Last 7 pounds and frustrated.

[DVcoal]

Hello. I am 5 8 and I weigh 152 pounds and want to get to 145. I have just finished losing 17 pounds in the past 5 weeks. I am also a 42 year old female. I just feel like I am hitting a wall and the scale is not moving for the past two weeks. I have been doing this for 7 weeks this being my 7th week.

I am doing the following 5 x a week twice a day

Gym: Morning 30 minutes either circuit training (2x a week) or various stair masters 5x weekly

Gym: evening gym: 30 minutes Cardio 5x weekly

Typical eating two day sample

Day 1 Day 2
Egg Beaters whites only Egg Beaters white only
Tuna Fish w/1 tablespoon mayonnaise 4oz Ham one peace
Lettuce Romaing with 80 calorie dressing and 0 fat no sugar Turkey 3 ounces
Cheeder cheese 1 oz square
Chicken Breast w/ Broccoli

My calorie budget is 1,037 per day and my average week I am 3,000 - 5,000 below my budget adding in exercising . I am not taking any supplements or I am not on any medication.

I am high protein and do not eat bread, pasta, rice and keeping my carbs to net 15-20 a day and 60-90 grams of protein a day. Is there anything wrong with what I am doing? I am eating every three hours maybe not a large meals per sitting but make sure something small with protein. Thank you for your time.

[largerthannormal]

You probably hit a point of eating way to little for such a long time, this is a common mistake by females.

Also even at your max 90 grams protein thats only 360 cals( not too far off but still need more)

on top of 20 grams carbs?? so 80 cals

where are all the other calories coming from?

I would assume the main problem is teaching your body to live off such a small amount of calories.

This is why i dont go nuts on cal deficit diets with women cause they go to the extreme low limit and have no room to adjust once hitting a wall.

You can not pull anymore cals. 1000 cals is way to low no matter your bf%

You probably need to start re introducing carbs slowly since you have none.

Do you have a bf% est? so we can get a closer idea on your maintenance cals?( wont matter to much at this point but still good to know)

i see you only have one post, hopefully you will be back so we can help.

[DVcoal]

Thank you for your response....and I had a feeling that this was the answer. As an example yesterday was 18g fat 10g carbs and 71g protein, and 500 calories. My BF% I have no idea, but my measurements are 37 chest 32.5 w 39 hips. I had Liposuction before so now when I gain weight it goes in new places so a little on stomach and arms I could loose and I have very strong legs / soccer player legs. Just so you get the visual. I have always been able to hold more weight on my frame such as 145 is what I weighed in my 20's and early 30's and I was a size 4 which is typically not the case weighing 145.

I agree with you women are crazy with the low calorie diets...so now what do I do? Should I start by eating 1,200 calories every other day to trick my body? Should I stay with the low cal and add a supplement/fat burner? Food does not mean anything to me and I have no issues with cheating or cravings. I only drink coffee in the morning and water with lemon all day. I wanted to get to my goal weight so I could move on with life and go into maintenance mode. Being the ADHD type A personality. lol

[largerthannormal]

Does this help?



ps soccer player legs are the best!

also what time do you work out in reference to your meal times. i see you do AM and PM but when are meals placed around that.

No, do not jump to 1200 you will just gain rapidly, and skipping a day is no better

[DVcoal]

Wow you are resourceful ! Thank you for the visuals. I am between 25%-30% leaning towards 25% . You are my favorite member now that you like soccer legs!

I eat breakfast at 9 am and workout at 11:30 am and eat dinner at 6 pm and workout at 730pm. Because I am a psycho diet person when I am inspired my thought process is I am working off what I just ate. I think though even when I do lose the 7 pounds I am not going to be 100% happy because I will want to tighten up, but one step at a time.

So...should I stay low cal then and add fat burner? Maybe this and add free weights in the mix? Cut off an arm? lol

[itsjayman02]

Your bodies defence mechanism will kick in if your macros don't add up and you will store more fat

Sounds wrong but eat more lose more !!

Fasted cardio in the mornings before breakfast
Worked wonders for me

Small meals chicken rice and broccoli

No carbs after 6

Peanut butter or almonds at night

Lost 2 stone in a few months

I'm now 47 btw

[DVcoal]

Thanks. Question though...wouldn't I gain weight if I ate more because now with my great starvation diet my body is used to living on 500-700 calories a day and I am not losing anymore? Wouldn't my new base line be 500-700 calories a day and even with 2x a day aerobic exercise (mainly) still no movement for the extra pounds. I am not experienced (obviously) as the other members, regarding the body and how it works....but I am thinking I only have a couple of options.

1. stay close to the calories I am and add fat burner and take up my aerobics to finish the last 7 pounds.

