Your ideas for improving on my approach?

lisalower
lisalower Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi community members,

My stats:

* Signed up January 1
* 5 ft, 3" and started at 153 pounds
* So far I'm down 5.8 pounds (although my profile says 7 pounds....I gained a pound this week!)
* I've opened my diary for public viewing, but in summary, I'm set to 1200 calories and eat my exercise calories mostly.
* I'm working out 5-6 sessions of an hour each per week - a blend of high impact aerobics (~ 550 calories burned when measured by my HRM) and personal training (~350 calories burned with mix of strength training, core training and aerobic work)
* I've lost around an inch from my chest, waist and butt, and half inch from thighs

Why I'm posting? Most of the weight loss was in the first few weeks and surprisingly little over the last 4 weeks. Although I know I'm stronger and fitter (yay) I'm also still overweight and want to be a healthier weight (about 140 pounds)

What do you think? Is this ok? What would you change? Am I making a mistake by eating the exercise calories (which on weekends means I can eat up to 2000 calls?)

Thanks for advice if you have it...

Lisalower

Replies

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    sounds like you are doing just fine.

    The weight loss is typically fast when you first start, but it is usually due to water weight changes. Now your weight loss is slowing because your water weight has more or less stabilized, so what you see on the scale is more fat loss. A LOT of people mistake this slowdown as a plateau. Its not.

    I do recommend eating back your exercise calories - especially if you are set to net 1200 calories. What weight loss rate did you choose?

    Looks like you are following the MFP plan just fine. Only thing I would suggest is to up your protein to about 0.8-1 g/lb lean body mass to minimize muscle loss.
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    Congrats on your success so far--losing pounds and inches is great! There are a bunch of possibilities why the scale doesn't seem to move lately: hormones and water weight are ones women especially have to consider.

    Looking at your diary, you need to up your calories. There were two days in the past seven where you netted under 800 calories, and just one where you hit 1200 (more or less--1196 on Friday), and a quick calculation shows you netted an average of 971. That's just not enough to function on--1200 should be the absolute minimum.

    Keep exercising, but fuel it properly so you don't end up losing lean tissue along with the fat. And try to be patient: eat at a deficit and eventually the weight will shift.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    You're doing fine.

    Since you only have 7-8lbs to lose, you should only be losing at a rate of 0.5lbs a week.
  • lisalower
    lisalower Posts: 30 Member
    sounds like you are doing just fine.

    The weight loss is typically fast when you first start, but it is usually due to water weight changes. Now your weight loss is slowing because your water weight has more or less stabilized, so what you see on the scale is more fat loss. A LOT of people mistake this slowdown as a plateau. Its not.

    I do recommend eating back your exercise calories - especially if you are set to net 1200 calories. What weight loss rate did you choose?

    Looks like you are following the MFP plan just fine. Only thing I would suggest is to up your protein to about 0.8-1 g/lb lean body mass to minimize muscle loss.

    Thanks! I used to follow a higher protein diet, but notice here that my protein is drifting down yet still within the Myfitnesspal pal suggestion (in fact over the suggested amount). I'm trying to lose 1 pound a week.
  • lisalower
    lisalower Posts: 30 Member
    Congrats on your success so far--losing pounds and inches is great! There are a bunch of possibilities why the scale doesn't seem to move lately: hormones and water weight are ones women especially have to consider.

    Looking at your diary, you need to up your calories. There were two days in the past seven where you netted under 800 calories, and just one where you hit 1200 (more or less--1196 on Friday), and a quick calculation shows you netted an average of 971. That's just not enough to function on--1200 should be the absolute minimum.

    Keep exercising, but fuel it properly so you don't end up losing lean tissue along with the fat. And try to be patient: eat at a deficit and eventually the weight will shift.

    Thanks for the feedback. I'm a little nervous at increasing my calories, but I can give it a shot huh?
  • lisalower
    lisalower Posts: 30 Member
    You're doing fine.

    Since you only have 7-8lbs to lose, you should only be losing at a rate of 0.5lbs a week.

    Thanks! I'll keep going and be more patient. I really appreciate the ideas and reinforcement. Love this community!

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