HELP! Diet and exercise but no changes.
Anamargonz
Posts: 35 Member
Hi there, I started back in the just over a month ago and I lost just two pounds. I have a calorie intake of 1270 per day being that 45%proteins 30% fats and 25% carbs and do strength training 4 times a week but I've beem stuck for the past two and a half weeks. Can anyone give some advice? I mainly want to lose far but don't know what I'm doing wrong. Can it be that my metabolism is very low or any other suggestions?? Thanks! I'm female 26 year old.
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Replies
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I meant back in the gtm0
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How do you determine your calorie intake? Do you weigh all solids and measure all liquids, and are you using accurate database entries?1
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Yes, i weigh everything I eat and I scan the products with the app, so far I found everything i scanned so good for me. About the liquids all i drink is water appart from my morning coffee with 50mls of semi-skimmed milk which I also log....0
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Sorry i messed up with the macros... It's 45% proteins 25% carbs and 30% fats.0
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When did you start the strength training?0
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So you started a huge deficit in eating compared to what maintained weight with no exercise?
(you likely never logged how much you ate before to know that 1270 is probably close to 50% less)
And you started lifting as exercise compared to none before?
What type of program 4x weekly for strength training?
26 should mean a high metabolism (compared to older) - but, are you short?
How much weight to be lost to healthy weight?1 -
Soubds like you're just being impatient to me!3
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4 weeks ago, currently on the fifth week... I'm doing the same programme that i was doing before my nearly a year gap due to pregnancy and very bad anaemia. I definitely can see that I'm getting stronger per week as I'm close to the weights i used to lift...0
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Well - with limited answers comes limited possible reasons.
Your body is massively stressed out and retaining water for many reasons.
Likely huge calorie drop.
Total increase in exercise.
Strength training water retained for repair.
Great to find that you still have muscle to use and strengthen though - keep those increases going to tap the full potential of the muscle you got.3 -
Well, i lost lots of weight when i was about 18 and since then my metabolism slowed down bcos i didn't do.it properly at that time. I've always eaten little since then, let's say about 1500 per day cos i put on weight straight away if i ate more...
I started with a week of pure cardio and then the strength training. Each day i do different muscle groups like quads, hamstrings and calfs, then chest and abs...
I want to lose just 13 pounds0 -
Any ideas about how to fix my metabolism??1
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Sounds like an appropriate routine for an experienced lifter - which includes recent time lifting.
That's not you though right now. Perhaps couple of years.
3 x weekly whole body is going to provide the best results.
Muscle group a day is the other end of the range, so it'll take longer.
You can make 3x whole body a matter of 3 x a 2-day split of push/pull or upper/lower if you have the time for 6 shorter workouts a week.
13 lbs is going to be benefited from only a 250 cal deficit. Why stress your body out more on the diet, get the most from the workout and look better no matter the weight, 250 cal deficit will help that.
And since you said you had a child - I hope you were honest and selected MFP activity level of Lightly-Active.
Metabolism isn't really broken - but you may not like what body has done IF it really was trying to adapt.
Here's study that shows how they fixed it.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales/view/reduced-metabolism-tdee-beyond-expected-from-weight-loss-616251
(also, you have 60 min to edit a prior post to add to it)3 -
I'll take ur advice and change my programme and calorie intake and see what happens. I'll definitely be reading the article too.
Yes, i choose light activity levels otherwise i would just be lying to myself.
Thanks!!0 -
Anamargonz wrote: »Any ideas about how to fix my metabolism??
reverse diet1 -
Anamargonz wrote: »Well, i lost lots of weight when i was about 18 and since then my metabolism slowed down bcos i didn't do.it properly at that time. I've always eaten little since then, let's say about 1500 per day cos i put on weight straight away if i ate more...
I started with a week of pure cardio and then the strength training. Each day i do different muscle groups like quads, hamstrings and calfs, then chest and abs...
I want to lose just 13 pounds
Your metabolism is not slow from something you did eight years ago. Though you may well have affected it with your chronic under eating since then. Increase your calorie intake by 100 cals a day, then another 100 cals a day the next week, and so on.
That putting on weight straight away if you went over 1500 was probably a mix of glycogen replenishment and more food in your system, not fat gain.3 -
The other thing I would do is take measurements. You might be toning, which will affect your measurements but not your weight. Do you notice in changes in how your clothes fit?
