difficult to lose weight for body type. help please!

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eg2012squared
eg2012squared Posts: 2
in Motivation and Support
Hi, I need some advice for my situation. I am about 5-5' tall, and weight about 136 pounds. I'm still in high school, but will not give away my age. My situation is that I am on a healthy diet of about 1300 calories a day (I don't want to go less than that because that would be unhealthy for my age), but I have a very athletic build. I love excercising at do it daily, but I have the blessing/curse of getting muscles fast. This is really good for athletics because after a few days of lifting my body has become more physically toned, but I also weigh a lot as a result. I don't have too much fat on me, but there is some. Anyways, my problem is that I don't want to lose tone, but I find that when I stop lifting weights or running so often I actually lose weight. I want to keep excercising, but I haven't made much progress in weight loss. I suppose I'm being impatient...I've only been on this diet for close to a month, but I have friends who can drop weight so quickly and its very frustrating. My goal weight is 128 pounds, which I feel is the ideal weight for my body type. Im hoping I can keep muscle, because it is part of who I am, but I want to weigh less. Is there any way? By the way, I eat a well balanced diet with plenty of protein, fruits, and veggies, and I drink milk :) Thanks to all who give advice!

Replies

  • foxfirekenzie
    foxfirekenzie Posts: 244 Member
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    This may sound cruel, BUT GET OVER HOW MUCH YOU WEIGH!!!

    If you feel good at the size you are, with muscles or without, who gives a care what the scale says? No one that sees you walking down the street can tell how much you weigh, but they can see how much space you take up in the world. People get so hung up on the number on the cursed scale that they become overwhelmed with fitness and weight loss, when really, we should be concerned with MASS LOSS instead.

    I say ditch the idea of using the scale to measure your success, for most, it is a poor representation of that, rather use a measuring tape or those jeans you used to fit into but can't at the moment as your base for success.

    Good for you for being active and fit! Don't beat yourself up over the scale reading, especially if you are fast at building muscle.
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    If you are 136 at 5'5 and with a lot of muscle, then you are probably at the ideal weight since a more muscled person will weigh more than someone not as muscled of the same size. That being said, with you being in hs and being an athlete, 1300 calories sounds pretty low. That is less than my BMR at a barely healthy weight of 130 and I am about 5 inches shorter than you.
  • starlitesue
    starlitesue Posts: 38
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    Don't forget that muscle weighs more than fat. If you are a muscular person then you may weight more than the stupid charts say you should. The BMI charts actually don't really work for body builders (some of whom are in great shape, but are considered overweight according to the chart).

    Also muscle burns more calories on a daily basis (at rest) than fat does.

    I would suggest you not use weight as a bench mark, instead take your measurements. So instead of trying to lose weight, try to lose inches. Don't worry so much about what the scale says.

    Also if you are working out really hard you may want to consider eating the calories you burn, so your body doesn't go below 1300 net calories.

    Good Luck!
  • erinplouzek
    erinplouzek Posts: 3
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    I second what FoxFire said about forgetting about weight and just do what feels healthy...and just as an FYI, 136 is a target weight for your height.
  • ECoursey
    ECoursey Posts: 3
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    I would suggest trying to do interval running or tabata workouts. Get your heart rate up and then down for a few seconds and then back up again. If you are at a stand still on your weight, make sure to change up your workouts. Muscle confusion is a great way to go. Also like the other post said, if you feel good, don't worry what other people think or could possibly think.
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
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    You're athletic, muscular, at the peak of your physical capacities. You say yourself you only have little fat. I know it's hard to accept, but: CONGRATULATIONS!

    The only thing is that you're probably eating too little, and are putting your body under some stress by training with insufficient fuel. What I'd suggest is that you start thinking of food as exactly that: fuel. And you could start learning about (sports) nutrition -- there are a lot of resources out there. Treat your body right, fuel it right, and you'll have a long time of enjoying the benefits before you.
  • shanolap
    shanolap Posts: 1,204 Member
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    I fit your body type exactly! While I'm a long way from highschool, I have always had this same "problem". Even though I weigh more than my peers, I wear a smaller size overall. Just go with it and be happy that you are strong!

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