Am I doing something wrong?

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J3ss1caD
J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So.. I've been going "hard" at working out and counting calories for 4 months now. And... I've lost 10lb and 5.3% body fat. I dont feel like thats GREAT progess :(

I work out ATLEAST 5 days a week.. most of it cardio though. And my caloric intake is 1484.

What am I doing wrong?
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Replies

  • Maddalen101
    Maddalen101 Posts: 307 Member
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    Eating too little. Your body is in starvation mode.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    So.. I've been going "hard" at working out and counting calories for 4 months now. And... I've lost 10lb and 5.3% body fat. I dont feel like thats GREAT progess :(

    I work out ATLEAST 5 days a week.. most of it cardio though. And my caloric intake is 1484.

    What am I doing wrong?
    Where did you get the number 1484 and does that include exercise calories?
  • matt2442
    matt2442 Posts: 1,259 Member
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    Ive been going hard all morning so i feel your pain...also ...lift weights
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
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    How tall are you, how much do you weight? whats your goal weight? Are you eating back your exercise calories? I don't think at 1400, that your body is in any starvation mode but the body fat % is actually great progress. I have lost 30 lbs in 4 months, but I've gone up 3% in body fat, so you may be doing something better than me.
  • _Tristan_
    _Tristan_ Posts: 221 Member
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    Opening up your diary will give us more information.
  • Wiskas57
    Wiskas57 Posts: 1 Member
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    Yes, I agree. You are definitely not eating enough. But, give yourself a lot of credit, girl! 2 lbs a month is specatular!!!
  • hmadrone
    hmadrone Posts: 129 Member
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    2.5 pounds a month is a good, sustainable weight loss for a woman. You should pat yourself on the back for how well you're doing and how consistent you're being.

    If you want to make a change, I'd suggest adding 2 strength training sessions a week to what you do. Strength training has all sorts of health benefits, especially for women. It might help you lose weight a little faster.
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
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    If the ticker in your profile is correct then you're pretty close to goal. It's going to be tough to lose the last few pounds but I think 10 pounds in 4 months is pretty good progress.
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    So.. I've been going "hard" at working out and counting calories for 4 months now. And... I've lost 10lb and 5.3% body fat. I dont feel like thats GREAT progess :(

    I work out ATLEAST 5 days a week.. most of it cardio though. And my caloric intake is 1484.

    What am I doing wrong?
    Where did you get the number 1484 and does that include exercise calories?

    I'm in the military.. and on my base we have this thing called the BOD POD.. it measures your body composition. It measured my BMR at 1167 and my TDEE (sedentary lifestyle) at a 1484. Considering I had a desk job.. I figured my life was pretty sedentary.. so I went with.. instead of the 1800+ for lightly active.
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    How tall are you, how much do you weight? whats your goal weight? Are you eating back your exercise calories? I don't think at 1400, that your body is in any starvation mode but the body fat % is actually great progress. I have lost 30 lbs in 4 months, but I've gone up 3% in body fat, so you may be doing something better than me.

    I'm 5'1 and 125lbs. I'd initially like to get down to 120 and definitely get my body fat % down. Its currently at a 27.1%
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    2.5 pounds a month is a good, sustainable weight loss for a woman. You should pat yourself on the back for how well you're doing and how consistent you're being.

    If you want to make a change, I'd suggest adding 2 strength training sessions a week to what you do. Strength training has all sorts of health benefits, especially for women. It might help you lose weight a little faster.

    More strength training.. Got it. Yea.. I do a lot of cardio and typically only about 1 strength training session in a week. I'll give that a try and see it if helps. Thank you.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Eating too little. Your body is in starvation mode.

    Based on what?
  • Mummyadams
    Mummyadams Posts: 1,125 Member
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    Switch your cardio & strength training around - you will be amazed at the difference it will make. Good luck!
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    If the ticker in your profile is correct then you're pretty close to goal. It's going to be tough to lose the last few pounds but I think 10 pounds in 4 months is pretty good progress.

    Yes.. I'm only a few pounds short of my initial goal. My husband tried to tell me just what you said. I just see people shedding pounds like crazy and was wondering what the heck I was doing wrong. I feel like I haven't lost anything in the last month.. and feel like I'm trying to maintain my weight.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    As others have said, if you're close to your goal weight, it will become harder. What's more, you're a short woman and most short women can't eat as much as other people even given a comparable activity level. But a 5.3 percent body fat drop is very good, especially if you're sustaining it.
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    Switch your cardio & strength training around - you will be amazed at the difference it will make. Good luck!

    I cant say much about switching my cardio up (I'm in the military and am currently in charge of a Biggest Loser running group) but I can definitely increase my strength training to see if that helps. Thank you for your help!
  • holly3585
    holly3585 Posts: 282 Member
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    The only thing you are doing wrong is expecting to lose weight too quick. If it 'melts away' any faster than for 10 lbs in 4 months, #1 excess skin WILL become a problem #2 It will end up piling back on just a fast. Slow your roll, and if you really want to lose weight the healthy way, keep exercising, keep eating healthy, whole foods, and don't stress. Honestly if you keep it up you will eventually hit a few months with no loss, eventually you will tweak your regimen and find something to knock off the last few %'s of BF you want to lose, but the scale probably won't change then, because if your truly losing body fat, it will most likely be replaced by muscle, at least we hope so, so that the loss will be sustainable for a long period of time.

    Keep doing what you are doing, and congrats on 10!!!!!
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    As others have said, if you're close to your goal weight, it will become harder. What's more, you're a short woman and most short women can't eat as much as other people even given a comparable activity level. But a 5.3 percent body fat drop is very good, especially if you're sustaining it.

    Yea.. i started off at 1200 calories and definitely went in to starvation mode... and could definitely feel it. I increased my calorie intake to 1484 and feel pretty good. For your own personal opinion would you think I'm okay at the 1484?
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,124 Member
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    LIFT! Anytime I concentrated solely on cardio I would lose a little bit but when I team cardio with weight training... it definately makes a difference! If you don't have time to do both everyday alternate.

    Also, trying varying your workout from day to day. If you are don't nothing but running on the treadmill for 4mo that will stall your weightloss. Good luck!
  • J3ss1caD
    J3ss1caD Posts: 74 Member
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    The only thing you are doing wrong is expecting to lose weight too quick. If it 'melts away' any faster than for 10 lbs in 4 months, #1 excess skin WILL become a problem #2 It will end up piling back on just a fast. Slow your roll, and if you really want to lose weight the healthy way, keep exercising, keep eating healthy, whole foods, and don't stress. Honestly if you keep it up you will eventually hit a few months with no loss, eventually you will tweak your regimen and find something to knock off the last few %'s of BF you want to lose, but the scale probably won't change then, because if your truly losing body fat, it will most likely be replaced by muscle, at least we hope so, so that the loss will be sustainable for a long period of time.

    Keep doing what you are doing, and congrats on 10!!!!!

    Thank you so much! I'll definitely continue working out.. eating better.. increasing my strength training.. and not stressing so much.

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