Still having trouble :( Really discouraged here!
 

Hi everyone, I have been seeing other forums :o but still am not getting anywhere. I went over to calorie count to see if they could help and they are all at a loss.

I feel like I am beating this to death but I am STILL not losing!

I am eating healthy. Eating more fruits and veggies. Nothing refined or sugary.

Here is yet another run down of what I have been trying:

I am 27, 5'9'' and weigh 180. I get 1881 on calorie count as a sedentary state and exercise 6 days a week with Power 90. They estimate the calories burned at 300 according to the Beachbody BB post here. I started exercising on 2/27 (note that this is after starting to calorie count).

Started calorie counting with my spreadsheet on 1/27 but started low calories on or before 1/25.

1/27 - 2/8 I average 1184 calories a day.
2/9 - 3/3 I averaged 1322.

Still not losing I decided to take others advice and up the calories but just a little.

3/4 to 3/12 I averaged 1577.

STILL not losing I am now calorie cycling at 1500 and 1800 and this is day 13 of that.

By all means I should have lost something like 14 lbs by now. I have lost a whopping 5 (and that is giving room since really I started at about 183-185 but was on tom so its hard to say with the bloat). and mind you those 5 was in the fist week and a half.

I also have already had my thyroid checked.

My tsh was: .799 (range .25 - 5) normal and .96 the next.
t4:12.7 (range 4.5 - 12) HIGH
Free T4: 1.1 (range .8 - 1.8) normal

I am at my WITS END. I am by no means giving up EVER but it sure would be nice to see some results. And yes I am measuring waist and hips. NOTHING is changing!! (not to mention I measure to the gram on my food!!)

Am I to low still on calories? The workouts are pretty intense but not very long. Just today I went up to the next level which is alot harder with more calories burned. The maker of the product estimates 300 for the lower level and 400 for the higher, but like I said this is only the first day at the higher one for me.

I have tried atkins before and I didnt lose. My body is SERIOUSLY resisting me. And the weird thing is I can EAT more and still not lose or gain. For example last week we went out to chinese for the first time in ages. My stomach DID not like that and cramped for like an hour (I have an aversion to throwing up but if I didnt I probably would have). Nothing. Not one ounce more, not one ounce less. :(

Anyway there is my long whiny complaint!! :dizzy:

please note that my ticker is my all time high weight NOT my start weight LOL

I would try keeping consistent at a higher calorie range for awhile. Your body may still be rebounding from the lower calorie range (I really believe that anything below 1500 for somone that is over 150 is pretty low).

And don't underestimate the amount of water muscles can hold when they are sore. I would just make sure you are resting (and sleeping enough) and drinking enough water and weight should start coming off a little more rapidly. And if it makes you feel any better slow weight loss tends to be more permanent weight loss. Please don't get discouraged and keep going!

*Hugs*

Mirth

Sumisan! Hello!

Well, estimates can be wrong. Your sedentary calories burned sounds OK, but are you sure that you are burning 300 with Power 90? Their estimates may be off. How long is the workout--I don't know what Power 90 involves.

I lose pretty slowly, but not that slowly. I disagree with the poster who thinks you should stay above 1500, since that hasn't worked. (In my case, I would be gaining on that amount.) I'd go back around 1300, and I would add some additional exercise so that your are being active twice a day. Try taking a walk in the morning, if you can. 20 minutes to 30 minutes would be good. Then do the workout later in the day. That way you keep your muscles more active throughout the day.

Also, how are you tracking your calories? Do you look them up in a book, or do you have some sort of computerized list of foods and calories? Sometimes one can be far off on calories and not know it. You might see, just as a test, whether you get the same number in FitDay as you do from your spreadsheet for a few of your past days. Just enter everything into FitDay and see how it comes out.

Jay

Ah, Sumi. I sure wish I could wave the magic wand and disappear that weight for you. Heck! I wish I could do it for me! I've been losing right around a pound a week and been very disappointed with that. This isn't the first time I've needed to lose weight...isn't even the tenth time, probably. In the past, I've always lost quicker than this. Of course I've always gained it back eventually, too, so that's no great accomplishment. I just can't imagine - with all the exercise you're getting - why you wouldn't be losing, if not weight, then inches at least. I DO think that you're now a bit high on calories for weight loss, but it actually might be a GOOD thing. Maybe NOW if you drop back down, you'll see a good loss. I think if I were you, I'd jump back to 1200-1400 calories a day again for a week and see if that doesn't jolt that stubborn body of yours back on track. There you have my twenty-five cent's worth. Good luck!

