Not losing, why?

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Replies

  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    bump :)
  • Redson25
    Redson25 Posts: 16
    Just a thought, but at 5'9", 155, with all that working out, it seems very likely that your body has found its happy weight? I'm 5'4 and I know at my fittest and healthiest I was a solid 130, so it seems possible you're not far off.

    I suppose that is possible, but I really don't want it to be. A pysical trainer once told me that some people's bodies are happy at a certain weight and when they eat more they don't really gain much and when they eat less they don't really lose much. She said they stay in a range of 10 to 15 lbs. I considered that I could be one of these people because I use to be a competitive swimmer from age 8 through college and when I stopped after college I never gained and all my clothes still fit and I wasn't working out at all.

    I just really really hope that isn't the case for me because I don't look good in a swimsuit, I have a big belly and I really want that to shrink. One time at a bus stop a women asked me if I was pregnant. and i was 5'9" and 148 at the time, so I was not that over weight at all, my stomach is just where all my fat is. I have an absolutely flat *kitten* and skinny legs. I am the opposite of most females where I actually want a bigger *kitten* (or rather my belly fat to move south a bit). But mostly I just want this belly gone! ugh! Thanks for your thoughts though, let me know if you have any other ideas.
  • CatMcCheesey
    CatMcCheesey Posts: 143
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    Read this post about figuring out your TDEE

    Great post - thanks for sharing it!
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    If I were underestimating my activity level, then wouldn't I be losing for sure? I do over an hour of cardio a day because I have the time and burn 600, but other than that the rest of my day is computer work, reading, cooking, ie - pretty sedentary. Oh, for those looking at my fitness diary, I was sick twice and missed almost a week of exercise, but I still mostly only ate 1200 calories that day.

    Too large a deficit can be detrimental, you need to eat to fuel your workouts, and you need to take a rest day.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • dandelioncoach
    dandelioncoach Posts: 20 Member
    Just a thought, but at 5'9", 155, with all that working out, it seems very likely that your body has found its happy weight? I'm 5'4 and I know at my fittest and healthiest I was a solid 130, so it seems possible you're not far off.

    I suppose that is possible, but I really don't want it to be. A pysical trainer once told me that some people's bodies are happy at a certain weight and when they eat more they don't really gain much and when they eat less they don't really lose much. She said they stay in a range of 10 to 15 lbs. I considered that I could be one of these people because I use to be a competitive swimmer from age 8 through college and when I stopped after college I never gained and all my clothes still fit and I wasn't working out at all.

    I just really really hope that isn't the case for me because I don't look good in a swimsuit, I have a big belly and I really want that to shrink. One time at a bus stop a women asked me if I was pregnant. and i was 5'9" and 148 at the time, so I was not that over weight at all, my stomach is just where all my fat is. I have an absolutely flat *kitten* and skinny legs. I am the opposite of most females where I actually want a bigger *kitten* (or rather my belly fat to move south a bit). But mostly I just want this belly gone! ugh! Thanks for your thoughts though, let me know if you have any other ideas.


    So, it sounds like your issue isn't as much about wanting to lose weight as much as some redistribution and sculpting. My understanding is that there is a strong correlation between belly fat and our body chemistry, related to insulin response, and hormone balance. There some great info on this in much of the Paleo/Primal literature, but the gist is, removing sugar and alcohol, dramatically reducing carbs in general--eat some squash and sweet potatoes, for example, but no grains of breads. Check out "It Starts with Food" by Melissa Hartwig. Or Gary Taubes' book (I can't remember the title right now). Finally, I know a a lot of us women have a false notion from the media that our tummies are supposed to be concave practically, or have no roundness, which for most people is unrealistic, because there's organs under there. Of course, you know your body best, just throwing that out there! Good luck!
  • dangerousdumpling
    dangerousdumpling Posts: 1,109 Member
    If it's not working for you anymore then obviously you might want to change something. Although if you're starting to look thin, fit and toned then I'd say just keep doing what you're doing.

    thanks...yeah i've changed shape a LOT in the past couple weeks.


