Very active but can't lose weight!!!

Xten1984
Xten1984 Posts: 4 Member
I had a baby 3.5 years ago. Gained 55 lbs, gave birth, starved myself for 3 months and got down to 124 lbs (I'm 5'4), then a few months later gained it back. I started jogging 3 years ago, up to 12 - 15 miles a week. Still kept gaining weight, not muscle but fat. Finally accepted that jogging was not enough and I needed to add strength training. Been doing about 2 months of cardio 3 days a week lifting weights 3 days a week. I'm not lifting that much yet (just 22 - 25 lbs). I just can't lose weight. Very discouraged. The only thing I contribute it to is that I have a horrible bad habit of pigging out 2 to 3 days a week. I hate myself for it but I just can't stick to eating healthy! It doesn't help that my husband buys a lot of junkfood ; soda, chocolate, lil Debbie snack!! He NEVER works out, rarely eats healthy but is still thinner than most guys. It's not fair. Any advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • StrongAndHealthyMommy
    StrongAndHealthyMommy Posts: 1,255 Member
    it is hard.... I have the problem that I cannot get lower than 140... (I'm 5'7")

    the first 2 weeks are the harder.... I love chocolate as well... usually I try to find healthy snacks with chocolate in it...

    you are more than welcome to add me, so we can help each other
  • Green_eyed_beauty
    Green_eyed_beauty Posts: 101 Member
    Food is 80-90% of weight loss. You can't out exercise a bad food plan (I hate the word diet). My ex could eat crap all day long and still wasn't terribly over weight, so I'd just ignore him. LOL!

    I actually just did a fitness competition because I needed a hard deadline to get my butt in shape (literally). Learning the nutrition side of it all was a lot of what helped me progress very quickly.

    I an 5'8" and started out at 138lbs... (I was skinny-fat, completely inactive couch potato, but ate fairly healthy) 3 months later --- I hit all the way down to 125lbs the day of my competition (mind you, 3 lbs of it was water!) so I am back up around 129 as I currently stand.

    I also love chocolate so I eat dark chocolate herseys kisses and dark chocolate dove squares to satisfy that need. My food plan consisted of chicken, fish, lean beef, egg whites, yogurt & cottage cheese for protien... all sorts of different veggies and only oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes and the occational whole wheat pasta. Serving sizes were smaller than recomended, but I ate 6 small meals a day... or you can do 3 larger meals and 3 snacks.

    Best of luck to you with your goals. :)
  • laurensayz
    laurensayz Posts: 67 Member
    I had a baby 3.5 years ago. Gained 55 lbs, gave birth, starved myself for 3 months and got down to 124 lbs (I'm 5'4), then a few months later gained it back. I started jogging 3 years ago, up to 12 - 15 miles a week. Still kept gaining weight, not muscle but fat. Finally accepted that jogging was not enough and I needed to add strength training. Been doing about 2 months of cardio 3 days a week lifting weights 3 days a week. I'm not lifting that much yet (just 22 - 25 lbs). I just can't lose weight. Very discouraged. The only thing I contribute it to is that I have a horrible bad habit of pigging out 2 to 3 days a week. I hate myself for it but I just can't stick to eating healthy! It doesn't help that my husband buys a lot of junkfood ; soda, chocolate, lil Debbie snack!! He NEVER works out, rarely eats healthy but is still thinner than most guys. It's not fair. Any advice would be appreciated.

    If you are binging 2-3 days a week you are probably under eating the other days for your activitiy level... I am in the same situation as you and losing slightly. I am 5'4 and 123lbs. I have a 3 year old son, and was at 165 when I delivered. In the last two weeks from eating healhier smaller meals and snacks through out the day, I am losing about 1-2lbs a week. Drinking only water, milk and OJ. I haven't eaten fast food, not even Subway, in weeks. I've been running about 3 miles a day with some 5k interval training and walking. I haven't done any other kind of exercise. I'm losing weight because I'm drinking water and eating healthy foods and portion sizes. It starts in the kitchen. You have to have willpower. My boyfriend drinks soda and eats snack cakes all day long and still looks 'fit'. Women are made different. Next time you want some sweets, limit yourself to just one cookie. I like to eat dark chocolate chips, I usually only eat a handful and they aren't high in cals. I also eat popcorn a lot, because it's filling and not a lot of cals.

    Here is a good PDF of things to eat when you are running to give you energy and fuel your body. You shouldn't be binging, and that's not your fault, you're just satisfying your hunger. Now you just got to learn to control it. Good luck!

    http://www.runnersworld.com/sites/default/files/201936201_RW30FoodsRunnersDL.pdf
  • Xten1984
    Xten1984 Posts: 4 Member
    Food is 80 - 90% of weight loss.

    I NEED to remind myself of this every day. I work so hard with exercising yet I ruin it with my diet.
  • ChelseaAClanton89
    ChelseaAClanton89 Posts: 72 Member
    Dido...food choices are so important in weight loss.

