Why Wont this weight go away.

Stop doing so much cardio and switch to lifting. You can keep your heart rate up and build muscle at the same time. Also increase your protein, I do at least my body weight in grams per day.

Hi! I think we are the same! I do NOT drink water and hate it.

So I'm weighing 130 lbs and exercising 3-4 times a week, weight hasn't gone down abit. And even increase a little!

I'm aiming at like 120 lbs so got me thinking whether it was because I'm not drinking enough water.

But I feel so bloated when I drink too much.. ;(

For someone like you with not much to lose and already relatively healthy and in shape, you probably need to increase your calories. It is calories in and calories out. It sounds crazy but you eat more like 1400 a day of healthy foods you will probably start losing again. And as much as you don't like water, your body needs it. And beer dehydrates you, so even though it fits into your diary, it can be hurting you if you aren't drinking enough water. Try putting some frozen fruit in your water. It will flavor it and keep your water cold. Just count the fruit into your diary and might also help get in some more calores. 2 birds, 1 stone!

Congrats on what you have lost so far...you look great!

You have to eat according to your needs. How did you come up with 1200 calories? That's way too little for an active young woman. If all you do is cardio, and starve yourself (not intake enough calories to keep your body functioning efficiently) - you will not loose weight. Look at it as the equivalent of being a hamster in a wheel. I was stuck in this cycle for almost two years, before I realized that I was going nowhere. You need to set a goal, calculate what your BMR is with your activity level and what you need to maintain your current weight. Then reduce that 5-15% and eat well balanced meals of carbs/proteins/fats. Start lifting weights to make your body more efficient. Straight cardio will keep you at the same weight, but your body fat % is either going to stay the same, or you'll slowly gain more, especially if you're eating some arbitrary number of calories with no rhyme or reason.

why thank you SkinnyFatAlbe. you have taught me well.

The student has become the teacher. Go now. Tell the others.

Thank you very much, I will look into that. Adding some calories would be nice lol. 1200 seems so low.

No problem. If you notice that you're hungry/craving things all the time. It's totally because you don't eat enough. I was the same way. Eat a banana- gain a pound. Nothing changed, and kept upping the cardio thinking I wasn't doing enough. I stayed at the same weight, yes, but it would fluctuate up and down a couple of pounds. It would go down when I would reduce calories (arbitrary number) and then as soon as I ate extra it would go right back up and sometimes more. Proper nutrition takes a bit of time and effort to figure out, but there are tons of resources/calculators online to get you started. Don't be afraid to eat more. And definitely don't be afraid of weights-you will see amazing results and wonder why you didn't do this sooner. I can attest to that

You have to eat according to your needs. How did you come up with 1200 calories? That's way too little for an active young woman. If all you do is cardio, and starve yourself (not intake enough calories to keep your body functioning efficiently) - you will not loose weight. Look at it as the equivalent of being a hamster in a wheel. I was stuck in this cycle for almost two years, before I realized that I was going nowhere. You need to set a goal, calculate what your BMR is with your activity level and what you need to maintain your current weight. Then reduce that 5-15% and eat well balanced meals of carbs/proteins/fats. Start lifting weights to make your body more efficient. Straight cardio will keep you at the same weight, but your body fat % is either going to stay the same, or you'll slowly gain more, especially if you're eating some arbitrary number of calories with no rhyme or reason.

I have a desk job, would adding calories still apply if my activity level during the day is just sitting at the computer?
i understand fully what your telling me, I 'm just scared to be honest. I wold like to add calories, just wasn't sure that was right. I got 1200 from wanting to lose weight, and having a low activity level during the day. according to MFP.,.,

I also have a desk job and I work from home. I'm in my home office 6-8 hours per day. But I make sure to hit the gym 6 days a week for 2 hours varying cardio/weights. Before I did the same routine but only cardio, even did 3 hours of it per day at some point and was at the same exact weight for almost two years. I was terrified to eat more too, because I have the desk job, and because we are often under a misguided impression that to lose weight we have to eat less. That is true, but it has to be done correctly (taking the sum of what you need first, then reducing by appropriate amounts to make sure you don't deny yourself what you actually need). If you don't take a chance, you will not know how to fix it. Ignore MFP's settings - it's what got me in a 1200 calorie rut because that's what it estimated for me at my activity level. And I exercised, got pissed off, but kept going because I was afraid to eat more. It got me nowhere. I claim temporary insanity. And since the classic definition is "doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results", then the shoe fits.

