I am at loss with my weight loss

happymamato6

happymamato6

0
I consider myself as very active. I wear a heart monitor from morning to night and at the end of the day, i have burnt over 3000 calories. A lot of time, its 4000 calories. I keep my calorie intake between 1600 to 1800 calories a day. I dont eat sweets, white flours and fatty food. The only carbs i put in my mouth are whole grains and complex.

I am currently doing P90X. I am on week 6. I have been working out at least 4 days a week for over 4 years. I am now working 6 days a week with this program. My cholesterol count is 132, and I have 28% body fat.
I weigh 162 pounds and measure 5'3". I am a size 8-10. I have a flat stomach despite having had 5 children.

For some people, those stats sound good. But for me, I am sick and tired of them. I LOOK big. I know i am muscular, but there are NO definitions to my muscles. I am so tired of looking like i weigh 200 pounds on pictures, and I am not kidding, please believe me. I dont want to be a size 2, or loose weigh 120 pounds. I just want to look decent on pictures. I have big arms because they are muscular. I look fat because i have a DD chest (and no i didnt "make" it this way) and I often have to wear x large top that end up making me look pregnant. I just want to look as healthy as I feel....

I plainly look "fat". I am tired of people telling me i am big because I am muscular. I DONT want to look big!! I dont train to be big. I was told many times it is my body type, but i have a hard time believing it... i use to weigh 110 pounds.

I just want to know ... what can I do? whatever I do , i never loose weight. I tried starving. No success, i tried eating only 500 calories less than i burn (was told i dont eat enough) and i didnt loose either (actually, i gain weight VERY easily, yet, i cant loose, even when i tried 2 hours of intense cardio a day, i didnt loose)

I know there has to be something i do wrong; i am tired of always being the one that work her ass off and never seeing results. I know that fat loss only happens when there is fat to loose, and my body fat index is in the healhty range, but i cannot believe that a 160 pounds woman that looks so "big" has NO fat to loose.

I am just at loss....
 
Well 160 pounds isn't huge if you remember that many many people are that weight or much more. You are about average. I am in the same boat: apparently muscular, similar stats as you but no real definition, or none that I can see.

Now I know for me its probably more my fault, I don't do any or do very few weight related exercise aside from cardio under resistance. I have muscular legs but not so musclar upper body yet I do have cellulite. Considering 90% of my exercise involves my thighs doing all the work (I even run on a steep incline) I'd say life isn't fair. It feels somewhat worse when I consider I used to be anorexic (BMI less then 14 anorexic) and this is my 'welcome to the world' call. I also exercise 5-6 days a week and according to my HRM burn up to 1000 each time (about 2 hours a session not incluing stretching or cooling down).

First up, I'd ignore what it says on the HRM. I don't trust mine is correct either. Its kind f worrying in a way as its still less then half of what the gym machines tell me I am burning yet I still think it must be exaggerating seeing as I am supposidly burning an extra 1000 a day as well as eating up to 1900kcals a day.

Look there really is no secret in weight loss, its simply fewer calories going in then coming out. Your eating a fair diet but do you weigh and measure everything? its annoying and a hassle but do not trust what the packets say they can be wrong. I have seen packets been as much as double the size, scary but true.

Go to a site called fitday and use it to monitor everything you do. I don't trust theor calories given for exercise either (very exaggerated) but its good for logging food.

Weight loss really takes a good few weeks to really kick in, you wont notice anything over night so keep any plan you have for atleast a month before changing it for something better.

Drink well, water is great for many reasons but also helps your body to function properly. It helps if you drink it throughout the day and if you exercise you need anywhere from 500mls to 1L per hour your exercising for.

Make sure your macros are all fine, that your getting enough protein, fiber, carbs and fresh fruit and veg. Its all in the stickies as to what exactly you need but it is important and can be a bit of a jugging act to get it right. But overriding this are the calories, if you eat too many your weight will not go down, really focus on a calorie deficit and try not to depend on exercise to get you that deficit.

