Why am I not shifting the pounds?

[Alabama100]

8 months ago I gave birth to baby. Before I was pregnant I had a bmi of 19.5 (tall and slim) and worked hard o be slim - gym 4 days a week and 800 cals a day...basically starved myself for 3 years. Now I am oing o the gym 3 days a week and eating around 1300 cals a day. I am doing 50 mins of cardio and 30 mins of toning 3 days a week. I have been doing this for 6 weeks now and have only managed o shift 2 lbs.

What am I doing wrong??

Could my metabolism have slowed down since having a baby? Maybe I am repairing my stomach muscles and this weighs more than fat? Or ami just not doing enough?

Want to lose a stone.

Thank you.

A BMI of 19.5 is v low - maybe you can only be this slim if you starve yourself, I am sure you'll look great with a BMI of 20.5?

Secondly WHAT are you eating? What is a typical day?

19.5 is very low I agree but ATM my bmi is 23 and I really want o lose a stone but not losing anything :-( a typical day s breakfast - cereal like crunchy nut with semi skimmed milk, lunch is usually a whole meal sandwich with tomato, cheese, ham, then maybe a banana, then dinner usually a meat or fish with potatoes, and a veg or salad and about 3 days a week I'll have a desert like a crunch corner or a chocolate bar. Also workout 3 days a week for 90mins.

Alabama you are having far too many carbs - drop the cereal, bread, potatoes, crunch corners etc and you WILL lose weight.

Your metabolism is probably a bit screwed from eating so little for so long. You need to be eating at least 1200 calories a day, much more if you exercise.

When we're young we can eat 800 cals, knacker our bodies at the gym and get away with it. After kids and needing the energy to look after them, it's a bit different. Have a look at the eat more to weigh less threads on here.

Or try low carbing, if you have the willpower - I can't do it (love my carbs too much) , but if you can do it there is no denying it works.

Really? Too much carbs? Okay I'll try cutting out the carbs more and subbing...what? Protein? Thnks all

Looking at what you're eating, I'd say you're having too few calories, especially considering the exercise you do. I know it sounds crazy, but upping the calories has worked for me.

Well, you're not losing anything very much because you are probably around the right weight for your height. No chance you could accept the weight you are?

Shine you're probably right but going from a size 8 to a 14 is really are otaku and would just like to be a 12 which I don't think is a lot to ask for seeing as I'm working out a decent amount. Just can't figure out why I'm staying the same weight 10.5 stone.....if i could lose a stone I would be ecstatic, but realistically I would be happy to lose 7lbs.

I think your metabolism probably has slowed down, not because of the baby but because of starving yourself for so long...your body has probably become very very good at keeping hold of all the reserves it can

I'm not sure of the best way to go about changing this but i think it will take time and common sense would say that more calories have to be the way forward, to start "reassuring" your body that there will be ongoing food IYSWIM? I would take the advice above, replace most of your carbs with protein and also up calories to 1500 a day.

Also try to focus less on weight - measure your bust, upper arms, waist, hips and thighs and if you can, get a body fat measurement done. Do more resistance training, aim to build muscle, which makes you look slimmer and more toned and increases your metabolism.

Replace sustained, steady cardio sessions with HIIT to blast fat and keep metabolism higher post workout. Long sessions of cardio can be counterproductive, especially if you are low on calories, you risk burning muscle instead of fat, which is NOT what you want. Make your workout 5 mins warm up, 30 mins weights, 20 mins HIIT, 10 mins core/stretching 3 times per week and check body fat and measurements once a month.

What creamtea said. My baby is 13 months. Im not over weight but want to lose a stone.

I started low car diet on saturday, its wednesday and Ive lost 4lb!!! Im not starving myself (im bf and can get quite hungry - but not on this diet!), I love the food, I feel good about it. I dont feel 'guilt' and Im losing weight!

Definitely cut out the carbs.

Best of luck.

Diet far too carb heavy to loose any weight. With that proportion of carbs you'll probably have to starve yourself (ie 800 cals like before) to lose.

Yes less carbs, much more protein and some fat ok too. I like the dukan high protein low carb low fat approach as it works superfast!

breakfast: cereal like crunchy nut with semi skimmed milk - much better to eat protein rich breakfast - eggs? I have eggs, yoghurt (natural live fat free) and a little oatbran.

lunch is usually a whole meal sandwich with tomato, cheese, ham, then maybe a banana - better to have ham and cheese salad. cut the banana and bread. I have tuna or cottage cheese salad.

then dinner usually a meat or fish with potatoes, and a veg or salad and about 3 days a week I'll have a desert like a crunch corner or a chocolate bar.

Cut the pototoes - meat or fish with veg or salad. Couple of squares of 85% choc if you need choc. I have meat or fish with salad or veg. Bigger portion of meat or fish that usual on diet.

After the gym I have a protein shake - 25g protein powder, 25g skimmed milk powder and 10g cocoa powder, add 500ml water.

Thank you forever, I'll def give that a go! I was wondering why I wasn't loing any weight despite not eying a huge amount and working out a decent amount(!)