VERY FRUSTRATED

shanniajo
shanniajo Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing aerobics 3 days a week plus working out in the gym at least 5 days a week since January. Our gym closed so I started running about 1 1/2 months ago so I started running. I run anywhere from 2 to 3.5 miles in the morning, sometimes I run a mile at lunch and on the days I don't have aerobics I run another couple of miles. I eat about 1100 calories per day and in this time period I have only lost 6 lb. 3 weeks ago I started taking Orlistat (for weight loss) and still nothing. I am at my wits end. Any advice?

Replies

  • aidendart
    aidendart Posts: 32 Member
    Zig zag your calorie intake and have some days you eat a little more. Your body can also get used to your routine in other ways so maybe change your workout and of course make sure you are drinking LOTS of water.
    Hope this helps. Keep at it. Feel free to add me.
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    You need to eat more calories, and 6 pounds in a 1 1/2 month time span is good.

    And don't take things for weight loss. You can do it on your own, you just need to do it correctly.
  • kavanaghev
    kavanaghev Posts: 75 Member
    I would be happy with that weight loss so far, depending on how close you are to your goal weight. I do think you probably need to eat more, but that's just because I don't eat less than 2000 on days that I run and find that my body revolts when I don't eat enough. You need to fuel your activities!
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    Just stick with it. Sometimes it takes time. Nothing happens overnight. I agree with the others that maybe you should up your calories. Too much of a caloric deficit can be counterproductive.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    You should probably read this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/976981-welcome-to-mfp-don-t-worry-there-s-cliff-notes?hl=welcome+to+MFP


    I don't think you are eating enough for the amount of activity you are doing. I'm guessing by how you phrased your post, that you don't eat back exercise calories. If you don't, you really should. Food is fuel. Your body requires calories to function on a day to day basis, without exercise and even while sleeping (although not many).

    Also keep in mind that it is said:
    "A person who loses weight rapidly has a higher probability to gain the weight back compared to the person who went the slow and steady route."
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    According to the ticker on your profile you only have 35lbs to lose so your daily deficit should be set at 1lb per week. Maybe 1.5lbs.

    You are eating far too little especially when exercising. 1100 is far too low even if you did nothing all day. You need to work on increasing your calorie intake.
  • shanniajo
    shanniajo Posts: 3 Member
    I'm 5'1 and weight 145. I would like to get down to at least 120. Should i be eating a lot of protein?
  • kellijauch
    kellijauch Posts: 379 Member
    You need to be eating more calories. At least 1200 a day. With that much exercise, maybe even 1500.
  • KristiLeighS
    KristiLeighS Posts: 112
    your body cannot function properly on less than 1200 calories a day. did you tell your dr. that you are eating that little? if you did and he gave you a weight loss drug he is an idiot and you need to find another dr. you should be eating a lot more calories especially with the amount of activity you are doing.
    I don't mean to sound harsh but what you are doing is really unhealthy and can and will wreak havoc on your body.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Based on:
    Female
    36
    5'1"
    145lbs

    BMR : 1403

    TDEE's based on activity level:

    Moderately Active: 2175
    Very Active: 2420

    So a good goal for you to eat would be:

    Moderately Active: 1740 (do not eat exercise calories)
    Very Active: 1946 (do not eat exercise calories)

    Bare minimum of : 1634 (Your TDEE, if you didn't exercise)
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • gracetillman
    gracetillman Posts: 190 Member
    I agree that it does not seem like you are eating enough for your level of activity.
  • itsCheek
    itsCheek Posts: 104
    your body cannot function properly on less than 1200 calories a day. did you tell your dr. that you are eating that little? if you did and he gave you a weight loss drug he is an idiot and you need to find another dr. you should be eating a lot more calories especially with the amount of activity you are doing.
    I don't mean to sound harsh but what you are doing is really unhealthy and can and will wreak havoc on your body.

