2 months with NO progress...

Hi, I was working out 4 days a week and recently bumped this to 6 days a week, cardio 4 days, lifting 2 days (previously 2 and 2). I am eating around 1500 calories a day, protien and veggies, I start my morning with a protien shake, snake is oatmeal, lunch is veggies, fruit and protein, snack is yogurt, dinner is protien and veggies. I have not made any progress in two months and I AM FRUSTRATED. Looking for suggestions, I also recently cut back on my fruit as I was eating 3-4 servings a day, now 1-2... Any help/suggestions is MUCH APPRECIATED! Thanks in advance.

Replies

  • sounds like you are doing all the right things.. Your profile and diary are closed up so can't tell anything about you to guess what the problem might be. what are you current stats and your goals? Maybe you are where you need to be, you look great in your pic.
  • rebecca_d35
    rebecca_d35 Posts: 131
    I know this gets said here a lot, but: have you measured yourself? Or gone shopping? Or taken new photos? I thought I hadn't made any progress in a couple of months. Then I went shopping because I'd noticed my jeans were all fitting weird. Turns out I'd gone from an 8 (and those were getting tight) to a 6 (and those were loose) in the space of three months. So I measured myself, and I'd shrunk everywhere.

    So there may be progress, just not on the scale.

    Oh, and the scale did eventually catch up.
  • rcharlee
    rcharlee Posts: 182 Member
    I went almost 2 months also without weight loss, and actually gain a pound back in that time. I posted about it, and opened my diary so people could see what I was eating. I got a great response, and within a week or so of listening to people's suggestions I dropped 1.6lbs, 1.5 inches off my waist and hips, and feel a lot better!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    sounds like you should be eating more. Since you added more exercise, did you start eating more? If not, increase your calories intake.
  • Babrao
    Babrao Posts: 152 Member
    BUMP
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
    Bump!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    How much weight are you looking to lose? I am hoping to lose about 10LBS, and when you don't have a lot to lose it can take quite a while. I'm losing at about 1/2 a pound a week. On good weeks!
  • VanessaGS
    VanessaGS Posts: 514 Member
    Sounds like you're eating a lot of protein. Ever thought that you might be gaining in muscle. I think some of the previous posts are right...you should keep track of your measurements and not just the scale.
  • trybefan
    trybefan Posts: 488 Member
    sounds like you should be eating more. Since you added more exercise, did you start eating more? If not, increase your calories intake.

    From my experience, the above has helped out.

    Also, what do you define as progress? I assume you are looking to lose weight?
  • sl1ngsh0t
    sl1ngsh0t Posts: 326 Member
    Your diary is closed, so I can't see what you eat, but my general response would be to cook more, eat processed foods less, read food labels 100% of the time, avoid high sodium food items, avoid HFCS & artificial sweeteners, measure food portion, and drink plenty of water.
  • PLUMSGRL
    PLUMSGRL Posts: 1,134 Member
    Here's a link for you, they have more answers...my guess: to much cardio, not enough food~

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
  • scatgash
    scatgash Posts: 101 Member
    Bump :3
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    Open up your diary and we can give better input.
    Hi, I was working out 4 days a week and recently bumped this to 6 days a week, cardio 4 days, lifting 2 days (previously 2 and 2). I am eating around 1500 calories a day, protien and veggies, I start my morning with a protien shake, snake is oatmeal, lunch is veggies, fruit and protein, snack is yogurt, dinner is protien and veggies. I have not made any progress in two months and I AM FRUSTRATED. Looking for suggestions, I also recently cut back on my fruit as I was eating 3-4 servings a day, now 1-2... Any help/suggestions is MUCH APPRECIATED! Thanks in advance.
  • Sorry all, I am new to this. I think I just opened up my diary for everyone to see... Progress would be losing weight, that is my goal right now, I haven't lost lbs or inches....
  • Current weight is 197.4, ideal would be 155
  • JipsyJudy
    JipsyJudy Posts: 268 Member
    I've been dieting for over a year. I was losing slowly but consistently until a couple of months ago. I stopped losing, i felt depressed, and I was craving food I shouldn't eat. Well, I've seen lots of posts here about the need to eat more and give your metabolism a chance to reset if it's gone into "starvation adaptation mode". So I upped my net calorie intake to my maintenance level (I.e., ten to eleven times your body weight). After a week, I felt much better. After ten days, my energy started to surge. After that, the food cravings went away, and I began to find it impossible to eat back all my exercise calories. Now I'm losing weight again. The moral of that story is, "Try eating more!" Just stay within your maintenance limit.

