I'm hoping one of you lovely ladies can help. I'm getting incredibly depressed. I used to go to gym often and then life got in the way and I landed up being a work-a-holic that barely did any exercise other than clicking her mouse. Needless to say I put on 20 kilos over 6 years and am now trying to burn them off. I've always been a healthy eater due to my family having diabetes so I figured the weight was due to my sedentary lifestyle. 4 weeks ago I joined the gym and have been pushing myself; going at least 4 times a week. The first week I was averaging 150 calories lost per session and then pushed this up to 220 in the following week. By week three I pushed this to 320 per session and over the past week and a half I've been averaging 500-700 calories per session being burnt. On top of this I am only consuming about 600-1000 calories a day and yet I have not lost a single kilogram. PLEASE suggest anything as I'm getting very despondent and need some inspiration or advice :(
Well, the most obvious answer to your dilemma is: muscle weighs more than fat. Before getting overly frustrated, are your clothes looser? Does stuff fit better? Are you able to get into a smaller size than you were before you started working out? Also, very low calorie diets are really unsafe, especially when you're working out that much. Take a step back, and give your body what it needs. My calorie intake is okay at 1800 calories, although it's difficult for me to get that many calories in unless I eat out three meals a day. If you continue to have no weight loss, see a physician for an evaluation :)
Hmm.. I would recommend not pushing yourself so hard in the gym. You do know that exercising a lot can sometimes result in being hungry and wanting to eat more b/c you need more energy. Just working out casually, even just walking is good enough. It's 80% diet, and 20% exercise... and the exercise is more beneficial for health reasons, rather than weight.
What is your diet like? What types of foods do you eat everyday?
It's also recommended you don't go below 1200 calories a day!
Thanks guys ... well my average day will consist of fruit for breakfast and rarely a sandwich for lunch ... mostly just a few slices of ham or chicken with cucumber and lettuce and then dinner is generally chicken and salad or veg. I know i did screw up my metabolism a lot over the past few years as I never ate breakfast or lunch and would eat a big dinner.
My clothes do feel a little better but not a huge amount ... would you suggest a dietitian to assess my eating perhaps?
You need to EAT!! You said 500-700 calories per session being burnt....only consuming about 600-1000 calories...you body is only really getting 100-300 calories a day b/c you are working it all off. You'e body isn't going to lose because you are starving it! You need to refuel and eat more! Eat Healthy but get up to at least 1400 calories EVERYDAY, workout days calories need to be higher especially when you are working out that hard!
Check out myfitnesspal.com, you can download to phone too. It helped me alot to make sure I was eating enough and it's simple. Can friend me at RosieDip on there.
Good Luck!
PS--Don't get depressed over it--it will come off eventually just don't give up!
Thanks Rosie ... I am on myfitnesspal that's why I know how many calories I'm consuming ... I guess i really need to just fix my bad habits of not eating enough. I'm much better than I was ... for a few years I wasn't even eating breakfast and mostly skipped lunch ... TERRIBLE! This is all of those bad things coming to bite me in my butt! I'll friend you on there ... and thank you Aikawa ... I'll try to add more protein to my breakfast :)
muscle does not weight more then fat. a pound is pound weather it is fat or muscle. muscle is just leaner then fat. I agree with everyone else you have put your body into starvation mode so it keeps everything you give it because it doesn't know when its going to get more. I have to track calories just to make sure I eat enough and I weigh over 200 hundred pounds. I didn't eat breakfast maybe lunch maybe not and started gaining weight like crazy.
It is true that a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh sixteen ounces, however, muscle is more dense than fat, and if you take the same size of measurement (say a block six inches by six inches) the muscle will weigh more than the fat. When you are building muscle, you will see a point where you have some slight weight gain before you see loss, that was my point.
