SO FRUSTERATED :[

healthy_jessx3

Okay, so i have been dieting/exercising for about 3 in a half months now. Quit the soda, quit the fast food, & i eat a lot healthier then i used to. I started at 169 pounds in the beginning of January, now i am stuck at 160. and have been there for the past 2 months. What is going on?! Im going to hawaii in 2 weeks, obviously im TRYING to lose a couple more pounds & nothing is working. Not a thing. Its depressing me to the point where i just want to give up. But im not going to because i know that wont help me. I have a few vacations in the summer that i would love to look decent for, but at this point i feel like im never going to get there. & if your gonna tell me to switch up my workouts, i already do that. Is there any tips or advice you guys could give?! i have my diary kept open so anyone can view. THANKS!

eboyas

Hi,

How do I get to your food diary?





http://www.smallestloser.blogspot.com

chasetwins

Your diary is not on your profile - sooo how many calories are eating a day verse calories burned. Are you doing straight strength workouts or more cardio?

Have you tried tdee-%..worked amazingly for me - link for description and details below

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0?hl=road+map&page=20#posts-14512478

healthy_jessx3

it should say "veiw diary" under my profile. or you may have to add me as a friend

BurtHuttz

Flying blind here, but I would guess you may be under-eating. Fast initial weight loss followed by a lengthy period of fixed weight seems to occur frequently.
A simple description is here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything that will turn around significant results before Hawaii :frown:

healthy_jessx3

Flying blind here, but I would guess you may be under-eating. Fast initial weight loss followed by a lengthy period of fixed weight seems to occur frequently.
A simple description is here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything that will turn around significant results before Hawaii :frown:

Thanks! I took a look at that website you provided and it came up with 1924 calories. Does this sound about right? I should be eating this many calories a day im guessing if this is what that means?!

BurtHuttz

Flying blind here, but I would guess you may be under-eating. Fast initial weight loss followed by a lengthy period of fixed weight seems to occur frequently.
A simple description is here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything that will turn around significant results before Hawaii :frown:

Thanks! I took a look at that website you provided and it came up with 1924 calories. Does this sound about right? I should be eating this many calories a day im guessing if this is what that means?!

Okay - so if the site calculated your TDEE at 1924, then you should shoot for around 1550 calories per day. If you included exercise when you selected your activity level, then eat the 1550 each day - don't worry with 'eating back' exercise calories. If you did not include exercise in your activity level, then you would eat back your exercise calories.

If your true TDEE is 1924, then eating that amount of calories each day would cause you to neither gain, nor lose weight. You're taking in exactly as much fuel as you burn, if that makes sense.

healthy_jessx3

Flying blind here, but I would guess you may be under-eating. Fast initial weight loss followed by a lengthy period of fixed weight seems to occur frequently.
A simple description is here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Unfortunately I don't think there's anything that will turn around significant results before Hawaii :frown:

Thanks! I took a look at that website you provided and it came up with 1924 calories. Does this sound about right? I should be eating this many calories a day im guessing if this is what that means?!

Okay - so if the site calculated your TDEE at 1924, then you should shoot for around 1550 calories per day. If you included exercise when you selected your activity level, then eat the 1550 each day - don't worry with 'eating back' exercise calories. If you did not include exercise in your activity level, then you would eat back your exercise calories.

If your true TDEE is 1924, then eating that amount of calories each day would cause you to neither gain, nor lose weight. You're taking in exactly as much fuel as you burn, if that makes sense.

No i mean i calculated to get 1924 a day. It was like 2104 or something close to that.

Heather032190

Maybe you should try a lower calorie intake...Do you exercise? Do some intense cardio workouts and some strength training circtut workouts to slim down and tone up...dont pay too much attention to the scale you should measure yourself.

Good luck!

meeper123

This was a real problem for me as well i was going no where ironicly at 160 as well then i uped my calories from 1200 to 1500 a day started eating back calories burned and got serious about what i was eating only been at it for 2 weeks and already 157

KenosFeoh

Do what you can to have your calorie counts as accurate as possible. Measuring ounces is better than cups and measuring spoons, and measuring grams is better than both. Even at best, calorie counts are estimates. The serving information given on packages is often inaccurate; you don't want to compound that problem by having your own serving measurements be inaccurate as well.

