Weight loss Help

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Makayla_Mitchell22
Makayla_Mitchell22 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

I am 19 and have been overweight for some time now.. I've been working on my weight since about June. I decided about 5 weeks ago to get serious and start losing weight. I work out 4-6 days a week and I do both cardio and weights. I dropped 8 pounds but I have been stuck here for weeks. Can anyone help me? I don't know what else to do or what I am doing wrong.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
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    What is your height/weight/goal weight? More importantly, how much are you eating? Weight loss is about calories in < calories out.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Let's start here: are you tracking your food intake? How many calories are you eating?
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Are you calorie counting? Losing weight is mostly about how many calories you eat.

    Please refer to this thread to learn how to get started:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    Open your diary. Start weighing your food if you're not already, measuring cups are not accurate for solid foods. You are probably eating more than you think.
  • Makayla_Mitchell22
    Makayla_Mitchell22 Posts: 4
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    I am 5'4 and weigh 177 right now. I would love to get down to 150, no specific time frame. I have been looking into how many calories I should be eating and I typically eat 1500-1700 a day and I never really feel hungry when I eat that many. I have recently started tracking my calories
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
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    How do you determine how much you're eating? Do you use a food scale or measuring cups, or do you just eyeball your portions? You're probably eating more than you think.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    The quick answer is that you have to take a good hard look at your eating habits. Losing weight is half what you eat and half exercise. Eating clean is the best way to lose those extra pounds. You can google it to find out what I mean but it is basically not eating anything that comes out of a box or can. Lean protein, like chicken, fish and turkey are the best and avoid fatty meats. Eat tons of vegetables but beware of those vegetables that can be processed into sugar, like carrots. Green vegetables are generally good. Don't get tempted into eating fast and quick things out of box or container. Only eat until you are satisfied. If you feel full or stuffed you probably ate too much. Too much of even good food is bad for you, learn portion control. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Drink lots of water and avoid sugary drinks like sodas, lemonades or sports drinks. Don't starve yourself or it will cause your body to go into survival mode and retain fat.

    Once you get your diet down, the next step is focusing on your exercise routine. I can't give you the best for you because everyone and everyone's body is different and reacts differently to certain routines. However, any exercise will burn calories, the trick is to burn much more calories than you put in and your body will lose weight. I always recommend a strength training routine along with cardio. Some people avoid weights as they feel that it will bulk them up when they want to get smaller. If you want to stay small and lean, do a light weight routine with higher repetitions. Women have less to worry about in this regard as their bodies don't grow muscle like men. However, pound for pound, women have as much leg muscle as men and a lot of leg workouts can bulk you up in the lower region.

    Finally, disregard the scale. The true test of weight loss is either using calipers and determining your BMI. Too many people focus on the scale, which is a bad idea for women as their weight can fluctuate radically for various reasons, much more than men. How does your close fit, are they getting loser in certain spots? That is a good sign you are losing weight as a scale is not overly accurate.

    Hope this helps, and good luck in your efforts. Keep the faith and keep pounding away. Sometimes your body just get used to what your doing and you have to shock it every now and then with something new.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    The quick answer is that you have to take a good hard look at your eating habits. Losing weight is half what you eat and half exercise. Eating clean is the best way to lose those extra pounds. You can google it to find out what I mean but it is basically not eating anything that comes out of a box or can. Lean protein, like chicken, fish and turkey are the best and avoid fatty meats. Eat tons of vegetables but beware of those vegetables that can be processed into sugar, like carrots. Green vegetables are generally good. Don't get tempted into eating fast and quick things out of box or container. Only eat until you are satisfied. If you feel full or stuffed you probably ate too much. Too much of even good food is bad for you, learn portion control. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Drink lots of water and avoid sugary drinks like sodas, lemonades or sports drinks. Don't starve yourself or it will cause your body to go into survival mode and retain fat.

    Personally, it seems like some of these tips just complicate the issue. It's entirely possible to lose weight while not eating clean. Plenty of us have experienced it. It's not a bad way to eat, but it's not absolutely necessary. Likewise it's not necessary to eat 5-6 times a day. Again, some people do really well eating like this, but it makes other people feel like gnawing their own arms off because they never feel full throughout the day. Again, it's entirely possible to lose weight without this.

    It's not that this is bad advice, it's just unneccesary advice. Start by tracking your food for several weeks. Sometimes it takes the body a week or two to catch up with what's happening and start releasing the weight. Get your logging as accurate as you can. A lot of us prefer food scales, but anything is better than eyeballing or guesstimating portion sizes. The little inaccuracies really add up throughout the day. But don't feel like you have to eat a perfect diet or cut out a bunch of foods in order to lose weight. Exercise for fitness in a way that meets your personal goals and eat enough to support that exercise.

