[lollypoppet]

Hi, i'm new so please bare with me

I'm 20 years old and a girl and my weight 11st, 70kg, 154lbs however you know it. I've been dieting for the last 2 months now or so, i'm 5'5 and a bit, and i've been going to the gym about 3-5 times a week for about an hour and a half doing cardio, i.e treadmill, cross trainer (elliptical), bike, stairs, rowing machine and some weights and i aim to burn about 500-600 calories per work out. I drink plenty of water, and i eat 6 meals a day, 3 main meals, breakfast lunch and dinner, and inbetween those meals, i might snack on fruits or vegetables or nuts, i have no fat in my diet, like crisps or chips, etc, just natural fats from fruit and meat, and i eat a lot of white meat too, a lot of chicken turkey etc I try to eat about 1200 calories a day, no more than 1500, but mostly about 1200. Everyone's told me i look like i've lost a lot of weight weight, and i can see it in my face and i do see that i look like i've lost weight. I've noticed a difference and i do feel better about exercising. But i weighed myself, and i'm sitll exactly the same, and i know, muscle is more dense than fat, so i probably would have lost the fat as the muscle is building (and i can feel my legs and arms get harder because of the muscle gain). So i started measuring myself, like waist, etc, because they say its not always about the scales right? So, even though i look a bit smaller, my measurements are the same still? I dont understand why? I've dieted before i've managed to lose weight with the scale going down, but i dont understand why thi is happening now. Could someone please explain to me what is happening to my body? what i could do to make the scale go down? i'd really appreciate the help!!

[Pauld339]

Hi there.

Sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to.

I had something similar when I first started losing weight - I found that after a couple of months I was getting so much fitter (physically) that I could start upping the amount of work I did in the gym - it was then that the weight really started to drop off.

Just think though - why are you really dieting? It sounds to me like you are looking better and getting fitter every day. Is it really so important for the scales to agree?

[lollypoppet]

i know, it's just very disheartening, because i do physically great, i just get bothered by the scales, and i just feel like what's the point very upsetting. And now im due my period, its worse because i've obvously put on a few pounds, water retention. humph.

[lollypoppet]

Hi there.

Sounds like you're doing what you're supposed to.

I had something similar when I first started losing weight - I found that after a couple of months I was getting so much fitter (physically) that I could start upping the amount of work I did in the gym - it was then that the weight really started to drop off.

Just think though - why are you really dieting? It sounds to me like you are looking better and getting fitter every day. Is it really so important for the scales to agree?

Sorry, what did you mean but upping the amount of work? like the resistance on machines and weights etc?

[sussexrob]

1200 is to low, an average woman needs 2000 calories to maintain her weight

to lose weight you need a calorie defeciet as you know but even then 20-30% is all you need

So you need 1400-1600 ( i Would go with 1600 ) because your body slows down and stores fat within a period of time unless you jump start it for a week or so by eating more calories. Sounds mad but it works as I lost over 2 stone in 12 weeks just by making sure my metabolism didnt slow down by eating to little and avoiding sugar .. its evil lol

Overall, its sugar you need to stay away from because sugar will spike your blood sugar, make your body release insulin which promotes fat storage. So do not worry about fat as much, make sure you are staying away from sugar.

A prime culprit are fat free yogurts, FULL of sugar.

As for not losing weight, see if you can find a personal trainer who will take your body fat because i have got my body fat down to 16.9% and thats lower than i thought it was, and what we see in ourselves isnt always what others see either.



Hope that helps

Rob