2. Move up the calories a little and see if I do not gain weight and stay there for a week then go down again?

3. I have no more ideas, and keep beating my head against the wall

[itsjayman02]

Thanks. Question though...wouldn't I gain weight if I ate more because now with my great starvation diet my body is used to living on 500-700 calories a day and I am not losing anymore? Wouldn't my new base line be 500-700 calories a day and even with 2x a day aerobic exercise (mainly) still no movement for the extra pounds. I am not experienced (obviously) as the other members, regarding the body and how it works....but I am thinking I only have a couple of options.

1. stay close to the calories I am and add fat burner and take up my aerobics to finish the last 7 pounds.

2. Move up the calories a little and see if I do not gain weight and stay there for a week then go down again?

3. I have no more ideas, and keep beating my head against the wall

The thing with weight is trial and error your metabolism will be different than mine or even someone with your stats

So try upping your protein and lowering your carbs for a couple of weeks

Protein foods work by suppressing ghrelin, a hormone secreted by the stomach that stimulates appetite

Next high intensity training......remember your body will start to become efficient with the same routines and times so change them around and shock your system

lower levels of stress hormones will increase insulin sensitivity -- a signal to your body to burn food as fuel rather than store it as fat.

3. Use a cushion so you don't hurt your head

Good luck!!

Jayman

[largerthannormal]

At this point activity level or fat burners ( burning more cals) is not going to help.

this is a very tough situation and not easy. May be a little trial and error.

try adding 20-25 grams of carbs in one of the meals before you workout ( maybe 1/2 cup oats) or brown rice or small sweet potatoe

if you do not have access to accurately measure bf% it could be a little tough.

If all you have is a scale, take a few measurements and keep an eye on the mirror . try this for 2-3 weeks. do not pull any more calories from what you are doing now.

Wow you are resourceful ! Thank you for the visuals. I am between 25%-30% leaning towards 25% . You are my favorite member now that you like soccer legs!

I eat breakfast at 9 am and workout at 11:30 am and eat dinner at 6 pm and workout at 730pm. Because I am a psycho diet person when I am inspired my thought process is I am working off what I just ate. I think though even when I do lose the 7 pounds I am not going to be 100% happy because I will want to tighten up, but one step at a time.

So...should I stay low cal then and add fat burner? Maybe this and add free weights in the mix? Cut off an arm? lol

[largerthannormal]

Yes trial and error is correct

The thing with weight is trial and error your metabolism will be different than mine or even someone with your stats

So try upping your protein and lowering your carbs for a couple of weeks she is not eating any carbs?

Protein foods work by suppressing ghrelin, a hormone secreted by the stomach that stimulates appetite

Next high intensity training......remember your body will start to become efficient with the same routines and times so change them around and shock your system

lower levels of stress hormones will increase insulin sensitivity -- a signal to your body to burn food as fuel rather than store it as fat.

3. Use a cushion so you don't hurt your head

Good luck!!

Jayman

[largerthannormal]

Closest to option 2, right now your metabolism is messed up. To keep it simple you need to re teach your body to use food. we need to slowly increase ( very slow) to get back to where someone your weight and bf% would normally maintain. That spot is not 500-700 calories, it is 1500ish( thats sounds stupid high and usually scares most females away, trust me i know it does, i seen it a million times)

you could do more activity and lift more but im pretty confident your going to not change a pound.

Thanks. Question though...wouldn't I gain weight if I ate more because now with my great starvation diet my body is used to living on 500-700 calories a day and I am not losing anymore? Wouldn't my new base line be 500-700 calories a day and even with 2x a day aerobic exercise (mainly) still no movement for the extra pounds. I am not experienced (obviously) as the other members, regarding the body and how it works....but I am thinking I only have a couple of options.

1. stay close to the calories I am and add fat burner and take up my aerobics to finish the last 7 pounds.

2. Move up the calories a little and see if I do not gain weight and stay there for a week then go down again?

3. I have no more ideas, and keep beating my head against the wall

[Bonaparte]

I'd readjust cals so that you're only at a ~3000 cal weekly deficit. Take your time and lose the weight right. Even at this rate, it should only take another 2 months to lose those last 7 lbs.

[DVcoal]

Thank you largerthannormal! I thought maybe itsjayman missed the fact I am eating 8 carbs a day or he is a sadomasochist ! smile

I of course went out today (because I waited 8 hours for your reply) ...lol and bought VPX Meltdown which seemed fitting since I am having one. I have taken two today and at least I can function a little better and not in a no calorie fog. It seems so simple now that I am using my brain and talking to everyone here, that if I would have just cut calories slower while doing this I would have somewhere to go when I hit the walls.

