HELP NEEDED!

chamgiggz
chamgiggz Posts: 40
in Health and Weight Loss
I am 24 years old, 5'4; I started at 240
Joined MFP at 236 ish
and I am currently 232.8....

I have worked out very hard ever since joining MFP and I also have not missed a tracking, granted I am not sure my food trackign is as accurate as it could be, because my mother cooks and she doesn't believe in cooking with measurement she says she measures with her heart....(uuuuggg)...N-E-Who...my answer to that is I would only food that I can measure..which is also hard because I am a college student on a budget...so eatign what is already in the house is VERY beneficial..

My bf noticed how discouraged I became after each weigh-in and decided to tell me to weight myself after every 2 weeks instead of once a week....So I listened...yesterday was my weigh-in however one of my friends on here advised me to do it the day after a rest day, so which would bring me up to this morning...I got on the scale @ least 10 times to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and I had only lost 0.2....so I have also been trackign my inches..and I have lost a total of 5 inches all over....

You guys I am sooooooo dissapointed..I have a wedding coming up in Feb. I wanted to lost @ least 60 by then, but it seem as if that goal is slipping away....please advised me on what I should do different..

THINGS THAT YOU MAY NEED TO KNOW: MFP has me on 1270 calories...It is hard for me to meet that requirement and I try real hard...I have read that I should eat at least my BMR but I calculated that to be about 2200....OMG!!! That is high (for me)...I only drink water and once in a blue moon tea... I have been bloated the past couple of days I don't know if that is because of TOM or is it because of the food I am eating (please advise on food that can get rid of that bloating feeling)....and I sometime eat fast food but that is like once a week and I make sure to eat it for breakfast because i Know I will work out later...on my rest day I eat only homemade things..and stay away from fast food...I take only stairs, I park far from the entrance...I do Yoga Tuesday and Thursday...I do Spinning Mon and Wed....and I am currently on day 16 of Insanity...I have read about lifting...but haven't really tried that...PLEASE ADVISE!!!!

my ultimate goal is to be around 130-140 by May I am graduating and starting my Master's..
Thank you guys for your help, I really need it.

Replies

  • oregonzoo
    oregonzoo Posts: 4,251 Member
    I don't think you are eating enough right now. And I'm seeing more fast food than once a week. If it was me, I'd also probably replace a lot of the bread with fruits or veggies.. but that's just personal preference.


    How much water a day are you drinking? Do you track sodium(you may want to track it just to see and work on that).


    Congrats on the loss so far friend, you'll get there!
  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
    yes, I agree with the above poster. don't eat fast food. drink plenty of water. track your sodium (try to stay under 2000 or so).

    replace bread with fruits and veggies.... and eat more. 1270 probably isn't enough, if your bmr is over 2000. it's not really hard to eat more calories, you have to eat more healthy calorie dense foods - nuts, avocado, etc.
  • Sweetness023
    Sweetness023 Posts: 70
    Measurements. Measurements. Measurements!!! I would like to drum this in to everybody's head.

    Buy yourself a tape measure and measure yourself. Numbers on the scale shouldn't be the main focus here. If you're working out, you're building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're taking in too much sodium and not drinking enough water, you'll be retaining water, again causing you to not see much change numbers wise on the scale.

    There are a number of other factors here that people can list and give advice about but try one thing at a time. Cut something out completely.. Switch things around.. See if that helps and if it doesn't, try something else. If it does, stick with it and add another change to it.

    Congrats on coming this far! We all get discouraged but just remember, we didn't put this weight on overnight and as much as we'd love it to, it's not going to come off overnight either. You can do this. :)
  • chamgiggz
    chamgiggz Posts: 40
    I drink at least 8 cups of water...I stay with a water bottle and fill it up at least 3 times a day....
  • caldon4523
    caldon4523 Posts: 227 Member
    Hi,

    First set a specific day and time to weigh in and keep track of it. I have a scale in my bathroom and weigh myself every Friday morning after my shower.

    Second, keep up with your training program. You seem to be doing great! If you have lost 5 inches all over you should be toning up.

    Third, you may want to reduce the amount of carbs you eat and increase the amount of protein. Breads are loaded with carbs. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, chicken, and fish are loaded with protein.

    Forth, reduce the size of your portions and maybe increase the number of times you eat. In other words, eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack. Remember, don't eat till your full. It will take your brain several minutes to make you realize you've have your fill. Serve yourself a smaller portion and eat slower.

    And good luck with your wedding!
  • dmdv22
    dmdv22 Posts: 22
    I am definitely no expert here but doesn't 60lbs in 4.5 months seem extreme? 15lbs a month seems quite allot. I don't think spacing your weigh ins is helpful. I actually weigh in every day so I can grasp where I am at, that can be sort of upsetting because some days I did real well and didn't lose any and other days it seem I ate too much and am down. But ultimately I can see a downward trend. A bad pattern may not be noticed for 2 weeks.

    People on here talk about going into hibernation or starvation mode where if you eat too little the body stores all the fat, maybe that is going on.

    I think I would increase my calories and exercise and try for a less drastic weight reduction. Again I am no expert but 60lbs in 4 months seems extreme.
  • ajsminer
    ajsminer Posts: 11 Member
    Aw, sounds like you are pushing yourself too hard. Stressing out makes your body hold onto water, fat & calories. Chill out :) Eat whole foods that contain your required carb/fat/protein balance. Celery & dandelion tea help to get rid of excess water weight- feeling bloated might be a clue you are not eating enough- your body is holding on to all it's got because it's afraid you can't get access to food AND your sodium levels maybe too high. Maybe switch to weighing yourself every three days? I'm no expert but that's my two cents. Congratulations on getting married!! You think weight loss is hard... ;)
  • asticoral
    asticoral Posts: 99
    Hide the scale in a closet and leave it there, you missed your own stated achievement: YOU LOST 5 INCHES ALL OVER!

