my name is meagan and i have just subscribed. i am having difficulty losing weight. i am currently 5'3 and 150 lbs, give or take a couple depending on the scale. i work out at least 3 times a week. i attend a circuit training class twice a week for 40 minutes and even stay after an extra 20 and ride the bike afterwards. then to augment, i am going to the gym once or twice a week. while at the gym, i ride the elliptical machine for 40 minutes and then do weights. all in all i am there a little over an hour. i keep my heart rate in the 130`s. i have a hard time keeping it under control and if i am not careful i will end up in the 170`s in a flash. i have been doing this for about 6 weeks and have not lost any weight.
i began keeping a food diary to find out if maybe that was the problem. i even found a web site that would calculate the ideal amount of calories needed to lose weight. according to that, my intake needs to be around 1100-1200 calories a day to lose 2 lbs of fat a week. the problem is that i am already eating in that range and not losing any weight. i am at a loss, and getting very discouraged. i have had my thyroid checked in the past because i do have many symptoms of hypothyroidism, but the test was completely within normal range. i am a vegetarian also which makes trying to lose weight even harder because my dietary choices are much more limited, and in general, i consume a lot less fat and a lot more carbs (still, frustratingly within normal daily limits...) than a normal meat eating person.
i am happy on one hand that i have not gained any weight, but i have not really seen any major changes in my body either. i wear a size 12 in jeans. no one believes me because i am pretty small and when i tell them i wear a 12 they are shocked. its not so much about the actual weight. i`m not into a numbers game, but i`m flabby! and i keep getting asked if i am pregnant because of my disproportionate belly. i hate it. what am i doing wrong? my friend suggested that maybe my body has adjusted to eating about 1200 calories a day and so i am simply maintaining my bodt weight eating this amount. when i began keeping my diary i had made little change to my diet and it was already 1200 calories. could this be the case? and if so, what can i do about it??
Try adding intervals to your workouts where you get your heart rate up for just a short time then back to baseline. Also you don't say how old you are... 170 isn't a bad heart rate for me (I'm 23) but it depends on your conditioning level too. Don't believe that "fat-burning" zone myth because you don't need to keep your heart rate low to burn calories. And weight training is a must to re-shape problem areas.
Also, you may be eating the right amount of calories but are you getting all the protein, fiber, etc that you need? Try posting a typical day into fitday.com and I'm sure there are people here that can give you diet suggestions as well.
You have the determination to succeed so best of luck to you. It's hard work but will be worth it in the end.
Even if you are not losing, you are still getting healthy. Sometimes your body needs a little time to get into gear. There is no physical way that you can not burn fat by decreasing your calories and increasing your activity. You will get there, just don't get discouraged. This is a life change, so don't worry about how long it takes.
Your friend may be exactly right about your body in maintenance mode. You have to give the body a little variety. Try increasing your calories a little for a week or two and see what type of response you get.
Also, I am learning that sugar can stop the weight loss as well. Sometimes food is low in fat but very high in sugar which essentially adds more calories.
Just a thought!
i do weight train, at the gym i do the sit up machine 4 reps, 25 each with 40 lbs, then i hang (don`t know what they machine is called) and bring my knees to my chest 3 sets, 10 each. there are other stomach exercises, but i am limited again because i have a low back injury and bursitis in my hip (hence the reason for most of the weight gain in the first place). i am not able to do twisting of any kind, nor any high impact exercising, and on the leg press i have to keep the weights low(right now30lbs) to avoid hurting myself. i do biceps and triceps, leg press, and in the circuit i really target my stomach, but get an all over work out from that as well. i am 25 and according to my age and weight my low is 125. 170`s are too high for me i think, i can really feel the pounding when i get that high. so i try to keep it better controlled. if i can keep it between 130-150 then i`m happy. also, i do interval already on the elliptical. i will try to reduce my sugar intake. i`m not big on sweets, but i do drink soda, just one a day (i`m probably gonna hear it from you guys BIG time for that... i just thought if i was within my range of calories, i could keep that one vice). next time i go, i`m gonna push myself a little harder to keep my heart rate up in the 150`s. i have noticed improvements in my heart rate and my stamina. when i first started, my heart rate was so difficult to control. it would shoot up very quick and i would have to slow down on the machine to control it, but now i can keep it at a good rate easily. but i have to tell you, i keep hearing that exercising is supposed to make you have more energy and i am just the opposite. i feel just as tired, if not more since i began working out. i sleep about 10 hours a night. i`ll look into posting my diet online. that may be what i need, although its very hard for me to believe that the only thing impeding my progress is a soda! but if that is the answer, i`ll do it. i`m ready to be healthy again. thanks for all the encouragement! could someone link me to where i am supposed to put up my diet?
hey meeegan. I think you're referring to www.fitday.com. It's a good place to put in what you're eating and how you're exercising and see how the results look.
I think it takes a while for exercise to start to give you energy for some people. I mean, there are days when I leave the gym and feel completely pooped, but there are many more days when I leave the gym feeling great! And, I also think that part of why I feel great is psychological. I think it's a result of knowing that I've done something pro-active for myself...
As for the pop, you might be right---it doesn't seem like 1 coke/day would impede your success that strongly. However, coke does have a lot of sodium, which makes you hold water, and also a TON of sugar (10.2 teaspoons of sugar per can!)... I heard that piece of trivia a couple of years ago, and that by itself was enough to make me quit pop all together. I can't imagine sitting down and actually eating 10.2 teaspoons of sugar at one sitting, so it didn't make sense for me to injest it via a drink...
Whatever it takes, i hope you're able to see some results soon. I know how frustrating it is to a lot of effort and emotional investment into something and have your results come so slowly. Be patient. The system works, if you keep at it even when you don't see the results.
I would suggest you talk with a nutritionist about your food and make sure that you are getting enough protein. You may also be working out too at too high an intensity.
If you want to learn about how to exercise properly so that you burn fat read:
Smart Exercise by Covert Bailey. I have had amazing results since learning how to exercise the right way for me. I got it from the library and now own my own copy as I read it over and over.
getting discouraged