TTFN,

Ella :wave:

There's no mention of water in your post, I don't have evidence but my own body and I'm sure others too but water makes a HUGE difference in dropping the weight for me. If you're not already getting it, go for 8 cups/2L or more.

It's a 90 day boot camp type workout, they state that this is an underestimate. The workout is 35 minutes for cardio with 5 minutes more on abs. and is 30 minuted long for strength (circuit type with resistance bands).

I am so confused at this point, half the people say be careful of starvation mode and the other half say its a myth, and here I am and I dont lose high or low LOL I would really hate to go back down to find out that I mess myself up again. I just up's my workouts so maybe that will help, they are now 45 minutes with about 10 minutes on abs. Not sure about the strength one yet, a bit scared after today LOL

I use calorie count right now, but my spreadsheet used the actual labels from the items I ate unless it was something like fruits and veggies, which in that case I looked it up online, usually with calorie count LOL Anyway not using the spreadsheet for that anymore now its strickly calorie count. And I always double check with the labels and weigh to the gram LOL

Your right, my week spot is water, I drink tea, LOTS of tea, I will try to drink more plain water and see if that helps, try and get a little exercise in the morning, to start off with. The I will drop back down on calories if all else fails?

If 1300 seems too low, try a little more, like 1350 average.

The rule of thumb is, don't go below 1200. But if you are at 1140 or so at the end of the day now and then, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Something about exercise--the "old school" way of looking at it was that for "fat burning" your heart rate should be lower than for "cardio." Do you track your heart rate during your workout? The reason this can be important is that maximum fat burning takes place at a lower heart rate than cardio training. At least, that was the theory. If you exercise too hard, your muscles don't get enough oxygen to burn fat efficiently.

Anyway, decide on a path to try for the next two weeks and stick to it, see what happens this time.

Are you taking any medications, BTW?

Jay

That must be really hard for you! We can see you're really trying.

Maybe you can get your resting metabolic rate tested to see what your base daily calorie amount should be. I got this recently and my insurance covered it as it was given by a registered dietician. Tells you exactly how many calories you're burning per day (based on breathing into the machine for 10 minutes), a range for lifestyle activities, and calories burned during 30 minutes of moderate cardio.

Also, if you really are living a sedentary life, just adding a small amount of exercise may not be enough. I live in NYC, where I walk 3/4 of a mile to get to work (this includes up and down stairs in the train); plus a few blocks to get something to eat at lunch; and another 3/4 of a mile to get home. Then I live on the 4th floor of my WALK UP building and I have to walk my dog in the morning and sometimes at night so up and down ALL THOSE STEPS. Whenever we get home DH drops me and the baby off while he looks for parking. So I have to carry little DD up the 4 flights!

With all that I still need plenty of exercise (though I do eat a lot more than you on average, but then the RMR test said I had a higher than normal metabolism so I need that extra I think). I've been exercising to burn around 2000 calories per week since I got my new elliptical.

Point is, sometimes you have to really step it up (and mix it up) with the exercise if your lifestyle is really sedentary.

Hopefully not adding to the confusion, but I'd keep the calories at around the 1,600 level -- which is where I'm at and I'm still consistently losing (I know everyone's different, but if your resting metabolism is 1,800 calories AND you're exercising, you should still lose @ 1,600).

If you or a friend have a body fat scale - maybe check to see if your body fat % dropped over next few weeks? You maybe building some metabolism-boosting lean muscle.

But yea, I'm generally at wit's end @ your scenario too. But keep up the good work and try not to get too discouraged and not fall off the wagon.

Finally, a 14 pound drop expectation over 8 weeks is a bit high (usually .5 to 1.5/wk is more realistic and less frustrating) ~ and a 5 pound drop so far is not bad at all. You mentioned losing those over the first 1.5 weeks, which could've been water weight (and water your body is now retaining may be flushing out fat - a GOOD THING.)

