working out but not losing weight

Question
Hello, after my second child I was a bit overweight and with a lot of time at the gym and restricting my calories to 900-1200 a day I lost 42 pounds.

After the holidays and skipping the gym since my kids were out of school I gained back about 9 pounds.  though I'm a healthy weight I'd like to lose  about 5 of them to feel comfortable with my weight.

My question is, I've been going to them gym 5 days a week, 2-3 hours a day, doing weights 3-4 hours a week and various cardio the rest, eating about 1200 calories a day and drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day for about 4 weeks.  I am not losing any weight.  I eat mostly healthy, but do indulge a craving now and then, but in moderation.

When I lost the 42 pounds it took my a year and a half at 900-1200 calories a day, going to the gym 5 days a week 2-3 hours a day, and I only lost about a pound a week.

I feel like I'm doing everything right and working really hard, and am not seeing any results.  I just don't know why the weight came off me so slow.

What can I do to drop this weight?!

Answer
Aimmee,
Basically, you have taken it too far, and your body is rebelling. To keep your metabolism going at a good pace you should never diet lower than 1200 calories per day- Also, exercising more than 90 minutes a day is a good way to shut your metabolism down.

What you need to do is transition to a different way of doing things- cut back on your gym time- but do it more efficiently- try intervals for cardio and lower rep/ higher weight work for your strength workouts- you might even consider hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions so that they can give you guidance on what to do.

Make sure you are getting enough protein for all this working out you are doing- protein is really important to keep the muscles healthy and the weight coming off.

Hope this helps,
Lela Simon
http://www.lelasimonwellness.com

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