I only say that because I stopped losing weight when I started strength training and was very discouraged, until I took my measurements. I was dropping inches but the scale was not moving. I recently went shopping and fit in a smaller size in everything, despite the fact that my weight has only decreased a pound or two.5 -
I'll second the no damage to your metabolism from 8 years ago,measuring yourself and double check your food entries ... and definitely patience
If you enjoy your workout program and are making proogress there is no reason to change it...you should quickly get back to where you were before
How much do you weigh...how much weight do you gain when you eat 1500 calories. If you're eating more carbs or sodium you'll gain some water weight...if that's the case it's nothing to worry about. You will also gain some water weight from working out...again it's nothing to worry about...it's supposed to happen
My suggestion is to keep doing your same exercise routine...eat your maintaince calories for a couple of weeks. The added carbs/sodium will cause you to add a little water weight really fast but should level off in a couple of days. After you see your weight stabilize for a week then cut 250 calories. Since you only want to lose 13 pounds you should set your target at .5 pounds a week and again ... patience1 -
2 weeks is not a plateau. Particularlyas a woman. Time of month often makes a difference. Often weight come off mainly at a certain time of month.
Also are you using a weight trend app and weighing every day or if only weigh say once a week water or excrement fluctuation can be more than 2 lbs.2 -
how is it people keep saying no changes and yet youve lost 2 pounds? thats a change. relax. adjust your expectations.5
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I think you’re measuring progress with only the scale number. There is so much more to fitness and health than weight. It took me a lifetime to realize that and I still focus on the number too much at times.
When I was on my way down in weight, I added a lot more walking and cardio, like the elliptical, when I got stuck at a weight for a week or so. That worked for a while but as I became more fit and felt compelled to run instead of walk, I found I was hungrier and began to weigh more because I was starving all the time. But also, I had muscles and not as much fluttery bits.
Perhaps measure yourself and record that instead of focusing primarily on your pounds? Set goals other than the number on the scale, which can fluctuate madly day by day. One meal with lots of sodium and carbs and I can be up on the scale as much as 5 pounds the next day!1 -
I agree with other posts, (1) water retention, (2) measurements instead of relying on scales, (3) patience - 2.5 weeks stuck isn't that bad, (4) switch up the routine - maybe some cardio after strength1
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How are people able to give such specific advice without seeing stats? I would interpret the situation as WAY different if the OP were 5'7'' 150 compared to 5'7'' 180.
It is possible the OP is doing everything right but is very close to a reasonable BMI. But I couldn't hazard a guess without knowing that.3 -
I do measure myself and true to be said i lost some cm but stuck since 2,5 weeks ago.
I am 5'5'' and weigh 149 lbs.
I actually enjoy my workout as i see how i improve each week.
I don't add any salt to my meals and try to get my carbs from veggies and legumes.
How much would it be a maintenance calories intake for me? Around 1800??
Though I'm not overweight i am one of those that they call skinny fat and it's driving me mad, my goal is to get lean and lose fat for when i take my clothes off to be happy with what i see...
I always weigh myself in the same scale once a week or every 15 days.
I feel a bit lost in all this as i never had anyone helping me and don't know what the best way to reach my goal is.
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How are people able to give such specific advice without seeing stats? I would interpret the situation as WAY different if the OP were 5'7'' 150 compared to 5'7'' 180.
It is possible the OP is doing everything right but is very close to a reasonable BMI. But I couldn't hazard a guess without knowing that.
Exactly my thoughts. 2lbs a month is expected if the OP has 10lbs to lose.4 -
How are people able to give such specific advice without seeing stats? I would interpret the situation as WAY different if the OP were 5'7'' 150 compared to 5'7'' 180.
It is possible the OP is doing everything right but is very close to a reasonable BMI. But I couldn't hazard a guess without knowing that.
She said lose 13 lbs, so while not exact stats - useful as needed for deficit amount.1 -
Anamargonz wrote: »I do measure myself and true to be said i lost some cm but stuck since 2,5 weeks ago.
I am 5'5'' and weigh 149 lbs.
I actually enjoy my workout as i see how i improve each week.
I don't add any salt to my meals and try to get my carbs from veggies and legumes.
How much would it be a maintenance calories intake for me? Around 1800??
Though I'm not overweight i am one of those that they call skinny fat and it's driving me mad, my goal is to get lean and lose fat for when i take my clothes off to be happy with what i see...
I always weigh myself in the same scale once a week or every 15 days.
I feel a bit lost in all this as i never had anyone helping me and don't know what the best way to reach my goal is.
