Anyone else who doesn't weigh much, and is only losing a lit

Hi,, i'm in the same boat really! I'm 5'10 and 159 lbs,, my goal is around 145lb, as I know I put on about 20 lbs in the last year or so, so want to get back to where I was.

I've been eating really healthy and lots of working out, but only losing about 0.5lb per week, if that!
The only thing is I have noticed a difference in my body shape, it is really starting to tone,, and a few people have started to comment that I've lost weight, and I'm like "I've lost 3 pounds!" , so it must look like more than 3 lbs,,

So, yeah, the only advise I have is to keep with it,, its encouraging to me to see others in the same boat to be honest. and now, instead of aiming for 1-2 lb loss each week, I'm aiming for about 0.5 lb..

Another thing, as I quizzed a personal trainer on this,, is to look at your body fat. I've gone from 24.1% to 23.1%,, which is apparently pretty good, He said that aboud 0.1% per week is a good amount, and that's the figure I should really go by, not weight as I'm building muscle etc so the weight isn't going to change very much.

I also only had about 10 to 15 lbs I wanted to lose, although I was in my "healthy zone" I was looking a little too fluffy for my liking. I am a tad taller than 5'5" and weigh 123. What worked for me thus far is to follow MFP religiously 6 days a week. This means eating the calories alloted, if you exercise...eat those calories (or most of them). Also exercise when you can five days a week (I have an advantage, I teach group fitness so it is not an option to skip). The hardest part is that it takes time, I started in Jan. 2010 and it has taken me 6 months to lose 12 lbs. I also don't stress when I have a bad day (like yesterday). If you stick with it long enough you will find the right formula that works for you whether it is cardio or weight training or a combination (I am an advocate for both!) Good luck all!!

Hi,, i'm in the same boat really! I'm 5'10 and 159 lbs,, my goal is around 145lb, as I know I put on about 20 lbs in the last year or so, so want to get back to where I was.

I've been eating really healthy and lots of working out, but only losing about 0.5lb per week, if that!
The only thing is I have noticed a difference in my body shape, it is really starting to tone,, and a few people have started to comment that I've lost weight, and I'm like "I've lost 3 pounds!" , so it must look like more than 3 lbs,,

So, yeah, the only advise I have is to keep with it,, its encouraging to me to see others in the same boat to be honest. and now, instead of aiming for 1-2 lb loss each week, I'm aiming for about 0.5 lb..

Another thing, as I quizzed a personal trainer on this,, is to look at your body fat. I've gone from 24.1% to 23.1%,, which is apparently pretty good, He said that aboud 0.1% per week is a good amount, and that's the figure I should really go by, not weight as I'm building muscle etc so the weight isn't going to change very much.

Hi Edelq!
Our numbers are so similar Im wondering how many calories you are eating each day. I am tempted to drop back to 1200 cals a day (plus exercise cals), but I keep hearing that BMR is the way to go (1560 according to MFP).
What is working for you? I dont mind .5 lbs a week....i just want to be moving DOWN the scale My ulimate goal weight is 145lbs., but i'd settle for 149

I started a year ago very close to the OP's numbers. I'm almost 5'5 and last June 1, I weighed 129. I started p90x the second week in June 2009. In those 90 days I got down to 120, lost 7% body fat and numerous inches. I ate about 1700-1850 calories a day during that time. I followed that up with a round of Insanity...didn't really lose any more weight, but gained some definition. Then January of 2010, I did another round of p90x mixed w/Insanity and 1.5 months into that I got to 117 and had dropped about 7% more body fat since the end of my 1st p90x round. I now bounce between 117-120 pounds and don't consider myself at all on a "diet". I continue to workout 6 days/week and still eat pretty much the same amount of calories...although I'm not working out as intensely right now and so I've dropped cals down to about 1600. I could could not go as low as 1200 calories. I would not have the energy to workout & would be moody as all heck!

Good luck in your journey!! I used to think i just HAD TO weigh 116 (weight I've been most of my adult life)....now I find I'm pretty happy at 119-120 because I can pretty easily maintain it without making myself nuts!

I plan all my next day's food the night before so that I know what I'm working with & not trying to cram 300 calories in at 7pm. But planning ahead for me is the key.

