Getting FRUSTURATEDDD!

[abbynormal278]

I'm 21, 5'7'' 240ish (varies by 2 lbs either way) and I want to lose fat.

Currently my meals are pretty much as follows.

I use muscle milk as a meal replacer (for breakfast)

usually have pb and rye bread for lunch with some sort of fruit.

atkins bar also as a meal replacer.

a fat free yogurt

and then some sort of protien/carb for dinner (usually grilled chicken and rice)

My total calories are around 1200, which I'm not sure if it's too low?

I TRY (emphasis on try) to work out 3xs a week with free weights doing dumb bell exercises.

and then cardio is usually me just walking for 30 min a day... (im a nanny, so this works out well with my 6 month old duty)

ANYHOW. im getting frustrated because i feel like im not doing enough. I am really tired (probably from too few calories) and I just need some guidance! Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I just bought the book "Lift like a man, Look like a Goddess" from Amazon... THANKS!

[halcyonnwar]

how long have you been consistently sticking to this?

also, do you measure and weigh your food to keep track of calories accurately?

[abbynormal278]

how long have you been consistently sticking to this?

also, do you measure and weigh your food to keep track of calories accurately?

Have been doing "this" situation for 2 months consistently, but Im getting frustrated with the lack of results. I have lost weight, just not as much as I WAS.

I was 275 in July of 2009.

My gyno put me on adipex-p in mid-December 2009 and between December and January I went from 255 to 240ish. Now, Im slowing down, and just a bit discouraged.

I do track calories pretty meticulously. I don't snack on the side, and make sure I know everything that goes in.

[abbynormal278]

bump

[FemmeFatale28]

You could totally eat more 1200 calories is too low for anyone in my opinion. But regardless, you will be in good hands when you get the book. Its a good book. It will open your eyes to alot of things.

[lauren921]

Do you track calories? If not, definitely start weighing/measuring your food and track on The DailyPlate, Dailyburn, etc. Yes, 1200 is definitely way too low for you. I would think you could lose on at least 2000 cals a day but I'm not one of the experts.

[Glamorous]

Hey chica,

I'm with some of the others. Your calories are really low. I would probably aim for about 2,000 calories a day if I were you and you should still successfully be able to lose weight.

Try to remember that you want to eat as many whole food items as possible. If possible, try to avoid pre-packaged snack foods and bars. If you are a nanny you could boiled up chicken breast, and hard boiled eggs as quick and easy snacks to eat while working with the baby. I shred my boiled chicken breast to use in sandwhiches, wraps, tacos, taco salad, etc. Fruits and veggies are great snacks as well. There is nothing wrong with protein shakes - if you like the muscle milk, then use it. Just keep in mind it's pretty high calorie so it should generally be used in place of a meal (sounds like you knew this).

Drink a lot of water and try to find as many ways as possible to keep your body moving.

GL!

[blue-orchid]

I'm 21, 5'7'' 240ish (varies by 2 lbs either way) and I want to lose fat.

Currently my meals are pretty much as follows.

I use muscle milk as a meal replacer (for breakfast)

usually have pb and rye bread for lunch with some sort of fruit.

atkins bar also as a meal replacer.

a fat free yogurt

and then some sort of protien/carb for dinner (usually grilled chicken and rice)

My total calories are around 1200, which I'm not sure if it's too low?

I TRY (emphasis on try) to work out 3xs a week with free weights doing dumb bell exercises.

and then cardio is usually me just walking for 30 min a day... (im a nanny, so this works out well with my 6 month old duty)

ANYHOW. im getting frustrated because i feel like im not doing enough. I am really tired (probably from too few calories) and I just need some guidance! Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. I just bought the book "Lift like a man, Look like a Goddess" from Amazon... THANKS!

Like others have said, 1200 cals for your body is definitely too low. If you have kept caloric intake for a substantial amount of time, your metabolism has probably slowed down which is why you may be experiencing disappointing results at the moment.

My suggestion, don't skip meals or try to completely substitute them. Instead, for breakfast consider something like oatmeal with milk and a banana. For lunch have a salad with spinach topped with a protein-rich meat such as chicken or even fish such as salmon. (Salmon has high fat, but keep in mind it's good fat - plenty of omega 3's). Try to nix the salad dressing completely, but if you find you can't, my trick is to pour a small amount of salad dressing into a container and dip the fork into the dressing before stabbing away at the salad. This way you can still enjoy the salad while consuming a considerable less amount the empty calories then if the salad was drenched in dressing.

Make sure you are keeping track of how much water you are consuming too. Staying well hydrated helps keep your metabolism up and helps your body burn more calories.

I hope this helps! Best of luck!

[abbynormal278]

Like others have said, 1200 cals for your body is definitely too low. If you have kept caloric intake for a substantial amount of time, your metabolism has probably slowed down which is why you may be experiencing disappointing results at the moment.

