Hi, first time on this site. I'm a 24 yr old female, 5'8", and 124 lbs. My goal is to be 120 lbs (like I used to be...please don't tell me that I don't need to lose the weight). I work out 5 days a week, alternating cardio + upper body and cardio + lower body workouts. So I do about 35 min of cardio (elliptical and/or treadmill) and about 20 min weights.

I have a HUGE appetite, so I normally eat about 5-6 meals a day (including snacks), but its seems like I've reached this plateau or something and my weight's not budging. What gives? :confused:

I usually eat 1 cup cereal (Kashi Good Friends or Go Lean) + Skim milk for bfast, turkey + cheese sandwich on low-cal bread + veggies + fruit for lunch, and a rice/pasta meal for dinner. Snacks are mostly fruit, veggies, or yogurt (occasionally I'll indulge in something sweet). I do keep a food log by the way.

Please let me know what's going on!!! Thanks!! :tu:

you sound like you are a very health conscious person to me. based on the lifestyle you described, it could be that you've put on 4 lbs of muscle. have you had your bf checked? also, how many calories are you consuming per day?

btw, i do not think you need to lose any weight. just being honest! :)

you sound like you are a very health conscious person to me. based on the lifestyle you described, it could be that you've put on 4 lbs of muscle. have you had your bf checked? also, how many calories are you consuming per day?

btw, i do not think you need to lose any weight. just being honest! :)

Hi Chops...thanks for your response. I am a very health conscious person and that's why I'm so concerned about losing these annoying 4 lbs! I haven't had my body fat checked. How do I go about doing that? I would definitely like to know. Even if I put on 4 lbs of muslce, shouldn't I be able to see it?

I would say I'm consuming around 1200 - 1300 calories per day (just a guesstimate though). Should I be changing my diet? :d_confuse

you can get your body fat checked at a gym. the method they will probably use is calipers. you can buy calipers or a bf scale too to take your own measurements/measure progress..

if you put on 4 lbs of muscle, it might be hard to see. 4 lbs of muscle spread over a 5-8 tall person probably won't be that apparent. also, sometimes it is harder for ourselves to notice small changes over time.

how long have you been eating 1200-1300 cals? it could be that your body is in starvation mode. also, you said it's a guestimate, so are you sure you are tracking your food properly? my best guess is that your metabolism slowed. if it was me, i would try a "refeed" day. eat about 500 calories more than you normally would for a day, and get the extra calories from simple sugars like fruit or kid's typle cereals, NOT fat or protein. if it works, then incorporate a refeed periodicaly, like every 10 days or so.

it might be tough to get over the mentality of eating more calories since u are trying to lose weight, but trying it once to see, 500 calories won't break your diet :) btw, 1200 cals is not that much. 1200 cals is the minimum that should be consumed by a woman.

Hi Chops...thanks for your response. I am a very health conscious person and that's why I'm so concerned about losing these annoying 4 lbs! I haven't had my body fat checked. How do I go about doing that? I would definitely like to know. Even if I put on 4 lbs of muslce, shouldn't I be able to see it?

I would say I'm consuming around 1200 - 1300 calories per day (just a guesstimate though). Should I be changing my diet? :d_confuse

sholezard--

hey there!

i read your post and could relate to it very well. i, too, am not overweight by any means (5'5" at 122), but i really would like to lose just a few pounds of fat (i've lost over 30 lbs during the past 4 years, so it's just that LAST LITTLE BIT of annoying jiggle :jumping: ) and gain some muscle. i'm also very health conscious when it comes to eating, and i also could eat an entire house of food if given the opportunity... ;-)

one thing that has been helping me in the past couple of weeks is increasing the amount of protein that i eat. in the past, i've maintained a diet almost identical to yours (which is not a bad diet by any means!), but i felt like nothing was changing when i looked in the mirror or stepped on the scale, even though i'm extremely active and work out 6 days a week.

my boyfriend turned me on to whey protein and i also started buying more salmon, tuna, etc (i'm mostly a vegetarian except for seafood and the occasional hamburger that i can't turn down!), and i have REALLY noticed a difference in my appearance. i'm not going low-carb or anything, just making sure that i balance some kind of protein with every meal. i haven't lost any weight on the scale, but i can definitely tell that i've gained some muscle and (hopefully in turn) lost some fat.

5 or 6 meals a day is GOOD, by the way... it keeps your metabolism going strong, so don't worry about that!

ok, i'm done rambling... :D i hope everything goes well with you and good luck! i'm a new person to these boards, but everything that i've read has helped me incredibly so far and the people here are great. keep up the hard work!