Trouble Losing Weight: too few calories?
Replies
-
jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »I am currently shooting for 1200 calories a day (except for once a week, which is a day I don't usually log), with a maximum of 1400. One of the doctors I work with said this is the best way to lose weight for someone who is obese.
If every day for 1 week you eat 1,400 max except one day you don't log at all, you could be eating your deficit on that one day. It looks like, from your other posts, that you're not using a food scale +1 from me on using a food scale! It is so much easier than guessing or measuring (ever try to measure walnuts? Frozen broccoli florets? What a pain.
Unfortunately, eating too few calories does not cause weight maintenance or weight gain.0 -
I totally disagree with this statement. I've been on mfp for going on two years and I do the same thing. Saturday is my cheat day and I don't log. Probably a good day to burn a few extra calories but your body needs days like that. I know everyone is different but I still maintain the weight I want and never gain anything back. Now having said that, It doesn't mean you go out on an eating and drinking binge and ingest a ridiculous amount of calories, but a few extra's to treat yourself shouldn't hurt. You WILL NOT erase everything you've done that week.
agree. it would take an insane number of calories to erase an entire week if you are really only eating 1200 calories a day. my guess is that the o.p. is not really eating only 1200-1400 calories on the non-cheat days and that's the problem.
Agree0 -
farfromthetree wrote: »I log everything but its hard for me to put things on a food scale because of me being in college. What I do is figure out how many calories are in things such as tablespoons and cups and I can usually figure out what to do from there. I've actually started to eat more and lose more weight this past week but I'm still under my calories by a lot. I also workout twice a day and walk a lot. Once you start getting a hang of things it gets much easier to figure out how much food you eat. And when it comes to things like Crackers or Chips, my guilty pleasure almost every day is teddy grahams or goldfish grahams with peanut butter, make sure to count how many you put on your plate. You'll be surprised by how easy it is to go over.
Went from 133 to 128 in the past few days just by eating more and keeping my metabolism up by working out.
Todays a lazy day and i'm only working out once today but thats okay too.
You may be eating a higher quantity of food...but you are eating less calories.
I'm starting recovery from an ED. I'm still under my calories. But going up in calories hasn't made me gain any weight. I'm supposed to eat 1900 a day with my activity level to lose 1/2 a lb a week.0 -
I totally disagree with this statement. I've been on mfp for going on two years and I do the same thing. Saturday is my cheat day and I don't log. Probably a good day to burn a few extra calories but your body needs days like that. I know everyone is different but I still maintain the weight I want and never gain anything back. Now having said that, It doesn't mean you go out on an eating and drinking binge and ingest a ridiculous amount of calories, but a few extra's to treat yourself shouldn't hurt. You WILL NOT erase everything you've done that week.
I am a bit (or a lot) of a foodie. If I don't satisfy the cravings, I will binge. And I'm talking, dinner-plate sized portion of chocolate cake followed by 3 or 4 servings of potato chips and a liter of mountain dew. It's an issue, and I realize that.
By having one day a week where I am not so calorie-centered, I avoid the binge that would MOST DEFINITELY undo my entire week's (month's?) progress.
My "cheat day" looks like... standard breakfast, perhaps with a scone or half a muffin as a snack. Love muffins! Might have a sweetened tea, or a Starbucks (limited to 200 calories if I do). We often eat out that night, which puts my dinner around 800 calories instead of 400-500. Now, I do NOT do all of these things in one day. But if I want a couple of snacks, or lo mein for dinner, then my cheat day is the day to do it.
I can see how it could be problematic. That being said... it avoids the oh-my-god-I-havent-had-sugar-in-a-month fatty binge. Moderation.
(Disclaimer: I still suppose I can't say "Well this is what works for me", because clearly I'm not losing weight. I'm hoping a food scale will give me a more accurate picture of what goes in my mouth... but I don't think skipping the "cheat" is going to be the answer)0 -
I totally disagree with this statement. I've been on mfp for going on two years and I do the same thing. Saturday is my cheat day and I don't log. Probably a good day to burn a few extra calories but your body needs days like that. I know everyone is different but I still maintain the weight I want and never gain anything back. Now having said that, It doesn't mean you go out on an eating and drinking binge and ingest a ridiculous amount of calories, but a few extra's to treat yourself shouldn't hurt. You WILL NOT erase everything you've done that week.
agree. it would take an insane number of calories to erase an entire week if you are really only eating 1200 calories a day. my guess is that the o.p. is not really eating only 1200-1400 calories on the non-cheat days and that's the problem.
