Suggestions For Resuming Weight Loss

[dynamicwater]

Where to start?

I am a 28 year old female, 5'7", weight 132 pounds. I am struggling to lose weight.

My typical weight in the past has hovered comfortably around 122-126. About a year and a half ago I let myself go and ballooned up to 146. I have been trying to get back to my "fighting weight" now for about 6-8 months.

I have gained weight in the past (maybe going up to about 135), but was always able to get it off consistently and without assistance by eating right and working out.

I don't know if it's my age or from dieting in the past but my metabolism seems to have ground to a halt. On my own, I have managed to get down to 131/132. It has been a struggle though. I'm loosing no more than a pound a week and some weeks nothing at all.

My goal weight is 125. However, the scale has completed stopped moving. I feel like I'm trying so hard and I'm at my wits end. Following is my regime. If anyone could assist me with tips and can see what I'm doing wrong, I would be so grateful.

Diet:

I have tried to completely clean up my diet. My typical day was a green smoothie, Greek yogurt, protein shakes, chicken sandwich and a salad. To increase my weight loss I began to cut out all the extraneous bread products. When the scale started slowing down (to maybe .2-.5 pounds a week) I stared alternating with the Medifast plan on opposite days and that seemed to allow the weight loss to pick up a little but now even that's not working.

Typical Day:

Sweeteners, stevia
1
tsp
12.8
Spices, cinnamon, ground
1
tsp
6.4
Spices, cloves, ground
0.4
tsp
2.7
Whey Tech
1
Serving
120.0
Lettuce, red leaf, raw
3
cup shredded
13.4
Seeds, flaxseed
1
tbsp, whole
55.0
Celery, raw
1
stalk, large (11"-12" long)
10.2
Blueberries, frozen, unsweetened
1
cup, unthawed
79.0
Strawberries, frozen, unsweetened
1
cup, unthawed
52.2
zoic
1
Serving
110.0
fage
1
Serving
130.0
Cauliflower, raw
1.5
cup chopped (1/2" pieces)
40.1
Sweeteners, stevia
2.5
serving 1 packet
9.1
Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, raw
150
g
171.0
lowfat mayo
2
Serving
70.0
wish italian
1
Serving
35.0
Tomatoes, orange, raw
0.8
tomato
14.2
Lettuce, red leaf, raw
3.5
cup shredded
15.7
Spices, curry powder
1
tbsp
20.5
fage no fat
0.3
Serving
27.0
EAS
1
Serving
110.0
Sweeteners, stevia
1
serving 1 packet
3.6
Vinegar, cider
2
tsp
2.1
Soy sauce made from soy (tamari)
2.5
tsp
9.0
Cucumber, with peel, raw
0.38
cucumber (8-1/4")
17.2
Celery, raw
1
stalk, medium (7-1/2" - 8" long)
6.4
Onions, raw
0.65
cup, chopped
41.6

This is giving me a calorie intake of 1184, protein 130g, carb 101g, fat 30g.

Alternate medifast day:

Medifast
2
Serving
220.0
Medifast
2
Serving
220.0
lowfat mayo
2
Serving
70.0
Celery, raw
1.5
stalk, large (11"-12" long)
15.4
Tomatoes, orange, raw
1
tomato
17.8
Lettuce, red leaf, raw
3.5
cup shredded
15.7
Onions, raw
3
slice, large (1/4" thick)
45.6
Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, raw
150
g
171.0
Sweeteners, stevia
1
serving 1 packet
3.6
wish italian
1
Serving
35.0
Cucumber, with peel, raw
0.5
cucumber (8-1/4")
22.6
fage no fat
0.35
Serving
31.5
EAS
2
Serving
220.0

This is giving me a calorie intake of about 1088, protein 120g, carb 85g, fat 32g.

On Fridays I have been allowing myself a cheat day where I don't have to cook anything. I will typically have about 1600-1700 calories, protein 110g, carb 170g, fat 30g.

Workout:

I am working out 6 days a week. I alternate between cardio and muscle days. On muscle days I am doing p90x where I rotate the muscles I work. I am working the muscle until fatigue where I can't do another rep. On cardio days I was doing the treadmill work where I was running with interval training for about 60 minutes (my heart rate monitor said I was burning about 440 calories). I hurt my leg so now I am walking at a steep incline for intervals on the treadmill with a weighted vest for about 60 minutes.

Beyond my standard workout I am sometimes walk my dog in the evenings. The rest of the day is spent a the computer. I don't feel like I have the energy for much else.

Some notes:

I am of course willing to give up my cheat days if need be ( I really don't want to though). I feel like they allow me to keep my sanity. I am wondering if am I having some sort of carb issue. Except for my cheat days I feel like I don't have much energy during the rest of the week. Also, (with the exception of the cheat days) when I stand up too quickly I feel dizzy sometimes.

If anyone could offer up any advice or tell me what I am doing wrong I would be so grateful. I am starting to get frustrated because to be frank I'm not sure how much harder I can work at this. I feel like this diet plan is all consuming. I just want to get back to a weight where I feel comfortable in my own skin and can eat a bit more so I have the energy to live my life.

 

[dynamicwater]

I forgot to mention I have also been incorporating the technique where I work out everyday in the a.m. on an empty stomach and then I don't eat for 2 hours afterward. I'm starting to get sick of it though.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

I forgot to mention I have also been incorporating the technique where I work out everyday in the a.m. on an empty stomach and then I don't eat for 2 hours afterward. I'm starting to get sick of it though.

Not sure where you got that idea but it is helping to catobolise any muscle you may currently have. You are also not eating enough calories at minimum should be 1320 if you have been under eating in calories for a significant amount of time that is a big part of the problem.

Have you gotten yuour bodyfat measured? How many size have you gone up in clothing since putting on the weight? I am not a fan of goal weights as it doesn't account for muscle which weights more then fat.

 

[musclemom]

1. Your BMI is right around 20, so you are, by no stretch of the imagination, fat. However, you might be what is considered "skinny fat" if you've been starving yourself (yes, starving).

2. NO adult human being of normal height should ever eat less than 1200 calories a day.

3. Your BMR (basal metabolic rate, i.e., the amount of calories your body requires just to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, etc., is 1,412.

Normally we tell a person that they can easily eat 10x to 12x their bodyweight in calories to cut. HOWEVER, things go wonky when a person is already a normal body weight (and particularly when they're probably in starvation mode). Rather than reiterating information that has been gone over before, I would like to point you to a thread where a lady has a similar situation to you (she's 5'10" and 135 so a lot of the information is similar, too):

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/w...ing-training/just-starting-normal-707023.html

Long story short, you ain't eating anywhere near enough and as long as you continue to undereat you won't lose anything, nor will you gain muscle. In fact, every extra calorie over your BMR is going to be stored as fat.

 

[RottenWillow]

The scale has completely stopped moving because you're under eating, and almost certainly losing skeletal muscle.

I'm afraid you're doing everything possible to get soft. Please check out this thread. It outlines the basics to getting lean and hard.

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/w...odybuilder-get-lean-body-you-want-696819.html

 

[trex74]

Hi there,
Listen to these ladies, they know what they are talking about. I recently came out of a period of rather obsessive meal habits, and I can tell you are just about to go crazy due to the counting calories and obsessing over your eating habits. When you start to count the calories in spices you have gone too far I think.
Especially if you are tired and dizzy that is a sure sign that your body is not liking what you are doing to it.
I started to restrict too much on the carbs and on the calories and it resulted in me having unwanted behaviour- I started to sporadically binge eat because my body was saying NO to overdoing it. Maybe that's just me but it scared me and I had to learn the hard way, I hope you listen up and start eating more. Don't think about a goal weight, think about how you look.

 

[musclemom]

Hi there,
Listen to these ladies, they know what they are talking about. I recently came out of a period of rather obsessive meal habits, and I can tell you are just about to go crazy due to the counting calories and obsessing over your eating habits. When you start to count the calories in spices you have gone too far I think.
Especially if you are tired and dizzy that is a sure sign that your body is not liking what you are doing to it.
I started to restrict too much on the carbs and on the calories and it resulted in me having unwanted behaviour- I started to sporadically binge eat because my body was saying NO to overdoing it. Maybe that's just me but it scared me and I had to learn the hard way, I hope you listen up and start eating more. Don't think about a goal weight, think about how you look.

Absolutely, very good point.

Stevia, spices, lettuce and celery are "free foods." In fact, I've heard plenty of ladies with beautiful bodies say "Eat all the green fibrous veggies you desire, it's the stuff you put on them that messes 'em up."

 

[eClenbuterol]

also each meal should contain some protein

 

[dynamicwater]

Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions. Yesterday I started increasing my daily calories. I think I suspected that my calorie count may have been too low (especially with the dizziness). I couldn't quite tell if I was being psychologically weak because I'm sick of dieting or if I should listen to my body.

I've also stopped fasting after my morning workouts (thanks superqt).

 

[RottenWillow]

Absolutely, very good point.

Stevia, spices, lettuce and celery are "free foods." In fact, I've heard plenty of ladies with beautiful bodies say "Eat all the green fibrous veggies you desire, it's the stuff you put on them that messes 'em up."

Turns out stevia may actually be good for you in other ways too. The abstract linked below outline the results of a study that examined the effects of stevia when combined with a high fat diet. Seems that stevia may actually help us metabolize dietary fat by increasing the levels of carnitine in our livers.

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