need help please, very frustrated!

sneckerdoodle
sneckerdoodle Posts: 69 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i am 5'6", currently weigh 155 lbs. i do p90x in the morning and 3 miles on treadmill in the evening with
strength training 3 days a week. i am stuck at this weight and don't know how to get off this plateau.
i know that in a week you have to burn more calories than you are consuming to lose weight, but what
i need to know is after all the excercise do i need to net 1200 calories because that is alot. i have been
burning between 800-1400 calories a day and cosuming between 1500-2400 a day (these are last weeks totals)
last week i burned 8415, consumed 13028 calories, which leaves my net at 3731. what am i doing wrong?
any advice would be greatly appreciated please and thanks.

Replies

  • dg09
    dg09 Posts: 754
    How long have you been stuck at this weight?
  • spoons81
    spoons81 Posts: 51 Member
    You need a minimum of 1200 daily...you should be eating back your exercise calories or you're just starving your body.
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    My suggestion would be to first get SUPER consistent EVERY DAY. Having such huge variations in calories is just hard to judge and may be hard for your body to adjust to. Be very consistent and then evaluate after a week or 10 days and see where you are. If you are still stuck, then it might be time to re evaluate what you eat or change up your work out routine.
  • Javajunkie67
    Javajunkie67 Posts: 167 Member
    Yes, you really should be netting 1200 cals, but have you been measuring your self as well as getting on the scale?

    I only measure once a month and didn't realize I was losing inches for a few weeks, while the scale stayed pretty much the same.

    It also sounds like you over doing it with the workouts. The body really needs a chance to recover and mend. As much as you might want to, beating your body into submission usually backfires when you add that much stress to it.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    Thu 04/12/12 11:14 PM
    i am 5'6", currently weigh 155 lbs. i do p90x in the morning and 3 miles on treadmill in the evening with
    strength training 3 days a week. i am stuck at this weight and don't know how to get off this plateau.
    i know that in a week you have to burn more calories than you are consuming to lose weight, but what
    i need to know is after all the excercise do i need to net 1200 calories because that is alot. i have been
    burning between 800-1400 calories a day and cosuming between 1500-2400 a day (these are last weeks totals)
    last week i burned 8415, consumed 13028 calories, which leaves my net at 3731. what am i doing wrong?
    any advice would be greatly appreciated please and thanks.

    You are over exercising and under eating. Your body is holding onto everything it can.

    Net at least 1200 (I would say more) Pick ONE of the exercises to do daily. Doing all three is madness (I read it as you're doing PX90 and 3 miles every day and strength training on top of that three times a week)
  • all4derby
    all4derby Posts: 55
    I have been where you're at so many times and I PROMISE that it is because you are not eating enough. I recently busted through a plateau that happened from the exact same circumstance you are in and when I upped my calories, it was like magic.

    Look:

    My regular food goal with no exercise is 1450 calories.
    My estimated exercise expenditure was 538 calories.
    The actual number of calories consumed was 1902 calories.
    My net calories (food - exercise) aka the only calories that count was 1364.

    And I got to eat all that food and lost 2 lbs literally overnight and another 1.2 lbs since then (just this week!).

    Edit: Also, I'm not even talking about healthy food. I would say my diet is 75% healthy and 25% crap. Eating more is HARD at first. I was scared, but its paying off.
  • sneckerdoodle
    sneckerdoodle Posts: 69 Member
    i have noticed in the mirror but the scale doesn't show it. i started out at 162 lbs, lost 6 lbs real quick at the beginning of the year
    then a little here and gained, its been a roller coaster between 153.8 and 156 for about a month now. i do p90x in the morning and
    treadmill in the evening cause that makes my body feel good, but it seems like if i eat more calories i gain. so i am kinda scared to
    try and net 1200 calories after workouts for the day. i've been averaging between 300-700 net cals at the end of the day.
  • crudd123
    crudd123 Posts: 244 Member
    Search under groups for a group called Eat More to Weigh Less! Check them out! I've been on a plateau for a year and started following their advice by upping my calories to 1800 and I'm losing again! Good luck to you!
  • sneckerdoodle
    sneckerdoodle Posts: 69 Member
    thank you very helpful i will try maybe just do p90x and 1 mile treadmill and net 1200 calories a day. thank you.
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    i've been averaging between 300-700 net cals at the end of the day.

    Oh dear God. You are doing MASSIVE damage to your body by eating this little. You're already seeing the affects of it by gaining when you're eating like a normal person.

    My advice is go to your doctor. Tell them how little you're eating and how much you're exercising. (I'd say 2-3 hours daily?) Hopefully your doctor can either have the expertise to help you fix your metabolism themselves or send you to someone who can help you.
    thank you very helpful i will try maybe just do p90x and 1 mile treadmill and net 1200 calories a day. thank you.

