I am so frigging frustrated.

I am 37 (soon to be 38 next month ). I weighed 330 pounds July 2208. To date I have lost 125 pounds so I am currently at 205 pounds. I do cardio/strength/circuit training cycles...meaning - day 1 I do 1 hour cardio, day 2 strength 1 hour, day 3 circuit training with cardio mix and weights for 1 hour, day 4 I rest then I repeat the whole cycle. I think my exercise plan is pretty good. It is the caloric intake that is making me batty.

I have Googled "how many calories do I need to eat daily to lose weight" about a million times. I have used so many different online calculators for such. I keep coming up with numbers ranging from 1050-1900. Right now I have been staying around 204-210 pounds when I weigh myself and I can't seem to make the numbers start dropping again.

Here is a sample of what I do eat on an average day -

Dannon Light n Fit yogurt
An apple


2 eggs


1/2 cup oats cooked with 1 cup water
whey protein mix with water
1 piece of fruit

2 cups iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup sliced tomatoes
canned turkey breast
2 tbsp fat free dressing (yes, I know I shouldn't but it makes the lettuce taste better, lol)

baked, skinless boneless chicken breast
1 cup veggie

12 mutligrain saltines


I also normally suck on Crystal Light sugar free candies throughout the day which average me about an extra 50 calories.

I figure I get in around 1300 calories.

Why won't the friggin numbers go down??!!


Thanks for letting me vent, lol.



Hugs
Michelle

One thought is that the weight isn't going down because you're too short on calories. If you're exercising with any vigor at all for an hour a day, you flat-out need more food! I hear you that you're frustrated with figuring out your calorie number. Two suggestions: one, if you know your body fat percentage try the Katch-McArdle formula, and even if the number seems HUGE try it! Two, if you don't know your body fat, try adding a couple hundred calories for a week or two and carefully tracking what happens. Play with it, and pay really close attention. If you're gaining, are you gaining in line with adding a couple hundred calories a day (about half a pound)? Are you losing? Are you staying the same? It's all feedback. Gather feedback, and analyze from there.

I agree with sidhe, your calories are too low.

I am a couple of years older than you. I weigh just under 190, but when I started I was 210, so around the same weight. I started off with 1800-2000 calories per day and consistently lost 1-2 lb per week (I've slackened off a bit lately!) And I do nowhere near the amount of exercise that you do.

If your body thinks you are short-changing it too much, it will hang on to whatever it can. Try increasing your calories to 1500-1700 for a few weeks, and see what happens.

Thanks ya'll. Another thing for me...and I know this will sound bad...but I religiously watch The Biggest Loser and read everything about the show. I have read that they use the contestants weight and multiply it by 7 to get the amount of calories they need each day. I also realize that The Biggest Loser results are not realistic in the real world but dang, all of it frustrates me to no end. lol I feel like banging my head against a wall most days.

No, no, no! No no no!! The ONLY person you compare yourself to is yourself! TBL is entertainment, and that's it. It's not realistic, and it's not a user's manual for weight loss. Frustration sucks and I'm sorry you're going through that. But you've got to let that be what it is, let your body and your life be what it is, and work with how YOUR life is affecting YOUR results.

You're doing amazing, and don't let ANYTHING suggest to you that you're not! Your loss is incredible. Celebrate that, don't berate yourself for not losing faster!

Aww thanks so much

Goodness, eat more! 1300 calories is way too low. I wouldn't go that low even now that I'm below 150 pounds. If it were me, I would increase calories to 1800-2000/day (making sure to track really well) and have protein, fiber and healthy fat at every meal and snack. And lift weights to keep from losing muscle!

Thank you so much.

Lemme ask this...about how long after I do a calorie change should I see a change on the scale? :|

Tell ya what, stop weighing every day! Seriously... it's easy to get too focused on the scale and go mad!

When you raise your calories, your weight may drift up a little for the first few days. If you're weighing every day, that could be cause for panic.

Weigh in the morning the day you plan increase to 1500, or whatever you choose as a target. Do not weigh again until the next week, but stay strictly on your plan, including exercise. And then weigh again after two weeks. Don't give in to the urge to lower your calories during that time. It's only two weeks.

Give it a try?
Jay

Hey there. I see that you've lost 125 lbs in 10 months. That's PHENOMENAL!! Congratulations on your life transforming loss.

I'm wondering how did you lose that weight? Meaning were you tracking your calories? If so, how many were you eating? Is the day you listed here a typical day, food wise? Have you been very consistent? Any "off" days? You've surely done pretty darn amazing, so I'm just wondering how long has this stall lasted?

It may be time to also change up WHAT you're eating a bit. I'm really not seeing much in the way of veggies. Also the fact that you think you have to MASK your lettuce to make it taste better. Maybe it's time for a little more variety for you. If you haven't done so already, now is really the time to find/discover/seek foods that you LOVE. When you love what you're eating it's a heckuva lot easier to stay on plan. And we want you "on plan" forever. Cause' that's how long you'll need to be on plan if you want to keep the weight off forever. Yes, I'm talking the all important maintenance phase.

Instead of iceberg lettuce, why not a nice mix of romaine hearts and baby spinach, sliced red onions, grape tomatoes, bell pepper strips, button mushrooms,a tsp of sliced almonds, a tsp of craisins, sliced strawberries with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Canned turkey? I don't know, doesn't sound so scrumptious. Maybe deli turkey? Or grilled chicken breast? Tuna? Salmon?

Instead of baked chicken breast, why not chicken breast cooked in salsa? Or lemon chicken? Or chicken marsala? Or chicken stir fry with tons of vegggies? Or salmon teriyaki? Tilipia? Served with tons of roasted all carmelized vegetables?

Instead of 12 multi-grain crackers - how about a great big bowl of soup? Butternut squash soup? Tomato cabbage? Vegetable puree? Red lentil mushroom? Mushroom barley? You can make a bit pot of soup. Many of them freeze beautifully. They're great to have on hand. There are plenty of other snacks to have instead of those crackers. Something with more fiber and protein.

Berries are fantastic now and in season. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, black berries. They'd be great in your oatmeal and just great by themselves as snacks.

Take a look around here at 3FC to get some ideas. Search the net. Just google "healthy salads", "healthy chicken dishes" and so on and you'll get a bunch of stuff.

A big factor in my losing the weight and now keeping it off - was finding foods that I love. No reason to go off plan when on plan was so good. I also think the change in foods could help your weight stall - think more protein, more fiber. Make every calorie count.

Thanks so much for the great advice, ya'll. I am upping my calories to 1500 today and I will pick up some new food items when I go shopping tomorrow. I will update in a week or maybe two how things are going with that.

The weight stall has been happening for about 2 weeks now, maybe a bit more. I will lose down to 204 even but then in a few days I am back to 207, 208 or anywhere from 204-210. It is aggravating and discouraging.

As far as food/exercise journal, I use Weight By Date Pro and I love it. I just gotta be more diligent in posting to it which I will start doing today as well .

Try the BMR calculator. your BMR (the amount of calories ou burn just doing NOTHING but living) is 1690 (based on your above stats)

TBL advice is terrible according to them I should have 826 calories a day ! That is ridiculous. It wouldn't even be healthy.
Congratulations on losing 125 pounds, that is fantastic ! I think you have hit a temporary stall., it has only been 2 weeks. Hang in there, you shoulld begin to see a loss again, soon.

Thank you so much