Well, you can either use MFP as designed, you have the settings correct - merely log Strength Training when it's done, and eat slightly more on that day - not a huge calorie burn.
Any other purposeful exercise besides active day log and eat back since so little to lose.
Or, if doing the weekly avg TDEE method where you eat the same amount daily (but you better do planned workouts), I used 30 min lifting 4x weekly as only workouts and get with your stats a TDEE of about 2050.
So a 15% deficit would be 1750 daily.
If extra walking or jogging starts getting done, of course you eat more then.
That's small enough deficit to allow the lifting to have better impact on body shape, even if weight on scale changes slowly. It'll appear like more. And really - who besides you sees your scale?2 -
MFP is telling me that i need 1270 calories a day to lose 0.5 kg a week just above 1lb a week. Therefore, I'm eating those few calories a day. I log every cardio exercise as MFP can't count the calories in streng exercises.
Should I try to increase a little bit my calories for the next two weeks and then go down again or better to stick to it a bit longer??0 -
gebeziseva wrote: »How are people able to give such specific advice without seeing stats? I would interpret the situation as WAY different if the OP were 5'7'' 150 compared to 5'7'' 180.
It is possible the OP is doing everything right but is very close to a reasonable BMI. But I couldn't hazard a guess without knowing that.
Exactly my thoughts. 2lbs a month is expected if the OP has 10lbs to lose.
She said she's eating 1270,lifting weights and gaining strength. She also said when she eats 1500 calories she gains weight. A 100 pound women wouldn't gain fat at 1500 calories only water....let alone one that's lifting weights
Seems pretty obvious to me
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Anamargonz wrote: »MFP is telling me that i need 1270 calories a day to lose 0.5 kg a week just above 1lb a week. Therefore, I'm eating those few calories a day. I log every cardio exercise as MFP can't count the calories in streng exercises.
Should I try to increase a little bit my calories for the next two weeks and then go down again or better to stick to it a bit longer??
It depends...are you nursing?
ETA
If so then you should definitely raise your calories back to maintenance... because nursing takes energy
If not I would eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks...and be ready to gain some water weight...like 4 or 5 pounds in a few days. It's just water, you can't gain fat that quickly. Since you will be at maintenance,after you gain back some water weight, in a few weeks you should start to lose a little weight from your exercising then you can lower your calories no more than 250 once your weight loss stalls.
It takes time to lose weight when you have so little to lose so you will have to be patient
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Anamargonz wrote: »I do measure myself and true to be said i lost some cm but stuck since 2,5 weeks ago.
I am 5'5'' and weigh 149 lbs.
I actually enjoy my workout as i see how i improve each week.
I don't add any salt to my meals and try to get my carbs from veggies and legumes.
How much would it be a maintenance calories intake for me? Around 1800??
Though I'm not overweight i am one of those that they call skinny fat and it's driving me mad, my goal is to get lean and lose fat for when i take my clothes off to be happy with what i see...
I always weigh myself in the same scale once a week or every 15 days.
I feel a bit lost in all this as i never had anyone helping me and don't know what the best way to reach my goal is.
Well, you can either use MFP as designed, you have the settings correct - merely log Strength Training when it's done, and eat slightly more on that day - not a huge calorie burn.
Any other purposeful exercise besides active day log and eat back since so little to lose.
Or, if doing the weekly avg TDEE method where you eat the same amount daily (but you better do planned workouts), I used 30 min lifting 4x weekly as only workouts and get with your stats a TDEE of about 2050.
So a 15% deficit would be 1750 daily.
If extra walking or jogging starts getting done, of course you eat more then.
That's small enough deficit to allow the lifting to have better impact on body shape, even if weight on scale changes slowly. It'll appear like more. And really - who besides you sees your scale?
OP, this is the most complete response in this thread - which came as a result of more information from you. It is a very modest deficit. Here is where you may need to reassess why you are doing this.
By that I mean that if 13 pounds is what you're looking for, I assume you are doing this ultimately for health reasons right? You want less body fat so you can 1) look better, and 2) do more. If that's the case, I would recommend not attaching a time goal to it. It could be that even 1 pound per week, or 0.5 kg per week is not as good as 0.5 pounds (or 0.25 kg) per week. When it comes to losing fat, faster is not necessarily better - when it comes to what you see on the scale. Don't chase a scale number!
If you are controlling your eating properly and lifting with progressive overload, you will see obvious changes in 6 months or less, especially being close to goal weight.3
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