Any insights on what I'm doing right/wrong?

[twilightdreamxx]

I am a 17 years old girl, my height is 5'6'', and until a couple of weeks ago, I weighed 170 pounds. But I started to cut back on everything I ate, and did some weight training, and I lost 10 lbs in about 2 weeks. But now, I cant seem to get lower than 160 pounds. I tried to eat smaller meals, 5-6 times per day, to try to increase metabolism, but it doesnt seem to be working. And with all the weight training I do, I dont feel like I'm gaining muscles either. What should I do? Sometimes I feel so frustrated that I start to think about taking diet pills, but I know it will probably screw up my entire body since Im still a teen...and I will not risk it at all. But its depressing. What should I do? I've been overweight all my life, and I dont think I've ever been more motivated to lose weight. But the motivation is slipping. Any tips on what I should do?

By the way, the exercise I have been doing is bicep curls, tricep lifts, lunges, and calf raises. I do them every day, alternating upper and lower body each day. I always use 5 lb weights and 3 sets of 20 reps per arm/leg (60 reps total). (However, I dont use weights when I am doing lunges or calf raises. I simply place my hands on my hips). I try to use light weights for biceps and tricep workouts because I really want to tone, but I am thinking of purchasing 8 lbs weights to increase resistance. Also, am I even suppose to be doing lunges if I want to tone?...or will I just make my legs look bulkier? Because after my lunges, I feel alot of soreness in my butt and quads...

 

[allyphoe]

I lost 10 lbs in about 2 weeks.

Hello, you lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks! Give your body a while to catch up to the scale. It would take a 2,500 calorie *per day* deficit for your body to actually drop 10 pounds of fat. Assuming you lose fat at a rate of about 1% of your weight a week, which is a nice fast rate to lose at, it should take you 6 or 7 weeks to catch up to that initial drop. So give it another 4-6 weeks before you conclude that what you're doing isn't working.

You shouldn't expect to build muscle when you're in a caloric deficit (losing weight). You're doing weight work more to preserve the muscle you have.

Be patient. Stick with it.

 

[austin_88]

I am a 17 years old girl, my height is 5'6'', and until a couple of weeks ago, I weighed 170 pounds. But I started to cut back on everything I ate, and did some weight training, and I lost 10 lbs in about 2 weeks. But now, I cant seem to get lower than 160 pounds. I tried to eat smaller meals, 5-6 times per day, to try to increase metabolism, but it doesnt seem to be working. And with all the weight training I do, I dont feel like I'm gaining muscles either. What should I do? Sometimes I feel so frustrated that I start to think about taking diet pills, but I know it will probably screw up my entire body since Im still a teen...and I will not risk it at all. But its depressing. What should I do? I've been overweight all my life, and I dont think I've ever been more motivated to lose weight. But the motivation is slipping. Any tips on what I should do?

By the way, the exercise I have been doing is bicep curls, tricep lifts, lunges, and calf raises. I do them every day, alternating upper and lower body each day. I always use 5 lb weights and 3 sets of 20 reps per arm/leg (60 reps total). (However, I dont use weights when I am doing lunges or calf raises. I simply place my hands on my hips). I try to use light weights for biceps and tricep workouts because I really want to tone, but I am thinking of purchasing 8 lbs weights to increase resistance. Also, am I even suppose to be doing lunges if I want to tone?...or will I just make my legs look bulkier? Because after my lunges, I feel alot of soreness in my butt and quads...

You wont get 'bulkier' for several reasons. 1. You need to be in a calorie surplus to gain muscle (eat more than you expend). 2. The weights you are using are so light that they probably aren't doing anything anyway. 3. It is VERY hard for females to actually put on muscle.

Why dont you want to gain muscle anyway? When you increase your lean body mass your metabolism goes up, thus meaning you burn more calories.

'Toning' is just a word used in womens magazines for resistance training exercises, and it basically means decreasing body fat and strengthening and building muscle.

You should really read the stickies on the board, you are very uninformed about a number of things.

 

[amagheti]

is counting calories part of your overall plan? if not, then you may want to try this - using a calorie counter such as fitday.com can come especially helpful. to find out how many calories you need to eat to be in a deficit and loose weight, read the stickies in the forum. basically you need to find your BMR by doing the calculation here: then calculate your daily calorie needs, and finally minus off 15 - 20% to be in a deficit where you can loose fat. every 10 pounds you loose, remember to recalculate everything taking into regard your new lower weight (as you become less heavier, you burn less calories and thus will be eating at a lower daily calorie count). this advice has helped me loose a lot of weight when all else failed, and perhaps can help you too. good luck