I don't lose if I'm eating 1600 calories, in fact I gain. Sorry Warlock, of course we're all different. And lets face it men lose MUCH differently then women. I would keep the calories where you are, 1200 -1300, adding the water and just adding some plain old activity, just moving more. It DOES burn calories. Walk more. Take stairs instead of elevators, partk further away. Or perhaps an intentional extra 30 minute walk. Even 20 mins, 2X a day perhaps.

I've also heard this theory for many years. But..I'm no scientist BTW..if you notice its always the really slim in-shape types that are doing the hardcore cardio, rather than the slow supposedly fat burning level of exercise. And I would venture a guess that most of these types are not focused on their heart's cardio health, but on keeping their weight down (ya know..good ole fashioned vanity).

I think there's another theory that the body may not use fat right then and there when you're doing cardio at a higher level, but I think it REVS up your metabolism and your body will attack that fat later on for fuel so in the end you will have burned more total calories and will lose more fat as a consequence. I would definitely kick up the exercising to the highest level that you are capable of. Given how it has worked for the slim people, who again do not seem to be doing the really easy low-heart rate workouts but rather you see them sweating and going crazy on the cardio equipment or in an aerobics class, I'd give that a try.

It just seems your eating has been REALLY good and strict and I do NOT think the body will suddenly start losing or acting totally different because you go from say 1300 to 1350 calories. So I would look at the activity level. Also, your metabolism burns higher (more calories per hour) for I believe about 20 minutes after a good work out, so the more work out periods you have throughout the day (of at least a 20 to 30 minute duration) the more calories you're burning at rest (yet you get to eat more which also keeps your metabolism going).

Mami and I disagree about exercise. I always watch my heart rate when I exercise because I want to be in the aerobic range.

Max heart rate for females = (210 - 1/2 your age - 1% total wt) + 4
("Heart Zones" method.)

The aerobic range is 70% to 80% of the max heart rate.

There are other calculations one can do as well--check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate

The slim types can do cardio full-on because they are slim. I would drop dead if I tried to do that at my weight (and age).

Jay

LOL I would have to agree with you there.

Well I am at 1628 averaged over 7 days with my alternations of 1500/1800. ([(4*1500)+(3*1800)]/7), I think I did go to low in the beggining though and I dont want to fall into that again. I am being more active now that my anemia is FINALLY getting better, getting up and cleaning and organizing, a little gardening and what not, plus the workouts, all of which I wasnt doing when I started due to lack of energy, as I only started feeling better at the end of Feb.

Well everyone scared me to death about how I put myself in starvation mode so now I dont know what to do LOL Over on calorie-count they say dont have to big a deficit and dont go under 1200 net. Something like calories eaten minus calories burned through exercise is your net and then calories burned total minus calories eaten is your deficit. They said the deficit shouldnt be bigger than 500-750 AND your net should never be under 1200. Which puts me at no less than 1500. :dizzy: Maybe I will try and drop down to 1500 first just to be safe LOL

Yes, I take 1300 grams of iron. It's a major dose as they are flooding my system. I started that about a month and a half ago (I was at a much lower presciption dose before that, which wasnt working). Within 4 weeks my hemoglobin was up to normal :) But i still have to take it to get my ferriten up. There was a reason for my sed. lifestyle LOL But no one has told me that iron would effect anything.

I also had a minor (very minor but put under) surgery on Feb 6th. Its been so long now I dont see how that could be effecting me anymore LOL

Do you all not agree with the formula from calorie-count? They are very adiment about conservation mode over there.

I up'd the workout to the hard one, which is really intense. I couldnt get through it without nearly falling over by the end. Which is not horrible, that was how the easier one was in the beggining 30 days ago. I am hoping that will kick it up and as far as doing a little more, we still dont have a place to walk out here. Seems weird but I feel less safe on dirt roads in the country than on paved sidewalks in the city LOL And walking around in the field like a nut job will only bring me back hitch hicking ticks LOL But I am trying to work on the garden, and today is finally dry enough to get out there, that should count for something right :) And other than that I can try and do some dancin while cleaning the house LOL :carrot:

