What am I doing wrong?

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rosesalvo970
rosesalvo970 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I am needing some help losing weight. I am a 29 year old woman that weighs 143 pounds. Most of my weight and fat is in my belly region. I want to lose it and be down into the 120's soon. I was wondering if you guys on here could help me and give me some tips and advice on my normal daily routine.

I wake up every morning at 5 a.m. and exercise. I used to jog 30 minutes each morning and burn about 500 calories but I started two days ago doing the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred program level one to see if something different would help. I really like Jillian's shred program with only doing it for two days so far I will say I love it so far. I only burn about 250 calories doing the roughly 30 minute video but I feel it working all body parts of mine which is good.

After I work out in the morning I eat a Kellogg's Special K protein bar with a cup of 2% white milk for breakfast. For my mid morning snack I eat a banana. For lunch I normally have a homemade salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, Kraft 2% Colby and Monterey Jack shredded cheese with light ranch dressing. For my afternoon snack I eat more fruit like grapes, strawberries or an apple. I eat supper early most nights around 5:30. I normally eat just a plain grilled chicken breast or steamed shrimp or something similar. I don't eat anything else after supper until breakfast the next morning. I also drink a gallon of water each day. At the end of each day I complete my fitness pal log and I always eat between 1150-1200 calories each day so I get pretty much the required 1200 calories each day.

My question is am I doing anything bad? What can I do better? I really want to lose weight and get more fit and toned. I also would really like to lose my belly fat. I think if I keep up the 30 shred program with Jillian that it will eventually come off.

Any advice or recommendations would be helpful. Thanks so much!

Replies

  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    To lose 18 lbs., set your goal to .5 lb. per week—which is way more than 1,150 calories. Log everything you eat & drink accurately & honestly. Weigh everything you eat—even packaged foods.

    Read the Sexypants post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    You should eat more.

    1. MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

    Go to

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    and enter your height/weight/activity level.

    Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Other than your diet being very restrictive, I don't see anything you're doing "wrong". Are you NETTING around 1200 each day? As in, eating back your exercise calories?

    Eta: you could definitely eat more and lose more slowly while retaining muscle. I don't think 1200 is the Uber evil that some make it out to be, but if you only have 15 lbs or so to lose, you'll likely have a better end result if you go slower to avoid the skinny fat look at the end.
  • rosesalvo970
    rosesalvo970 Posts: 6
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    My goal is 1200 calories. I normally eat around 1150 calories and burn about 250 calories doing exercises so my net is around 600 or 700 daily. Myfitnesspal page says I normally have between 300 to 500 calories remaining. Do I need to be doing something different or increasing my calories to actually lose weight? Thanks
  • casieisfit
    casieisfit Posts: 2
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    Hi! Just out of curiosity, what is your total protein and sugar consumption at the end of the day? The reason that I ask is because I only use to just look at total calories burned and consumed each day. However, I payed no mind to my protein and sugar consumption including my total carbs. When I have training days (which is 6 days a week) I keep in mind that I need to consume less sugar related fruits and focus on my protein intake. I also look at the type of carbs that I am eating. When I began to do that, I noticed a BIG change in my muscle tone and my belly area. I also started losing inches and weight. Hope that helps.

    Smiles,
    Casie
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    My goal is 1200 calories. I normally eat around 1150 calories and burn about 250 calories doing exercises so my net is around 600 or 700 daily. Myfitnesspal page says I normally have between 300 to 500 calories remaining. Do I need to be doing something different or increasing my calories to actually lose weight? Thanks
    If your goal is 1,200 calories and you burn 250 calories, then you must eat 1,450 calories.

    As I said above, your deficit is already built into your calorie goal. VCLD (netting 600–700 calories) will not get you to your goal.
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
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    I wouldn't recommend doing anything intense in the morning before eating. You are basically working out on a fast, which means your body is already metabolizing fat stores for energy at that point. If you do an intense workout in that state you will end up metabolizing muscle at a faster rate. A simple medium pace walk in the morning would be appropriate in the morning. A more intense exercise towards the mid or end of the day can help push your body to start metabolizing fat earlier in the night.

    That said how long have you been doing this for? You need to give any new fitness plan at least a month to start seeing some progress especially if you weigh less than 200 lb's. Consistency is the most important aspect of any diet/fitness routine. Make sure you log and weigh your foods every time you eat.
  • amandaziegler
    amandaziegler Posts: 3 Member
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    I won't claim to be any kind of an expert, but I tend to question your 500 calorie burn from 30 minutes of jogging. I weigh just a shade more than you, a few years older, and this morning I ran a 6mph pace for and hour and 15 minutes and I only burned around 800. I realize everyone is different, but I have to wonder, are you maybe overestimating your calorie burn? As for how many calories you consume, I'll steer clear of that. Everyone's body is so vastly different, but personally I get pretty hangry on only 1200 calories regardless of exercise or not.
  • UmmSqueaky
    UmmSqueaky Posts: 715 Member
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    If a woman is a shorty and you don't have that much to lose, 1200 calories may be all you can eat to lose half a pound a week. Once I get down to 140, 1200 will be 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound a week.

    As to what you're doing wrong, why are you thinking you're doing something wrong? Definitely hit that 1200 calories a day, and eat back at least half your exercise calories. MFP is notorious for overestimating your calorie burn for exercise. You probably won't be down into the 120s "soon" depending on your definition of soon. Since you don't have a lot to lose, the weight will come off slowly.

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