At my wits end...

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kel7298
kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
in Motivation and Support
I eat healthy. Exercise 5 days a week (most weeks) and can not lose. My weight constantly hovers between 158-162. I am eating between 1200 to 1500 calories daily. I burn anywhere from 300-600 calories depending on my exercise routine. If you view my diary, you can see that I am typically under calories, but never under 1200, thus I do eat back some of my exercise calories.

Shouldn't I be seeing some sort of weight loss? What I am doing wrong.

***FYI - I recently changed my diary views***

Replies

  • rfcollins33
    rfcollins33 Posts: 630
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    Are you sure you aren't underestimating the amount of food you eat, or overestimating the cals you are burning? This can be really tricky sometimes and it will definitely keep you from losing weight. Be careful with that. Also, so many entries in the mfp database are dead-wrong!! Sometimes if something doesn't seem right, I also refer to caloriecount.com or livestrong.com. You don't need an account, you can just go and look up foods, or google the foods. Also you might want to watch the sodium. And, when you work out, do you sweat, feel fatigued, get to the point you can't coversate? Those are all great signs you are getting a really good workout in. Good luck!! Stick with it. I KNOW you CAN do it :D
  • rfcollins33
    rfcollins33 Posts: 630
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    oh I was also gonna ask if you measure/weigh all your food. Eyeballing can also be very tricky. Best to measure
  • JWeaser
    JWeaser Posts: 302
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    There are a few people on here that are firm believers in mixing it up. I am guilty of this too. I eat a lot of the same things and doing the same workouts. You should have higher calorie days and lower calorie days. Do you have a second workout video that you could alternate with that focuses on different types of exercises?
  • shannonashleys
    shannonashleys Posts: 3
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    I think it depends on how long you have been on this routine. If hasn't been that long, give it a couple of months. Also, maybe you aren't losing weight, but toning up/ or losing inches. Have you noticed if your clothes are fitting not as tight as they used to? If you are a member of a gym, consult a personal trainer for tips on how to "lose weight, not gain muscle". If you do more reps with less weight, I think you will drop weight and not gain as much muscle. Hope this helps! good luck.
  • loulou139
    loulou139 Posts: 1 Member
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    I know exactly how you feel! I am the same. I am under calories almost everyday (but never below 1200ish) and exercise 5 times per week. I don't particularly count calories at weekends but I don't go over the top either. Bearing in mind the avergage reccomended daily calorie intake is about 2000 for women, how can I not be losing if I stick to about 1200 weekdays and 2000 or less at weekends??! It may be the type of exercise you/we are doing? Muscle weighs heavier than fat so if you are building muscle then that might be why. I have thought about measuring my body instead, i.e waist, thighs, tops of arms and hips, my body shape may change without my weight seeming to change much. Maybe that would help you too? Good luck with it!! :wink:
  • CindyN58
    CindyN58 Posts: 39
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    I noticed on your diary you haven't listed any water. Drinking water is an important part of weight loss. Other beverages really can't replace it.
  • massmech8111
    massmech8111 Posts: 32
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    I agree...if you are hittin the gym 5 das a week ,you may be trading fat for muscle..remember lean muscle weighs more than fat..
    also,you may wanna try circuit training as it incorperates more high intensity,fat burning..as opposed to dedicated weight training...

    Also,the scale can be your worst enemy sometimes...i use measurements to track my progress..i have noticed that though my weight loss is "slow" my waist and other measurement are dropping to where i want them ...use pictures and measurements as well as the scale that way you dont get discouraged..you can do this,just be patient and consistant:)
  • reese66
    reese66 Posts: 2,920 Member
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    Looking through your diary there are days that would appear to be somewhat high in sodium, not sure if that is the cause but I know it doesn't help matters...

    I am firm believer in eating the exercise calories, I dont always make it but I strive for more than half if not all of them.


    What is a "Bap?" Saw it in your diary and I never heard of it...

    I hope you find what works for you, just keep with it and eventually you will achieve your goals!!!
  • ShellGetsFit
    ShellGetsFit Posts: 604 Member
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    I agree...if you are hittin the gym 5 das a week ,you may be trading fat for muscle..remember lean muscle weighs more than fat..
    also,you may wanna try circuit training as it incorperates more high intensity,fat burning..as opposed to dedicated weight training...

    Also,the scale can be your worst enemy sometimes...i use measurements to track my progress..i have noticed that though my weight loss is "slow" my waist and other measurement are dropping to where i want them ...use pictures and measurements as well as the scale that way you dont get discouraged..you can do this,just be patient and consistant:)

    I completely agree!!! My weight hasn't changed much in a while now but the inches are dropping! I'm getting stronger everyday! Always remember muscle weighs more, the scale can be very deceiving!!! Good luck, keep at it!!!!
  • kel7298
    kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
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    What is a "Bap?" Saw it in your diary and I never heard of it...


    It's basically the german word for a roll.

    Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement.
  • kel7298
    kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
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    Do you think I should increase my caloric intake? Eat back ALL my exercise calories? :sick:
  • ShellGetsFit
    ShellGetsFit Posts: 604 Member
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    I went back and looked at your diary too. Are you eating dinner? You haven't logged anything for that or for drinking water. Be sure to be eating your 3 meals a day plus snacks but watch portion sizes too. Try to stick to healthy foods. In your coffee try using skim milk instead of heavy cream. Snack on lots of veggies!! As someone else mentioned try to watch your sodium intake too, that's a dangerous thing to have too much of. Drink LOTS of water and try to up your fibre too. Those are my suggestions, things that have worked for me and for those that I know that have lost lots of weight (and kept it off!)!! Good luck and don't give up!!! :happy:
  • kel7298
    kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
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    I don't plan on giving up I am just at a loss as to how I can make this work. I lost the weight before by going low carb, plus I smoked. I have since stopped smoking (March 2010) plus had a hysterectomy (Dec 2007) so I have a lot going against me I suppose..lol.

    I want to be healthy and eat a well rounded diet, (instead of living low carb the rest of my life) but that doesn't seem to be working.

    I will try upping my calories for a few weeks and seeing what that does...either lose or gain.
  • bada_bing
    bada_bing Posts: 128 Member
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    I have read many articles about the default percentages being too carb high and know that I cannot lose with high carbs so I have adjusted my percentages to 40-30-30 which is what weight loss advocates suggest. You might try it...and are you eating dinner?

    Interestingly enough, hubby and I took a guided bus tour through Italy in May and returning home after 3 weeks I had only gained 1.5 lbs. (Remember I quit smoking in March and have a screwed up metabolism now) . We had to be up early, eat buffet breakfast, stop for lunch and have dinner together (often). We snacked very little and had good meals..............and I often had a glass of white wine with our dinner meal...then, I get home, back to routine, snack, eat, snack, eat and guess what, I am now up another 4 lbs in two weeks. So, there definitely is something to be said about not eating enough and eating unprocessed foods.

    Let's keep at it and hopefully we can get that scale moving.
  • kel7298
    kel7298 Posts: 1,542 Member
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    Thank for the information I will check into that.

    Yes, I eat dinner. I recently changed up my diary view thus my meals got out of line.

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