Not seeing great results

mckenzielove13
mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
edited January 22 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been working out for about 3 months now 5-6 days a week and I haven't really lost much weight. I've gained a little bit of muscle, especially in my legs but I've really been wanting to lose fat in my stomach area. I've been eating clean also and rarely ever cheat on my diet. I do a variety of exercises and I add ab exercises and weight/ strength training about 2 times a week. I've also been tracking my calorie intake on here and I never go over the limit. I'm just not sure why it's taking so long for me to lose weight. I'm 18 and weigh about 130 so I'm not overweight, I just want to lose those last few pounds so I can tone up and look better, especially in my stomach/ sides and inner thigh areas.
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Replies

  • cc141
    cc141 Posts: 55 Member
    You might not be eating enough..what do you have your calorie goal set to? Since you don't have that much to lose you might be at too large a deficit.
    Or if your underestimating your calories/overestimating calories burned that might be the problem.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    you can't target where you lose fat.

    Sorry.

    If you're working out that much, I'm almost willing to bet you're at too much of a deficit.
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
    hmmmmnnn...what exactly have u been eating? and def. need to vary calories weekly:)
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    I eat about 1200 calories now... The first 2 months I did Insanity and ate about 1500-1600 calories a day and after the 60 days, I didn't see the results I was expecting and didnt lose much fat overall. So I burned about 600-1000 calories a day depending on the workout and my effort.
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    Also I eat lots of veggies and fruits, oatmeal, whole grain bread, chicken, fish, nut butters, protein shakes, nuts, brown rice
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    Also I eat lots of veggies and fruits, oatmeal, whole grain bread, chicken, fish, nut butters, protein shakes, nuts, brown rice

    Have you tried intermittent fasting?
  • bevmcarthur
    bevmcarthur Posts: 341 Member
    maybe open your food diary so we can see what you are eating that way we may be able to suggest something but with not seeing what you eat is hard to say
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    What is that exactly?
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    What is that exactly?

    it would be easier for you to Google it. Im on mobile right now.
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    I googled it. So if I fast every other day, how will I have enough energy to workout on those days?
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
    I googled it. So if I fast every other day, how will I have enough energy to workout on those days?

    You don't have to fast every other day. You can fast for 16 hours under leangain's protocal or in other words eating all your macros in one meal but you are still eating every day, but just once or twice a day within an 8 hour window.
  • mego07
    mego07 Posts: 234 Member
    to get rid of my tummy i had, and again have to, do lots and lots and lots of cardio. also watch salt intake, you may be holding a lot of water in and not really fat. i have that problem too with the holding water.

    best of luck.
  • haymancm
    haymancm Posts: 280 Member
    Try swimming!
  • Paco4gsc
    Paco4gsc Posts: 119 Member
    According to your profile, you only have 18 lbs to lose, and your current weight of 130 is not overweight. So why the 1200 calorie limit? What's the rush? Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem to be eating back calories burned from exercise. So that 1500 - 1600 calorie intake from earlier was really like a net of 500 - 1000 based on your estimated burn. And now your 1200 calorie intake (which is actually less since you never go over) is probably still in that 500 -1000 net intake, when considering your workouts. That's not enough. Don't know your height, but if you are 5'0", your BMR is around 1291 and more if you are taller.

    Eat more.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 8,156 Member
    Are you using a HRM? I recently discovered I was grossly overestimating calories burned by trusting the readings off the machine at the gym. With the HRM my typical workout is 550, the machine said 780, MFP gives 930.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    eat more!

    you're really after fat loss, so you only need a deficit of TDEE -10%.

    by the sounds of it, all you are doing at the moment is starving your body and encouraging it to burn muscle not fat by not fueling your workouts properly.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    lol at all the people that says you need to eat more.



    You probably not losing weight because you aren't tracking calories correctly and/or over estimating calorie burned for exercise.

    If you are not weighing and measuring every thing that goes into your mouth, I guarantee your are under estimating your calorie intake.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    lol at all the people that says you need to eat more.



    You probably not losing weight because you aren't tracking calories correctly and/or over estimating calorie burned for exercise.

    If you are not weighing and measuring every thing that goes into your mouth, I guarantee your are under estimating your calorie intake.

    Voice of reason.


    Here is the data I have for you

    Age - 18
    Body fat % - unknown
    Daily calorie intake - unknown (loose estimate given with but no info on how it is measured)
    Daily calorie burn - unknown (no method of calculation given)


    What I can tell you is that it is physically impossible, not just improbable, to eat at a deficit for 3 months and not lose mass. This might be an emotional topic, and some people do overdo their deficits, but the laws of thermodynamics still apply. You can not destroy or create matter or energy, so staying alive while eating less than you exert without losing some mass is absolutely impossible. People will tell you it's because your metabolism has slowed, but will never follow that up with hard numbers of how much it has slowed, or any science on how steep your calorie deficit needs to be to slow your metabolism significantly and what other kinds of symptoms you will have when in this condition.

