Help with weight loss
Options
apyabt
Posts: 5 Member
Hi there
I'm trying to lose weight at the moment with a focus on a calorie deficit and exercise, but I'm not really seeing any real changes in my weight, although I can see that my shape is changing and my muscle mass is increasing.
I'm a 30 year old female, was very fit previously (I was really into weight training) but injured myself in the gym a couple of years ago - a herniated disc in my lower back which limits me in what exercise that I can do. I want to lose about 2 stone (currently at 14st). I am eating around 800/900 calories per day. A typical day consists of:
Breakfast: apple or orange
Lunch: poached chicken breast, raw celery, carrot, iceberg lettuce, pepper, tomatoes
Dinner: fish/chicken/lean meat, lots of vegetables, occasionally with a small portion of carbs when hungry.
I go to the gym 3/4 times a week doing around 20/30 mins of cardio (interval training, 2 minutes walking at 5.5kmh, 1 minute running 12kmh) and 15 minutes upper body weight machines (around 20/30kg, 3 set of 15 reps).
I have been doing this for around 2 months and for the first month I lost around 7 pounds and around 5 cms from my stomach (which is where I want to lose from), but in the last month I have not lost any weight (have lost around 1cm from stomach) and I'm wondering why. In the first month I was not exercising - could it simply be muscle gains? I have always been toned and it doesn't take long for me to get this back.
I feel with the amount I'm eating I should be losing far more rapidly. Am I doing anything wrong? Should I stop the weight training and just focus on cardio? I would really like to be losing at least 2lbs a week and I'm concerned that this is not happening.
Note: I am also drinking around 2/3 litres of water each day.
Thanks in advance.
I'm trying to lose weight at the moment with a focus on a calorie deficit and exercise, but I'm not really seeing any real changes in my weight, although I can see that my shape is changing and my muscle mass is increasing.
I'm a 30 year old female, was very fit previously (I was really into weight training) but injured myself in the gym a couple of years ago - a herniated disc in my lower back which limits me in what exercise that I can do. I want to lose about 2 stone (currently at 14st). I am eating around 800/900 calories per day. A typical day consists of:
Breakfast: apple or orange
Lunch: poached chicken breast, raw celery, carrot, iceberg lettuce, pepper, tomatoes
Dinner: fish/chicken/lean meat, lots of vegetables, occasionally with a small portion of carbs when hungry.
I go to the gym 3/4 times a week doing around 20/30 mins of cardio (interval training, 2 minutes walking at 5.5kmh, 1 minute running 12kmh) and 15 minutes upper body weight machines (around 20/30kg, 3 set of 15 reps).
I have been doing this for around 2 months and for the first month I lost around 7 pounds and around 5 cms from my stomach (which is where I want to lose from), but in the last month I have not lost any weight (have lost around 1cm from stomach) and I'm wondering why. In the first month I was not exercising - could it simply be muscle gains? I have always been toned and it doesn't take long for me to get this back.
I feel with the amount I'm eating I should be losing far more rapidly. Am I doing anything wrong? Should I stop the weight training and just focus on cardio? I would really like to be losing at least 2lbs a week and I'm concerned that this is not happening.
Note: I am also drinking around 2/3 litres of water each day.
Thanks in advance.
0
Replies
-
Why do you think you're not getting the desired results, when you're not using the tool (MFP) correctly?3
-
I use the Samsung health app more now as I find it superior0
-
why are you eating so little?
you're not gaining muscle mass.5 -
Because I'm trying to lose weight2
-
-
TavistockToad wrote: »
Because I did that and it didn't work4 -
Did it for how long? And how were you calculating the calories you were eating (food scale, measuring cups, scanning labels...)?1
-
For around 4 months, didn't lose anything. Yes, I weighed everything, scanned everything0
-
-
800/900 calories is lower than the average recommended calorie intake for a small child. Eating that low amount of calories for you isn't healthy for you and, sadly, the moment you start eating more you may put on the weight you lost again. 1200 calories is the lowest a grown woman should eat.
Crash dieting isn't the best thing to do to lose weight. It isn't sustainable.1 -
You aren't eating enough calories. You need to eat at least 1200 calories per day. It is nearly impossible to get the nutrients that you need eating less than 1200 calories per day. Maybe try switching up your macros, more fat, less carbs......more protein......low carb......high carb.......For myself, I lose weight by limiting my carbs, not necessarily low carb, but if I keep it under say 35%, less if I can, I feel my best, have energy, stay full between meals, and actually lose weight.
Try and look at the big picture here. You are going to seriously mess up your metabolism eating so little. The more calories that you eat while still losing weight means the more calories you can eat when you get to maintenance. Healthy weight loss will mean losing the weight slowly. You didn't gain the weight over night, you won't lose it over night either.1 -
I agree with most replies above but also, you're not going to lose 7lbs of weight every month. You wrote "lots of vegetables" in your post. How many grams and which type of vegetable is a lot?2
-
You have unrealistic expectations - losing 2 lb/week when you have less than 30 lbs to lose is unreasonable. You should be aiming for 0.5-1lb/week.
You lost a lot and then you haven’t lost again, that’s how bodies work. Weight loss fluctuates it is not going to be a consistent downward straight line especially when you are: a woman, exercising strenuously, putting the stress of a VLCD and unrealistic weight loss expectations on your mind and body.
Continuing to crash diet and take extreme measures is going to become a self fulfilling prophecy for the rest of your life. These patterns will continue, you will likely cause adaptive thermogenesis where you will always have to eat lower cals in order to lose, and you won’t learn healthy, long term sustainable habits around weight.
You need to start over, aiming for 1 lb/week, logging everything, using a food scale, introduce some foods that you enjoy, and reset your expectations. It will likely take about a year to lose the weight you want but you will be able to sustain it if you go about it the right way.
Good luck.
6
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 939 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions