Fitness & Exercise Community

I don't think you're doing anything wrong - sounds as if you are doing many things right!

Is there any chance that you could be overestimating the number of calories you are eating?

If not, just continue with the 1200 cal regime, eating healthy as you are doing, and focus on burning max calories with your cardio - make it pretty intense (e.g. interval training, or increase your speed, incline or distance).

Make sure you spread your calories evenly throughout the day, eating every few hours.

If all else fails, maybe cut 100 calories only per day and see if it helps...

One of the most frustrating things about exercise and weight loss is the simple fact that you don't lose a lot of weight with exercise, and in some cases, like yours, no weight at all. The fact is that you must burn fewer calories than you consume to lose weight no matter how much exercise you do. Even if you run a marathon every day you will not lose weight if you consume more calories than you burn. So if you're not losing then you are consuming more calories than you burn, even if you think you're not. I know you swear you're consuming 1200 calories a day, but if you truly were, and with all the exercise you do, you'd be losing. One of the problems is that people can under estimate their calorie intake by as much as 40% to 50%.Studies confirm this. Again, it's frustrating when you put so much into exercise but it doesn't show on the scale. I suggest that you continue with your exercise, (although pace yourself so you don't burn out - maybe 30 minutes of cardio on days you lift), and then start to keep very detailed food records and count your calories. I suggest you use the WebMD weight loss resources as the support and epxert advice is very good.

You can post your diet-related questions to the Diet Community:
http://exchanges.webmd.com/diet-exchange

And here's the Food and Fitness Planner
http://www.webmd.com/diet/food-fitness-planner/summary

And the exercise calorie counter:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-fitness-calorie-counter

You'll find pretty much everything you need to lose weight on these sites. Try not to beat yourself up for not losing. If you reduce your calorie intake you will start to lose. Go ahead and start counting calories today.

Take care,
Rich

I was in almost the exact same boat as you. Same age, height and weight. I lost 30 pounds by eating Special K cereal with skim milk for breakfast, half of ham and turkey subs - no cheese - from Subway (Mon-Fri.) for lunch (with lettuce, tomato and vinegar/no oil), baked chips and a normal dinner. I just tried to make sure that I didn't go back for seconds at dinner or put too much on my plate in the first place. I drink water all day and night anyway. So that part was easy. I swear that the only exercise I did was I got on my treadmill Monday through Friday mornings for a half hour a day and walked for a mile and a half. That was all it took. Nothing crazy, nothing drastic. But it worked! I lost the weight pretty quickly. I don't remember exactly how long it took me. I hope this helps. I know that for me I could never stick to exercising for as long as you are daily.

Remember that muscle weighs more than fat but also burns more calories. I think 30 min of strength training each day is too much. I'd do it 2X per week and focus more on cardio and doing intervals. At this rate, I'd think you may burn yourself out. I'd also suggest tracking calories you eat. Use a SmartPhone app like 'Lose it' or 'MyFitness Pal' but log everything. They both help you eastablish a profile and estimate caloric intake depending on how much per week you want to lose. 0.5-2lbs per week is a good goal. Cut yourself some slack too. How long did it take you to get into the shape you're in now? months? years? WebMD also has a good weightloss/calorie tracker. This should be a life style changing event, not a 2 week attack to fit into a new swimsuit. Right now I'm going thru exactly what you're facing. keep the faith!

There is one of two things going on - you are either not being honest with yourself in terms of actual consumption or you have put your body in starvation mode.

You need to find a good calorie tracker and start measuring and counting everything you are putting in your body from the moment you wake up until you lay down to sleep. I use MyFitnessPal which is free both online and as an app for your phone. My base calories for the day are 1200. This assumes that I will do no exercise and will still allow for weight loss. You earn calories back from exercise that still allow for weight loss but keep your body fueled. If you do not feed your body fuel it will shut down to starvation mode and you will not lose weight. That is a scientific fact.

You also should look at your workouts. You may be overestimating your efforts which mean your body isn't challenged. Your body may also be bored. If you are doing the same workout, on the same machine, at the same level for four weeks ... you stopped burning the same calories a few weeks in. Your body craves confusion. I run one day hit the elliptical the next and maybe a spinning class the next day, it is always changing. Consider an investment in some different types of workouts as well. I integrated the Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 about 4 weeks ago as well. Added that on as the 25 minutes of strength and toning. My body went crazy. I didn't need to lose weight and I lost. Family members were even commenting on the change. It was a totally different workout and by body responded quickly.

Please also be VERY careful of "fat free" and "low fat" foods because they are "better for you". Those so called "diet" foods are often loaded in chemicals, sodium, etc and will hurt your weight loss efforts. If you are eating a well balanced diet of proteins, fruits, veggies, whole grains and moderate fats it is far better in the long run. Your body knows what to do with bananas and carrots and chicken and whole grain bread. It has a very hard time processing long unpronounceable chemicals. There are no bad foods. Starch is not bad. A baked potato with a cup of steamed broccoli with 1/2 tbsp of real butter is a great lunch that totally fills me up and is low in calories.

