Lost

You won't like what I have to say...PROTIEN. I went thru the exact same thing...kickboxing challenge...for 12 weeks - 5 times a week 2 hours each session. There were people in that class that lost over 20 pounds - I lost 1!! After that I did a considerable amount of reading and found that, FOR ME, protien is what was missing. I stopped the vegetarian thing - I was doing it for "health" reasons, not because animals have a face - and lost 55 pounds over 12 months!!

If you are vegetarian for PETA reasons, there are ways to make it work. Google high protien/vegetarian diets and look thru the menu options. Some things to consider - try a really PURE protien powder - usually whey or egg white - and drink a few shakes every day...If you are working out regualrly, you should be consuming 1 gram of protien for each pound you weigh, otherwise, you run thru the carbs quickly and start eating away at the muscle - which in the long run will slow your metabolisim further. Another thing that worked for ME - Cut down your starchy carbs after 2:00pm - rely mostly on greens and other low carb veg as well as egg whites for your after lunch snack and dinner. If you find a low carb protien powder, a shake before bedtime really keeps your metabolism from crashing while you sleep. And finally - track your calories - you really need to find out what you BMR is - again - GOOGLE this - it is the most important thing you can do for weight loss. It is amazing how many calories I get to eat and I still loose weight...perhaps you are eating too little for as much exercise as you do.

Please keep in mind, these are things that worked for ME - every body reacts differenly to different things. I HAD to cut out all wheat and grain products due to digestion issues, and that really boosted my weight loss. if you still feel that you are flailing around after adding protien in, go to a nutritionist...not a flake, a REAL nutritionist with a REAL degree and see where that takes you.

Good luck!!! :flowerforyou:

I think your nutritionist added wrong. I've got about 1000 calories (give or take-not sure about grits) just from the actual foods listed. A "small" salad with just salad veggies (no meat, no cheese, no toppings, no dressing) is another 50. Add another 100 or so for anything you might add to the salad (each item). I don't do protein shakes, but I've yet to see them listed in diaries for less than 200-300 calories (each), and could be considerably more depending on what you use to make them. So at the very low end (assuming you're eating dry veggie-only salad & the lowest cal protein shakes and measuring/weighing everything), you're at 1450-1650. My guess is the actual calorie count is well over 2000.

in addition to the advice to actually count your calories accurately, I would add that it's best to find out what your BMR & TDEE are. Don't eat less than your BMR, take about 20% off your TDEE and eat that for at least a month and see where you are. (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/) Also, you can look here for more advice: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

^^This. If you're working out that hard and that often, and only eating 1200 calories a day - well, that definitely explains your plateau. Read the above website and see how that helps you. I had the same problems on 1200 calories, and eventually started gaining. You have to feed your body :-)

This.

I am also a vegetarian. I started out on the 1200 only calories and was working out 5-6 days a week. Though it sounds like your workouts are much tougher than what I was doing. It seems to me that you might actually need to eat more. I lost weight for awhile and then stopped on the 1200 calories because I had to start upping how much I was eating because my body needed fuel. Your car can't go very far on $10 of gas, your body can't go far on that little fuel. I know it contradicts all we ever hear is "to lose weight eat less and move more" that may be true at first if you have a lot to lose, but it will stop.

I highly agree with the above. I have just recently switched to the TDEE-20% method and am finding it's helping me.

I log every single thing I put into my protein shake, I log everything I take period.

Above I stated I began boxing 6 weeks ago. I gained 30 lbs over the past year.

I am not sure how to take a lot of your posts. I know when people "type" it is "read" differently. From what I am gathering, I am lying about what I do to exercise, my nutritionist is a phony, I'm eating too much, I'm eating too little, I don't count my calories...I could go on and on. I feel like people aren't reading through the posts and just putting what they "think" instead of reading what is fact.

I am not getting the "warm fuzzies" from this site. I thought this was where people came when they needed motivation and guidance. I sure hope my feelings are wrong.

I was just offering advice that I know has been proven repeatedly by tons of users. I mentioned accurately counting your calories because I didn't see you say anywhere that you were actually tracking them, but going by a basic menu set by your nutritionist. I *do* believe that it may be too little, but I can't say that for certain with the information you've provided. You don't list a weight or height, you don't state ho\w many calories you're burning with your workouts. I imagine you burn quite a bit with boxing, which is why I think, given the sample menu you provided, that it may be too little. You have a private diary, so I can't see what/if you're logging. So I gave the best ideas I have.

And I'm hypothyroid, which is why I asked if you had been tested. It can cause you to continue to gain weight even with added activity and fewer calories.

Have you checked the links I provided?