Ready to quit even trying

wratty
wratty Posts: 17 Member
in Motivation and Support
Talk me into not quitting....

Average of around 1300 cals a day, 6days a week with a fairly punishing regime at the gym... 3mile daily stomp with the dog... And I'm not losing weight!

I know weight tiz but a number but bejasus I could do with some motivation!
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Replies

  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    you should give up - you should give up your current, crappy eating plan!!

    1300 calories for an active 45 year old is a pitiful amount - You are underrating 6 days a week (and, if you're not losing then you are overeating on the other day).
    • Plug your stats into MFP and set a moderate (1lb per week) loss - with your activity level I'd guess you should be eating somewhere around the 2000 cals mark?
    • Weigh and log all your food accurately, for a couple of weeks at least, before making further changes
    • Track your exercise as best you can but be cautious - MFP database and most gym equipment significantly overestimate calorific burns
    • Eat well, stick to mainly "unprocessed" foods but ensure that you allow yourself some of your favorite foods on a regular basis (withing your calorific goals)


    EDITED - I can see from your exercise diary that you are doing 5x5 SL, Starting Strength or similar - Good for you, these are brilliant programs and will benefit you even when in calorific deficit. But, they are meant to be very hard work and are designed to be done in calorific surplus and as such if you are going to do it at a deficit - it should be very slight and you personally would benefit from significantly upping your protein to aid recovery (and probably fat as well).
  • winterbones92
    winterbones92 Posts: 6 Member
    edited February 2016
    Hang in there. (: I know it may seem hard at first and you may not see results but just remember these things take time. Hang in there. Don't give up!
  • shannonbrewelch
    shannonbrewelch Posts: 63 Member
    Not eating enough can stop weight loss in its tracks! Your body is holding onto fat because it is in survival mode because you are not eating enough. StealthHealth has some great tips there!

    Don't give up, eat more and eat well!
  • blueboxgeek
    blueboxgeek Posts: 574 Member
    1300 generally isn't enough for most people, especially with a high activity rate like yourself. I'd say if you could open your diary people may be able to help more. Also a little more info like current weight, height, goal weight etc would be beneficial.

    If you quit now I just know that in a years time you will wish you didn't. Even with a slow rate of half a pound a week, this time next year you could be sitting there 26lb lighter (if you wished to lose that much) or you could be sitting there at your current weight or even higher.

    Consistent logging is the best thing you can do. Every single mouthful, enter weights for every food and measure all liquids. The weight will shift eventually.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited February 2016
    ^^ his diary IS open and after a bit of a read through his logging looks OK, although there are a few recent, partially completed days.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    If this has been going on for a few days, then readjust your goal to something sustainable and be patient, weight loss takes time. Slow is ok, do not aim for super fast results.
    If you have been doing this for a few weeks or more and not losing at all, it is time to reevaluate your logging, because you are most probably eating way more than you think you are.
  • kasaz
    kasaz Posts: 274 Member
    How long have you been following your plan? Are you sure you are accurately logging your food? Are you hungry? The other thing is that when I first begin an exercise regimen I usually retain some water when my muscles are sore. The water weight doesn't continue, but I think I hold about 4 pounds more at first. Keep it up with some adjustments as needed.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    shannonbrewelch wrote: »
    Not eating enough can stop weight loss in its tracks! Your body is holding onto fat because it is in survival mode because you are not eating enough. StealthHealth has some great tips there!

    Don't give up, eat more and eat well!

    No it won't. Starvation mode is a myth.

    OP, I can't check your diary, but I would tighten up your logging. 1300 is a very low amount (you shouldn't be below 1500 to ensure adequate nutrition), but if you haven't lost in weeks then this is what you need to do.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited February 2016
    If you are not losing at 1300 cals then you are actually eating more than you think you are, or the water retention from working out is masking the fat loss. as a 2 lb gain in water weight will keep the scale weight the same if you lost 2 lbs of fat.

    Also OP, I would suggest getting 100+ grams of protein everyday.
  • wratty
    wratty Posts: 17 Member
    My diary should be open - I'm pretty accurate with my logging, in fact if anything I'm doing more excercise than is logged - as I have noticed not all my cardio is logged - odd.

    Thanks for the tips - I'll pick up my motivation... Maybe I'll add a 5km run on the end of my gym sessions. The few days not logged have been days were tbh I haven't eaten much at all owing to work...
  • wratty
    wratty Posts: 17 Member
    Oh - and yes of course on 1300ish cals I'm hungry, but not so much so... You kind of get used to a bit of hunger, it's almost enjoyable
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    edited February 2016
    wratty wrote: »
    My diary should be open - I'm pretty accurate with my logging, in fact if anything I'm doing more excercise than is logged - as I have noticed not all my cardio is logged - odd.

    Thanks for the tips - I'll pick up my motivation... Maybe I'll add a 5km run on the end of my gym sessions. The few days not logged have been days were tbh I haven't eaten much at all owing to work...

    If you are doing 5x5, it is recommended to do little cardio, and if you do on your off days. eating in a deficit you don't want your limited calories to go towards cardio to the detriment of recovery. I suggest being more dialed in on logging, and give it time.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Fuel your workouts!! That's probably why you feel like giving up.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    wratty wrote: »
    Oh - and yes of course on 1300ish cals I'm hungry, but not so much so... You kind of get used to a bit of hunger, it's almost enjoyable

    That isn't the issue with 1300, the issue is it being difficult to recovery from exercise (repair muscles), adequate nutrition (min fat and protein) is tough on so little cals, and a larger % of your loss may come from lean muscle if not getting enough cals and protein.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
    shannonbrewelch wrote: »
    Not eating enough can stop weight loss in its tracks! Your body is holding onto fat because it is in survival mode because you are not eating enough. StealthHealth has some great tips there!

    Don't give up, eat more and eat well!

    Just so you know "survival mode" as you're using it doesn't exist--search Minnesota Study, survival mode--if you really want to know what it is. The OP doesn't have it. OP, I looked at your diary. Are you logging everything? For a male that's exercising you should have more calories. You may have to give more info--height, weight, how much you want to lose, etc. Something is off. Check out the stickies for new members. There's a great flow chart that walks you through what to do if you're not losing. Good luck.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10257474/starting-out-restarting-basics-inside/p1
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    wratty wrote: »
    Oh - and yes of course on 1300ish cals I'm hungry, but not so much so... You kind of get used to a bit of hunger, it's almost enjoyable

    But it's not good for you - you need more calories to fuel your activity than 1300. And you're not going to fix this by ...
    wratty wrote: »
    Thanks for the tips - I'll pick up my motivation... Maybe I'll add a 5km run on the end of my gym sessions.

    Eat more, lift your weights, gain muscle and slowly reduce fat.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    erickirb wrote: »
    wratty wrote: »
    Oh - and yes of course on 1300ish cals I'm hungry, but not so much so... You kind of get used to a bit of hunger, it's almost enjoyable

    That isn't the issue with 1300, the issue is it being difficult to recovery from exercise (repair muscles), adequate nutrition (min fat and protein) is tough on so little cals, and a larger % of your loss may come from lean muscle if not getting enough cals and protein.

    +1
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    1300 calories for a guy!! why? there's no need to eat this low.

    Fuel your workouts with more protein/carbs and you'll start to feel more energetic.
  • wratty
    wratty Posts: 17 Member
    The 5x5 isn't "that" hard yet, I was quite fit but had a year of being a lazy fat slob after having my shoulder fixed. So maybe I was mistaken thinking 1300 is enough, MFP wants me to eat 1500ish.

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