I will listen to you and start adding back some calories or carbs mainly slowly to see if I can get my body out of starvation mode and start liking me again. Instead of the rice or oatmeal can I eat a fruit before I go to the gym? I have not had any fruit for 7 weeks and that would be easy for me to just grab.

When I get back up to 1,000-1,200 calories a day, this amount I can commit to...when can I cut again to lose more weight? Or did that last question show that I still do not understand?

[largerthannormal]

In all honesty 1,000-1200 is an extreme cal deficit even at your weight, That is probably around 300-500 under your maintenance ( just an estimated guess)

You do understand, you are doing good.

Fruit I would just make sure it is a small serving. Honestly I am a fan of the complex carbs in this case.

It may take months

add 20 grams to your daily intake every 3-4 weeks add another 20 if you did not go up and see how you adjust

never work over a 50/30/20 macro. meaning dont let the carbs take over 30% or the fats take over 20% of your intake.

depending on how you react that 30% may be as low as 20% all said and done.

right now i would advise you work on your food intake before worrying about the scale. This may take a bit but you will be happy in the end.

taking steps back to go forward is never a fun process ..

[itsjayman02]

Thank you largerthannormal! I thought maybe itsjayman missed the fact I am eating 8 carbs a day or he is a sadomasochist ! smile

I of course went out today (because I waited 8 hours for your reply) ...lol and bought VPX Meltdown which seemed fitting since I am having one. I have taken two today and at least I can function a little better and not in a no calorie fog. It seems so simple now that I am using my brain and talking to everyone here, that if I would have just cut calories slower while doing this I would have somewhere to go when I hit the walls.

I will listen to you and start adding back some calories or carbs mainly slowly to see if I can get my body out of starvation mode and start liking me again. Instead of the rice or oatmeal can I eat a fruit before I go to the gym? I have not had any fruit for 7 weeks and that would be easy for me to just grab.

When I get back up to 1,000-1,200 calories a day, this amount I can commit to...when can I cut again to lose more weight? Or did that last question show that I still do not understand?

I have been responding to multiple people over forums ......apologies for making an error

Good luck on your quest I hope you reach your pot of gold!!

[DVcoal]

lol thank you. No harm no foul. I didn't think you were suggesting to go to 2g of carbs a day.

[DVcoal]

A little update. I am up to 700 calories now a day and for this week then I am going to go to 800. I started taking a fat burner the Meltdown while I took my calories up a little and have lost 1.5 pounds in a week. Seems like I am going in the right direction again.

[GirlyGymRat]

A little update. I am up to 700 calories now a day and for this week then I am going to go to 800. I started taking a fat burner the Meltdown while I took my calories up a little and have lost 1.5 pounds in a week. Seems like I am going in the right direction again.

Not sure how I missed your thread. My apologies. I am subscribed!

[largerthannormal]

A little update. I am up to 700 calories now a day and for this week then I am going to go to 800. I started taking a fat burner the Meltdown while I took my calories up a little and have lost 1.5 pounds in a week. Seems like I am going in the right direction again.

Good work, keep it slow dont add to fast... keep in mind dont go over the macros we talked about, youll have to start adding cals from other sources at a certain point.

[DVcoal]

Thanks. I need that today. I am a little frustrated , I feel like I am eating all the time and then I look at calories and it does not look good. Need to add calories in my day but nothing heavy because I am not hungry. I don't know where I got this anorexic attitude or crazy train of dieting. Maybe other women do this as well and it starts off normal and you go to an extreme! I will post my challenges so maybe it can help others.

Today:

9am Piece of Cheddar Cheese 1 oz
Gym: 30 minutes on stair climber at 156 heart beat
Lunch : Low carb tortilla whole wheat shell 1/2 of it with ground beef 1oz cheddar cheese (sprinkle) and 1 tablespoon sour cream and salsa
Dinner: Hamburger 3 ounces plain
Gym: 30 minutes treadmill
Snack: 1 oz of Almonds

Day: Calories 614 42 g fat carbs 15g protein 47g Exercise -419

I bought the almonds today so I can add calories without having a big meal to get my calories up. I only have 5 more pounds to go in my diet but I want to get out of this mindset I am having. I know some reading this will just think eat you crazy woman...and I know this is rationale but I am caught in this starvation mode, and trying to get out of it without putting weight back on.

[largerthannormal]

Change your meat source.. You need leaner cuts of meat in order to fit the macros.

Fish
Chicken
Tuna
99%ff ground turkey

Leave beef alone for now.unless you can present it in a macro like we discussed. Fats are too high

[DVcoal]

thank you, will do !!!!