Good luck and if its any consolation I have been in this same battle for years. I am sure my weight keeps going up yet my weight chart apparently stays the same. I know for me its the few days of too much food that can ruin things, a short blip (ie a glass of wine) really seems to have a huge impact!
 
If I were you I would try cutting out all starchy carbs (grains, potatoes, rice, bread, oatmeal, etc.) and eat only protein sources (meat, nuts, eggs) and fruits and vegetables (and even lean towards fruits and vegetables with a low glycemic index). Some people do not tolerate grains or any processed foods well. And as summer123 said, drink nothing except plenty of water.
 
Hey there happymamato6. It does take some time for people to lose weight with P90X especially as you switch workouts. I think the way your eating is good and you shouldn't completely cut out carbs because you need them. You don't have to starve yourself either. I have never been overweight myself but I did decide to gain some muscle once and decided later to lose it. I gained about 18 pounds the first time I did P90X 2 years ago and lost about 12 of those pounds in 2 weeks.

I did what's called high intensity interval training (HIIT) on a treadmill. There are youtube videos showing you how to do it. I can't post the link because I'm a new poster.

If you do this about 3 times a week for about 20 minutes at a time that weight should literally fall right off you! Good luck...
 
Drink a crap-load of water. this will help get rid of water weight. your body holds onto water because it doesnt know when it will get it again but if you constantly drink water it wont hold onto it. I used to get bloated after everything i ate or drank until i forced myself 8 glasses of water now its a little easier and its just natural, im never bloated and dont feel fat anymore.

Are you eating 5-6 small healthy meals a day? space out each meal every 3 hours and last meal 3 hours before bed. cut down eating bread, cut out pop/juices (most being just sugar) limit pasta items to one time a week, limit steak and red meat to one time a week and eat lots of chicken, brown rice, vegetables etc. i find it quite hard to pass my calorie intake when its all healthy, specially with a lot of veggies being from 0-5 cals each

As for working out are your weights too heavy therefor bulking you up? try lowering the weight and do 3 set 12 reps. Another great trick is to go for a run as soon as you wake up, it will kickstart your metabolism for the day. After the gym drink a protein shake with skim milk it is 200 calories but its great for your recovery and it fills you up. this can also be a great breakfast especially if you add berries or a banana.

Another thing to take into consideration is snacking... being a mother of 5 you are most likely preparing a lot of foods for them, do you find yourself nibbling here and there between meals and not really taking those into consideration when counting calories? sometimes its easy to go over calorie needed to lose weight if you snack. maybe try aiming for a lower cal intake and see if that helps... not too low though!

Anyways good luck to you and remember everyone is their own worse critic and its sometimes hard to be satisfied with 6 billion people in the world to compare yourself to. By the sounds of it you sound super healthy and fit, keep it up and it will pay off!!

If your interested in my workouts, diet, tips and tricks you can check out my website www . auntie-ana . blogspot . com (no spaces) im always updating....

Take care!

xx
 
THank you so much everyone for your replies. I will definetly look into high intensity interval training for a good kick start, drink more water, and I know that there has to be something "technically" wrong about my calories equation...
I will add the cardio workout on top of P90X, and see what happens. Not sure how long i can do that tho, with the kids out of school i will not have time to workout. haha but then i'll focus on food alone.
Its hard to keep track of everything, that is for sure.... sometimes i feel cheated by this weight loss calories in, calories out, equation. I do everything I can to burn more than I take in, and i still feel/look fat.
I know that 160 pounds, is not that big, but i have gained 20 pounds over 3 years and none of my clothes fit. I still wear them, but they are not comfortable and even tho i am able to avoid the "muffin top" syndrome hahahaha I might just have to accept that my body changed and get new clothes.

However, i KNOW there has to be a way for me to loose that extra 20 pounds. I am just so tired of trying so so hard. I dont have time and energy to focus totally on myself.
 
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