HELP, I am very frustrated!!

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tnallen
tnallen Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Currently, I weight 170 pounds. :grumble: My goal is 150-155. IMy daily caloric intake is 1200 calories. On the days I work out, it find it really easy to eat those 1200 calories and the addditonal calories from working out. I take a really intense kickboxing class 3-4 weekdays and Zumba on Saturdays. I burn plenty of calories in a weeks time. I started kickboxing in January but have been dooing Zuma for a while. However, I have only lost five pounds!! :embarassed: I do feel toned but I would also like to see the numbers on the scale decrease.


I know i dont eat veggies the way I should, but I generally try to stay within my daily caloric intake. What am I doing wrong :grumble: ???????? Can someone please take a look at my diary and give me feedback!? It would be greatly appreciated. :happy:

PLEASE HELP!!!

Replies

  • neenaof4
    neenaof4 Posts: 41 Member
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    I started working out in January and I'm just finally losing some pounds -- Since January 1st, I've only lost 13 pounds and about 7 of them is in the past 3 - 4 weeks. Hang in there, I think your body just has to get into the right mix of muscle tone and your metabolism needs to get set.
  • deltaray
    deltaray Posts: 2
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    I am no weight-loss expert, but it may be that your calorie intake is so low that your body is trying to conserve every bit of calories that it can. I have read articles by experts in the field that say if you go too low with calories your body's metabolism lowers. It's kinda like you got to supply it with enough fuel to fuel the furnace!

    Could you try one week of taking it up to 1500 or 1600 calories a day and seeing what happens? I think setting the appropriate daily caloric intake to maintain metabolism, but loose weight, is one of the hardest things. It may be trial and error.
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I agree. I was eating right and exercising for over a month before I started seeing any kind of change. Then a bunch of weight come off all at once. Your body just needs to know you're serious.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits?page=4#posts-1170770

    Read the above post...pay special attention to the part regarding BMI/and how big your calorie deficit should be. With only 15-20 pounds to go before you reach your goal weight, you may very likely be eating too few calories. For me, I find that if my calories go much below 1400, I don't lose anymore. (that's considering exercise, too).

    The easiest way to adjust would be to change your goal loss per week to 1/2 a pound.

    Have you measured yourself? Lots of exercise messes with the scale in other ways. You may find your measurements have moved considerably, or at least some.

    HTH.:flowerforyou:
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    Also, I took a look at your food diary, and noticed that you eat quite a bit of convenience/fast food, which is loaded with sodium and added sugar. The calories you're getting aren't as high quality as they could be. For me, the closer I get to goal weight, WHAT I'm eating vs. just how much in terms of calories matters a lot more.

    My trainer said once "well, abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym."

    It seems you're very dedicated with the exercise, so it may be time to examine the kind of food you're eating, too.
  • rockwife
    rockwife Posts: 35
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    You might want to track your sodium intake. You are eating a lot of processed foods which could be causing you to retain water.
  • cchapman67
    cchapman67 Posts: 2
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    1) DON'T GIVE UP
    2) you really dont have that much weight to lose.....as long as your weight keeps going down..that is all that matters.
    3) others have recomended eating slightly more calories, to re set your metabolsm try that
    4) eat more vegetables, I dont know what you eat but high amounts of sodium and highly processed foods do not help.
    5) if you want to lose weight and keep it off this is lifestyle change......
    6) muscle weighs more than fat, you could be gaining muscle
  • kykimmy
    kykimmy Posts: 13
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    I have always heard that muscle weighs more than fat. Your workouts are likely building lean muscle in the place of fat. If your body is changing for the better, maybe the number on the scale is less important right now. Best of luck to you! :smile:
  • tnallen
    tnallen Posts: 7
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    All of your input in greatly appreciated. I never thought about my sodium intake. I guess I have to start cooking at home. I am totally commited to exercise but the food is my biggest challenge.

