Exhausted and not losing weight... frustrated...

AmazonAmberK
AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I am a 6' 3" tall female. So I have come to realize I usually have to tweak calculations because they never quite fit me. Clothes, calorie burning, or food. I have a hard time finding my ideal balance of calories, carbs, fats, and proteins. I work out Sunday - Friday. Every other day switch out cardio and strength. When I stick to it, I am dead to the world by Wednesday. That's only 3 days in a row. My mind is gone, physically it takes effort to move. I take in 50% carbs 30% protein 20% fat. Stick close to my calorie total goal set by MFP. I have even ventured over a bit thinking perhaps it was too low.
  • Strength - Sun, Tues, Thurs
    • Arms - Chest Press, Overhead Press, Bent Over Rows, Upright Rows - 20 reps, 5-8 sets depending on muscle groups. I push it every time to try and keep making progress.
    • Squats - Up to 180. I add on 5 each time.
    • Sit Ups - 20 reps, 5 sets
  • Cardio - Mon, Wed, Fri
    • Bowflex Treadclimber - 30 minutes at 3mph

I eat gluten free substitutes in my diet. Rarely eat wheat products.

I am not sure where my workout fits in the light, medium, heavy range. It's just at home stuff. Not like I am hitting a gym for 2 hours... MFP doesn't calculate anything for strength that I can tell. Only cardio...

And MFP says I should be at 60% of calories from carbs. BodyBuilder.com says for weight loss it should be 10-30%.... My profile is set to sedentary because I do sit at a desk all day long...

I am confused... exhausted... not losing weight. I don't know where I am missing something. Maybe I am just changing out fat for muscle? Nothing really lines up or makes sense when I compare MFP to popular fitness sites... I am just tired of being so tired and not losing weight. Yes my butt and arms look better but its gonna kill me!

Ugh... Any suggestions on a professional I can see to get more accurate/scientific calculations custom to me? What is the profession or assessment called?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    How many calories are you eating?
  • AmazonAmberK
    AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
    MFP has me between 1360 and 1800. The 1800 is on my cardio days.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    How much weight do you have to lose?
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    You're eating more on cardio days than on lifting days?
  • AmazonAmberK
    AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
    52 lbs to lose. I am 225 today.

    Yeah I am eating more on cardio days.
  • AmazonAmberK
    AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
    edited June 2015
    My heart rate gets up there on strength days. But I have nothing to calculate that. I wear a Jawbone Up, but that is steps. I enter my strength training into MFP but it doesn't appear to effect my daily intake goals and it sure doesn't count as cardio.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    I can't imagine that 1360 is right for you. I can eat that much with exercise and I am 5'2"
  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
    How long have you not been losing weight? If it is longer than 2-3 weeks then you are miscalculating your calories because at 225 it is virtually impossible for you to legitimately stall. If it is less then its just fluctuations and you may expect a fairly large drop soon
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    1360-1800 should definitely result in weight loss at that size.

    You're weighing your food and your sure that that's really the amount you're eating?
  • killerqueen21
    killerqueen21 Posts: 157 Member
    edited June 2015
    How long have you been doing this? It takes time. You may not have been giving it enough time. Also, 1360 is way too low for a 6'3 human.
  • MomTo3Lovez
    MomTo3Lovez Posts: 800 Member
    If you search in the cardio for strength training there is something there that will give you an estimate of calories burned, I know a lot of people that use that rather then logging each separate thing under the strength which does not give you an estimated calorie burn.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Do you use a food scale for ALL solids - measuring cups for ALL liquids? Log every single thing you put in your mouth? Use the recipe builder? Use accurate entries? Since you eat back exercise calories how accurate are your burns you log? Usually when I can't lose the problem can be found in the accuracy of my diary.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    AmazonAmberK wrote: »
    My heart rate gets up there on strength days. But I have nothing to calculate that. I wear a Jawbone Up, but that is steps. I enter my strength training into MFP but it doesn't appear to effect my daily intake goals and it sure doesn't count as cardio.

    You won't get much of a burn from strength training but you can still log it under cardio.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
    MFP's macro split is just a default. Split your macros however you like.

    How long have you not been losing weight?
    How many calories are you eating?
    Do you weigh all your food?

    How long have you been working out (and "sticking to it")? Upping your activity level can often cause fatigue, but it passes. Take it easier or take extra rest days if you need to until you adjust a bit.

    Log your strength training under cardio, as strength training, to get some calories to eat for it. Remember that all burn estimates are estimates, so you can either eat a percentage (maybe 50-75%) and re-evaluate in a month, or eat them all and re-evaluate in a month.

    When are you working out? It might be the wrong time of day for you, and/or it may be upsetting your sleep a bit. Especially if you're sore -- DOMS can screw with your sleep. (But DOMS will get better!)

    Do you exercise on an empty stomach? A snack might help. If your body has readily available energy to pull from when you're exerting yourself, you might feel less wiped later.

