At my wits end, really need some advice.

honsi

Hi there, I'm new to MFP, I have been doing Weight watchers online since last July and since I was only using it to track calories and activity I'm switching to MFP.
So here's my problem:
I started exercising ( Zumba , Aqua fit etc) about 18 months ago ,I wanted to get fitter and last July I decided to lose weight as well , I was 16st /101 kg and wanted to get to 11 st/ 69 kg which for my 5 ft 7" height is perfect. I upped the exercise as I was fitter and started doing Body Attack, Body pump , Body Combat etc as well as walking . Between July and New year I lost 3 st/14/5 kg. Since the New Year I have lost 0lbs, I have gotten completely stuck. I haven't lost any weight for 5 months.
I eat a healthy diet , mostly home made from scratch; lean protein, complex carbs, low fat dairy, veggies etc I'm not into faddy eating or eating junk, but I will also have treats here and there if I'm out for dinner with friends and so on. I have honestly tracked everything I eat and do. With Weight Watchers I would eat typically 1800 calories a day which is my daily points allowance plus my optional 'weekly ' points. I don't tend to use my 'activity ' points, which this week came to about 4,500 calories.
I usually l do Body attack and Body pump 3 times a week each plus Body balance and walking outside. I work really hard in my classes and I'm now much fitter and stronger.
I don't feel I can exercise more than I am and I don't feel I need to eat more. What am I doing wrong?
Sorry for the long post I wanted to make sure I covered everything.
Thanks, Honsi

RobynLB83

Eat less?

Leslie735

Sounds like your body has gotten use to the routine. You need to change it up. When your body does the same workout and eats the same calories day after day, week after week it get use to it. Maybe next week change your exercise routine, then the following week go back to your regular schedule and so on. See if that does anything. Good luck!

yarwell

Eat less?

+1

400 calories a day less for a month. See what happens.

honsi

OK I'll try eating less for a couple of weeks and see how I get on. I'm not going to mess with my exercise too much as the classes are designed so you don't get used to them and they are still a challenge for me so I'm fine with that. I try to change a couple of things each week anyway for variety.
If I don't lose weight after a couple of week on 1400 cals I think I will just leave it and be chubbby and happy as this is getting unhealthy mentally.
Thanks for your replies.

kayl3igh88

Eat less?

Errr no. The opposite actually. Burning 4500 calories a week is 640ish calories minus'd from your daily 1800, which means you are eating less than 1200 calories a day. You don't eat anywhere near enough to provide the energy needed to fuel your workouts, therefore your body is keeping hold of everything you do consume and not letting go of excesses. NET 1800 and you'll lose weight.

55in13

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

__Di__

Hi there, I'm new to MFP, I have been doing Weight watchers online since last July and since I was only using it to track calories and activity I'm switching to MFP.
So here's my problem:
I started exercising ( Zumba , Aqua fit etc) about 18 months ago ,I wanted to get fitter and last July I decided to lose weight as well , I was 16st /101 kg and wanted to get to 11 st/ 69 kg which for my 5 ft 7" height is perfect. I upped the exercise as I was fitter and started doing Body Attack, Body pump , Body Combat etc as well as walking . Between July and New year I lost 3 st/14/5 kg. Since the New Year I have lost 0lbs, I have gotten completely stuck. I haven't lost any weight for 5 months.
I eat a healthy diet , mostly home made from scratch; lean protein, complex carbs, low fat dairy, veggies etc I'm not into faddy eating or eating junk, but I will also have treats here and there if I'm out for dinner with friends and so on. I have honestly tracked everything I eat and do. With Weight Watchers I would eat typically 1800 calories a day which is my daily points allowance plus my optional 'weekly ' points. I don't tend to use my 'activity ' points, which this week came to about 4,500 calories.
I usually l do Body attack and Body pump 3 times a week each plus Body balance and walking outside. I work really hard in my classes and I'm now much fitter and stronger.
I don't feel I can exercise more than I am and I don't feel I need to eat more. What am I doing wrong?
Sorry for the long post I wanted to make sure I covered everything.
Thanks, Honsi

It is highly likely you are eating at maintenance, hence no wieightloss for a while.

As you lose weight, your weightloss becomes less, meaning you either have to reduce the calories or up the exercise.

