Having a few problems along the way, what am I doing wrong?

NinaMichele11

Hello everyone
I started using MFP in January in a complete state of desperation, I was not losing weight in a healthy weight, I had my goal set to 2lbs a week, and despite being told to eat 1200 I ate well below that number for quite a while, I understand this was very stupid but I was very depressed and was looking for a quick fix. It got to the point where I was weighing myself upwards of 8 times a day (ridiculous behaviour). Since then I have been trying to get as close to 1200 as I can (my diary is open), I sometimes hover around 1000-1200 because of paranoia from reading posts about people not weighing accurately, I do have a food scale which I use for everything, and I am extremely cautious about tracking every single bite of food and never leave anything out, for the past month or so my weight loss has changed, I know i won't be losing as fast consistently throughout my whole weight loss journey but I find what has been happening very demotivating and stressful. I have started walking more everyday(I have CFS so struggle to exercise much), I am being more vigilant to get my calories nearer to 1200, I only weigh myself once or twice a week now, I still have my goal set to 2lbs as I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I understand it won't always be that i lose 2lbs, my problem is this, I haven't lost that much in what feels like forever, this week i lost 0.1kg. I have a few questions I am hoping people can help me with. Could my introduction of more walking have caused it to slow down a little? Should i eat more calories? or eat back the calories from exercise?(or at least some of them as I know MFP isnt entirely accurate). I thought about changing my goal to 1lb a week or 1.5lb a week, that does increase my calorie intake but I am worried I will just pile weight on if I eat more now as I am struggling as it is. I know i don't seem to have the healthiest attitude towards this but I am trying to improve that and would appreciate the help.

acorsaut89

NinaMichele11 wrote: »

Hello everyone
I started using MFP in January in a complete state of desperation, I was not losing weight in a healthy weight, I had my goal set to 2lbs a week, and despite being told to eat 1200 I ate well below that number for quite a while, I understand this was very stupid but I was very depressed and was looking for a quick fix. It got to the point where I was weighing myself upwards of 8 times a day (ridiculous behaviour). Since then I have been trying to get as close to 1200 as I can (my diary is open), I sometimes hover around 1000-1200 because of paranoia from reading posts about people not weighing accurately, I do have a food scale which I use for everything, and I am extremely cautious about tracking every single bite of food and never leave anything out, for the past month or so my weight loss has changed, I know i won't be losing as fast consistently throughout my whole weight loss journey but I find what has been happening very demotivating and stressful. I have started walking more everyday(I have CFS so struggle to exercise much), I am being more vigilant to get my calories nearer to 1200, I only weigh myself once or twice a week now, I still have my goal set to 2lbs as I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I understand it won't always be that i lose 2lbs, my problem is this, I haven't lost that much in what feels like forever, this week i lost 0.1kg. I have a few questions I am hoping people can help me with. Could my introduction of more walking have caused it to slow down a little? Should i eat more calories? or eat back the calories from exercise?(or at least some of them as I know MFP isnt entirely accurate). I thought about changing my goal to 1lb a week or 1.5lb a week, that does increase my calorie intake but I am worried I will just pile weight on if I eat more now as I am struggling as it is. I know i don't seem to have the healthiest attitude towards this but I am trying to improve that and would appreciate the help.

CFS as in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

Your profile says you have about 55lbs to lose (24.9kg). If you have that to lose, it's not a small amount of weight and it will take time to lose it.

Also, 1,200 calories/day is not really sustainable for most people. Some will argue and state they've done it for xx amount of time, which is great. But you didn't get to be 55lbs overweight by under eating, right?

I don't know too much about chronic fatigue but I do know when I don't eat enough I get really tired and don't feel like doing anything either. Would it help your condition to eat more in line with your current body weight and goals? Again, I really don't know a lot about it so just a thought.

Losing slow and steady is the best way to do it, really. You shouldn't gain at 1lb or 1.5lb/week because if you put in honest numbers MFP will still account for some type of deficit at that level. I think you may need to talk to someone about this, to help you figure out what's healthy for you. If you know you have any unhealthy attitude towards food then maybe you should speak with a therapist who specializes in eating disorders, or maybe a nutritionist who can help you figure out what you need to be eating.

Also, I usually eat about 50% of my exercise calories back. It's just because I know MFP overestimates and it's easier for me to stay on track that way. With eating that little you should definitely be netting 1,200 calories/day not total of 1,200 per day.

Best of luck

ncboiler89

Choose your goal however you want but 2lbs per week is like a Hail Mary imo. It restricts calories to the point where people get frustrated, depressed, and just hate life. It sounds like a great idea when setting up your profile but there is a difference in life quality between losing at 2lbs/week as opposed to 1lb/week. Reducing your goal will allow you to eat more and maybe make you struggle less.

Don't get hung up on one weigh-in to the next because your weight is going to fluctuate - it will fluctuate a lot in comparison to your goal. Look for a downward trend in the graph of your weight versus time after several weeks. Not several days, but several weeks of data (like a couple months).

RodaRose

Change your goal to one pound a week to lose so that you can get enough fat and protein. You will feel better. Weigh once a week.