    But you could go see a dietician if you want good help with your food and calorie levels. (Nutritionists are not trained as well.) Otherwise, experiment yourself -- generally, protein and fat are more satiating, so work on those levels and let carbs fall as they fall.

    You might also consider eating at maintenance or with a small deficit for a period. You might put on a couple pounds of (temporary) water weight as a result, but it might help you adjust to your workout routine and just generally recover a bit from whatever has you down.
  • AmazonAmberK
    AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
    I use a food scale for every bit of food I eat and liquid I drink.

    I work out between 5pm and 6pm. 20-30 minutes before cardio I have tuna on gf bread. It gives me the power to get through. I have a whey protein shake with 12oz of almond milk after strength training to feed my muscles.

    I have been doing the cardio since January. Added the strength at the end of April. So 5+ weeks now with this work out regimen.

    I have been stalled for 6 weeks. I have had a week in there I took a day off in the middle to try and rest and usually the next day I feel better when I do but - no weight loss. So how to I find the balance? Workouts, food, and weight loss? Because according to the numbers, as many of you have mentioned... I should be losing something. Not stalling.

    Side note - My MFP profile is set with a goal of the max 2lb a week weight loss. Yet I can't even get a half a pound off, let alone 2.

    I appreciate all the feedback! I will try adding strength training under the cardio category to see if maybe more calories there will help. I have used every online resource that has any credibility and they all say around the same numbers for what my daily calorie intake should be. I just can't help but think... because of my size and build I just don't fit the mold? Dietitian may be my other next step.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    edited June 2015
    Yeah 1360 is my BMR, meaning that's my base and I can eat back exercise calories on top of that.

    I like this calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ I put in your stats (what I knew) and it said for 1lb/week loss you could eat 2000 cals/day. There are a lot of ways to figure macros, but I do for SURE believe that yours are way carb-heavy. I do 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fat, it seems like a pretty middle-of-the-road mix so why not give that a try?

    Stalls are weird and matter much less than feeling foggy and beat down all the time.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    AmazonAmberK wrote: »
    I just can't help but think... because of my size and build I just don't fit the mold? Dietitian may be my other next step.
    The same principles apply to you.

    If you're not losing weight, you're not in a caloric deficit.

  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 649 Member
    this kind of exhaustion in athletic women can often be nutrition. Iron deficiency. Take a good look at your consumption of iron rich foods. lots of women athletes struggle with this.

  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    You might get more insight if you open your diary.
    If you're not losing, you may be eating more than you think.
  • Unknown
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  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Caitwn wrote: »
    snowflakesav wrote: »
    this kind of exhaustion in athletic women can often be nutrition. Iron deficiency. Take a good look at your consumption of iron rich foods. lots of women athletes struggle with this.

    Yes, this is worth checking. Vitamin D may play a role as well. I am 5'3 with a very small frame and can eat 1360 and lose. There's some sort of data that you are missing here.

    +1

    If you are logging accurately, exercising as much as you say and not losing then something is medically wrong. That's the scenario where you start checking for deficiencies, thyroid function, malabsorption, etc.
  • AmazonAmberK
    AmazonAmberK Posts: 7 Member
    edited June 2015
    I did some more googling and there was a factor I did not think about - Hormones. And not just the natural balance that women go through. But the ability to throw ones hormones off by things we do day to day. Like via our diet and apparently a shock of jumping into intense cardio.

    Helpful info on "damaging" your hormones through diet and excersize, effects, and how to help fix it
    For me - What I think happened was that I let go of my clean eating habits with the excuse of my fatigue and slightly higher calorie allotments on top of the work out intensity jump.

    My current symptoms - Fatigue, mood swings, foggy brain, and no weight loss despite sticking to my calorie allotment. I actually gained a couple pounds this week. - And I am just after my cycle which means, hormonaly I should be balanced. Every symptom says otherwise.

    When I started my weight loss journey - I was dairy free, gluten free, almost all non processed foods, and my only refined sugar was 4 dark chocolate Hershey nuggets after dinner. And I had a double shot latte in the morning for caffeine.

    More Recent - Quad shot cafe latte (compensate for fatigue), more often than not I had a single serve ice cream after dinner, goat cheese on my salad, dairy based salad dressings. - Processed foods, commercial dairy that has chemicals and hormones...

    This was all still within my calorie allotment but as it turns out my intense cardio on the tread climber, plus my straying from a clean diet, quite possibly has thrown my hormones off, there by stunting my weight loss. Per the articles I linked above.

    My change, which I am going to monitor for the next 30 days...
    • No dairy
    • Caffeine from herb tea only - No coffee or other supplements
    • Cut back on processed sugar - Back to my 4 nuggets (For now, but those might go)
    • Cardio -
      • Week 1 - 2 : Walking on the ground only
      • Week 3 - 4 : Replace walking 2 days a week with only 15 minutes of tread climber
    • Cut back on processed foods all together - Just my gluten free bread.

    I will set a note to update this chain with the results. I am also setting an appointment to meet with my gyno to get my hormones tested. Here's hoping! I just want to feel better and get back to making progress!
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