kt_beck08

I am 5'2'' and 135 pounds, give or take a couple pounds depending on the day and 21 years old. I am frustrated because i've been putting a lot of effort into paying attention to what i put in my body and staying active and i am actually seeing and upward trend when it comes to my weight. I try to stay around 1600 calories, and usually stay on track most days of the week. The days i do go over i rarely go over 2000, which according to most things i read should be maintenance level, so i understand i won't lose eating that way but i also shouldn't be gaining.

For exercise i wear a pedometer and try to hit at least 10,000 steps a day, and strength train with free weight or my wii a few times a week.

I feel like i am doing everything right and getting nowhere. I am on the heavy end of normal and i feel like i have a lot of excess fat. I know the things i am doing are beneficial to my health regardless of what it says on the scale but its hard to stay motivated when a month or 2 ago i actually weighed less.

I guess i am just wondering if there is something i should be doing differently, or if i need to just take this as my body is at the weight it should be and i should just try to be happy with it. I don't want to have unrealistic expectations, and i feel as if i ate any less or exercised more it would be both impossible for me to maintain and little obsessive.

Spookycheeseofdoom

The BMI is an excellent tool for someone who is unhealthily over or under weight to estimate how bad off they are. But one thing to remember is that for people who are very athletic and/or muscular, it will tend to skew you a little more overweight than you really are.

Muscle weighs more than fat! The stronger you get, the heavier you will be. How are your measurements? There are formulas for estimating your body fat based on your neck, waist and hip measurement, which may be more useful for you now. There are calculators online to help you figure it out, I found one here:

Body Fat Calculator - Calculate Your Body Fat and Body Composition

I have no stock in about.com, only was posting it as a possible resource. If it violates any policies for me to post this then mods please let me know.

kt_beck08

According to that calculator i am 26.4%, which is in the acceptable range. I just feel like from all i am putting into this i am should be in more than just the acceptable range!

Spookycheeseofdoom

You need a certain amount of body fat for health. I know it's hard, but try to maintain a realistic view of what is feasible and healthy for you. Also remember that a lot of the girls fib a little about their weight for vanity's sake. So a girl you know who claims to weigh 115, probably weighs closer to 125 or 135, maybe even 140.

At this point, don't let your body weight or body fat be your focus. You're already at a healthy body fat percentage. Focus on getting stronger, lifting heavier weights or running a little bit faster. You'll become heavier as you get stronger, but you'll still actually be leaner and healthier.

Do you go to a gym? It may be a good time to schedule an appt. with a personal trainer to evaluate realistic goals for yourself.

kt_beck08

I don't belong to a gym but there is a workout room in my apartment building. Now that it's summer i mostly do things outside, walk, play tennis, i used to run but i get terrible shin splints so i was trying to lower the intensity and just walk at a good pace. I have free weights and dvds that i use for strength, and i do know i am getting stronger because the ones that were nearly impossible before are almost easy now.

I know that muscle weighs more than fat i just didn't want to make excuses because i don't really feel like i am getting leaner, but maybe i just need to give it time. Ill keep at it! I am just frustrated because it seems thing are going in the opposite direction i was intending!

Thank you for encouragement!

phkemp

What foods do those 1600 calories consist of?

Take a look at this. It's all about just staying active like you try to, without insane amounts of gym and cardio. While switching up the nutrition. I have dropped from 240 to 215 in a couple months, and loving it.

Welcome to Mark’s Daily Apple | Mark's Daily Apple

Lots of info on the site. Just click around on all the link on this page:

Primal Blueprint 101 | Mark's Daily Apple

Good luck! You CAN get leaner!

kt_beck08

I am up another pound this morning. SO FRUSTRATING!!

To answer your question i eat mostly turkey, chicken, and fish for meat, because i don't like most red meat. For breakfast usually cereal with fruit and an english muffin. Lunch and dinner very, but usually always include vegetables and lean proteins. I always snack mid morning and mid afternoon at work. Mid morning i'll have a granola bar or some nuts, and afternoon an apple and string cheese. I do have a sweet tooth but i try to save some calories for the end of the night so i can have something sweet without feeling guilty about it!

I don't know why i should be gaining!!!

wildbeanerz

Are you logging all that you eat (good & bad) into fitday? Sometimes you might think you are only eating a certain amount but are going over with little things along the way. I am no expert in this field but maybe you need to reduce your carbs or something like that too. I see a lot of people have success with low carb lifestyle.

Sometimes you just need to change up what you are doing too. Your body adjusts to the life you are living and may need a change to get the loss going again.

njc0las

Log everything you eat and post it in here. 2000 calories sound like too many for your height and weight. Even 1600 seem like too many if you're trying to lose weight unless you're exercising for a least a half hour a day. I say ditch the cereal and have a whey protein shake first thing when you wake up. It's quick digesting protein that you need since your body is practically starving when you wake up. Then about an hour later or so have a breakfast with protein, moderate digesting carbs and complex carbs. So like for example some oatmeal, a banana and egg whites with maybe a whole egg or 2. In my experience, you want to have your biggest carb meal as your earliest (besides the whey shake) and then have less carbs with each meal until maybe 5pm and then after that just have some fibrous vegetables with dinner if you have any carbs. Have a casein shake before bed or eat a handful of almonds or even a cup of cottage cheese or natural peanut butter. That will give you some healthy fats to slow your digestion of your slow-digesting protein (casein shake) while you sleep so your metabolism doesn't slow down too much while you sleep. I know it sucks but you'll know you're eating right when you're bored to death with your food. Ditch the english muffins and sweets. String cheese is fatty (unless it's fat free or 50% fat free) and granola bars are usually garbage too (even though they taste good.) What I do when I want sweets is eat sugar free popsicles or even yogurt. Also, I'm not sure what you drink, but I'd only drink water or a 0 calorie sports drink like powerade 0 if you want something with flavor. Fruit juices should be okay in the morning assuming they're 100% fruit and they don't have any garbage like high fructoce corn syrup. Just don't get carried away. Anyone can lose weight, you just have to be honest with yourself and stick with it, even if you hate it and you don't see results right away.