Need some weight loss help

anissaann93
anissaann93 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone, so two years ago I was 286lbs and now I am 225lbs. I stopped working on myself and weight loss for about a year and the past two months I'm more motivated than ever to lose the remaining weight. I cut out all soda, as much processed foods as possible, and cut back my bread, pasta and red meat intake. My question is; I have been going to the gym 5 days a week and do about an hour of cardio and 30 min of weights (machines) my weight seems to be stagnant and it's a tad bit disappointing. What are some ideas to get this weight off. My goal is to get down to 160lbs. If anyone has any opinions, I'd love to hear! I'm also 5'4 if that matters at all. Hope to hear some techniques I can impliment in my diet and excersie.

Replies

  • chulipa
    chulipa Posts: 650 Member
    What are the rest of your stats and are you using a food scale
  • kimothy38
    kimothy38 Posts: 840 Member
    Sounds to me like you're overdoing the cardio. Have you thought about something restorative like yoga or pilates. Pilates has really complemented my weight training and cardio. My trainer changes my cardio circuit every 4 weeks - just as I get better and faster it changes. I stagnated for a 3 weeks and it was really disheartening then whoosh, I dropped 1.5 kilos, and people are starting to notice.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How long ago did you begin exercising? Did the stalled weigh coincide with that? Are you tracking your calorie intake?
  • SolotoCEO
    SolotoCEO Posts: 293 Member
    It's difficult to advise you on the info you have given us. Since you've only been a member of MFP for 20 minutes or so, there is no diary to analyze. My guess - you are eating too much vs. what you think you may be burning.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    If you haven't already, check out the stickied "must read" posts at the top of each forum section. There's tons of good advice there.

    Otherwise, my basic suggestions would be:

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
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