    I agree with this. Plateau's happen, BTW! I plateaued for 3 weeks twice in the last 6 months. It's all part of your body adjusting to your new diet. Stop with the pills!!! A waste of money and unhealthy. I would definitely never drop below 1200 calories a day.

    Use the MFP calorie tracker and know your BMR and make adjustments there. ***Remember a 3,500 cal deficit = 1 lb. So, if you eat 500 less than your resting BMR a day and exercise 500 calories a day = 7000 calories deficit a week which is 2 lbs. a week which is a healthy weight loss goal.

    Also, try switching up your exercise routine. I run almost 2-3 miles everyday, but also mix in some Jillian Michael's videos (free on YouTube) and yoga! It helped me break my plateau and kept me motivated and not bored.

    I also did Jason Vale's 7 Pounds in 7 Days juicing detox (and lost 8 lbs the first time around, the 2nd time around I lost 4 lbs), which even if you're not into juicing, is a great book to help you stay motivated on your weight loss journey.

    Sounds like you're doing good already, keep it up (and ditch the pills!)
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    undereating
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    Based on:
    Female
    36
    5'1"
    145lbs

    BMR : 1403

    TDEE's based on activity level:

    Moderately Active: 2175
    Very Active: 2420

    So a good goal for you to eat would be:

    Moderately Active: 1740 (do not eat exercise calories)
    Very Active: 1946 (do not eat exercise calories)

    Bare minimum of : 1634 (Your TDEE, if you didn't exercise)
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    ^^ I second this!!
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
    Based on:
    Female
    36
    5'1"
    145lbs

    BMR : 1403

    TDEE's based on activity level:

    Moderately Active: 2175
    Very Active: 2420

    So a good goal for you to eat would be:

    Moderately Active: 1740 (do not eat exercise calories)
    Very Active: 1946 (do not eat exercise calories)

    Bare minimum of : 1634 (Your TDEE, if you didn't exercise)
    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    ^^ I second this!!

    ^^thirding this.

    Increase your calories slowly, by about 100 per week, until you reach at least 1634
  • 13donna1
    13donna1 Posts: 12
    My best advise to you is to make sure you are drinking your water. Water helps you bust through those plateaus. Stay positive!! I have been obese (yes that's a hard word for me) for all my life and am taking my life back and so can you:smile:
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
    Maybe I'm missing something here, but I thought you said you want to be 120 and have 35 lb to lose, so that would put you at 155. At 5'1" your BMR would be around 1350, according to my calculations, meaning you are not eating enough to sustain life and have gone into starvation mode. So yeah, try eating more. Also, consider doing more strength training. It won't shed the pounds as fast, but it will help shed inches faster. And as someone pointed out, only you know what the scale says. Everyone else only knows how they see your body, and weight training will give you a much better body. It will also keep your muscles from getting burned up, which means any weight you lose is going to be more fat than muscle.
  • shanniajo
    shanniajo Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you for all the advice. I have no friends on here so add me if you want, I could use some encouragement and advice from time to time. I will increase my caloric intake and see where that takes me. Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • jem33199
    jem33199 Posts: 80 Member
    I agree with everyone about increasing your calorie intake. I also want to encourage you to do so with whole, natural foods - fruits, veggies, whole grains, seeds and nuts. I wish you great health!
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    ....I eat about 1100 calories per day....

    This is most likely your culprit. Unless you are 4 feet tall, this is going to be too little. Factor in exercise you are netting well under 1000 calories. It's simply not healthy.

    Read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    I'm in line with the folks on the eating thing. But I don't notice you mentioning any rest day/days. You need to rest your body at LEAST one day a week. I run. And to avoid overuse injury, I have been running 3 days a week. I'm upping to 4 now and ramping up to 5 days when I start training for a fall marathon. Your body is machine, but it needs fuel & maintenance (rest). So, eat healthy calories. . .add protein if it makes ya' happy, and build in at least one intentional rest day. The most you do is walk the dog or pick flowers! :-) Good luck!
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member

    Use the MFP calorie tracker and know your BMR and make adjustments there. ***Remember a 3,500 cal deficit = 1 lb. So, if you eat 500 less than your resting BMR a day and exercise 500 calories a day = 7000 calories deficit a week which is 2 lbs. a week which is a healthy weight loss goal.

