I'm guilty of stalling, then changing things. When nothing happens, I change things again. So how long once you change things are you supposed to see something?
I'm at that point where I'm giving all I have to give and it's not enough...
For me, I really lost when my mileage went up. It helped maintain if it was 2-3 miles at a time, but I lost/trimmed a lot if I went over 5 miles at a time... I would assume because it was 50+ min of activity.
I'm so sorry you're struggling Eliana (hugs)
For me my weight loss was slowing down a little around Dec/Jan time but once I started adding running to my workout 3 days a week it sped up again and (fingers crossed) so far hasn't slowed back down (but then again I started doing 9 mins running total and now do 40).
Unfortunately however I think it's like with the whole weight loss thing, we're all different and what works for one doesn't always work for another.
For me I'm sure it's that I've consistently increased the amount of exercise I've done throughout my journey. I used to do about 45-60mins exercise 6 days a week. Since I started running (I added running on top of my normal gym workout 3 days a week) those 3 days I now do almost 120mins and I burn a lot more calories on those days.
I know when I've had a review at the gym and my instructor has changed things around I've been scared it would stop or at least slow my weight loss, but I've stuck with it and so far it's always worked well.
I'm no expert and get as frustrated as anyone when the weight loss stalls, but maybe give it a bit more time and it will start to move again, maybe your body has got to have time to realise what you're doing and settle into it.
I would give a new plan about two weeks to see if it's working before I tweak. Our bodies don't respond immediately to diet and exercise changes.
But I hear your frustration! And I know you didn't ask for suggestions, so feel free to ignore mine. But just a few thoughts ...
We all know that fat loss depends on creation of a calorie deficit, which forces our bodies to use stored energy. Stored energy = fat. That's basic Weight Loss 101, right?
If you're not losing fat for weeks at a time, then your body is telling you that you're not creating a calorie deficit. Instead, you're in calorie equilibrium, where your calories in are equaling your calories burned.
In order to get back to fat loss, we have to create a calorie deficit either by increasing calories burned or decreasing calories consumed. There isn't any other way to do it, unfortunately.
From what I've read of your posts, Eliana, I think you're doing fine on the exercise end of the equation. So maybe the place to look for a change is your calorie intake?
Now before you jump down my throat , I'm not saying you're not on plan. I know you are. But I think you might need to take another look at your nutrition plan. Because something isn't working and maybe that's it.
If I remember correctly, you're a calorie counter but you don't journal or track your calories and you don't weigh and measure portions. Both of those are red flags to me because those two behaviors are the core of calorie counting. It's so easy to forget something we eat or underestimate a portion! I recall you recently saying that you were thinking of adding a banana and handful of nuts as a pre-workout snack and my reaction was whoa! that could easily be 400 calories! Or not, depending on a "handful", but portion size is critical to calorie counting.
So my suggestion is to weigh and measure portions and track your calories. Just for a week. Just as a reality check to be sure that you actually are at the calorie level that you think you are. You might come back and say, haha, I'm actually eating less than I thought! Or it might be more, or you might be right on target. But at least you'll know for sure.
Please don't be offended at my suggestions. I'm most definitely not saying that you haven't been on plan! All I'm saying is that something in your plan doesn't seem to be working, given your amount of effort and dedication. So maybe it's time to take a fresh look at the plan?
A banana is 120 calories. I actually measured my "handful" of nuts so I wouldn't second guess myself. I looked at my hand and thought, surely that's 1/4 cup. I put it into the measuring cup and it came out at 1/8 of a cup. I promise you I'm really bad at going UNDER on calories, not over. That scenario is very typical for me. I eyeball things and then take away from it if I don't measure.
And my "not measuring" typically means I make chicken breasts for dinner and I cut the breast in the half. Knowing a chicken breast runs 6-8 ounces, cutting it in half makes it 3-4 ounces...perfect. I add a side of veggies, about a cup's worth, knowing me, probably less. That's an approximated 200 calorie meal.
Snacks are often yogurts, which are already counted for me. I like to add my handful of nuts, which is apparently 1/8 of a cup.
That's why I don't measure. I don't snack outside of my six 200 calorie meals, with the exception of chocolate. I think the choclate's got to go.
But doesn't it seem like this kind of exercise could allow me some chocolate chips?
I SO appreciate the advice...I hope I don't sound like I don't. It just feels good to write it out and get the feedback.
Eliana, have you tried increasing your calories? Every time I do 1200, my weight loss stalls (or I gain a pound). Twice I've increased and the pounds started coming off again. First time I increased to 1400. Then after a couple of weeks I went back to 1200. No loss. So I recently increased to 1500 and the pounds are coming off again. I think 1200 is just too low for me to do for longer than a week or two. Maybe you're needing more calories, especially with all the exercise. ???
Meg- i 100% agree with you...the OP needs to look first at her "measuring" practices. It is so SO SO easy to overestimate, by 100s of calories, and thats even WITH using measuring cups and spoons.....digitally weighing food is going to get you closest of course. Especially with such a LOW calories allowance (1200), it is ESPECIALLY important to be accurrate....theres just no wiggle room for error.
Sorry Eliana...not trying to attack or jump down your throat, but if you really are stalled and sincerely concerned and want to get through it, i think it woulf be very beneficial and eye opening to take the extra 5 minutes for each meal to properly weigh your food..at least for one week.....