So do you all recommend getting a heart rate monitor? I have no idea where mine is at in my workouts, but that is usually why I have to stop for a second, not because I am in pain but because my heart is leaping through my chest LOL I walk it out for a few seconds and then jump back in. Just enough to keep the heart from burstin LOL I guess having a monitor would help me know if I am seriously going to high or to low LOL

oops just thought of something else, my measurements DID change a little, I found where I wrote them down 30 days ago:

waist - 31.5 to 29.5
hips - 44 to 43
around top of legs (both) - 46 - 45.5

So that is progress, but what is up with the weight? Did I gain 8 lbs in muscle? (that seems a bit far fetched LOL)

LOL ok I am braindead this morning LOL

Yes my scale measures body fat but that changes alot it seems to me, last one I got said 31%, I think it was 32.5 - 33 when I started and 36 at my all time high weight. Not sure how accurate a wal mart scale is though LMAO

I am not a nutritionist, personal trainer or medical professional, but as a chemist I can offer you one assurance: thermodynamics apply to everything, even your body. There's no infinite free energy, and there's no way to burn more calories than you consume without depleting your energy reserves.

Now, that said, there's more than one way to deplete your energy reserves, and with that more than one way to alter how many calories you're burning...my theory is that your body is just a little too eager to burn muscle tissue for energy instead of fat. In a way, it makes perfect sense for your body...lean mass requires more calories every day to maintain than fat, so if you've got a calorie deficit you can make up for the gap by metabolizing muscle, while at the same time decreasing your daily energy needs. (This is what people are talking about when they mention "starvation mode" and that sort of thing...your metabolism plummets to try to cope with too little food, and when you start eating normally again the body is often reluctant to rebuild the lost muscle tissue.)

You're doing strength training, but are you eating enough protein? The Dietary Reference Intake suggests 46 g/day to avoid an outright deficiency, but if you want to maintain muscle mass in the face of a calorie deficit, you need to be looking at 1g/kg of body weight...which with your numbers works out to about 82 g/day. 82 grams of complete protein, by the way...if you're short one essential amino acid, your body can't do much with the rest but metabolize it and stick the calories on your tush. Some sources suggest you need even more...assuming you don't have chronic renal failure, if you're already around 80 grams a day, try upping it for a while and see what happens. And if you (like me) can't really convince yourself to down another bowl of cottage cheese, whey protein powder really isn't bad.

And if that doesn't work, see if you can find someplace that will measure your resting metabolic rate to take the guesswork out of your daily needs...even the most sedentary person will lose (albeit slowly...but half a pound a week will add up!) if they keep their calories a couple hundred below their resting needs, and re-measure periodically.

Good luck!

And I missed your last couple posts while I was working on my novel of a response...

I'm glad you really have seen some loss in size! Gaining eight pounds of muscle generally takes longer than a couple months, but you will often gain water with it (is my understaning, at least) and water can mess around with your numbers a lot. The best way to avoid that is to try to stay hydrated and avoid going on a salt binge before weigh-in day. Just keep at it, and the fat will come off!

Thanks honeydew, so what would you recommend as far as a caloric range daily? All the numbers are different on every site.

For example the RMR measures me at

655+315.468+783.8-126.9 = 1627.37
and then add in the activity level and I get:
1952 for sedentary(1.2 multiplier) and up to 2521 for moderately active (1.55 multiplier).

Oooh I like what you said about the water WITH the muscle, that makes so much since.

As far as protien goes.. I am trying to get more, but what i get adds up from things in my food which isnt always an animal source. I do try though, but being an ex-vegan, some things are just harder to do, plus I am picky and dont like red meat or many fish. So that leaves me to chicken and turkey mainly LOL My average is 74 grams this last month (per day)

18.2% P 25.6% F 56.2 C

My average has been 20 grams fiber as well, so I can work on that too, I should be aiming for 25 grams + right?

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents in too. For calories, I used to think that I HAD to eat 1300 calories a day, no more, no less. What I've learned on this site is that your body is wonderful at adapting to everything and if you continue to always give it the same thing day in, day out - be it food or exercise - it will acclimate and get better and better at utilizing energy. And that makes its hard to get the fat off. I've started zig-zagging my calories so that I'm eating w/in a calorie range in a week. Maybe 1400 one day, 1700 the next day, 1500 for 2 days, 1300 for a day, etc. You get the idea. The idea behind this is to keep your body guessing. If you consistently give it 1300 calories a day, it will adjust. Have you every stuck to said calorie count for weeks w/little to no weight loss, gotten discouraged and eaten a good amount over that count and all of a sudden the scale drops? You're shaking things up and that is good. Just don't fall into the mindset that "ooo, I can eat like this all the time and lose fat". Constantly change it up.

