Not losing fat

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  • Gilbrod
    Gilbrod Posts: 1,216 Member
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    5'1". I'm short so I think I can lose a little bit.

    I agree. But also check your BMI and see if you are in the healthy weight range. I think a healthy weight for a 5'1" woman is anywhere from 106-112lbs. And that's if you're petite. If you have a bigger frame (bone structure wise), it could be a bit more. So I can understand what you're trying to do. Stay dedicated, eat good, recover and you'll get there. Remember, Rome wasn't build in 1 day :)
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    Hmmmm, I think MFP set it to 1200 calories.

    In that case I would double check your BMR and make sure you keep your deficit around 400-700 daily. I was going by the MFP 1200 default for like a month and lost no weight and then checked my info and raised mine to 1350 and have been losing weight since. But as always, it all depends on the body type and lifestyle. You are quite little to begin with so I'm not sure how much of a difference that would even make.

    I do agree with whoever said to strength train more often, strengthening those muscles more will help you burn more fat vs muscle.

    Before I joined MFP I was doing cardio everyday almost and lifting every other day AND still wasn't losing, which is why I cut back to doing weights once a week.
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    I see your sugar is from fruit but its high, 2 servings of fruit is 2 cups per day, that may be the problem?

    Yea, idk. I can't live without fruit. Fruit, especially a banana for breakfast, is my favorite.
  • Turbonos7
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    Well... I'm probably going to hate bringing this up BUT i feel I must. CARDIO DOES NOT BURN FAT. (I'm not yelling BTW) cardio just builds endurance but does not burn fat. As someone said in one of the replies once you get to a point where you are burning too much and not eating enough your metabolism slows down due to the fact that your body starts thinking that it will always starve and will never have food so it tries to SAVE what is has already and chooses to burn MUSCLE instead this is not good. Most treadmills nowadays have a chart where it says if you're this age then your heartbeat should be this for fat burning or this (a higher number) for cardio. Cardio does not mean burn fat it means burn muscle in your case. If you tinker around on the treadmill you'll eventually figure out that you can achieve the target heartbeat for fat burning by just walking which means you should just walk. I know walking feels like a waste of time especially if you're used to running every time but you have to do what's going to work for you or you're going to get frustrated and not do anything anyways so might as well. One more thing, It is also VERY bad to not eat after you exercise, this is another one of those things that will shock your metabolism and slow the heck out of it. On the other hand you don't want to eat more than what your settings say so what I would try is shifting some of what you already eat to AFTER you jogg that way you trick your body into thinking that it is getting fuel and doesn't have to try to save the fat for later. Hope this helps and don't give up!!!! Remember MIND OVER MATTER!!!
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    5'1". I'm short so I think I can lose a little bit.

    I agree. But also check your BMI and see if you are in the healthy weight range. I think a healthy weight for a 5'1" woman is anywhere from 106-112lbs. And that's if you're petite. If you have a bigger frame (bone structure wise), it could be a bit more. So I can understand what you're trying to do. Stay dedicated, eat good, recover and you'll get there. Remember, Rome wasn't build in 1 day :)

    My BMI is fine, but the muffin top and chubby inner thighs aren't.
  • MayhemModels
    MayhemModels Posts: 367 Member
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    lol I love fruit tooo :) I have a half a banana and 1/4 of a apple and cube them up so it looks like im eating more
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    Well... I'm probably going to hate bringing this up BUT i feel I must. CARDIO DOES NOT BURN FAT. (I'm not yelling BTW) cardio just builds endurance but does not burn fat. As someone said in one of the replies once you get to a point where you are burning too much and not eating enough your metabolism slows down due to the fact that your body starts thinking that it will always starve and will never have food so it tries to SAVE what is has already and chooses to burn MUSCLE instead this is not good. Most treadmills nowadays have a chart where it says if you're this age then your heartbeat should be this for fat burning or this (a higher number) for cardio. Cardio does not mean burn fat it means burn muscle in your case. If you tinker around on the treadmill you'll eventually figure out that you can achieve the target heartbeat for fat burning by just walking which means you should just walk. I know walking feels like a waste of time especially if you're used to running every time but you have to do what's going to work for you or you're going to get frustrated and not do anything anyways so might as well. One more thing, It is also VERY bad to not eat after you exercise, this is another one of those things that will shock your metabolism and slow the heck out of it. On the other hand you don't want to eat more than what your settings say so what I would try is shifting some of what you already eat to AFTER you jogg that way you trick your body into thinking that it is getting fuel and doesn't have to try to save the fat for later. Hope this helps and don't give up!!!! Remember MIND OVER MATTER!!!

    I ALWAYS eat a protein and carb after a workout. I know that's important. I have a lot of muscle in my legs.
  • SDkitty
    SDkitty Posts: 446 Member
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    I see your sugar is from fruit but its high, 2 servings of fruit is 2 cups per day, that may be the problem?

    Yea, idk. I can't live without fruit. Fruit, especially a banana for breakfast, is my favorite.

