Im not new to this, so where am I going wrong?

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Starting out a year ago losing weight was surprisingly easy!
Set sedentary settings to lose 1LB, ate back exercise calories, boom it melted off.

Now, Im about 4 - 8 LBS from goal, and I lowered my settings to lose 0.5LB and kept at sedentary.
Still eating back exercise calories. ( Two days a week, cardio in the gym )

Still measuring foods, still doing everything the same.
Still eating the same foods too ( Not very healthy, but hey -- diaries open )

I havent lost in about 4 months or so.
Other than going back and forth between the same weight.

Is somehow retained water masking my success?
Or am I doing something wrong, or not doing something I should.

5'2", Female, Age 21, 118LBS -- eating around 1320 calories ( more with exercise )

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Id like to get the ball rolling again~
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Replies

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    Have you made any changes to your workout recently? If not, then your body has probably adapted to it causing you to burn less calories than you did when you first started the routine.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Have you made any changes to your workout recently? If not, then your body has probably adapted to it causing you to burn less calories than you did when you first started the routine.

    Nope I havent changed what I do, but Ive upped it a bit.
    I went from hiking 3 miles once a week to around 7.
    I went from doing 20 minutes on the elliptical to around 60.

    What Im confused about would probably be, if I eat back my calories anyway, whats the difference in how I burn them or how use my body is?

    I always underestimate the calorie amount by around 50 that the machine says to make sure Im not over eating them.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    You're already at a healthy weight, so your body isn't in a hurry to shed more. Water weight can mask losses (even just upping your workouts can do that - your body holds on to water for repair and recovery, more noticeable when you increase or change workouts - sounds like that's part of what you're seeing here).

    Are you weighing your foods, or just measuring? There can be a significant difference between the two, which has a bigger impact on your bottom line when you're so close to goal.
  • CherylValiquette
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    I always deduct at least 25% of what the calorie count on the machine says.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    You're already at a healthy weight, so your body isn't in a hurry to shed more. Water weight can mask losses (even just upping your workouts can do that - your body holds on to water for repair and recovery, more noticeable when you increase or change workouts - sounds like that's part of what you're seeing here).

    Are you weighing your foods, or just measuring? There can be a significant difference between the two, which has a bigger impact on your bottom line when you're so close to goal.

    Depends on what the food is.

    I do both measuring and weighing, but Im a lot more lax on the weighing.
    I only do it on meats or cheese, things like cereal I have always put into a measuring cup.

    But. Ive done it like that his whole time.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Makes sense.
    Now if only eating so little was easier.
  • KyliAnne26
    KyliAnne26 Posts: 209 Member
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    Your post in another thread about frequent binge eating:

    "Posting to keep track, I have the same problem!
    I over ate by 900 calories last night. I have serious self control issues.

    I make it to about 9PM as well, and tell myself the same excuses of restarting tomorrow or next week.

    I eat small meals low calorie during the day to have calories left over for night.....Im not sure if thats a good or bad thing.
    But its been helping a little. "

    - - could this be the problem? If this is happening often, It's easy to see how this could be sabotaging your weight loss. Also, your diary isn't open to the public, so we can't see what you're eating to help make suggestions.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Your post in another thread about frequent binge eating:

    "Posting to keep track, I have the same problem!
    I over ate by 900 calories last night. I have serious self control issues.

    I make it to about 9PM as well, and tell myself the same excuses of restarting tomorrow or next week.

    I eat small meals low calorie during the day to have calories left over for night.....Im not sure if thats a good or bad thing.
    But its been helping a little. "



    - - could this be the problem? If this is happening often, It's easy to see how this could be sabotaging your weight loss. Also, your diary isn't open to the public, so we can't see what you're eating to help make suggestions.

    I exercised off those calories today at the gym. :B
    But yes, I have serious self control issues.
    I was over again tonight.....

    Im stuck in a loop of exercising off binges lately.

    It wasnt always like that.
    I never had this problem UNTIL I lowered my calories this low since Im close to goal.
    Even if I have my day planned out and have a great day, I shove food in my mouth.
    It makes me want to give up.

    But that persons post about there being less room for error when you get lower down definitely shows me it is the problem.
    Because I've been getting away with it until now.

    And oh, really?
    I could have sworn my diary was open. One second.

