Lost on what to do with losing weight

[Vickykindle]

So I’ve been working out and dieting for 5 months now. I no longer eat gluten. i eat primarily meat and vegetables baked/raw/sautéed in olive oil. I cut out the sweets. My average calorie intake is about 1,500calories. 

• I work out everyday for 2-4hours, I spend 1 hr doing core workouts nonstop, 15min to stretch, 1hr cardio (about 4-5miles), 30-1hr arm/leg (weight lifting, squats, etc.)
• i go to the steam room after a workout for 15min. 
• I take preworkout, lots of vitamins, sleep well, protein shakes and drink lots of water

I am 5’2” and currently weigh a weight that’s been fluctuating for the last month and a half from 164-167. When I first started I weighed 185. I stopped seeing weight loss/inches loss. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong? What i should be doing? Why my weight only fluctuates and there’s no weight/inches loss?  I switch up my routines every 4 weeks. Sorry for the long post, I am just out of ideas.

[Glenda]

@Vickykindle  Vicky,  16 people have looked in on your post and didn't reply so I will.  I suggest you google BMR  Basic Metabolic Rate.  They ask you your age, sex, activity level etc and then tell you how many calories you use at rest.  Then they tell you how many you use with various levels of activity and will even tell a little shorty like you and I a number of calories to eat to lose weight.  For you it might even be as many as 1,200 that they are always suggesting for everyone even midgets.   For years I thought exercise helped with weight control but now I'm convinced it is only good for better health and you can't expect to eat more because of the exercise.  The muscles you build do use more calories than fat.  Anyway I'm not going to get into all that.  I think you are eating way too much and you should weigh under 120 pounds probably.  Could you cut out flour and sugar from your diet?   Might help.

[Vickykindle]

Oh yeah, I was at 120 but ended up with a desk job which was awful considering I gained soo much weight in just a year. Never will I go back to a desk job lol! I cut out flour/gluten eight months ago due to a new gluten intolerance. I also cut out sugar about five months ago. I will cut my calorie intake to what you suggested though. Thank you much for the advice! I’m trying to get back to a healthy weight. Gaining weight is so much easier then losing it, lol! 

[Vickykindle]

I just entered my information into the BMR and it says to intake 1524 to lose 2lb a week. I will drop my intake more then suggested and maybe it’ll help because eating 1500/day is definitely not working at all. Thank you again! 

[Glenda]

@Vickykindle  Vicky,  your exercise is admirable but you are not going to be able to keep that up for decades, so you need to learn a better way to eat.   I read that most people eat about 10 favorite things a lot probably because they know they like that, know how to cook to or get it because it is easy etc.  So you need to learn some new favorite things that have fewer calories because your enthusiasm and determination to do better and lose weight will decrease and you will go right back to the OLD favorites. That is why people say losing is easier than maintaining.  Work hard at learning some NEW favorites that you like just as much that have fewer calories.   Calorie bombs are easy to like & they are everywhere.

         I mis-spoke when I said you eat too much....you need to eat fewer calories.  

[BAYSIDE18]

Drink half your weight in water about 80 oz. Weigh your meat about 6 oz. Check the percentage of fat in your meats. go for the lower calorie vegetable. Lots of green leafy vegetables. Spinach, romaine, bok choy etc. Skip corn, peas, carrots, (the sugar vegetables). Use olive oil spray to cook with. Gook luck. I'm in a 6 week challenge at the gym and this has been working for me.

Moderator edit: removed all caps

[Dominique]

I understand you would like to lose the 65 pounds as "easily" (and quickly) as you gained them. You had a good start losing 20 of them in about 4 months. You have been doing all the right things in terms of exercising and eating. You probably noticed the first 5 pounds required less effort than the last 5 pounds. This is because the law of diminishing returns applies to weightloss: the more you have lost, and the longer you keep losing, the more difficult it becomes to further lose. You are already exercising a lot and eating very little (for your activity level), so you don’t have much room to add even more exercising and eat even less food. The solution is to switch to maintenance for a while (a few months), to let your body recover and get used to the new weight. I suggest you watch the "Losing All Your Weight at Once" video mentioned in this other post. It provides more information on what is going on (e.g. metabolic adaptation), and why it makes sense (for long-term success) to lose alternating phases of active weightloss and maintenance, rather than in one go.

