Soooo frustrated

You say you're averaging about 1700 calories per day, are you logging accurately (with a food scale)? You can exercise as much as you like but you must be in a calorie deficit to lose the weight. If you're not logging accurately you may still be eating more than you think.

Also how often are you weighing in? Where are you in your menstrual cycle when you have weighed?
Women's bodies retain water as a result of hormonal changes throughout the cycle (not just during your period) and this can mask weight loss, if you're weighing in-frequently you may have just weighed in on a day when you are retaining a lot of water and actually could have lost more fat than you thought.

Additionally as you're training at the gym more often than you were, that also can cause the body to retain more water to repair the muscles.

Stick at it: log accurately and honestly, stick to your calorie goals as much as possible and the weight will come off, you just have to be patient.

Your body can retain water for 6 weeks or more when you first start working out. I've experienced this myself. Please don't give up! You'll be glad you didn't!

Many people think that you have to make many life-style changes all at once and in my opinion, that is not sustainable. As a former over weight person, who got that gradually due to aging, stress and slowing metabolism and menopause, the thought of exercising made me nervous because just walking more than a quarter mile would make me sick. I fiddled around with eating the same and just reducing calories and I was "hangry" (hungry and angry) and couldn't imagine "dieting" as a way of life.

When I started this last November, as a 193 lb 5'6" woman, my calorie limit was 1400 calories per day to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week. That is also my "maintenance" calories. I didn't want to lose too fast because as an older woman, my skin is not as elastic as it once was and I was trying to minimize a dramatic weight loss.

After several months of fits and starts and no results I kind of fell into Paleo / Keto (high protein / fat with low, low sugar and carbs) and I cannot imagine not eating this way pretty much forever. I am not hungry.

I seem to be able to stay within my nutrition / calorie goals and I FEEL better. No aches, pains and I have lost almost 40 lbs almost without trying. (And, I am not always strict about eating no carbs -- I still occasionally allow myself some of the things that I like, {{{FRENCH FRIES}}} - just not more than once a week)

The benefit to this way of eating is dramatic all over fat reduction - particularly on my abdomen, arms, butt and alas "the girls".

My weight last night was 157 lbs. I do NOT exercise beyond walking to and from my car and to the building across the street from my office for meetings. I average maybe a mile a day walking around work and at my house.

I suppose that with the exercise that you are doing that you would actually have more dramatic results. When I was younger and exercising, I was able to lose weight just with exercise alone. My body was burning calories / fat and I wasn't hungry. Now, is a different story for me. Try just getting the sugar / junk out of the house so that it doesn't tempt you.

I also encourage you to look at food differently by thinking about high protein/fat/fiber and low carbs/sugar meal planning (Paleo or Ketogenic). See this website for a list: http://paleoiq.com/best-paleo-diet-blogs/

I include some very nutrient dense foods (a protein shake* for breakfast and a "blended" meal for lunch along with some mushrooms and mixed greens along with some Greek yogurt and shredded coconut) to assist with supporting collagen and muscle maintenance. The added fat in these meals keep me from being hungry and are within my calorie limit.

Note: If you restrict carbs you must get energy from good fats. These good fats burn the bad fat off your body. Really... not kidding.

For the idea behind blended meals, see this website for details: http://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com/

* I make up my own from plain protein powder with no additives in an effort to "eat clean". I also don't eat many "prepared foods" out of cans or boxes. I have also noticed that even meat at many restaurants now arrive "pre-treated" with things to make them last longer in the freezer and I am working on eliminating these things from my diet also.

freesoul wrote: »

Thank you all for your feed back!!! Sorry about this late response- I had to double shift these couple days, no time...

I will take your advice into consideration and try to be patient.

What do people think is a good calorie intake to aim for, for someone that is 5 feet tall and 135 lbs? Some of you suggested that 1200 cals is too low, but that is what the fitness pal app put me at..so I don't know. I am not very active at work and spend a lot of my after work time watching tv. I do go to the gym 3 times a week: I do synergy classes, Zumba, barre classes...step classes...yoga...also walk about 45 on trails 2-3 times a week on average (on top of gym).

What would be adequate? I am averaging maybe 1500-1700 and maintaining

Without exercise, and depending on your age, 1200 excluding exercise sounds about right.
If you are not counting your exercise calories 1400 would probably have you in a .5-1lbs deficit.

I was 5'1, 130 lbs, and 54, 1200 was the calorie goal that worked for me, however I ate back all my exercise calories and that gave me an extra 200-250 calories a day. If I decided I needed a break from exercise I would drop to my 1200 base.

Cheers, h.