Finnish young girl's getting discouraged, needs help!

snufs

Hey everyone, I'm a 18-year old girl from Finland who needs some advice! I'm not so heavy, (58 kg/~128 lbs to 168 cm/5'6), but I've always had a huge tummy and I have no idea of how to get rid of it! I've tried Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and now I'm nearly on my second month of Insanity. I haven't been eating junk food or candy since a year and a half and I don't eat cookies and stuff very often. I only drink water and eat a lot of vegetables, eggs and chicken hardly any bread and a lot of fruit! I joined myfitnesspal a few weeks ago so I'm trying to make sur that I'm eating around 1200 calories per day. Although I'm doing all of this, I haven't seen any changes in my body at all! What am I doing wrong? If any of you have any kind of advice I'd be so grateful! I'm getting really discouraged, I know it's a slow process but I just feel like giving up when nothing changes. And I have taken pictures so I can assure you that I look exactly the same as I did half a year ago! If anything, I've gotten more muscles in my arms, but nothing else. HELP ME, PLEASE!!

AlongCame_Molly

Hei Hei!

5'6 is much too tall to only be eating 1200 cals. Your body definitely needs more fuel than that, ESPECIALLY if you are working out and doing Insanity. I did 1200/day for a year, and I only got away with it because I am only 5 feet, and was absolutely sedentary the entire time. You need to eat more. find out your TDEE at iifym.com, and eat 20% less than that number. You should see the weight come off after that.

Hyvaa onnea!

PikaKnight

If you want, check out this link by MFPer Heliotsdan - It'll give you a detailed walkthrough (with pictures even) on finding your TDEE and calculating what you should be eating.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Or for a different version to figure out your TDEE, as well as some great advice...check out:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833500-what-do-i-do-common-sense-cliff-notes
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/844040-raspberry-ketones-for-the-rest-of-us


Also, if you are worried about the calorie intake, I also suggest you read this thread that has numerous people who met their goals and are maintaining. Some for years and they also provide their calorie intake and how often they work out.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/816542-let-s-hear-it-for-maintainenance


For more information about fitness and nutrition, I highly suggest checking out and joining this group: (Read all the stickies. It's great information to know.)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/865230-resources-and-references


For those eating below their BMR (which I think 1200 is below your BMR to be honest), not going to preach at you, but here's something you might want to look at:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/859495-if-only-i-had-known?page=1#posts-12919931


Yes, this is can all be overwhelming and complicated , but you are more than welcome to ask questions on the post.
One of the things that I have found that has been one of the best methods for me to get fit is to understand fitness. To understand where all these figures, etc come from.

The good thing is once you get the hang of it - it is something you'll be aware of constantly and you'll get a better understanding about your eating habits.

So I HIGHLY suggest making the effort to take every chance to educate yourself. Even if you don't end up going with any of these methods, calculations, etc - at least you understand what they are, where others are coming from, and maybe they will still be able to help you figure out what is best for you.

snufs

Thank you both so much! I've always thought that 1200 was 'the magic number', but obviously not. I'll try to eat between 1500-1800 kcal per day from now on. I'll continue on with Insanity and after that is done I have plans on doing 30 day shred once more, mixed with some other kind of exercise. I really hope I will start seeing results after a while! It just feels so strange to eat so much when I'm not used to it, I feel so bloated after every meal, even though I only eat 'regular' food in school and healthier food at home. But yeah, we'll see how it goes.Thanks again, I really appreciate your help!