Ensure you weigh all food you consume too, guessing at stuff can mean the difference between hundreds and hundreds of calories and in turn either no weightloss or putting weight back on. Food scales are absolutely vital.

ron2e

Eat less?

Errr no. The opposite actually. Burning 4500 calories a week is 640ish calories minus'd from your daily 1800, which means you are eating less than 1200 calories a day. You don't eat anywhere near enough to provide the energy needed to fuel your workouts, therefore your body is keeping hold of everything you do consume and not letting go of excesses. NET 1800 and you'll lose weight.

This is actually a myth. Google "Starvation myth" for details. If in is less than out, you lose weight, first law of thermodynamics ensures that, your metabolism may slow (and you have to adjust the calories you eat to cater for that) but you will lose weight.

honsi

OK so the last two posts explain well why I was asking for advice.
I know people how have been dieting and exercising and stopped losing weight because they where under eating and when they increased their calorie intake they starting losing weight again. So it does happen. I will try it with less calorie for a while but I'm aware I may not have enough energy for the exercise I'm doing or recover properly .
Its also confusing because according to weight watchers I can eat the extra 4, 500 calories as part of my allowance and should still lose weight.

kayl3igh88

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

stevetee123

Exactly 55at13, exactly. It's simple -- energy consumed vs. energy expended. Every mammal in recorded history loses weight if it does not have enough food to cover it's basal metabolic rate.

It might be worth doing a very, very careful audit of the calories being consumed... after a lot of logging, I tend to "forget" a handful of nuts here, a cracker there, and a few extra fork-fulls of dinner. At which point "I stagnate." Not really.

Time will win! Even if you are unwavering and regimented with your exercise routine, and you are consuming 1800 "honest" calories, and you are burning say 2500 calories a day, your body will not lie. AND remember -- on the days you DONT exercise (take a day off every 5 or 6 days), be sure to step down your caloric intake to cover the non-exercise difference.

Stay resolved, you will meet your goals!!

ron2e

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

I did the google search I suggested. Here is what WeightWatchers say -

"Restricting calories during weight loss lowers metabolism1 because the body becomes more efficient, requiring fewer calories to perform the necessary daily functions for survival. Consequently, this can slow (but not stop) the anticipated rate of weight loss.

For example, if an individual needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain weight, reducing intake to 1,500 calories, assuming exercise stays the same, should provide a 1 pound per week weight loss (Note: 1 pound of weight is equivalent to about 3,500 calories). Furthermore, reducing to 1,000 calories should result in a weight loss of 2 pounds per week and going down to 500 calories a day should result in a weight loss of 3 pounds per week. However, if an individual actually reduces their intake to 500 calories, the weight loss would not likely be a steady 3 pounds per week because of the reduced metabolic rate. It would likely be around 2¼ to 2½ pounds. This "lower than expected" rate of weight loss is a lot different than "no" weight loss as the "starvation mode" notion proposes.
It is unclear as to whether the relationship between reduced caloric intake and a lower metabolism follows a straight path or becomes more pronounced the greater the caloric reduction. Some studies have found no significant reduction in metabolism until the caloric restriction is quite large (e.g. 800 calories or less per day).2 Others suggest a linear relationship with small reductions in metabolism accompanying small reductions in caloric restriction, with the gap increasing as the caloric deficit is enlarged.

While there is no biologic evidence to support the "starvation mode" myth, there may be behavioral reasons why weight loss stops when calories are severely reduced. Over-restriction of calorie intake, known as high dietary restraint is linked to periods of overeating, hindering successful weight loss"

QED.

__Di__

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

Actually, read the OP's original posting again, they said they were on 1800 calories per day.

kayl3igh88

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

I did the google search I suggested. Here is what WeightWatchers say -

"Restricting calories during weight loss lowers metabolism1 because the body becomes more efficient, requiring fewer calories to perform the necessary daily functions for survival. Consequently, this can slow (but not stop) the anticipated rate of weight loss.