Best wishes! I started preparing for a trip to Cancun in September, thinking I could easily take off about 40 pounds in 8 months, but I've only lost 8-12 (keep gaining/losing the same 4 pounds for months now) and the trip is in May. I know getting my calorie counts right is part of my problem, also losing focus and not logging at all.

hamasehfallah

Hi,

Weight loss pretty much comes down to calories in VS calories out. The problem might be that you are not actually getting an accurate calorie reading. Most people way under/over estimate serving sizes. The BEST way to get an accurate reading of how many calories you consume is to buy a food scale (you can get one for $25 or under on amazon) and weigh your food by the G or OZ. You can look up the calorie/macronutrient (or "macros" aka protein, fat, carbs) for your food on nutritiondata.self.com. This is the best way.

Another problem is that people way OVER estimate how many calories they are burning when they exercise. The machines at the gym are COMPLETELY off. Do you own a heart rate monitor? If not, I suggest buying one. The good (aka most accurate) ones get be a bit pricey (from $100-$150) but they are TOTALLY worth it. They show you what you are REALLY burning in your workouts, which will help tremendously in figuring out how much you should be eating. "Polar" makes the best brand of heart rate monitors, i own one myself. They also have some in pink . Just to give you an idea of how much machines overestimate your calorie burn, after doing 40 minutes of cardio the machine showed i burned almost 500 calories, when in reality the number was between 375-400. If you cannot afford a heart rate monitor, I'd say a safe bet to get a more accurate estimate of how many calories you are burning is to take off 100-150 calories from what the machine is telling you.

Also, are you only doing cardio or are you lifting weights as well? You NEED to lift weights. This is vital for FAT loss and not just "weight" loss. Have you ever looked at someone who has lost maybe only 5 lbs of FAT, but gained 2-3 lbs of muscle? It LOOKS like they've lost 10-15lbs! On the other hand, someone who has lost 10lbs of both fat and muscle, doesn't look THAT different. You don't want to be "skinny fat". And not only do you need to lift weights, you need to lift HEAVY weights. None of that 5lbs dumbbells. You need to lift weights that challenge you and make you sweat. I sweat as much lifting weights as I do doing cardio. And you will not get "big". The female body lacks the amount of testosterone to get too muscular. The women that you see who look "manish" and "buff" take testosterone supplements and work out at the gym for YEARS to get this way. If you lift heavy weights and eat right, you will just be toned and tight.


Are you eating back your work out calories? If so, this could be the problem. If you're eating back everything you burn your weight loss will either stop or be tremendously low. Make sure you're still at a ~500-800 defecit .

Now, if you've done ALL of this and you are positive your calorie intake is accurate and you are not eating back all of your workout calories, there are tricks to get you back to losing weight....

1) For 1 week eat at your maintenance calories. (ex: if your maintenance calories are 1600 cal/day and you workout and burn 400 calories a day, eat 2,000 calories a day). After a week of eating at maintenance, start dieting again to be at a caloric defecit. This helps a lot of people.

2) If you don't like the above option, incorporate 1 or 2 relaxed meals a week. By relaxed i mean basically eat whatever you like, but do not BINGE. Go out to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite dish, and eat until you are satisfied. Even better if you do this after a hard workout. Relaxed meals are important because they can help, for lack of a better word, "boost" your metabolism

3) Incorporate HIIT into your workouts. No more than 1-2 times a week, because if you do HIIT correctly, anymore can lead to injury. If you don't know what HIIT is you can google it or message me.


Hope this helped. ***also*** the best way to get an accruate estimate of what your BMR and TDEE is to first get a DEXA scan (you can call your doctor and ask about this). It gives you accurate info as to how much LEAN body mass you have, and how much of your body weight is fat. With this information you can find calculators online that ask you for your lean body mass and body fat % (note that body fat % is different from BMI. Body Fat % is more important than BMI. The BMI scale is actually VERY inaccurate and out-dated. You will see it on the printout of your DEXA scan if you choose to get one). Choose several different "calculators" and use the average from all of them. This will probably give you the best result. But honestly all of these calculators are flawed, and the best way to truly figure our your maintenance calories is through trial and error. I know, it sucks. We all want to find the exact number right off the bat, but it never works that way.

monjacq1964

how about you forget about the scale, and give yourself an honest look in the mirror, or measure your success in other, nonscale ways.
The scale is only one (inadequate) way of measuring success. Take measurements, how do you look and feel in yoru clothes.