Hey there everyone! So I'm new to this website, and i am really enjoying some of the features it offers, especially the tracker for food. Helps me keep in perspective what I need to be eating in order to be healthy! Anyway I need a little advice. A little background info....I am 21 years old and a junior in college (studying to be an elementary school teacher :) ) I'm 5 feet tall and I weight around 106 pounds. Now, I know I am right where I need to be in regards to my BMI...however, i am not happy with my body at the moment. I have a very small frame, and although I am not anywhere near overweight, I have noticed that I have gained a bit of a gut, love handles, and my butt isn't looking as great as it could. Also my clothes have gotten tighter on me in the last couple of months. My dilemma is that I do not want to lose weight.. I mean I'm not even over weight, but I would like to get ride of these problem areas on my body that have been bothering me and fit into my clothes again. I'm really not sure how to do that though. I have to confess that I am a huge chocoholic and junk food eater and I wonder if this unhealthy frequent snacking has anything to do with it. Like I said, I'm not trying to diet here and lose weight...but I want to fix the problem areas that I have acquired. Any advice? I'm open to what everyone has to say :)
Gilby236, what are you doing for exercise? Doing some cardio and resistance training should tighten up all areas of your body as well as the obvious benefits to your cardiovascular system, bone density, muscle health, etc... The other thing to consider is that even though your weight and BMI are "normal", it doesn't mean your body is fit and healthy. It's called "skinny fat". I'm not saying that is the case here however changing up your exercise and snacking habit will likely result in a huge change in your figure. Being the age you are, adopting changes now will also prevent a whole pile of problems later on (ie: diabetes, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, etc...)
bctlc2ns....thank you! i definitely have started to decrease the snacking i have been doing, as well as created a workout plan for the gym I plan in doing 6 days a week. Thank you for your advice :)
Odd as this may sound, it might be good to eat more. Your body, when it doesnt get enough calories, goes into "starvation mode." Its left over from when we didnt have the guarentee of the next meal. If you dont eat at least a small snack every 3 hours (about) then your body starts to hold onto the calories and fat. Good luck!
You need to eat small well balanced meals and snacks every few hours and drink the right amount of water for your body weight--- divide your weight by 2 then divide that amount by 8 to get the ounces
Also do you wear a heart rate monitor when you work out?
It's vital that you know your numbers
It really is a good idea to eat more. I was starving myself for a really long time, and it screwed up my metabolism, too. It might just take a while to get back to where it should be. I've been thinking about adding protein shakes after workouts to get enough calories. You could try that, or you could try to add a bigger portion at breakfast. have you tried greek yogurt with homemade granola and fruit? It will keep you full and add a little umph to your breakfast.
I actually used a dietician that worked through my club and it was very helpful. You can get great ideas from them and they figure out what you personally need calorie wise, and some guidelines on how much protein, fiber etc. you should be eating. Especially if you diet the way you have in the past.
I'm 5 ft 1in and I can tell you from experience that the junk food will get you in the end. I'm almost 200 lbs. I have a ferocious addiction to sugar. Trying to change that now with the possibility of having diabetes. After seeing a friend get their legs cut off because the diabetes, that is enough to scare me.
3250 days ago
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3250 days ago
What is your diet like? What types of foods do you eat everyday?
It's also recommended you don't go below 1200 calories a day!
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3249 days ago
My clothes do feel a little better but not a huge amount ... would you suggest a dietitian to assess my eating perhaps?
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3249 days ago
I would not have fruit for breakfast for example. You should eat more protein like whole eggs instead. Your lunch and dinner are fine though.
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3248 days ago
Check out myfitnesspal.com, you can download to phone too. It helped me alot to make sure I was eating enough and it's simple. Can friend me at RosieDip on there.
Good Luck!
PS--Don't get depressed over it--it will come off eventually just don't give up!
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3247 days ago
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3246 days ago
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3246 days ago
It is true that a pound of muscle and a pound of fat both weigh sixteen ounces, however, muscle is more dense than fat, and if you take the same size of measurement (say a block six inches by six inches) the muscle will weigh more than the fat. When you are building muscle, you will see a point where you have some slight weight gain before you see loss, that was my point.
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2897 days ago
Also do you wear a heart rate monitor when you work out?
It's vital that you know your numbers
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