5'3 and 125lb ladies. Any advice??

I lost the first 30 pounds doing straight cardio, but hit a wall 7 or 8 months in. A year later I'm finally discovering the benefits of weight lifting in addition to cardio, and adding some extra calories. It was hard for me because lifting weights didn't equal any extra calories, so I wasn't motivated. Now, I allow myself 1500 instead of 1200, and lift 3 times a week and do cardio about 5 times a week. The added calories take away my tendency to use food as a reward for exercising, and I'm trying to find other reinforcers for working out (more energy, I get to watch TV while lifting, running with the dog gets his energy out). I'm really starting to see changes in my body with the lifting.

I'm a little under 5'3 and started at about 198lbs. I lost a good chunk of the weight doing Insanity and going to the gym daily as well as running about 3 miles a day. Sounds like a lot of scattered workouts but Insanity helped the most. I started out eating 1200 calories a day then went up to1400-1600 calories as I finished up Insanity. I'm down to about 147lbs now... been this weight since November2011.. it's really frustrating.. I still workout regularly, but I feel that I can't find a new workout regimen to break my plateau..I had a trainer make a workout plan for me and that hasn't helped too much either... Even though I haven't exactly lost weight since November... I've dropped a size from a 7 to 5 in jeans... and almost into a size 3 now or size 26/27 and went from a size 8 in dresses to a 4/6.

I'm 5'3" and 137 now. I would love to be between 120 and 125, I seem to be struggling since I hit 137. I just keep gaining and losing the same 4 lbs. Hopefully I will make it to goal soon.

Ha...beer...me too! :drinker:

Like others have mentioned, your mileage may vary, but I'm about 5'5" and started out at 170+. I was eating 1400 net calories per day and doing a mix between running, biking, and circuit training and it took me over a year to get down to where I am now (~136). I upped to 1500 net calories (which I sometimes exceed) and I've held steady here for months with just a little less exercise than before (at least I know my maintenance levels now). To lose those last nagging pounds I think the only thing that works is to raise the level of intensity of my workouts..

I started at 173 and am around 145-150 now.. If I don't do cardio I try to eat around 1200 cals a day and drink a lot of water. If I work out, depending on how many cals I burn (i aim for 500), I try to eat about half of those back, sometimes all of them depending on what I do that day. I am also a waitress so I am on my feet a lot!

bump

Bump

I'm 5'2.5" and working my way back (and beyond) from postpartum twin weight of 193. I got back to pre-pregnancy weight of 170 twice in the last year (grrrr), and am determined to get down to 125 by next summer. The last time I was 125 as an adult I was anorexic, and people said I looked really bad. So we'll see how it goes, but I'm hoping that doing it a healthy way and focusing on strength training will help.

I have found that my loss is way more consistent by using my Fitbit to determine a daily deficit. Instead of just netting 1200 every day, I aim to net what I'm burning that day MINUS 500-800. Most days I end up burning around 2000, so I shoot for 1200-1500 net.

I weigh/measure food when I can. I work out at least a few days a week ideally. I LOVE heavy lifting, but also do elliptical, row, swim, "run", or even just go for walks with my toddlers and chase them around the park while doing things like pull ups and step ups while they're playing.

Like everyone said, protein is important. I try to keep my macros at around 35% carb, 35% protein, 30% fat. That ends up being 105g of protein and carb each on 1200. It's rarely perfect, but I find that limiting my carbs to around 100g really helps. For some reason, the more carbs I eat, the hungrier I get and the more carbs I want. I try to use veggies and fruit for my carbs (usually berries), not grains. Toast and peanut butter is my comfort food, but also a gateway drug for me.

But honestly, I save a lot of my carb calories for things like a mini Haagen-Dazs cup, chocolate, or some kind of treat. I know that's probably not very healthy, but if I try to cut all that stuff out, I end up binging. I need to be able to LIVE for the rest of my life, and that means including everything but in moderation.

I haven't had nearly as much success as the other members here, but I'm one-third of the way to my goal of 125 (more or less), which is better than nothing! I'd be much further along if it weren't for injuries and binges and setbacks. But that's life. I'm not perfect, and I never will be. But I'll keep losing bit by bit, and keep my sanity along the way!