Under Caloric Goals But Weight Loss Feels slow?

NoeHead

I have been under in my calories(MFP set it to 1300, since i'm a desk jockey) almost all the time and most of the time with macros( I tend to go over some days on fat but by under 10g). I work out 5-6 days a week which includes cardio and strength training and yet I feel like my weight loss is slowing down. I did a search and some say to increase my caloric intake but I'm honestly scared to because at work i'm at my desk most of the time. I am aware that muscles retain water, but it's starting to get frustrating because i'm close to getting out of the 200's. Am I just being impatient and keep doing what i'm doing or do i need to change my workouts somehow and/or my caloric goals?

Essiemailbox

Same here. I have dropped fast at first but now i am standing still. Was recommended to me to increase carbs because the body is in starvation mode or something.

mich1902

Does your calorie goal include exercise calories? If you have it set to 1300 but burn 300 then thats only 1000 calories you are living on. Have you ate low cal before? I have and lost a few stones but it got to the point that when i ate a bit more than what my body was used to i.e 1000 cals, then I put on weight, even if I was under my supposed maintenence cals. I now realise that I have likely ruined my metabolism. When i started again in March after putting on 1.5 stones after my initial loss through low cal, I just didn't seem to drop weight the way I did before. I've upped my cals and gradually seeing a loss. I'm up at 1500 but that includes my exercise. Check out what your bmi and tdee are and have a read at some of the advice points with the little red pins.

alt1268

Check ur tdee. I believe u are to low. Mine is 1348 for sedentary and 1563 for 1-3 hours. I to have a desk job but still workout a little.

NoeHead

I log in when do exercises and usually still have a deficit but not by too much. My TDEE is at 2056 with a BMI of 40. TDEE - 15% is 1746 but it just seems REALLY high. I will read the pins and hopefully they will help.

NoeHead

Check ur tdee. I believe u are to low. Mine is 1348 for sedentary and 1563 for 1-3 hours. I to have a desk job but still workout a little.

I don't follow when you say 1563 for 1-3 hrs? is that including a workout? my cals burned seem to fluctuate so i just log them on MFP

stephanie8625

bump

jnnfrsmore

I've been doing the #mankofit30days challenge on instagram. You eat 5-6 small clean small meals to boost your metabolism, they're about 200-300 calorie meals. You should really check her out she's inspirational! #mankofit <---instagram name

GormanGhaste

Almost everyone loses weight faster in the beginning. You say it "feels slow" but you've lost over 30 pounds in less than four months. One pound a week is a reasonable amount to lose. Many people have unreasonable expectations about how long weight loss takes.

Erikalynne18

I used the Scooby calculator, I find it works much better than the calorie goal mfp gave me:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Also, by "slowing down" what do you mean exactly? Most people lose a lot quickly (water weight) and then the progress slows to a steady pace Should only aim to lose 1-2 lbs per week. I lose about 2 per month but I'm fine with that cause I know I will get to my goal eventually. Yes I am very close to goal now, but it has taken me 9 months so far to lose 39 lbs! And I didn't have any plateau, just slow and steady But you know what? I feel just as awesome!

Also, take measurements and progress pictures, the scale isn't the only indication of losing.

daisyeyes

Sometimes you can reach a sort of plateau.... which is an amount of time when you don't lose as much as before. You might have to lower your calorie intake a little, exercise more, or just stick through it. Slow and steady wins the race!

aliciamhosein

Is it a bad thing to consume less than your calorie goal? I have been eating very healthy I eat about 6-8 smaller meals a day. I break up my meals into two parts. Usually I stay in the 800-900 calorie range for the day. my goal in 1200 a day on here. My job is very physical I am a waitress, so I am on my feet all day. I walk to and from work everyday. I have noticed that since I changed my diet and stopped eating at the place I work that I have had a lot more energy and feel 100% better. So am I being unhealthy??? I was not sure because I never leave myself hungry, I believe its the quality of food that you consume that matters, not the quantity. Also every day I seem to be 30grams above what I should be on protein, is that a bad thing?

