ive been trying to lose weight for a while my highest weight was 270 i started watching what i ate somewhat around august and lost about 20 lbs by jan 1st. In january i decided to get more serious and cut my calories to 1000 and started to do an hour of cardio about 5 days a week and weights everyother day i lost a lil weight but not as much as i expected so i thought maybe i wasnt eating enough calories i weigh 240 lbs and im 5' 2" im only 24 years old so im not sure why im not losing weight as fast as i expected i burn on average at least 4000 calories a day according to my bodybugg so even though i am losing if im burning 4000 and only eating 1500 why am i not losing more weight
I know what it's like, to be so unhappy, you are determined to DO ANYTHING to lose weight, starving, over exercising. Don't.
It's hard to stick with it. Every time I tried it, I was really successful - for a short time. I would lose weight. Some weight. Then I would eventually binge, give up and regain the weight.
Every time. So, I'm glad you decided to add some more calories to your day.
My tips and tricks would include planning for healthy food. Cooking, packing lunches, taking care of yourself. It's really hard to eat healthy on accident, so help yourself out by making the eating part easy.
You have to eat enough to lose weight. It sounds counter-productive, but you need to keep the body fires burning.
I weigh 227 and I zigg-zagg between 1500-1800 calories. On the days I don't work out I eat 1500 and on the days I work out I eat between 1600-1800. I would never go less than 1500 if you want to lose steadily.
It also helps to have some room to be able to go down once you get towards your goal weight.
Also, you are working out even more than I am, so you could probably eat more calories per day than what I do -I only do 45 minutes of cardio + 30 minutes of weights 4 times a week.
You only need to lose 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week. If you are burning 4000 a day and only eating 1500, it means you're burning 2500 which is a bit high. A person can safely lose 2 lbs a week, which equals out to 1000 calories extra burnt a day.
1000 calories and an hour of cardio a day sounds pretty intense. That is the kind of tihng that is hard to maintain. And your body can only lose weight so fast. They say you can safely lose up to 2 lbs a week, but I find the reality for me is more like 0.8 to 1.5 pounds a week.
I have been told fiber is good for weight loss. Eat lots of veggies and fruits. and I find even just 30 minutes of exercise can make a difference. I was told by the trainer at my gym that strength training is even more important than cardio for weight loss. You have to do A LOT of treadmilling to burn 3,500 calories to lose that one pound. Strength training is good b/c you build muscles, which raise your resting metabolic rate (ie. higher metabolism). I aim for three days of strength training a week (which consists of 6 exercises I do for 3 sets each) and three days of cardio - which is sometimes 30 mins on the treadmill, sometimes 60, and sometimes, it is just a yoga class.
You have to think about what kinds of habits are going to be maintable for you. What changes can you make to what you eat to make it more healthy? Can you maintain 60 mins of cardio 5 days a week forever?
I think permanent weight loss is a lot trial and a lot of error! Lol! Try something and if it doesn't work, try something else.
Also, for me, heart rate monitoring (like the BodyBugg) is seriously inaccurate. I did a 3 month trial where I ate between 1500-2000 calories a day...the bodybugg averaged 3450 calories burned per day during that time period. I gained 2 lbs. Those calculations are just estimates based on an "average" person, not the end-all-be-all of what you burn. So keep in mind that even if your monitoring device says you're burning 4000 calories, you'll only know for sure by watching what you gain/lose...no device can tell you exactly what your body will do.
You say you weighed 270lbs, lost 20lbs before January and now are at 240lbs? That makes about 10lbs in a month and a half. THAT'S GREAT!!! Just keep doing what you're doing! I know it's tempting to keep changing things around in an attempt to get huge losses, but sustainable weight loss is about being consistent and making changes you can live with for the rest of your life. Like the tortoise and the hare both found out, slow and steady wins the race.
any tips or suggestions ?????