Do you have your goals set to lose 2 pounds a week? If so, that is probably where the 1200 calories came from. Even with a sedentary job, someone of your size should be eating more. And because you only need to lose about 15 more pounds, it is going to take much longer than someone like me that needs to lose a lot more. I would advise setting your goals to 1 pound a week. That should change up your macros a little. Try it out for a week or two and see how you feel. This is a learning game, sometimes you have to play with the settings to see what works best for you. I would also advise taking measurements. As someone said before you might be gaining muscle so the scale won't go down, but you will see that you are actually "shrinking". LOL

Try getting a body fat % reading in addition to your weight. That will give you a truer picture of your overall fitness level. My gym has one, but you have to get a trainer to get on it.

Change your MFP settings to lose 1 lb/week. Make sure you're eating [mostly] the right things and measuring/counting everything.

Good luck!

Thank you very much, I will look into that. Adding some calories would be nice lol. 1200 seems so low.

No problem. If you notice that you're hungry/craving things all the time. It's totally because you don't eat enough. I was the same way. Eat a banana- gain a pound. Nothing changed, and kept upping the cardio thinking I wasn't doing enough. I stayed at the same weight, yes, but it would fluctuate up and down a couple of pounds. It would go down when I would reduce calories (arbitrary number) and then as soon as I ate extra it would go right back up and sometimes more. Proper nutrition takes a bit of time and effort to figure out, but there are tons of resources/calculators online to get you started. Don't be afraid to eat more. And definitely don't be afraid of weights-you will see amazing results and wonder why you didn't do this sooner. I can attest to that

Once you started to add more calories did you notice a change in weight? How did it turn out for you?
Your very helpful lol.

Yes! Once I upped my calories, and spread it into even meals. I dropped 2 lbs in just a few days. I want to lose slowly, because I'm not focused on my weight since size is not an issue for me. I'm focused on getting rid of fat and building muscle. And this was the best part. 1/2 inch of my belly (by biggest part because of pregnancy) in 1 month. I damn nearly fainted in surprise! I couldn't believe that after stuffing myself with food every day. I make sure to spread my meals into 4-5 meals per day. I pre-cook all the grains like brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, steelcut oatmeal, etc. I pre-cook lean meats and legumes. I try to steam veggies for each meal, but I have that luxury because I work from home, you can precook them daily if you want, or eat raw. Measure out your amounts based on your carb/protein/fat ratio, and stick to it. These meals will make you feel very full, too full at times, and you will feel like you're overeating, but believe me - you will not be reaching into your cupboard for that afternoon carb craving like a junkie. I also stopped crashing in the afternoon or post workouts. I stopped treating weekends like a free for all - you know, the "I work out so I can eat whatever I want mentality." But, I do make sure to indulge a little here and there. I drink, but I limit the number of drinks to a couple, and try to keep it to one day a week. Remember that your body is a very efficient and highly adaptable machine and if it does the same thing over and over again, it gets used to it. Change things up, eat different meal combinations, try new foods. Change up your exercise routine regularly. And you will see results.

Also muscle does not weigh more than fat, a lb of fat is a lb. of muscle, however, a lb of muscle in your body takes up much less space than a lb. of fat.

I am the same way. And on top of it all, I drink a lot of water ( I am addicted to hot water ) by the end of the day.

So I stopped concentrating on how much I weigh....and changed my thinking a bit. I now focus more on my power. Can I lift more weights? Can I run longer? Jump higher? Can I do more push Ups/Pull Ups as the days go by? Can I dance longer at Zumba? Am I getting more definition on my arms, legs, etc? And so forth...All this is coming together very well thus far

I figure that if I continue doing what I am doing now, while fuelling my body right, the rest will come in. So I fret not about weight scale