5'4 and 146lbs

You are pretty small already so you will not be able to lose "at least 2lbs per week" ... at least not in a healthy way. That amount of weight loss is best for the much larger person who needs to lose over 75lbs. What is your goal weight? Healthy weight loss for you would probably be around 0.5lbs per week.

Weight fluctuates a lot. When losing weight you won't lose each and every week. Some weeks you will stay the same and some you will go up. Unfortunately it is just how it goes.

What are you eating in a day? Processed foods or foods high in sodium can cause water weight gain and changes on the scale. If you aren't drinking enough water that can change things too.

I'm betting you aren't in starvation mode unless you've constantly been eating just a few hundred calories a day for a while. That term is thrown around here a lot.

How many calories do you eat in a day? Are you measuring your food? Counting everything? The exercise counters here tend to overestimate calories burned so it's best to use a HRM if you have one.

I found when I started mine was too low. Once i adjusted higher it started coming off. I would honestly try a few other calculators and average it. MFP seems consistently too low

We're somewhat close!

Ht 5' 4"
SW 172
CW 152
GW 130
Age 29
Female (obviously, lol!)

Desk Job
Workouts Mon-2mi run + 30 min Strength/Tue long run 4-6mi/Wed Jillian Michaels 30 day shred/Thr 2mi run+strength
Friday-rest/ Sat rest / Sun Jillian Michaels 45 min workout

I lose 1-1.5 lbs a week. Feel free to look through my diary and/or add me as friend

it looks like you're doing a lot of cardio, which is good but that alone doesn't always get the job done. if you want to see results such as losing INCHES, i would suggest lifting light weights. doing this may increase your weight on the scale, but that's only because you will be gaining muscle which weighs more than fat. it's good to have a goal weight but if you're goal is really to like the way you LOOK then i think you should add some weight lifting to your exercise program. also, protein plays a huge role in muscle repair and conditioning. you can google tons of info on protein and find out how much you should intake a day and the best times during the day to take it or of course talk to someone at a supplement store or some other health program. by doing this, i found out i wasn't taking in near enough and began using a powder supplement. i started seeing a difference within a few weeks and felt a lot better!!

ultimately, everyone's body is different and therefore requires an exercise plan that fits YOU. If what you are doing isn't giving you the results you need, mix it up! there are also TONS of excercises on DVDs that are really good and you don't have to leave the comfort of your own home or pay a monthly fee for a gym (which are both hard to do when you have a little one...i know!).

good luck!

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

Yup defintly not eating enough, working out is great but you have to net 1200 calories a day or your not gonna get anywhere and eventually get frustrated and quit

u need more food. I tried the extremely low calorie thing too. Lost a lot the first two weeks and then bam stopped losing. Thing of food as fuel. I think u might need to add some weight stuff to ur exercise routine. Cardio is AWESOME, but if u build muscle u burn more calories just when ur sitting around compared to someone who doesnt have a lot of muscle.

The amount u need to eat depends on ur body. I've tried many different things. But i recently have started eating 5-6 times a day at 200-250 calories a meal. I LOVE THIS!! bc i never feel hungry but i never feel stuffed either. This may not work for u though bc every body is different just try some different things with ur exercise and eating and try not to focus so much on the scale. Make sure to take ur measurements ur body could easily be changing just not on the scale. Good luck and u look wonderful!!

That is how it works for me. I'm 5'4" like you, but I weight 250. I want to lose another 100 pounds and am losing about 2lbs a week. My calorie goal is 1410 and I exercise off 450 calories bringing my calorie goal to 1860. I usually try to keep under that a bit though (in case I overestimated my exercise calories or food calories). Normally, I eat between 1400 and 1600 cals on the days I exercise and 1200-1300 on days I don't. MFP will never put your goal under 1200 since that is the minimum you need to eat to be healthy.

But, if you exercise heavily, you need to eat back your exercise calories so that you net 1200 for normal bodily functions.

