What am I doing wrong?

bd12310007
bd12310007 Posts: 24
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm up 3 pounds from last week, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200, I don't eat back any of my calories from working out, and I workout every day. Am I eating the wrong things? Do I need to cut out carbs completely? Set my calorie goal even lower? And is it even possible that I've gained 3 pounds of muscle?

Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Do you live under a bridge ?

    If not, your protein intake is too low for a start - try to get that north of 50 grams a day
  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    Maybe try eating at 1200, not way under, and eating your exercise calories back? You had 330 left yesterday but didn't eat dinner.

    And no, it's not muscle. Probably just water/the usual weight fluxes. Relax and don't stress.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I'm up 3 pounds from last week, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200, I don't eat back any of my calories from working out, and I workout every day. Am I eating the wrong things? Do I need to cut out carbs completely? Set my calorie goal even lower? And is it even possible that I've gained 3 pounds of muscle?

    No, it is impossible that you gained ANY muscle at all. Never in a million years will that be muscle with the way you eat. To gain muscle, you have to eat more calories than your body needs, not less. If you've gained weight, it's all water weight. I'll let other people point out how your current eating methods are pretty unhealthy and what you should do to correct it.
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
    Even under a bridge you'd find a crab or two maybe. 23grams on Wednesday, and 25 grams of protein on Thursday--I'd agree eat some protein--like at least double and eat some dat bum calories.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I'm up 3 pounds from last week, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200, I don't eat back any of my calories from working out, and I workout every day. Am I eating the wrong things? Do I need to cut out carbs completely? Set my calorie goal even lower? And is it even possible that I've gained 3 pounds of muscle?

    What you are doing wrong...
    I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200
    I don't eat back any of my calories from working out
    I workout every day.

    You need to feed your body, fuel your workouts and find out what the RIGHT number of calories are for you. There are a million threads on this board that can explain things - just need to search & read. start with some of these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • dwh77tx
    dwh77tx Posts: 513 Member
    agree with the above poster. or, you may be PMSsing or ate something salty or retaining water. how are your clothes fitting?
  • operation_cute
    operation_cute Posts: 588 Member
    your not eating enough :) My second week here I didn't lose any weight so I upped my cals between 100-200 (I was already eating back my exercise cals back) continued to eat back exercise cals I'm now eating a NET of 1300-1400 per day and have lost 2.5 lbs per week since... Eating too little will slow your metabolism, not to mention your body will start burning your lean muscle for fuel (which in return lowers metabolism too) Add in more protien, (I try for at least 75 a day... more on workout days) but many recommend 1 gram per lb of lean body mass to at least minimize the amount of muscle you lose during the fat loss phase... Include heavy lifting too (I've already been reamed about it not making girls bulky haha so I learned my lesson :p ) Your making it to hard :) Losing weight IS hard work, but your makin it even harder unfortunately... Also make sure the cals you eat are nutritious, your body will thank you :)

    **edit: also I just checked out your profile... how tall are you? 100 lbs seems really light for a goal weight.... unless your only 5 ft or so...
  • michellechawner
    michellechawner Posts: 892
    BRM is the amount of calories needed if you were in a coma - so the fact that you are working out daily means you are not eating nearly close to enough calories. I eat 1400-1500 (NOT INCLUDING WHAT'S BURNED IN EXERCISE). I eat most of those back too. Also if you are going by calorie burns on MFP they are WAY off. I suggest getting a fitbit or a hrm or a polar to calculate how much you are really burning. I realized MFP said I was burning, but I really wasn't. Now that I have a fitbit I actually started losing again.

    Up your calories, up your lean protein.

    ETA: Also, you already weigh 1119? Your body may be telling you to stop trying to lose... not sure of your height but 120 is already a good weight unless you are under 5 feet tall.
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
    You don't need to cut out carbs completely :noway:
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
    I just read an article in Fitness Rx about this and everyone's comments are on the same track as well. Increase protein intake (egg white omelets, protein shakes, skinless chicken, etc. etc. etc....), let yourself eat back those exercise calories, drink green tea every morning (my personal tip that has worked for me in the past), and take a day or two off every week from working out to let your muscles rest and repair. I also need to take this advice because I'm having the exact same problem as you. But you are on my friends' list now, so we can do this together! :flowerforyou:
  • mackemom
    mackemom Posts: 277 Member
    No one ever loses weight going in a straight down line, so don't worry about it. Just keep doing the right stuff, and it'll happen. Three pounds on me could just be because I had too much salt the day before....don't fret. ;-)
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    I'm up 3 pounds from last week, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200, I don't eat back any of my calories from working out, and I workout every day. Am I eating the wrong things? Do I need to cut out carbs completely? Set my calorie goal even lower? And is it even possible that I've gained 3 pounds of muscle?

    What you are doing wrong...
    I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200
    I don't eat back any of my calories from working out
    I workout every day.

    You need to feed your body, fuel your workouts and find out what the RIGHT number of calories are for you. There are a million threads on this board that can explain things - just need to search & read. start with some of these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    ^^ This.
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
    You don't need to cut out carbs completely :noway:

    This! Carbs are not the enemy. In fact, including enough *healthy* carbs in your day will be the difference between losing weight and gaining it all back in a month vs. losing weight and being able to sustain it easily.
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    No, you don't need to cut out carbs.

