quite perplexed..

Me: 19 years old, waiver from 135-140 lbs. stand short at 5'2

Am I active? yes. I dance daily, anywhere from an hour to four hours a day 6 days a week.

Do I over-eat? I have my days but its not horrendous.

 What's the problem?

 I just don't understand how I am still overweight. I excersize my butt off daily. I am a vegetarian, so I don't eat meat. I have always been heavy, and so is most of my family (except for my mother). My legs, although quite muscular from dance, are ridden with cellulite and it won't go away. My stomach, although muscular as well, is hidden with fat. My arms as well.

 I have tried to cut calories, but I am always hungry then b/c of all the excersizing.

I am in a rut. I don't understand why I look like I do when I am as active as I am.

 

Can anyone help me??

When I stopped eating carbs (in the form of breads, potatoes, rice)  after lunch, and began to eat protein with every meal/snack,my weight loss journey began.  I found that I was not hungry as I began eating approximately every 3 hours.  Hope some of this can be useful to you.

I know you said you are a vegetarian but some form of protein- in the form of soya might be useful.

thank you.

I do not eat that many carbs, although I can see how cutting out the ones I do would help, thanks!

How many calories do you eat a day?  you are very active and probably need quite a few.  I punched in your numbers and to maintain you should be eating 2500 calories, so if you want to lose a pound a week, you should be eating 2000 calories per day -- perhaps a little less on days you don't workout as much

my calorie range is anywhere from 900 to probably 2500 a day.

But I should stick to below 2000?

Thanks

no you should stick to around 2000 and never go below 1200, even if you aren't exercising -- you have a lot of muscle on your body that needs calories, even at rest

you look gorgeous though!! seriously. but the only thing i think vegetarians have to be careful of is too much grain...

try having most of your grain and fruits earlier in the day so your body has time to burn off the sugar and carbs..

then stick mostly to vegetables at night.

this is about all i can think of- i haven't ever had this problem, so i'm not sure my advice is perfect, but its the only thing that comes to mind! good luck!

also becareful of your coffee fix: cafes and espresso shops add tons of bad things to their beverages, as i'm sure youre aware of. :)

if my muscle is burning calories all the time, and i am eating under 2500 cals, I should be losing weight anyway.

I think I have a slow metabolism, would that coinside with a lack of weight loss?

 

Your slow metabolism would be a result of not eating enough to sustain it properly.  Just because you burn calories 24/7/365 doesn't mean you'll actually lose weight (well you will, but very slowly) -- at some point the body simply stops giving them up, and then you cut them more and then more and eventually you end up with an ED

You have to eat to lose, you have to feed your system so that it knows there is no starvation that it needs to conserve for.

So, basically if i eat 2000 calories a day i should in essence lose more, or faster, than if i ate 1000. That seems difficult to wrap my brain around, but its worth a shot

I totally understand that it is hard to understand -- but yes -- that's the way it works

maybe you could post a sample days's food, so we can see what you are eating??

Is it possible that you're overestimating your calories?  If you're not sure, then you should spend a few weeks weighing and measuring everything, and logging everything you eat to make sure.  Definitely I agree with coach k that if you keep to 2000 you will start losing.  I work out less that you, and I started losing weight faster when I got my calories up to 1700-1800 every day. 

I agree that you should try and up your calories.  Also, maybe try to incorporate some type of cardio into your routine.  I'm assuming you dance ballet, and while it is a great workout, it's similar to pilates or yoga, in that it helps elongate your muscles and tone up, but it doesn't do much for getting rid of the fat.  Adding some running, walking, elipitcal etc for 45-60 minutes 3xs a week, I think will help shave off some of those extra pounds.  Good luck!

 You do look great though in your pic!

thanks everyone.

i shall try eating around 2000 a day.

I do ballet, hip hop, and jazz, and some of the hip hop gets the heart pumping pretty fast.

another issue I have is that I am always so tired that I don't feel I have the energy to do an extra work out each day or every other day. I am guessing this would inhibit my weight loss?

I doubt you need to do an extra workout -- but I bet you're tired because you are not eating enough.

And remember -- you are an athlete so you NEED carbs -- the body requires 130g of carbs minimum to function properly.  Low-carb diets, while effective, are generally not sustainable for long periods of time.  Try to balance you meals/days somewhere along the lines of:

Fat: 20-25%

Protein: 15-20%

Carbs: 50-60%

Fiber: 25g minimum for women

Here is a "sample" log-- its what I have had thus far today..

Some one asked for one?

rice crispies w/ milk and banana

subway 6" veggie sub w/ light potato chips

minestrone soup

s/f red bull

total calories=  653

you are SERIOUSLY lacking protein - I bet you would lose weight if you feed your muscles with more protein... soy, whey, even milk or cheese. anything with protein (plus you'll feel more full).

well, like I said, that is what I have eaten thus far today, i have only been up for about 5 or 6 hours. i normally eat a lot of cheese, since I do not eat meat.

would one of those protein bars work on-the-go? I am on-the-go often and I don't get a chance to sit down and eat something at home until anywhere from 8-10 at night. I grabbed the subway on my way from school to work today. Then I leave here and go straight to dance for about 4 hours. Any on-the-go food ideas?? 

There are lots of healthy snacks that you can just pack in a bag and take with you.  I set up single serving stuff and keep it around so I can just stick it in a lunch bag and go.  No having to worry about weighing/ measuring stuff every day, b/c i do it once a week.  I prepackage raisins, sf jello, frosted mini wheats, cottage cheese, canned pears, plus I keep yogurt on hand, and make sure i have fresh fruit that I can just grab and take with me.  Theres also snack bars and stuff that you can keep around.