    The Sexypants guide above is a great read. Some other helpful posts:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1235566/so-youre-new-here
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/819925/the-basics-don-t-complicate-it
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    The quick answer is that you have to take a good hard look at your eating habits. Losing weight is half what you eat and half exercise. Eating clean is the best way to lose those extra pounds. You can google it to find out what I mean but it is basically not eating anything that comes out of a box or can. Lean protein, like chicken, fish and turkey are the best and avoid fatty meats. Eat tons of vegetables but beware of those vegetables that can be processed into sugar, like carrots. Green vegetables are generally good. Don't get tempted into eating fast and quick things out of box or container. Only eat until you are satisfied. If you feel full or stuffed you probably ate too much. Too much of even good food is bad for you, learn portion control. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Drink lots of water and avoid sugary drinks like sodas, lemonades or sports drinks. Don't starve yourself or it will cause your body to go into survival mode and retain fat.

    Once you get your diet down, the next step is focusing on your exercise routine. I can't give you the best for you because everyone and everyone's body is different and reacts differently to certain routines. However, any exercise will burn calories, the trick is to burn much more calories than you put in and your body will lose weight. I always recommend a strength training routine along with cardio. Some people avoid weights as they feel that it will bulk them up when they want to get smaller. If you want to stay small and lean, do a light weight routine with higher repetitions. Women have less to worry about in this regard as their bodies don't grow muscle like men. However, pound for pound, women have as much leg muscle as men and a lot of leg workouts can bulk you up in the lower region.

    Finally, disregard the scale. The true test of weight loss is either using calipers and determining your BMI. Too many people focus on the scale, which is a bad idea for women as their weight can fluctuate radically for various reasons, much more than men. How does your close fit, are they getting loser in certain spots? That is a good sign you are losing weight as a scale is not overly accurate.

    Hope this helps, and good luck in your efforts. Keep the faith and keep pounding away. Sometimes your body just get used to what your doing and you have to shock it every now and then with something new.

    So much no in this post. :|

  • jennifurballs
    jennifurballs Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    kgeyser wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    The quick answer is that you have to take a good hard look at your eating habits. Losing weight is half what you eat and half exercise. Eating clean is the best way to lose those extra pounds. You can google it to find out what I mean but it is basically not eating anything that comes out of a box or can. Lean protein, like chicken, fish and turkey are the best and avoid fatty meats. Eat tons of vegetables but beware of those vegetables that can be processed into sugar, like carrots. Green vegetables are generally good. Don't get tempted into eating fast and quick things out of box or container. Only eat until you are satisfied. If you feel full or stuffed you probably ate too much. Too much of even good food is bad for you, learn portion control. Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Drink lots of water and avoid sugary drinks like sodas, lemonades or sports drinks. Don't starve yourself or it will cause your body to go into survival mode and retain fat.

    Once you get your diet down, the next step is focusing on your exercise routine. I can't give you the best for you because everyone and everyone's body is different and reacts differently to certain routines. However, any exercise will burn calories, the trick is to burn much more calories than you put in and your body will lose weight. I always recommend a strength training routine along with cardio. Some people avoid weights as they feel that it will bulk them up when they want to get smaller. If you want to stay small and lean, do a light weight routine with higher repetitions. Women have less to worry about in this regard as their bodies don't grow muscle like men. However, pound for pound, women have as much leg muscle as men and a lot of leg workouts can bulk you up in the lower region.

    Finally, disregard the scale. The true test of weight loss is either using calipers and determining your BMI. Too many people focus on the scale, which is a bad idea for women as their weight can fluctuate radically for various reasons, much more than men. How does your close fit, are they getting loser in certain spots? That is a good sign you are losing weight as a scale is not overly accurate.

    Hope this helps, and good luck in your efforts. Keep the faith and keep pounding away. Sometimes your body just get used to what your doing and you have to shock it every now and then with something new.

    So much no in this post. :|

    Exactly what I thought when I read it.
  • Makayla_Mitchell22
    Makayla_Mitchell22 Posts: 4
    Options
    Thank you everyone! I don't think I have a problem with my exercise habits.. I love working out, it's a good stress reliever especially with my college classes, haha. Would you guys recommend a food scale as the best way to monitor my eating habits?
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,564 Member
    Options
    Makayla_Mitchell22 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone! I don't think I have a problem with my exercise habits.. I love working out, it's a good stress reliever especially with my college classes, haha. Would you guys recommend a food scale as the best way to monitor my eating habits?

    1000% yes! It'll open your eyes up to what a serving size really looks like, and you'll be more likely to be eating exactly what you're logging.

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