    THANKS!
  • staps065
    staps065 Posts: 837 Member
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    IMO I think you are eating too infrequently and the wrong things. Eating all of that fat, even though you are burning it up isn't a good idea. You also need to spread your food out over the day and eat after your intense workouts or your body will think you are in starvation mode... Just my opinion. I'm not expert but before MFP I have lost over 100 pounds and kept most of it off. Space out your meals!:wink:
  • jbuffan218
    jbuffan218 Posts: 275 Member
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    I have only looked at the last 2 days of your diary and this is my first thought.
    You are eating an awful lot of packaged or fast food. HIGH sodium !
    You dont seem to be eating enough good quality calories.
    Very little protein.
    Almost NO water.

    First of all you dont have much weight to lose so it's gonna be tougher to let go.
    I can tell you what I notice about me, you can do what you will with the info.
    For ME, I notice that in order to loose the pounds ( havent lost much but thats how I loose SLOW) I must increase my protein.
    The weeks I keep an eye on protein, lean good protein, I have a decent loss.
    I try to eat a little protein with every meal, it keeps me full and it will help after your workout.
    Go into your settings and track your sodium, you will be shocked at how much hidden sodium you are eating. I gaurentee, you will start to pay attention once you see you are swelled up from salt.
    Along with the sodium you are not drinking enough water to flucs all of that crap out. So you are probably reataining fluids, which shows on the scale.
    Try to cut back on the boxed, fast food, chips, grab n go type food. I know how hard this is, it's so easy to grab a breakfast bar and go, I do it once a day myself. But , not every meal. Unfortunately, you might have to start cooking some of your food at home and eating veggies in place of snack foods.

    You dont want to hear it but if you are kickboxing intensely I am sure you have built muscle ( muscle weighs more blah , blah, blah, crap :angry: and you really should rely more on your measurements to show your results. You obviously will be leaner and tighter even if the numbers on the dreaded scale dont show that.

    Great job on getting the exercise part locked down, thats where I could use YOUR help. I hate it and it sucks. The food & water is the easy part for me.
    Good Luck you'll be fine.:flowerforyou:

    P.S. I went back and looked at a couple weeks in your diary.
    No one is saying this but you asked so here goes:
    Krispy Kreme Donuts
    Papa Johns Pizza
    Chick fi ll A
    Wendys
    Ice cream two days in a week....
    Ritz crackers for breakfast
    I think if you look at the TYPE of calories your eating you can see why your not losing as you'd like.
    I dont think you can eat what ever you want and think you can exercise it off, it dont work like that.
    I cant tell you when I had ice cream or a donut ( I do eat pizza once or twice a month ONE meal thats it)
    I think you know what you really need to do
    I know it sucks......I'm sorry :sad:
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
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    IMO I think you are eating too infrequently and the wrong things. Eating all of that fat, even though you are burning it up isn't a good idea. You also need to spread your food out over the day and eat after your intense workouts or your body will think you are in starvation mode... Just my opinion. I'm not expert but before MFP I have lost over 100 pounds and kept most of it off. Space out your meals!:wink:

    I agree
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    Too much salt and fat. Not enough veggies, fruits, and dairy. You need to balance your calories throughout the day and make healthier choices for your meals. I'd limit fast food to once every 2 weeks. Also make sure you eat at least 3 times a day.
  • FireMonkey
    FireMonkey Posts: 500 Member
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    Most important, give yourself time. Weight that didn't come on overnight doesn't go away overnight. And even weight that did come on relatively quickly can still take a long time to lose. Two years ago I gained thirty (30) pounds over a three months period because of the medication I was on (and I was already overweight before). So that was a quick gain, but how long did it take for the weight to come off again? Let me put it this way: I'm still working on the last 5 pounds :huh:

    Continue eating healthy and exercising - you'll feel better in the long run, even if the numbers don't change as quickly as you would like. That will happen too in time. :drinker:

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