ok, so a brief rundown here. I have been exercising everyday for the past 2 months. I am trying to get my weight back down to pre-pregnancy weight which was approx 140 pounds. I'm 5 foot 6 inches currently stuck at 184 pounds. When i started this diet and exercise plan i weighed 201, so i've lost a little but recently the scale hasnt moved at all, in over a week. I do one hour of cardio, and every other day i do 2 hours of cardio. From there I go straight into toning....abs, arms, legs for about 40 minutes everyday. I use resistance bands and small weights. I have limited carbs, if any a day. I eat all fresh foods, nothing baked or fried, no soda....drink about a gallon of water too. my calorie intake a day is anywhere from 1000-1500 depending on what i have..im never hungry because of what i eat. now, here is the other issue...those 17 pounds that are gone.....shouldnt i have lost a size or two? because i havent. what is going on with my body?? someone please give me some good advice!! i'm getting distressed over all of this.

Well, I am not a proffessional, but I have met with some trainers, some nutritionists and done a lot of reading online... I was told to do weight training first, then cardio. Cardio burns up the sugar in your muscles and weight training uses sugar and I forget what the other thing is... but anyways, if you are doing cardio, you are burning up all the sugar reserves and then there is none left for your muscles afterwords.

30 - 60 minutes of cardio is plenty unless you are training for a marathon or something. I read an article where the woman was talking about how her six pack abs went away while she was training for a marathon, b/c her body was storing as much as it could in reserve for her running... So, 2 hours of cardio every other day and one hour on the opposite days is A LOT for your body. Your body is probably holding on to what it can so it has the reserves for that much.

Do Strength training and cardio on opposite days and take one day off a week. (if you HAVE to do something everyday - then for the seventh day do yoga or something light)

Carbs. Carbs are important. You need them for brain function. My anorexic friend doesn't seem all there these days - and I am not trying to be funny. When you are losing weight, I have been told it is important to limit carbs - but not eliminate them. You will do damage to your body. You need to balance carbs and fat with protein and fiber. (Unless by no carbs you mean no bread, pasta, etc. but are still eating fruits and veggies? Fruits and Veggies are carbs. They are also fiber. And very good for you!)

It may be worth it for you to sign up for a meeting with a trainer - even if it is just one time to go over things.

Losing sizes depends entirely on where your body decides to drop the weight, and at bigger sizes there is more ease between a size change. A size 2x may be 3 inches bigger than a 1x, but a medium may only be 1 inch bigger than a small. Because of this, it takes much more loss to see changes in clothing sizes at a bigger size, whereas a 130 pound woman going to 120 may drop two clothing sizes easily.

It's not you, it's the clothing industry. Are you taking your measurements every month or two to see where you are dropping weight? That may be a more helpful tool for you than a scale, if a change in clothing size is mote motivating for you than just a drop on the scale. Good luck!

My unscientific opinion: too much cardio and too much water.
Cut both in about half. Take some rest days.
Your calories seem to be ok. 1000 may be a little low. Try 1200-1500.

Your body/hormones/everything changes after a baby. It just takes time.
Keep going-hang in there-never give up!!
Best wishes

i'll start with the carbs. I totally eliminated all bread and pasta. On a regular day I eat a TON of fruits and veggies which is what i meant by eating "fresh" theyre raw, not cooked or processed.

clothing sizes..im in a 14 womans or 17 in juniors...have been for quite some time...and i didnt realize that the sizes were so dramatic! THANK YOU!! that helps. I havent been taking measurements at all although you're right, i should be!

I also thought that water was good to help lose weight. I will take the advice ladies!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!

Are you counting calories?
When you say "a TON"- how much is that really???

You can overeat fruit--even though it's a more natural sugar, it's still sugar.

oh - and I am not sure how long it has been since you had your baby, but I heard it can take up to a year to feel normal again and for your joints to get back to normal (they losen up during pregnancy). And I have to say it took me a GOOD 10 - 11 months after I had my son to really feel back to "normal" and even still = my body does NOT react to food/exercise the way it used to! Lol!!