    EDIT: Whoops no, it was friends only. Public now.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Would giving up be bad? Lol.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    Are you unhappy with the scale or mirror? If mirror maybe add strength training to help lower body fat %? Lift heavy! Look into New Rules if lifting for women or starting strength. :)

    edit to add- I mainly meant the number on the scale means very little. What you see is much more important.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Are you unhappy with the scale or mirror? If mirror maybe add strength training to help lower body fat %? Lift heavy! Look into New Rules if lifting for women or starting strength. :)

    Both, haha.
    I still feel like I look so chunky and theres so much fat left on my body that you can not only see but grab handfuls of.
    Ive tried lifting but my gym membership expires soon and I cant renew it & weights are SO expensive.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    Are you unhappy with the scale or mirror? If mirror maybe add strength training to help lower body fat %? Lift heavy! Look into New Rules if lifting for women or starting strength. :)

    Both, haha.
    I still feel like I look so chunky and theres so much fat left on my body that you can not only see but grab handfuls of.
    Ive tried lifting but my gym membership expires soon and I cant renew it & weights are SO expensive.

    Maybe you could find a deal on a bench and weights on Craigslist? I've never looked myself but I know there's tons of deals on their on occasion. Maybe dumbell routines or body weight exercises too could help?
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Maybe. I'm starting to think weightloss isn't for me.
  • andysmom
    andysmom Posts: 61 Member
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    Your ticker says you've lost 50 pounds. Now you're having trouble with the last 4 - 8 pounds so you think weight loss isn't for you? I'd say you've been very successful. Those last pounds may take a very long time and maybe never go away. The thing to focus on now is how to eat healthfully in a way that you can maintain. Eat for maintenance for a while, give your body a chance to adjust to the new lower weight, keep working out and if in two months, you're still not happy with where you are, try cutting calories a bit to see if you can get your body to drop some more. This may be your final weight - but strength training can still enhance your shape. Good luck. Don't give up! You've come a long ways.
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    It's mostly in response to my sudden binging that is anywhere from 200-900 calories over a night.
    It makes me really discouraged and realize I may not be able to do this for the rest of my life. ( maintaining that is )
    I've come so far yes. But the feeling is so bittersweet.
  • SnowWillow
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    Yes giving up would be bad. Especially if you have come so close to your goal weight. Ok. I took a look at your diary for today. All I see is some egg whites for breakfast, a lunch and all you did was snack the rest of your calories. Weight loss is more about food than exercise and it's the hardest thing to change. Heck, I'm still working on it myself. I don't know what you did in your day today but here is my advice (no judgment here. Just observations).

    1) eat a bigger breakfast. 46 calories for your first meal of the day is diddly squat. It should be near 200-300 calories. The higher the protein count the better. It will keep you fuller longer. I do see you usually eat cereal during the week though, not bad.

    2) Eat lunch and eat dinner too. You seem to skip lunch a lot and then snack snack snack.

    3) 2 (maybe 3) snacks a day at around 100 calories each. 800 calories (over half) of snacking. That could be spent on bigger meals and will likely keep you satisfied longer.

    4) 9.5 cups of popcorn has got to stop.

    5) stop eating your workouts. While in the beginning this was ok and some days you may need to eat a few more than the goal they give you, now that you are down to the last stubborn pounds you need the deficit.

    6) start strength training, like others have said. Find a good deal on craigslist. There are lots of workouts online on youtube. You can even find everyday people taping themselves doing P90X if you can't afford to buy the program yourself. Or find new cardio routines online.

    7) Consider working out more than just 2 days a week. Try putting it back up to losing 1 lb a week. it will still take you 8 weeks to lose those last 8 lbs. Nothing wrong with that.

    Sometimes if you keep doing what you always did the body just gets used to it and you plateau. Now it's time to revamp and rework what you were doing. Change it up. Good luck!
  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
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    Thanks. I definitely like how you listed that out.

    As far as why my meals are so small. I suppose it's because I'm trying to not go over at night when I binge. I'm basically trying to save the calories.

    Staying full doesn't matter as I shove food into myself even if I am full.

    It's really upsetting. But in going to lower my goal and try to stick it out.
    This way at least I can get it done faster and be able to up to maintenance.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    I think you should just go to maintenance at your goal weight now. Skip on ahead! You'll be great, and the lbs will slowly, slowly come off to fit that maintenance level. Go on and go off the diet :D Move on to the part you are waiting for and let your body catch up on its own time. It will.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    Just flipped through a bit of your diary and noticed that you eat basically nothing for meals (2 egg whites for bfast and thats it? Come on...). You are afraid to eat during the day because you know you will binge at night. But you're binging because you're hungry because you're starving yourself during the day. Perhaps if you actually ate meals, balanced with a variety of foods, you wouldnt feel the need to gorge at night and you could stick to one or two yummy snacks. So add some bread or potatoes (homemade hashbrown yum!) and bacon, ham or sausages to those eggs. Eat lunch AND dinner! And have a bowl of pudding or something else you like in the evening.

    I dont think its that weight loss isnt for you, its that you need to teach yourself how to eat properly. Losing the weight is only a bit of the battle. The rest is changing your mindset, facing your fears, and learning how to feed yourself for the rest of your life.

    It gets easier the more you practice.