What am I doing wrong?

[Staragate]

I just graduated college and decided that my next big project is weight loss. I'm 37 years old with no health issues other than weight. I gained 60 lbs in the last 2 years and I'm trying to get rid of it. Stress level is down and so is my caloric intake.

Here is where I started Jan 1.
231 lbs. (5'6")
41" waist
52" hip
Totally winded after a few minutes of walking.

Now:
226 lbs.
37" waist
50" hip
Increased treadmill speed from 2.0 mph to 3.2 in the last 6 weeks.

In the last 7 weeks, this is my routine.
Caloric intake decreased to 1500 now.
30 min weight machines, alternating lower/upper body days.
30-45 min cardio on treadmill. I increase the speed once the incline goes up much over 5 degrees to maintain my heart rate of 145.
Rest weekends and light workouts if I am sore.

Macro: 50% carb, 20% protein 30% fat

It seems to me that I should have lost a fair bit more than this. I track every morsel of food and exercise on an app and the numbers just aren't adding up. Does anybody have advice???

[riikonenbe]

why dont you do some free weights.. why are women afraid of muscle

[rollerpigeons]

It's only 5 lbs, but you've shed 4 inches off your waist, and 2 inches off your hips! That's honestly more than 5 lbs of fat. Don't listen to the scale so much.

[rdferguson]

It's only 5 lbs, but you've shed 4 inches off your waist, and 2 inches off your hips! That's honestly more than 5 lbs of fat. Don't listen to the scale so much.

Firstly, this ^.

Secondly, 1lb of fat contains roughly 4,000kcal (more if my textbooks are correct). Do you really expect to be in a greater calorie deficit than 4,000/wk?

Thirdly, think bigger picture. 5lb in 7 weeks may not seem all that impressive, but if you average that amount every 7 weeks, that's almost 40lb/yr. Perhaps you want to lose more weight than that, but realistically that's a good feat.

[DivaJana]

Firstly, this ^.

Secondly, 1lb of fat contains roughly 4,000kcal (more if my textbooks are correct). Do you really expect to be in a greater calorie deficit than 4,000/wk?

Thirdly, think bigger picture. 5lb in 7 weeks may not seem all that impressive, but if you average that amount every 7 weeks, that's almost 40lb/yr. Perhaps you want to lose more weight than that, but realistically that's a good feat.

^ this

furthermore If you are fairly new to weight training you will most likely build some muscle mass even under caloric defect due to the Noob Gains Effect which wont last too long. you could lose 8 lbs of fat and build 3 lbs of muscles thats 11 lb change in your body but only 5 lb change in scale, let alone that most scales aren't that accurate so you could end up seeing only 3-4 lbs change and feel frustrate while you are doing it right.
Just like rollerpigeons said the changes in your measurements shows for much more changes than a 5 lbs weight loss.

Keep up the good work.

[Staragate]

Thanks for the feedback. My trainer at the gym is going to assess me soon and says I should be losing more for the effort I'm putting in. She says too much cardio?!?!

These 2 months have been my first gym membership, since I live 30 minutes away from one and it's expensive. I have always had weak muscles and lately horrible endurance. I would do free weights once I get to that fitness level. I don't want to hurt myself by doing too much too soon. Right now, the machines ensure that I have proper technique so I don't hurt myself. I'm still doing 10-20 lbs on the biceps. I'm increasing my weights generally, so there is some strength improvement.

Now, I have an added hurdle. The last 2 months, I was unemployed. Now I'm a nurse working 3-12h shifts a week. I want to get this figured out so I keep moving in the right direction.

Besides weight, my goals are:
Cardio endurance. I need to be able to keep up with 10 year olds on hikes.
Strength. I'm a nurse so I need to be able to lift patients.
Size. I want to fit my clothes.

I want to bring SEXY BACK! (I'm an hourglass figure, so at least I can hide some of it. :P )

[Staragate]

I just did a few body measurements and thighs have gone down. This is good news.

To clarify, 30 minutes of weight and 30-45 minutes of cardio is a good plan? atm, burning about 300 calories per gym session. I'm aiming to increase my cardiopulmonary endurance. I would love to lose 2 pounds a week. I'm eating 1500 cals/day. Cravings are mostly gone... except for chocolate. lol

[alexisap]

I think that the exercise you are doing right now is good! I started off with that myself and gradually increased it when I could. How often are you doing weights/cardio each week?

[Staragate]

Averaging 4x a week. This week is going to be goofy. I work 12 hour shifts Mon/Wed and I'm doing a 3 day wilderness camp on Th,Fr,Sa.... one of the things I've been training for! Lots of hiking: sandy washes, mountains and desert plateaus. I'm going to the gym Tuesday before that.

[kimm4]

I would love to lose 2 pounds a week. I'm eating 1500 cals/day. Cravings are mostly gone... except for chocolate. lol

Have you been eating 1500 calories since you started? That's a pretty big deficit and because you have more to lose, you can get away with it. I do agree with you and the fact there should be a bigger loss for you, especially this early into your plan using a deficit as agressive as this one. Take a closer look at the way you track, especially when it comes to measuring all foods. Most people tend to overestimate when it comes to measuring and it will throw your calories off.

Keep at, you'll get there!

[Staragate]

In the first month, I decreased from 2000 calories to 1700, this month has been 1500 calories. I've been using the LoseIt! App on my kindle to track. I've been pretty diligent with it. It's got a huge list of brand name and restaurant food. When I make my own food at home, I take my best guess and try to find the nearest restaurant equivalent. I've compared my package labels with the app and they line up.

I guess I just need to keep plugging away at it.

[kimm4]

In the first month, I decreased from 2000 calories to 1700, this month has been 1500 calories. I've been using the LoseIt! App on my kindle to track. I've been pretty diligent with it. It's got a huge list of brand name and restaurant food. When I make my own food at home, I take my best guess and try to find the nearest restaurant equivalent. I've compared my package labels with the app and they line up.

I guess I just need to keep plugging away at it.

Ok, give it a bit more time.

You will do better measuring your foods. Guessing/estimating is never the best method, until you get a solid idea when it comes to exact portion sizes and that takes time.

Give this a watch. It's eye opening and can be helpful.

[discdoggie]

In the first month, I decreased from 2000 calories to 1700, this month has been 1500 calories. I've been using the LoseIt! App on my kindle to track. I've been pretty diligent with it. It's got a huge list of brand name and restaurant food. When I make my own food at home, I take my best guess and try to find the nearest restaurant equivalent. I've compared my package labels with the app and they line up.

I guess I just need to keep plugging away at it.

Get a new/different app. There are plenty that give the exact nutritional breakdown of nearly every food you can think of. On the rare chance they're missing, you can look on line at the USDA's website.