Doing it right, not seeing weight change

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pterodactylish
pterodactylish Posts: 6 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi all,
This is my second MFP adventure. The first time around I was a religious calorie counter (eating 1300-1350 calories a day or less) but didn't care about nutrition and only did cardio workouts so I could eat more. I lost 18 lbs and felt great, dropping down to 123ish.

I gained 5 of those back during a stressful time and now I'm at 128ish, trying to lose in a much healthier way, but not seeing the results. What am I doing wrong? I'm about 2-3 months into this routine.

Then: wine, carbs, processed food, some protein, lots of sugar. Intense cardio workouts 1-2x week. Ate 1300-1350 calories a day, many of them empty calories but I was pretty religious about not going too far over that goal.

Now: lean meats, veggies, fruits, yogurt, good fats, more fiber (and still some wine and sugar, but less!) and limiting processed. strength training workouts 3-5x week with cardio 2-3x week, for total of 3-5 workouts a week. 1400 calories, though I try and spend more time worrying about getting the right protein levels than calorie counts. I'm not a perfect tracker but I know I'm averaging around there.

What am I doing wrong? Should I be eating more or less?

Replies

  • strong_curves
    strong_curves Posts: 2,229 Member
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    Better tracking. You don't have much to lose so I suggest using a food scale for all you eat & drink.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    If you're not losing weight it's because you're eating more than you think
  • katiegud
    katiegud Posts: 25 Member
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    How long ago was the first loss? I know that age has made things much harder for me, so if it was awhile ago that might be a factor.
  • pterodactylish
    pterodactylish Posts: 6 Member
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    katiegud wrote: »
    How long ago was the first loss? I know that age has made things much harder for me, so if it was awhile ago that might be a factor.


    It was about a year ago. I maintained but had some crappy injuries and started creeping up. I know some of it is muscle gain (18 months of physical therapy + consistent strength training) but I'm trying to take a wack at some of the flab around my stomach.

    Overall specs: 26yo, 5'3, 128 lbs.

    I'm a size 2-6 depending on the store, I mostly just want to cut down on the extra flub and turn it into muscle.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    You can't turn fat into muscle. You need to lose fat and then build muscle.
  • pterodactylish
    pterodactylish Posts: 6 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    You can't turn fat into muscle. You need to lose fat and then build muscle.
    Yup, I'm just trying to say I don't care about my overall weight - just the body comp
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Before you were eating 1300 calories and now you're eating 1400. Weight loss is simply about the calories. The types of foods Is about your health. Drop your calories to 1300 and you will see faster results.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited August 2015
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    pterodactylish wrote: »
    hi all,
    This is my second MFP adventure. The first time around I was a religious calorie counter (eating 1300-1350 calories a day or less) but didn't care about nutrition and only did cardio workouts so I could eat more. I lost 18 lbs and felt great, dropping down to 123ish.

    I gained 5 of those back during a stressful time and now I'm at 128ish, trying to lose in a much healthier way, but not seeing the results. What am I doing wrong? I'm about 2-3 months into this routine.

    Then: wine, carbs, processed food, some protein, lots of sugar. Intense cardio workouts 1-2x week. Ate 1300-1350 calories a day, many of them empty calories but I was pretty religious about not going too far over that goal.

    Now: lean meats, veggies, fruits, yogurt, good fats, more fiber (and still some wine and sugar, but less!) and limiting processed. strength training workouts 3-5x week with cardio 2-3x week, for total of 3-5 workouts a week. 1400 calories, though I try and spend more time worrying about getting the right protein levels than calorie counts. I'm not a perfect tracker but I know I'm averaging around there.

    What am I doing wrong? Should I be eating more or less?

    Sounds like your logging was better before, plus you were eating slightly less. I'd tighten up your logging now and see what happens.

    How many calories does MFP tell you to eat, and for what weekly weight loss goal?

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