    I'm going through the same thing right now. No pounds lost but I am losing inches. I have not lost any pounds since February 24th but I have lost 5 inches in the past two weeks alone. I'm learning that the pounds don't matter - my size does. What does it matter how much I weigh as long as I get to the size I want to wear and am shaped the way I want to be shaped?
  • katrinajMiles
    katrinajMiles Posts: 71 Member
    I'm confused. I thought the recommended protein was 100 grams/day, not 100 grams a meal, for a female. A 3-4 ounce chicken breast has 26 grams of protein. You would have to eat 4 chicken breasts.

    i think the person means they eat 100g of things that contain protein. So 100g of chicken, yielding 26g of protein or whatevs.

    Yes sorry that is what I meant. I'd have a 100g chicken breast with my dinner or 50g tin of tuna for a snack.
  • MonicaT1972
    MonicaT1972 Posts: 512
    It's not the amount of calories or even the exercise that is the problem it's what you are eating. I looked at your diary for a couple of days and didn't see many vegetables, fruits, lean protein or whole grains.

    You might want to try "cleaner" eating and see what it does for your weightloss. I plateau whenever I introduce wheat or any processed foods...as long as I stay eating clean I keep dropping at a rate I am happy with.
  • knot2thin
    knot2thin Posts: 30 Member
    looking at your food diary, i would try and reduce some of the grain products you are consuming. and add vegetables lots of vegetables and some fruit. Also chinese food is very high in sugar and sodium. Also stay away from processed foods.
  • CATindeeHAT
    CATindeeHAT Posts: 332 Member
    I have my net calorie limit on MFP set to 1200 which will let me lose 1.2lb a week. My setting is on Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting, and when I figure my TDEE on http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ says it is 1909 (which I think is high). That does not include exercise. I have not been working a full time job (I want to, I just can't find one in my field) so I have the time to work out. I run 6 days a week for 45 minutes and burn around 400-450 calories and I do the 30 day shred thing 7 days a week and burn 220. Well, that is what my heart rate monitor says. So I typically burn about 600 cals from working out almost every day of the week except the day I skip the run. I also do weights, using dumbbells like bicep and triceps and some back lifting. Nothing major, every other day and it takes about 10 minutes for that whole routine. I do not add those cals into my total. My motivation for working out everyday is that I would have a hard time eating only 1200 cals, but when I eat back the exercise cals I can eat 1800, sometimes even more. So I have been doing this for 8 weeks and haven't really lost any weight. Actually I started working out 4 months ago, but only started counting calories 8 weeks ago. MFP says I have lost 10 pounds but I have really only lost 3, because when I first weighed myself I was 160 then the next day I was suddenly 155, so really I started at 155. Now I am 152ish. I try not to go by the scale, but my measurements haven't changed much either. And the tight pants I use as a test have not really gotten any larger.

    Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? Should I only eat back like half the exercise calories? Also, please don't say I need to take days off working out, because then I will over eat and I want to get my resting heart rate down to 60, and I think mentally I need to. Even though I do pretty much despise it! Also, I don't eat super healthy but I get a lot of protein and I do watch the cal intake very closely and if I eat high calorie food I eat less that day. I don't binge but I do eat pizza and whatnot. Don't know if it matters but I am 5'9" and 30 years old. Any advice would be rad! thanks! Also, sorry this was so long and probably everyone asks these same questions and goes through this exact same thing. I guess I am just wondering if I shouldn't eat back the exercise calories.

    This is most likely what you're doing wrong:

    http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

    http://youtu.be/HGunZpKLb5o
  • B_Town154
    B_Town154 Posts: 13 Member
    If I were underestimating my activity level, then wouldn't I be losing for sure? I do over an hour of cardio a day because I have the time and burn 600, but other than that the rest of my day is computer work, reading, cooking, ie - pretty sedentary. Oh, for those looking at my fitness diary, I was sick twice and missed almost a week of exercise, but I still mostly only ate 1200 calories that day.

