What am I doing wrong? Advice needed!

I may be clueless because I don't count calories, but I believe it IS still possible without doing so. My portions aren't big, and my exercise is consistent...Perhaps I'm looking for advice about exercise more so than food intake.

I understand that you don't want to count calories, but by not doing so, how do you know how much you are actually eating? I had a friend who constantly claimed she wasn't losing weight because she didn't eat enough...until I told her to count her calories. Turns out, she was eating far more than she thought she was.

Dieting is 85% food intake. Excercise is GREAT...moving is AWESOME...but sometimes we, especially women, tend to eat more simply because we have exercised, so we think we can.

If you are serious about losing weight, count your calories...at least for a few weeks. With MFP, it really isn't that difficult. Once you figure out what you're intake really is, then you can determine what you need to change in order to be successful.

Good luck! :flowerforyou:

1200 calories is a minimum! if you are working out and strength training, be sure you are eating at least 1400 calories or your body will use muscle for energy. Also, have you had your body fat % checked? If you are strength training and not losing, perhaps you are building muscle. You can lost fat & gain muscle, which is what you want in the long run. Are your clothes fitting differently?

Check the types of foods you are eating. be sure you are eating enough protein (about 70% of your weight in grams of protein per day) and get rid of the processed carbs like Special K! Switch to steal cut oats for breakfast and quinoa in place of brown rice. What types of fats are you eating? Your body needs healthy fats, such as nut butters and avocado. Are you adding butter and mayo to your foods?
If you are eating clean, with protein and healthy carbs and fats, you don't need to rely on calories.

But do you know how many calories you are burning when you exercise? Are you using a heart rate monitor? If you are exercising you will need to know how many calories you are eating so you can know how many calories you need to burn and what your calorie deficient is. Let me tell you, if you plan to exercise I suggest you use a heart rate monitor. Reasoning being no matter the calculator you use it will never be completely accurate. Even when you put in your exercise into MFP. The amount of calories you are burning depend on you weight, and sex, and also how hard you are working out. Two people can do the exact same exercise at the exact same time and one person can burn double what the other burns just by maintaining a higher heart rate and striving to do so through the workout. It is tough to count calories, but it can help you so much if you at least do it for awhile so you have somewhat of an eye for how much you are intaking.

I do have a question.....how long have you been working out? When you start working out and your body isn't used to something it can take some time (2-4 weeks) for your muscles to adjust. The muscles can swell and make it tough to see results in the beginning.

1200 calories is a minimum! if you are working out and strength training, be sure you are eating at least 1400 calories or your body will use muscle for energy. Also, have you had your body fat % checked? If you are strength training and not losing, perhaps you are building muscle. You can lost fat & gain muscle, which is what you want in the long run. Are your clothes fitting differently?

Check the types of foods you are eating. be sure you are eating enough protein (about 70% of your weight in grams of protein per day) and get rid of the processed carbs like Special K! Switch to steal cut oats for breakfast and quinoa in place of brown rice. What types of fats are you eating? Your body needs healthy fats, such as nut butters and avocado. Are you adding butter and mayo to your foods?
If you are eating clean, with protein and healthy carbs and fats, you don't need to rely on calories.

At her height and weight, 1400 calories would not be enough for all the cardio and weight training.

You might try separating your carb rich meals from your fat rich meals (relatively speaking "rich"). The body's response to insulin is pretty interesting. If the bloodstream is flooded all the time with insulin, the cells start to become resistant and more insulin goes into the system.

" In a perfect situation, glucose from carbohydrates gets cleared rapidly. However, when there is insulin resistance, this does not happen, and sustained high glucose levels become a problem. Insulin resistance can be due to a problem with the shape of the insulin (preventing receptor binding), not having enough insulin receptors, signaling problems, or glucose transporters not working properly. Whatever the specific cause, the function of insulin is impaired.

Insulin resistance develops before type 2 diabetes is diagnosed. To make up for less effective insulin, the pancreas works overtime to increase insulin output. Eventually, some of the insulin works and blood sugar levels remain normal for a while. As insulin resistance worsens and the pancreas cannot keep up with the demand, glucose levels begin to rise and diabetes is diagnosed when levels get too high.

How Insulin Affects Fat Metabolism

Carbohydrate and fat metabolism are closely connected and both influenced by insulin. If insulin is not working properly, problems can occur. For example, high levels of insulin can send the wrong signals to the brain. These signals tell the brain that there is excess insulin and that your cells are starving for glucose. So in response, your brain creates cravings for carbohydrates, signals your body to store fat, and orders carbs to be burned for energy rather than body fat. This is why weight loss can be difficult when you have type 2 diabetes.

Insulin also plays a key role in the development of high triglyceride levels:

In the Liver: Insulin stimulates the creation and storage of glycogen from glucose. High insulin levels cause the liver to get saturated with glycogen. When this happens, the liver resists further storage. Glucose is used instead to create fatty acids that are converted into lipoproteins and released into the bloodstream. These break down into free fatty acids and are used in other tissues. Some tissues use these to create triglycerides.

In Fat Cells: Insulin stops the breakdown of fat and prevents the breakdown of triglycerides into fatty acids. When glucose enters these cells, it can be used to create a compound called glycerol. Glycerol can be used along with the excess free fatty acids from the liver to make triglycerides. This can cause triglycerides to build up in the fat cells.

Normal function: Insulin stops the breakdown of fat and stimulates the creation of fat under the right circumstances.
Impaired function: High insulin levels can signal for less fat loss and more fat storage.

Normal function: Insulin regulates the formation of fat from simple sugars, which can eventually become triglycerides.
Impaired function Triglycerides levels increase inappropriately.

Normal function: Insulin stimulates protein synthesis (creation), which affects muscle growth.
Impaired function: You may have difficulty building muscle."
Quote from and reviewed by a board certified physician: http://diabetes.about.com/od/whatisdiabetes/a/How-Insulin-Works-In-The-Body.htm

Thanks for all the advice!!

For those who asked- I've been consistently working out, and eating healthy for around a month now. I've lost 2 lbs, and 3.5 inches. I'm starting to notice little changes, but I guess I'm looking to the scale for encouragement.

Lastly, what does OP mean?? Do I want to know? lol

.5 pounds per week actually isn't bad progress. It's on the slow side, but a loss is a loss.

I may be clueless because I don't count calories, but I believe it IS still possible without doing so. My portions aren't big, and my exercise is consistent...Perhaps I'm looking for advice about exercise more so than food intake.

I felt/thought the same way at first.... then i didn't lose any weight. I found MFP in Jan and by the middle of Jan i started counting calories and i lost 4 lbs by the end of the month... another 6 pounds this Feb. and that's hardly doing any workouts like i had done in Dec. 6 x a week. Now that i've got my intake under control i'm starting back working out 6 x a week. Each person is different, what works for one may not always work for another but i'm really glad i started counting my calories because is has made a HUGE difference for me. Best wishes

annnnndddd.... lol, i swear last post because i see others mentioning portions. I didn't realize how much i was actually eating, my portions were huge. Instead of 1 bagel, i have half, instead of two burgers, i eat 1, you get the idea, your stomach gets smaller and i eat 6 times a day. Now instead of still feeling hungry after eating a bagel, i am FULL on just half. It makes all the difference cutting portions. I'm just really beginning, and i've struggled a lot over the past 12 weeks but i'm finally where i need to be to give it my all. Wishing you the best!!! If you need a buddy, send me a friend request, we can both stay motivated!