LOL!! My kids are 10 and 12 yrs old, and I've just now gotten back to pre-pregnancy weight!!!

My daughter just turned 3 in november. by a "ton" i mean that thats all i eat is fruits and veggies, my calories stay between 1000 and 1500 always. i eat more veggies than fruit. fresh broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus (*gag*) lettuce tomatoes, eggplant...all fresh. The only fruits i really eat are grapes, oranges apples and bananas..but i do try to have some of all of those everyday. I usually have a half a can of tuna in water with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar too. for some form of "meat". i dont eat red meat at all. i take a multivitamin daily....im about to turn to diet pills soon!!! grrrr!

drink about a gallon of water too. -- The human stomach holds at best one and a half cups. You are kidding about drinking a gallon of water?

my calorie intake a day is anywhere from 1000-1500 depending on what i have..im never hungry because of what i eat. What height are you? Under a certain calorie level you stop losing weight. You can't go too low, only a few hundred calories under.

now, here is the other issue...those 17 pounds that are gone.....shouldnt i have lost a size or two? A size and a pound are different kinds of weights. It took me 30 to lose one size and it still was not on the "small end" of the smaller size. The question you ask is too general. A gallon of fat is about 6 pounds. That gallon is spread over your body like frosting on a cake, so the gallon has a surface area = to your body surface area. A 6 foot tall person has more surface area than a 5 foot tall person so the 'spread" of the fat is thinner or thicker depending on their size.

There are also no hard and fast rules about weight loss. It's not like The Rules work all the time for everyone. You (personally) have to figure out what works for you. With me, it is Atkins induction diet, and dieting holidays every 3 months or so.


Advice: Stay cool and stick to the plan. Look at it as a real lifestyle change, not just a plan you will follow for a few months.

Don't waste your money on diet pills.

If you are eating 1000+ calories a day of raw fruit and vegetables, you probably don't need to be drinking any water at all--there's a tremendous amount water right there. An extra gallon on top of that is probably pointless.

I think you need more protein. A LOT more protein. Fruits and veggies are carbs--good carbs, for the most point, with a high GI, and lots of vitamins, but carbs all the same. You need to cut some of the fruits and leafy veggies and hit the egg whites, the baked chicken breasts, beans, and possibly protein powder.

You also need to spend some time researching/reading about eating plans/exercise. Yours sounds like someone with tons and tons of willpower but little knowledge. It's a "if some is good, then more is better" diet, and those don't work--they aren't efficient or sustainable. You can actually lose more weight and suffer less using moderation and balance.

I once went through something similar - not quite, but close. I was eating EXTREMELY healthy. I had a good friend that was a biologist and worked particular on the cellular level - anyway, I don't need to go into details. He immediately asked me, "Where is your fat source??" and then "You really need to add some olive oil to your vegetables"...... and his explanation was your body needs the fat to absorb vitamins and other reasons. And it helped. In our "low-fat" society, I had used to think fat was bad.

I would also like to comment: how are your bowels? Is that painful?? You are getting such an extreme amount of fiber and most of what you are eating is uncooked.

Finally, there has been much talk about "Wooshes" of weight loss on this forum. Due to water retention in fat cells, etc. we don't always lose weight 'steadily' as we think we will. Instead, we will lose it in one big "woosh". So, maybe go back and read some older posts on this topic too- its quite interesting.

Shmead is right - it sounds like you need more protein. Especially with all the working out you've been doing. Chicken is great - lower in calories and full of protein. Fish, shrimp, pork are all good. If you aren't into meat - you can do beans and rice. The nutritionist I met with said there are (9?) types of amino acids that make up the protein we need. Beans have some of them and rice has the rest - which is why it is good to eat beans and rice together. Together they make a complete protein. Protein powder is OK - but you have to be careful. You can overdose on protein powder and it is jam packed with calories. It is great to supplement your protein, I just would be careful about trying to get all your protein from it.

Low fat cottage cheese, string cheese, and eggs have a lot of protein, too.