What am I doing wrong?

jachol

jachol

New member
Hello! I'm 5'2, 19 yrs old, and about 140 lbs (despite my height, that's actually not terribly big...I have a large frame and am fairly muscular, so all in all I'm a size 6 or 28 inch waist.) However I am looking to drop a size, particularly for summer. I've been at it for 3 weeks now and I'm not seeing any results whatsoever. I eat about 1500-1700 calories daily (average 1600), strength train 2-3x a week, and do cardio 6 days a week. However, now I'm actually going to eliminate the cardio on the days I strength train so it will actually only be doing cardio 3x a week. (I do it for an hour when I do it and burn at least 400 cal.) I've also done some high intensity interval training in with my cardio. I'm seeing absolutely no results and it's been 3 weeks. I haven't weighed myself because I'm at college and don't have a scale, but I do have a tape measure and my waist measurement has NOT budged. What could I be doing wrong?

I'm thinking about making my daily calorie goal 1700 and only doing cardio 3x a week based on a recommendation from someone who said that since my strength routine wipes me out (which it does) trying to do cardio right after might just be ineffective. They also said that 1500 cal sounds too low for someone who is strength training and that I could be putting my body into starvation mode. However, this is coming from a guy so I am wondering if he didnt realize that girls don't need as many calories because every source I've read has said that 1500 is a good amount of calories for a woman to consume a day to achieve weightloss.

Do you think my new plan could work ? (new plan being less cardio and eating 1700 cal) It seems counter-productive but seeing as how I'm seeing no results doing what I'm doing now I figure it couldn't hurt to try it, I know I certainly won't gain eating only 1700.

A bit of background- I'm not new to weightloss. Spring of my junior year in highschool I decided to get serious about losing weight. I was almost 170 lbs on a 5'2 frame and wore size 10-12 and I decided I didn't want to be overweight anymore. I started watching my portions and incorporating more physical activity into my day and dropped to about 150 in 3 months. The weight loss slowed a bit, but a year later I was around 137. Now I've put on a few pounds this year at college (around 3 I think) and I'm looking to finally get down to 130 which I think will be a good weight for me. However this seems impossible and I know I can do it because I've lost weight before, so I just don't understand.

What do you think? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!!
 
Have you tried staggering your calories, maybe 1600 on days your lift and 1400-1500 on days that you do not.

Also what are your current calories made up of? You can be eating 1700 cals, but it can still be unhealthy.

What are your strength training routines like? I'd advise doing circuit workouts and plenty of compound exercises that work different muscle groups at the same time with short rest period between sets.

HIIT worked wonders in helping me lose weight. I actually just started doing BW intervals and its a nice change from the treadmill or bike. Burpees really take it out of you.

Hope that helps!
 
Let me just say that I think you should be applauded for only gaining 3 lbs your first year of college. As you know, most Freshmen gain more than that. The Freshmen 15, right? Mine was the Freshman 55. All fat too. :ack2: Anyway, just wanted to point that out. At a firm and athletic size 6 I am betting you look pretty good too.

MGags23 asks a good question. I am also curious what your resistance training routine consists of. You are doing really good with the cardio. Don't burn yourself out though. Your calories are probably ok but as mentioned it does matter where you are getting them from.

I do like the suggestion about not doing cardio right after weights because you seem to be doing a lot of cardio anyway. If you have no energy I think you are either doing too much or not getting enough carbs before your workouts. Also, with the level of intensity you are training at, you really need more than just water during your workouts. If your workouts are lasting more than 1 hour, you need to be drinking a sports drink also. Finally, make sure you are refueling within 30 minutes of an intense workout.

Those are just some suggestions without knowing other details about what you are eating and what your weight lifting workouts consist of.
 
Thanks for your replies! :)

My strength training program is a circuit training routine I got from Fitness Magazine. Here's the link if you're interested in looking at it:

It really kicks my butt, haha.

I make sure to get plenty of my calories from protein. I probably do end up with more carb calories than I should though. I always make sure to have plenty of protein/fiber in every meal/snack, though.

Thanks for everything! I really appreciate it.
 
That is a light program (resistance wise) so I don't think it is too much. It sounds like you are eating well too. Having more carbs than protein for you is not bad at all and is probably a good thing if you continue to work out as much as you are. You will need the energy the carbs provide. I'm not sure what to say except make sure you are not over training and make sure you are getting at least 7 hours of sleep. Give yourself some more time. You might be at a low body fat percentage already and it just might be harder for you to lose 5 lbs than it is for other people who have a lot more to lose than you do. If you continue to exercise like you are and eat healthy you will do nothing but great things for your mind and body. Keep up the good work and have patience. Also, take photos every 4 weeks. If the visible change comes slowly, you will need to look at those photos to remind yourself that you are changing.

Good luck and keep up the good work! You're doing great! :coolgleamA:
 
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thank you:lurk5:
 
This may seem like a silly question but did you measure anything but your waist? I'm just making sure because you only mentioned the waist. Some people lose elsewhere first so it's good to measure everything. Maybe you already did that though.
 
gee thanks for the spam etipps
 
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