I'm Stuck! The weight won't leave! Please Help!

babycakes732
babycakes732 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi. I am 27yrs old and currently weigh between 196-198 and 5'6". My waist is a 34.5' but I have belly bulge from 3 kids. My desired weight would be 140-160, which was my weight about 7 yrs ago, prior to child #2. I work out at least 3-4 times a week doing intense zumba, squats, ab workouts, cardio, etc. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but my weight will not budge. I was doing herbalife program, but only lost 4lbs in a couple months. It became too expensive so I quit. Now I still drink Fitmiss protein shakes and try to maintain high protein foods. I'm always exceeding my goal for calorie burn, but I'm not seeing results. I have slip ups sometimes with my diet, but for the most part, I stay within my daily calorie goal. I was eating 1800 cal on herbalife then decreased to approx. 1300-1500. Now I've increased to 1650 after doing some googliing. I thought I may be over-exercising so I've decreased my calorie burn from 900-1300 cal and try to stay under 800. Can someone please give me some advice. I'm getting very discouraged right about now.

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    sorry for double post
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    It helps if you give things time, and don't randomly switch up exercise routines and calorie goals. Any new change can throw your balances off. Just choose a plan and stick with it for 4-6 weeks before deciding it's not working.

    Have you read this? http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • kwaz29
    kwaz29 Posts: 190 Member
    Are you consistently burning 900-1300 calories a workout? That seems very extreme! How are you coming up with those numbers?
  • babycakes732
    babycakes732 Posts: 6
    Thanx! I'm gonna stick this routine out and re-evaluate at the end of August! lol
  • idmalone
    idmalone Posts: 66 Member
    To burn that many calories in a workout, I am guessing you are exercising for 90 mins at a stretch? (Obviously depending on what you do). So based on your calorie intake of around 1600 per day, and assuming you move around a lot with 3 kids, I think the simplest answer is you are not eating enough. It is possible your body thinks you are starving and is holding on to every little bit of stored energy it can. Also it is possible your nutrition is way off. If you can afford it, consult a nutritionist, to get some input into what you should be eating. Not every calorie is the same yada yada.

    I am not an expert but I do know that once I actually got a nutritionist to work up an individual plan for me, everything changed dramatically and I am dropping pounds like crazy, and I am eating way more calories than I had been previously. Also I cut back on the exercise to around 800 - 900 calorie burn per day.

    Keep your head in the game, it sounds like you have done an amazing job so far and you must be fit and healthy :)
  • babycakes732
    babycakes732 Posts: 6
    @kwaz29, I was burning that much, aiming for certain goals. I would do a couple miles on the elliptical, do zumba, then get on the treadmill until I hit the target. That would take about an hr and a half. 60 min of Zumba alone burns about 700+. I keep saying I don't have normal zumba instructors. They are beyond advanced/intense. I usually eat a protein bar or drink before I go, which helps burn more cals. I can tell the difference when I don't drink/eat prior to my workout. I have less energy and drive. I'm trying to slow down b/c I don't want the increased heart rate to affect my health.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    60 min of Zumba alone burns about 700+.

    I would wear a HRM before I assumed this to be true.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    60 min of Zumba alone burns about 700+.

    I would wear a HRM before I assumed this to be true.


    +1 Your calorie burns sound severely inflated.
  • nancybuss
    nancybuss Posts: 1,461 Member
    Sorry you're feeling stuck. Sounds like you're working out plenty so lets look at the nutrition and see what your body is doing.
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
    diet diet diet. youre eating too much
  • deviant_illusion
    deviant_illusion Posts: 32 Member
    Sounds like you need to take a close look at the way you track your calories both in an d out. My guess is you are off on both.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You're overestimating your calorie burns (even at 180 pounds, I never burned over 500 calories in one hour of Zumba) and probably eating too much.
  • babycakes732
    babycakes732 Posts: 6
    I do wear a HRM. Two different ones actually, and I get the same results. It gives me my heart rate along w/calories burned. I compared my results from both hrm w/the treadmill and it was pretty accurate. I spoke with others who are also in the class, as well as my instructors. My watches are accurate. Remember that calories burned differ based on weight and heart rate. I've done my research. Believe me.
  • babycakes732
    babycakes732 Posts: 6
    How could it be eating too much when I'm still in deficit and going according to the calorie intake calculator? I'm going to consult a nutritionist.
  • babycakes732
    babycakes732 Posts: 6
    Your body size and composition. The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest, per mayo clinic. Also, the fact that I'm constantly on the go from the moment I leave work to the moment I go to two daycares, maybe even the grocery store, home to feed kids, get dressed, then run out the door to get to the gym factors into the amount of calories burned.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    60 min of Zumba alone burns about 700+.

    I would wear a HRM before I assumed this to be true.


    +1 Your calorie burns sound severely inflated.

    Na, I think she's correct on the calorie burn based on her weight. 200 lbs. is going to net you close to 1000 calories for an hour of intense cardio work.

    I will say however that if you're not losing then there's an issue somewhere. Either you're over calculating exercise calories or your not logging all your food correctly. You should be able to drop weight fairly easy if you're still that much over your goal weight. The other possible answer is that your BMR is set too high. Drop your calories down 250 - 500 a day and see what that does.

    There's nothing wrong with burning through a ton of calories on your workouts. I hit just over 1,000 this morning in 58 minutes and I'll just about double that Sunday morning. Just make sure you're getting enough nutrition. You don't need to lose more than a pound a week in my opinion. Too much too soon isn't healthy.
  • eels4peels
    eels4peels Posts: 229 Member
    How do you measure your food? Do you weigh it out? My guess is you're eating more calories than you think. I was stalled for the longest time, bought a $13 scale and started weighing everything and broke through.
  • Adaniel65
    Adaniel65 Posts: 105 Member
    How do you measure your food? Do you weigh it out? My guess is you're eating more calories than you think. I was stalled for the longest time, bought a $13 scale and started weighing everything and broke through.

    What scale did you get and where did you buy it? I want one that's accurate but not expensive.

    Sorry for hijacking the post...
  • eels4peels
    eels4peels Posts: 229 Member
    How do you measure your food? Do you weigh it out? My guess is you're eating more calories than you think. I was stalled for the longest time, bought a $13 scale and started weighing everything and broke through.

    What scale did you get and where did you buy it? I want one that's accurate but not expensive.

    Sorry for hijacking the post...

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006WBW356/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
  • justformel
    justformel Posts: 193 Member
    If you open your diary, we could take a look at that and see if we could find an issue. I agree with waffle, try dropping your intake a few hundred calories a day and see if that helps.
  • nojuliefx
    nojuliefx Posts: 5 Member
    Note that the HRM estimate of calories burned most likely includes your BMR caloric burn for however long you exercised for. If you use Polar this is the case. Thus you would need to divide your BMR by 24 to get your hourly BMR and adjust your exercise calories based on this info.
  • cchatman74
    cchatman74 Posts: 8 Member
    It looks like you are doing a lot of cardio. Have you tried to use weights. It's my understanding that buidling muscle will help not only tone, but burn extra calories.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
    I'd still be conservative with the calorie burn, and err on the side of not burning as much as you might think. I walk my dogs three miles a day, do the stepmill for 30-45 and elliptical about another 25 for about two hours if total exercise a day and still do not believe I burn about 948 cals a day (even tho that's what mine comes out to). Even on long run days, the only time I think I probably burn that much is when I do a 13-15 mile run on weekends.

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