Am I doing something wrong? Tips/advice welcome

Lilianam881
Lilianam881 Posts: 25
in Motivation and Support
I'm getting a little discouraged here. I've gone to the gym 22 days in a row and zero weight loss. I got the gym thing down. I admit I struggle with diet but for the most part it's decent if I do have "bad" food it's still within my allowable. Below is something I'd eat on my good days.
Breakfast; egg white, 1 whole egg (scrambled) and 1 slice turkey (about 200 calories)
Snack: nuts-almonds, cashews (1 serving about 200 calories)
Lunch: avocado, green leafy veggies, chicken; a little sour cream or cheese- no dressing (low carb about 400 calories)
Snack: fruit (100 calories)
Workout @ gym
Dinner: 2 tb peanut butter, 1 glass of milk (350 calories)
That’s a total of about 1250 calories per day.
My gym work out is always at least 1 hr cardio and I make sure to burn a minimum of 500 calories per work out. I can’t get below 163lbs! I stay between 163 and 166. I don’t know what I ‘m doing wrong. I even tried to switch up my workout and increase the intensity/incline/level. I sweat more, my muscles are sore but still zero pounds lost. I do a little weight training but nothing hardcore. Am I just being impatient? I feel I'm eating enough. On the upside i do feel better. I enjoy the endorphin release from exercising. I have more energy. My womanly cycle is on point, less cramps less fatigue. Anyways you get my drift I've received benefits from exercising but why am I not losing any weight? Is my body still trying to adjust? If I haven't see results in 3 weeks will it be another 3 before I do? I'm sure It's probably different for everyone. Also some background info on me which could be relevant; I'm type 1 diabetic. I have to inject insulin daily. I know insulin is a natural hormone that can lead to fat storage in the body when too many carbohydrates are consumed that aren't used up for energy. My doc doesn't want me to have any less carbs than what eat now which I try to keep under 100g. Anyways my medicine should not be an issue since I don't need a whole lot of insulin right now due to my diet and exercise regimen.
Stats:
5'3
Current weight: 164lbs
36DD, 32, 44 :-/
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Replies

  • whosthathotchick
    whosthathotchick Posts: 16
    Since you have been working out so much you are most likely gaining muscle and your body is retaining water to repair/build it. Keep at it, don't give up! Soon enough you will see the weight drop off.
  • celtic0ne
    celtic0ne Posts: 216 Member
    I agree that you are most likely gaining muscle... try measuring yourself as comparison instead of just the scale :) If you are feeling good that's a positive :)
  • 88meli88
    88meli88 Posts: 238 Member
    You are not eating enough with this level of exercise regimen. if you eat 1250 and work out a minimum of 500 cals, you are netting 700/800 calories. You are certainly not gaining muscle at this level of calorie deficit. Why dont you try to go by the roadmap and eat TDEE minus 15/20 percent. It maybe that you will gain at the beginning but then it should work. You could also try to switch up your exercise routine, fewer but more intense sessions and instead of steady state cardio, maybe try HIIT. Good luck and I hope the more experienced MFPers will chime in.
  • axialmeow
    axialmeow Posts: 382 Member
    You aren't eating enough. You won't gain muscle on a net of 700 cal/day that's for sure
  • metalloz
    metalloz Posts: 77 Member
    I have alot of trouble losing weight and I'm also a type 1 diabetic.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    You aren't eating enough. You won't gain muscle on a net of 700 cal/day that's for sure

    This.
  • danekin
    danekin Posts: 21
    What is your total net calories?
  • irishblonde2011
    irishblonde2011 Posts: 618 Member
    What does a bad day look like? How many cals do you net?
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    I also think you're not eating enough. I exercise a lot too and I couldn't make it on such few calories. I know it seems counter-intuitive but try eating a bit more, like at least 1700 calories. Or exercise less. Personally I don't just exercise for weight loss but also for well-being, so I'm not going to exercise less, so I eat more. Some days I eat 2,000 calories. You se how much weight I've lost. I started January 2012, joined MFP in June.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,009 Member
    Show us a bad day. But yeah, the people saying it might be muscle are wrong. You can't gain muscle on a deficit.
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    You might be overestimating workout calories burned. Are you going off what a machine tells you you're burning? Are you actually weighing your foods or just guessing? The accuracy of your math will have a lot to do with this all.

