6 months without much results

BlueJess7
BlueJess7 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all!
I'm not one to complain but... I've been exercising and dieting since last July and have only lost 6 lbs. This said, I have noticed a change in my body shape and have developed muscles where there used to be fat, all great things! However, I want to lost belly fat and I want to be thinner.
Let me share this one little bit also, I'm in early menopause and my Dr. keeps telling me to be patient.
In the next 6 months I'd like to lose 10-20 lbs.
Currently I work out at a gym 3 times a week, where I do weights for 30 min. followed by cardio for 30 min. At home I do Jillian Michaels DVD's that include Yoga and her 30 day shred about 2 times a week.
If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them. I've been eating 1350 calories or less every day.

Replies

  • carolynwilhelm
    carolynwilhelm Posts: 2 Member
    I hear ya, as I'm in the same boat... been trying to lose the same 15 pounds for over a year now... how many calories are you eating each day? I've found most of the time, if you're working out consistently, that the nutrition side needs to be tweaked. (Forgot to mention I'm in perimenopause too... which sucks for weight loss! lol)
  • Danni1585
    Danni1585 Posts: 250 Member
    Open up your diary, let people have a look and see if they can help xx
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them.

    move more
  • kristy6ward
    kristy6ward Posts: 332 Member
    Have you tried upping the intensity of your workouts? You said you did weights, have you been steadily increasing the weight?
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
    My first guess is going to be 1350 for all that activity is not enough..

    Depending on your height and weight of course. Can you share with us your current stats? What is your BMR? Just to gibe you an idea I'm a shortie...lol at 5'1" and 129(ish) and 1350 would barely cover my BMR before exercise.
  • jonesin_am
    jonesin_am Posts: 404 Member
    Eat more...maybe. Sounds like you are working out a lot - do you eat back some or all of your exercise calories? 1350 or less sounds like not enough...but I don't know your details. I am 5'4", 31, 190 lbs and I exercise 3 days a week for an hour and eat 1800 calories. Lost 2 lbs this week!
  • timvet
    timvet Posts: 114 Member
    I would say you def need to ear more! 1350 is not enough for the type of workout you are doing.
  • carolynwilhelm
    carolynwilhelm Posts: 2 Member
    Okay, so based on 1350, my guess is probably need to eat more. I would also suggest upping the intensity of your workouts.
  • BlueJess7
    BlueJess7 Posts: 23 Member
    Thank you everyone! Sounds like I'm actually hearing eat more and exercise harder. OKAY.
    I'm 5 feet 0 inches, LOL. I currently weigh 155 and my BMR, although different in every site I've checked, is about 1395 with my TDEE about 1809.
  • MeDoula
    MeDoula Posts: 233 Member
    No, it doesn't mean "eat more & exercise harder". "Eat more" means eat more ;) What activity level did you pick for your calculations? If you have been eating 1350 cal or less AND you are NOT eating back your exercise calories, your body is holding on to everything.
  • BlueJess7
    BlueJess7 Posts: 23 Member
    I've used the lightly active level. I'm a doctors assistant so I do stand and sit a lot during the day. You're right, I'm eating 1350 or less and not eating my exercise calories back.
  • baja572
    baja572 Posts: 94
    If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them.

    move more
    I am there..nothing worked until I started eating fruit only in the morning and with a protein...my scales are moving downward.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    Since you have your TDEE then take a small cut like 10% or no more than 15%.

    Be careful on the exercise harder thing...if you exercise harder then you need to make sure the activity level is correct for calculating your TDEE.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them. I've been eating 1350 calories or less every day.

    How much less? Do you eat back exercise calories? What is your net caloric intake on average? If you are netting well below your BMR then I can almost guarantee you that is the problem and your metabolism is stalled. I'm sure the menopaus aspect also complicates matters, but one sure fire way to stall your metabolism is to net below your BMR for significant amounts of time.