I agree that it's very, very easy to estimate wrong on calories. I try to not estimate anything at all, rather, I weigh everything on my digital scale.
I also have to say--I would simply die on 1200 calories per day. I know a lot of people seem to be able to do it and lose weight, but when I eat at 1500 or lower I find that my energy completely goes, so that I cannot work out hard at all, nor do I have what I need in order to be up and about and active during the day (getting my NEAT in). Nor do I seem to lose weight when I am creating a calorie deficit solely through cutting calories from my diet--I lose weight best by creating my calorie deficit mostly through exercise and activity.
I don't really have any particular advice other than to say that your journey is an individual one, and what works for "everyone else" may very well not work for you.
I am very much like Eliana that i did measure out a few things at first but mostly use my judgement to decide what a portion size is and it's worked ok for me. I agree though that sometimes it seems like it takes time to catch up with certain things - like there were a few weeks I had consumed 3500 under what my 1200 calorie count was limited to lose 1 1/2 per week. that was including exercise and eating under as well. that week - no loss - the next week I did pretty much the same but closer to 2800 under and I lost 5 lbs.
So to me sometimes it's a carry over - probably a water retention thing or something.
I know there's a lot of controversy on here about this, I swear on everything (I have the trackers to prove it) when I eat more, I lose more. I run as well Eliana, by the way.
I can't explain it, but it's real. I had one of my biggest losses last week, and I ate a ton. This week I haven't really been trying to "aim low" like I usually do, and it seems like the scale is moving down quickly like last week. Maybe try it? If you ate 1500 calories, there would still be a deficit. You wouldn't gain. Perhaps try it and see what happens. And are you eating healthy fats? If not maybe cook your chicken in like a tablespoon of olive oil, it's good to eat a little healthy fat. The nuts might count for that though, I'm not 100% on that.
Oh and do you write down your food? I JUST went through my weight loss log (this thread got me curious), and found the weeks where I only lost a little bit, or didn't lose at all. I then went through my food trackers, and I found that the weeks where I lost only a little or not at all, I either didn't write my food down, or didn't write EVERYTHING down. I dunno if you do that though, but if you don't, try that as well.
I'm sorry you're not losing though that must be so frustrating. I admire your persistence. That's a really good quality to have.
Last edited by oodlesofnoodles; 05-06-2010 at 02:31 PM.
I don't calorie count so I'm no expert, but everything I read about it makes me truly believe that going too low in calories leads to no weight loss at all and when people increase those calories the weight starts dropping off again.
Your body goes into starvation mode and hangs onto every ounce it has for dear life. And if you're not weighing and measuring and writing everything down then you could also be overestimating on a regular basis which means those 1200 calories could actually only be 1100 or even less. Your body also NEEDS more fuel if you're going to exercise a lot.
If 1200 calories isn't working, then try increasing and see what happens, I have a feeling you'll get a nice shock.
Maybe I'm imagining this, but I remember reading a post by you about having a ice cream cone and other similar treats on a fairly regular basis, and that you saved up enough calories throughout the day to be able to enjoy those treats. I have no arguments about that approach philosophically.
However, while I personally am highly skeptical about the starvation mode theory (watching Biggest Loser pretty much blew it out of the water for me, actually), I am going to suggest that if you are consistently below 1200 calories, but using 15 or 20% or more of those very limited calories in that manner, it may be a factor in your stalls.
I don't think you journal your food, but knowing that you had a very large loss over one week last month and then nothing the other weeks makes me wonder if you happened to eat more cleanly that week and therefore got great nutritional benefits for those 1200 calories and that's what prompted the loss. And that possibily, you may have a lot of weeks where you are within your calories but simply not getting in all the nutrients your body needs to function optimally (including burning calories most efficiently).
The week I lost big was because I cut carbs, almost entirely, like a phase I South Beach thing. When I added them back in I got the expected weight gain of glycogen. That didn't surprise me. I kind of quit with that. The reason was because it was not sustainable and I love calorie counting with whole foods. At the time I was mad about my cholesterol results, but I've since decided to add more fiber and re-test. THAT is sustainable.
Yes, I've had ice cream cones. But not nightly. Not even close.
I honestly think there may be something to me eating too few calories, and I'm not big on saying that either!! I don't believe that for most people and am really hesitant to put myself into that category. But honestly, I just took a THREE hour mid-afternoon nap and am absolutely exhausted. I'm ready for bed by 6:00 PM and am miserable to my family until I can finally put the kids in bed at 8:00. I'm tired. I'm not even looking forward to the 5 mile hike I want to go on for Mother's Day with a picnic lunch thrown into our backpacks. (Doesn't that sound lovely?)
I lost about 5 pounds in April while eating about 2100 calories per day; in comparison, in March I ate about 1900 calories per day, got less exercise and less NEAT, and lost 1 pound. I think that more women should try eating more, rather than eating less, for weight loss. Of course this also assumes an activity level of about one hour of formal exercise per day and a lot of NEAT, but you seem to be getting that, as a lot of other 3FCers do.
Running...weight loss....WHEN??
, I'm not saying you're not on plan. I know you are. But I think you might need to take another look at your nutrition plan. Because something isn't working and maybe that's it.
