Can't lose any weight! Advice/Tips/Opinions wanted please!!!

Frumpy2Fit
Frumpy2Fit Posts: 137 Member
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello all! My name is Brittany and I am looking to lose around 20 lbs. I am 5'6 and I currently weigh 150 lbs. I started a few weeks ago and saw a 2 lbs. loss which was very encouraging. I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred on an (almost) daily basis...I've missed two out of the last twelve days but I am about to finish level one and start level 2. I have also increased my daily activity by walking more at work, cleaning every chance I get at home, going for a walk some evenings, and mixing in some extra workout videos here and there. My calorie limit is 1200 calories which I do find trouble meeting on some days, especially if I exercise more than 30 minutes since I eat my exercise calories back to avoid dropping under 1200. I am frustrated that I felt as though I were seeing great results lately due to eating healthier, exercising more, and cutting out soda completely -- I now only drink water, but the scale is barely budging and has actually reversed direction in recent days...seeing a 2+ lb. gain. I know it isn't all about the scale and I should focus on inches but if I could just see the scale budge a little, and stay down, then I would be happy. If anyone can give me any advice, tips, opinions, or anything that could push me in the right direction then I would REALLY appreciate it. Thanks everyone!!!

Replies

  • VeganGal84
    VeganGal84 Posts: 938 Member
    If you would either make your diary public or share a typical day's menu and exercise plan here, I could help a bit perhaps!

    It sounds like you are doing everything right, though and may just be going through some typical fluctuations.
  • welloiledmachine
    welloiledmachine Posts: 1,147 Member
    I can't see your diary so not sure if you need to adjust your food. But obviously need to change something, as you've hit a plateau. You might have to do a little more exercise, incorporate some strength training as well. Even water, can help.
  • Frumpy2Fit
    Frumpy2Fit Posts: 137 Member
    I made my diary public but the entries may look weird since I just changed the set-up from "breakfast - lunch - dinner - snacks" to the "breakfast, midmorning snack, etc...". Sorry!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    What is your weekly loss goal set at? with only 20 lbs to lose your goal should be to lose no more than 1 lb/week and once you get down to the last 10-15 that should change to 0.5lb/week.

    If you have trouble reaching your calorie goals try the following:
    -Stop eating diet or lite versions of food
    -When option for Milk products (cheese, milk, yogurt,etc) opt for a higher MF% choice i.e. switch skim milk to 2%
    -Add nuts, seeds, dehydrated fruit and/or nut butters to you day instead of a low cal snack
    -Add olive oil to soups and sauces
    -Add avocado to salads and sandwiches
    -Have a glass of juice in place of a glass of water.
    -etc.
  • Frumpy2Fit
    Frumpy2Fit Posts: 137 Member
    MFP has my "estimated weight loss" set at 1.2 lbs. a week.
  • welloiledmachine
    welloiledmachine Posts: 1,147 Member
    You should keep track of your sodium too. Just add it to the others you are using. Sometimes eating more protein, can help and maybe watch what type of carbs you are eating.
  • taem
    taem Posts: 495 Member
    Hi,

    Without knowing what you eat, I recommend a low fat, high carb (but that means veggies for nutrients, starch for energy) and protein levels (depends if you are a body builder or not). Cut out all fats and this I mean animal fats, oils (dipping and cooking), soy (this means tofu as well), nuts and seeds. Try to eat less than 10% fat, 7-15% protein and more than 75% carbs (the good kind) and drink 8 glasses of water a day. When you exercise, go for length and not so much intensity (there is a conversation test, you can google it to learn more) and exercise 3 times a week or more. I know some here on mfp will say my advice is antiquated and out-dated, but so far it has been working for me. If you are worried about your blood sugars (it does play a role in weight management, go to http://www.glycemicindex.com) check out your foods there. Quality calories for your inside and out, that is making the most of your weight loss.

    If you think exercise alone will prevent you from getting a heart attack, think again: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/24/science/the-doctor-s-world-james-fixx-the-enigma-of-heart-disease.html


    And of course do not ingest high fructose corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, refined sugars or any variation of processed sugars.

    Of course I am not an expert so take this advice for what it is, a friendly and different approach to weight loss.

    Good health to you.
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
    Brittany - You're about the same height and starting weight as I was (well, I'm still the same height). :)

    You're showing that you joined in Jan 2011 but you said that you started a few weeks ago. So, I'm going to assume that you just started exercising not long ago? If that's the case then you need to give yourself more time...at LEAST 6 weeks before you start to see actual weight loss. Of course, you'll want to mind what you're eating as well as how much. You'll get lots of great advice here on that. :smile:

    I've been at this for 10 weeks now, and with only 20ish to lose, the process is steady but not going terribly fast. As erickirb mentioned, you won't lose a lot from week to week (My highest weekly loss to date is .06 lbs) but keep in mind it's not a race and with work and commitment you'll reach your goal! Even with my itty bitty weekly losses, I'm at 6 lbs already. SIX!!!

