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cuckoo2012
cuckoo2012 Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
OK so my problem is that .. i m only losing inches but not weight .. i m eating around 1500 cal (sometime only 1200) and doing 50 mins aerobics but still i m not losing any weight... i m 148lbs n 5.2 plsss help i really want to lose weight in 3 month before my daughter 's 2 nd birthday

Replies

  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Why is the weight important? Sounds like you are doing great! You are gaining muscle (which is denser than fat) and I bet you look good.

    I personally found that weight loss was enhanced when I put my carbs consistently under 50% of calories. Lower was better for me.
  • bhfood
    bhfood Posts: 77
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    hi, have you set up your goals in the programming? maybe they need to be adjusted. I'm 5'2" and mmmmmmmmmmmmmxhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm wt and it set me up for 1300 calories. are you doing strength training too maybe on opposite days throw in some 5 lb or 3 lb dumbbells for your arms.......inches are great. remember muscles are heavier than fat. hope this helps some. keep going
  • fitwithin
    fitwithin Posts: 210 Member
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    It sounds like we are about the same size. I am 152 and 5'2". I have to stay at or under 1200 calories to lose weight. One thing that has helped me is to cut down on carbs. During the week, I stay away from potatoes, pasta, rice, and sugar. On the weekend, I go off a little, but have noticed that the carbs really put the weight on for me. You are welcome to add me as a a friend. It sounds like you are working out a lot so that should help. Best of luck.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,112 Member
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    Patience is the most important thing to bring to your workouts.

    Drink a lot of water. Log all your food and exercise. Eat the recommended amount. Sleep eight hours.

    Repeat. Over and over. For about a month. Then if you've lost 0 pounds, reset your goals accordingly.

    Use the site as it is set up. Don't over-think this. Re-evaluate in a month. In the meantime, educate yourself. There are lots of conflicting ways to figure your calories. This site does a good job if you use it honestly and don't be too aggressive.

    If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
    If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
    If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.
  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    There is progress there.. Thats what counts.. the number on the scale is just one of the tools you should be using not the definite.

    If you just started to work out and change your eating habits your body is probably going OMGWTF and it will need to work on getting things adjusted and back in check..

    The above are all good things and remember you didn't gain the weight you want to lose in 3 weeks nor will you lose it.

    The scale will begin to move as long as you are consistent, and honest with yourself.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Why is the weight important? Sounds like you are doing great! You are gaining muscle (which is denser than fat) and I bet you look good.

    I personally found that weight loss was enhanced when I put my carbs consistently under 50% of calories. Lower was better for me.

    I can guarantee you that she isn't gaining muscle, especially on a calorie deficit and even more so only doing aerobics. It is very difficult to gain new lean body mass and more importantly, really requires a surplus of calories and heavy weight training. You can't create something from nothing and a calorie deficit is nothing. Only in some elite athletes is it even possible.


    OP, how old are you? It's possible you are over extending your goal. As cmriverside posted, if you don't have much to lose, you can not aim for 2 lbs a week.
  • maryannebennett
    maryannebennett Posts: 3
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    Sometimes it helps to vary up your exercise routine. Change the style of cardio/weight training. The body becomes accustomed to what you do and gets lazy. Changing things up forces it work differently and burn more calories. To lose weight you have to increase the amount of calories burned versus consumed. Keep up the good work!
  • scottg1024
    scottg1024 Posts: 224
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    You're doing great and your daughter will still love you. At 2 they aren't as judgemental as they are at 16.
  • MCLA4mom
    MCLA4mom Posts: 219 Member
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    I know it's frustrating to not see the scale move. The important thing is that you are making progress. It will feel better to get the excess weight off your body. If you keep doing what your doing the scale will move eventually. The scale is just a quantitative measure of progress. Think about the qualitative changes your making. Exercise? drinking more water? Healthy food? losing inches? Those are just as important as the scale.
  • TeeDeezy
    TeeDeezy Posts: 40 Member
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    Why is the weight important? Sounds like you are doing great! You are gaining muscle (which is denser than fat) and I bet you look good.

    I personally found that weight loss was enhanced when I put my carbs consistently under 50% of calories. Lower was better for me.

    I can guarantee you that she isn't gaining muscle, especially on a calorie deficit and even more so only doing aerobics. It is very difficult to gain new lean body mass and more importantly, really requires a surplus of calories and heavy weight training. You can't create something from nothing and a calorie deficit is nothing. Only in some elite athletes is it even possible.


    OP, how old are you? It's possible you are over extending your goal. As cmriverside posted, if you don't have much to lose, you can not aim for 2 lbs a week.

    Really!?! Of course she's gaining muscle. Muscle gain may not account (and likely does not account) for a complete offset of the fat/inches she is loosing. But, to say that she can not build any muscle mass because she is only taking in 1500 calories a day is just completely W-R-O-N-G. If she is now working out, when before she was not, it is extremely likely if not inevitable that she is building muscle mass (even if she is only taking in 1500 calories daily). I've seen many people (particularly females) build a lot of muscle while taking in 1200 - 1500 calories a day.

    To the OP, the bottom line is that inches is the ultimate indicator of how you're body is responding to your new diet. Also, you will definitely start to notice a distinct difference in the way you feel (eating the correct foods will make you feel drastically better). As most of the others have said, be patient and very happy about loosing the inches. The scale will eventually give. If you do hit a wall and you are not loosing inches, nor weight. Then you may want to start thinking about adding variation to your diet and exercise routines.
  • lisamarie2181
    lisamarie2181 Posts: 560 Member
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    The inches are what everyone else is going to see, not the scale! Give it time, the weight will come off :)

    I suggest you look through the success threads, I have seen some people on there who lost 10 lbs and it makes a HUGE difference! They look more like they lost 30!

    Don't let it get you down, I myself am not happy when the scale doesn't move, but I do get measured every week along with the weigh in, so it definitely makes you feel better when you are losing inches, in not pounds!

    Good luck and keep at it :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
    Options
    Why is the weight important? Sounds like you are doing great! You are gaining muscle (which is denser than fat) and I bet you look good.

    I personally found that weight loss was enhanced when I put my carbs consistently under 50% of calories. Lower was better for me.

    I can guarantee you that she isn't gaining muscle, especially on a calorie deficit and even more so only doing aerobics. It is very difficult to gain new lean body mass and more importantly, really requires a surplus of calories and heavy weight training. You can't create something from nothing and a calorie deficit is nothing. Only in some elite athletes is it even possible.


    OP, how old are you? It's possible you are over extending your goal. As cmriverside posted, if you don't have much to lose, you can not aim for 2 lbs a week.

    Really!?! Of course she's gaining muscle. Muscle gain may not account (and likely does not account) for a complete offset of the fat/inches she is loosing. But, to say that she can not build any muscle mass because she is only taking in 1500 calories a day is just completely W-R-O-N-G. If she is now working out, when before she was not, it is extremely likely if not inevitable that she is building muscle mass (even if she is only taking in 1500 calories daily). I've seen many people (particularly females) build a lot of muscle while taking in 1200 - 1500 calories a day.

    To the OP, the bottom line is that inches is the ultimate indicator of how you're body is responding to your new diet. Also, you will definitely start to notice a distinct difference in the way you feel (eating the correct foods will make you feel drastically better). As most of the others have said, be patient and very happy about loosing the inches. The scale will eventually give. If you do hit a wall and you are not loosing inches, nor weight. Then you may want to start thinking about adding variation to your diet and exercise routines.


    To start with this, I would love to see how you will be able to create an anabolic state, which is what is required to create NEW lean body mass (tissue, muscle, fibers, bone density, etc..) on 1500 calories. Aside from newb gains (which might be a lb of lbm if she has never weight trained before), a person has to create an anabolic state (a calorie surplus) in order to gain new lean body mass. You simply can not do this on 1500 calories. And the math will explain below.

    So I ran a few points, she is 5'2 @ 148 lbs. I look at an 25 yr old, 30 yr old and 35 year old. Her BMR at these points would be:

    25: 1473
    30: 1449
    35: 1426

    Lets say, she is NOT active with her children, workouts 5 days a week burning a measly 300 calories a day. So her TDEE would be:

    TDEE = 1449 * 1.2 +300 = 2038

    That means, at best she has a 500 calories deficit. Now, most mothers are fairly active and burn more calories than a person working behind a desk. That generally is around another 200 calories. At that point, you would have a 700-1000 calorie deficit. Now another question comes down to, is she weight training and doing heavy weights (failing at 6-10 reps). If she is not, it's another strike against her to why she isn't gaining lean body mass. And the final strike is, she is a women (no pun here). Women have a difficult time gaining lean body mass. In fact, they can gain 7-10 lbs a year (men are 2x + that due to testosterone levels).

    The more realistic reason she is losing inches and not weight, when you start working out, your body stores glycogen/water to repair muscles. Also, if your body is not fuel properly, then your body will release cortisol as a protective mechanism to preserve fat for energy which can put a halt on weight loss. If you want to test this theory, take a week off from exercise and refeed your body by eating at your maintenance levels.