This is probably the problem.
I've got a food scale picked out. Wanna see?
http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-Electronic-Kitchen-Scale-2810-2KG/dp/B000P1PJL4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424813928&sr=8-5&keywords=digital+food+scale
0 -
You have to up your daily calories if you are going to be accurate with your logging. Eating 1200 calories/day is too low and will cause you to binge. When I put your stats into the scooby calculator (weight, sex, age, I guessed your height) It said your goal should be 1900 and that was an AGRESSIVE weight loss. You need to be more realistic about this daily goal or you wont last. PLEASE think about this...Do 1500 or 1600, but not 1200.
I would eat half your exercise calories back too.0 -
jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »I totally disagree with this statement. I've been on mfp for going on two years and I do the same thing. Saturday is my cheat day and I don't log. Probably a good day to burn a few extra calories but your body needs days like that. I know everyone is different but I still maintain the weight I want and never gain anything back. Now having said that, It doesn't mean you go out on an eating and drinking binge and ingest a ridiculous amount of calories, but a few extra's to treat yourself shouldn't hurt. You WILL NOT erase everything you've done that week.
agree. it would take an insane number of calories to erase an entire week if you are really only eating 1200 calories a day. my guess is that the o.p. is not really eating only 1200-1400 calories on the non-cheat days and that's the problem.
This is probably the problem.
I've got a food scale picked out. Wanna see?
http://www.amazon.com/Weighmax-Electronic-Kitchen-Scale-2810-2KG/dp/B000P1PJL4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1424813928&sr=8-5&keywords=digital+food+scale
looks good. i think i spent more on mine, but mine has some unnecessary features. as long as it weighs things, that's all you need.0 -
I'm going to bet on the one day not logged.
Reason being, I've had some "no logging" days. I was sure I wasn't eating that much. Well, I wanted to get back to being more serious, and logged one of those days. I was surprised at how much more I ate. (say 500 or so calories over what I had guessed).
But,... you should discus it with a doctor to make sure your medical issues/medications aren't also causing problems.0 -
jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »I've been going strong with the weight loss thing for about 8 weeks now. I've lost 10 pounds, which is an awesome start. I have another 100 to go!
For the past couple weeks, I haven't been able to lose anything. In fact, I am yo-yoing the same 5 pounds around. I realize this 5lbs is most likely water weight. However, I did start a hormonal birth control 6 weeks ago to help with hormonal problems, and it's possible that the gain is legitimate.
At this point, I am feeling pretty discouraged. I continue to eat within my calories, and am seeing no results. I wonder if my caloric intake has anything to do with it? I am currently shooting for 1200 calories a day (except for once a week, which is a day I don't usually log), with a maximum of 1400. One of the doctors I work with said this is the best way to lose weight for someone who is obese.
Is it possible that I'm just eating too few calories? I've heard so many pieces of advice on the topic of calories, that I'm not sure what way I should be leaning. I just want to see some progress!
If you were eating too few calories you would lose weight.
You've lost weight, so you are losing. Weight loss is not linear.
Could be water retention from the birth control too.
Could you be underestimating your calorie intake, as well as maybe overestimating calorie burns? Do you weigh your foods? Log everything you eat, including that one day. That's the only way to know how much you are really eating.0 -
I log everything but its hard for me to put things on a food scale because of me being in college. What I do is figure out how many calories are in things such as tablespoons and cups and I can usually figure out what to do from there. I've actually started to eat more and lose more weight this past week but I'm still under my calories by a lot. I also workout twice a day and walk a lot. Once you start getting a hang of things it gets much easier to figure out how much food you eat. And when it comes to things like Crackers or Chips, my guilty pleasure almost every day is teddy grahams or goldfish grahams with peanut butter, make sure to count how many you put on your plate. You'll be surprised by how easy it is to go over.
Went from 133 to 128 in the past few days just by eating more and keeping my metabolism up by working out.