    Edit: I saw you are using the TDEE method...are you then sure your activity level is set correctly? Mine wasn't.
  • Vickiesings
    Vickiesings Posts: 95
    I need to find out what BMR and TDEE is all about but I love the comments about eating more. I am upping my calories to 1800 because I am stalled.
  • amills1152
    amills1152 Posts: 63 Member
    Also, if you wanna cut out any confusion about eating back exercise calories, just calculate your TDEE using the sedentary activity level, eat about 85-90% of your TDEE, and eat back all of your exercise calories that you log :) Seems ta be working for me after feeling stuck in the same loop of weight I couldn't shed. :) Best of luck!
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
    If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them.

    move more

    eat more
  • Yaxomoxay
    Yaxomoxay Posts: 25 Member
    Get HRM to know of you are exercising with enough intensity. It also helps in better understanding how many calories you are using while exercising.
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
    I would say you def need to ear more! 1350 is not enough for the type of workout you are doing.

    ^^^^Definitely this!
  • celestinha
    celestinha Posts: 35 Member
    If anyone has any suggestions for me besides "eat less", I'd like to hear them. I've been eating 1350 calories or less every day.

    ^^ This is your problem. Eat more! I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I'm losing way more now eating between 1600-1800 calories a day than I ever was eating only 1300!!
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    try eating your BMR, working out like hell, and eating 100% back those calories ?

    Also drink half your weight in water and up your fiber.
  • jehavin
    jehavin Posts: 316 Member
    Do you monitor your heartrate during your 30 min of cardio? Otherwise, you might not be reaching a high enough level to be getting the benefits of that time you put in. Like another poster said, are you upping your weights and varying the muscle groups or just doing the same 2 sets of 15lb bicep curls for 6 months?

    Our bodies are really good at getting "adapted" to what we do over and over again. Try switching up your activity by incorporating sprints, adding different resistance exercises, switching to smaller/larger meals (the opposite of whatever you're doing now,) or even just getting more sleep. I saw a list somewhere of 6 Techniques to Try When You Plateau and they all involved doing something different from what your body has been expecting.

    How about measurements? Did you have them done when you first started? If not, now is a great time to get them done by someone at your gym and then see how much you change every month---sometimes the scale doesn't tell you that you've lost 2 inches off your waist or thighs. That might help reassure you of your success/progress instead of focusing on the weight part.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    I've learned a couple of things about the causes of obesity over the last few months, and if there is nothing else medically wrong with you, check to see if any of these may be the case:

    1. Eating a combo of refined grains, sugar and polyunsaturated fats will cause the body to create and hold onto fat stores at a rapid pace. Try replacing vegetable oils and fats with saturated (butter, cream, coconut oil) and monounsaturated fats (Olive oil, avocado). Try to keep sugar consumption to a minimum. Sugar from fresh fruits and veggies is fine, it the added sugars that will derail your weight loss efforts. Limit grains to whole grain sources as much as possible. Pasta, baked goods, cereal, and crackers turn into instant fat. Eat from whole grain sources only.

    2. You could be malnourished or overnourished. If you take a lot of vitamins, drink energy drinks or eat enriched foods you could be perpetuating an inflammation cycle as the body tries to eliminate the extra nutrients. Eating food is the best way to get your nourishment. Just remember, we can poison ourselves to death with water, so even the "safest" vitamins can become toxic when layered on top of actual food as well as fortified foods in our diets. If you take vitamins, try skipping them for a while and see if that doesn't make a difference.

    3. If you don't take vitamins, you could also be malnourished. Most Americans don't get enough magnesium, potassium, iodine or vitamin d. Watch your nutrient levels while logging here and see if you may be missing something in your diet. The standard American Diet is filled with calorie rich foods that lack nutrients. This causes the body to hang onto fat and makes weight loss hard. We also don't eat nearly enough healthy saturated fats, which is used in every cell in the body. Try to get 50% of your fat consumption from healthy saturated fats, like from lean meats, dairy products, and coconut oil.

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