    You need to eat more good foods like dark green veggies, and steer clear of the boxed/packaged/bought foods.

    Replace your cake/breads/white rice and pasta with whole grains if you need to eat them.

    You can have oatmeal in the AM with a spoon of peanut butter and a banana in it, egg omelette with sausage and chopped veggies - add a slice or two of avocado as a garnish.

    Look at everything before you eat it and ask how it can be better, you ARE already on the right track and have gained serious ground, NICE JOB!!
  • thistimeismytime
    thistimeismytime Posts: 711 Member
    Hi,

    First set a specific day and time to weigh in and keep track of it. I have a scale in my bathroom and weigh myself every Friday morning after my shower.

    Second, keep up with your training program. You seem to be doing great! If you have lost 5 inches all over you should be toning up.

    Third, you may want to reduce the amount of carbs you eat and increase the amount of protein. Breads are loaded with carbs. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, chicken, and fish are loaded with protein.

    Forth, reduce the size of your portions and maybe increase the number of times you eat. In other words, eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack. Remember, don't eat till your full. It will take your brain several minutes to make you realize you've have your fill. Serve yourself a smaller portion and eat slower.

    And good luck with your wedding!

    Ok, the OP is my friend and I'm going to give her my opinion privately, but I just needed to chime in and say that fruits and veggies are not loaded with protein--they are carb foods. Just to clear that bit up. Perhaps you just meant that these are healthier and better choices than bread.
  • EHuntRN
    EHuntRN Posts: 320 Member
    You have the answer...you need to at least eat your BMR to maintain lean muscle mass...if you are doing that and working out...dont eat back your exercise cals....you can add cal dense food like other posters and mentioned...but watch your fat/sodium intake....if your mom is preparing your foods with lots of fat ingriedients it may be time for you to be proactive and do some preparing your self, measure and weigh your foods...make a trip to a whole foods store at least every 2 weeks and spend the money you would have spent on fast food and buy some natural, preservative free foods....and I know we all want the scale to move and one day it will...but until then...keep at it, keep logging, keep working out and maybe come down a few pounds on your goal....8-10 lbs/mo is more realisitic!!!! Good Luck!!!
  • AthenaArcher
    AthenaArcher Posts: 41 Member
    Measurements. Measurements. Measurements!!! I would like to drum this in to everybody's head.

    Buy yourself a tape measure and measure yourself. Numbers on the scale shouldn't be the main focus here. If you're working out, you're building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you're taking in too much sodium and not drinking enough water, you'll be retaining water, again causing you to not see much change numbers wise on the scale.

    There are a number of other factors here that people can list and give advice about but try one thing at a time. Cut something out completely.. Switch things around.. See if that helps and if it doesn't, try something else. If it does, stick with it and add another change to it.

    Congrats on coming this far! We all get discouraged but just remember, we didn't put this weight on overnight and as much as we'd love it to, it's not going to come off overnight either. You can do this. :)

    First off you are doing great!!!!!!!
    If you are doing insanity workouts and only burning 500 calories I would question that number I work out with a group of people and we do the p-90-x version and we burn about 900 calories an hour.The way we track it is we have watch like monitors to tell us our hart rate and how many calories we are using,they are about $50 each so that might be an option for you.

    I looked at your diary and you are not eating enough good for you food! Check out the book the eat clean diet by Tosca Reno for some great advice on how to eat foods that are going to help you get to your goal.

    Also your are burning 500 + calories when you work out but only taking in 700-800 for your whole day on most days, your body needs food to keep going it needs nutrients to keep running in good condition,if you don't get that your like a car without enough gas yes you will roll down the hill but you are not going to do much else.Make sure you eat some protein after every workout within 20 minutes something like a whey protein shake or a cliff bar something that is going to support your goals not sabotage them I like Wendy's chicken nuggets too and there cheep but when you look at the salt and how long your going to have to workout to burn off those calories it is not so cheep after all.

    Think of your food this way... If you eat Wendy's 5 piece chicken nuggets on there web site it says there are about 250 calories plane no sauce and 450 grams of salt, you have to workout 30 minutes to burn that off if you can burn 500 calories an hour.or you can have a grilled boneless skinless chicken breast 120 calories,a small apple 50 calories, a large salad 30 calories,and 6 large strawberry's dipped in cool whip 50 calories. total 250 calories and about 10 grams of salt. which of these meals are going to fill you up and give you the most energy for your buck?

    Good luck with your goals. :)
  • chamgiggz
    chamgiggz Posts: 40
    Oh loll..Thank you but I'm not the one getting married in Feb..I'm just a bridesmaid, I just don't want to be the fat friend lol
  • gabbymom2
    gabbymom2 Posts: 175 Member
    Hi....why don't you friend me and then open your food diary. Maybe I can help???
  • dmdv22
    dmdv22 Posts: 22
    Well back to my earlier comment which I had edited out because the other posts made it look like you were the one getting married lol. Tone back your weight loss goals for the wedding. The bride is supposed to be the center of attention on her day, if u come in 60lbs lighter all eyes will be on you.

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