Todays a lazy day and i'm only working out once today but thats okay too.
No, eating more did not help you lose weight. You're still in a calorie deficit with your increased intake. However, I'm sure it gave you more energy to fuel some awesome workouts, thus creating a bigger deficit, therefore you lost weight.
0 -
I log everything.
I cannot not log. I tried and failed. I have to hold myself accountable, and logging does that. If I don't, I forget snacks, or sides and my guesswork is way off.
I am in maintenance now and will be a logger for life.
Some people don't have to log and are great it, others have to.
I don't call my days I eat a little more as cheating. I eat at a slight deficit all week, and go a little over maintenance on weekends.0 -
futuremanda wrote: »"Maybe a food scale is in my future.
"
A food scale should definitely be in your future! It doesn't have to be expensive. And digital is maybe a bit less hassle. Get whatever you like. It takes a bit of adjusting to, at first, but I promise it gets easier.
And it's *so much better* because you'll be eating what you think you're eating, so there will be a lot less frustration.
Agree with others about the 1200 -- do what MFP thinks. There's no, like, magic number that is good for "someone who is obese." And actually, the more you weigh, the more you can eat and still lose at a good clip!
Someone posted this the other day and I thought it was a really great example of what a food scale could do for you:
That is quite enlightening! Thank you for sharing the video on the difference with using the scale. I'm glad I got my scale.
Edited: removed the video, so as not to double post it:)
0 -
farfromthetree wrote: »You have to up your daily calories if you are going to be accurate with your logging. Eating 1200 calories/day is too low and will cause you to binge. When I put your stats into the scooby calculator (weight, sex, age, I guessed your height) It said your goal should be 1900 and that was an AGRESSIVE weight loss. You need to be more realistic about this daily goal or you wont last. PLEASE think about this...Do 1500 or 1600, but not 1200.
I would eat half your exercise calories back too.
I was showing 2600 on that calculator. Which seems insane. I'm 5'11, lightly active.
I'll bump it up. I have an obsession with being "UNDER" the goal I set. So I put in 1400 as my MFP goal, and scrape 1200 so MFP doesn't say I'm eating too little. I'm sure this mindset is not psychologically healthy.0 -
You're not eating at a defecit
Good on you for buying a scale
What do you eat and drink at the restaurant that's only 800 cals?0 -
You're not eating at a defecit
Good on you for buying a scale
What do you eat and drink at the restaurant that's only 800 cals?
Depends on what we are doing. I might order an egg roll and have it with a salad, for example. I have been staying 100% away from soda. I'll order a 6oz steak and bring some home. Etc.
I still think the guestimating has been a problem. Hoping a scale helps
0 -
britishbroccoli wrote: »jessicaesqueda0409 wrote: »I am currently shooting for 1200 calories a day (except for once a week, which is a day I don't usually log), with a maximum of 1400. One of the doctors I work with said this is the best way to lose weight for someone who is obese.
If every day for 1 week you eat 1,400 max except one day you don't log at all, you could be eating your deficit on that one day. It looks like, from your other posts, that you're not using a food scale +1 from me on using a food scale! It is so much easier than guessing or measuring (ever try to measure walnuts? Frozen broccoli florets? What a pain.
Unfortunately, eating too few calories does not cause weight maintenance or weight gain.
Unfortunately being the key word here.
So, the critics agree-- a food scale is a good step 0 -
I don't think you need to always weigh everything. But weighing everything for a few weeks taught me how delusional my rough estimates had been. Since then my guesstimates have been far more accurate0
-
-
I will say when I first started this 2 yrs ago I literally only ate the serving size of foods I cooked at home (I.e 1 serving of fries was 21, 1 serving of breakfast sausages was 2 etc ) and I logged what I ate at work for lunch kept it under 400 calories even though it was processed and ate dinner on a saucer. I worked out 3 times a week at home to Jillian Michaels and lost 20 lbs in 2 months. I stayed under my daily calories suggested by this app and the first month I hit a stand still. Sometimes you have to change up your routine because your body gets used to it and you plateau. Birth control pills will help with weight gain so you might have to put in a little extra work when working out I was on the pill then as well. I'm aware each person is different but i also have an unstable thyroid. So don't give up but definitely log every meal and good luck0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions