I must be doing something wrong..

KieraKittie
KieraKittie Posts: 8
edited September 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm trying to lose weight a safe way this time around, I am 5'9" around 230 pounds, I walk the treadmill 6-7 (might miss a day) days a week for 30mins once or twice I might get caught up in a tv show and walk an hour. I also do 2 sets of 50 crunches and lift hand held weights with my arms pretty much every night. just small sets like 30 with each arm one way then 30 times another. Other then that im pretty lazy, video games and house work. Occasional day of Geocaching.. etc. I stay within 1300 calories. I feel I should be losing more weight then what I have, should I cut back more calories or exercise more? I try to avoid junk food, drink 1 can of lemonade a day and water the rest Guess its hard to pinpoint how many pounds Iv lost since I started, Iv been at my parents for the month of December, and made some mistakes when figuring all this out but weighing myself it seems iv only lost a couple pounds, like 3 or 4..

Replies

  • SafariLara
    SafariLara Posts: 172
    just keep it up! and DONT cut any more calories! You could actually probably go for a couple hundred more calories in a day. Weight loss is a slow thing, especially if you want to keep the weight off, so sometimes you just need to be patient with yourself. Give it a little while longer and if results still seem too slow, then mix it up a bit

    good luck!
  • MyWishfulShrinking
    MyWishfulShrinking Posts: 56
    Don't do the same 50 crunches and weights every single day! Your muscles need rest. You should pick up a strength routine. The Women's Health Big Book of Exercise got me into weights, and it has very good information, I suggest checking it out.
  • dmf2103
    dmf2103 Posts: 1
    I agree -- keep it up, and don't get discouraged. I also think you shouldn't reduce calories any more, maybe try a little more vigorous exercise (I don't know how fast you're walking, or if hills or anything) or just a little longer, like 40 minutes. Just push yourself a little, what's 10 more minutes? You also didn't say how long you've been doing this exercise/food plan -- 3-4 pounds would be GREAT progress for a few weeks! And no matter what the scale says, exercising more is good for almost everyone. Good luck!
  • loxleys
    loxleys Posts: 230 Member
    are you eating enough net calories? you should eat at least 1200 net calories a day - according to other threads on here - otherwise your body goes into starvation mode!
    I was finding it hard to lose weight and was told that I wasn't eating enough - I started eating more and then xmas came around so my results have been a big gain! hopefully i'm back on track now.
  • KieraKittie
    KieraKittie Posts: 8
    I agree -- keep it up, and don't get discouraged. I also think you shouldn't reduce calories any more, maybe try a little more vigorous exercise (I don't know how fast you're walking, or if hills or anything) or just a little longer, like 40 minutes. Just push yourself a little, what's 10 more minutes? You also didn't say how long you've been doing this exercise/food plan -- 3-4 pounds would be GREAT progress for a few weeks! And no matter what the scale says, exercising more is good for almost everyone. Good luck!

    I started towards the last week of November with small exercises but really started the calorie watching around the first of the month. The treadmill is at an incline Im not sure what it is set at, when i came down to visit family my brother simply told me not to adjust it so I haven't lol. I started out at the first of the month at only walking at a 2.0 pace, but now I go 2.5 - 3.0. I start at 2.5 to warm up then 3.0 after bout 5 mins till the last 2 mins and slow it down. I know 30 mins at 2.5 - 3.0 burns around 340 calories give or take a few.
  • Doc_1967
    Doc_1967 Posts: 32 Member
    Something that has worked for me is to eat more often. I stay within my target calories (2000), but I try to each something every 3 hours, whether I'm hungry or not. I'm told that this speeds up your metabolism causing your body to burn more calories. It has worked for me and you definately workout more than I do. They say it's like a wood burning stove in that it is better to add a stick of wood every now and then to keep the fire going than to load up the stove, then let it die out, then fill it again.
  • MrsSeaShell
    MrsSeaShell Posts: 190
    If you are eating only 1300 cals and then burning 340, your NET calories are only 960, which is bad, very bad, I would suggest slowly upping your calories ( i know it sounds whack but if you body thinks it's starving, it holds on to fat) so that you are netting 1200, If you search the threads there are many people who were eating too few calories, and are actually loosing more weight by eating MORE!! Good Luck!
  • AdamATGATT
    AdamATGATT Posts: 573 Member
    1) Vary your workout. Give your muscles some time to recoup after workout out. You may also want to try some more interval training on the treadmill. Don't go one pace the entire time. Change it up a little. Incline, speed, etc.

    2) You most likely need to be eating a little more. It really depends on how hard you are working out. I used to tell people this all the time...but, there is a lot of truth to it. I've been on a nasty plateau since Thanksgiving, and I decided to keep up my workout over Christmas, but to increase my calorie intake a little more by having a few tasty treats when I wanted them. If the scale at my in-laws house is any indicator, I have lost almost two pounds over the last few days here by eating more!* I'm still under my calorie limit of 1970 calories per day, usually by a few hundred calories, but it is definitely over my net calorie score when it was down in the 1300-range a few weeks ago. My body could not handle that. It needed more. Now that I have actually fed it, I'm losing weight again.



    * Yes, I am aware that different scales may have different weights. I weighed myself the morning I left my house on my own scale, and weighed myself the next morning on my in-laws scale to get a baseline. When I weighed myself again a few days later, I was down close to two pounds over the previous weight recorded on that scale.
  • KittMahan
    KittMahan Posts: 106
    Just two quick tips Keira... You may get better results if you vary your diet around the target calorie count rather than stay at it all the time. our bodies become very adept at conserving energy based upon the caloric intake, and will adapt to a continuous level. So, for instance, you might do better to have a 1000 calorie day, a 1600 calorie day, and the rest of the days of the week vary closely around 1300.

    Also, exercise seems to work the same way. You might do better if you change up your routine from day to day. Get your cardio on the treadmill four times per week, and through other forms of cardio exercise the other three days. Our bodies adapt to a routine and will save energy if you let it; you have to trick your body into thinking that every day is a different day.

    The others are also speaking wisdom, this is a way of life, not a diet. Keep at it and I'm certain you'll succeed :)
  • KieraKittie
    KieraKittie Posts: 8
    hmmmmm figured less would be a good thing. Does it matter what you eat? I have another week before Im headed home and will be able to keep track of what I eat better. My parents seem to like to eat out alot so I skip alot of meals with them while im here.

    Thanks for all the advise, Im going to have to put more thought into this it seems and see if I can figure something that works better
  • AdamATGATT
    AdamATGATT Posts: 573 Member
    hmmmmm figured less would be a good thing. Does it matter what you eat? I have another week before Im headed home and will be able to keep track of what I eat better. My parents seem to like to eat out alot so I skip alot of meals with them while im here.

    Whole foods as much as possible. Try to stay away from most anything processed. The less ingredients on the label the better. I'm not quite there following my own advice, but I've made steps towards it.
  • NBgnnngs
    NBgnnngs Posts: 13
    No one knows what tomorrow may bring. All we can do is wake up and do better than the day before.
  • SassyStef
    SassyStef Posts: 413
    A pound a week is a great accomplishment in loosing, if I read that right sounds like you are just about doing that. Try an interval routine on the treadmill. It should be a choice to choose, it will be a great work out to lower and raise your heart rate. Like 2 mins of fast pace, as fast as you can walk, then 2 or 3 mins of a slower walk.
    I do that sometimes when I run and, especially on they days I totally dont wanna be running and sometimes I feel like it is a better work out...
    I would change up the weight thing, try freetrainers.com you can specialize your work out and it gives picture and video sometimes of how to do a specific move. You can type in free weights only and it will give you a work out to do.
    Best of luck to you, sounds like you are doing great!!
    :happy:
  • KieraKittie
    KieraKittie Posts: 8
    Thank you all, suppose im just expecting more.. was alot faster when I simply stopped eating But yes its unhealthy and didn't last long. I wont give up!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Keep plugging along ..main thing is you need to really have a starting point and plan...when your with parents or people where your unable to track simply have a salad with dressing on the side..dont skip meals for me that was far worse than even indulging in a bigmac lol..just make small changes to your lifestyle otherwise it becomes a "diet" and not something that will stick for the long run.....good luck!
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