NOT losing inches or pounds

justoz

Hello all,

I am 28, 5'9" and 186lbs. I had a baby in July 2012 and gained 40lbs during my pregnancy and got down to 185 without changing my diet or exercising. My goal is 150ish lbs so i started working out and cutting my calories in Dec 2012.

I did P90X for 2 months then integrated Insanity, so I was working out 6 days a week for at least an hour (burning 500-900cals each workout).

I went on vacation in Feb 2013 so did not do anything for 3 weeks.

Started working out and eating well again integrating Jillian Michaels 30 day shred along with P90x and Insanity.
I was working out 1-2hrs a day, 6 days a week.

I was eating 1400-2000 calories a day (fluctuating very often). I didn't each much processed foods, tried to eat very healthy (and still do) although having the occasional high-cal day (wine does that). I have read so many posts about eating more to lose more etc, eating back exercise calories, cutting back calories, reading the 'road map' etc. and I have done them all.

I used to track religiously so I was honest about everything i put in my mouth. I stopped tracking for a while and didnt input my exercise calories because i was eating the same things for the most part and knew the caloric contents of those foods.

Having done all of this, I have NOT lost any weight (fine, that I can accept), I did not lose any inches!! (my clothes fit exactly the same, if not more snug). I am soo angry and frustrated. I have ran out of motivation.... well currently im doing Jillian Michaels 30 days shred, but doubling it up because its only 30 min, so I do level 1 and 2 on the same day so i have 1hr of exercise a day.

What am I doing wrong?? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

Congratulations, you've found your maintenance calories. Eat 20% less.

stephaniemejia1671

Are you sticking to the 6 day a week or so workout? It sounds good to me. Stick to how you have been eating and working out and you will start to see results in a month or so. Don't worry, results are slow yes, but the results are worth the effort. Good luck.

justoz

Im willing to eat 1200cals/day, but when I workout and burn approx 600, i net 600cals/day. Is that not too few? I guess Ill see how I function..

redraidergirl2009

1400-1200 is a huge window....try sticking to one number within 100 calories. this way you'll know what caloric intake works...

Shawnzgirl78

DRINK WATER!!! Also, are you regular? ..and keep sodium in check.

Waffledreamer

Or perhaps you should be eating more...if you are eating say 1500 calories and burning 500-900, thats a 1000 net at best ! Maybe 2000 or even more would be better since you are burning so much. I've heard that over-exercising an actually cause your metabolism slow, as well as not eating enough. I'm not an expert but just a possible idea.

harlanJEN

Honestly, here is my thought :

1-2 hours of workouts per day x 6 days per week ? 1400- 2000 calories CONSUMED? No consistency in the caloric intake?

It's commonly counterproductive to workout that much and not properly fuel your workouts.

Please consider decreasing your workouts and getting a good handle on what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure is). Fuel your body, fuel your workouts.

Too often we get overzealous and we are working sooo hard, but actually working against ourselves.

www.scoobysworkshop.com has calculators to estimate your TDEE. Be honest about your level of activity, I'd use the Mifflin St. J model.

I've consistenly lost best with 3--4 x week workouts and a modest caloric deficit.

Good luck ! Lessen up on the reigns a bit - I'm betting you will be much happier and have better results.

Jen

Waffledreamer

You need to be eating FAR more that 1200 cals, thats for sure. I would not cut back that far.

justoz

Are you sticking to the 6 day a week or so workout? It sounds good to me. Stick to how you have been eating and working out and you will start to see results in a month or so. Don't worry, results are slow yes, but the results are worth the effort. Good luck.

I try to do 6 days a week yes, sometimes its 5 days, but very high intensity. Thank you.

Woomytron

Working out that much 1200 is way to low.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

That website will help you find a better calorie goal. I know it helped me. Good luck!

Woomytron

Honestly, here is my thought :

1-2 hours of workouts per day x 6 days per week ? 1400- 2000 calories CONSUMED? No consistency in the caloric intake?

It's commonly counterproductive to workout that much and not properly fuel your workouts.

Please consider decreasing your workouts and getting a good handle on what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure is). Fuel your body, fuel your workouts.

