No results. :(

I used to weigh a lot. Then I went on this crazy diet and exercise routine and lost a lot of it. But, when I started eating actual food, my weight increased and now I have reached a plateau. I cannot lose weight or I don't know how to.

I think my body is used to so much exercise that I don't know how to do more. I go to the gym 4 times a week maybe even 5 and I lift and do cardio. Trust me on the cardio. I am the fastest with a high resistance and I do it for 40-60 minutes. When I lift I try to do squats with free weights and do tricep dips and such.

The point is... I'm trying. Trying really hard. I even gave myself knee tendonitis because I have been on the elliptical too long for too many years. I don't know what else to do.

My diet is not that bad. I eat skim milk and oatmeal cereal, whole wheat bread, don't eat candy or any of that stuff, egg whites.... I am indian so I don't eat meat and do eat indian food everyday. But, I stay away from the rice. I eat the lentil and vegetables and ask my mom to make it with less oil. I eat whole wheat indian tortillas as well. On my off days I will make a homemade burrito with black beans and cheese and whole wheat tortilla. All I am trying to say is I am trying not to have a "diet" but just eat healthy because the diet is temporary if I change to healthy eating I can change it for life. The only fast food I eat is subway and Daphne's Cafe.

What can I do? I feel helpless. I need support.

Oh I wish you had not mentioned Daphne's!  Suddenly my tuna sounds very bland.

Anyway, I am no expert on this weight loseing thing.  I plod along.  But I know one thing - even if you are not on a diet it still helps a lot to count calories.

It helps for two reasons - one is to make sure you are really eating optimally.  Not the what as much as the how much.  Everyone is different of course, but it is possible to eat too little for your excercise level.  Its also possible to eat way more than you think you are.  Choosing healthy food is only part of the equation.

Now I will be honest with you - I hate counting calories.  I really do.  I feel like spending so much time focusing on food is not very mentally healthy.  But I also know that it is just training wheels.  It might take me a while to really "get it", but once I do I will be able to make choices confidently and will not have to count calories every time I eat.

Logging your food here will also help you understand the true VALUE of the food you are eating.  Many people think "we all know how to eat well" and so try to rely on their inner nutritional intuition to guide them in their choices.  But once again it is so easy to really miss the whole picture.

Although a now famous study has concluded that "a calorie is a calorie", your body will still be it's most efficient with proper nutrition.  Guessing seldom works. 

If you count calories for a couple of weeks and decide you are already at your optimal best then it has still helped you to verify what you already knew.  Not a waste of time at all.

What the other poster said..don't change your eating habits for a week, and use a calorie counter to see how much is going in versus how much you're burning.

When you say whole wheat Indian tortilla, do you mean Puri?

Those are high calorie/fat from what I've been told.

You don't give us any of your stats, so it's kind of hard to help -- but if I had to, I would wager you are possibly eating too little, not too much.  With an hour of cardio 5 days per week and strength training, you probably need a few more calories than perhaps you might think.

Spend some time counting exactly how many calories you are eating -- and spend some time calculating how many calories you are burning with your exercise -- and see what the difference is.

However -- vegetarian lifestyles can often be healthier, but higher calories than the omnivore, so you really do have to take that into consideration.

Also -- if you are exercising that strenuously, make sure you take some measurements -- the scale may not change, but the numbers might.

Subway is NOT fast food. :)

I'm seeing a LOT of carbs and while I understand you don't eat meat there are protein alternatives...me thinks you need to mad dump some protein into your regime...your body will respond.

OH yeahh Protein is a MUST! It is one of the main parts of my diet I try to eat atleast 80 grams of protein per day...

Thanks! The thing is.... the last time I counted calories... I went crazy. I would eat 1000 calories and try to burn off 500 of those at the gym. That's why I've been trying to stay away from that cuz I don't want to go back to that. Any input on how I can count calories and not go crazY? Sorry... that's just me..... :)

Oh and I don't mean puri. Those are fried. This tortilla is cooked on a pan without any oil to cook it.

Have you done a basal metabolic rate calculation? The first thing you need to know is how many calories you consume just by being alive. The BMR is what you burn just opening your eyes but not getting out of bed. Here is a terrific website that really helped me: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  

Once you have established your BMR, you need to calculate your Harris Benedict Equation to see how many calories you burn because of your activity level. You can use this website http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  for this equation.

Then use the food log here to keep track of what you are eating. I completely understand the obsession with "I ate this many calories, so now I need to burn this many in exercise." The thing is to not have too beg a deficit or go over your calorie needs. The activity log and the food log are great tools in helping keep track of where you are and where you want to go.

Hope that helps.