Where's my Justice? Lack of weight loss :*(

Stats:

5'8" Female 229lbs wanting to lose 60 and I have a desk job. I eat around the recommended 1200 cal a day as recommended by CC. I eat from the list below most days and work out about 2-3 times a week. Yeah, it could be more. I'm working on that. In better weather I hike on the weekends. On average I eat from the following:



Breakfast: Soy milk with Chex cereal, Fiber 1 cereal,  a crescent + cheese stick, or carnations breakfast mix (sugar free).

Lunch:  Sushi, Soup (try for low sodium), Deli sandwich or Jamba Juice

Snack: 100 Cal Pack, apple slices, cheese stick.

Drink: Water mostly, Diet Cherry Coke, Soymilk, or Simply OJ sometimes (all natural stuff, no fructose bs added).

Dinner: Usually some meat and vegetable. If pasta, I try to have a small amount.



Problem:

In the beginning, I barely exercised and ate whatever (which was mostly sensible foods). Then I found CC and  limited my Calories and worked out 3-4 times a week. My fat % dropped by like 6% but never budged beyond that. I did this for like 2 months.  My weight dropped 7 pounds, no more. I was a little discouraged by the lack of pounds falling off but told myself it must be muscle gain. Well I was being very good and FELT better but my body wasn't really showing changes. I got discouraged and exercised less but kept the cal restriction on most days. I feel like I can't make it happen. How can I make a big change like that and get little result? Where's my justice? Was I expecting too much? I tell myself it could be worse. The fact I eat sensibly in general is the reason I?m 229 and not 500 lbs. I?m trying to think of this as a life style change and am trying to keep steam. It seems like my body has certain numbers I can never go below. It?s driving me crazy. Please help!!

Wow,

If I am not mistaken, you need to eat more calories.  The minimum for a female is 1500 a day.  Any less than that, and your body thinks you are starving and holds on to every little bit.

Have you used the tools on the CC site to figure out your calorie allowance?  Mine is 1729 each day, and I weigh 184 pounds.  I dare say you need to eat more food.  Stay strong.

Actually the minimum for a female is 1200 calories a day.....but I do agree....Catsy you should probably be eating more than the minimum.:)

oops, yeah my bad, 1200 minimum for girls....

At 5'8" she likely needs more then 1200. So even that I bet is too low. What do the tools claim for maintance? I'll bet it's over 2200 calories. Which means the gap is too large.

Just glancing at the food list. I'd switch real fruit for juice.

I notice that you don't eat any vegetables to speak of.  You should add at least 5 half cup servings of cooked or 1 cup servings of raw vegetables.  You also only eat one fruit. 

Why not add a banana to your breakfast, a salad to your lunch and dinner?

Use the tools to determine you caloric needs and expenditure, and to set your goal.  Approximately 1200 calories (for women) is the bare minimum needed to keep your body functioning.  If you eat to little your body will try to conserve all the fat it can.  I know it's a hard concept to wrap our minds around, but eating more can actually promote weight loss.

hey, thanks for the quick response.

The 1200 Cal is what the tools here recommended given my goal. 2200 was my maintainance amount. Big difference, I know, but that's what the tool said. I tried 1500 before trying 1200 with similar results. That's why I thought 1200 would work. I guess I should have gone up in cal. I'm doing 1200 now even though I'm not working out as much (been traveling for holidays). It seems to be helping to keep my weight form going any higher but that's it.

Vegies are a dinner thing for me. On some occations I have a V8 but not regularly because I don't like the taste and it's full of sodium.

I'll experiment with higher cal. Thanks guys! If anyone else wants to comment, please doe.

I agree with claire - more fruits and veggies...

what's your average daily fiber intake?  25 g a day is the lower end of what's recommended each day

I notice you said the calorie count is 1200 for your goal... maybe your goal for the end of your weight loss is too soon.  I did not set a date, and let the computer choose it.

You didn't mention your age - if you are young, this is way too small of calories.  If you are older, your metabolism is slower anyway, and weight loss is harder if you are postmenopausal or diabetic. 

I'm female, 5'2" weigh 168 and am sedentary - and my body burns about 1650 at that setting.  I have to eat 1200 calories and exercise to get my deficit to 500-750 calories a day.  But when I have a very active day, I eat more - 1350-1450.

