Stuck in a Rut - Trying Something New

laurenadams12
laurenadams12 Posts: 5
edited November 8 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,

I'm Lauren! I am (somewhat) new to MyFitnessPal - I have used it in the past, but never stuck with it for more than a couple days at a time. This time around I'm making it more of a habit and I've been consistent with tracking for about a month now.

I joined because I'm really stuck with my weight loss progress - I gained about 30 lbs from the beginning to the end of my college career, and I would like to lose all (or at least most) of the weight I gained. I graduated in 2013 and since then, I am down about 15 lbs, but the last 15 have been nearly IMPOSSIBLE to melt off!

If anybody has any tips or tricks for being stuck in a rut with weight loss, please let me know! I appreciate any advice. I'm about 5'9" and 180 lbs (roughly) so I am not overweight per say, just looking for a self confidence boost in my appearance.

Thanks everyone!

Lauren

Replies

  • Fruitylicious03
    Fruitylicious03 Posts: 301
    If you're stuck it means you're either eating at maintenance and need to reduce your calories...or you're not weighing food and eating more than you think. Or your metabolism has temporarily adapted to the lower calories, in which I would suggest you eat at maintenance for 2 weeks or so and then reduce again.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
    If you are not using one, get a food scale and a set of measuring cups.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    Yes, to what the others mentioned. Also, sometimes it takes changing the kinds of food you eat in addition to the quantity. Every body is different and reacts differently depending on what you feed it. Same thing with your workout routine. Not sure what you're doing now, but add in HIIT or heavy lifting. Shock your muscles. It helps.
  • becksmcg93
    becksmcg93 Posts: 10 Member
    I try to keep carbs below 50g per day, and keep protein and fat high. At 1,500 a day I'll loose about a pound and a half a week (when I stick to it religiously) and at 1,200 a day with 600kcals exercise I loose between a half a pound and three quarters of a pound per day. Have a look at my diary if you like!
  • TossaBeanBag
    TossaBeanBag Posts: 458 Member
    Don't starve it off; burn it off. Up the cardio a little more each day and see what happens. If you are going to lower your calories, then just lower them by 100. You can do it Lauren.
  • laurenadams12
    laurenadams12 Posts: 5
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    Yes, to what the others mentioned. Also, sometimes it takes changing the kinds of food you eat in addition to the quantity. Every body is different and reacts differently depending on what you feed it. Same thing with your workout routine. Not sure what you're doing now, but add in HIIT or heavy lifting. Shock your muscles. It helps.

    I always hear different things about lifting - either doing a lot of repetition with low weights to get toned, or do to heavy weights with fewer sets. I think I need to try the heavier weights because I haven't seen much of a difference with it. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • laurenadams12
    laurenadams12 Posts: 5
    becksmcg93 wrote: »
    I try to keep carbs below 50g per day, and keep protein and fat high. At 1,500 a day I'll loose about a pound and a half a week (when I stick to it religiously) and at 1,200 a day with 600kcals exercise I loose between a half a pound and three quarters of a pound per day. Have a look at my diary if you like!

    Thanks for the tip! I just checked out your diary, looks like you're really good at sticking to what you just described...out of curiosity, do you use protein supplements like shakes or powders to replace meals? I'm just clueless about where to even begin with the whole protein supplement part of dieting so I just get my protein through meats and other fats, mostly.

    I'm trying to stick to 1,530 calories a day which is doable because I don't have an abnormally large appetite or anything like that, but I find that sometimes I get sick of the foods I'm eating because I eat what I know is healthy and haven't done much research outside of it to find some good alternatives. What kind of carbs do you usually eat to stay under 50g a day?
  • laurenadams12
    laurenadams12 Posts: 5
    jbach2 wrote: »
    Don't starve it off; burn it off. Up the cardio a little more each day and see what happens. If you are going to lower your calories, then just lower them by 100. You can do it Lauren.

    Thank you!! :)
  • laurenadams12
    laurenadams12 Posts: 5
    Branstin wrote: »
    If you are not using one, get a food scale and a set of measuring cups.

    Good reminder - I do need to be a bit more strict with this. I usually eyeball it, but I definitely leave wiggleroom that way...thanks for the reply!
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