    I had the same problem. I worked out 6 days a week (strength and cardio), but the scale wouldn't budge. Sometimes it would even go up. I felt like I was working out so hard that I could eat more or that my body needed more calories to "fuel" my workouts. Negative. So, I changed my exercise routine (still 6 days a week, but I went from P90X to TurboFire) and cut my calories (not as hungry since workouts aren't seemingly as intense) and lost 10 pounds in less than a month.
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
    It's diet. I lost without relying on exercise.
  • Metallux
    Metallux Posts: 117 Member
    put yourself on a strict 10 day challenge, where you just eat healthy. the only change in this diet involves not pigging out WHAT-SO-EVER for 10 days. thats all. so everythings the same. you just are breaking the bad habit. it'll probably be harder than you think, so thats why your normal eating should continue.
  • kellystr8
    kellystr8 Posts: 22 Member
    Try the LiveFit program from Jamie Eason on bodybuilding.com. It's a 12 week program where she focuses on strength training only the first 4 weeks and then adds cardio afterward. There are also meal plans on there as well. Good luck!
  • norcal_yogi
    norcal_yogi Posts: 675 Member
    Food is 80-90% of weight loss. You can't out exercise a bad food plan (I hate the word diet). My ex could eat crap all day long and still wasn't terribly over weight, so I'd just ignore him. LOL!

    I actually just did a fitness competition because I needed a hard deadline to get my butt in shape (literally). Learning the nutrition side of it all was a lot of what helped me progress very quickly.

    I an 5'8" and started out at 138lbs... (I was skinny-fat, completely inactive couch potato, but ate fairly healthy) 3 months later --- I hit all the way down to 125lbs the day of my competition (mind you, 3 lbs of it was water!) so I am back up around 129 as I currently stand.

    I also love chocolate so I eat dark chocolate herseys kisses and dark chocolate dove squares to satisfy that need. My food plan consisted of chicken, fish, lean beef, egg whites, yogurt & cottage cheese for protien... all sorts of different veggies and only oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes and the occational whole wheat pasta. Serving sizes were smaller than recomended, but I ate 6 small meals a day... or you can do 3 larger meals and 3 snacks.

    Best of luck to you with your goals. :)

    ^ congrats to you! and yes, diet is such a huge part of how are bodies look. its very, very easy to out-eat exercise. losing weight is hard, no doubt about that. my mantra is the age-old 'abs are made in the kitchen'.
  • Xten1984
    Xten1984 Posts: 4 Member
    You guys have motivated me. I feel like myfitness pal communtiy is what I need to hold myself accountable. I've done great the last 2 days. And tonight my hubby ate Rally's in front of me.....Loaded Potato skins OMG! I satisfied my craving with a handful of french fries. No soda for two days either.. I feel like if I can make it like this for 2 weeks, it will get a little easier.
  • LovesTheSeasons
    LovesTheSeasons Posts: 10 Member
    The maternity gain is tough, but so worth it :-)

    Are you usbjnf the app to record every last thing you consume. I too was working out a ton and only gained weight. I fact I trained for and ran a marathon and didn't shed a pound since I would just eat more.

    Use the app to record all you eat and look at the summary to make sure you are getting enough protein and good fats.
  • Steph_123
    Steph_123 Posts: 13 Member
    I have the exact same problem, except not having the initial maternity gain. I've been tracking my calories for over 10 days now, work out a decent amount most days, usually only eat a portion of the additional calories I burn, and even say I have a sedentary job (where I am actually more active). And I still GAINED 2 lbs in the past week. I'm the kind of girl who trained for a marathon and gained weight. I also give in to chocolate/social drinking temptations at 1-2 times a week which usually just leads to completely giving up for the evening (I still tracked it and still didn't add enough calories in a day to warrant a gain) I don't know if it is muscle or what but I feel your pain.

    Things I've tried that work so far: not working out and limiting calories (just count every single calorie I didn't care about the quality of the calories but they were mostly clean with a little chocolate/wine thrown in)- I lost around 2 lbs in a week. The thing is I need to work out for my sanity so that is not a good option for me... it might be good for you to at least gain momentum though.

    I am currently trying to no track my exercises and only track the calories consumed to see if that helps at all. Fingers crossed!

    P.S. If anyone else with this problem wants to be "friends" on here I would love to share in the frustration/motivation haha.
  • earltj
    earltj Posts: 9
    I agree, it is your diet.
  • kristinchaus
    kristinchaus Posts: 3 Member
    Best thing I've found that helps is exercising DIFFERENT ways so we work different areas and our body doesn't get used to the same thing! Www.blogilates.com and www.fitnessblender.com are free online :smile: work outs and inspiration. :) hope that helps AND drink as much water as possible. You can do it!!! :smile:
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
    Focus on you diet.