Me vs. Weight

Question
Hi Mark,

My stats are 5'2 120lbs and 25 years old. About 8 months ago I had a baby and I gained about 35 pounds while I was pregnant. Luckily, all the weight came off afterwards and I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight (of 120). However, my problem is that I would like to be about 110 lbs. I have a very small frame so I look just a little chubby.

For the past 2 weeks I've been keeping track of my calories eating about 1000 - 1400 a day. I constantly take my daughter for walks and bike rides. Also, I tend to stay VERY busy working full time and doing laundry, vacuuming, etc. I barely sit down. However, my problem is that...I haven't lost a pound! I'm so frustrated and I don't know what to do. Do you have ANY idea as to why this would be happening? I really appreciate your feedback.

Answer
Hi Brianna,
I think I can provide some help for you. First,I would say that you're undereating too much. I know this sounds "crazy", but after doing well over 100 metabolic tests (where I actually use a device using that measures metabolism), most women, who are as active as you need more calories than what you're consuming.
Secondly, anything below 1200 calories is consideration "starvation", since you can't meet nutritional needs as it relates to vitamins, minerals, protein, etc. I would suggest bumping up your caloric intake to a minimum of 1400 calories possibly going slightly higher (it's tough to say w/o doing the measurement).
What happens when we undereat too much our body begins to hold on to fat best it can, because it doesn't know that we're trying to lose weight, it thinks we're going through problems accessing food. You can also start to lose muscle by not eating enough, which will ultimately slow metabolism since to lose fat, it is burned in muscle tissue.
Also, I would suggest incorporating some resistance training into your exercise routine. This will help build a little bit of muscle which will increase metabolism and increase the number of calories a day you burn. This will also help you get that "toned" look that so many desire. You can lose all the weight you want, but if you don't do something to help "shape" the muscle then you're just going to be a skinnier fat version of your current self.

Also, how many times are you eating throughout the day, and also, what types of food are you eating? Let's start with breakfast.
I know a simple short answer would be nice, but there's actually a lot that is involved in all this fitness "stuff".
Feel free to email me back with the answers to my questions.
[email protected]

-Mark Shields

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