Part of the problem for me is that my diet is extremely clean, I do not add sugar, oils, butter, or anything high calorie to my food.

fakeuntilumakeit

Similarly I was loosing steadily since feb at 1200 and exercising 5/6 times a week, eating back cals, but have plateaued. Quite frankly got sick of feeling so darn hungry , snappy and tired. Likewise I am scared to increase cals, but have read some interesting articles and FATTO FIT RADIO suggests tips for preventing overcoming and preventing plateau in the first place. Interestingly they suggest upping cals, and mixing up exercise routine as your body has most likely become used to such a low intake and the exercise routine, making you have to increase time and exercise effort to burn the same cals you previously did. This site advocated healthy weight loss and management, increasing cals, NOT DROPPING THEM, according to your tdee (see site), and interval training (which doesn't mean lengthy workouts). I wish I'd started out like this as I would have probably avoided all this frustration and long tedious workouts.

Check it out, there's a lot of arguments about cardio v strength training/ weights etc. I was just sticking to interval training and this worked just fine, but has kind of stalled my weight loss. Now so I'm gonna mix my routine up a bit with interval runs/jogging/ tai bo and strength training and see what happens. Already loosing the inches slowly. Upped my cals yesterday and weight started to drop again so lets see. Good luck

NoeHead

I used the Scooby calculator, I find it works much better than the calorie goal mfp gave me:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Also, by "slowing down" what do you mean exactly? Most people lose a lot quickly (water weight) and then the progress slows to a steady pace Should only aim to lose 1-2 lbs per week. I lose about 2 per month but I'm fine with that cause I know I will get to my goal eventually. Yes I am very close to goal now, but it has taken me 9 months so far to lose 39 lbs! And I didn't have any plateau, just slow and steady But you know what? I feel just as awesome!

Also, take measurements and progress pictures, the scale isn't the only indication of losing.

It could be that I've been spoiled with seeing the scale go down 1-2lbs a week now it's less than a pound. I have no problem going to the gym now because of the classes I take but I am worried about hitting a plateau and from what I understand you have to change things up. I'm wondering if I have to change it up now wait awhile. Measurements aren't exactly motivating as my waist size seems to be the same but I am taking pictures. So you're doing TDEE -15% or something different if you don't mind me asking? you look great!

laserturkey

I'm NETTING about 1600 calories a day, which means my goal is 1600 AND I eat back my exercise calories. I'm still losing weight. If you're only eating 1200 and not eating back at least some of your exercise calories you are underfeeding yourself.

debrakgoogins

Eating under 1200 calories consistently is not good for your body. You are losing vital nutrients necessary to healthy weight loss. You will begin to lose muscle and that isn't what you want.

NoeHead

My fault, I didn't specify. I eat back my exercise cals and since that fluctuates each workout i log it in. If it is time for me to change things up I may have to go to the TDEE route. it just worries me to up my cals for no other reason than it being a mental thing. I actually don't feel hungry at the cals i eat these days.

JesterMFP

Is it a bad thing to consume less than your calorie goal? I have been eating very healthy I eat about 6-8 smaller meals a day. I break up my meals into two parts. Usually I stay in the 800-900 calorie range for the day. my goal in 1200 a day on here. My job is very physical I am a waitress, so I am on my feet all day. I walk to and from work everyday. I have noticed that since I changed my diet and stopped eating at the place I work that I have had a lot more energy and feel 100% better. So am I being unhealthy??? I was not sure because I never leave myself hungry, I believe its the quality of food that you consume that matters, not the quantity. Also every day I seem to be 30grams above what I should be on protein, is that a bad thing?

Part of the problem for me is that my diet is extremely clean, I do not add sugar, oils, butter, or anything high calorie to my food.

You're on your feet all day and eat 800-900 calories a day? No, that's not healthy. That's about what an average 1 year old needs.

wackyfunster

What equation are you using for TDEE calculation? If it is not taking body fat into account, then it is probably massively overestimating your BMR. If you are at 40% body fat, you are probably closer to 1300 BMR and 1600-1700 TDEE, which would explain the slow loss. Use the katch-mcardle formula to calculate, as it's much more accurate for people outside of 'average' body fat range (just as true for low body fat as high body fat).

jdhobson

It doesn't matter how much or little I eat, if I do not get an ample amount of water in my daily routine (about a gallon) I do not lose weight.

Also, change up the focus of your diet. If you are going low carb and it isn't working.. try something else. There are tons of different forms of dieting you can do that are safe and beneficial.


I have been at 116 pounds down for about a month now, it seemed to have plateaued. I am not worried though, my body will begin losing weight again when it is ready. In the mean time, my goal is to eat healthy food. I believe if you continue to be healthy and take care of yourself, the weight will take care of its self.