What am I doing wrong?

oliveramckeon

I am just a bit frustrated here. I have been on a "diet" for close to 5 months now. My normal day consists of about 1000-1200 calories. I try to avoid processed foods and carbs. I don't eat bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. I eat a lot of veggies, either raw or steamed. I eat chicken or salmon couple of times a week (grilled). I work out every day. Nothing crazy, I spend about 1 hour either rollerblading, riding bike or on the elliptical trainer. I have not been doing any weights, just cardio. I will start Pilates this week. My weight loss is super slow. I lost 22 pounds so far. I lost 16 pounds in first 3 months, and only 6 in last 2. I have been stuck on 22 now for 3 weeks. Yesterday I ate 1000 calories, rode bike for 1.5 hours and then this morning I have 1.6 pounds more. I want to shoot myself...lol
Also, I should mention that I am taking Metformin for my blood sugar, which should help with weight loss...but NOT!
I am debating between trying to eat more and spread it out to 5-6 small meals or cutting carbs all together and doing about 1500 calories a day! Help!

jadermary

Not sure but it sounds like you do need to eat more calories....read this if you haven't already, it's very helpful. Good luck!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

ETA- I am 34, 5'2" and I eat 1500 calories plus eat back like 75% of my exercise calories and I have been losing at least 1/2 a week. I probably would lose faster exept there are days I eat 1700 calories or more :blushing:

readysetgo33

Hey oliveramckeon!

Let me start out by saying that my advice is simply advice, not a definite solution. I read plenty of articles, many from bodybuilding.com and trainers blogs, and try to be as educated as possible about diet, nutrition, and exercise.

Congratulations on losing 22 pounds! Don't get discouraged, and stick to your healthy diet!

Firstly, good job on staying consistent with 1000-1200 cals, yes break up your meals so that you are eating every 2-3 hours. Not all carbs are bad! Anyone with a science background should know that carbohydrates are the body's first choice of producing energy. Therefore you can have a serving of brown rice (3/4 cup cooked) or 1/2 of a potato and not feel guilty about it, but don't give your body more than it needs! If your body doesn't have any carbs it will be using proteins that your muscles need as energy (the body uses fats last). I limit my carbs too, have maybe a slice of ezekiel bread in the morning and some sweet potato before and after my workout.

My biggest guess is your workout needs to change a little bit. Cardio will burn cals momentarily, you need a muscle building exercise. Work with weights! I think your body may be asking for something a little more challenging as it may have gotten used to riding the bike, elliptical, or rollerblading. Workouts are progressive, you should be building on them and trying to get better, faster, stronger, over time. Also, if you incorporate some kind of strength training in your week and eat enough protein and a little carb to substantiate muscle growth, your body will start burning more cals throughout the day.

Finally, just an idea... My friend who is a vegetarian, eats a lot of carbs and recently gave up all dairy- no cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. He eats vegetables, pastas, fruits, etc. and has lost 11 pounds on just giving up dairy. The reason I think this may have happened is because dairy can have a lot of fat (especially cheese), and some people say that dairy makes you bloated and some peoples' bodies don't process it well. Also, if you are not careful with how much fruit you eat you are getting a lot of sugar which turns to fat... In addition, vegetables can cause water retention... The take away message, everything is okay in moderation!!!

Plus weight loss slows down when you arrive closer to a healthy weight. Be patient, consistent, and stick to it!

readysetgo33

that was a good article, and a good point- i forgot to mention that number of cals depends on how much you weigh now

check out freedieting.com to calculate how many cals you should be getting maybe you aren't eating enough like jadermary said!

oliveramckeon

Thanks, guys! I know in the long run I will loose, it's just frustrating when you think you are doing all the right things and it is not showing. BTW, I am 5'8 and my starting weight was 220, I am down to 198. I would like to lose probably another 40-50 pounds.
I do eat some fruit (I make a smoothie in the morning from spinach/kale, banana and apple). Most of my carbs come from fruit and homemade plain yogurt I make. Homemade plain yogurt and a bit of feta cheese on a salad is about only dairy I will have. I have completely cut out cheeses and deli meats. That was super hard (I am from Europe and we love our cheeses and salami's...lol)
I will try to break up my meals, do some Pilates and weight training and see how that goes.
It always helps to talk to people...thanks

EdTheSc0tt

Check out the Mayo clinic..They have a ton of stuff including your latest challenge..the plateau effect.

The great thing about the Mayo is it is science based...No mumbojumbo, No motivation accept where it is spelled out. They know what they are talking about.

Here is a link to a specific article re the plateau . Then follow the links back to the main page for a list of other valuable weight loss/health articles. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-loss-plateau/MY01152

By the way I am also a type 2 and was on metformin until I lost enough weight that I regained my BS control..But after two years I allowed my weight to increase and now I'm back on it. And what do I attribute my weight gain....I stopped my daily diary. I will not lie to myself so as long as I am recording I am very careful about reporting everything I eat and and only record exact exercise time and effort. Without that written statement I found I let a lot of little things slide, including cutting back time on my exercise regimen.

Good luck friend