Diet Not Working....please advise

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gdiane04
gdiane04 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Everyone,

I had a baby 9 months ago. I am a working mother/student as well, so I have very little spare time. Usually I am on the "fitter" side of things. I decided in the beginning that I would try and stay fit so i would not have to dig myself out of a mountain of extra weight. However, after I had my child I am finding it harder to loose weight.

I was fairly active three months after delivery. At least 3 workouts a week, (and some brisk run/walk workouts with my son if time and weather allows). My Weight is 149 lbs. I was 147 after giving birth, which means I gained weight even though I was active and eating right. (I could not cut calories due to breastfeeding). Now that I can legitimately have a "diet" after weening my son i still have not loss weight. (not an ounce) I am on a strict 1400 calorie diet (not going any lower than that because its needed) and I exercise aggressively four times a week, with the occasional brisk walk or run after lunch if possible. Can anyone give me any advice on how to speed this along or give me a boost? I tried Rasberry Ketone and that has helped suppress my appetite (which is useful since I am a "foodie") but I have not seen weightloss results. (These are result after a month of dieting and exercising)

Please note: I am not interested in negative responses, I am looking for help so please only post helpful comments.
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Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    Hi there!

    We're going to need a little more information than just your weight to help you out.

    Please post your height and age as well =)
  • gdiane04
    gdiane04 Posts: 7 Member
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    I am 5 ft 5 inches, Age 28
    THANK YOU!!
  • lizardcave
    lizardcave Posts: 42 Member
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    Do you have a food log we could view... and do you track your food? (Also... do you weigh your food? I know that might seem like a weird question, but I know from personal experience that my idea of a serving size of ice cream is very different to that on a food label.)
  • francsull
    francsull Posts: 3 Member
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    I never gave birth but I heard it is hard afterwards, This is going to sound weird and not what most people would say but try it, don't excercise, Just try it for one week and keep your food plan the same minus the exercise, I used to be in weight watchers and some of the people who exercised had less weight loss, Muscle weighs more, I know a lot of people would not agree but if you try if for one week what have you got to lose? That is the only thing I could figure out. Good luck and let us know how you are doing.
  • gdiane04
    gdiane04 Posts: 7 Member
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    I don't have an food log for the past month. I was counting calories without the website. I recently joined yesterday as a result of my own calorie counting not working and I needed help. I will change my setting so you can view my log tho. thanks for the help
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    put down the raspberry ketones and any other products as such.

    you may very well not be eating enough. If you're only eating 1400 calories and working out super hard, you're probably at too large of a caloric deficit.
  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
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    *double post
  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
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    1) Ensure you're weighing and measuring food to be sure you're getting accurate servings.
    2) Be very honest in your logging of food.
    3) Do not over exercise.
    4) Eat back exercise calories.
    5) Get your thyroid checked to ensure your levels are good, as it can cause metabolic problems if it's out of whack.
    6) Make sure you're getting enough sleep (very hard with a little one, I know)
    7) Give up the ketones. Waste of money (tests have only shown improvement on rats in labs at extremely high doses)

    There are probably more things you could do, but my brain is burned right now.
  • Sparlingo
    Sparlingo Posts: 938 Member
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    The most helpful things for me:


    1) weigh/measure your food
    2) use a HRM to assess the calorie burns on your cardio so you don't over/underestimate the calorie burns.
  • gdiane04
    gdiane04 Posts: 7 Member
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    I didn't weigh my food. I ate alot of soup that was already potioned and babycarrot bags. for breakfast I always eat oatmeal and a cup of coffee. I only eat one carb a day, (a sanwich and soup for lunch) and I do this so I have carbs to work off in the evening when i workout.
  • coco3382458
    coco3382458 Posts: 296 Member
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    I lost quite a bit of weight after giving birth by breast feeding and pumping. You burn a ton of calories doing that. Not sure if you do but that is what helped me get below my pre pregnancy weight. Also just be patient because I have heard it can take a year for our bodies to heal after giving birth
  • DebLark52
    DebLark52 Posts: 5
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    I disagree with the post that recommended that you not exercise. Keep that up! I've noticed that myfitnesspal gives a large amount of "calorie credits" for exercise. I've lost weight by sticking to my calories (1200/day) and not using the "extra credit" from my exercising. I should add that I'm in my early 60's and have finally lost the 15 lbs that I've been struggling with for ages, by following this plan. I also walked on a treadmill at a 3mph pace for 30-45 minutes a day, six days a week. I'm sure that made the difference.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    I didn't weigh my food.

