Thread: A bit frustrated...

1600... depends on your weight, height and resting metobolic rate... for me they tell me 1600-1700 calories is what I need to keep my body in maintanance so I do have to drop lower than that when I want to lose weight... I usually go about 1400ish. Never take your body below 1200 thats pretty much the bare minimum.

They have a lot of websites that you can put in your weight, height, age, etc... and it gives you an estimate for how many calories you'd need to eat to lose weight, maintain weight etc... a trip to the nutrionist for metabolic testing would give you a much more accurate number though.

You might not be burning 400 cals, those machines overestimate... A LOT. Even still though burning 200 cals a day is pretty dang sufficient. While eating only 1600... that should give you a decent deficit for a 1-2 pound per week weightloss.

Don't forget that when you increase a work out your joints retain water for a while... so sometimes that scale won't show your efforts for a couple of weeks, don't let that detour you.

Our bodies are in a constant quest for homeostasis... not losing or gaining. It'll fight you a little at first sometimes. The more overweight you are the quicker those pounds come off as your body KNOWS it needs to take it off... (thats why biggest loser show always has such big weightloss numbers each week, the bigger the person, the faster the loss when there is a calorie deficit)... the closer you are to your ideal weight... the more work it takes to pull those pounds off -- but they will come off, its science. Create a deficit and your body takes what it needs from fat.

But if you don't give your body the right nutrients, it will take what it needs (protein etc) from muscle and it isn't picky which muscle so it can also be from any organ it feels like which is way starvation is DANGEROUS.

Be sure you are getting the adequate serving of protein and nutrients... don't overestimate how much your work out burns (sometimes ppl will treat themselves to way more extra food than they need thinking they burned more than they did)... and check to make sure that 1600 is adequate.

You can always tinker... try a week at 1500, then a week at 1600... then back to 1500 etc... writing down your weight weekly, writing down your calories daily... then go back in a month and see how you are doing and what is working best for you.

Be sure to always re-introduce and/or reduce calories SLOWLY... only changing 50/100 calories one way or the other that way you have time to see the impact it has on your body... both in weightloss and how you FEEL.

Trust your body. If you feel lightheaded, eat. If you are hungry, eat. Don't ever neglect what your body wants based on a number in your calorie journal.

Originally Posted by pretzel

Trust me, I'm not one who comments on others weight, but if your body's comfortable where it's at (i.e. not losing at a certain rate or plateauing) then why push it to something it doesn't want to go right now.

Besides, you look good.

Thank you Pretzel, but my pictures were about 10 lbs ago I am not trying to be super thin... My body doesn't like it and I dont' fight it in that regard but I do want to get back to fitting comfortably in my wardrobe

I appreciate the compliment though

HD, I've been using the Livestrong "daily plate" thing online... It tells me that to lose a lb a week I need to eat about 1680. I am eating 1600ish...I am also trying to vary it more since I've heard that your body gets "used to" the same calories...so on like a Saturday I might have 1800 calories then have 1350-1400 the next day to "average" 1600 over the course of the week.

I would like to do more workouts as I think that would really help but it's just hard right now because I still have summer school so I am squeezing in as much as I can... and I also don't want my body to get too used to an excessive amount of exercise because honestly I can't keep it up when classes start in the fall. I'm trying to find some balance. I just would really like to lose this 15 lbs then play with it a couple weeks to see where my "happy spot" is to maintain.

On the calories on the machine, I usually put my weight as less than it actually is and round down. I do realize that they aren't accurate entirely

I'm sure it's just going to take a few weeks to figure out what's going on and start cooperating I'm just being impatient because I feel like I've been completely busting my tail the last few weeks. I mean, I am dripping with sweat (great mental picture I know) after I leave the gym and Zumba and I really try to give 100% plus more than I think I can at times. Just need to figure out that happy place...If I can keep doing a lb a week I won't complain. I know when I get muscle back that will help my resting Basal Metabolic rate too