Yep! I do the same thing. Sometimes I even log my next day a night before, so I do not struggle with choosing last minute what to eat and how many calories it will be! I'm totally addicted to this website!:blushing:

Hi,, i'm in the same boat really! I'm 5'10 and 159 lbs,, my goal is around 145lb, as I know I put on about 20 lbs in the last year or so, so want to get back to where I was.

I've been eating really healthy and lots of working out, but only losing about 0.5lb per week, if that!
The only thing is I have noticed a difference in my body shape, it is really starting to tone,, and a few people have started to comment that I've lost weight, and I'm like "I've lost 3 pounds!" , so it must look like more than 3 lbs,,

So, yeah, the only advise I have is to keep with it,, its encouraging to me to see others in the same boat to be honest. and now, instead of aiming for 1-2 lb loss each week, I'm aiming for about 0.5 lb..

Another thing, as I quizzed a personal trainer on this,, is to look at your body fat. I've gone from 24.1% to 23.1%,, which is apparently pretty good, He said that aboud 0.1% per week is a good amount, and that's the figure I should really go by, not weight as I'm building muscle etc so the weight isn't going to change very much.

Hi Edelq!
Our numbers are so similar Im wondering how many calories you are eating each day. I am tempted to drop back to 1200 cals a day (plus exercise cals), but I keep hearing that BMR is the way to go (1560 according to MFP).
What is working for you? I dont mind .5 lbs a week....i just want to be moving DOWN the scale My ulimate goal weight is 145lbs., but i'd settle for 149

Hi! I wrote you a reply yesterday but it got lost somewhere!!

For me, I've cut back on carbs, just a little, I try to have lunch with no carbs (well, a veggie soup,, I know the soup will have some carbs, but I have no bread with it), and then for my breakfast and dinner I try to stick to wholegrain stuff as much as I can..
The last 2 weeks I've been doing this, and ensuring I have some protein with every meal,, this seems to have had the biggest difference for me,, weight loss is still very slow, but I've noticed the difference in my stomach since I reduced the carbs

Thanks girls! I decided to try 1200 cals again this week and see what happens. Yesterday I burned 500+cals from exercise, and I ended the day with 200+ cals leftover. So Im eating back exercise calories if Im hungry or Im gonna exercise more in order to eat more. I believe in the theory of the BMR, but for some reason, after several weeks, it just wasnt holding true for me. Bummer...because I REALLLY like food and REALLLY enjoyed eating those extra calories each day without feeling guilty. I just kept telling myself "THIS is the week the weight loss starts..my body is just getting used to being fed more..." but that week never came.
I tend to lose my appetite when I work out, so Im hoping that helps keep me around 1200 cals. If not, I wont feel bad eating back exercise calories as long as Im listening to my body and not my cravings
Good luck to everyone! WHY oh WHY do the last ten-ish pounds have to be such a struggle?!

Hi all,

I am in the same boat...currently 146 and 5'9", which puts me at a healthy BMI. I messed up when I first joined and put my weight at 155, when I was actually 150...so it looks like I have lost more than I really have . I want to get down into the 130's, I just feel better and my clothes fit better at around 130-135. If I religiously put in everything I eat, and exercise daily, then I actually do drop weight, just not as fast as I would like. The scale is a real motivator or depressant for me, if I have lost weight, it makes me more determined to eat my alloted calories and exercise, if I have gained, I have a tendency to want to throw in the towel and just eat a bunch of crappy food :blushing: I think changing my way of thinking about weight is a huge issue, and realizing that those last few pounds are always the hardest to lose, and to not let it get me down if it takes longer. I eat organic, healthy foods, am a vegetarian and avoid processed food as much as possible. So I have a healthy body and should be extremely grateful!! I would think that a lot of people would be so very happy to be in the same situation as us all, and would love to only have to lose a small amount of "vanity" weight...but still it is frustrating. Because, if you don't feel comfortable in your own body, regardless of how much you weigh, it is a real issue, and shouldn't be discounted...I have a lot of friends that need to lose a lot more than I do, for health reasons, and always get on me for even implying that I need to lose weight....I guess that is a sore point for me. Anyway, sorry for the novel, I guess I needed to get some things off of my chest.

Have a great day all