    If you have in reality (not the dieting parallel universe) been eating at maintenance level, and you eat more without increasing your exercise to burn more than you are taking in, you will start to gain.
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    I am 5'6 and yes I do track every single thing that I eat, even if it's just a bite. If I'm not sure about something, I overestimate the portion size. So my calorie intake is exact, if not more, than I am actually eating.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    I am 5'6 and yes I do track every single thing that I eat, even if it's just a bite. If I'm not sure about something, I overestimate the portion size. So my calorie intake is exact, if not more, than I am actually eating.


    Do you actually weigh your food?



    The very first time I bought a food scale I weighed what I "thought" was about 1 serving of ice cream.
    Turns out it was 2.5 servings.
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    No I do not weigh my food because the food I eat is measured in how many pieces were eaten or 1/4 cup, 1 cup and so on.
  • pcastagner
    pcastagner Posts: 1,606 Member
    No I do not weigh my food because the food I eat is measured in how many pieces were eaten or 1/4 cup, 1 cup and so on.

    Start with a food scale, then see if you still have a problem making progress. My guess is, you are not a novel exception to the basic laws of physics.

    Next, get a heart rate monitor to get a better estimate of your exercise.

    Also double check you are truly measuring according to a proper entry. For instance sometimes the MFP entry for cooked chicken breast is clearly the value for raw chicken breast. Not the same thing.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    No I do not weigh my food because the food I eat is measured in how many pieces were eaten or 1/4 cup, 1 cup and so on.

    You must have a food scale. If you don't have one, you are not accurately counting calories.

    The reason you are not losing weight is that you are not at a calorie deficit. It is simple as that.

    Tons of people on this site likes to blame "Metabolic damage / Starvation mode for the reason they aren't losing weight. Very very very few people actual have significant metabolic damage (less than 1%).
  • mckenzielove13
    mckenzielove13 Posts: 9
    So how many calories should I eat and what would my deficit be?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,439 MFP Moderator
    So how many calories should I eat and what would my deficit be?


    Based on your stats and workout routine, you should be eating around 1800 calories daily. Also, I would suggest increasing weight training to 3-4 days a week (lifting heavy) and cardio to 1-2 days a week. Since you are young, you will naturally have a little more muscle mass which means you have greater caloric needs. So you need to eat more to maintain your muscle. Also, but minimizing your calorie deficit, you will maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss. More muscle = tighter/leaner body.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    So how many calories should I eat and what would my deficit be?


    I would do around a -500 calorie per day deficit (1 pound a week). If you input that you wanna lose 1 lb a week, MFP will accurately calculate a -500 calorie deficit.


    If you want a 100% fool proof way to lose weight read this:
    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=129247741

    ^^ basic truths about losing weight without all the BS.
  • Reinventing_Joi
    Reinventing_Joi Posts: 10
    Also I eat lots of veggies and fruits, oatmeal, whole grain bread, chicken, fish, nut butters, protein shakes, nuts, brown rice

    Have you tried intermittent fasting?

    THIS.
  • wahmx3
    wahmx3 Posts: 638 Member
    According to your profile, you only have 18 lbs to lose, and your current weight of 130 is not overweight. So why the 1200 calorie limit? What's the rush? Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem to be eating back calories burned from exercise. So that 1500 - 1600 calorie intake from earlier was really like a net of 500 - 1000 based on your estimated burn. And now your 1200 calorie intake (which is actually less since you never go over) is probably still in that 500 -1000 net intake, when considering your workouts. That's not enough. Don't know your height, but if you are 5'0", your BMR is around 1291 and more if you are taller.

    Eat more.

    Exactly this....you aren't eating enough especially while doing Insanity.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member
    According to your profile, you only have 18 lbs to lose, and your current weight of 130 is not overweight. So why the 1200 calorie limit? What's the rush? Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem to be eating back calories burned from exercise. So that 1500 - 1600 calorie intake from earlier was really like a net of 500 - 1000 based on your estimated burn. And now your 1200 calorie intake (which is actually less since you never go over) is probably still in that 500 -1000 net intake, when considering your workouts. That's not enough. Don't know your height, but if you are 5'0", your BMR is around 1291 and more if you are taller.

    Eat more.

    Exactly this....you aren't eating enough especially while doing Insanity.


    No it is not exactly this.
    It is obvious that she is not tracking calories correctly.

    If she wasn't eat enough calories, she would be losing weight.
  • broscientist
    broscientist Posts: 102 Member

    Have you tried intermittent fasting?

    THIS.


    IF (Intermittent fasting) is not a magic bullet. It can be helpful but not necessary. No hate on IF ( I do it myself) it just that OP needs to master the basic of losing weight first.
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