Where am I going wrong?

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peytonplanning
peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
edited July 2017 in Motivation and Support
I am a 5'7" female and I weigh 162 pounds. My goal weight is 145 pounds. I eat 1500 calories a day (I weigh and count every meal that I eat and I only drink water, about 100 ounces a day). My macros come out to 40% protein, 35% carbs, and 30% fat each day. I run 3-4 miles every other day (about a 45 minute run) and do strength training twice a week. I don't eat out and typically eat salmon, couscous, and veggies for breakfast; chicken, quinoa, and veggies for lunch, shrimp and steamed broccoli for dinner. Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and fruits as snacks. No sugar or salt other than what naturally comes in my meals. No cheating or alcohol.

I am not losing weight and I don't know what else to do. I've been on this particular diet and exercise plan for about 7 weeks. My weight fluctuates between 160 - 162 each week. I'm not hungry during the day and I eat every 2 to 3 hours. I take my measurements once a week and it's pretty stagnant. There was a week when I pushed myself to the max, thinking it would help but my hip measurement increased by half an inch. Here are my last 2 measurements:

6/9/17 @ 11pm
161.5 pounds
35.00 - Arm pit
35.25 - Bust
30.50 - Waist
34.00 - Belly Button
40.00 - Hips
22.75 - Thigh

6/30/17 @ 11:50pm
161.5 pounds
34.00 - Arm pit
35.00 - Bust
30.50 - Waist
33.50 - Belly Button
39.50 - Hips
22.50 - Thigh

I truly don't know what else to do, and I get sick of people telling me that I've reached my ideal body weight and that's why I am not losing weight. Am I eating too many calories? I've tried increasing to 1850 calories for 2 weeks and I gained 2 pounds. I tried reducing to 1300 calories for another 2 weeks and I lost 1 pound and then stopped losing weight. I believe I should see a dietician, because I don't know what I am doing wrong and I will not accept 162 being my ideal weight.

After my first son in January 2015, I lost 40 pounds in 4 months. After having my second son in May 2016, I lost 18 pounds over 1 year, but nothing less (I went from 180 to 162). It's now July 2017 and I am still struggling to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 150. Please help. What should I do? Is it possible that I have an underlying medical issue?
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Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,121 Member
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    Have you entered your details into MFP? What did MFP give you for a calorie goal?

    Also, if you're running, you do need to eat salt. Not consuming salt can lead to water retention and eventually hyponatremia, if you're not careful.
  • Tapout112009
    Tapout112009 Posts: 109 Member
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    I honestly would either switch up ur macros and lower ur carbs a little more and leave ur calories where they are.or go to like a keto diet. But if u stay on ur reg diet I would have a cheat meal. Not a cheat day but a meal.as weird as that sounds when I plateau out I always switch it up. Or even try intermittent fasting.watch eating carbs in the evening. Sometimes plateaus last awhile.push thru it and keep going and it will fall off.i was 264 when I started and was stuck at 230 for over a month. Switched my macros and now I'm down to 209. U justg gotta grind thru it and I take pics. U might be slimming down but not losing weigh like u think.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Who told you that 162 was your ideal weight? It's not. It's actually borderline overweight. I mean, it's OK if that's what you want, but it's not IDEAL by current medical standards. On my small frame (I'm 5'7" too), it IS overweight. Your goal of 145 sounds good to me. I'm your height and I go between 135-140 myself and that's ideal for me, personally. Don't let other people tell you your ideal. You know what's right for you! :)
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
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    @jenilla1 Exactly! 162 is far from what I am used to. 140 is my super goal, but I've abandoned that dream after my 7th month of plateau-ing. Have you gone through a weight loss plateau before? If so, how did you break through it? I really don't know what else to try.
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
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    @Tapout112009 I'll try to switch it up again with my macros. I've been taking my measurements and I've seen some progress but it is minimal. My clothes fit the same for the past 3 months. There was a few weeks when my hip measurement increased by half an inch.
  • jennyf55
    jennyf55 Posts: 24 Member
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    Try intermittent fasting. I think that's that way to go. I think you're eating to often for one. You're body doesn't need to be feed that often. Look into fasting for a while. It works.
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
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    @Machka9 MFP says I should eat 1320 calories a day, which is drastically different from the 2400 that I got from FatSecret.com. 1320 seems to little to me...
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
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    @jennyf55 I heard that my body would go into starvation mode if I fast. The last time I tried it, it worked for like 1 pound of weight loss. But I ended up plateau-ing and gaining the weight back again when I went back to 1500 calories. Is there a certain technique that I need to implement?
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    peytonplanning wrote: »
    @jenilla1 Exactly! 162 is far from what I am used to. 140 is my super goal, but I've abandoned that dream after my 7th month of plateau-ing. Have you gone through a weight loss plateau before? If so, how did you break through it? I really don't know what else to try.

    Yeah, I pretty much hit the plateau at my current weight, but since it looks and feels good to be at this weight, I just stayed here. I've been maintaining for 6 years. This must be my actual happy weight, because I don't have to fight to stay here. I just make sure I'm close to my calorie goals and it seems to hold steady.