    That's better than what you're currently doing. I'd still recommend cutting the treadmill out complex (or alternating days) Be prepared for weight gain initially though. This is your body getting used to being fed again. You WILL start to lose again within a couple of weeks.
  • all4derby
    all4derby Posts: 55
    i have noticed in the mirror but the scale doesn't show it. i started out at 162 lbs, lost 6 lbs real quick at the beginning of the year
    then a little here and gained, its been a roller coaster between 153.8 and 156 for about a month now. i do p90x in the morning and
    treadmill in the evening cause that makes my body feel good, but it seems like if i eat more calories i gain. so i am kinda scared to
    try and net 1200 calories after workouts for the day. i've been averaging between 300-700 net cals at the end of the day.

    When I went back and looked at my MFP reports and compared them to my net calories, the days where my net was low, I lost nothing (I weigh every day) and the days where my net was 1000 plus, I lost. Also, with the exception of practice days, I never workout more than 45 mins and only 25 of that is cardio.

    Don't kill yourself or make it harder than it needs to be!
  • JoshuaL86
    JoshuaL86 Posts: 403 Member
    thank you very helpful i will try maybe just do p90x and 1 mile treadmill and net 1200 calories a day. thank you.

    You should really eat closer to your net goal, not just netting 1200 calories a day. You're so close to your goal weight, you will make it harder for yourself to lose if you don't eat.
  • SARgirl
    SARgirl Posts: 572 Member
    What is your weekly pounds lost set at (my guess is 2lbs if you are at 1200). Change it to 1lb or even .5lb a week. My starting weight was similar to yours and I'm 5'5". I set mine at 1lb a week and it gave me 1420 calories. I started losing weight and once I hit the 10lb mark it asked to adjust my goal so I let it and it took 70 calories a day away (not happy about that!). I continued to lose weight and lost another 10lbs and they asked me to adjust again and I said no. I'm currently at 1350 calories and still losing. I eat back the majority of my exercise calories and am even over some days. Don't be afraid to eat:) You can do this!
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
    I work out like you and know the feeling, but very 3500 calories is just 1 lb. Try mixing it up. Drop your calories to 1200 for a week regaurdless of how much you are burning, then have a cheat day to throw your body off with 1800+ calories once a week. Also trying different exercise like biking or yoga can help. Good luck!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    Eek! Netting 300-700 calories a day...yikes! You aren't fueling your workouts adequately. Food is not just something to make the hunger pangs go away and taste good. Food contains all of the building blocks and resources needed in order to operate our brain, heart, lungs, stomach, muscles, and regenerate hair, skin, etc. If you don't provide enough, the hormones that regulate fat loss are not going to be secreted in the proper quantity and combination to allow you to lose. You WILL lose eventually, but sadly, it may very well be a lot of muscle along with some fat, and other losses may include your hair, your complexion, and your energy, not to mention your metabolism!

    Your body needs time to repair and recover. It's a delicate balance and you are far off to one side of the equation. Slide back towards reasonable workouts and adequate nutrition and you will be more likely to lose.

    That said, I'm 5'5" and 150 lbs. I hit 149 pounds 8 months ago and have been unable to drop below that number. However, just since January 1, I'm a size smaller and have lost 13" on 7 measuring points. I just upped my calories to 1400 net because I'm beginning the StrongLifts 5x5 program and it is intensive weight lifting. My body needs the fuel, so I will provide. Maybe, if we stop looking at the scale as the ultimate in measuring our progress, we'll be more satisfied?

    Hang in there and feel free to add me, if you like. :flowerforyou:
  • dewgirl321
    dewgirl321 Posts: 296 Member
    I calculated your BMR at 1487 using fitnessfrog.com. You should focus on eating above your BMR, not the generic 1200 guideline. I agree you should back off on the exercise a bit and increase your calories a lot! Calculate your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and subtract 500 (for 1 pound loss per week) or 1000 (for 2 pound loss per week) to determine how many calories you should eat.

    Focus on eating enough and eating healthy foods to help your body change its composition (lose fat, not muscle).
  • briscottcoach
    briscottcoach Posts: 24
    If you want to train the way you've been training I say to look at the type of food you are eating, not the amount. Eat higher calorie, healthy foods, nuts, avocado, etc. This may help you maintain the type of exercise you want AND nourish your body. You may also want to look into some type of protein shake or something to help add calories.

    Whatever you decide, eat more calories or exercise less, we've got your back!
  • sneckerdoodle
    sneckerdoodle Posts: 69 Member
    thank you all so much!

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