Stuck at 123 lb!

BoomstickChick

Stuck at 123? What are you trying to do?

fevermaps

Stuck at 123? What are you trying to do?

Trying to get back down to the weight i was a few years ago. 115lb. I'm 5'4 and that looked healthy on me.

fevermaps

so much bad advice in one thread!

read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

lift heavy and eat TDEE - 10% and get enought protein

that is it!

When people say lift heavy how heavy is that?

Heavy is whatever you find heavy. If you find squating 100 lbs while maintaining proper form is heavy then that's heavy. You can't compare yourself to anyone else in that aspect. Push yourself to your personal max.

That's what i'm doing at the moment. I'm mixing cardio with weights every other day.

islandgirl76_

Yes, the closer you get to goal, the harder it is to lose a pound. I am 5"4" 124 pounds and 23% BF and I totally understand how you want to lose a few more!

Have you read about carb cycling? There's a book called Choose to Lose by Chris Powell and I'm sure there are others as well. Basically every day you eat protein & "good" carbs for breakfast and then every other day you eat protein and carbs and the other days you eat protein and healthy fats. I know it sounds kind of gimmicky, but there is a scientific explanation. As a former paleo/low carb eater, this was a lot easier for me that a total carb reload.

fevermaps

Yes, the closer you get to goal, the harder it is to lose a pound. I am 5"4" 124 pounds and 23% BF and I totally understand how you want to lose a few more!

Have you read about carb cycling? There's a book called Choose to Lose by Chris Powell and I'm sure there are others as well. Basically every day you eat protein & "good" carbs for breakfast and then every other day you eat protein and carbs and the other days you eat protein and healthy fats. I know it sounds kind of gimmicky, but there is a scientific explanation. As a former paleo/low carb eater, this was a lot easier for me that a total carb reload.

Will check it out. Thanks!

Doctorpurple

I think we have the same BMI. I'm 1 inch shorter than you and weigh a little less. I don't think you need to lose weight. Depending on how old you are. The 115 you once had is probably because you were young back then and your body matured. I used to weigh less too when I was a teen of course. If you're body fat is 26% you just need to tone and not focus on losing weight too much. Changing your body composition would give you a better look than just plainly losing weight.

fevermaps

I think we have the same BMI. I'm 1 inch shorter than you and weigh a little less. I don't think you need to lose weight. Depending on how old you are. The 115 you once had is probably because you were young back then and your body matured. I used to weigh less too when I was a teen of course. If you're body fat is 26% you just need to tone and not focus on losing weight too much. Changing your body composition would give you a better look than just plainly losing weight.

Yeah you're right. I don't really care about the number on the scale if i can tone myself up. How many calories are you eating a day?

KristyHumphrey

Sorry - but I haven't seen that number in YEARS! I get we all have our thresholds though - good luck

khall86790

How tall are you, and how much are you wanting to lose? At 126 pounds, I cant imagine you being overweight.

I'm 123lb i'm 5'4 and i am not overweight but i could definitely lose a few more pounds. Want to get down to my goal weight of 115lb which is what i was a few years ago.

This sounds like it's still a healthy weight for you. To be honest you may want to start ignoring the scales and start working on exercising to tone your body and you could find that's all you need.
It may feel like you still need to lose a few more pounds but it may be that you need to gain a little on building muscle to tone your body up to get the desired effect!

KristyHumphrey

so much bad advice in one thread!

read this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

lift heavy and eat TDEE - 10% and get enough protein

that is it!

This!

cwolfman13

Being at an already healthy weight and BF%, any fat stores you do have are going to come off very slowly. Your body is a smart machine and doesn't want to deplete fat stores and it knows you are at a healthy weight. Your body will make every effort to maintain at this point. Continue with lifting and some cardio and set a 1/2 Lb per week loss goal and your body should respond better to what you are trying to do. As it is, it's just telling you to go to hell with your big 'ole calorie deficit.

DrMAvDPhD

Lifting heavy can drop your body fat a lot quicker than strictly cardio. I'm at practically the same weight in these two pictures:



I also see that you recently had a child. Your body will never be the same as it was before you had a baby. Your hips widen during the birthing process and don't necessarily return to the same width. You could reach your pre-baby weight and still not fit into your pre-baby jeans. Controversially, if you drop BF% while lifting, you could fit into the same jeans at a higher weight (I lost 2 pant sizes between those two pictures).

FootsoreRambler

I'm 5'4", and the least I weighed in my adult life was 117. That was when I was running 20+ miles/week. If you are anything like me, then exercise is more of a driver for weight loss than diet (not necessarily from a calorie viewpoint, but at least in terms of motivation). I'm currently about 127 and losing at a very slow rate, less than 2 lbs/month, while lifting weights. I liked running, and it worked nicely, but I'm even happier with the way my body is changing with weightlifting. But I had to let go of the idea that the scale was the best measure of my results, in this case, since body recomposition is happening.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is a) running is awesome, but it takes rather a lot IME to make a difference. And b) anything else is probably going to take a long time when you are already at a healthy bodyweight, so don't sweat a 3 week plateau too much. Also c) maybe you should start thinking in terms of bodyfat percentage goals rather than weight goals. And perhaps look at your changes on a monthly timescale rather than a weekly one.

ETA: and those who have said upthread that lifting will help you drop sizes w/o necessarily affecting the scale are right. My current 127# is a size 4-6, whereas in the past (before lifting), that has been size 8 territory. Maybe it's just clothing size creep, but it is still pretty motivating.

dfonte

Lifting heavy can drop your body fat a lot quicker than strictly cardio. I'm at practically the same weight in these two pictures:



I also see that you recently had a child. Your body will never be the same as it was before you had a baby. Your hips widen during the birthing process and don't necessarily return to the same width. You could reach your pre-baby weight and still not fit into your pre-baby jeans. Controversially, if you drop BF% while lifting, you could fit into the same jeans at a higher weight (I lost 2 pant sizes between those two pictures).

Holy ****...lifting heavy can change your hair color?

lizziebeth1028

Heavy lifting. Compound lifts. You will build lean muscle and look great. The scale is not the determining factor in our overall progress. Look in the mirror and aim for being content with what you see.

^^^This! At this point, this is what you need to do to see changes in your body....not weight loss. Your goal weight is unrealistic and quite frankly unhealthy. Don't be another brainwashed young girl who think she needs to be a size 0 to be attractive. Think healthy and strong, love who you are now!

DrMAvDPhD

Holy ****...lifting heavy can change your hair color?

I wish! I would spend way less money at the salon that way.