    Fruit sugars are no big deal to someone working out a lot and who is just "maintaining" but for someone who is trying to lose weight they are secret killers. If you have to have your fruit try to stick to berries which are the usually the lowest calories.

    http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/calories-in-fruit.html

    http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.html
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
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    You can definitely get a little more low into the "healthy" BMI zone, but at 120 and 5'1" you're already a healthy BMI, so it's likely going to be tougher to make headway in this range.

    This is exactly what I deal with. People look at me and wonder why I want to be so motivated about my diet and fitness. They think I look great. What they don't realize is that its EXTREMELY difficult to go from "healthy and thin" to "toned with very low body fat %"

    It's actually easier to start out with say, 30% body fat and get that down to 18% than it is to go from 18% to 14%

    Then you have the whole "plateau" effect of your workouts. Your body might just be running those 5 miles SUPER efficiently, so your calorie burn is not what you think it is. Mix it up with sprint workouts, team sports (soccer, basketball), roller blading, etc

    And with your regular workouts, you have to keep increasing the intensity over time. Run those 5 miles faster. Add a half a mile on the end of your typical run, etc.
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
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    On big burn days you need to eat more. More Protein and Fiber especially. Make sure you are getting in your water as well, 64oz at least.

    When you don't give the body enough fuel to burn it burns muscle instead.

    I would also agree that you do measurements as when you replace a pound of fat with a pound of muscle you will be smaller as the muscle takes up less space than the fat. So weight may be the same but

    You can do it!
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    You can definitely get a little more low into the "healthy" BMI zone, but at 120 and 5'1" you're already a healthy BMI, so it's likely going to be tougher to make headway in this range.

    This is exactly what I deal with. People look at me and wonder why I want to be so motivated about my diet and fitness. They think I look great. What they don't realize is that its EXTREMELY difficult to go from "healthy and thin" to "toned with very low body fat %"

    It's actually easier to start out with say, 30% body fat and get that down to 18% than it is to go from 18% to 14%

    Then you have the whole "plateau" effect of your workouts. Your body might just be running those 5 miles SUPER efficiently, so your calorie burn is not what you think it is. Mix it up with sprint workouts, team sports (soccer, basketball), roller blading, etc.

    Being short sucks! Yes, I'm thinking about joining some kind of adult sports team.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Being short sucks! Yes, I'm thinking about joining some kind of adult sports team.

    You're in a great location for it. I'm trying to get into SUP - which is standup paddle boarding. VERY good workout

    Tennis is also good, if you can find a good partner or take lessons
  • sunrize_sc
    sunrize_sc Posts: 157 Member
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    Cut back on your carbs and add more protein.
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
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    Really, still guessing. Her diet is the main problem. 50 days is more than enough time to see results. She's seen NONE. You can't out train (or run in her case), a bad diet. Start eating better and you'll see results. Don't cut back on carbs, don't count fat, don't worry about eating more protein...CLEAN UP YOUR DIET, then you can fine tune it. It's not really that hard.
  • alriela
    alriela Posts: 13
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    Really, still guessing. Her diet is the main problem. 50 days is more than enough time to see results. She's seen NONE. You can't out train (or run in her case), a bad diet. Start eating better and you'll see results. Don't cut back on carbs, don't count fat, don't worry about eating more protein...CLEAN UP YOUR DIET, then you can fine tune it. It's not really that hard.

    What do you think is unhealthy about my diet? I have been trying to lose 20 pounds since May! I really want advice.
  • haylz24
    haylz24 Posts: 225
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    Really, still guessing. Her diet is the main problem. 50 days is more than enough time to see results. She's seen NONE. You can't out train (or run in her case), a bad diet. Start eating better and you'll see results. Don't cut back on carbs, don't count fat, don't worry about eating more protein...CLEAN UP YOUR DIET, then you can fine tune it. It's not really that hard.

    What do you think is unhealthy about my diet? I have been trying to lose 20 pounds since May! I really want advice.

    Try more lean meat? Drink protein shakes too. Have a look at my diary. Mine isn't perfect but I am under cals everyday. You do need to eat more as you're burning loads.
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Really, still guessing. Her diet is the main problem. 50 days is more than enough time to see results. She's seen NONE. You can't out train (or run in her case), a bad diet. Start eating better and you'll see results. Don't cut back on carbs, don't count fat, don't worry about eating more protein...CLEAN UP YOUR DIET, then you can fine tune it. It's not really that hard.

    What do you think is unhealthy about my diet? I have been trying to lose 20 pounds since May! I really want advice.

    I looked at your diet for the last week and thought it looked great!!
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
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    The only thing that I noticed is that you do eat a lot of fruit per day. If you love fruit, maybe limit it to one piece per day. Try to get your carbs more from whole grains and vegetables. And try to up your protein a bit. I have my macros set for 50/30/20 which is difficult to obtain, for sure, but Im trying it because I think that I needed more protein which all that Im doing (running, TaeKwonDo, etc).