Looking for Advice

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hennijes
hennijes Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been struggling to lose weight for a year and half now. Instead I've slowly gained about 6 more pounds since I started. I am currently doing the p90x lean routine in addition to running 2 miles several days a week. I am thinking about adding a short HIIT workout two or three times a week, but I am hesitant to add more exercise as I'm already spending a lot of time on it.
For nutrition I am aiming for between 1300 and 1600 calories a day. I have just been trying to eat healthier, limiting sweets and such. I eat plenty of raw fruits and veggies. I am also trying to limit my wheat/grain products to one or two a day. I have not tried low carb or clean eating only as these are not things I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I am currently 166 looking to get down to 140- 145. I am a 5'8" 20 year old female. I have gotten stronger since I started I just can't seem to lose any fat. I can't seem to make the scale or the inches go down. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated!

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  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
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    1) stop "trying"....just do it. when people say "oh I try to eat like this" and "I try to work out" it means they haven't committed to it and/or don't do it regularly. Commit.
    2) CLEARLY your way isn't working. So maybe you are going to have to think about changing your life, long term, and doing something like eating lower carbs or eating cleaner.
    3) maybe try a diet and excercise plan that has specific goals and menus. a lot of girls I know do things like p90x at home....but they really aren't pushing themselves hard enough to get results. try a class for a month. try cutting sugar for 3 weeks. there are lots of things you could try, and I found for me, it helped to have time lines and goals set up. and on that note, committing to things like "no sugar" for 3 weeks made me realize that it was, in fact, perfectly sustainable to eat better for the rest of my life.
  • alanabeehave
    alanabeehave Posts: 65
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    My trainer has me doing this awesome style of HIIT that is apparently THE fat burner. I have only been doing it for a couple of weeks and i noticed my endurance has improved ten fold. You'll need an interval timer, which u can download on to your phone..

    Warm up, I like dynamic stretching so do a few walking lunges, sumo squats, inch worms or jumping jacks
    Find a track, Start with a super light jog, rrreeeaalllyyy light, for 30 seconds, then proceed to a moderate paced jog for 20 seconds (about 50%) then sprint the fastest you possibly can for 10 seconds . When those ten seconds are up, go back to that rrreeeaallllyyy slow jog and repeat 5x (total) That is called a "block".. Take a few minutes to catch your breath and repeat. At first you might only be able to do two "blocks" (it's tougher than it sounds) but don't exceed 5 blocks, 3-4 is a good goal.

    Repeat every other day, it's too intense for an everyday thing. Set a couple days a week for some body weight strength/cardio training (planks, side planks, jumping lunges, squats, burpees) or some yoga.

    Don't forget to stretch! :)

    I would try to get about 1600 cals a day, you might only lose a pound a week but it is more efficient to do it slowly in the long run, you'll have a much better chance at keeping it off.

    Have you tried putting no foods off limits and just focus on staying within your macro nutrient goals? I think it's the most practical way of life and you're less likely to pig out if your not restricting anything.

    Good luck!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    What you're doing sounds pretty sensible. If you open up your diary maybe we can see something there that stands out...
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    Check out Eat More to Weigh Less.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    Check out Eat More to Weigh Less.

    Yep.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    Can you open up your food diary?
  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
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    You're not eating enough to give your all to the workouts.....which is required to get the full benefits from them. Did you look at the diet plan that came with your P90X? I don't think you have to eat the number of calories they recommend, but you have to fuel your workouts. You can't do that with a net of under 1000 calories.
  • MelanieLeanne
    MelanieLeanne Posts: 32
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    p90x is a pretty intense workout routine. most people do not see results on the scale because the fat that is burned is usually replaced by muscle. you HAVE to start keeping track of your body fat percentage & measurements. ALWAYS measure.

    hiit training will be the same way; it is for losing fat, but also gaining muscle, so you probably wont see results on the scale.

    clean eating is a must. you can have cheat meals every once in a while, but clean eating really isnt that hard, even for someone who is on the go.

    you also might need to change up the cardio a bit. if youve been just running as your cardio & are used to the 2 miles every other day, change it up. go bicycling or do sprints or run longer.

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