Too often we get overzealous and we are working sooo hard, but actually working against ourselves.

www.scoobysworkshop.com has calculators to estimate your TDEE. Be honest about your level of activity, I'd use the Mifflin St. J model.

I've consistenly lost best with 3--4 x week workouts and a modest caloric deficit.

Good luck ! Lessen up on the reigns a bit - I'm betting you will be much happier and have better results.

Jen

Ahh beat me to it Do this ^^^ haha

Timeforlove

Hello! I've had a similar situation and found that when I added more protein into my diet. Breakfast; eggwhites and spinach every other day low sugar cereal and skim milk. Lunch 4-5 oz chicken or fish and steamed veggies Anything and Everything GREEN! stay away from tomoatoes and sugary veg.Dinner: SALAD SALAD SALAD and 4 oz lean grilled chicken or fish. Only WATER to drink (and coffee with a drop of milk). inbetween meals, snack on blueberries, strawberries, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon. You'll see results quickly. Good luck, don't get demotivated, crank up your favourite music when you start to feel like going cheating on foods.

Woomytron

Hello! I've had a similar situation and found that when I added more protein into my diet. Breakfast; eggwhites and spinach every other day low sugar cereal and skim milk. Lunch 4-5 oz chicken or fish and steamed veggies Anything and Everything GREEN! stay away from tomoatoes and sugary veg.Dinner: SALAD SALAD SALAD and 4 oz lean grilled chicken or fish. Only WATER to drink (and coffee with a drop of milk). inbetween meals, snack on blueberries, strawberries, apples, cantaloupe, watermelon. You'll see results quickly. Good luck, don't get demotivated, crank up your favourite music when you start to feel like going cheating on foods.

Question.. what is wrong with Tomatoes? I love tomatoes...


Also don't feel like you need to eat salad everyday.. that would get boring fast. Eating healthy can be fun!

themedalist

Honestly, here is my thought :

1-2 hours of workouts per day x 6 days per week ? 1400- 2000 calories CONSUMED? No consistency in the caloric intake?

It's commonly counterproductive to workout that much and not properly fuel your workouts.

Please consider decreasing your workouts and getting a good handle on what your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure is). Fuel your body, fuel your workouts.

Too often we get overzealous and we are working sooo hard, but actually working against ourselves.

www.scoobysworkshop.com has calculators to estimate your TDEE. Be honest about your level of activity, I'd use the Mifflin St. J model.

I've consistenly lost best with 3--4 x week workouts and a modest caloric deficit.

Good luck ! Lessen up on the reigns a bit - I'm betting you will be much happier and have better results.

Jen

Ahh beat me to it Do this ^^^ haha

+1 Seriously, listen to Jen. She knows her stuff!

cindybpitts

Always remember if you are eating below your TDEE then you will lose...it may be slow or take time for your body to adjust. I went the first 8 weeks and lost ZERO!! I was eating 1200 & under. When I went to 1400 I lost a couple..now Im at 1600 & above and I have been seeing progress. A total of 4 months and have only lost 7 lbs. It has been slow but its working. Dont give up..I also stopped stressing about it. I do 4 days of High Intensity 30 min workouts (called Tabata)..I was almost into heart attack mode trying so hard..I still do those workouts but I have slowed my pace down a little and I have lost a few pounds. Do you lift weights? I started lifting heavy..alot of posts on here suggest heavy lifting over cardio. So Im trying that too.

snooj

You need to make your caloric intake more consistent. 1400-2000 is a huge window. Personally at 1400 I'll lose weight. At 2000 I'll gain. Narrow that down. You can vary day by day, but at least have a weekly average that's consistent.

Your workouts seem pretty excessive to me. Unless if you love it, you don't need to do that much.

I've never heard about this "eating back exercise calories" until I visited this community at MFP, so maybe I just don't understand, but that's so counter intuitive. So, are you actually eating 1400-2000, or are you eating 1400-2000 + exercise calories? Use the exercise to help put yourself into a deficit. So, if your maintenance is 2000 let's say, you could eat less or eat at 2000 but workout and use that cardio to put you in a deficit. If you eat all that back, you'll just be back at maintenance calories again.

iwantwow

same problem ...working hard ..eating clean ,...cant seem to move scale or inches...