Need help losing the rest of this weight!

ayyyemanda
ayyyemanda Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum, not particularly myfitnesspal, I've been using that a year or so now. I've seem to hit a bump in the road. I started around a year and a half ago, being 5'2" and around 190 pounds. (My scale and the doctor's scale always says something different, so I'm just going off of mine since I use it more often.) After a year and a half I've managed to get my scale to fluctuate between 160-165. Which is a huge deal for me, but I still haven't lost as much as I would have liked to. When I was losing those 30 pounds, I never touched the treadmill. I only ever did ab-coasters and watched what I ate, which seemed to be enough. But now that I'm trying to get down to 140, I'm running on the treadmill and watching my diet. I'm not counting calories but I think that as little as I eat, that isn't the problem. When I run, I'm running from 30 minutes to an hour. I walk for 1:30, then sprint at 7 mph for 30 seconds. I repeat that until the 30 minutes are up, and when that's done, I walk 3 mph for the rest of the hour. I haven't lost a single pound since I started running, and it's really discouraging. I haven't seen the scale go below 160 at all. My goal is to lose about 20 more pounds in about 20 more weeks, so if anybody would give me tips to start losing 2 pounds a week, or at least tell me what I'm doing wrong, I would be forever grateful! Thanks :)

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    You lose weight by eating at a deficit. There's no way to know if you're eating at a deficit without logging your food. Period.

    Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. If you're still not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

    Edited to add that w/ only 20 lbs. to lose, 2 lbs. per week is unrealistic & unhealthy. Set your goal for .5 lb. per week.
  • ayyyemanda
    ayyyemanda Posts: 10
    Thanks! Will try doing that.
  • ayyyemanda
    ayyyemanda Posts: 10
    Also, would you happen to know how many calories are burned on a treadmill while running a certain time or speed, or a way to figure it out? The treadmill I use does have a calorie counter but I'm not sure if that's trustworthy or not.
  • kiwitechgirl
    kiwitechgirl Posts: 145 Member
    Heart rate monitor is the best way of working out calories burnt. The counter on the treadmill won't be as accurate!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    what editorgrrl said. You really need to log calories. But one thing I would suggest, I would keep cardio to around 3 days a week start to add in resistance training, even body weight exercise. Resistance training and protein will help with muscle retention which will help the body become more lean.

    If you exercise 3-4 hours a week, I would adjust your activity level to lightly active and not worry about exercise calories. If you exercise 5-6 hours a week, then make your account as active.
  • FirecrackerJess
    FirecrackerJess Posts: 276 Member
    I would invest in a heart rate monitor. It helped me, though I'm still struggling, but it helps. I was using the machines at my gym and they would say I burned X amount of calories, and when I tried it with my HRM that is more accurate than the machine, it was like 200 calories difference, the machine OVER estimates.

    From what you say, depending on what it is you are eating since small things can have high calories, I'm going to go with maybe you are not eating enough? Based with the workouts you say you are doing. But again, the only way to tell is really count and track the calories.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Also, would you happen to know how many calories are burned on a treadmill while running a certain time or speed, or a way to figure it out? The treadmill I use does have a calorie counter but I'm not sure if that's trustworthy or not.
    All of the calorie counts & burns are estimates. Some people reduce the margin of error by eating back 50% of their exercise calories.

    Everybody's different, and weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Also, would you happen to know how many calories are burned on a treadmill while running a certain time or speed, or a way to figure it out? The treadmill I use does have a calorie counter but I'm not sure if that's trustworthy or not.
    All of the calorie counts & burns are estimates. Some people reduce the margin of error by eating back 50% of their exercise calories.

    And this is why I believe HRM/BodyMedia are fairly worthless. At the end of the day, the algorithms can be off, especially if it's not set up correctly. HRM, media and cardio machines are generic estimates that can be off by as much as 40-50% for some.
  • ayyyemanda
    ayyyemanda Posts: 10
    Thanks for all your replies, guys. I really appreciate it. I'm going to try exercising a little longer per day, and recording my calories again. I'm also going to look for a HRM, and I'm going to be a bit more strict about what I'm putting in my body. Work and school can be stressful, so I've probably been slipping without even really noticing. I'll let y'all know how this works for me :)

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