Loggin, exercising and barely losing weight

janetcoffey
janetcoffey Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm a 63 year old female.

I work out at Curves 3-4 days a week. Most Curves days I also ride my stationary bike 30 minutes at 65 RPM's. On non-Curves days, I ride the bike 30 minutes, walk a ten minute mile on the elliptical machine and 40% of that time I walk backwards. I also do 30 squats using the stability ball behind my back and 60 crunches on the stability ball. In addition, I have a routine of stretches that I do for 20 minute. A physical therapist helped me with workout and stretching routine to improve my knee pain.

I have been faithfully logging my food and exercise on MFP since May. Most days I am within or under (if you count my exercise) my calorie goal.

I have lost 6.8 pounds with lots of fluxtuations...female, sodium.... I need to get 20 pounds off of my knees! Help!!

Replies

  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    Ok. Thanks. I'm new to this:)
  • danabartocci
    danabartocci Posts: 6
    Keep going! Sometimes you need to change your routine up. Curves is a great start, but it tends to have you plateau pretty quickly once you get used to it. You also might try heart rate training, and use a heart rate monitor on the stationary bike and push yourself a little to get a higher heart rate on the bike.

    D
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I feel your pain ...... (I'm 52). Losing weight after menopause is soooo slow.

    Have you calculated your BMR or your TDEE? Basal metabolic rate (BMR) ..... calories you would use if you stayed in bed all day. Total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) .... maintenance calories including exercise.

    Your number should fall above BMR & below TDEE to lose weight. Because TDEE includes exercise, you won't log them here in MFP .... or just over ride calorie counts to zero.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    This is good information no matter what method you use (MFP or TDEE)
  • bokodasu
    bokodasu Posts: 629 Member
    Are you eating back your exercise calories? Because normally I would say "do that" but looking at your workout routine, I would say "don't do that". What you're doing is mostly very low intensity - which is what you should be doing if you've got some kind of knee problem, but it's not great for making a calorie deficit. And the exercises you're doing are exactly the ones that MFP overestimates the calorie burn on.

    It's also possible you're not fueling your body well - can't say without seeing your diary. So, uh, the answer is either eat less or more, depending. Definitely if you can find some more intense exercise that you can do comfortably (well, not "easy" comfortably but "won't make any injuries you have worse" comfortably), or throw in some intervals, that often makes a big difference.
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    Not sure how to show my diary
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Not sure how to show my diary

    Go to Home>Settings>Diary Settings.

    Set to "Public."
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    Are you weighing everything? That is huge. If you're just eyeing it and not using a digital scale you could be off on how much you are actually eating.
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    Ok. I've opened my diary. Open to all suggestions ;0
  • InForBacon
    InForBacon Posts: 1,508 Member
    Are you weighing everything? That is huge. If you're just eyeing it and not using a digital scale you could be off on how much you are actually eating.
    I was always told the scale is evil and I should stick to the tape measure.
  • KeepGoingKylene
    KeepGoingKylene Posts: 432 Member
    Judging by your last week of your diary you aren't eating enough. You should net at least 1200. Not just eating 1200...You also have no water logged. Do you drink water and just not log it, water is your friend!!
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    I do weigh and measure. I have missed recording a few times and I add alcohol, too, which, some days, has been bad!
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    I do drink the water...just don't log it.
  • LuLuChick78
    LuLuChick78 Posts: 439 Member
    Just my two cents...add some MFP friends for moitvation and support. You activated your account in 2011 and this is your first forum post, so perhaps using MFP to its full capacity will help get you on track.
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    Thanks! That's why I'm posting today.
  • SpeSHul_SnoflEHk
    SpeSHul_SnoflEHk Posts: 6,256 Member
    Are you weighing everything? That is huge. If you're just eyeing it and not using a digital scale you could be off on how much you are actually eating.
    I was always told the scale is evil and I should stick to the tape measure.

    You were only told that because it is true.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Judging by your last week of your diary you aren't eating enough. You should net at least 1200. Not just eating 1200...You also have no water logged. Do you drink water and just not log it, water is your friend!!

    This^

    1200 calories may not be enough. Find your BMR .... if it's higher than 1200 ..... bump up your calories up a bit. When you don't eat enough you are more likely to plateau.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    Hi Janet. I'm a 59 year old female, close to your age. I couldn't see your diary to make suggestions. I believe we don't lose weight because we're either eating too much and don't realize it, or we overestimate our calorie burns. Log every little thing to see where you stand.

    I also believe some of the MFP calorie burns in the database are too high, according to friends who have heart rate monitors, so I don't eat all my calories back (only if I'm hungry).

    I exercise a lot, mostly walking and hiking, although lately I've been adding calisthenics and some other things. Diet, though, seems to determine most of my losses. I try to drink a lot of water and curb my hunger with low calorie steamed greens like kale and collards.

    Good luck! Just keep making efforts and try different things out and you will find out what works for you.
  • janetcoffey
    janetcoffey Posts: 8
    Thanks to all. I plan to increase my calories and shake up my exercise a bit.
  • kaned_ferret
    kaned_ferret Posts: 618 Member
    Are you weighing everything? That is huge. If you're just eyeing it and not using a digital scale you could be off on how much you are actually eating.
    I was always told the scale is evil and I should stick to the tape measure.

    You were only told that because it is true.

    Sure, tape measure over scales for progress, but scales every time to weigh what you eat!
  • Breizier
    Breizier Posts: 221 Member
    Are you weighing everything? That is huge. If you're just eyeing it and not using a digital scale you could be off on how much you are actually eating.
    I was always told the scale is evil and I should stick to the tape measure.

    You were only told that because it is true.

    Sure, tape measure over scales for progress, but scales every time to weigh what you eat!

    Errrm!!! I think the poster meant weighting your food accurately.

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