What if 1200 calories is actually my maintenance #?

stephaniemarie2
stephaniemarie2 Posts: 39 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing great with 1200 calories but not losing. I have a 1400-1500 day and i gain a couple!! What's going on? I'm 5'2 and 158lbs!!! Help.
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Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    How are you calculating your consumption? Food scale?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    edited September 2015
    You are making a mistake somewhere if that is true. Recalculate.

    On the other hand, the reality is most people underreport what they are eating. So you are probably eating a lot more than you think.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    It's not. As others have said, you are probably eating more than you think. Are you using a food scale?
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    I'm 5'1", reached 130 pounds and I'm still losing on 1200 calories. You're off somewhere in your logging would be my guess.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    If you aren't using a food scale or accurate entries from the database it's very easy to wipe out your deficit. I suggest setting your diary to public so people will be able to help you.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    To echo the others - it is more likely a logging error than your maintainance being 1200.
  • stephaniemarie2
    stephaniemarie2 Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks all... I think I am envious of those who can lose at 1500.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    stephaniemarie2 wrote: »
    I have been doing great with 1200 calories but not losing. I have a 1400-1500 day and i gain a couple!! What's going on? I'm 5'2 and 158lbs!!! Help.

    Gaining two pounds of fat would require approximately 7000 calories so clearly you are not gaining a couple of pounds from eating 200-300 calories over 1200 calories, even if it was your maintenance level, which I doubt it is.

    As others have written, you likely are underestimating your calorie intake.

    Are you weighing your food using a digital scale?
    If you cannot weigh a food, are you using a measuring cup or spoon and being careful NOT to jam in extra bites?
    Are you logging your food using accurate entries such as those using the nutrition info from the food label or those from the USDA?
    If you log your exercise calories and eat all or a portion of them, are you checking them against a few different calorie calculators to get an idea whether or not they are somewhat accurate (keeping in mind that they are all estimates)?

    If you answer NO to any of the above questions, your problem is you are eating over 1200 calories on days when you think you are eating just 1200 calories.

  • SimoneBee12
    SimoneBee12 Posts: 268 Member
    edited September 2015
    When I calculate your TDEE as sedentary, it says 1662, based on your height, weight and that your profile says 46.

    So, you should be losing close to a pound per week on 1200 (462*7 = 3234 out of the 3500 roughly to lose a lb of fat).

    Are you using a scale to weigh your foods? If you open your diary, people will be able to notice where there might be issues.

    Oh, and the gaining when you eat 200-300 more calories might just be from extra carbs or sodium that increase water weight, or from there just being more food in your system.
  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited September 2015
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???

    The # symbol is often used to denote the word number. It is also called the pound sign. It has been used in such ways long before Twitter existed.

    OP can you answer the people who asked you if you use a food scale to weigh all of your food?

  • elvensnow
    elvensnow Posts: 154 Member
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???

    I honestly can't tell if you're serious or trolling... but the "hashtag" symbol has been around longer than twitter and it can stand for "number". So she was asking about her maintenance number.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    stephaniemarie2 wrote: »
    Thanks all... I think I am envious of those who can lose at 1500.
    I'm pretty sure you can lose at a real 1500, for at least a while, even without exercise.

  • ilovecereal1982
    ilovecereal1982 Posts: 1,194 Member
    You people are the best!!!
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    edited September 2015
    By asking if you're weighing your food, we're not saying you're lying or don't understand how food and weightloss works. Sometimes people are just not as experienced as others at eyeballing portions, so a digital food scale becomes an essential tool. In particular when you're close to your goal and don't have a huge buffer between the minimum required calories and the amount you maintain at.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide
  • stephaniemarie2
    stephaniemarie2 Posts: 39 Member
    LOL.. I knew I would open myself up to some criticism.
    But yes, when I eat meats or pasta I measure with a scale. Otherwise I tend to round up.
    3 years ago I weighed 125. I am racking my brain to understand how I could do it then and not now.
  • Artemiris
    Artemiris Posts: 189 Member
    stephaniemarie2 wrote: »
    But yes, when I eat meats or pasta I measure with a scale. Otherwise I tend to round up.

    You'd better weigh everything else as well. :smile:
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    stephaniemarie2 wrote: »
    LOL.. I knew I would open myself up to some criticism.
    But yes, when I eat meats or pasta I measure with a scale. Otherwise I tend to round up.
    3 years ago I weighed 125. I am racking my brain to understand how I could do it then and not now.
    Do you weigh dressings? oil? butter? nuts? seeds? Fruit?

    We're not criticizing you. We're trying to let you know if you don't weigh all the things, then you simply cannot be certain you're eating 1200 calories. Heck, food labels are even allowed to be a bit inaccurate. When you buy a single serving of something prepackaged, do you weigh it to see if it weighs more than the package states?

    We are 100% not criticizing you or telling you you're doing something "wrong." We believe in you, that's why we're trying to help.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    My wife swore she gained weight if she ate over 1200 calories (5'2" ~155lb). It took a lot of convincing that she HAD to weigh her food and log everything that went into her mouth. Once she did that she realized she was eating more on "1200" calories, than the 1400 calories she is on now to lose 1lb/week.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Can you open up your diary?
  • stephaniemarie2
    stephaniemarie2 Posts: 39 Member
    Thanks again!!! I will open my diary... I have been writing alot down. Trying to get it in for you all willing to help.
    Nordlead - Exactly how I feel.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    elvensnow wrote: »
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???

    I honestly can't tell if you're serious or trolling... but the "hashtag" symbol has been around longer than twitter and it can stand for "number". So she was asking about her maintenance number.

    I don't want to hijack the thread, but I feel like I'm getting mighty old when people today are seeing a "number sign" and thinking its a "hashtag".
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Very, very unlikely that 1200 is your maintenance!! Don't panic!

    I'd say you're actually consuming a lot more than you think due to not measuring foods! I say that because before I purchased an electronic food scale, I was under-estimating my calories by around 300 per day! This can really affect the process if you are doing on a regular occasion. Buy that scale! :D
  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
    cnbbnc wrote: »
    elvensnow wrote: »
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???

    I honestly can't tell if you're serious or trolling... but the "hashtag" symbol has been around longer than twitter and it can stand for "number". So she was asking about her maintenance number.

    I don't want to hijack the thread, but I feel like I'm getting mighty old when people today are seeing a "number sign" and thinking its a "hashtag".

    I concur!!!!
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    If 1200 is the number I would say exercise will be an important part of long time success.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited September 2015
    logging errors...yes, some of these can be from not properly weighing or measuring...but most often this is also accompanied by erroneous and otherwise generic entries from the database.

    your maintenance isn't 1200 calories...you're logging is in one way or another inaccurate.
  • rnegoro
    rnegoro Posts: 11 Member
    It could be water weight, the best tell tale sign to check whether you're on burning fat or not is your thirst and acetone breath. Water retention is dependent on sodium intake.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    ilovecereal1982 wrote: »
    I don't get it....maitenance hashtag???? Shouldn't it be #maitenance if you're trying to start a trending twitter topic???

    really???
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    OP - your logging is off somewhere.

    Do you use a food scale?
    Are you eating back exercise calories?
    Do you log everything?
  • velveteen7845
    velveteen7845 Posts: 70 Member
    Another vote here for using a digital scale to weigh everything and I would suggest setting it to grams instead of ounces.












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