[Nasthaa3]

Hi Vicky,

Firstly, well done for remaining so dedicated! Wow.

I think where you are going wrong is that you are simply doing way too much!

A good workout can be done in 45 minutes, you really do not need to be doing 4 hours, unless you are training for a marathon or something! Ever notice how a HIIT session is only about 25 minutes long, and it more effective?

Working your core for an hour basically isn't going to do anything, a few simple movements are more effective than spending an hour doing loads. 

Most women actually need to eat around 1700 calories when exercising like that, otherwise you aren't fueling your body properly.

You need to switch up your workouts. Do an upper body, lower body and a full body, all on different days. You don't necessarily need cardio, but if you do, do it after a weights session. Lift HEAVY, and use progressive overload (where you increase your weight a little bit every week and try to beat it).

I understand you may not have the money to see a Personal Trainer, but I strongly recommend you speak to one just to get an idea of what you should be doing to have the most effective workout, even on session will help you.

I'd also recommend joining some groups on Facebook, my personal favourite is GymShark Community, people are so helpful, and I've even had PTs on there offer to create me FREE and personalised programmes, plus you can gain more info and experience, plus probably new friends too.

One last thing, you can technically eat whatever you want, literally, it's about being in a calorie deficit. Use more calories than you consume. 

I hope this helps 🙂 

[Dominique]

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@Nasthaa3 wrote:

One last thing, you can technically eat whatever you want, literally, it's about being in a calorie deficit.

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This is indeed true (though the source of the foods you’re eating does affect aspects like satiety, health, body composition etc.). However, I’m confused: you’re arguing @Vickykindle should eat more and work out less. I do agree she’s eating very little for her activity level, and spending a lot of time working out, but if she’s not currently in a caloric deficit (as implied by the stalling of her weightloss), how eating more and moving less will solve the issue?

I’ll also argue where calories out come from doesn’t matter (for weightloss): 500 calories burned though walking will make the same contribution to the deficit as 500 calories burned through a HIIT session. If you’re the CEO of a large corporation with a very tight schedule, squeezing your workouts in the least possible time may make sense. However, there are trade-offs (like often in life): whereas you can perform LISS (low-intensity steady-state cardio) activities every day of the week, HIIT (if performed at the adequate level) will require resting days in between sessions, so may not burn as many calories at the weekly level. 

[Nasthaa3]

Yes, that's exactly what I said.

Here, Fitbit have even covered it themselves: https://blog.fitbit.com/weight-loss-tips/

Theres another from Womens Health here: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/a18703912/eat-more-to-lose-weight/

A lot of people who workout, particularly using heavy weights, often eat between 2000-3000+ calories plus a day, because of the type of workout and the intensity, and still lose weight. Of course in these cases, it is about eating the right foods.

So, again, it is more beneficial to do a shorter workout, doing HIIT or lift heavy weights, and eat more. 

No, it doesnt necessarily matter where calories come out from, but it is a proven fact that muscle burns more calories than fat, so gaining muscle will not only improve strength, as well as changing body shape for the better, it can also help with weight loss.

Rest and recovery is just as important for the body as exercise. 

[Vickykindle]

@Glenda thank you so very much for for the advice! I really appreciate it 🙂

[Vickykindle]

@BAYSIDE18 thank you thank you! 

[Vickykindle]

@Dominique I will watch the video mentioned. Thank you so much for your time with your answer, I really appreciate it. 

[Vickykindle]

@Nasthaa3 Thank you so much! It was super helpful to read that. I will join some groups on Facebook. Also will do some more research on upper, lower, core that would better benefit me instead of overloading myself it seems. Lol, thank you again so much.

[Nasthaa3]

You're very welcome! I hope you get the results you're after, you certainly have the dedication and discipline.