I've also taken to eating 5-6 smaller meals a day vs. B, L, D and maybe a snack. Just take your calorie total for that day and divided it by 5 or 6 to get an idea of the calories you should eat each meal. I also always, always eat a combo of some kind of protein and carb. If I only have a choice of one thing, I'll eat something like a cheese stick 'cause it will stick w/me a bit longer. And by eating well every few hours, it spikes my body's metabolism and keeps me from getting into that "out of control eat everything in sight" mode!

I've completely changed how I exercise. I started out on the TM walking then slow jogging M-F for like 50-60 minutes. Oh, I always made sure I was in the "target heart rate" zone (or as I came to think of it as the 'gerbil-on-a-wheel-zone' :)). My legs were constantly sore ('cause I wasn't ever giving them a chance to recoup) and the weight lose was minimal. I started using weights about 5 wks ago, gave the TM a rest for a few weeks while I adjusted to the weight routine. I've added the TM back in BUT, after a brief warm up I run at a quicker pace and I interval up and down the entire time. Up down and sideways. This also keeps your body guessing at to what is coming next. The "steady state cardio" just doesn't cut it. You burn calories during the exercise but you have to work harder and harder to reach your "zone" because the darn body keeps getting more efficient! With the intervals, your body just doesn't know what to expect. I read that it also keeps your metobolism up for quite a bit burning away after you're done. I'm off the TM in 30 minutes and I am sweating like a pig and definintely know I've worked out.

Hope some of this helps. I agree w/others -- do not give in to the temptation and give up! I'm just starting to really see some results so I know that constantly changing and tweaking is the right way to go. Don't get stuck in a rut. Good luck!!

Hey, there's a thread in the "Ladies Who Lift" forum called "Epiphany -- Building the Fat Buring Factory" by BeezKnees. It's really, really good. Great perspective and I think would help alot.

Jo

And go read what Meg has to say. She's been little for five years now. She's pretty smart.

Jo: That is what I am doing right now, for the last 2 weeks, 1500 one day 1800 the next. and small meals, for no other reason but to make me feel more satisfied LOL but I get 5 meals a day all about the same size.

susan: you lost me, do you have a link?

Sure just a minute ... have we talked about walking with faster intervals/

Here's Meg's story
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84319

from there just find more posts by her and read. She had an unusual journey with a few trouble a long the way. I think you'll find her inspiring.
She post regularly in Maintainers.

Thanks Susan :)

Based on your size, age and activity level, you can likely lose at 1,500 - 1,800 Calories a day, but the only way to know for sure is to find someone to hook you up to a machine for about half an hour and figure out how much carbon you're breathing out...I know my university will do it for like $20, but you may need to look around a bit. Try googling "RMR testing" and look for something in your area.

Short of that, there's trial and error if you're patient...keep within one range for a while and see how you do, adjust as necessary. You've seen some of the drawbacks to this, though...sometimes you can be making progress and not really notice much of a difference, and sometimes it can be hard to tell if you're making small (but important) progress of if you're just not doing enough. Try to collect data over several months before coming to any solid conclusions...and definitely take measurements if you're exercising.

As for fiber, I personally find it's more about comfort...yeah, it'll decrease your risk of colon cancer and stuff, but I eat it because it keeps me less hungry and more regular, and don't really keep track of how much. (Granted, my pantry is a sea of Triscuits, Fiber One and whole wheat pasta, so take from that what you will.)

Look. If someone is eating over 1600 cals a day and not losing, it's probably too many calories. How hard is this?

Sumi, you don't need a machine to monitor your heart rate--you just learn to take your pulse. Count your pulse for ten seconds by a clock and multiply by 6. You can use the pulse in your throat or your wrist.

If you are exercising so hard that you have to stop because your heart is jumping out of your chest, you are exercising too hard. That puts you into the anaerobic range, which does not burn fat as efficiently because of oxygen debt.

You will find as many theories as people here. No one can tell you exactly what to do. My own experience has taught me how many calories I can eat to lose weight. You have to find your own way by trying different things. I know you're getting contradictory advice here, but choose something and do it for a couple of weeks. And just keep trying different things until you find something that works--but give each attempt time to work. Two weeks is about the minimum to see whether a combination of calories and exercise is working or not.