    One other tip for boosting your metabolism which I read just this week in "O" magazine, from, Dr. Oz, is to drink a pint of cold water and do seven minutes of yoga or similar stretches, such as Tai Chi or Qi Gong.
  • bouselhoff
    bouselhoff Posts: 15
    I'd also suggest splitting your big meals up into smaller portions. Even eating the same as what you are eating everyday but in 5-6 smaller meals / snacks instead of 3 big meals will make a big difference! You should be eating every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism boosted. I aim for 200-300 calories each time I eat (5'7", 157lbs). Also, drinking water really does help! I aim for about 4L a day (that includes decaf tea!) but the recommended minimum for active adults is 2-3L everyday.
  • lizaboots
    lizaboots Posts: 43
    Try upping your calories by a couple hundred- this could be mostly done just by making your Cytosport Protein shake with 6oz of 2% milk, 6oz of water and using 1.5 scoops of the protein powder instead of just 1 scoop. Best of luck to you!
  • My1985Freckles
    My1985Freckles Posts: 1,039 Member
    Current weight is 197.4, ideal would be 155

    you're not eating enough then, the minium a person should eat is bodyweight * 10

    This is not true for every person. BMR (although still an estimate) is probably a more conservative number to use in order to lose weight.

    I am currently 163. My maintenance calories are 1800. Eating a minimum of 1630 as you suggest would not even give me a half a pound a week deficit. I have 38 more pounds to lose. It is perfectly safe for me to lose at 0.5-1lb a week. My BMR is 1450. Eating at my BMR should result in a 0.7lb a week loss which is right in the middle of my "safe loss" range per MFP's recommendations.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Current weight is 197.4, ideal would be 155

    you're not eating enough then, the minium a person should eat is bodyweight * 10
    This is not accurate. I quoted it yesterday and a nice engineer explained the math to me.
  • kellyj9600
    kellyj9600 Posts: 5
    I am in the same boat! My diary is open if anyone wants to take a look and offer suggestions. I hope you can also see my exercise diary. I am really discouraged. I have 35lbs to lose so it's not like I am stuck with not much to lose! Please help!
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    I don't necessarily think you're not eating enough. Even if you weren't, in two months, you would still have dropped some weight. "Starvation mode" doesn't occur when you're eating 1500 calories a day.

    Are you measuring yourself in other ways? Do you SEE or FEEL any other changes in your body? Have you considered getting bloodwork and thyroid testing?
  • kellyj9600
    kellyj9600 Posts: 5
    I was tested a few years ago and I checked out fine. I feel like I am doing everything right and not getting any results. I measured a couple of weeks ago and have not remeasured because I don't feel any different and my clothes don't feel different. And I have been really tired lately. I really need to know what I am doing wrong.
  • I am feeling stronger, but otherwise, no, I am not "seeing" any lose and I am not losing inches.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    I'd also suggest splitting your big meals up into smaller portions. Even eating the same as what you are eating everyday but in 5-6 smaller meals / snacks instead of 3 big meals will make a big difference! You should be eating every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism boosted. I aim for 200-300 calories each time I eat (5'7", 157lbs). Also, drinking water really does help! I aim for about 4L a day (that includes decaf tea!) but the recommended minimum for active adults is 2-3L everyday.

    Metabolically speaking, it doesnt matter if you eat 10 meals or 1 meal, your body processes the calories the same.



    More than likely you need more calories like eric mentioned. Increase your calories by 200-300 calories. Your body is more than likely just conserving energy as its has been restricted for some time.
  • missprincessjenny
    missprincessjenny Posts: 104 Member
    I glanced at your diary. I would cut back on the sugars. Even the vegetables are high in sugar. And I agree with upping your daily calories. Don't use the BMR calculator on MFP. I find it's low. If you check this forum there are alot of posts about calculating daily calorie requirements.
  • This might be a dumb question but if I cut back on Fruits and Veggies, and limiting my carbs, all I am eating is protien... Isn't that bad? Or what are other options for snacks? I just fruits and veggies as an add on to my protien. Thank you everyone for all the great advice!!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    This might be a dumb question but if I cut back on Fruits and Veggies, and limiting my carbs, all I am eating is protien... Isn't that bad? Or what are other options for snacks? I just fruits and veggies as an add on to my protien. Thank you everyone for all the great advice!!

    No protein isn't bad. And you don't really need to limit fruit and veggies. You can start eating more fats likes nuts, greek yogurt, cheese, or even avocado.