Best of luck!

[Dominique]

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@Nasthaa3 wrote:

it is a proven fact that muscle burns more calories than fat, so gaining muscle will not only improve strength, as well as changing body shape for the better, it can also help with weight loss. 

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It is true a lean and muscular person will burn more calories than a fatter and less muscular person of the same size and age. However, the difference is far less that  commonly thought (in other words, merely carrying a few pounds of extra muscle won’t transform you into some crazy calorie burning machine).

In this older post, I calculated the BMR of Arnold at his peak vs. an obese guy of the same size. In this one, I calculated how many more calories I would burn by carrying 5 kg of extra muscle. And here is a discussion on how many more calories one burns for each extra pound of muscle gained.

That being said, I can only agree about the other benefits of resistance training for everyone, males and females, younger and older, overweight or not. 

[Nasthaa3]

I never stated the difference was huge, merely that there was a beneficial difference. I know it can range from 20 to 200 calories difference, but that's still a difference. Besides, additional muscle isn't a bad thing. 

*sigh* at the end of the day, we both agree that resistance or weight training is highly beneficial. I've not made any 'out there' claims. Everything I've said is factual, I've not insinuated that any of it will make a difference over night. It takes hard work and dedication. 

My point was that he current regime is clearly getting her nowhere, and merely running her body ragged. Instead should focus on shorter, more intense workouts focussed on resistance or interval training as it would be a much better use of her time overall. 

Arnie was also considered morbidly obese according to his BMI, so many of us know that certain things just simply need to be ignored. 

I'm of a mind that people should try things out and do what works best for them. For me, weight training is the best experience and results of all the types of exercise I've tried 🙂 

[Glenda]

@Dominique  You are such a valuable member of this community I learned lots about Finland.  So interesting; the average temps and daylight hours in summer and winter.!!!  If on our continent would be about the mid North of Canada.  Whoever was writing about it was a better tourist promoter than the person who described Michigan where we have the largest group of immigrants from Finland.  Finland is very cold all year compared to subtropical Houston Texas.  Michigan is very cold sometimes but is described by google as, "Winters are unrivaled for their utter lack of sunshine.  The ceaseless cloud cover begins in October & envelopes the state in a daily sense of gloom that only worsens when the apathetic sun slouches below the horizon at 4:45PM.  LOL    Some places have daylight but not sun some have lots of light in summer and little in winter.  In houston we don't want long summer days because it is cooler when the sun goes down.     Thank you Dominique for the fun interesting education.

              Folks Vicky is only 5'2" tall.  Small people are not most people.   And if the more active we are, the more calories we use and therefore need to eat more.....we would have starved to death when we had to chase around after animals to eat.  I don't believe it.   Maybe you have seen scientific studies that convinced you?    I'm probably wrong.

[Dominique]

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@Glenda wrote:

And if the more active we are, the more calories we use and therefore need to eat more.....we would have starved to death when we had to chase around after animals to eat.  I don't believe it.   Maybe you have seen scientific studies that convinced you?

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Actually, your mentioning of chasing animals to eat brought to mind a very interesting podcast I listened to a while ago. The guest was Dr. Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary biologist with a PhD in Biological Anthropology from Harvard University. The subject of the podcast was "Constrained Energy Expenditure Model & the Evolutionary Biology of Energy Balance". He conducted a study on hunters-gatherers in Tanzania (abstract of study on PubMed) and found that although they were highly active (as one would expect), their total energy expenditure was quite similar to that of your typical, far less active Westerner living in a rich industrial country. So we didn’t "starve to death while chasing after animals to eat": we just became more efficient and the calories we burned adapted to the energy available in our environment. The actual podcast (which I just re-listened to during my weight lifting session) is between 6:00 and 54:00, i.e. less than 50 minutes long. Highly recommended if you want to dig deeper into this.

[Glenda]

Dominique,  I forgot to say earlier one of the first things I wanted to know about Finland was the time.  You are 8 hours ahead of me in theTexas  time zone.   I will listen to the pod cast.  Thanks