    You need to eat more. Bump up your calorie intake to like 1600 and keep exercising. It's ok to take a day but if you don't eat enough your metabolism will completely shut down. Focus on small meals stretched throughout the day to prevent a meal binge late at night.

    If you can, stack your carbs in the morning.... try not to have any (or very little amounts) after lunch if you can help it.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    I have my net calorie limit on MFP set to 1200 which will let me lose 1.2lb a week. My setting is on Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting, and when I figure my TDEE on http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ says it is 1909 (which I think is high). That does not include exercise. I have not been working a full time job (I want to, I just can't find one in my field) so I have the time to work out. I run 6 days a week for 45 minutes and burn around 400-450 calories and I do the 30 day shred thing 7 days a week and burn 220. Well, that is what my heart rate monitor says. So I typically burn about 600 cals from working out almost every day of the week except the day I skip the run. I also do weights, using dumbbells like bicep and triceps and some back lifting. Nothing major, every other day and it takes about 10 minutes for that whole routine. I do not add those cals into my total. My motivation for working out everyday is that I would have a hard time eating only 1200 cals, but when I eat back the exercise cals I can eat 1800, sometimes even more. So I have been doing this for 8 weeks and haven't really lost any weight. Actually I started working out 4 months ago, but only started counting calories 8 weeks ago. MFP says I have lost 10 pounds but I have really only lost 3, because when I first weighed myself I was 160 then the next day I was suddenly 155, so really I started at 155. Now I am 152ish. I try not to go by the scale, but my measurements haven't changed much either. And the tight pants I use as a test have not really gotten any larger.

    Does anyone know what I am doing wrong? Should I only eat back like half the exercise calories? Also, please don't say I need to take days off working out, because then I will over eat and I want to get my resting heart rate down to 60, and I think mentally I need to. Even though I do pretty much despise it! Also, I don't eat super healthy but I get a lot of protein and I do watch the cal intake very closely and if I eat high calorie food I eat less that day. I don't binge but I do eat pizza and whatnot. Don't know if it matters but I am 5'9" and 30 years old. Any advice would be rad! thanks! Also, sorry this was so long and probably everyone asks these same questions and goes through this exact same thing. I guess I am just wondering if I shouldn't eat back the exercise calories.

    This is most likely what you're doing wrong:

    http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

    http://youtu.be/HGunZpKLb5o

    Awesome post
  • whamann1
    whamann1 Posts: 40 Member
    My, we ARE on a journey, aren't we? I used to be able to just start exercising or cut back on eating and lose a bit of weight. Now those tactics aren't working and I am constantly in the learning mode. Exercising 4-5 days a week and staying faithfully under my calorie goal has produced zero weight loss! That's a lot of work with little reward (I do see changes in fitness, heart rate, energy, etc) Then again, I have never been in a 48-year-old body before and I need to be patient with myself as I figure it exactly what it needs. It has recently been pointed out to me that I was not eating enough. This made no sense to me!!! but as I kept thinking, praying and reading I realized this must be true even though it does not make sense to my brain! So I am trusting the advise and upping my calorie goal form 1350 to 1650. (1350 would not support me even if all I did was sleep!) 1650 might still be a little low but I am finding it challenging to meet especially when you add a few hundred exercise calories! I am also upping my water intake. I hope to see some improvement on the scale. If not then I will keep tweaking it. My biggest mental obstacle is that I am not patient with myself. This journey is changing me on the inside first!
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    If it's not working for you anymore then obviously you might want to change something. Although if you're starting to look thin, fit and toned then I'd say just keep doing what you're doing.

    thanks...yeah i've changed shape a LOT in the past couple weeks.


    I'm going through the same thing right now. No pounds lost but I am losing inches. I have not lost any pounds since February 24th but I have lost 5 inches in the past two weeks alone. I'm learning that the pounds don't matter - my size does. What does it matter how much I weigh as long as I get to the size I want to wear and am shaped the way I want to be shaped?

    i love this. thank you x
  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    Focus on strengthening, conditioning, lung capacity, etc ... Start trying to fine tune your body and stop focusing so much on the weight number. If I were you I would start measuring your progress in measurements and not weight.

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