ADVICE NEEDED: Weight Loss

[ddss37]

Good Morning!

I have just completed the Beginner Rotation - moving into a transition rotation of Beginner/Intermediate. Bottom line - I FEEL so much stronger and my clothes fit better - so, for me - success has begun!

But - I do want to ask some of you who have been working out for awhile and are pursuing (or have pursued) weight loss goals. My starting weight mid-October was 203 lbs. Since then, I have fluctuated between 197 - 201 lbs. Is this what to expect? I just expected more weight loss.

Now - I am tracking things other than pounds - like inches, etc. And, proudly, I have lost 19.25 inches since mid-October. So, I know things are working.

Oh - I am a healthy eater - mainly cook from scratch with healthy oils, etc. I can improve a little - but, I believe that I have that in check.

What concerns me is my weight not dropping and the intensity levels increasing - then, could I hurt my knees, etc.?

Any advice - sure would be appreciated.

Donna in GA

 

[Govtgirl]

Congrats on exercising, and on the inches lost...that's wonderful!

But....I think as most of us have discovered on this forum, it does come down to calories in/calories out. You may have a very heatlhy diet, but you are most likely just eating more than you should to get the weight loss.

How many calories a day are you eating now? Have you weighed everything to make SURE that you aren't eating more than you think? Track your calories for a few days or a week, and see where you come out. I don't know how much you want to lose, but probably eating 1500-1700 calories a day would be a safe place to start. A lot of diets say 1200 a day.....no way could I survive that!

 

[ddss37]

Thanks - I am planning on creating a food journal for this next phase. So, I will quickly find out where the improvements can be made. I came from a Weight Watchers format - so calorie counting will be a change from the "point system." But, it should be fun. 1500 range seems appropriate - thanks for that advice. I have heard of the 1200 range; but, felt that goal might be too much. Thanks again.

 

[melimcn]

The other thing to consider is that you're building quite a bit of muscle now. And muscle weighs more than fat. So as you've seen with the loss of inches, it's definitley working! A portion of that # that you're seeing on the scale is increased muscle tone. Just something to keep in mind.

If it were me, I wouldn't be too concerened with your weight. If you're feeling better and you continue seeing inches come off, ultimately, that's what you're looking for! Weight, I personally feel, is a superficial and deceptive thing. I've been very fit for 10 yrs. I'm 5'2", a size six...and I fluctuate between 135-140lbs. Textbook, that is overweight. However, I'm mostly muscle in my build. So it sounds like a lot more than what it looks like. Just some food for thought, as you continue on your journey.

Congratulations on your success! Keep up the great work!

 

[pjlippert]

Hi there,

Check out Myfitnesspal.com. It is a free food tracking web-site. Now, given that you cook mostly from scratch it might take some practice. I really like it and the counts seem to be pretty accurate (cals, fat, prot). Also, the calorie tracker for exercise is pretty darn close to Cathe's web-site calorie burn.

I was really shocked once I started to honestly track my calories and WOW was I underestimating BIG time! The other cool thing is that once you calculate your cals in/out for the day it tells you how much you could end up weighing in five weeks if you keep doing what you are doing.

Good luck and CONGRATS on the 19+ inches of weight loss! You've inspired me to start tracking my inches as well- I too get frustrated not seeing the scale move.

Happy Monday!!
Pam

 

[ddss37]

Melissa - Thanks for the encouragement. I agree about muscle - I have lost 1.76% in body fat. From the calculations - it looks like around 5 pounds of fat lost - and, 4 pounds of muscle gained. I still believe that I can adjust my food intake - so, this will be fun!

Pam - WOW - the fitness website is great - I am already up and running. Thanks. I was worried about the tracking; but, this website makes it fun. If you want the chart for inches and other measurements which I created (Excel spreadsheet) - just let me know and I can EMail you the blank copy.

Thanks again everyone!
Donna

 

[RapidBreath]

sorry for the novella

I had a similar situation. I started at 210 with Cathe and came down 30 but I've been in a holding pattern for about a year now. I had major medical issues last year and I'm back in the weight loss phase if you will.

I use calorie cycling. Thats where you add extra calories on one day and have less on another day. It seems to psyche out the metabolism. Don't be put off by a small weight gain from the higher calorie day, its just sodium and the food in your system, its not a fat gain on your body. Especially, if the re-feed day is from clean foods, not cheat foods, got it?

The calorie counting is really helpful. I highly suggest that you weigh your body and food frequently and start to see the correlation between foods that make you lose weight and foods that make you gain weight. Its not that you can't ever have the foods that make you gain, but it gives you the power to know when you want to choose that over a loss on the scale.

The foods that help me lose weight are protein (chicken, pork), healthy fats (olive oil, walnut oil, avocados, coconut oil), and plenty of vegetables like leafy greens. I love spinach because it wilts nicely. Soy puts fat on my body. Commercial foods are not helpful usually. When I do eat out, I look at the websites and enter those into fitday. The only problem with fitday is it deletes your older data beyond a year and I've been at this thing for about 3 years now. I started losing weight before I found Cathe. I wish I had the older data.

 

[pjlippert]

Hi Donna,

That would be great if you could email the spreadsheet to me! I've noticed the same thing. The pesky scale is not budging but I'm fitting in slightly smaller clothes, I just haven't tracked my inches lost yet.

Thanks again!
[email protected]

 

[ddss37]

Pam - the spreadsheet has been sent to you.

"Rapidbreath" - thank you for the advice around watching the "types" of food that I eat - that will be a neat experiment.

Thanks again.