For example, if an individual needs 2,000 calories per day to maintain weight, reducing intake to 1,500 calories, assuming exercise stays the same, should provide a 1 pound per week weight loss (Note: 1 pound of weight is equivalent to about 3,500 calories). Furthermore, reducing to 1,000 calories should result in a weight loss of 2 pounds per week and going down to 500 calories a day should result in a weight loss of 3 pounds per week. However, if an individual actually reduces their intake to 500 calories, the weight loss would not likely be a steady 3 pounds per week because of the reduced metabolic rate. It would likely be around 2¼ to 2½ pounds. This "lower than expected" rate of weight loss is a lot different than "no" weight loss as the "starvation mode" notion proposes.
It is unclear as to whether the relationship between reduced caloric intake and a lower metabolism follows a straight path or becomes more pronounced the greater the caloric reduction. Some studies have found no significant reduction in metabolism until the caloric restriction is quite large (e.g. 800 calories or less per day).2 Others suggest a linear relationship with small reductions in metabolism accompanying small reductions in caloric restriction, with the gap increasing as the caloric deficit is enlarged.

While there is no biologic evidence to support the "starvation mode" myth, there may be behavioral reasons why weight loss stops when calories are severely reduced. Over-restriction of calorie intake, known as high dietary restraint is linked to periods of overeating, hindering successful weight loss"

QED.

I think you misunderstand me. I''m not saying that the OP is in "starvation mode". I am saying a person needs 2000 calories (for example) for a REASON. Also, I'm not talking about the ebb and flow of high/low consumption. The OP has consistently consumed approx 1200 for eleven months. Nearly a year. That is a long time to eat at such a reduced amount by anyone's standard. And the same source you cited also recommended to the OP to consume the 'extra' exercise calories. The source you cited is in contradiction to the statement you're trying to make.

cfriend71

Hi, I'm sorry you're going through this. I went through this also and it's very frustrating. It's not always as simple as "eat less" or "exercise more" sometimes our bodies and metabolism stops or gets stagnant and we need a boost.

I found what works for me and I have now lost 23 lbs since April. If you need help let me know.

kayl3igh88

No study has ever found a point at which anyone loses more by eating more. It becomes less efficient to reduce intake at some point (removing 10 more calories might only add 7 to the deficit as metabolism slows) but it never starts going the other way. NEVER.

The OP has lost a huge amount of weight on what calculates to be extremely minimal on a long-term basis. Then for the past five months has survived on approx 1200 cals a day, which is never maintenance for a 5ft 7 person by the way. Please explain how reducing even more would benefit the OP in any way, shape or form. Doing this would have only negative effects as food = fuel. There is no arguement for that. Surely you can't believe that metabolism reduction is a positive thing?

Actually, read the OP's original posting again, they said they were on 1800 calories per day.

Yes, then minus their exercise calories, which worked out to be approx 640 cals per day.

goodtimezzzz

You have to "Roller Coaster" your calories as I have coined it...when I put a similar client on a caloric fun ride of 2000 , 1500, 1800,
2200, 1300 etc. weight loss water loss and fat loss occurred..The problem I see with alot of posts here are people pretty much sticking to 1200 calories a day or 1800 etc. But everyday your activity changes...so you have to eat to support your activity! I hope this helps
Happy Sunday from NYC:)
Kristian Rocco

honsi

Yes I eat 1800 cals a day but after exercise it will be much less than that some days .
I'm 5 7", I really do try and log everything I eat . If I have a day where I eat more then I adjust my calories the next day. I don't think there are any areas where I'm kidding myself but I will keep an eye out of anything I may be doing wrong. The thing is this was working great for the first 7 months.

kayl3igh88

Yes I eat 1800 cals a day but after exercise it will be much less than that some days .
I'm 5 7", I really do try and log everything I eat . If I have a day where I eat more then I adjust my calories the next day. I don't think there are any areas where I'm kidding myself but I will keep an eye out of anything I may be doing wrong. The thing is this was working great for the first 7 months.

hun everything works in the beginning :flowerforyou:

flumi_f

Plateauing can be very demoralizing. Been there! The best thing I read in all of the other posts is - change your routine. That's what I have done.

Read up on the fast diet (Michael Mosley) or 5:2 (same thing). See if that might be something for you. There is a group on MFP with lot's of good infos to this too. I'm in my fourth week and it is very easy for me to follow and I have seen weightloss and energy increase like never before.

Just an idea. Something new for your body might help.