I need help!

[amandaberry1]

Ok, so I need help with losing some body fat, and I am getting so much mixed information online, I thought it was worth a try to create an account and ask here.
I am 26, 5 feet 4 inches tall and around 132 pounds. I am not overweight, but I store the extra fat I do have in my stomach, love handles and upper thighs.
About a month ago I decided I wanted to change this, so I started going to the gym and eating much better than before. I have been taking progress pictures and so far- no change at all. I have not taken measurements yet though, which was probably a mistake not to do from the start. I have not lost any weight at all, but I have noticed I am able to work with a lot more weight than I could starting out.
I know a month isn't much time, but I did expect to see something.
What am I doing wrong? What should I be doing? Any help at all would be appreciated, I feel like I have no idea what I am doing.

Here is my gym routine


Monday- 40 minutes weights.. at Goodlife doing their "circuit" which targets total body and I know there are better options, but I am trying to ease my way in. (I am not confident enough yet for free weights) this consists of
Back extension
Leg press
Seated Row
Seated Bench
Bicep Curls
Tricep extension
Shoulder machine
Lat pull down
kickback ( I think that is what it is called)

Tuesday- 40 min cardio first thing in AM on my stationary bike at home

Wednesday- same weight routine as Monday

Thursday- yoga (this is more for mental than physical, although I do always feel it the next day!)

Friday- Weights as Monday and Wednesday

Sat & Sun I don't workout, but I do stick to my diet. I allow one day a week where I will go slightly over my calorie intake, which I track with an ap, and keep to 1,200 calories a day.

My diet consists of egg whites for breakfast, or plain oatmeal. Lunch will be either chicken breast, homemade turkey burger, or homemade tuna salad. Snacks are pomegranate, veggies with small amount of humus, rice cakes, or a protein "mug cake" after a workout (egg, protein powder, cinnamon and small amount of almond milk). I only drink water- no juice, no pop. Supper will be fish, chicken, or on a rare occasion beef (not a big red meat eater).

Any advice?

[SteveFromNY]

losing weight effectively is about using more calories than you consume, so it's not completely what you eat, but the caloric content. for example, i can eat 5,000 calories of lettuce/day and if my caloric needs are 2,000, the 3,000 extra calories I eat cause me to gain weight.

[mjf100215]

Read the nutrition stickies. All of your answers are there.

In short, figure out how many calories it takes to live in a day. Eat less than that. Count every calorie by WEIGHING all of your food. When you burn more than you've eaten, your body looks to fat stores to live.

[Omar98Z28]

If you are not losing fats, you are over eating..the sad ugly truth.
I totally understand your frustration. I've plateaued for weeks and it sucks but then I kept refining my nutrition and ate LESS and the fats are surely melting.
counting calories worked for me, you dont have to count but learning to count made a huge difference..i am A LOT more educated when it comes to my food and i am pretty confident that i will never plateau again because it is simply an equation. keep going and stay motivated. Good luck!

[amandaberry1]

I have been at 1,200 calories a day for 4 weeks.. I'm not sure going any lower would be safe? I don't see how 1,200 would be over eating! I track everything very carefully. I had bloodwork done to make sure there is no thyroid issue, and everything was clear.

[dipatel13]

I have been at 1,200 calories a day for 4 weeks.. I'm not sure going any lower would be safe? I don't see how 1,200 would be over eating! I track everything very carefully. I had bloodwork done to make sure there is no thyroid issue, and everything was clear.

Is it an honest 1200? Everything weighed with a food scale and tracked?

[Omar98Z28]

I have been at 1,200 calories a day for 4 weeks.. I'm not sure going any lower would be safe? I don't see how 1,200 would be over eating! I track everything very carefully. I had bloodwork done to make sure there is no thyroid issue, and everything was clear.

something in your calculation is off. if you are in a deficit you WILL lose weight. now that you know you have no thyroid issue go back to your nutrition and note every measurement down and re evaluate. even if you have water retention you would look/feel better. i was in the same boat and until i started to lose weight the whole idea of eating less sounded crazy to me lol

[StevieMaria]

I'm 5'4" as well. I'm considered lightly active with a TDEE of 1800. When I tried to get into the 120's when I was 132 I had to log food EXTREMELY accurately. If you're logging accurately you should be able to lose on technically more than 1200, assuming your TDEE is at least 1800. This means using a food scale, and logging every condiment/drink/cooking oil you use.

[KikiLicious]

I agree with the others with referring to calories in/calories out..

Do you have a "cheat day".. are you measuring everything or eyeballing... are you tracking everything you eat or just winging it?

Also, have you calculated your activity expenditure correctly? Example, I train 6x a week... however.. I am sedentary the rest of the day because I'm an office dweller..

No one is saying your food choices are unhealthy or wrong.. just saying that you could be eating too much of it. 4oz chicken breast versus 7oz chicken breast is a big difference in the calorie department

These are just some things to think about..

Good luck op!

[ExpatAussie]

Sorry, but you're counting wrong, or assessing your progress wrong, or some combination of the two.

Using Katch McArdle, and assuming you are sedentary

1200 cals / 1.2 = 1000 calories for your basal needs bedridden
-370 as base = 630
divided by 9.8 to get LBM in pounds = 64.3 lbs lean body mass

The formulas aren't perfect but they aren't that far out either. You're also not sedentary based on the routine you describe.

So, either:

* You've replaced significant fat with muscle and are having trouble seeing it because of body image/unrealistic expectations as to what will happen in a month, or
* You are eating more than 1200 calories and miscounting

Or most likely some combination of the two. If you're really sure you've made no progress (i.e. all your clothes fit exactly like they did when you started) then you are miscounting. It's easy to do. To count correctly you need to measure. As an example, it was easy for me to think that a tiny splash of milk in a coffee was nothing. When I measured the "splash" with a tablespoon, it was more volume than I thought. When I added up the coffees, there was a small but significant calorie change. Do this across your whole diet, scale, and measuring cups and spoons, to get an accurate initial assessment.

[JulieC26]

I'm 5'4" as well. I'm considered lightly active with a TDEE of 1800. When I tried to get into the 120's when I was 132 I had to log food EXTREMELY accurately. If you're logging accurately you should be able to lose on technically more than 1200, assuming your TDEE is at least 1800. This means using a food scale, and logging every condiment/drink/cooking oil you use.

Well said
Agree that the "eye-balling" method can have its flaws. . meaning you can't just estimate the weight and the macros of your food

[amandaberry1]

Thanks for all of the replies! I knew I would get some good answers here.
I work in an office, so unfortunately I spend the better part of the day sitting. I go to the gym on my lunch break and I do go every day other than on the weekends.

I am guilty of not weighing my food, I do eyeball it and track it in the app that I use (my fitness pal) and anything with a label, I scan the barcode to enter it. There isn't much I eat that has a label though as I try to consume a lot of fresh food. The foods with labels would be something like a small pack of almonds, a container of Greek yogurt, or a can of tuna. I have cut out bread and sweets, but I do allow 1 day a week where I can cheat. Not a cheat day, but a cheat meal or cheat treat. Even on that day (usually Sunday) I still make sure to stay within my 1,200 calories.

I obviously should purchase a food scale, because something isn't working for me as there is no difference in my weight, or the way my body looks. It's frustrating as I don't have much to lose, and only have a few trouble areas, but it just won't budge. I know a month isn't a long time to see results, but I expected something.

[dipatel13]

Thanks for all of the replies! I knew I would get some good answers here.
I work in an office, so unfortunately I spend the better part of the day sitting. I go to the gym on my lunch break and I do go every day other than on the weekends.

I am guilty of not weighing my food, I do eyeball it and track it in the app that I use (my fitness pal) and anything with a label, I scan the barcode to enter it. There isn't much I eat that has a label though as I try to consume a lot of fresh food. The foods with labels would be something like a small pack of almonds, a container of Greek yogurt, or a can of tuna. I have cut out bread and sweets, but I do allow 1 day a week where I can cheat. Not a cheat day, but a cheat meal or cheat treat. Even on that day (usually Sunday) I still make sure to stay within my 1,200 calories.

I obviously should purchase a food scale, because something isn't working for me as there is no difference in my weight, or the way my body looks. It's frustrating as I don't have much to lose, and only have a few trouble areas, but it just won't budge.

Do this first while keeping your workout and whatnot the same. Once you start accurately tracking for a couple weeks, you should start to see progress.