    Sorry but false. Do not take your deficit from your BMR. You take your deficit from your TDEE which is much higher than your BMR. Your BMR is the minimum amount of calories you should be eating in a day as it's the amount of calories your body requires to run when you do nothing but lay still all day long.
    I also did Jason Vale's 7 Pounds in 7 Days juicing detox (and lost 8 lbs the first time around, the 2nd time around I lost 4 lbs), which even if you're not into juicing, is a great book to help you stay motivated on your weight loss journey.

    Sounds like you're doing good already, keep it up (and ditch the pills!)

    While homemade juice can be good for you, never do a detox. When you go on these "detoxes" like the one mentioned above you lose water weight and some muscle.. and a very very small amount of fat. You also lack nutrients. Also, juicing removes a lot of the good nutrients in the fruits/veggies... always best to eat the actual fruit/veggie.
  • itsCheek
    itsCheek Posts: 104

    Use the MFP calorie tracker and know your BMR and make adjustments there. ***Remember a 3,500 cal deficit = 1 lb. So, if you eat 500 less than your resting BMR a day and exercise 500 calories a day = 7000 calories deficit a week which is 2 lbs. a week which is a healthy weight loss goal.

    Sorry but false. Do not take your deficit from your BMR. You take your deficit from your TDEE which is much higher than your BMR. Your BMR is the minimum amount of calories you should be eating in a day as it's the amount of calories your body requires to run when you do nothing but lay still all day long.
    I also did Jason Vale's 7 Pounds in 7 Days juicing detox (and lost 8 lbs the first time around, the 2nd time around I lost 4 lbs), which even if you're not into juicing, is a great book to help you stay motivated on your weight loss journey.

    Sounds like you're doing good already, keep it up (and ditch the pills!)

    While homemade juice can be good for you, never do a detox. When you go on these "detoxes" like the one mentioned above you lose water weight and some muscle.. and a very very small amount of fat. You also lack nutrients. Also, juicing removes a lot of the good nutrients in the fruits/veggies... always best to eat the actual fruit/veggie.

    Oops on the BMR/TDEE part! I'm new to the whole TDEE concept.

    If you're living off juice for 7 days, it does "detox" or "flush" put a lot of toxins eaten in overly processed foods. Plus, eating all the fruit and vegetables in the juice plan in one day would be way too hard to consume without juicing it first.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I have been doing aerobics 3 days a week plus working out in the gym at least 5 days a week since January. Our gym closed so I started running about 1 1/2 months ago so I started running. I run anywhere from 2 to 3.5 miles in the morning, sometimes I run a mile at lunch and on the days I don't have aerobics I run another couple of miles. I eat about 1100 calories per day and in this time period I have only lost 6 lb. 3 weeks ago I started taking Orlistat (for weight loss) and still nothing. I am at my wits end. Any advice?

    Let's see, you eat 1100 calories a day, and exercise for probably... what, 1000 calories a day? So basically you're surviving on 100 calories. And you're surprised you're not losing weight?
  • 1223345
    1223345 Posts: 1,386 Member
    Stop the orlistat and eat a few hundred more calories.
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
    You need to eat more calories, and 6 pounds in a 1 1/2 month time span is good.

    And don't take things for weight loss. You can do it on your own, you just need to do it correctly.

    This, this and this!!!
  • geoffreyhancockstr
    geoffreyhancockstr Posts: 13 Member
    Some very good advice here, you should be eating more and add a lot of variety to your exercise, you are doing well, but don't try to starve your body, won't work.

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