days off. I take a four day break from working out about every eight weeks... it seems to help.

brife17

Thanks Viviakay, i am curious though....i am set up at 1300 right now and plan on going down next week to 1250 iim slowly decreasing my 50 can ya tell lol but i only have been on it for a week and i have lost about 1 1/2 pounds but i am bloated at the present time due to lady problems. Do you suggest i bump my cals up?? i am a little confused lol

abrown323

I am a slow loser as well and am also trying to lose the last 10 pounds. I started on this site at 135 after getting bored with losing 7 pounds with weight watchers. I realize that since I have started to count my calories I haven't lost anything but I realized that I have been starving myself. See, I workout twice a day, once in the morning and again as soon as I get off work. So I was burning about 500 calories a day and only consuming about 1300 so my net calories were 900. NOT GOOD! My body has decided to store any extra fat because of starvation. My body has also gotten used to the same workout routine so starting Monday I wll be doing more weight lifting instead of running on the treadmill. Thank you for making me feel that I am not alone and I am still on the right track. Sometimes I get addicted to weighing myself and if it doens't go down then I tend to get discouraged and go on an eating benge. Now I know that it is not just me and that I can do it too.

WE WILL ALL MEET OUR GOAL!!! I HAVE CONFIDENCE!!

cmriverside

I still contend weighing once a week in the best plan for me. I don't want that constant chain around my ankle, throwing me into emotional ups and downs. I stick with my plan religiously and so far have lost 2 pounds a week for 6 straight weeks.

Weighing on Saturday lets me have a little treat on Sunday, and work like crazy to do enough exercise to off-set it on the same day.

cltimes2

I just read an interesting article that talked about a study that showed that visceral fat (the internal fat found around your organs) is reduced through diet. Visceral fat is a strong contributor to things like adult-onset diabetes. It also said that the subcutaneous fat (the fat right under the skin) is reduced the most when a person exercises. It was saying that this may the reason that folks who focus on diet only, may remain dissatisfied with their body shapes.

I thought it was interesting but yet another reason to work on both exercise AND diet.

dhcwong

Heya,

I'm exactly your height and weight! And the same goal too!

3 weeks ago i started at 150lbs and now i'm at 144lbs, which is good already, but i do want to get to 135lbs.

This week, nothing is happening.

I shall add you as a friend and see how you're doing!

Dawn

kelpie06

I'm there with you in the slow loser department

I've been on this site for nearly two months and I've lost a total of 7 pounds. I am half-way to my goal, which is to be where I was before getting pregnant (135) but what I've already noticed is that I can fit back into almost all of my pants that I was wearing before getting pregnant. These last 6 pounds are going to take me awhile, but I know I've increased muscle which will help me burn calories, etc, etc, etc.

Patience is the key. And like so many people have said before, this is not a diet, this is simply a new way of living.

Hats off to all of us, fast losers or slow losers! :drinker:

tiangelah

I AM ALSO YOUR EXACT HEIGHT AND I AM TRYING TO GET TO 130. I WEIGH 146. I HAVE LOST 1 DANG POUND AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS NOW. . THE SAD THING IS THAT ON GOALS PART OF THIS WEBSITE IT SAYS MY PROJECTED IS 1 POUND. I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE ME LOOSE FASTER. I EAT ABOUT 1200-1500 CALORIES A DAY AND WORK OUT 6 TIMES A WEEK. I THINK I NEED TO RUN 30 MINUTES INSTEAD OF 10. I DO A LOT OF AEROBICS AND STRENGHT TRAINING. GIRL MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR HEIGHT. BUT WE BOTH KNOW THAT FOR SOME STRANGE REASON 5"4 AT 130 OR 135 SURE MAKES US LOOK FINE LOL.

yoginimary

I'm 5'3" or 5'4" on a good day. I started at 170 in September. I'm at 159. I have my goals at 1 lb a week. I exercise every day, weights 3x a week, etc. etc. I think some bodies are more resistant to losing weight. For these people, you just have to keep at it. My goal is 30 pounds total or there abouts - I'm not too picky about weight, more how I look. I remind myself that if I keep at it, I will get there. If I gave up after the first plateau, I would weigh 170 again.

I love cm's "treat" after scale theory - I'm weighing on the wrong day!

Also, missjacki, I don't think a pound of muscle burns that many calories. Otherwise I would just need 4 pounds of muscle for an extra 2,000 calories a day. I believe it is 1:25 ratio, a pound of fat burns 2 extra calories a day, a pound of muscle 50. I could be wrong on this.