My suggestion, don't skip meals or try to completely substitute them. Instead, for breakfast consider something like oatmeal with milk and a banana. For lunch have a salad with spinach topped with a protein-rich meat such as chicken or even fish such as salmon. (Salmon has high fat, but keep in mind it's good fat - plenty of omega 3's). Try to nix the salad dressing completely, but if you find you can't, my trick is to pour a small amount of salad dressing into a container and dip the fork into the dressing before stabbing away at the salad. This way you can still enjoy the salad while consuming a considerable less amount the empty calories then if the salad was drenched in dressing.

Make sure you are keeping track of how much water you are consuming too. Staying well hydrated helps keep your metabolism up and helps your body burn more calories.

I hope this helps! Best of luck!

Thanks for your help, I'm not really big on fish---i have never tried ANY type nor have I tried beef/pork, but I lovee chicken. I also already don't consume any type of condiment, and I love plain food, so I should be super thin, right? Wrong! Anyhow, thanks for your help... REPS have been added for everyone :]

[blue-orchid]

Thanks for your help, I'm not really big on fish---i have never tried ANY type nor have I tried beef/pork, but I lovee chicken. I also already don't consume any type of condiment, and I love plain food, so I should be super thin, right? Wrong! Anyhow, thanks for your help... REPS have been added for everyone :]

Your welcome! I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help with modifying your diet to your liking. I'm just stepping up my fitness levels and starting to be more picky on the foods I consume. I've always been a label reader (and everyone makes fun of me for it) but hey, what's wrong with wanting to know what your consuming? You only get one body right? Anyways, it sounds like your pretty motivated and if you ever need any nutritional guidance there's many great posts in the "Nutrition and Dieting" group under the female targeted forum. Another great source for nutrition that I use is WebMD.com.

Thanks for the reps, that was very kind of you..! I just joined BB.com a couple of days ago and I'm still getting the hang of how the whole point system works lol.

Keep up the good work! You'll get there!!! We are all here to help you reach your goals

[VAPump]

Saw this thread while I was stalking blue-orchid.

To reinforce what everyone said, your calories have been too low.


Now this is just an estimate, but based on your height/weight/age, your basal metabolic rate is somewhere around 1900 calories.

That means your body burns 1900 or so calories a day just existing. I don't know what your workout program has been, but if you workout at least 5 days a week at a pretty good intensity, you would need roughly 3000 calories a day just to maintain your current weight.

Since you want to lose, you can lower your caloric intake. At least 500 cals a day to be effective, but no more than 1000.

So basically everyones guesses were pretty spot-on. Shoot for a minimum of 2000 calories a day, up to 2500 at most to be effective.

And tracking your macros you will find will help you TREMENDOUSLY. Try to keep a moderate fat (GOOD FAT! poly and monounsaturated fats are great for you. Absolutely avoid saturated), moderate to low carb intake (this you will have to experiment with to see basically how low your willpower will let you go. Around 150g a day should give you decent energy and still allow rapid loss, imho), and high protein (try to aim for .75 to 1g per pound of body weight).

Everything doesn't have to be exact, but if you follow my advice pretty decently then I can almost guarantee a kick-start in your progress.

Good luck!

[abbynormal278]

Saw this thread while I was stalking blue-orchid.

To reinforce what everyone said, your calories have been too low.


Now this is just an estimate, but based on your height/weight/age, your basal metabolic rate is somewhere around 1900 calories.

That means your body burns 1900 or so calories a day just existing. I don't know what your workout program has been, but if you workout at least 5 days a week at a pretty good intensity, you would need roughly 3000 calories a day just to maintain your current weight.

Since you want to lose, you can lower your caloric intake. At least 500 cals a day to be effective, but no more than 1000.

So basically everyones guesses were pretty spot-on. Shoot for a minimum of 2000 calories a day, up to 2500 at most to be effective.

And tracking your macros you will find will help you TREMENDOUSLY. Try to keep a moderate fat (GOOD FAT! poly and monounsaturated fats are great for you. Absolutely avoid saturated), moderate to low carb intake (this you will have to experiment with to see basically how low your willpower will let you go. Around 150g a day should give you decent energy and still allow rapid loss, imho), and high protein (try to aim for .75 to 1g per pound of body weight).

Everything doesn't have to be exact, but if you follow my advice pretty decently then I can almost guarantee a kick-start in your progress.

Good luck!

Yeah, I just updating my calorie intake to roughly 2000 per day (give or take 100 cals...)

My workouts are MON, WED, FRI WEIGHTS/CARDIO and TUES, THURS, SAT ABS/CARDIO... according to my daily burn I burn 600 cals on weight days and on abs/cardio days its 700.

Anyhow, thanks for your help!