Please help!

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SarahMorganP
SarahMorganP Posts: 922 Member
edited August 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I have tried to lose weight many times in the past and always lost about 10-15lbs the first month. This time I have lost only 4lbs since Aug 1st and none in the last 2 weeks. I'm getting very frustrated since I have 100lbs to lose! Any help would be great.

I am unsure what to set my fitness level at. I sit all day at my job, but take a 30min walk at lunch and a 30min to 1 hour walk at night after work. 3 days a week I also do 45min-1 hour of heavy weight lifting 3 days a week. But other than those 2 walks and the lifting I am pretty much sitting. I have no clue how much I burn during my weight lifting but my heart rate stays between 110 and 150 the entire time. When I walk it averages around 95-110 the entire time. I get at least 10k steps daily.

I eat 1200-1500 a day, on the weekends I will go as high as 1800, but I also walk more on weekends, around 13k steps. I am 36 and 5'2.5" and 210lbs.

Any help? I'm seriously so frustrated that I'm not losing this time, that's never happened before. I work out so hard at the gym and all the other times I strictly walked and calorie counted, so I thought adding weights would help.

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    The most important thing is that you get in an appropriate amount of calories, consistently. If you drop out because you don't see consistent drops on the scale, you won't succeed. So:
    1) Log accurately, weighing everything on a food scale. Hit your calorie goal every day (you can spread/vary through the week, but stick to your goal on average).
    2) Weight loss is not linear. All kinds of things can make your weight fluctuate. If you have a consistent calorie deficit, those fluctuations will NOT be fat, and your weight will trend downwards. Be patient.
  • Michele7091
    Michele7091 Posts: 256 Member
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    Maybe you are not eating enough. I work with a woman that does way less heavy lifting than you and she eats a minimum of 2800-3000 calories a day. She is maintaining her weight but I think that 1200-1300 during the week when you are dong heavy lifting for as long as you are isn't enough calories. Maybe raise your carlorie for a few weeks and see what that does for you. Good luck!! :)
  • Sheks41191
    Sheks41191 Posts: 90 Member
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    Firstly you are eating too little - the aim should be to eat as much as you can and still lose.

    Inputting your height, weight and age into a tdee calculator (iifym) gives you maintenance calories of: 2194.

    You can eat 1695 per day at your current weight and be at a 500 calorie deficit (as I'm sure you know a pound week.)

    The above was calculated factoring in your exercise.

    As the poster above said weight loss is not linear and those fluctuations aren't fat so try not to get too bogged down by it. You have a decent amount of movement in there and are eating at a deficit so stick to it.

    Keep lifting weights - lifting heaving is great and burns calories once you have stopped exercising for longer than strictly cardio does.

    I know you didn't ask about the calories but I calculated it because you really want to eat as much as you can and lose to begin with. Eating at 1200-1500 and expecting to maintain that is a little unrealistic in the sense that should you plateau you have nowhere to lower calories too. It's a lot easier to cut 200 cals than it is to burn those 200 day-in-day out and in a sustainable manner.

    Stick to it :smiley:
  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,568 Member
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    Keep your goals in mind. A slower rate of loss will be easier to maintain over time. An average of 4 pounds in 4 weeks (remembering that some weeks will show more progress than others) means 52 pounds in a year. You probably did not reach your current weight in a few months. Give yourself some time, set a sustainable pace, and don't give up.

    Are you weighing your food?
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
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    since i see you're not a newbie to the boards, these issues have been addressed before many times - if you just started a routine with weights you have to be consistent and patient... using TDEE u should be at 1700-1800 cals.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Michele7091 wrote: »
    Maybe you are not eating enough. I work with a woman that does way less heavy lifting than you and she eats a minimum of 2800-3000 calories a day. She is maintaining her weight but I think that 1200-1300 during the week when you are dong heavy lifting for as long as you are isn't enough calories. Maybe raise your carlorie for a few weeks and see what that does for you. Good luck!! :)

    No, if one is not losing weight that means they are eating too much. You only raise your calorie to lose at a slower rate, but first you must be already losing weight. [/i

    The OP is losing weight, but it sounds like she wants to get it off a bit faster. With 100 pounds to go, she can do this--she just needs to cut back on calories. She's obviously eating more than she realizes.

