How are all you doing on weight loss?

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Hi, I thought I'd ask you over forty ladies how your weight loss journey is going. With me its not so much what I want to see on the scale as the percentage of body fat I'd like to go down. Having a tough time with it. Wish I knew what I'm doing wrong. I do cardio, weight train and my job in the landscape and excavation business keeps me moving.

Replies

  • dharmashanti
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    I've only been at it for about 8 weeks and I've lost 12 pounds. The past couple of weeks have been tough, though. In my case, I think the problem has been too much fat & carb intake and not enough water. Also, sometimes I'm not sure what to enter for something I eat so I make my best guess based on existing entries, the nutritional info of which can vary widely.

    As for you, fitmemom, if you're under your daily calorie goals and getting plenty of daily exercise and drinking at least 8 cups of water a day, but still not losing weight, your numbers must be wrong somewhere. Either you're under-reporting caloric/fat intake or your overestimating calories burned in exercise. If you're burning more than you take in, you lose weight. If you're not losing weight, one side of the equation is off.

    Hang in there, though. We do the best we can, make the best choices we can, and live with the outcomes, whatever they are. That's all we can do.

    Peace out,
    Dharma
  • princenichole
    princenichole Posts: 1 Member
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    :happy: I have been doing this for just over a month. My weight fluctuates so much that I have given up being on the scale for a while, it just depresses me. I have lost inces though, I am wearing my skinny jeans again and am feeling so much better! I do cardio 3 to 4 times a week(running, mainly) for an hour each time and that has seemed to help. The thing that helps me the most is being responsible for everything that I put in my mouth! I will think twice about eating certain things because I dont want to have to log it or find it. I love MFP!!!
  • glow7
    glow7 Posts: 8
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    :happy: I have been doing this for just over a month. My weight fluctuates so much that I have given up being on the scale for a while, it just depresses me. I have lost inces though, I am wearing my skinny jeans again and am feeling so much better! I do cardio 3 to 4 times a week(running, mainly) for an hour each time and that has seemed to help. The thing that helps me the most is being responsible for everything that I put in my mouth! I will think twice about eating certain things because I dont want to have to log it or find it. I love MFP!!!

    I like what you said about being responsible for everything you put in your mouth and not wanting to log it. I've decided to log before I eat, and if I want to still eat it, then ok. I am giving up sugar because I truly think I'm addicted! I've been doing this for 8 days and I love it. It is helping me to see where I'm messing up, so I can correct it.
  • fitmemom
    fitmemom Posts: 22
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    Sorry not to have replied sooner. I get busy and forget to check. You are probably right about the numbers. Sometimes the calorie burn the site suggests for certain activities I feel may be off. I count my time working landscape maintenance and their definition is general gardening. Well, I do everthing from weeding, mulching, raking out dirt to bucking forty pound blocks and shoveling rock. The calorie counts they give are high. Great! if I'm really burning that much. That doesn't mean I eat all I can, either. I'm not drinkling the amount of water I should. Do you feel that has helped you?
  • fitmemom
    fitmemom Posts: 22
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    Sounds like you are doing a great job! Wish I had more time to run now that the weather is nice. At least I've got my treadmill. That, I can do early in the morning before sunrise while my kids are still sleeping.
  • dharmashanti
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    Rather than trust the calorie burn amounts from the site (based on activity), I use a heartrate monitor which calculates calories burned. I believe I'm getting a more accurate amount from that.

    Also keep in mind that calories burned doesn't necessarily equal fat burned. There is a fat-burning zone (burning fat at a high ratio to calories burned), the heart healthy (not burning as much fat, but strengthening the heart muscle) and the athletic conditioning level which burns very little fat, but just focuses on strength conditioning.

    My fat-burning zone is between 105 bpm -122bpm. At higher or lower heartrates, I don't burn as much fat.

    Also, dehydration can negatively impact fat burning, so be sure to drink plenty of water, especially with summer coming on. Here in Arizona, it's already hit 100F+.
  • sting5
    sting5 Posts: 408
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    Hi, I apologize for posting so late...I have lost some weight(a few pounds)...but I mostly just feel better. My clothes are definitely fitting better and my stomach is a little flatter. I have been eating 1200 calories per day. This is not an excuse but age has certainly played a factor in my case and also the fact that I went through early menopause...oh well I enjoy logging my food and being a member of MFP!!
  • fitmemom
    fitmemom Posts: 22
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    I like being on the sight as well. Thanks to all who commented!
  • kellogs621
    kellogs621 Posts: 1
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    I just heard the advice "Don't eat if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it!" I thought that was funny, but probably works well. I also liked the other person's comment about logging food first and then deciding if you will still eat it. I did that with a restaurant yesterday and changed my "regular" order because I had no idea how truly bad it was. I've only been tracking this stuff for a little over a week and I'm trying to just see where I am and what I need to do. I'm not terribly concerned about goal calories yet, as I'm figuring out where my baseline is and where adjustments need to be made.

    I also use a Fitbit pedometer and it links with this site. They sync back and forth; I track food here and exercise is automatically calculated by the Fitbit. I need to check into the exercise part of things a bit more to see how the sites and numbers are really interacting with each other.

    I would like to lose 15-20 lbs and have never dieted before. I've always had a decent metabolism, but over 40 sucks! :ohwell:
  • faisonl
    faisonl Posts: 5 Member
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    I am still loosing weight. Not as fast as I like, a pound every two weeks. VERY slow. I really think I am loosing more inches than pounds my clothes are getting so loose. I go to Zumba about 3 times a week and I stay within my recommened calorie count execpt on on the weekend I am alway over by a few on saturday and sunday but it balances great. 22 pounds down a counting i am ok with with still the slow weight loss and still being a boe to enjoy foof and fun on the weekend.
  • AmyG1024
    AmyG1024 Posts: 3
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    I'm doing ok on the weight loss. I have good days and bad days (in terms of my commitment to sticking to 1200 cal/day). I'm 44. In my current attempt, I've been logging on MFP for about a month. I have lost about 3 pounds. Want to lose (and KEEP OFF!) 7 more.

    I'm trying to focus on 150 minutes of moderate exercise (brisk walking, yoga, some circuit training) too. As well as converting to (almost entirely) organic food diet. GMO foods do not seem like they've been proven safe.

    I celebrate the successes when I have them.

    Amy
  • NiSan12
    NiSan12 Posts: 374 Member
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    I have been doing well with weight loss. As of today, 3 lbs to go. What I normally do for exericse is 5 days a week and 2 of those days I work out around 2 hours. Focusing in on my calorie intake and making sure that my heart rate gets up there when working out keeps
    me consistent with my weight loss. It would be helpful to make sure the you know what your calorie intake is. Hope this helps. Be Blessed! Feel free to add me for mental support.