What am I doing wrong?
sashabee25
Posts: 24 Member
I am an 18 yr old female and I weigh 125 lbs. My goal weight is to lose fat until I can get to 115 lbs. However, I am not looking to build any more muscle than I already have, since my legs already do have a good amount of muscle, and i'm trying to get a long, lean physique.
I've been trying to lose these last few pounds for 3 months now with no success. During the first month, I did OMAD and worked out fasted for an hour or two. Then, when weight loss stalled I tried increasing calories and took a short diet break and just ended up gaining weight. Now, I eat in a 4 hour window every day and stagger calories anywhere from 1900 to 1200 while still working out fasted.
When I tried to do HIIT to lose fat I just ended up looking bigger since my legs increased in size. Afterwards, I decided to just walk to slim down my thighs but it didn't make much of a difference. I still haven't lost any fat for a while now.
My diet is pretty clean and healthy and I drink lots of water and get lots of sleep. Even so, why am I not seeing any progress in inches or weight?
I've been trying to lose these last few pounds for 3 months now with no success. During the first month, I did OMAD and worked out fasted for an hour or two. Then, when weight loss stalled I tried increasing calories and took a short diet break and just ended up gaining weight. Now, I eat in a 4 hour window every day and stagger calories anywhere from 1900 to 1200 while still working out fasted.
When I tried to do HIIT to lose fat I just ended up looking bigger since my legs increased in size. Afterwards, I decided to just walk to slim down my thighs but it didn't make much of a difference. I still haven't lost any fat for a while now.
My diet is pretty clean and healthy and I drink lots of water and get lots of sleep. Even so, why am I not seeing any progress in inches or weight?
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Replies
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Do you use a food scale to weigh everything you eat, and log it all?
You don't say how tall you are, but the last ten pounds are the hardest and you'll have to be spot on with your calorie intake. A food scale will help with that.6 -
I'm 5'5 and no unfortunately i don't have a food scale. However I can make educated guesses about what i'm eating. For example I'll have 2 eggs for breakfast and just log it in on MFP using the search function.0
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It sounds like you're jumping around between a lot of different plans very quickly. With ten pounds to lose, it's going to take patience and consistency. It has less to do with being "clean" and "healthy" and more to do with regularly being at a reasonable calorie deficit.
You did OMAD for a month with heavy workouts. Then you took a diet break. Now you're back at some sort of deficit while working out heavily again. I recommend you pick a sustainable goal that you can easily meet, one that allows you to fuel your activity, and then stick with it for at least 5-6 weeks. You can then make adjustments based on your actual progress.
If you don't have a food scale, now would be the time to get one. Accuracy is very important when you're talking about those last few pounds.5 -
I am 5'6" 125 (in maintenance). Hopefully you are a bit shorter - if you are my height or taller, 115 will take you to an unhealthy BMI. Assuming you are shorter and 115 is in your healthy range (though maybe lower end): as I approached my goal weight, I had to lose the last 5 lbs really REALLY slowly. Like 1lb/month. I had to just be very consistent and patient and watch the very long term trend over months not just weeks. The good news is that this was good training for maintenance.4
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Thanks for the advice! I just have some concerns about being in a calorie deficit for that long. I used to be at 110 lbs about 9 months ago and I could eat about 2000+ calories to maintain, which I hope to do by the end of my journey this time as well. By maintaining a calorie deficit for many weeks, I don't want my metabolism to adapt and force me to eat less food regularly just to maintain. How large of a deficit should I be creating if that's my concern?0
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If you're choosing a reasonable calorie deficit, you aren't going to "adapt" your metabolism. Someone who is maintaining at 115 will need slightly fewer calories than someone who is 125, but that's just because there is slightly less weight to support.
You aren't going to harm yourself with a reasonable deficit. I'd start at 250 calories a day, pay attention to results over the next 5-6 weeks, and then adjust from there.6 -
Seems to me you're already in excellent condition.
A kitchen scale for precise food portions is, probably, the most important gadget a person can buy. For less than $20 (a bunch of 'em in that price range on Amazon and other retail sites), you can stop guessing. I've yet to meet anyone who doesn't under guesstimate and eat anywhere from 25% - 50% more servings of anything than they thought they were eating.1
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