    I suspect this woman told you she eats 2800-3000 a day to maintain, because you don't really know how much she is eating. Chances are she's just pulling your leg to sound impressive. ;)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    Sheks41191 wrote: »
    Firstly you are eating too little - the aim should be to eat as much as you can and still lose.

    Inputting your height, weight and age into a tdee calculator (iifym) gives you maintenance calories of: 2194.

    You can eat 1695 per day at your current weight and be at a 500 calorie deficit (as I'm sure you know a pound week.)

    The above was calculated factoring in your exercise.

    As the poster above said weight loss is not linear and those fluctuations aren't fat so try not to get too bogged down by it. You have a decent amount of movement in there and are eating at a deficit so stick to it.

    Keep lifting weights - lifting heaving is great and burns calories once you have stopped exercising for longer than strictly cardio does.

    I know you didn't ask about the calories but I calculated it because you really want to eat as much as you can and lose to begin with. Eating at 1200-1500 and expecting to maintain that is a little unrealistic in the sense that should you plateau you have nowhere to lower calories too. It's a lot easier to cut 200 cals than it is to burn those 200 day-in-day out and in a sustainable manner.

    Stick to it :smiley:

    No, she's eating more than she thinks she is, that's why she is already losing at a slower rate (4 pounds in a month). Nothing wrong with that, but having 100 pounds to lose, she's probably going to want to lose the first pounds a bit faster, which means tightening up her weighing of food and logging, or simply cutting back portion and learning through trial and error.

    Though, I like the rest of what you have to say. :)
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited August 2016
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    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1296011/calorie-counting-101/p1
    . . . . Logging foods: In the old days, to calorie count, we had to use paper and pencil. This is why programs like weight watchers became so popular. It essentially dumbed down calorie counting to a point system and made things easier to track. With the advent of software like Myfitnesspal, there is no need for the dumbing down. You can track calories, macro nutrients, micro nutrients, and exercise with very little hassle.

    To correctly implement calorie counting you must log everything you consume in a day that contains calories. This includes liquids and/or supplements that contain calories. Some people also log calorie free foods (gum, diet soda, black coffee, etc). Since they do not contain any calories, this is optional. They may however contain something that you want to track (vitamins, minerals, sodium).

    Weighing foods: You must weigh your foods! Do not estimate! Weigh everything on a kitchen scale. Preferably a digital scale that weighs in grams. Only liquids should be measured by volume (cups tablespoons, etc). On a package of oatmeal the label will usually say that a serving size is ½ cup. It will also have 40g in parentheses. Use a scale to weigh out 40 grams. You will find that if you dump oats into a ½ cup measuring cup that it won’t always equal 40 grams. This becomes more important with calorically dense food such as peanut butter. 1 tablespoon is usually 100 calories, however one can easily put 2-3 “tablespoons” worth of peanut butter on the end of a normal kitchen spoon. Instead weigh the peanut butter according to how many grams are in a serving. The same goes for scoopers found in supplements. . . .
    . . . .
  • tapwaters
    tapwaters Posts: 428 Member
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    Hi there! I am 5'3 and originally weighed 250lbs, I am down to 145 right now :) Give it time. Make sure your food entries are as accurate as possible, keep exercising and eating at the appropriate calorie amount, and it will happen. If you would like to add me as a friend to peek at my journal, please feel free.

    I am sure the other replies above me are telling you to weigh your food, and you should if you don't yet. One of my biggest surprises and breakthroughs was when I realized that 1 cup serving of cereal didn't mean it was the 30g that the calories actually were. It will teach you portion sizes and you'll learn what you can eat that gives you your biggest bang for the buck, ie: what you can eat a lot of but minimally impact your calorie count.

    But don't give up. Your post sounds nearly frantic, so take a second a breath. Smile. You're going to be okay, and you'll get the weight off. I believe in you and your ability to keep going.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    Michele7091 wrote: »
    Maybe you are not eating enough. I work with a woman that does way less heavy lifting than you and she eats a minimum of 2800-3000 calories a day. She is maintaining her weight but I think that 1200-1300 during the week when you are dong heavy lifting for as long as you are isn't enough calories. Maybe raise your carlorie for a few weeks and see what that does for you. Good luck!! :)

    No. The answer to not losing weight is not increase calories. That would cause weight gain.

  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    But you lost 4 pounds the first two weeks? And this big of a was probably mostly water weight and not 100% fat loss.

    Are you 100% sure (logging food, weighing food, etc.. to the nines) you have met the MFP calorie deficit to lose weight eat day/week?

    I personally would not up my calories on the weekend when just starting to loose weight. I like to give my body time to make necessary adjustments to less calorie it is getting. Also 1200 - 1500 is a pretty broad number of calories unless you are including exercise in these number to NET your MFP calorie goal ??

    If you want to eat more on the weekends and keep your weekly deficit in check with the total goal MFP gave, work out a calorie scheduling so that the 5 day week works out to allow more on the weekends and do this for several weeks. Consistency is key.

    I might recommend that you set activity level to sedentary and allow MFP to give you exercise calories to eat back and plan to NET those calories each day. Use exercise as insurance to better health and longevity instead of a major factor in your weight loss, it can help you with meeting a calorie deficit, but should be a very small part of the weight loss equation.
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 922 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I do have a scale and do weigh all of my foods. I had brain surgery 9 months ago to remove a brain tumor that had been causing me to be in menopause for years. I gained a lot of weight during that time and my thyroid is a disaster as well. I also have PCOS. I do not believe I am eating too little as someone has said, I will try upping my calories for a while. Thanks so much!
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    If you are not losing now, increasing your calories will cause weight gain.
  • jwcanfield
    jwcanfield Posts: 192 Member
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    elphie754 wrote: »
    If you are not losing now, increasing your calories will cause weight gain.

    http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20163/why-eating-more-not-less-can-help-you-lose-weight.html
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    jwcanfield wrote: »
    elphie754 wrote: »
    If you are not losing now, increasing your calories will cause weight gain.

    http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20163/why-eating-more-not-less-can-help-you-lose-weight.html

    No. Starvation mode the way they describe it in that article does not exist. If you ar In a calorie deficit you will lose weight. In a surplus you will gain. If you are not losing or gaining in means the calories in vs out are equal. Adding in more calories to eat will cause weight gain.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    SarahMorganP wrote: »
    I have tried to lose weight many times in the past and always lost about 10-15lbs the first month. This time I have lost only 4lbs since Aug 1st and none in the last 2 weeks. I'm getting very frustrated since I have 100lbs to lose! Any help would be great.

    I am unsure what to set my fitness level at. I sit all day at my job, but take a 30min walk at lunch and a 30min to 1 hour walk at night after work. 3 days a week I also do 45min-1 hour of heavy weight lifting 3 days a week. But other than those 2 walks and the lifting I am pretty much sitting. I have no clue how much I burn during my weight lifting but my heart rate stays between 110 and 150 the entire time. When I walk it averages around 95-110 the entire time. I get at least 10k steps daily.

    I eat 1200-1500 a day, on the weekends I will go as high as 1800, but I also walk more on weekends, around 13k steps. I am 36 and 5'2.5" and 210lbs.

    Any help? I'm seriously so frustrated that I'm not losing this time, that's never happened before. I work out so hard at the gym and all the other times I strictly walked and calorie counted, so I thought adding weights would help.

    Set your fitness level according to your job, which is a desk job, so Sedentary. Log your exercise separately. Many believe the calorie burns given by MFP are inflated so only eat back 50% of them. Some people eat back calories from weight lifting, some do not. You find this in the cardio section - 'Weight training, free weights', etc. The Strength Training section is just for making notes, not logging exercise to get calorie credits.

    Some (but not all) of the women here with PCOS find losing weight easier when they are reduced or low carb. There's a PCOS group here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/3070-p-c-o-sis
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 922 Member
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    I have lost 11.5" so even though I haven't really lost a lot of weight I know my body is getting smaller. My favorite pair of fat jeans are loose now and that hasn't happened since I was 10lbs lighter than where I'm at now. It's just really hard to not see the scale moving down when I am SO overweight.

    All other times I have lost weight I wasn't lifting weights. I was doing strictly cardio and not a lot of it and was eating this same amount and losing a lot faster. So I know I don't need to eat less calories now than I was eating without the weights as I am busting *kitten* in the gym. If I ate less I simply wouldn't have the energy to do the workouts.

    I no longer have my hrm but when I did my calorie burn was always much higher than what mfp gave me. I know that is the opposite of what everyone says but my body is just weird I guess.

    Anyway thanks everyone. I will try to chill out and ignore the stupid scale. As long as I can see changes that should be all that matters.

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