Frustrated

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30before34
30before34 Posts: 64
in Health and Weight Loss
Need motivation.

I have some 20oddlbs to lose but no matter what I do I am not losing weight.
My metabolism seems to be down the drain.

I eat about 1400-1500 cal a day on average., very little white carb. Exercise 4 days a week, I have a small child so I cannot take too much time to exercise. I work full time too.
I am not able to control my sugar intake.
Plus I binge eat once a week.

I did lose some 20 lbs last year, but this year I have not been able to lose at all.
Could it be some hormonal thing?

Need desperate help and motivation!
I need to lose 20lbs before May, I think it is a doable goal, but at the rate I am going, not hopeful :--((

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    It's quite possible you are not eating enough. With that little weight to lose, you shouldn't be aiming for anything more than 1/2 lb per week and if you have a small child you are active with, you are probably lightly active. And you should be eating at least 50% of your exercise calories. It's not that fact that you have a slow metabolism, but it could be you are not feeding your metabolism and it's fighting you. Also, what kind of exercise are you doing? If you want, post your height weight age workout routine and I can run numbers.
  • 30before34
    30before34 Posts: 64
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    Hi thank you so much.
    I am 32, female, 5'4" 153lbs
    I do 28mins of elliptical and 15-20mins of weights/abs.
    I mostly focus on lower body and abdomen.
    Do let me know!
  • RunningTowardsFit
    RunningTowardsFit Posts: 81
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    Hey! I actually read your post without reading the answer below and thought the exact same thing. I like to think for myself and then compare to what other people say. I could not agree more. I would try upping your calorie intake to about 1600-1700 for a week, you could even try two. Do not worry about what the scale does at this time. It may go up, but it is not pure fat it is likely water retention or your body just holding on to new food. In all actuality in weight gain over two weeks would only be around a 1/2- 1 lb. gain so just keep that in mind.

    I personally found from my experience that while I maintained my weight and would do the elliptical and SOME (very minimal) weight training that my weight had maintained. I would encourage you to use the treadmill if you can. I found that if I did the treadmill (I would run) for ten minutes and then do my normal elliptical workout that I EASILY lost a few pounds within two weeks. It is worth a shot :) Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Are you accurately measuring the calories you burn? Gym machines are notoriously off. The ones I use in my gym give me 100-150 calories MORE than my heart rate monitor.

    If you are, I'd say you need to up your exercise intensity and CHANGE the activities up! Your body gets bored (efficient) when you give it the same activity over and over again. Try running, or buy a new DVD series to try. I think burning more calories is a better solution than cutting out food when you are already eating a low amount.

    Switch it up. Work out harder than you have in a long time. Do it for a couple weeks and see if the scale doesn't start to cooperate.
  • AussieTrainer
    AussieTrainer Posts: 171
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    "no matter what I do I am not losing weight."

    "I am not able to control my sugar intake.
    Plus I binge eat once a week."

    these statements aren't compatible. you are frustrated and I understand that-- I've been there, everyone on these forums has! Start controlling your sugar intake and stop binging and THEN you can say you are giving it your all.

    Eating too few cals cause binging, so can stress and just pure habit... work harder at making a sustainable plan and you can do it, good luck.
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I eat about 1400-1500 cal a day on average., very little white carb. Exercise 4 days a week, I have a small child so I cannot take too much time to exercise. I work full time too.
    I am not able to control my sugar intake.
    Plus I binge eat once a week.

    I did lose some 20 lbs last year, but this year I have not been able to lose at all.
    Could it be some hormonal thing?

    Need desperate help and motivation!
    I need to lose 20lbs before May, I think it is a doable goal, but at the rate I am going, not hopeful :--((

    maybe not eating enough daily - but that depends on how bad your binge days are. I say get rid of the binge day and settle for a more regular diet (we are about the same stats and my TDEE is 1750 calories a day). Don't deprive yourself of things you love, just eat less of them so no binging is necessary.

    Also, calculate your TDEE at fat2fitradio.com (Military body fat calculator, then BMR calculator). Read everything it says and follow the suggested amount for 30 days. It may take your body time to adjust to a better method of eating so avoid the scale for 30 days. I did this and lost 2 pounds in those 30 days after being plateaued for 4 months (but I was terrified to try it).
  • Sherbog
    Sherbog Posts: 1,072 Member
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    When this happens I start measuring and weighing my portions, no eating out, and no trigger food allowed in the house. Best to you and your journey. You can do it.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    Sugar is not important to watch unless you have a medical condition such as diabetes that you must take into consideration.

