newbie needs some help :)

J

jpm2009

New member
hey everyone i'm new on the forum! i've been trying to lose weight on and off for a couple years now, and the pounds have come off very slowly. i started at 158lbs and am now down to 132lbs. anyway, so as a start to summer, about 5 weeks ago I started a new diet/exercise routine, but the sad thing is that i have lost no pounds, and almost no inches.

i was hoping someone could tell me what i'm doing wrong so that i can fix it fast, i'll give you a brief little synopsis :)

so for the first four weeks, i only did cardio, doing about 40 min sessions 4 times a week and eating 1500 calories, very healthy stuff like fruit, whole wheat, chicken, fiber cereal, things like that. for the past week, i started doing strengthening: i did my arms three times this past week and my legs once. my legs are pretty toned because of all the cardio i do, so i was trying to focus more on my arms.

so i don't know what i've been doing wrong. maybe having started the strengthening will boost my weight loss? I know 132 lbs doesn't sound like a lot but my fat % is somewhere around 26.5% last time it was checked last summer and i haven't gained or lost anything since then.

does anyone have any tips? i'm all out of ideas :(
besides that i'm glad i've joined the forum you all seem very helpful and nice!! xoxo
 
Answer the following questions, would love yo help you out.

-How do you track your calories?
-How long have you been eating lower calories? Have you been dieting that whole time?
-What are your stats (height, age, etc)
 
thanks Leigh!

-Stats (age, height, weight, Body fat %)
Age: 19
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 132
BF: 27%

-Diet (in detail meal to meal, overall daily caloric intake, ratios)
typical day:
breakfast--bowl of FiberOne cereal with skim milk (100 calories)
snack--4 oz of fruit flavored yogurt (45 calories)
lunch--lean cuisine or leanpocket (210-290 calories) and apple or other fruit (100)
snack--a turkey wrap and fruit (250)
dinner--salmon (250 cal) with pasta or wild rice (enough to make it 200 calories); and salad with fat free italian dressing (20 calories)
dessert--ff vanilla yogurt with blueberries; no sugar added ice cream; fruit

-Exercise routine in detail (cardio/weight training)
40 min cardio 5 times a week, just added weight training for a total of 20 min 3 times a week

-Clear reason and question for the post
I have been doing cardio and dieting for 5 weeks no with no loss :(

-Current and overall goal
Lose a couple inches around my stomach and an inch in my arms; no lbs lost is okay with me, just inches

-How long you have been doing what you are doing in diet and routine
5 weeks


-How do you track your calories?
----I keep a journal. I use calorieking.com and write down everything i've eaten, what its calorie, fiber, and calcium content is. So with that, i average between 1500-1700 calories, with cheat days here or there that have happened. but not that many cheat days. for the most part, i have stuck very rigidly to my diet and it can't be that ONE s'more i had while camping that has kept everything at standstill now can it? that wouldn't be fair lol

-How long have you been eating lower calories? Have you been dieting that whole time?
-----I started eating lower calories around November 2005. Thats when my yo-yo dieting started because I had gained 15 pounds in my first year of college and wanted to get rid of it. So since that Nov, I went on a serious diet until February (i lost about 8 lbs), stopped for a while, then started again in May in order to lose more and kept at a very serious diet and exercise until end of Aug when i went back to school (i lost about 8 more pounds this time). Then at school, it was on and off, just trying to basically eat healthy and low on calories during the week since i was drinking during the weekend; i didn't want to gain everything i had lost during summer back. I kept up with exercise somewhat, sticking with cardio, not a lot of strengthening.
The times that i stopped dieting, i didn't necessarily jump back up to eating thousands and thousands of calories, i just didn't count them anymore and was prob averaging something like 2,200 a day instead of my usual aim of 1500.


do ya think you'd be able to tell me what the proper inches would be for like the stomach, arms, and legs of someone who's around my height and body frame? i dont' know how much i'm supposed to lose because i dont know what the avg size is supposed to be, and i can't go attack my friends with a tape measure haha. i know its not one size fits all, but just a range would be nice i guess? thank you so much!!!
 
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by the way, its officially the 6th week and i have not lost a pound or barely half an inch. you're workin with someone on real low motivation at this point :)

however, it is only the 2nd week since starting strengthening so i hope thats a good thing.
 
Your calorie intake seems to be alright for your stats. Just watch portions, I'm sure you know that the calories listed are for each serving size. You seem to be on track, except I might eat a little more at breakfast and less at dinner. I've found through experience that carbs are best eaten earliest in the day.

Make sure you eat a variety of foods. The same thing over and over can hurt your body or at least be very boring.

Think about replacing your simple carbs (pasta, rice, sugar) with complex carbs (100% whole grain). Good choice for cereal though.

What do you drink? Calories add up very quickly if you drink anything besides no-calorie things like water or diet soda.

Have you been "dieting" (I hate that word) for too long? Try upping your calories and workout one day, and doing a little less of both the other day. Your body may have adapted to your habits, exercise and eating. Instead of "dieting" why don't you just try leading a healthy lifestyle? You will slowly progress to whatever your body wants you to weigh if you treat it right.

Are you taking a vitamin or supplement? Is your net calorie intake (eating minus the exercise) dipping you under 1100 or so? You might need to eat more. Not higher calorie stuff, but more quantity-wise of healthy foods.

Are you drinking plenty of water? Hydration helps weight loss.

Also remember, women tend to retain water differently at different times throughout a month.

~mathmajor~
 
Hey mathmajor--thanks so much for replying!! it really means a lot to me because its stressing me out so much to think that other people in the past 5 weeks could have lost up to 10 lbs doing what i do, and i've lost nothing. here are your answers in bold :)



Your calorie intake seems to be alright for your stats. Just watch portions, I'm sure you know that the calories listed are for each serving size. You seem to be on track, except I might eat a little more at breakfast and less at dinner. I've found through experience that carbs are best eaten earliest in the day.
i'll try that out. breakfast time is always the shortest..what should i eat with my cereal?

Make sure you eat a variety of foods. The same thing over and over can hurt your body or at least be very boring.
dinner is always different, lunch is somewhat different, breakfast is always the same though. i'll try to add variety to my snacks and breakfast

Think about replacing your simple carbs (pasta, rice, sugar) with complex carbs (100% whole grain). Good choice for cereal though.
thanks! it actually tastes good. everything i eat for the most part is whole grain--bread, cereal, even my graham crackers i nibble on sometimes

What do you drink? Calories add up very quickly if you drink anything besides no-calorie things like water or diet soda.
i drink only water, or Diet Cranberry Splash which is 5 calories for 4 oz

Have you been "dieting" (I hate that word) for too long? Try upping your calories and workout one day, and doing a little less of both the other day. Your body may have adapted to your habits, exercise and eating. Instead of "dieting" why don't you just try leading a healthy lifestyle? You will slowly progress to whatever your body wants you to weigh if you treat it right.
lol yes i've been "dieting" for about 1 1/2 years now on and off. i had upped my calories from feb-may, and have now recently returned to a low-calorie diet. i suspect my body my have adjusted, so I don't know what to do to change things up, I can't eat any less, I'll be starving myself. As far as exercise, I still get pretty beat after doing my 40 min cardio, so i don't know how to change that up either

Are you taking a vitamin or supplement? Is your net calorie intake (eating minus the exercise) dipping you under 1100 or so? You might need to eat more. Not higher calorie stuff, but more quantity-wise of healthy foods.
nooo way. i eat 1500-1700 calories a day. psh below 1100?? haha i'd be dying of hunger. and no i don't take any supplements, should i start? a multi-vitamin you think?


Are you drinking plenty of water? Hydration helps weight loss.
8-10 glasses a day. i love water haha.

Also remember, women tend to retain water differently at different times throughout a month.
gotta love my body. sticks right on 132 no matter what time of month. ONE TIME 4 weeks ago it was 129 the day after that "woman time" ended, but i've never seen that number again which breaks my heart. for a second i thought i had broken the 130 line finally :(
 
I've been having the same problem. I commiserate with you my dear :). You seem like you're doing pretty well, but I do think you could increase your metabolism if you keep up with the weight training. I would crank that up several notches and see how good you start looking. It is frustrating though..
 
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