What am I doing wrong?!

Options
meganwbell849
meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
edited July 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! I'm desperately needing your advice! I started working out with a personal trainer in Februrary, on average 4 days a week. I also started running for 30 minutes a day and try and do some weight training on the days I'm not with my PT.

I feel like I workout all the time. Eat, workout, walk my dogs, workout, take a shower, workout,etc. that not reality but it feels that way.

I am definitely more tone and can see definition, but I'm not losing any weight and still at 21% body fat but my goal 16-17.
What am I doing wrong? Is there a calorie goal I need to be aware of? What about how they are consumed (%of carbs/proteins/etc).

I trust my personal trainer to help with my workouts, however, I know nothing about nutrition and don't need know where to start. I would appreciate any advice you have! 30, 5'3", 120lb/F
«1

Replies

  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Options
    You're 120, aiming for 100?
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    5'3 aiming for 110, in currently 120
  • amandadesch
    amandadesch Posts: 11 Member
    Options
    OP, you said you need to lose 20 in your post, not 10. You are very fit at 120lbs - what more do you want?
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    edited July 2016
    Options
    Ahhh, ok. You just said you wanted to lose 20 pounds and that you were an inch taller. anyhoo...If you aren't losing any weight then you are eating the same amount of calories that you are burning. Lower your calories by 250 to lose half a pound a week without losing too much of that muscle you've been working so hard for. Good luck :)
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    Thank you guys for letting me know about the typos!! Working from my phone, it's easy to do!
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    That's a great question, I don't really track right now. I would love to have goals to aim for but I don't know what they should be @Makaylacreason
  • GitRDone57
    GitRDone57 Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    That's a great question, I don't really track right now. I would love to have goals to aim for but I don't know what they should be @Makaylacreason

    You have to remember muscle weighs more than fat, and it sounds like you are a tiny young lady that maybe you cant really afford to lose anymore...you prob need 1400-1500 calories a day because you are burning alot up with all those workouts...good luck
  • ALLENFLO
    ALLENFLO Posts: 61 Member
    Options
    I would use other measurements other than weight to track your progress with that much working out. Do some tape measurements and I'm sure those will be going down week after week. Scale goes up and down due to water retention and other hormonal factors that may have nothing to do with body fat.
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    That's really helpful, I had someone tell me last week I should be shooting for 2,200 calories daily and that just seemed like a ton for me
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited July 2016
    Options
    GitRDone57 wrote: »
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    That's a great question, I don't really track right now. I would love to have goals to aim for but I don't know what they should be @Makaylacreason

    You have to remember muscle weighs more than fat, and it sounds like you are a tiny young lady that maybe you cant really afford to lose anymore...you prob need 1400-1500 calories a day because you are burning alot up with all those workouts...good luck

    a lb of muscle and a lb of fat weighs the same, the muscle just takes up less space. OP as for calories needed,go back to your profile and put in your weight, how much you want to lose(or gain), and what your activity is. then eat those calories. a lot of people use a food scale to be more accurate because not everyone can eyeball portions correctly.it will give you protein,carbs and fats to eat but you can tweak those if needed to suit you and your workouts. if you havent lost any weight since you started then it sounds like you are eating whats called maintenance calories(you eat the same amount as you burn).this is most likely the reason you arent losing any weight.
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    Thank you so much! So, it doesn't matter as much S to how I get them (fat/protein/carbs) as it does total calories consumed? Is that correct?
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Options
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    Thank you so much! So, it doesn't matter as much S to how I get them (fat/protein/carbs) as it does total calories consumed? Is that correct?

    as long as you are meeting your calorie goal here you should lose weight. macros are important but not really for weight loss. if you weight lift you want to make sure you get enough protein though to preserve any lean muscle mass.if you havent lost weight in a few weeks,lower it(unless it gives you 1200 which is the lowest it will give you). not knowing your height and weight and activity level I cant say what it will give you. but also know that since you only want to lose 10 lbs it will take a lot longer to lose it and you should set it to lose no more than 1/2lb a week. anything higher than that will be too aggressive.
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    @CharlieBeansmomTracey thank you! In 5'3 and 120
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited July 2016
    Options
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    @CharlieBeansmomTracey thank you! In 5'3 and 120

    yeah the last 10 lbs is always the hardest. the macros are good for things like satiety(and to make you get enough nutrition) and so on. but yes its all about calories in vs calories out. so 10 lbs can take awhile to lose since youre at a lower weight you may have to work harder to burn calories as well.if you eat 1200 and say burn 300 then eat 1500 and when you burn the 300 you will be netting 1200.. you dont want to net under 1200 calories. but give it time and use a tape measure as sometimes you will lose inches before it shows a lower number on the scale.
  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    That's so helpful to know, never met less than 1,200!
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    Options
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    Hello everyone! I'm desperately needing your advice! I started working out with a personal trainer in Februrary, on average 4 days a week. I also started running for 30 minutes a day and try and do some weight training on the days I'm not with my PT.

    I feel like I workout all the time. Eat, workout, walk my dogs, workout, take a shower, workout,etc. that not reality but it feels that way.

    I am definitely more tone and can see definition, but I'm not losing any weight and still at 21% body fat but my goal 16-17.
    What am I doing wrong? Is there a calorie goal I need to be aware of? What about how they are consumed (%of carbs/proteins/etc).

    I trust my personal trainer to help with my workouts, however, I know nothing about nutrition and don't need know where to start. I would appreciate any advice you have! 30, 5'3", 120lb/F

    You honestly are about perfect weight right now. It will be very difficult to sustain a very low calorie diet and will backfire. You likely already have a healthy, strong, solid body at that height and weight. Professionals consider 18% body fat for women to be underweight.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited July 2016
    Options
    16%-17% body fat is very hard to get too. This takes perfection and if and when you ever get there, maintaining that will be the devil. This body fat range is around competition level.

    Good luck with this..
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
    Options
    meganwbell849 wrote: »
    That's really helpful, I had someone tell me last week I should be shooting for 2,200 calories daily and that just seemed like a ton for me

    My wife is 32, 5'3" and 110lbs, and eats around 2,100 calories a day, so that number doesn't see off.

    Below is from fat2fittools.com, and this will let you know around how much you should be eating at your goal weight
     depending on your activity level.

    Activity Level

    Daily Calories

    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1547
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1772
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 1998
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2224
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2449


  • meganwbell849
    meganwbell849 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    Thank you guys! I really appreciate all the feedback!

Categories