Definitely eat more. I started at 147 lbs (5' 4") and 1200 calories, as my activity increased so did my calories. I'm now at 128 lbs and 1500 calories a day, I do some form of heavy cardio 5 to 6 times a week and burn about 500 calories per session (with my HRM) and weight train three times a week and am still losing. Every 3 weeks or so I increase my calories by 100 per day and although I gain a bit in the first week of the increase I lose by week two. Got to fat2fit and determine your true TDEE and that will give you a good starting point.

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

your not eating enought to keep your metabolism constantly running... and you should have a 750 calorie deficit not 200 daily. Up your calorie intake to 1800 and put in your burn for activity of 800 and you should be fine steadily dropping and not malnourishiing your body.

Under the "Tools" tab MFP will give you your BMR. THAT is the number you don't want to go below each day. That's your survival calories. Multiply it by 1.5 for an activity factor (sedentary/lightly active) Then subtract 500 kcals from that. This theoretically should give you a 1 lb wt loss per week. You may just subtract 250 kcals, then earn 250 from exercise instead of just cutting the 500.

Of course this should be tailored to an individual, but that's the basic "kcals in - kcals out" formula.

**MFP used the Mifflin St. Jeor formula for BMR, but they don't seem to use it for default calories. If you are more active you will need more kcals before subtracting the 500 kcals. I'd recommend googling those numbers.

So this is gonna sound really bad... but Ive only been eatting between 600 and 700 calories a day... and always trying to make sure I have at least a 200 or higher in the negative after ive exercised by the time I go to bed. Water wise.. I drink at least 10-12 8 oz glasses a day. Dont drink anything else but water anymore. So I would eat like 600 calories... and burn 800 calories just working out so i would have that negative. My goal weight is 135. I was there before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and want to be there again. But Im a pear shape body so I hold all my weight in my hips, butt and thighs.

Yup defintly not eating enough, working out is great but you have to net 1200 calories a day or your not gonna get anywhere and eventually get frustrated and quit

Exactly. I have long struggled with the yo-yo dieting, and thought for so long if I just ate like 800 cals a day and worked out a lot I'd see results. Nope.

Now I eat about 1400-1500 cals a day (sometimes more when I get in a really hard workout) and I've lost a steady pound a week pretty much. I've got 9 lbs on you and I'm an inch shorter, so I can definitely say that your weight loss will likely NOT be 2 lbs a week. Trust the process. It feels so wrong, and you mind have initial gains, but I promise, eat more, balance your macros about 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat, and incorporate a good balance of cardio and strength training and you WILL see results. Even if the scale doesn't move much, I'm willing to bet you'll see a difference in the way your clothes fit/body comp etc.

You need to eat more. I was set at 1350 and i hit a plateau that lasted several weeks. I changed my goal to lose 1 pound a week and my calories are now up in the 1500's (as of last week). I'm down three pounds in less than a week just by eating more. I exercise almost every day whether it's a dvd or biking or walking. I also stopped eating processed foods as much as possible. No bread, pasta, crackers, cereal etc. Feed yourself lean proteins, veggies and fruit. Remember, you are small. Two pounds a weeks is too much for you to lose! Good luck:)

So lets break this out because you aren't eating enough.


Your estimate BMR (metabolic rate is 1459). This is the amount of calories to properly run your body and maintain function. Eating below it will slow your metabolism and cause your body to stall.

So you have a child and are a little active, so that puts you around moderately active. So your TDEE is

1459 * 1.55 = 2261 (amount of calories you burn on average)

You want to cut fat (not just weight) so we form a deficit

Caloric needs = 2261 * .8 = 1809

So you should be eating 1800 calories, with probably 40% carbs, 40% protein and 20% fats. Also, add some strength training as your body needs muscle and ST is the only way to preserve and maintain. In fact, you want to lift heavy where you fail at 8-12 reps. None of that 15+ reps as it's only endurance and won't give you the results If you do that, here can be the result:

"I just wanted to thank you for your help. You helped me a few months back and I just wanted to give you an update on my progress. 12 weeks ago I started at 154 and 28% bf. I got my bf remeasured last Friday and it was 24%. But I only lost 1 pound. It is crazy to me but I have learned to ignore the scale. You were right that keeping consistent and not giving up my body would finally adjust.

Thanks again for your help!

Stephanie"