what am i doing wrong ?

samhynes7469
samhynes7469 Posts: 23 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hi, im a 40 yro mother of 4 , 2y - 22y . i maintain a 500 - 1000 cal deficit daily . I do 120 min. of working out daily which includes cardio , abbs and core , calisthenics and strength training. I log and weigh or measure all food intake , and stay at or below 1200 cal. . started at 170 , and have lost 35 lbs , 30 lbs to go, and have seen great progress , but i have stalled . ive tried changing it up , but nothing seems to be working , i dont want to start any fad diets . Im really getting down about it , all advice will be welcome .

Replies

  • anaxmann
    anaxmann Posts: 103 Member
    First of all, congratulations on being over halfway there! That is a big deal.

    Now, I don't have personal experience on this exact issue, but I see a lot of chit chat about this kind of problem on the boards. Usually people recommend increasing calorie intake and remembering that the closer you get to your goal weight the more difficult it is to lose quickly. Now that you are at 135 lbs, loosing 2 lbs a week, which seems to be your goal given your weight and calorie intake, is about a 1.5% loss per week, which is pretty high. It is probably a good idea to back down your pound/week weight loss setting to 1 pound/week. Also, you may need to consider taking rest days, as your body is probably struggling to keep up with repairing itself after all of the exercise you are doing on so few calories. Finally, stalls are a normal part of weight loss, there could be any number of factors, and keeping at it will get you through. Don't give up!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How long has it been since you lost weight? How much of your exercise calories are you eating back? Also how tall are you with a 105-pound goal weight?
  • Snow__White
    Snow__White Posts: 1,650 Member
    Eat more
    You're welcome
  • crowleyed72
    crowleyed72 Posts: 247 Member
    My doctor has told me this story a couple of times. One of his patients is a physical ed teacher had about 30 lbs that just wouldn't come off. Told her to increase her calorie count by 200 to 400 hundred a day. Her body was at maintenance lvl it was trained to use her normal calorie intake. By increasing her calories it restarted her metabolism. And she lost the last 30 lbs. When I was in the Army I had the same issue not losing weight while working out an counting calories I raised my an started losing.
  • samhynes7469
    samhynes7469 Posts: 23 Member
    edited April 2017
    I tried eating more ,thinking my metabolism was shot, and started gaining back weight...:( I am 5 ' even. Its been a work in progress after my last child was born , 3 years....




  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    edited April 2017
    You and I are in similar places, though I'm a little bit older. I lost my first 35-40 pounds easily, but it's slower now. It does get harder as you get closer to a good weight. You have to just keep going. Also, 1200 calories might be lower than you need to go, and if you aren't physically weighing everything you eat you might want to start. Good luck! It isn't easy but it's worth it. Edit: I see you're only 5' tall - maybe 1200 calories is right. I'm 5'10" so I'm in a different situation there. But do consider buying a digital food scale and weighing everything if you aren't already doing that.
  • cmloomis361
    cmloomis361 Posts: 3 Member
    edited April 2017
    You're over training and under eating. Limit carbs and dial back the training sessions. Try doing 5 days a week instead. Your body is in crisis mode. That whole calorie in calorie out thing is nonsense. If you're at too much of a deficit your body just doesn't let go. Try a hflc plan.
  • samhynes7469
    samhynes7469 Posts: 23 Member
    edited April 2017
    stalled for about 1 and 1/2 months , i stalled for a couple weeks so i tried the eating more thing and gained back instantly ... was at 129 and ended up at 135 , and stalled.... now im just not getting anywhere . Im practically religious about mfp and my work outs , i feel im working so hard , but not getting anywhere , im becoming discouraged.....
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I don't think you will like my tip. I suggest moving to maintenance for a year. Then at least your eating and exercising will not feel like it is for nothing.

    When this eating and exercising becomes your new normal, you can start losing weight again.
  • samhynes7469
    samhynes7469 Posts: 23 Member
    That actually sounds rational....maybe not for a hole year...lol . I would like to quit smoking as well , dont want to wait that long... worried i will gain from that to... but i think if i focus on maintenance , instead of trying to do both weight and smoking, i can then just focus on smoking and deal with the weight when i am officially a non smoker . its just so difficult to give up all the progress ive worked so hard for . thank you for all the great advice !
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
    anaxmann wrote: »
    First of all, congratulations on being over halfway there! That is a big deal.

    Now, I don't have personal experience on this exact issue, but I see a lot of chit chat about this kind of problem on the boards. Usually people recommend increasing calorie intake and remembering that the closer you get to your goal weight the more difficult it is to lose quickly. Now that you are at 135 lbs, loosing 2 lbs a week, which seems to be your goal given your weight and calorie intake, is about a 1.5% loss per week, which is pretty high. It is probably a good idea to back down your pound/week weight loss setting to 1 pound/week. Also, you may need to consider taking rest days, as your body is probably struggling to keep up with repairing itself after all of the exercise you are doing on so few calories. Finally, stalls are a normal part of weight loss, there could be any number of factors, and keeping at it will get you through. Don't give up!

    This.
  • FITitch40
    FITitch40 Posts: 26 Member
    samhynes7469 wrote: »
    stalled for about 1 and 1/2 months , i stalled for a couple weeks so i tried the eating more thing and gained back instantly ... was at 129 and ended up at 135 , and stalled.... now im just not getting anywhere . Im practically religious about mfp and my work outs , i feel im working so hard , but not getting anywhere , im becoming discouraged.....

    I was at a stall for three months before breaking through. Plateaus happen and true plateaus usually last more than a month. I like the idea of eating at maintenance and just putting a deficit through workouts. Maybe not for a year, but a good month or two. Then slowly drop calorie intake again. Just make sure you're properly tracking your food by measuring and weighing it so you're not eating a surplus. Whatever you do just keep at it, you'll eventually see progress again.

    One more thing.... take measurements and pictures! The scale only tells one part of your changes. Good luck

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