New and stuck at current weight

mommy2carston
mommy2carston Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Just a little history, I'm 27 and I have four kids ages 6, 4, 2 and 13 months. I've been trying to lose weight and get back to my prepregnancy weight from before baby number 1. I'm currently 140-141 pounds. My goal is 120 pounds. I was hoping to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

I was walking 1-2 miles at a pace of 15 minutes per mile while pushing a double stroller, 3 times a week along with a quick ab workout to help with flattening my tummy and strengthening my core which is "damaged" from all my sweet babies... LOL! But no weight loss after 3 weeks really frustrated me so I decided to try something different.

I'm on week 4, started at 138.6 pounds and as of Monday I was 140.6 Within the first two weeks I went to 141 pounds and then lost a few ounces on week 2 but stayed exactly the same in week 3.

I've been attempting clean eating. Cutting back on unhealthy foods. We do eat out a lot and I know that doesn't help at all but I try to only have one free day a week to eat what I want but keep portions small/normal.

So.... what am I doing wrong. How can I still enjoy eating out but lose weight without having to work out more than 30 minutes a day (four kids with no nanny or daycare doesn't allow for much time plus an at home business). I feel like I'm doing it wrong because if I were doing it correctly, I would lose about a pound a week.

Replies

  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    How are you determining your portion sizes to be "small/normal"? Before I got a food scale, my definition of normal was way off of what actually was.

    You have to be smarter about eating out. Sure, you can find "healthy" choices just about anywhere, but you are still getting hooked up with sodium, which could be causing your weight fluctuations. And those "healthy" choices are anything but precise in calorie counts too. I do enjoy dining out, but MFP has made me more aware of my choices, and thus saved money and consumption of needless calories.

    This is all about tradeoffs until you find what works for you, and then you can slowly work within that new standard.
  • mommy2carston
    mommy2carston Posts: 2
    I either measure or weigh my food. I used to eat a WHOLE BOWL of cereal, now it's 2/3 of a cup with 1/4 cup of milk.
  • Stoli24
    Stoli24 Posts: 14
    A food scale is what really helped me understand what I was eating. My measurements using measuring cups and spoons were surprisingly off from what I thought. There's a few videos floating around that show this too.

    Weight fluctuations are normal. The easiest way to think about it is this, if you actually gained 2 pounds in 4 weeks, then thats an extra 7,000 calories that you would have needed to consumed. This ends up being an extra 250 per day over TDEE. The likely scenario is that your increased activity is causing you to hold a little more water but its certainly worth double checking your food intake with a food scale to make sure. Its not that hard to be off 250 a day without accurate measurements.
  • staplebug
    staplebug Posts: 189
    Try doing some HIIT (high intensity interval training) or circuit training with weights. 30 minutes of this is going to be more effective than 30 minutes of cardio. I love Jillian Michaels DVDs because they are doable (freakin hard, but doable) and only 30 minutes and increase in intensity every workout. My favorites are ripped in 30, 30 day shred, and body revolution and you can take it at your own pace.

    And yes, a food scale will really put things in perspective as far as knowing what you are eating.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I feel like I'm doing it wrong because if I were doing it correctly, I would lose about a pound a week.

    No - you would lose an AVERAGE of a pound a week - over a period of time. Your body doesn't say it's Friday and toss a pound off. Some weeks you'll lose zero, some you'll lose more than a pound, some you'll lose less, and some you'll lose that pound and sometimes you'll even gain. No need to panic yet. You got this. :flowerforyou:
  • chooselove
    chooselove Posts: 106 Member
    I personally don't think you're being careful enough with your food intake and you're definitely not expending enough calories during your walks..Try walk/run intervals..

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