    Good luck, girl!
  • Frumpy2Fit
    Frumpy2Fit Posts: 137 Member
    I added sodium to my food diary so that I can track it. (That's a great idea to help me determine if/when I should be retaining more water) and cutting down on carbs will be my next step. Cutting back on carbs has always been really hard for me. I was thinking about doing a modified version of the South Beach diet just to "jump start" things. I hate the "d" word though. I enjoy making lifestyle changes, I just don't want to get discouraged too early.
  • beesareyellow
    beesareyellow Posts: 335 Member
    OK, every day seems to have processed food on the menu. These things are sodium bombs. First, include sodium intake in your diary, I bet you'll be shocked. If you control your sodium to about 1500 to max 2000 mg per day, you will see better results. Sodium causes water retention which moves the scale up. Drink MINIMUM 8 cups of water a day. . You really can't be skipping meals either, try to get three meals and one or two snacks a day. Change your goal to 0.5 or 1 pound a week, it is alot easier to eat at that level. Eat back your exercise calories ( at least 1/2 of them). And try to cook more of your own meals, especially breakfast, this will give your more and higher quality food. My own goals are set at 0.5 pounds per week and I have been losing steadily for months without too much hardship. When I set my goals too high, it just stalls out. Also, get plenty of fiber each day ( at least 25g per day). In the end though, you know your body better than anyone, and will be better able to judge what works best for you. Good luck:)
  • welloiledmachine
    welloiledmachine Posts: 1,147 Member
    From my personal experience, I eat 5 small meals a day with each meal consisting of complex carbs, protein and fat. That's about every 3 hours. Some people can't do this, for whatever reason. But when you combine all those, it keeps you from having mid-day slumps, keeps you energized, and actually bumps your metabolism and lose weight. Cutting down sugar and processed foods will help immensely. Eating clean does wonders.
  • Tarilynn
    Tarilynn Posts: 22 Member
    Hi Brittany, Sounds like you're starting where I did back in March -I'm 5'6" was 143 lbs (starting mfp). The first week was a big drop but I was skinny fat - Looked okay in bigger cothes but when the;y came off - watch out - cellulite and rolls and not a pretty sight. I chalked up the first couple weeks of weight loss to shocking my system with healthy food and a healthy way of life and peeing all the time. Now that I'm living the healthy way of life exercising and choosing healthier foods - lots of water included - it's become very small weight losses on the scale but my body (naked) looks SSSOOOO much better. No easy way here - whether 100 lbs to lose or 20 lbs to lose - enjoy your new life of being fit and healthy- if you do you can guarantee yourself a happier body and mind. :flowerforyou: Oh yeah - sodium and sugar quantities show such an effect :grumble: on my body. It's summertime and if it's the flat belly look you want concentrate on what's going INTO your body as much as you are exercising.

    Best of luck!!!!
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
    Lots of good advice here already. Something else you may want to consider in addition to observing your sodium/packaged foods is zig zagging (or cycling) your calories. You can google as well as search MFP message boards for more info. Basically, you take your weekly calorie deficit target and instead of eating the same calories every day, you change it up with higher and lower calorie days so that you are still reaching your overall calorie deficit goal, but get your body out of a rut and let it know that their is an abundance of food available and avoid it wanting to preserve to deal with consistently reduced calories.

    Here is a free calculator that several folks on MFP have used (including myself):

    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Hang in there and good luck!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    From what I can see, you aren't eating enough. Most days you are barely eating 1200 calories and with the amount of exercise you are doing, I would say you are about 400-600 calories short of where you should be. Also, do you really not eat dinner ever or is it the way your profile set up? My suggestion, I would aim to get 1500-1600 calories a day, of those calories, I would decrease your carbs to 40%, your protein increased to 40% and fats at 20% (you can do this under custom goals). Also, get rid of anythinc mcdonalds and reduce the processed foods. All of them are full of simple carbs which can turn to fat quickly. Aim to get whole wheat / whole grain carbs (complex carbs) which burn slower and provide more energy throughout the day. Also, increase your veggies and fruit intake to 2 servings each a day. Considering your weight, you are fairly close to your goal which means you will need to eat more. Also, increasing your weights while working out can help. The more muscle you have the more calories your body will burn and the less fat will be in your body. This does mean, you will need more fuel (aka calories).
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