Weight loss advice! Losing too slowly.

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hlburn
hlburn Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I was looking at my weight loss journey today and i'm losing hardly anything.

I'm 25yrs and 5ft 3 and currently about 117 lbs. (dips between 116.6 and 117.2 atm) I eat about 1300 kcals a day but maybe to to 1500 twice a week on average. I'm a student but i commute everyday so i do a lot of walking and workout for at least an hour (cardio and strength) 3-5 times per week. But i've only lost 4lbs in 7 months. Its driving me crazy! I eat pretty healthy too. My goal is 112 but i've been trying for about 2 years! :grumble: I lost about 10lbs a few years back. 130lbs to 120lbs from eating 1000 cals a day with no exercise. I'm tempted to go back but i know i'm a lot healthier than i was back then!

Should i work out more? Up calories? Cut calories? Any advice would be a godsend!

Thank you!

Replies

  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
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    According to your Stats you:

    Maintain at 1603 calories/day with zero exercise.

    Your estimated BMR is: 1,245 calories/day

    Total safe daily caloric deficit for weight loss is 1603-1245=358 calories. Or 1lb lost every 9 days.

    1300 sounds good, please make sure you eat back your exercise calories to avoid too high of a caloric deficit. You may want to look into lifting to lose body fat, you are already at a healthy weight.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,663 Member
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    Actually with so little to lose.......................you're about right on track.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • bepeejaye
    bepeejaye Posts: 775 Member
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    My case is almost similar to yours. I workout six days a week (though am a "poor" eater - I tend to eat more of fruit and nuts. The other times I just have protein shakes. I find myself eating 200-500 calories short of the net calorie goal as per MFP). I decided to change mi mindset. I only weigh in every fortnight. Also, I am concentrating on having more strength and power, and how my clothes fit, rather than the weight scale.

    I am also investing in having Body Composition Analysis done (even though not extremely accurate, I will get at least an idea of where I am).

    Some peers have mentioned that genes might also have a play in it, but that to me remains a wee bit debatable :)
  • kourte2012
    kourte2012 Posts: 4
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    My calorie goal is 1600 for weight loss (1pd per week) most days (including exercise) i usually have about 500-600 calories remaining by the end of day with a net calorie btw 900-1300 some days even get up to 1300-1500 net. Am i creating a deficit?

    Also i scan EVERYTHING i eat & put in how ever many servings i ate of it so my food intake calories are pretty accurate.
    Im just wondering if I'm on the right road to weight loss by my calculations!

    SN: Im athletic build (Track & Field) recovering from an injury which i was cleared from in Jan 2013 to start back exercising which i gained fat/weight in the process & loss all of the unwanted fat (Jan-May) im now back toned & iv never been into calorie counters but i'm at that last STUBBORN 10-15 pd that i need off in my midsection to be where i want to be & i thought this would help me become more strict!
  • sunlover89
    sunlover89 Posts: 436 Member
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    You talk about the scale and the numbers but what about your body? Have your measurments changed? Do your clothes feel different? Why do you want to be at that number specifically? Or is it that you actually want to shave off some fat from a certain place on your body or fit into the next size down clothing?
    The number on the scale means f**k all tbh, especially as you're at the low end of healthy weight anyway. To put it into perspective - I weigh 17lbs more now than I did this time last year. My waist is 4 inches smaller, as are my hips, my chest 2 and I'm down a bra size and funnily enough a shoe size.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Actually with so little to lose.......................you're about right on track.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    This...you're already at a healthy weight, it's going to be slow when you don't have a lot of fat stores. Your focus should really be more on body composition because I would imagine that's your issue and the reason you think you need to lose.
  • chriswhudson
    chriswhudson Posts: 39
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    Hi! my name is Chris, based on metabolic understanding and digging into your body type composition. I have find that your safe BMR is 1330, which is the amount of calories your body burns just to stay alive everyday in a resting state.

    Based on your school obligation and also your travel habbits daily along with the awesome time you find to exercise, your body is requird on average 1900 calories in order to function properly, this caloric intake is what it's required just to maintain your weight, based on daily life.

    As you stated before you ate at a 1000 calories and lost weight, but it was muscle degredation and some fat, which you can't maintain that lifestyle.

    So here's my proposal you need to eat around 1650-1750 everyday, because you are sooooooo active with school and exercise, and also your LEPTIN HARMONES due to your high activity levels feel that their is a famine in your land. I know it's difficult for you to eat an additional 200 cals a day so you need to really up your PROTIEN & FIBER content and also tons of green nutrient dense food.

    The reason for the protien,higher fiber and more dense green vegetables & fruit. I know first hand and and now truly understand that if you eat these types of foods, and can't always hit your calorie target, the body will absorb the nutrients better and inturn you body chemically will shed fat becasue of the type of food it's receiving.

    EXAMPLE if a person in your lifestyle ate like his:
    1.) chips,cookies,soda, beer, pasta= high calories ,no nutirent+ LEPTIN LEVEL hormone shut down ( store everything as fat)

    2.) chicken, steak, turkey, brocoli, rice, beans, eggs, peanut butter, potatoes, fruit..etc= controlled calories, high consumption, Leptin Levels normal, due to chemical and neurophysical absorption in the body, because food is none processed.:wink:
  • hlburn
    hlburn Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks everybody for your help.

    I'm going to play around with everyones advice and see what works for me. Maybe up my strength a little. I don't have the money for a gym membership so i usally do pilaties (sp) and bodyweight/dumbell exercises at home.
    I'm going to try and think a little less of what the scale says. I know i should but i was always overweight when i was younger (My highest weight was around168lbs up until i was mabye about 16?) So old habits die hard and all!

    Thanks everyone! :flowerforyou:
  • nikkibl
    nikkibl Posts: 4
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    Do you have to eat back your calories earnt from exercise? i feel like i am gorging on food! I cycle 12 miles 3 times a week and I am burning netween 900 - 1200 caleries (I have a seperate monitor that tracks speed and calories, an im using the one on MFP)

    I am already allocated 1700 caleried from MFP due to my size (186lb - 5foot 11 tall). im confused on making this work. Ive got a year until my wedding and id like to get down to 155lb.

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