Anyone else have to tweak your calories?

mag11389

I have a chromosome disorder that makes my daily calorie burn pretty much non-existent. At one point I weighed 210lbs and then got down to 160lbs in 7 months by working out all of the time and eating little. Well I gained 25lbs of it back so I decided I wanted to try to do it the "right" way by tracking my calories, moderate exercise... etc. Well I tried that on here for almost a year and lost nothing! I had very well-intentioned people saying "you're eating too little," "you're eating too much," "you need to lift weights." So about 2 weeks ago I went back to what I knew worked, 4-5hrs of cardio a week, eating about 1200 calories, and not eating back my exercise calories and I've lost about 4 1/2lbs. So here's my question, is there anyone on here for whom doing My Fitness Pal the "right way," doesn't work for?

EricNewark

Some people have different ways. People say starvation mode isn't real and it doesn't matter when you eat or even what it's how much blah blah blah. Some even make you think that it's only about cico. Well yeah probably. But.. Some peoples bodies react differently.

I break all of those "rules". I used to skip breakfast and lunch and ate a big dinner. Probably only a 1000-1200 calories a day. I put on 50+ lbs over 5 years. Half the people on here would say I should have lost weight because of that. I didn't. My body works differently. Sometimes you need to start a process and then find what works for YOU. It will probably be somewhere down the normal path that you find you have to change one thing or maybe two.

Recognizing that is step one in my opinion. Your already ahead of many people...

atypicalsmith

Since you have a chromosome disorder, this is a different ball game. IMO, you need your doctor's advice, not MFP's. If your doctor hasn't been able to help, get a different one. There's no reason to suffer through this; you've done that enough. My prayers are with you.

TimothyFish

That seems to show that the people who told you that you were eating too much were right.

theresaneal77

If I ate the 2000+ calories recommended to me I would gain, and I'm over 300. And I exercise, a lot. I agree with talking to a professional and having them help you design a plan that works with your chromosome disorder.

mudmonkeyonwheels

Definitely talk to someone who is familiar with your circumstances. However, I would recommend making any changes you do make slowly. For instance. try reducing what MFP recommends by 100calories. Try that for 3-4 weeks, if still no change reduce by another 100. This will help you find the intake level which is sustainable for you rather than dropping too low to see quick results which inevitably leads to weight gain when you binge on all the foods you were craving when you finally realise it is not sustainable. Slow and steady wins the race!