Fitness Goals Support Group

excercise is only half of the weightloss puzzle.

To lose fat you must eat less calories than you burn.

use this to calculate your daily needs,
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/ca...

then track EVERYTHING you eat with myfitnesspal (free)

ALSO, depending on your current weight.
If you are already fairly lean it IS harder to lose the weight.

How much do you currently weigh?

PS.
to lose 1lb of fat you need to have a 3500 calorie deficit.. so to lose 1lb a week.. you have to be eating 500calories a day less than what you burn.

500calories is about 5 bananas.

I agree with everything Bluejay says. Also, take into account that you are building muscle. Don't stop!! Maybe take your measurements. You may have lost inches. Do your clothes fit better?
My fitness pal is awesome. Sometimes we mindlessly eat and don't realize the calories we consume. Especially liquid calories.

I am currently 135 pounds and 5'3...my boyfriend said i look tighter but I am just not getting the kind of results i anticipated with all the cardio i am doing...i eat about twice a day...so i really really dont eat much...and usually at least lately its been fish i been eating...fish and veggies :( i may have hypo thyroid like my mom...she has a lot of issues trying to lose weight...she ran 7-10 miles a day for months and did not lost a pound either... D: I'll try that fitness pal thing and your calculator..but its a total motivation kill to get on the scale each day and see no progress :(

Hey there -- well, I agree that you MAY be building muscle mass. That does keep some of the weight -- not necessarily fat -- on the scale. Have you used the little gizmo that measures body fat. They have one at my gym -- you hold both sides after inputting your height and weight and I think age? Anyway, try to track your fat percentage to note if perhaps your DIET or exercises need to be altered. I do understand the frustration!

Don't use a weight scale to judge your weight loss. Remember, as you build muscle and lose fat, your body composition is changing so much, and you see yourself every day and it's hard to see progress.

Use a tape measure to track inches around your neck, natural waistline, hips, arms, and thighs, Using this method instead of overall weight, you can easily document and see the progress.

Secondly, the diet part has to be addressed. You can have the hardest abs in the world but if your bodyfat percentage is high, you'll never be able to see them. When you do eat, eat QUALITY foods that make you feel full longer. I recommend logging your food intake on Daily Plate or Fitday just to see how many calories you're eating, and what percent of that is carbs/protein and fat. Aim for 60% protein in a day as a VERY general rule. Just do it for a week, you'll surprise yourself with the facts and then you can make a plan.

Thirdly, is 15 lbs by the end of July realistic? I tend to stick with a workout when I set small, incremental and easily achievable goals. Losing 1-2 lbs per week is do-able, but if you're just kind of "skinnyfat" it starts to get hard as you get close. Try setting a goal like "Today I have met my protein intake goal" or "Today I added 10lbs to my weights for 5 more reps" and work from there. Don't burn yourself out!

Lastly, knowing your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate - how many calories does it take for you to simply exist/breath/have a heartbeat). That's REALLY gonna help you as far as your diet, because you will know exactly how many calories to consume, and how to move it up or down based on your goals. Don't worry about BMI, you can find plenty of articles out there showing flaws with using that as your scale.


Hope this helps with overcoming your plateau. I think it's amazing you an actually go that fast on a treadmill for that long, if it's any encouragement. I think if you try to tape measure trick, you'll see exactly where you're progressing and feel even better about it!

Whenever I really get into my workouts and hit it hard for a few months I can gain weight. But that doesn't mean that I am not achieving something. Muscle is easy to gain when you are doing it almost everyday. You will see results soon. My wife lost weight almost 35lbs to get to 130 after we were done having kids. It was not a immediate results thing. It took her several months to see the weight to drop off but she got motivated and then it started falling off after the muscle tone set in. Stick with it you will be where you want to be. Scales can be your enemy at time of working out as well. Wait a month and then get on and if you start seeing results maybe weigh once a week. I weigh 280 but look like I weigh more like 250. Muscle makes the difference. I wear a 38 pant and look not to bad. But I still have a weight goal as well so I cannot see anything wrong with getting some frustration at first. Good luck hope this helps some.