HELP - what am I doing wrong?

superkitcat
superkitcat Posts: 24 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I know that plateauing is normal in the process of loosing weight. I eat "clean" with cheat days(max 2) when needed but never go over 1200 calories even on my cheat days. I go to the gym 4X to 5X a week now that I have plateaud. I used to do just cardio 3X a week. Now, I use the elliptical(60 minutes interval), do kickboxing(90 minutes at a boxing gym) and hot yoga(90 minutes) through out the week. I have changed my routine as I haven't seen any weight loss in 3 weeks. I don't want to get discouraged but it seems like I am at a stand still. I know that yoga is not an ideal weight-loss method but it has a lot of strenghthening moves that can be beneficial to building muscle. I hate weight training and I know that in time, I will have to do it. Any advise is really appreciated it!

Replies

  • srrose15
    srrose15 Posts: 104 Member
    You might be eating too few calories - make sure you are eating enough to keep with your calorie burn!! You need to net at least 1200 calories a day or your body goes into starvation mode
  • Shelley6591
    Shelley6591 Posts: 156 Member
    Not enough calories for sure! I plateaued a few weeks ago and since then bumped myself up to 1350 from 1200 and lost 4 pounds almost instantly, don't give up!
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
    You need to eat more. You should at the very LEAST be netting 1200, but probably more. Ya gotta give your body fuel to do all that exercise! Are you taking your measurements too? The scale can be a dirty liar.
  • jenmcdav
    jenmcdav Posts: 67
    i lose about a pound a week if i stick to 1,200 calories--- without any exercise. When i exercise, I eat back those addiitonal calories. Eat what you burn in exercise and I think you'll see a difference. you're doing a lot without much fuel right now!
  • adiostrasero
    adiostrasero Posts: 127 Member
    You may be at a point where you are building a lot of muscle, which as we all know weighs more than fat. Do you take measurements of yourself to see if you are changing sizes? That is often a better indication of whether you are losing body fat versus just losing weight.

    Like others said, you might want to up your caloric intake, but you might also want to make sure you really are eating what you think you're eating. Do you measure your food, either with measuring cups or with a food scale? I was always freaked out by the notion of a food scale and now that I have one I love it. I don't know why I waited so long, but it really helps me control what I'm eating ... otherwise it's too easy to think, "Oh sure, I only ate an ounce of that," when really I had no idea.
  • tonybalony01
    tonybalony01 Posts: 613 Member
    In addition to increasing the calories, add a little weight training. It's a nice change of routine from the cardio and just might help get you off that plateau.
  • vmichalski
    vmichalski Posts: 2 Member
    I agree with hannamarie88, the scale lies! If you check your body fat with a Bioelectrical Impedance or do your measurements I bet you will see that you're changing from the inside out. The same thing happened to me (which is why I'm a yo-yo dieter, I get frustrated and give up) but you may just be shrinking :)
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    EAT MORE WOMAN!!! EAT!!! FOOD IS NOT YOUR ENEMY! YOUR WILLPOWER; HOWEVER, IS.
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    You need to eat more. You should at the very LEAST be netting 1200, but probably more. Ya gotta give your body fuel to do all that exercise! Are you taking your measurements too? The scale can be a dirty liar.

    LOL the scale doesn't like. Our bodies can fluctuate anywhere from 5-7lbs from day-to-day. You figure, you drink a gallon of water a day plus food plus snacks and total consumption I'm sure is between 5-7lbs which most is of course water so you're wrong, the scale never lies. HOWEVER, measurements and physical appearance are great tools to use to evalute progress.
  • autumndjones
    autumndjones Posts: 4
    I had to raise my calorie goal to 1370 and I started losing weight again that week. Apparently I was eating "too few" calories. Once I raised it, I felt much better.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    You may be at a point where you are building a lot of muscle, which as we all know weighs more than fat. Do you take measurements of yourself to see if you are changing sizes? That is often a better indication of whether you are losing body fat versus just losing weight.

    Like others said, you might want to up your caloric intake, but you might also want to make sure you really are eating what you think you're eating. Do you measure your food, either with measuring cups or with a food scale? I was always freaked out by the notion of a food scale and now that I have one I love it. I don't know why I waited so long, but it really helps me control what I'm eating ... otherwise it's too easy to think, "Oh sure, I only ate an ounce of that," when really I had no idea.