    Is your diary correct? Are you logging everything accurately? If so, you're eating way under what you should be. Too big deficit is too big.

    You're not using MFP correctly if you're eating under your recommended calorie goal and not eating back exercise calories on top it. You're meant to eat your calorie goal PLUS whatever you've earned via exercise--that's why MFP adds calories on to your daily total when you track your exercise. Eat that!

    You should change your protein goal as well--everyone else is saying that, and I agree.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    You're starving yourself. Try figuring out a reasonable deficit and eat that instead. This will get you started:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/963088-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy
  • DonnaRe2012
    DonnaRe2012 Posts: 298 Member
    Ahhhh.... eat. You are way not eating ENOUGH.
  • jupityjupe
    jupityjupe Posts: 86 Member
    everybody else has commented on your lack of food, but I will also point out that you need to drink more water..you only posted 2 glasses yesterday...I drink 8-16 a day and it's not even hard, although I pee like nobodies business lol but you should try for the 8 glasses recommended by MFP, it will help flush out salts, etc as well as make you feel fuller
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    New suggested title for this thread: What am I doing right?
  • u_mad_bro
    u_mad_bro Posts: 42 Member
    I am always surprised to see that people who decide to lose weight never ever do their research. They start with 1200 and call it BMR. How do you know that's your BMR?
    You've been stalling and your first instinct is to go even lower. Cut everything! Cut the carbs, cut the fats, cut all the dang calories!


    OP, start reading. Use the search function, look for the hundreds of threads just like this one and read all the common sense responses (hint: the ones that tell you to stop netting crazy low amounts of calories).

    Equip yourself with the knowledge to succeed. Good luck.:flowerforyou:
  • Helen_Luvnlife
    Helen_Luvnlife Posts: 230 Member
    I agree with everybody else. First decide if you really need to lose weight or just tone. Then, never go under 1200 calories. And eat some protein, healthy carbs and lots of water.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    I like how your profile pic matches exactly the tone of your question.

    I just perused your diary a little and fear you may be eating too clean. What is "too clean" you ask? Well you know how sometimes a wooden table top is dirty and then you want to get it really really clean?

    well you might think I don't want to use Murphy's Oil soap on it cause that's when it's just regular dirty.
    This tables very dirty so what do I have that can take off anything? And then you grab the nail polish remover....and then your beautifully stained table is no longer a beautifully stained table. But just a table, and not one you'd want to keep around at that. It's kind of like that. But with food, and your body, and your muscles.

    The muscles are that beautiful stain. Necessary to keep it strong and beautiful.

    The murphy's oil soap is the right combo for the job. In this case "oils" are also necessary, good one's albeit but necessary.

    The nail polish remover, is the thing that's too harsh. In this case the aggressiveness of your diet and exercise plan. Too few cals, not enough protective things like fats and proteins, and to top it off when you're exercising so hard on top of it that adds a physical element like if you were to rub all hard and add "elbow grease" to the cleaning of that table.

    Hope this makes sense. If not, hope it was at least a fun analogy to read. It was fun to write.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    OP, I think you're very lucky that eating as you have been hasn't worked. If it had worked, you'd think you were doing the right thing, and continuing to eat as you are now, as you have very little weight to lose, could lead to long-term health problems such as brittle bones and infertility.

    Please listen to everyone here and eat more. :flowerforyou:
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    1. Eat more, of everything, but you really need a lot more protein
    2. Eat back your exercise calories..
    3. Drink more water.
    4. Unless you are under 5'3", you probably don't need to lose weight, just maintain.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    Your goal is not to eat under BMR. Your goal is to eat under 20% of your TDEE.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013

    ^ There ya go.
  • wagnesium
    wagnesium Posts: 4
    I think (for most people) your weight at some point bounces up and down some.. I know it does for me; I just keep to my routine, and find that it's back down on a reducing trend again. I know that when you eat too little, you can gain weight.

    Just my .02 worth.. I wouldn't stress about it too much.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
    I'm up 3 pounds from last week, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200, I don't eat back any of my calories from working out, and I workout every day. Am I eating the wrong things? Do I need to cut out carbs completely? Set my calorie goal even lower? And is it even possible that I've gained 3 pounds of muscle?

    What you are doing wrong...
    I'm consistently under my BMR of 1200
    I don't eat back any of my calories from working out
    I workout every day.

    You need to feed your body, fuel your workouts and find out what the RIGHT number of calories are for you. There are a million threads on this board that can explain things - just need to search & read. start with some of these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931670-bmr-and-tdee-explained-for-those-needing-a-guide

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    Beat me to it! <3
  • suecan2
    suecan2 Posts: 45
    even if you set aside the fact you are up 3 pounds. you have put yourself in starvation mode if you are well under 1200. read about BMR. do the math--each of your body organs NEED this minimal amount of calorie just to function while sleeping, let alone moving from point a to point b and you are nearing zero since you do not figure in activity. you will be unhealthy if you maintain this routine for a long time. your body needs calorie - also known as ENERGY, those 2 words mean the exact same thing. every cell in your body depends on calorie to perform its function.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    you are undernourishing yourself and your body is in a panic, so to speak. eat more, eat better, and maybe slow down the exercise a bit.

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