    As most have said, at a glance I'd guess you aren't eating nearly enough.
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
    Thanks I appreciate everyone's input. Popular opinion is I'm not eating enough and that makes sense to me now. I wasn't really paying attention to net calories. All I was keeping track of is what comes in which I'm pretty sure I'm counting fairly accuratley because I do measure everything that goes in my mouth. I always make sure to burn anything I eat over 1200 and thought I was being productive on days when i only ate 1200 to keep working out but apparantley not. I sure haven't felt like I'm starving myself though. I never feel hungry but then again before I started exercising I was eating the same I'm just used to eating less now. I lost 10 pounds last year without exercising just changing my diet- Went from 175 to 165lbs
    Some of you asked my net calories they range anywhere from 500 to 1000. A bad food day looks like this:
    greek yogurt 140 cals
    egg, cheese and hashbrown wrap 690 calories (bad)
    pop tarts 400 cals (bad)
    hard boiled egg w/ egg white 96 cals
    cheese snack crackers 210 cals (bad)
    peanut m&ms 250 cals (bad)
    total cals: 1786
    then I tend to go a little crazy at the gym for eating the crap I did. I do 2 hrs cardio and burn at least 1000 calories using treadmill, stair master and elliptical machine. so my net alway stays between 500-1000
    I didn't even take into consideration my BMR. I just thought I'd eat as low as I could go since I have an office job and sit on my butt all day. The only time I ever really move is when I'm at they gym so in no way do I feel like I'm over exercising. I don't want to decrease that so I'll start eating a little more as uncomfortable as that sounds to me it's probably what I need.
    Thanks everyone. I appreciate the feed back.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Open your diary. It makes it easier for us to give advice.

    Before you decide to increase or decrease calories make sure you are logging accurately and consistently.

    What kinds of workouts are you doing and how are you getting your calorie estimate?

    ETA - too much cardio can be counter productive. Unless you are training for something 2 hrs of cardio is not necessary.
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
    hey 3dogsrunning- I just made my food diary public. I just started logging consistentley for about two weeks.My work outs are mostly cardio I wanted to start more weight training once I got into the 150's (a trainer told me to do more cardio and once I'm in the 150's I should start weight training). I still do a little weight training anyways but since I'm not eating enough and doing too much cardio the little weight training I do is not building any muscle. I just barely started doing a boot camp at my gym- I was sore for 3 days and almost threw up during boot camp. I liked it because I definitley feel it more than my cardio work outs. I'm just used to cardio and I like the way it makes me feel and its addictive to me but I can see 2 hrs being way too much when I'm not training for a long distance run or anything like that . how much cardio should I be doing is 20-30 min enough?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    hey 3dogsrunning- I just made my food diary public. I just started logging consistentley for about two weeks.My work outs are mostly cardio I wanted to start more weight training once I got into the 150's (a trainer told me to do more cardio and once I'm in the 150's I should start weight training). I still do a little weight training anyways but since I'm not eating enough and doing too much cardio the little weight training I do is not building any muscle. I just barely started doing a boot camp at my gym- I was sore for 3 days and almost threw up during boot camp. I liked it because I definitley feel it more than my cardio work outs. I'm just used to cardio and I like the way it makes me feel and its addictive to me but I can see 2 hrs being way too much when I'm not training for a long distance run or anything like that . how much cardio should I be doing is 20-30 min enough?

    I had a quick look. Looks like you are logging consistently.
    What I do see is a low calorie intake and you are doing a ton of cardio. You may want to read this article
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    It is never too early to do strength training. You will likely see the scale stall due to water retention in the muscles but it is temporary and the benefit far outweighs the scale results.

    A good quality 30 minute cardio workout is good. I wouldn't do over an hour unless there is a reason.

    I definitely agree with those saying eat more. Either eat back some of your exercise calories (even if you cut back on cardio) or use the TDEE method to include your exercise.

    Also, give it a few more weeks. Even doing everything right 2 weeks isn't enough to see progress. When I started back weight training I gained a few pounds and stayed there for a month. The scale showed no progress, the tape measure a little but huge difference on the photos.

    A good group to check out
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Just to add, remember what you are doing now is going to affect maintaince. if you don't plan on doing 2 hrs of cardio a day for the rest of your life, it's not a good idea to do now.

    You want to exercise and eat at a reasonable deficit.
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
    Alright, thanks for the advice. I'll check out the links you provided. I'll switch it up starting today. :)
  • magiccat32
    magiccat32 Posts: 11
    Sometimes if i workout a whole bunch of days in a row, my weight will stay the same. then, i take two rest days and whoosh! big drop, esp. if those rest days are really good eating days with lots of water. did you say 20+ days straight days in the gym? your body might just want a little rest.
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
    wow. great job. keep it up..
  • Lilianam881
    Lilianam881 Posts: 25
    yes. I'm taking a break today. I tend to get a little obsessive about some things sometimes so I haven't missed a day at the gym. And I count everything that goes in my mouth. I might do a yoga class tomorrow and just relax in the sauna afterwards. I think the eating part is right too and maybe I need to relax a little and switch it up. I started eating more today and bam my body just reacted to it like I wasn't expecting. It's like my metabolism just turned on. I thought I would feel bloated and gross but I actually feel good. I saw family today and they all said how nice my skin looks and I look less tired. Glad to see the others are seeing the results I wasn't.

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