    Here is a good read as well.


    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html
  • TeeDeezy
    TeeDeezy Posts: 40 Member
    Options
    Why is the weight important? Sounds like you are doing great! You are gaining muscle (which is denser than fat) and I bet you look good.

    I personally found that weight loss was enhanced when I put my carbs consistently under 50% of calories. Lower was better for me.

    I can guarantee you that she isn't gaining muscle, especially on a calorie deficit and even more so only doing aerobics. It is very difficult to gain new lean body mass and more importantly, really requires a surplus of calories and heavy weight training. You can't create something from nothing and a calorie deficit is nothing. Only in some elite athletes is it even possible.


    OP, how old are you? It's possible you are over extending your goal. As cmriverside posted, if you don't have much to lose, you can not aim for 2 lbs a week.

    Really!?! Of course she's gaining muscle. Muscle gain may not account (and likely does not account) for a complete offset of the fat/inches she is loosing. But, to say that she can not build any muscle mass because she is only taking in 1500 calories a day is just completely W-R-O-N-G. If she is now working out, when before she was not, it is extremely likely if not inevitable that she is building muscle mass (even if she is only taking in 1500 calories daily). I've seen many people (particularly females) build a lot of muscle while taking in 1200 - 1500 calories a day.

    To the OP, the bottom line is that inches is the ultimate indicator of how you're body is responding to your new diet. Also, you will definitely start to notice a distinct difference in the way you feel (eating the correct foods will make you feel drastically better). As most of the others have said, be patient and very happy about loosing the inches. The scale will eventually give. If you do hit a wall and you are not loosing inches, nor weight. Then you may want to start thinking about adding variation to your diet and exercise routines.


    To start with this, I would love to see how you will be able to create an anabolic state, which is what is required to create NEW lean body mass (tissue, muscle, fibers, bone density, etc..) on 1500 calories. Aside from newb gains (which might be a lb of lbm if she has never weight trained before), a person has to create an anabolic state (a calorie surplus) in order to gain new lean body mass. You simply can not do this on 1500 calories. And the math will explain below.

    So I ran a few points, she is 5'2 @ 148 lbs. I look at an 25 yr old, 30 yr old and 35 year old. Her BMR at these points would be:

    25: 1473
    30: 1449
    35: 1426

    Lets say, she is NOT active with her children, workouts 5 days a week burning a measly 300 calories a day. So her TDEE would be:

    TDEE = 1449 * 1.2 +300 = 2038

    That means, at best she has a 500 calories deficit. Now, most mothers are fairly active and burn more calories than a person working behind a desk. That generally is around another 200 calories. At that point, you would have a 700-1000 calorie deficit. Now another question comes down to, is she weight training and doing heavy weights (failing at 6-10 reps). If she is not, it's another strike against her to why she isn't gaining lean body mass. And the final strike is, she is a women (no pun here). Women have a difficult time gaining lean body mass. In fact, they can gain 7-10 lbs a year (men are 2x + that due to testosterone levels).

    The more realistic reason she is losing inches and not weight, when you start working out, your body stores glycogen/water to repair muscles. Also, if your body is not fuel properly, then your body will release cortisol as a protective mechanism to preserve fat for energy which can put a halt on weight loss. If you want to test this theory, take a week off from exercise and refeed your body by eating at your maintenance levels.

    Here is a good read as well.


    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adding-muscle-while-losing-fat-qa.html

    You are assuming too much based off of the information she has provided. We don't know what kind of proteins she is getting, what her diet consist of, when she is taking in the calories, or what her real exercise routine is. And, you are also drawing a line between the anabolic and catabolic states as if they are mutually exclusive, which they are most certainly not. It is quite possible for people early in their diet (as is the OP) to be able to make small gains in muscle mass while also loosing fat. And, with only 50 minutes of aerobics everyday, she isn't doing much to spark any loss in muscle mass.

    Anyway, I'm not trying to hijack this tread and turn it into some debate about building muscle on a calorie deficit. What we do now is that she is doing cardio (i.e. aerobics) for 50 minutes. But we don't even know how often. I hope she's not doing 50 minutes of the same exercises everyday. OP, if you are, please vary your routine. You're kind of in the honeymoon phase of your diet right now. If you continue to do the same exercises every day, and all of that exercise is cardio you will eventually hit a wall and stop loosing inches. And as far as muscle mass goes, don't worry much about it. Just focus on loosing the fat and you'll be fine. After that, if you want to bulk, then you can get into the science of building muscle. As you can see, like most science it's not exact and everyone doesn't agree on the details.

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