Power 90, not losing weight. Diet critique? Ideas?

Freedom125
Freedom125 Posts: 31 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
In the past when I've tried to lose weight, I've normally had great (and immediate) success. I have never done it lifting weights before, though - only cardio or no exercise at all. This time (and for the LAST time!) my hubby and I are doing Power 90, which is a lighter version of P90X, for those of us who are not in fabulous shape to begin with. It's 6 days per week, alternating a 35 minute cardio/abs work out, and a 30 minute strength workout.

I'm 5'3', 27 years old, female, 194lbs (I have a LONG way to go!). I'm 17 days in, and I have not lost a pound. I did lose some inches the first week but nothing really since then. Is this normal when starting this kind of workout?

Here's what my diet looks like:
Breakfast: 4oz lean ham, 2 leaves of lettuce, mustard, string cheese, and a small banana
Snack: 2 stalks celery, 2 tbsp peanut butter
Lunch: Homemade extra lean turkey chili with tons of veggies, 1 oz raw unsalted almonds
Snack: 1 medium apple
Supper: 1 whole wheat flatbread (110 cal), 1/2 cup cooked ground turkey, mixed veggies, 2 tbsp salsa, 2tbsp fat free sour cream

Occasionally I'll have a cup of herbal tea, no milk or sugar. Other than that it's just water.

Total: 1243 calories, 127g carbs, 47g fat, 84g protein, 28g fibre

Do I need to eat more? Shift my ratios around a bit? Or just be patient?

I just want to make sure that if I need to make a change, I make it soon so that I don't waste any more time than I have to. Any insight is appreciated!

Replies

  • twinmom01
    twinmom01 Posts: 854 Member
    I would be patient - doing things like that every day your muscles are going to be used a lot - so your body will retain water quite a bit to repair your muscles.

    With lifting and strength training you may not see much move on the scale because hopefully you are preserving your muscle mass you already have and are burning off fat reserves. since a lb of fat takes up a much greater volume it can take a little while for you so see any movement on the scale BUT you should notice things in your body shape - as you burn body fat reserves your muscles will become more pronounced.

    If I were you I would take a pair of pants that might be too tight right now and use that a gauge rather than a scale.

    I would actually up your veggie intake and up your good fat intake - coconut, olive, avacados - good fats while a bit higher in calories actually help satiate you throughout the day

    I would actually ditch the "fat-Free" version of anything - they are usually full of some sort of chemicals designed to make them taste better and fat from sources like dairy are good for you.

    Since you are working out everyday your ratios look good - I would actually maybe increase your calorie count with a few good things like I mentioned above - like adding in a nice green leafy salad with a homemade vingrette of olive oil, blasamic and some spicy mustard .
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    give it 2-3 more weeks before you consider changing anything
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Be patient. Weight loss is not linear and can be masked by water weight fluctuations. This can be caused by the usual - sodium, TOM, macro mix etc but also can be cause by water retention in the muscles when you exercise.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    People who go through weight loss plans that revolve primarily around weightlifting often don't see pounds lost, but they do see inches lost and firmness where there used to be none. Ask anyone who's completed a round of ChaLEAN Extreme.
  • fitcounselor
    fitcounselor Posts: 53 Member
    First of all, give yourself credit for the non-scale victories. Loss of inches is sometime more important that what's on the scale (especially in the beginning). It is a 90 day bootcamp and in most cases, designed for you to see the most results towards the end of it. Like the comments above, it could be caused by lots of things. Have you spoken to your free coach about it?
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    1243 isn't a lot of calories. You might consider upping those a little for a while and then give it some time before you reevaluate.
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    Let's look at what you are doing right (in no real order)
    - tracking what you eat
    - eating throughout the day
    - exercising 6 days a week
    - taking measurements
    - eating pretty healthy foods

    Any one of those is a big step forward, and you are doing all of them!

    I did a rough calculation of your BMR and got 1660 calories a day. With exercise (call it 240 per day for easy numbers), you are burning 1900 calories per day. At 1243 per day intake, the deficit is about right or maybe even a little high (660 calories per day) but by being below BMR, your body is not getting enough calories (fuel) to keep itself healthy, which could be why the weight loss has not gone the way you wanted.

    I'm a little hesitant to say it's the only cause because you should have seen some initial weight loss before it stopped.
  • katz22
    katz22 Posts: 116 Member
    a) 17 days is not very long on the workout plan. Stick with it a month at least before evaluating.

    b)Are you are getting enough energy to give the right intensity for the workouts? I understand you are 5'3, but maybe take a look at the calorie calculators available and recalculate the calories. I would also make sure you get enough protein to help with recovery from an intense workout program.

    But apart from that I think you are making progress with the inch loss, and making great healthful food choices. Keep up the good work. :)
  • Freedom125
    Freedom125 Posts: 31 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'll give it a couple more weeks, and if it doesn't change I'll consider adding a few more calories.

    I'm glad general consensus seems to be that my food choices are reasonably healthy. I do tend to avoid fat free stuff, but I really don't like full fat sour cream, the texture is just too thick for my liking - it has nothing to do with fat content :)

    I don't have a beachbody coach, I'm too afraid of the constant spamming that I've heard can happen!

    I forgot to add that I ride horses 4-6 times per week as well. Enough usually to get me (and the horse) working up a pretty good sweat, and some of my muscles are usually starting to give out when I get off.
  • mona_patty
    mona_patty Posts: 170
    i do strength training about 2 to 3x a week, run 3 to 4x a week or walk. I eat about 1360 plus I eat most of what I burn with my exercises. This month I haven't lost too much weight maybe like 4 lbs so far but i still fit into my size 10 pants, I am about 178 lbs.. So far I am into 5 months. Be patient.

    Though I notice my arms are toner and my legs are more leaner. Keep in mind that exercising is very beneficial to your health regardless of the amount of weightloss.

    Great job and keep it up.

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