This will work. I was at a healthy BMI and right in the middle of a healthy weight for my height and age. I have dropped 13.5 pounds in the last 8 weeks just by tracking everything for food and exercise. Do yourself the favor and don't try to guess and estimate. We have been brainwashed to not understand portions so we can't do it on our own at first.

Best wishes on a successful journey.

Hi TMaGee07!

You're definitely consuming more calories than you burn. I'm a "snacker" & even though I snack on healthy foods, the calorie count knocks my socks off! This was yesterday, alone:

SNACKS
Fuji Apple, Small, 1 77 calories
Laughing Cow - Light French Onion, 1 wedge 35 calories
Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil, 6 crackers 120 calories
Large Navel Orange, 1 large (280g) 100 calories
Emerald Tuscany Almonds - Natural Almonds - 100 Cal Pack
Red Globe - Seedless Grapes, 1 cup 112 calories

This is a website ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ )where you can track your daily caloric intake. Also, if you have a smartphone (or iPhone) you can download the app! AWESOME doesn't begin to describe this app/website

TMa, you're consuming way more than you think.
Try the website/app...good luck!

I am sure that you are keeping a journal and weighing your food to be so exact on the details. I think you are not eating enough food and your body is going into starvation mode.

Cut your exercise back to no more than 45 minutes a day and alternate types of exercise every day.
Drink water during your exercise to avoid dehydration.
You need to eat 6 small meals a day and on days that you exercise you may want to have 7 meals a day. These would be small "fuellings" that are balanced with enough protein to supply your body with the energy that it needs.
Have a small "fuelling" before you start to exercise and have another "fuelling" when you finish to replenish your energy so your body does not store calories because the difference between energy in and energy out are to great and it goes into Starvation Mode.
Being on the verge of starving yourself tells me that your body needs more energy to sustain your energy output.

Contact me if you would like more information.
Brenda Courser
Certified Health Coach
www.YouCanDoThis.tsfl.com

Maybe 1200 is too few calories for you.
Try 1500 (and write every bite down, and measure - a bowl of cereal is not 1 cup - it's more than one cup; a serving isn't as much as you eat - it's as indicated on the jar, etc.) Do that for 1 week and see if it helps. And stop looking at the scale so much. Do you feel better? Do your clothes feel looser? Did you take any measurements when you started?
You are either in starvation mode or you aren't being truthful with yourself.
Good luck, you are on the right track - keep going.

MyFitnessPal is great! I totally agree with you here since I've been in the same boat of working out and not losing, yet also not curbing those "healthy" snacks. Look on the positive side for now, at least you are MOVING! Keep at it.

I just read your post. I hope that you have found a solution. If not, if may be because your body is holding on to those pounds because it thinks it is starving. I have read that when your body thinks that it is not getting enough fuel, it will go on lock-down and hold on to the fat stored in your body. You said that you are at 1200 calories and with the amount of exercise that you are doing, the solution may be that you just need to adjust your food intake. www.myplate.com is a excellent site to not only set-up a plan to help you determine how many calories you need a day, which according to how many pounds you want to lose a week; but it also helps determine your daily caloric intake according to the amount of exercise that you do a day. Let us know how your progress is going. Having support will really help you to stay encouraged and keep going towards your goal!

I feel your pain!!! I am the same way...except I don't track my calories like that. I DO use either www.myfitnesspal.com or www.livestrong.com for calorie tracking.When I was devoted to tracking, I lost 17 lbs. Once I stopped, I THOUGHT I was eating around the same amounts of food, but I gained about 7 lbs back.

Sweets get me. Well, any carbs, really. I am a new vegetarian, and I find it hard to not eat stuff like pasta and cheese. If I don't keep track of the portioin size and calories in a portion, my weight JUMPS.

I also recently purchased a FitBit Ultra tracker. It takes a little tweaking, but I LOVE it. It connects with myfitnesspal and tracks ALL kinds of things about your body. Nike has something like it too...the Fuel band or something.

DO NOT stop strength training. Muscle not only weighs more than fat, it also continues to help you burn more calories throughout the day. With that said, you should probably be aiming for about 1500 calories a day, and try to burn about 500. Check out beachbody.com for good tips.

OMGoodness! I have the Fitbit & it makes you want to move. When I got my first weekly report I couldn't believe it ! The fact that FitBit syncs w/MyFitnessPal is double AWESOME! You really see what's going on!

TMa, the FitBit tracker lets you see how many

calories you burn a day-PERIOD, whether you exercise or not. That's a good place to start.

If you are working out an hour and 20 minutes 5 times a week and consuming 1200 calories per day it sounds like you are not eating enough! You need to eat to lose weight! If your body thinks you're starving it (which is what it sounds like) it will hold on to the fat that's already there and make it much harder for you to lose the weight. Sounds like your body is in starvation mode. Try consuming 1500 calories per day, which, by the way, is a much healthier amount to eat. I bet you you'll see the difference. If you lose 1-2 lbs a week the weight will stay off much longer than if you lose a ton of weight by starvation.