Jay

Thanks Jay :) I will have to keep a watch handy and try it.

Warm hello to you, sumisan! How very frustrating for you!

The expression "being stuck in the doldrums" refers back to when sailing ships were the primary fast means of traversing the globe. The doldrums were the areas where there was no wind, which meant no travel. The sailors were literally at the mercy of the elements, waiting for the wind. They could be stuck there waiting for any length of time, from days to weeks. There was nothing else they could do. So they used their time as productively as they could by taking care of the ship: mending ropes, nets, fixing whatever needed to be tended to. And finally, the wind would come back, and they could continue their journey to wherever they were going.

It sounds like you, too, are stuck in the doldrums right now. Looking up at your post, I took the liberty of highlighting a few of your statements. Taken together, they would read:
I feel like I am beating this to death
I am at my WITS END!
My body is SERIOUSLY resisting me.
These three statements show that you do have some inkling as to the underlying wrong in your situation.

So let's see: You're starving yourself, you're giving yourself grueling physical activity. You're finally starting to notice that your body isn't at all happy at being in this punishment. From your body's perspective: It feels like it's starving to death, it's trying to keep you alive in a harsh environment, and all you're doing is trying to punish it more. What else do you want--to die in this famine?! it must be wondering.

Yes. Your body IS resisting you, because it was designed to hold on to calories when there aren't many coming in. Your overzealous rigor has put you into starvation mode. Think of it as human metabolism default position. Your body's metabolism doesn't know you're trying to lose weight. All it knows is that there hasn't been much food for a couple of months, it doesn't know when it's going to get better nutrition, so it had better hold on to what it's got.

The well-meaning souls advising you to eat even less are leading you in the wrong direction. That's what got you into trouble in the first place. It'll sound counterintuitive, but here it is: you must eat more--and better--food. Your body needs to know it can relax--there's enough food coming in, the metabolism can speed up again. Eat a lot of salmon, other Omega-3 fatty acid fish, hummos, whole grains, tofu, dairy. When you exercise, don't go for harsh and short. Go for gentle, but a long time. That is the better way to burn fat--and that's what you're after.

Our bodies are our animal selves: very basic, very simple, very trusting. But just because they are so, doesn't mean they can be abused. There are basic metabolic rules (regarding body chemistry, our genetics, how they all function together), and the rules are physical laws that cannot be broken, no matter what our minds wish to impose.

Sometime when you're alone, go to the mirror over your bathroom sink. Look your reflection in the eyes, and apologize to yourself. You really didn't know you were hurting yourself, so you already know your honorable intentions; forgive yourself, and vow you'll treat yourself more gently, feed yourself better. Then give yourself the next week off. I don't know what your goal is (I saw something about the beginning of May in something you wrote), but getting your body's metabolism back in line is more important than some date.

And if you live in an area where there's a teaching hospital, you should see if you can find a genuine registered nutritionist to advise you on regulating your metabolism. You need the services of someone who really understands these things beyond what any of us can advise you.

thank you fattofitvirgo :) I have no idea where to find one of those calorie machines or a nutrionalist out here in the country though LOL My goals are for when ever LOl I joined a may challenge but thats pretty much shot at this point LOL

I admit my goals at first were to lose 2 lbs a week, you know push the envelope and go for the max, after all "they" say that you can safely lose 1-2 lbs a week. But I never knew you could go into starvation mode above 1200 calories (yes I know I went under that so I guess that is a pointless statement, I was aiming for 1200 though)

But what you are saying is what they say on calorie count, but like you they dont know what I should do to kick into losing. When I brought my calories up I didnt really gain anything, like everyone said I might. So I have no idea who to believe LOL It enough to drive a person MAD.

