Feeling discouraged with my weight loss goal

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ilisangela
ilisangela Posts: 1 Member
in Success Stories
Hi, my name is Ilisangela. I just started fitness pal the beginning of March 2016 and today is March 28th and I haven't lost a pound. I exercise 4 days a week. Cardio for 30 min and some squats and weight training. I have lost a total of 22lb. 1 year ago I was 220 lb, but loosing the rest is becoming a little difficult. Any tips!please comment

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  • plgcjwasg
    plgcjwasg Posts: 1 Member
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    Hmm seems like you have the quantity part down. Now you need to focus on quality. Are your workouts challenging you? Try maybe progressive overload by increasing weight load each week and leave your calories the same. Perhaps you just need to increase the intensity slightly. Also try walking an hour each day or on your off days. Hope that helps
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
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    ilisangela wrote: »
    Hi, my name is Ilisangela. I just started fitness pal the beginning of March 2016 and today is March 28th and I haven't lost a pound. I exercise 4 days a week. Cardio for 30 min and some squats and weight training. I have lost a total of 22lb. 1 year ago I was 220 lb, but loosing the rest is becoming a little difficult. Any tips!please comment

    If you aren't losing, you aren't eating at a deficit.
  • masdec7
    masdec7 Posts: 166 Member
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    Are you logging everything? Oils included? If you cook with any type of oil or butter, you need to count that as it stays with the food you prepare. Those are sometimes forgotten. Also, are you eating back all your exercise calories? That could do it to. Only eat back about half. One last thing to remember is that muscle weighs more than fat, so you might be losing fat but gaining muscle which will show no movement on the scale. How are your clothes fitting?

    Hope some of these help.
  • LuckyNumbers
    LuckyNumbers Posts: 208 Member
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    Also realize that as you lose weight, the amount of calories you need to eat in order to continue losing weight is going to decrease. You can't eat the same amount of calories at 220 pounds and 200 pounds and expect the same results over time.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Weight loss is mostly diet. Are you logging everything? Are you using a food scale as often as possible?

    It is really easy to unintentionally overeat to compensate for exercise, especially if you aren't logging carefully.
  • jfrench1199
    jfrench1199 Posts: 1 Member
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    I truly feel for you. Know that you are not alone. Along with tips from the others, I would add that adding weights to your workout routine. It makes a huge difference. Also, don't believe the wives' tale about muscle weighing more than fat. A pound is a pound, no matter what it is. It is possible, however, that when beginning a workout routine will cause water to be stored in the muscle due to inflammation, but this goes away once your body becomes acclimated to exercise. One last thing. Stop weighing yourself! I know, easier said than done. I don't mean completely, just only in longer intervals. Try every 2 weeks. That will give your body time to adjust and give a better idea of your progress. Try using clothes, measurements, and pictures to better gauge success.
  • dsbroussard82
    dsbroussard82 Posts: 31 Member
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    You simply aren't in a caloric deficit. Recalculate your needed deficit and count everything you eat. It's really that simple.
  • dsbroussard82
    dsbroussard82 Posts: 31 Member
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    Great job so far though! Your willingness to reach out and search for answers is part of the battle. It takes time and focused energy. Don't get discouraged. Start over in the morning and move forward.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    After about a year at this, I've really stopped looking at exercise & calories as being equal partners in this process. I love my fitness, but for weight loss I find it's much more important what numbers I hit with my calories than with exercise. Laser in on that :)
  • rkennedy1014
    rkennedy1014 Posts: 18 Member
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    I was in the exact same boat. Here are the changes I made.
    - Target calories set at 1200. Never use the "exercise calories" except on rare occasions.
    - Set protein target at 90 grams
    - Don't exceed carbs of 90 grams

    I started losing 2 lbs per week when I made these changes. Hope this helps!!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited March 2016
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    rkennedy1014 wrote: »
    I was in the exact same boat. Here are the changes I made.
    - Target calories set at 1200. Never use the "exercise calories" except on rare occasions.
    - Set protein target at 90 grams
    - Don't exceed carbs of 90 grams

    I started losing 2 lbs per week when I made these changes. Hope this helps!!

    It's great that that worked for you. But number of calories is based on height, weight, gender, and activity at least. Considering we don't have any of her stats, you can't really recommend a calorie level - 1200 is the bare minimum and too few calories for many people. I lost weight eating 1500 calories plus eating back some exercise calories and would have been hungry, cranky, and tired on 1200.
  • jenmovies
    jenmovies Posts: 346 Member
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    LuckyNumbers wrote: »
    Also realize that as you lose weight, the amount of calories you need to eat in order to continue losing weight is going to decrease. You can't eat the same amount of calories at 220 pounds and 200 pounds and expect the same results over time.
    This! I lost 10kg then stopped losing and someone told me this. I adjusted my daily total and began losing again instantly! Also, don't eat back more than half of your exercise cals and eat more protein. Good luck!
  • jenmovies
    jenmovies Posts: 346 Member
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    Oh and measure yourself once per week on the same day. Sometimes your weight doesn't tell the whole story. ;)
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
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    LuckyNumbers wrote: »
    Also realize that as you lose weight, the amount of calories you need to eat in order to continue losing weight is going to decrease. You can't eat the same amount of calories at 220 pounds and 200 pounds and expect the same results over time.

    This.
  • Nuke_64
    Nuke_64 Posts: 406 Member
    edited March 2016
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    ilisangela wrote: »
    Hi, my name is Ilisangela. I just started fitness pal the beginning of March 2016 and today is March 28th and I haven't lost a pound. I exercise 4 days a week. Cardio for 30 min and some squats and weight training. I have lost a total of 22lb. 1 year ago I was 220 lb, but loosing the rest is becoming a little difficult. Any tips!please comment

    You don't mention what your diet is like. Makes me think that you are not tracking what you eat. As others have said, weight loss is more about diet, less about exercise.
  • ReaderGirl3
    ReaderGirl3 Posts: 868 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    Weight loss is mostly diet. Are you logging everything? Are you using a food scale as often as possible?

    It is really easy to unintentionally overeat to compensate for exercise, especially if you aren't logging carefully.

    This. Exercise is great, but weight loss is mostly about how many calories you're eating (I lost 50lbs with no exercise at all).

    Also, like someone else mentioned-make sure you're adjusting your calories down after every few pounds lost (5lbs is a good mark).
  • Rdsgoal16
    Rdsgoal16 Posts: 302 Member
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    I recommend opening your diary and providing some history, lots of great people here to truly give you insight.

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