    Building a "lot" of muscle would required a pretty extreme calorie surplus; at 1200 calories MAX, she is most likely losing LBM at a pretty rapid pace.
  • littlebee26
    littlebee26 Posts: 116
    I know that plateauing is normal in the process of loosing weight. I eat "clean" with cheat days(max 2) when needed but never go over 1200 calories even on my cheat days. I go to the gym 4X to 5X a week now that I have plateaud. I used to do just cardio 3X a week. Now, I use the elliptical(60 minutes interval), do kickboxing(90 minutes at a boxing gym) and hot yoga(90 minutes) through out the week. I have changed my routine as I haven't seen any weight loss in 3 weeks. I don't want to get discouraged but it seems like I am at a stand still. I know that yoga is not an ideal weight-loss method but it has a lot of strenghthening moves that can be beneficial to building muscle. I hate weight training and I know that in time, I will have to do it. Any advise is really appreciated it!

    This is interesting because I eat 1200 calories a day or thereabouts and am losing 2 pounds a week pretty handy. I only do weight training though. And I am still managing to build muscle. Huh.
  • 3foldchord
    3foldchord Posts: 2,918 Member
    In addition to increasing the calories, add a little weight training. It's a nice change of routine from the cardio and just might help get you off that plateau.

    DITTO
    eat more, eat to fit your macros, lift weights, cut back on cardio. Yoga is great! for stretching, relaxing, feeling good (and I need to do more of it) ... but you need to start lifting some weights, even if you don't like. like I tell my kids: part of being an adult is doing things that are beneficial for you even if you don't like them..
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    I know that plateauing is normal in the process of loosing weight. I eat "clean" with cheat days(max 2) when needed but never go over 1200 calories even on my cheat days. I go to the gym 4X to 5X a week now that I have plateaud. I used to do just cardio 3X a week. Now, I use the elliptical(60 minutes interval), do kickboxing(90 minutes at a boxing gym) and hot yoga(90 minutes) through out the week. I have changed my routine as I haven't seen any weight loss in 3 weeks. I don't want to get discouraged but it seems like I am at a stand still. I know that yoga is not an ideal weight-loss method but it has a lot of strenghthening moves that can be beneficial to building muscle. I hate weight training and I know that in time, I will have to do it. Any advise is really appreciated it!

    This is interesting because I eat 1200 calories a day or thereabouts and am losing 2 pounds a week pretty handy. I only do weight training though. And I am still managing to build muscle. Huh.

    Outside of potential "newbie gains," you are most likely reducing body fat % to show muscle while strengthening it beyond what you were doing before--you're not actually "building muscle."

    Just trying to clear up common misinformation here.
  • hannamarie88
    hannamarie88 Posts: 231 Member
    You need to eat more. You should at the very LEAST be netting 1200, but probably more. Ya gotta give your body fuel to do all that exercise! Are you taking your measurements too? The scale can be a dirty liar.

    LOL the scale doesn't like. Our bodies can fluctuate anywhere from 5-7lbs from day-to-day. You figure, you drink a gallon of water a day plus food plus snacks and total consumption I'm sure is between 5-7lbs which most is of course water so you're wrong, the scale never lies. HOWEVER, measurements and physical appearance are great tools to use to evalute progress.

    That's kinda what I mean by liar -- a lot of people even if they understand fluctuations get very upset when they see them (myself included). It's why I take measurements and photos and I'm trying to break up my obsessive relationship with my scale -- I weigh myself every morning and every single time I'm in my bathroom, it's a problem. I know the number isn't lying with the water weight and such, but in my head it gets me super super down.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Set your goal to lose 1 pound a week. Eat back your exercise calories.
  • weightlossdiva1219
    weightlossdiva1219 Posts: 283 Member
    You might be eating too few calories - make sure you are eating enough to keep with your calorie burn!! You need to net at least 1200 calories a day or your body goes into starvation mode

    Not true, actually.

    http://csperriton.blogspot.com/2013/05/net-calories-confusion.html'

    She explains it well.

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