But I think this was my last ditch effort to find help. I had already started to realize I just need to find someone who can help me offline. I live way out in the country though so I have no idea where to even start looking LOL I am going to call my doctor and ask her if she can recommend someone, I know my insurance wont cover it, so she wont refer me :(

sumisan, nobody can tell you what will work for sure. NO ONE or nothing. Not websites, nutritionists, people who have been through it, doctors, dieticians, calculators, witches, genies or psychics. NO ONE. We are all such individuals with different circumstances and bodies. People can only suggest things to you. Calorie calculators can only estimate what will work for you. The only tried and true method is TRIAL and ERROR. A little tedious and time consuming and frustrating at times, no doubt, but that's really what it will boil down to in the end. I personally don't think you are in starvation mode. Of course that's my opinion. I would stick to the 1200-1300 calorie range, measuring everything for a few days just to be certain, eat every 2 1/2 - 3 hours, eating veggies, lean proteins and lots and lots of fiber, like 50 grams worth, drink tons of water and add some non-strenuous activity to your day in addition to the exercise you are currently doing. Again, all you can is try things out. Stick with it, something is bound to give. I really admire your perserverance. Good luck. It'll happen for you.

Yeah, what rockin' said! :D

Jay

I was talking about before when I first started and was under 1200. I agree its something I guess I have to figure out. I just don't get why it is easy for some and seems impossible for me. I am at the point where I want to drop back down but then again I am thinking about the whole to low thing. The only time I have ever lost weight is either after my pregnancies or by starving myself on less than 500 calories. So I am a bit paranoid as I dont want to do THAT again.

I appreciate everyones opinion :) Thank you!

My two cents: Reduce your calories. Go back to 1200-1300 a day. Increase your exercise intensity, duration and frequency.

I'm about the same height as you, and was at about your weight a couple of years ago. I ate 1200-1300 calories a day (usually with one 'undocumented' meal a week) and did 60 mins of cardio 4 or 5 days a week. I lost steadily (about 2lb a week) until I got to 142lb, which seemed low enough to me. All bodies are different, but as JayEll said, if you're not losing weight, you're consuming too many calories and not burning off enough calories. 1200 or 1300 calories a day isn't starvation--just a nice deficit.

Good luck!

Jay I meant heart rate, which is what you were talking about, not necessarily how you get to the heart rate; I thought you were discussing the theory that we burn fat when we have our heart rates at a lower "fat burning zone". So while you're heart rate may be at 75% from fast walking a fitter person (not saying you're not fit of course :)) would possibly be running with the same level of exertion of 75%. So I was not suggesting, using this analogy, that Sumi start running, but more that she get her heart rate up as high as possible, even if that's higher than that moderate fat burning zone (so the theory goes).

I don't have any stunning advice about going higher or lower or doing less or doing more...

My advice would be about patience.

You sound really frustrated that you aren't making progress, but when I read more closely, you ARE making progress! You're getting smaller and losing (albeit slowly).

You're weight training? How long have you been doing it? How hard do you train? The reason I ask is because if you've really kicked it up recently, a lot of your lack of losing as much as you want could be because you are gaining muscle, retaining water, etc. (As others have mentioned). Sometimes that compensates for the fat loss.

Remember that the scale is an imperfect measure. It's not showing all the ways in which your body is changing.

So, my advice is: patience grasshopper! You're losing slowly, getting smaller AND fitter! You've got it all going on! Try not to worry so much about your calories and all this other stuff unless you REALLY have a stall.

Remember that when you get to goal, you aren't going to be motivated by a moving scale and need to find other things to focus on. How about the new things your body can do??

sumisan, how many pounds have you lost since beginning and when was that? I think you have lost something so I think you need to chill a bit. This is all becoming too scientific and obsessive. Eat healthy, try to generally count calories and get as much exercise as possible. The weightloss will definitely follow! My loss was slow at first too but I had returned to the gym and I think I put on muscle at the beginning as my measurements were going down. Sounds like the same has happened to you. Good for you..be patient and go with the healthy flow..but minus the extremism of "exactedness".

Hey Mami,

I guess I must be misunderstanding you--but I think it's dangerous to tell anyone to get their heart rate up "as high as possible." Sumisan has already said that she has had to stop during workouts because her heart is beating out of her chest--now that is just not a healthy level of exercise, especially for someone who is overweight and may not be really fit.

I used to see a few women at Curves who were pumping away like mad and gasping for air because they didn't understand or were never told that you aren't supposed to be exercising at maximum heart rate. "Gosh, I just can't get above 90%" one of them said.

So... I hope "as high as possible" isn't really what you had in mind. :?:

Anyway--we're kind of getting off topic.

Jay