Restricted calories, exercising.. and not losing weight!

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jofitzgibbons
jofitzgibbons Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I guess I'll give some context, if it will give anyone a clue as to why nothing is working.
I'm 18 years old. Home scale says I weigh between 140-145 (it fluctuates daily, quite a lot) but the medical scale at the gym says around 145-148 most days. According to online calculations, which I know are inaccurate but visually it fits the bill, my body fat percentage is around 25%.
When I was in junior high, I had terrible self esteem problems. My highest weight was 210 pounds, and that was in grade 7, I was 12 or 13 years old. I starved myself down to about 165lbs and I'm sure that must have done terrible things to my metabolism. The rest of the weight came off when I made the choice to be healthy. I eat pretty reasonably - I'm not vegan or paleo or gluten free or anything but I don't eat crap food either. I like my oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, stir fries. I'm always cooking up healthy / low calorie recipes for dinner. I track everything I eat. I have good days and bad days, but most of them are good days. I usually take in 1200 calories, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I do hot yoga, and I'm working on finding a group cardio workout that I don't completely hate.
I don't want to be a stick figure - I want to be healthy. I want to lose maybe another 15 pounds of fat, and get myself to a 20% body fat percentage.
Even though I'm taking in fewer calories than my BMR (calculated at around 1500), the scale doesn't budge, and neither does the measuring tape. I don't look any different in the mirror. I have the same persistent fat in the same persistent places and I just can't get rid of it. I'm not going to starve myself again, but for goodness sake, I'm doing everything I'm supposed to! Why can't I get out of this plateau?

Replies

  • rosiez321
    rosiez321 Posts: 14
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    I have been working out 4-5 times a week. I do water aerobics, 40-45 minutes of high cardio and I still can't lose a pound. I drink my water, eat my calories and nothing :( . So I guess I'm no help, but know how you feel.
  • Onaughmae
    Onaughmae Posts: 873 Member
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    My advice? Increase your calories a bit and start lifting....heavy. The more muscle you tone and build the more effectively your body burns fat.
  • jofitzgibbons
    jofitzgibbons Posts: 4 Member
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    A few months back I tried going that route. Upped the protein intake, and did the weight circuit at the gym pretty much daily, being careful to rotate exercises to give muscles time to rest and grow. I gained muscle, but the weight didn't budge, and I actually put on some extra fat around the tummy.
  • snowmanluv
    snowmanluv Posts: 200 Member
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    You could have reached a plateau. Go to a nutrionist and possibly a trainer. Adding weight in will help the muscles but be careful with sugar intake/sodium/carbs. I was only eating 1/2 banana and if 1/4 of my daily sugar. Carbs - processed or clean. Vegetables green or starchy. To get thinner from fat then you will probably have to train like an athlete from here. P90x, running, aerobics with 4-5 workouts a week at least 40 minutes. Congrats to you for losing all that to begin with.
  • fitnessprincess16
    fitnessprincess16 Posts: 34
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    Maybe you have a health condition where it doesn't let you lose weight. My mom had it and she couldnt lose a pound
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
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    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Calculate your TDEE based on your real activity level, and then put the expected loss to 5-10%. Stay in that TDEE range so your body adjusts and learns the healthy way. If the 1200 calories is not net, based on the level of exercises you are describing it, it is not healthy. You should not be eating below your BMR.

    Basal metabolic rate (BMR), The release, and using, of energy in this state is sufficient only for the functioning of the vital organs, the heart, lungs, nervous system, kidneys, liver, intestine, sex organs, muscles, and skin.
  • TwinkiesNKetchup
    TwinkiesNKetchup Posts: 76
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    How are you calculating your bodyfat? I was using the online calculators and got depressingly high readings. I run 30+ miles a week and nearly fainted when my bodyfat was near 30% and refusing to budge. I then was shown this website by a member here http://www.exrx.net/Testing/SkinfoldProcedures.html and my bodyfat is >20% a huge difference.

    It's great you are eating healthy, at your age this is most important (shoot it is no matter what your age is, but a healthy eating habit at 18 is so important).

    How tall are you? What is your body type? Do you exercise?
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
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    How are you calculating your bodyfat? I was using the online calculators and got depressingly high readings. I run 30+ miles a week and nearly fainted when my bodyfat was near 30% and refusing to budge. I then was shown this website by a member here http://www.exrx.net/Testing/SkinfoldProcedures.html and my bodyfat is >20% a huge difference.

    It's great you are eating healthy, at your age this is most important (shoot it is no matter what your age is, but a healthy eating habit at 18 is so important).

    How tall are you? What is your body type? Do you exercise?

    For bodyfat: http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/mbf/

    It is very close to the number measured at my gym.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    You need to eat more. You'll probably gain some in the process, be warned, but if you've messed up your metabolism like you say, you got to reset it somehow. So I'd eat 1500 for a month and see where it leads you.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator

    Seriously. It isn't a game of "how little can I eat / how much can I work out".

    Find a caloric deficit. Use that link. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
  • aleggett321
    aleggett321 Posts: 186 Member
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    When I first started logging with MFP I was eating about 1200 cal/day, usually under that and I actually gained weight even though I was on the treadmill 4-5 days/week. Calculated my RMR at about 1480. I started eating at least a net of 1400-1500 cal/day, started working with light weight 2-3 times a week and started losing weight almost immediately. Seems I needed more calories to lose the pounds. Go figure
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Maybe try `carb loading` for a few days
    You will put on some weight (water weight)

    then go back to what you were doing?

    If you want to be really strict about the whole body fat you can try `carb cycling` basically 3 days very low carb and 1 day high carb.

    When I have been in a plateau I do this and it works.

    You can find lots of stuff on google about this method.

    You will not be undereating.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Here you go I have saved you a search lol

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/advanced-fat-loss-carb-cycling/

    http://www.trueperformancenutrition.com/cardio-carb-cycling-for-accelerated-fat-loss

    there is lots more info out there too
  • variaironhawk
    variaironhawk Posts: 6
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    Agree with what some others have said. You are actually eating too few calories and your body will go into starvation mode and it will cause to you to GAIN weight fairly quickly. I too spent several months plateaued at a certain weight. But with time, persistence and adjusting what I eat, rather than caloric intake, I got past it and have starting losing steadily again. I started off before MFP at 285. I lost a lot on my own, but got serious when I hit that plateau and joined MFP. Losing weight is hard work but the health pay off is worth it. But if you are consistently eating too few calories and then exercising on top that, you are doing damage to your body. Take about a month where you eat the full 1500 allotted calories- be sure you do get some fat, just not too much. If you go too low on fat or calories, your body thinks it is starving and will not give up anything readily.

    The most important part is to not give up or get discouraged. Plateaus happen. It is how you respond to them that makes the difference.
  • missdibs1
    missdibs1 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    lift weights and run/walk combo try train your way to 5k

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