    I didn't have any problems losing (my starting/highest weight was in the mid-150's) but it was slow and steady. Just make sure that you are weighing and measuring (not guesstimating) your intake and don't overestimate calorie burn from exercise - but do eat your exercise calories back if you're hungry. That's what they're there for.

    I figure that if you get stuck in a plateau for a long time, it's not a plateau anymore. It means you're really actually at maintenance. You need to analyze where you could be missing the mark. If you want to get it moving again you need to get it back into a deficit. Good luck!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    jennyf55 wrote: »
    Try intermittent fasting. I think that's that way to go. I think you're eating to often for one. You're body doesn't need to be feed that often. Look into fasting for a while. It works.

    meal timing has nothing to do with weight loss. eating often means squat for weight loss.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    peytonplanning wrote: »
    @jennyf55 I heard that my body would go into starvation mode if I fast. The last time I tried it, it worked for like 1 pound of weight loss. But I ended up plateau-ing and gaining the weight back again when I went back to 1500 calories. Is there a certain technique that I need to implement?

    starvation mode when it comes to diet doesnt exist. IF or intermittent fasting means a time window of when you eat I used to do 16:8 which means I would stop eating by 8pm tonight and not eat again until say 12 or later the next day. I would then eat from 12-8pm,making sure I got my calories is. some do 20:4 and some do other rations. there is also 5:2 where you eat 500 calories 2 days a week and the rest either eat your calories or maintenance calories.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    edited July 2017
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    OP, are you using a food scale? If not, get one and commit to using it for a couple of weeks at least.
    Check the database entries you are using - a lot of them are user entered and plain wrong.

    If you haven't lost weight for 7 weeks, you are eating at maintenance and need to eat less calories. I'd bet you are eating more than you think. When I started using a food scale and choosing the database entries carefully, I found I was eating 300-400 cals per day more than I thought I was!

    Hang in there
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    OP, are you using a food scale? If not, get one and commit to using it for a couple of weeks at least.
    Check the database entries you are using - a lot of them are user entered and plain wrong.

    If you haven't lost weight for 7 weeks, you are eating at maintenance and need to eat less calories. I'd bet you are eating more than you think. When I started using a food scale and choosing the database entries carefully, I found I was eating 300-400 cals per day more than I thought I was!

    Hang in there

    Agreed!
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    Tapout112009 wrote: »
    I honestly would either switch up ur macros and lower ur carbs a little more and leave ur calories where they are.or go to like a keto diet. But if u stay on ur reg diet I would have a cheat meal. Not a cheat day but a meal.as weird as that sounds when I plateau out I always switch it up. Or even try intermittent fasting.watch eating carbs in the evening. Sometimes plateaus last awhile.push thru it and keep going and it will fall off.i was 264 when I started and was stuck at 230 for over a month. Switched my macros and now I'm down to 209. U justg gotta grind thru it and I take pics. U might be slimming down but not losing weigh like u think.

    switching up macros may help for satiety but macros still add up(its still a way to count calories if you are counting macros). lowering carbs will result in water weight/glycogen loss but it wont be fat loss.cheat meals arent needed either you can make things you like fit into your calories and for some a cheat meal may make them go over their calories and can wipe out a deficit.not eating carbs in the evening also means diddly.

    OP-a plateau means no loss for 6-8 weeks and most who are in a plateau are eating more than they think .It could be due to they are not weighing food on a food scale (because a lot of us are bad at eyeballing portions properly),water retention masking weight loss due to many factors,overestimating exercise and eating back those calories (which may mean you are eating maintenance calories,your weight wont change much),or in a surplus IE -you will gain).

    if you have lost weight and not updated the new weight and info into mfp (it will give you lower calories) then that can cause it too. if you are weighing everything and doing everything right then you need to see a dr to rule any health issues out, but if you arent weighing your food you may need to get a food scale.

    another note.the less weight you have to lose the slower its going to be
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
    edited July 2017
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    @kimny72 Yes, I use a food scale. I measure, weigh, and track everything I eat and count all calories. If there is one thing I am sure of, I know exactly how many calories I eat. And I only drink water.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    Tapout112009 wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    jennyf55 wrote: »
    Try intermittent fasting. I think that's that way to go. I think you're eating to often for one. You're body doesn't need to be feed that often. Look into fasting for a while. It works.

    meal timing has nothing to do with weight loss. eating often means squat for weight loss.

    Meal timing actually does. It takes the body 6 1/2 hrs after eatijng to start burning fat. That's why people fast. To help burn fat. Before that hrs ur body is in fat storage mode.so IF helps a ton to lean out and drop body fat wich u would lose weight

    You can eat your calories over a 6-8 hour window or over 24 hours and it won't change your weight loss. The only time it stores fat is if you consume more than you burn.
  • peytonplanning
    peytonplanning Posts: 8 Member
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    So is 1500 calories too much or too little for me?

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