struggling :(

I was exactly in your shoes! Except I ate about 1300 calories and was the cardio queen, yet lo and behold I was still in the 140's for my 5'1 frame. I discovered weight training and am now 98lbs and eating far more..Up your calories and change up your routine to something that works for you. Theres some more info on my profile

Adding more weight training and upping my calories worked wonders for me too. I'm 5'8", 45 years old, and have had my best success since eating according to the info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

Give that a read and run your numbers through the tools linked there - good info. I eat 1800-2000 calories a day, workout for about an hour 5-6 days a week, and have lost the weight and fat, and am still lowering my body fat percentage now that I've hit my goal.

Food is fuel! :drinker:

1200 calories is way too low for someone trying to exercise as much as you are. As a nutritionist and Personal Trainer I never recommend anything less than 1400 or 1500. Your body will start to work against you and you will never see results. Throw in some weights and up your protein. Lots of water too! Complex carbs (i.e. brown rice, quinoa) is still okay. Let me know how that works.

Sounds like your not eating enough Calories with the amount of exercise you are doing(depending on intensity level). I think you are wise to not eat bread and pasta, but you should look into eating more veggies during the day kind of like eating the paleo way. Now with that said good carbs should be consumed before an intense workout so your body will have that fuel to help you get through the workout. I would not up your calories a lot to start out I would say go up 200 cals for a week and see how your body reacts and if it reacts in a postive way ( losing weight) then do that for another couple weeks, you just have to play around with it cause only you know how you feel. Hope this helps good luck.

thanks for responding guys... so maybe im eating too few calories? sometimes i dont make it to 1200 and its less.. what is weight training???

not maybe... DEFINITELY.

you're barely eating 1200 and then burning 400 at the gym. that's 800 net. that's VLCD. not only are you starving yourself of calories, but you are wrecking your metabolism as it attempts to adjust to a lower calorie intake.

STOP IT. immediately.

1200 net is too low for most people. you're well under that.

your story is not unique. low calories and cardio is a recipe for eventual disaster. read these threads. learn what your true calorie goals and macro settings should be.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read

start strength training. you can do with with bodyweight exercises or with iron weights.

this group will get your started.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/12919-girls-who-lift-the-guys-who-spot-them