    The once a week binge eating is most likely the culprit. You should be shooting for 1/2 pound a week weight loss and logging as accurately as possible (use a food scale).

    When you have less to lose, it becomes more difficult because you have to fine tune it properly.
  • hopeful83
    hopeful83 Posts: 6
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    Hi thank you so much.
    I am 32, female, 5'4" 153lbs
    I do 28mins of elliptical and 15-20mins of weights/abs.
    I mostly focus on lower body and abdomen.
    Do let me know!

    We're almost the same. Although I do 30 mins on the treadmill- 2 miles- and then abs and weights. And I concentrate on upper body over lower.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Hi thank you so much.
    I am 32, female, 5'4" 153lbs
    I do 28mins of elliptical and 15-20mins of weights/abs.
    I mostly focus on lower body and abdomen.
    Do let me know!

    You really should do full body workouts ( probably 30 minutes of weights). Concentrating on lower body will only make your lower body strong and since you can not spot reduce, it would be beneficial to strengthen your whole body.


    In terms of calories, I would have you eat 1700 calories; 35/40/25 c/p/f. And when you lift, do it heavy so you fail at 10 or less reps and if you can, do compound moves. If you up your exercise to 5-6 days a week, add another 200 calories per day. 1700 calories is total calories so you would not eat back exercise calories nor should you eat less.
  • Princess_Lee2013
    Princess_Lee2013 Posts: 48 Member
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    Here are my two cents for what they're worth: I don't know what your binge constitutes but if you are really wanting to lose the weight then you can only get away with this if you are extremely careful for the rest of the week. There are a variety of strategies that can help you with this. Also you say you have difficulty controlling your sugar intake - are you against artificial sweetners in moderation? I too have a sweet tooth and know that I would not have been successful in any of my weight loss endeavours were it not for the existence of these art. sweeteners - that said I have them in moderation and look forward to the fake sweet treats. Or use 100 calorie treats like oreo sticks and laughing cow products; or my standby while i was on the dr. bernstein diet - no sugar added jello with 1 tbsp of 95% fat free cool whip. Develop a program you can stick to during the week that includes one of these desserts as part of your calorie intake - and then have one "cheat" day per week where you don't portion control and don't count calories. Control your portions of meat to no more than 3.5-4 when you have them. Choose a low carb bread. Make a weekly meal plan. I'm happy to give you ideas for meal plans if you think you need it. FYI I'm 27 5'6 160 lbs - have lost 18 lbs in the past three months and 15 inches following a diet that revolves around these principles. Good luck and your twenty by May is definitely do-able and sustainable. I want to lose another 40-50 by then!
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
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    I doubt it is hormones, most likely the behaviors mentioned in your post

    2 thoughts:

    1) Exercise more. I know you have a small child, but but you can get your heart rate up without going to the gym. Go for walks with baby, OR during nap time so something like the following:

    50 squats
    25 left leg lunges
    25 right leg lunges
    50 jumping jacks
    25 press ups - use knees
    25 squats
    15 left leg lunges
    15 right leg lunges
    25 jumping jacks
    30 seconds PLANK
    rest I minute and 30 seconds plank

    Rest 2 mins and repeat

    2) Get a handle on what triggers the binge eating, and do everything you can to avoid those triggers. Seek a support group if necessary.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
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    What other measurements are you taking? I do agree with the others on increasing calories. I also suggest that you get a tape measure and take other measurements other than the scale. There could be times you are losing inches and not pounds.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    forget motivation, practice self-discipline.
  • amw212s
    amw212s Posts: 11 Member
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    I do intermittent fasting. I skip breakfast so I can easily stay below my 1500 to lose. I eat sugar free snacks like Popsicles. I splurge on carb smart ice cream. Eating salads really help me. I had a big salad before pizza so I only ate two pieces of pizza. So I'm eating high fiber low carb salad with lean proteins. I do eat bread sometimes, but I'm hypoglycemia and it drops my blood sugars after the spike.

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