Need Advice

csutherby10
csutherby10 Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
I am new here and could use some advice. I am a 56 year old female and I am 5 feet 5 inches tall and weigh 136 pounds. I have been on a diet for about 9 months now. And I have lost 30 pounds but for the last 2 months I have not lost anything. I go to the gym 6 days a week twice a day. I do a hour of cardio in the morning and at lunch I do a hour of weights. I try to eat at least 1100 calories a day. My problem is I find it very hard to eat that many calories and there are many days that I only manage to eat 600 to 700 calories. How do I get my calorie count up? And is this why I am no longer losing weight?

Replies

  • Yourwantyourwill
    Yourwantyourwill Posts: 1
    You've reached a plateau. I would suggest changing your exercise routine. If your gym offers aerobics or an aerobic/resistant training mix, try one of those.

    As far as your calories, you should try to reach your calorie count for the day. Your body may be in starvation mode because you are exercising to burn calories but you're not bringing in calories through your daily intake. Your body is holding on the body fat you have because it thinks you are in a time of famine. Eat your calories so you body will know it can continue to reduce your fat stores.

    The plateau won't be broken overnight, give it a week or two. If you'd like, I could view your food diary to give you further help.
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    Wow, first let me tell you how impressed I am by your diligent work outs! I'm 43, weight approx 136, and I'm 5'5" and I've lost over 40lbs in the last 8 months, so our stats are really similar. I too eat around 1100 cals and often find I end my day at 900 sometimes because I'm either not that hungry or I'm saving up for the weekend.

    I'm sure a lot of people are going to jump on and tell you to increase your calories, and with the amount you are working out you certainly have the room to do so. An easy way to get more calories is to increase your protein and fat. Are you using low fat, no fat items? If so, switch to regular. eg. I was eating low fat yogurt and now I'm eating the regular oikos greek yogurt. Same thing for sour cream. Adding in nuts and avocado to salads or using some coconut oil in your cooking all add more calories in a healthy way. Just be very careful to track everything. And on that note, are you religiously weighing and measuring absolutely everything that goes in your mouth? Is is possible you're eating more than you think? Sometimes after we've been on a diet for so long we start to guesstimate our food and stop weighing and measuring. And finally, when is the last time you've had a check-up? It never hurts to have blood work done just to make sure something medically isn't affecting your weight loss, thyroid, menopause etc.
  • csutherby10
    csutherby10 Posts: 3
    Thanks Everyone
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    You need to open up your diary and make it public, it's in the settings. I'd be happy to look at it and give you some suggestions. You could also send me a friend request and I'll be able to see it and you can have a look at mine. Last weekend I managed to go over my calories a couple days and so the past two days I've kept my calories low on purpose.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    I would suggest that you may not be eating enough (yes I'm one of those, and there are some people on here shorter than you and who weigh less than you and eat more than you to lose). Low calorie diets can lead to loss of muscle mass and at your age that would be a bad idea.

    That said, to increase your calories, look for calorie dense foods such as avocados, nuts, cheese, eggs, don't use low fat anything, use ranch dressing on salads, dark chocolate or even some ice cream (yay treats!). If you're cooking veggies, be sure to use some oil when cooking them. Add bacon to sandwiches and salads, etc.
  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
    I'm 5'5" and I know 136 is in the normal range for weight so I'm confused about why you are trying to lose more. It sounds like you are at a healthy weight for your size and it's likely your body just doesn't have anything more to lose which is why you aren't seeing a change. If you aren't happy with how your body looks, perhaps focusing on changing your body fat percentage and muscle tone through strength training might be better.
  • handyrunner
    handyrunner Posts: 32,662 Member
    I agree with everyone else on their suggestions about increase in fat and protien...try protien smoothies. that would also be a quick way to get some cals in..

    good luck!
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Wow, that doesn't sound like a fun way to live at all. Please see a doctor.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    how much more weight are you trying to lose?

Categories