I heard Visceral fat was related to stress levels. I'm sure it's inherited as well. My mom's a pear, I'm a pear, wouldn't you like to be a pear too?

kelpie06

Let's hear it for the pears! :drinker:

cmriverside

I AM ALSO YOUR EXACT HEIGHT AND I AM TRYING TO GET TO 130. I WEIGH 146. I HAVE LOST 1 DANG POUND AND I HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS NOW. . THE SAD THING IS THAT ON GOALS PART OF THIS WEBSITE IT SAYS MY PROJECTED IS 1 POUND. I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE ME LOOSE FASTER. I EAT ABOUT 1200-1500 CALORIES A DAY AND WORK OUT 6 TIMES A WEEK. I THINK I NEED TO RUN 30 MINUTES INSTEAD OF 10. I DO A LOT OF AEROBICS AND STRENGHT TRAINING. GIRL MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR HEIGHT. BUT WE BOTH KNOW THAT FOR SOME STRANGE REASON 5"4 AT 130 OR 135 SURE MAKES US LOOK FINE LOL.

Please read these two threads:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions?page=2

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?page=1#posts-19051

dulceluva

Slow is the only way to go if you want to maintain it but so is a great attitude. I have only lost about 4 lbs and its been 3 months now.

rhondababy

This all helps so much. I have been doing it for two months and am only down 6.5 lbs. But, I have had some really hard weeks through out. I spent two and a half weeks in February gaining, and am only now within 1/2 lb of where I was 3 weeks after I started!
I do know that if I give up I will gain for sure, so as far as I'm concerned I don't have any option but to continue. I feel so much better when I feel that am in control of my food, not it in control of me!!!

Have a great weekend everybody!

ohthatbambi

I am a slow user too. It took me a whole year to lose 44 pounds, but I didn't starve and I exercised ALOT!! So I feel like I did it the right way for the first time ever in my life. Maybe this time b/c I did it right and can continue to live/eat this way, it will stay off!

Heatmiser

I am just like all of you too. I am 5'4 and trying to get to 115, but in honesty, I would be happy with anything in the 120's. I have only been doing this for a week, scale hasn't moved, but I feel better. I try not to get on the scale more than once, and that is really only to check-in. I strongly suggest if any of you workout at the gym to have your body fat measured. It is the best way to monitor your progress. The scale takes along time to catch up if you are someone who went from no or little exercise to working out regularly. But exercise is the key to keeping the weight off and increasing your metabolism. I buy a pair of jeans in a smaller size and work towards that a my goal. Also, a personal trainer friend of mine said to avoid all dairy products after 3pm. It is very hard for your body to break them down and use them he said. Please stick with it. I am because thIS site and all you guys are TERRIFIC!

bluewhisper

i'm also 5'4 and weigh 141,just 2 pounds lighter then last month when i joined this site.i seems like have an "obsession "with the scale because every time i go to the gym i weigh myself and feel dissapointed that the scale dosn't move some more.I really want to get to 120-115...i was just a little bit over that goal 3 years ago when i weighted 125.I remember i felt really good about my body,but not anymore.....
I try to work out 3 times a week and i lose between 500-700 cal each times but my weight stays the same day after day....
I have a question for you guys:my net cal are 1240 but if i work out and loose around 700 cal/workout should i eat then around 1900 cal?i ask that just because i don't want just to loose a couple of pounds and starv my body and then put a lot more back on.I just want to do it right and keep the weight off for good.
Thanks.

cmriverside

i'm also 5'4 and weigh 141,just 2 pounds lighter then last month when i joined this site.i seems like have an "obsession "with the scale because every time i go to the gym i weigh myself and feel dissapointed that the scale dosn't move some more.I really want to get to 120-115...i was just a little bit over that goal 3 years ago when i weighted 125.I remember i felt really good about my body,but not anymore.....
I try to work out 3 times a week and i lose between 500-700 cal each times but my weight stays the same day after day....
I have a question for you guys:my net cal are 1240 but if i work out and loose around 700 cal/workout should i eat then around 1900 cal?i ask that just because i don't want just to loose a couple of pounds and starv my body and then put a lot more back on.I just want to do it right and keep the weight off for good.
Thanks.

QUOTE:


Please read these two threads:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions?page=2

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing?page=1#posts-19051

littlespoon

Me too, I'm one of them! I'm 5ft 2in and I have only lost 3 kilos since Oct last year. I have tried eating more, exercising more, exercising less, shaking up my routine, eating less, calorie cycling - you name it, I'm trying it and I havent budged the scales since 22nd December. I have gone back to 61 a couple of times briefly, but I CANNOT get the scales to fall below 60 kilos!!! It feels like they are just stuck there. It is very frustrating!!! My goal weight is 52 kilos.