Best wishes to you!!

definitely add more fruits and veggies... they really help getting your body to lose, plus giving you the needed nutrients.  Although others have said to eat more...and I do agree that you need to eat more than 1200... what I'd do at this point is measure and weigh everything you eat.  This way you'll get an better idea of the amounts you're actually eating...it may be more or less than you think.  I've found that when I "guesstimate" portions too often that I tend to serve larger portions ... 1 1/4 cups of rice, instead of 1 cup...

Once you have stopped losing weight (at the 1200 or 1600 calories a day diet) you MUST begin eating more.  Yes, MORE, not less!  This will help your body increase its metabolism.  You should be eating at least 2000 cal a day.  When you gain back a pound or two, go on 1200 a day for 2 or 3 days, then 1600 a day until you stop losing.  Then eat more again, and keep repeating this cycle until you reach your final goal.  You should never have to diet for more than 2 or 3 days after that, and should be able to eat between 2000 and 2500 without gaining any weight, once your metabolism is working really well.   I am 5'2", age 60, work out for 30 minutes a day 4 or 5 times a week, and went from 150 to 118 pounds in 8 months.  I've stayed between 118 and 120 for almost a year now, and never have to diet for more than 2 or 3 days to stay there.  Good luck - you can do it! Just stop starving so you can get that metabolic rate up!

no expert here eaither but I do know that simply orange is loaded w/ sugar and cresents are loaded w/ fat.

carol jo

I think eating more calories and exercising more would be your best bet.  I know that I really struggle to lose weight...but when I exercise...the pounds really start falling off.   I'd say eat more and work out more.  Try to do something aerobic if you can...walking is good, but when I get my heart pumping I tend to lose more weight. 

My wife went on a diet and increased her exercise to lose weight.  I don't know what her calories were, and actually neither does she because she didn't count calories, just portions.  But she had the same experience - she lost a few pounds at first, but then leveled off for months on end.  She stuck with it and one day, about 6 months later after she started the program, the pounds just started coming off.  She thinks her body was resisting the change at first and finally after months of reduced calories and increased exercise, her body metabolism finally started to adjust and she lost the weight.  She now weighs 105 lbs and looks great.

becareful though, jamba juice contained very high calories (around 300 sumthing until 400ish?)

Hello Catsy,

It does get tough when you don't see any results. Just remind yourself, though, that the pounds didn't just appear out of nowhere. It takes time as you're actually trying to make your body smaller! The weight doesn't melt away or disappear, it has to be burned off through exercise little bits at a time.


I agree with many of the posts. You need to eat properly (enough kcals) to have enough energy to do exercises. More veg, more fruit. More fibre is something I haven't seen posted for you, though. Try All-Bran or Weetabix in the mornings with your soy milk. Also note, soy milk is quite high in fat, and the only thing that fat turns to in your body is - you got it - fat. Try to keep an eye on your fat intake, ensuring it's not higher than 20% of your daily intake.

Find something fun, that you wouldn't mind doing for at least an hour every day. Personally, I like swimming, and using the Gazelle, or walking uphill on a treadmill (that way I can read my textbooks!). Don't forget to drink lots of water to flush all of that freshly burned waste away.

Use all of that frustrated, sad energy to get moving!! Don't cheat yourself out of what can be a really fun time taking care of you.

Best of luck,

Cheers!

Ren :D

I most definitely can relate -- life is just not fair some of the time.

Have you checked your calcium intake?  I posted on another thread a study that showed getting the DRI of calcium significantly aids in weight loss.  I am doing my own study -- so far only on the 3rd day, but so far it has helped.  And getting the recommended amount of calcium is NOT going to hurt you, and will help you in other ways, too.

good luck on getting over this hurdle.

My mother seems to have the same exact problem, she is 50+ and was working out multiple times a week, and really didnt lose much. Honeslty I believe that for women, especially the older you get the harder losing weight is, I dont say that to discourage you I just say it to say that your 7lb loss may be a very large accomplishment. 

I do believe that the thing you should be focusing on is the "working out" that you do. What does that mean? What do you do? At what speeds, times, and weight? The calories you add to your diet should represent what you do when you work out. If you lifting small weights then adding an egg to your diet would help muscles recover. If your on the elliptical then adding carbs is definatly your best route.  More info on what you do is vital to understanding why you haven't seen the weight loss you want.

A 24 oz Jamba Juice is anywhere from about 400cal to 850cal (for the non-fruit flavors)...