    Then there really isn't an accurate count on intake. Plus, soup is typically astronomically high in sodium.
    I disagree with the post that recommended that you not exercise. Keep that up! I've noticed that myfitnesspal gives a large amount of "calorie credits" for exercise. I've lost weight by sticking to my calories (1200/day) and not using the "extra credit" from my exercising. I should add that I'm in my early 60's and have finally lost the 15 lbs that I've been struggling with for ages, by following this plan. I also walked on a treadmill at a 3mph pace for 30-45 minutes a day, six days a week. I'm sure that made the difference.
    ...then you're not using MFP as designed. The 1200 calories that you're sticking to is already with a huge deficit in place. Not eating back your exercise calories is making that deficit even bigger. While you may lose weight now, it's going to stop after a while.. and you'll be stuck with a "why am I not losing now?" post in your future. If you're working out six days per week, you need to change your settings on here and stick with it.
  • trigger2354
    trigger2354 Posts: 25 Member
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    Read this http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/not-losing-fat-at-20-deficit-what-should-i-do-qa.html

    Then read this http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/adjusting-the-diet.html
  • DebLark52
    DebLark52 Posts: 5
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    Correct, breast feeding burns a lot of calories. I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight after having both children in my mid-30's, but just a note: your body may not return to it's former shape. At four months after delivery, I weighed less than when I started, but my hips never returned to the same size. I also gained a half-shoe size with each child. I eventually gave away my skinny jeans :(
  • gdiane04
    gdiane04 Posts: 7 Member
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    I changed my setting so you can view my food. This is just for tha last two days but This is very similar to what I have been eating the last month....especially breakfast and lunch.....dinner, I rarely have a carb just meat and veggies....unfortunately I usually eat after 730 due to a number of reasons (commuting, school, parenting, etc)
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    Your estimated BMR is: 1,407 calories/day - This means if you were stuck in bed in a coma, you would burn this many calories to keep your body alive.

    Your TDEE is 1759 calories/day - This is what you burn being up and about normally at work, at home, cooking, just normal activity, no exercise.

    Most people recommend eating 20%(351) less than your TDEE(1759) to lose weight which would be 1408 calories a day.
    **So if you do exercise, you will need to eat 1400 PLUS what you burn exercising.

    I know a lot of people think BMI is BS sometimes, but I wanted to let you know that you are technically a healthy weight and may want to consider setting your goal to losing closer to .5 of a lb a week to lose more healthily.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Are you eating just 1400, or are you eating 1400 PLUS exercise calories?
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
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    I changed my setting so you can view my food. This is just for tha last two days but This is very similar to what I have been eating the last month....especially breakfast and lunch.....dinner, I rarely have a carb just meat and veggies....unfortunately I usually eat after 730 due to a number of reasons (commuting, school, parenting, etc)
    sodium is pretty high and you're undereating/overexercising.

    stop focusing so hard on carbs and figure out how to eat enough first.

    and I'm not sure the double chocolate cupcake / quick add calories are going to serve you well, either. I'm not knocking cupcakes, eat whatever you want, but make sure the numbers are accurate.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    You are withing 10 pounds from a healthy weight for your heigt - so you will not lose it all in three weeks...
    Eat more, if you are not eating your exercise calories back, you are not eating enough and over exercising....
    And you can eat at midnight too - no influence on weight loss...Save the money you spend on rasberry whatever magic pills - it's a waste...

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