Gained weight on 1200cal diet, AND 800cal diet.

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  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    vcurrie19 wrote: »
    I'm not a fitness junkie, but I would assume the weight gain is probably muscle gain. 800 calories is really low girl, I wouldn't suggest going that low. Eating healthily and often while maintaining your workouts is your best option. Overall though, I would think your weight gain is probably muscle (or water retention, but I don't know how much water you've been drinking!)

    LOL...you think she gained muscle in a couple weeks eating 800 calories a day?? please explain how that is possible


    I managed it pretty well.

    Also she says she has been doing it since January, a couple of months not a couple of week.

    Oh man. So I didn't have to be eating in a surplus and busting my butt in the gym lifting heavy weights 8 hours per week since November to gain muscle? I could have just been eating 800 calories to do it?
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    vcurrie19 wrote: »
    I'm not a fitness junkie, but I would assume the weight gain is probably muscle gain. 800 calories is really low girl, I wouldn't suggest going that low. Eating healthily and often while maintaining your workouts is your best option. Overall though, I would think your weight gain is probably muscle (or water retention, but I don't know how much water you've been drinking!)

    LOL...you think she gained muscle in a couple weeks eating 800 calories a day?? please explain how that is possible


    I managed it pretty well.

    Also she says she has been doing it since January, a couple of months not a couple of week.

    You managed to gain muscle mass at 800 calories a day??

    You must market this secret, ASAP.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Open your diary OP. If it has been a couple of weeks, give it time. If more, your logging is very off. But open your diary so people can give advice. No one gains weight on 800 calories per day.
  • shortcdngirl
    shortcdngirl Posts: 56 Member
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    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Ninkyou wrote: »
    I'm also 5'2 and weigh 134 lbs. I eat 13-1400 calories and lose.

    The gains you're seeing are temporary water retention. Either from working out, hormones, salt, etc. It's natural and happens.

    You need to give things more than a week or two. You're not being patient at all. Realistically, you should only change things when you've seen zero change for 4-6 weeks.

    ^This- exactly.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Also she says she has been doing it since January, a couple of months not a couple of week.

    She said she started in January and gained 2 lbs. She made no mention of February or March and then said LAST WEEK she cut down to 800 calories and gained 1 lb. If we're going purely by what she did last week, no, no she did not gain a pound of fat at 800 calories, and nor did she gain a pound of muscle. Water retention, absolutely (from which source, doesn't matter). It's very hard for women to gain muscle, and for those that do, you're looking at .5-1 lb a MONTH, and only that happens eating in a surplus and doing some weight lifting. Not from 800 calories a day for a week and doing cardio. She also didn't state how long in January she went to gain those 2 lbs, how often she weighed, or any other information for that matter. But even if we strike out January and start from what we know of last week, OP is not being patient enough. A single week is not enough time to determine anything. And if she really gained a pound of fat, either she's in dire need of medical attention or she ate way more than she reported or thinks.
  • shortcdngirl
    shortcdngirl Posts: 56 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Not using it as an excuse lol. My total calorie need is not the same as someone who is 6 foot. I opt to believe my doctor.

    Rude. Seriously :/


  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Not using it as an excuse lol. My total calorie need is not the same as someone who is 6 foot. I opt to believe my doctor.

    Rude. Seriously :/


    truth is that a GP doesn't have enough training to suggest a calorie goal.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

    Is a study done which indicates that the average time spent by doctors studying nutrition is about 24hours in the duration of their studies and this included specialist.

    If you want to know what you should be eating talk to an up to date registered dietician.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    perkymommy wrote: »
    It could be the fact that you need to eat more than 1200 not less. Some people actually lose when they eat more.

    No, they do not. That is physically impossible.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
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    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    First off, I'm 5'2 and I weighed a steady 130 lbs for years. Over the winter I slowly gained weight, until I got to 144. In January I started a 1200cal diet with cardio exercise, and gained 2 pounds. Last week, I read that for some RARE women, 1200 may not be enough for weight loss, so I (maybe stupidly), restricted to 800cals. I worked out like crazy every day. I gained another pound. I feel so frustrated I want to cry. In hindsight, I know 800 was probably too little. I should have done 1000. But still! I don't know what else to do. I'm only 21 years old. I'm trying to get to 120 lbs. Please feel free to add me for Support as well.

    Assuming exercising 3 times weekly for 30 mins at a light intensity, currently 144 lbs, and a sedentary job, your TDEE is 1643 cals per day.

    You're short (No offense meant), but you're fighting an uphill battle. Any error in your logging could completely wipe any deficit you might have.

    Buy and use a food scale, to get the most accurate logging possible. I would not recommend logging your exercise in the app, as the estimates for caloric burn rate are way off. Set your daily goal to 1200, log accurately, and see what happens for a bit. I'm guessing overestimation of caloric burn coupled with inaccurate logging is what is doing you in. Very heavy individuals can error greatly in both, and still see results, because their TDEE is so high to being with. You're only 20 lbs over, have a low TDEE, so you need to really knuckle down on the logging aspect.

    @coreyreichle Where do you get 1643?

    I checked on a site that I find close to actuals and with exercise and age and other stats it calculates it at 2k....

    cut at 1610...which makes sense at her age, current weight and exercise...

    http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Bear in mind, I also made some assumptions, which I laid out, and OP didn't provide (ie, intensity level of exercise, time/frequency of exercise, and daily activity level).

    I made assumptions as well on exercise

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

    typically these are quite close.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=21&lbs=144&in=61&act=1.375&f=1

    this one is higher than yours as well....hence the reason giving out numbers is not a good idea.

    To figure out TDEE actually requires personal data and this formula

    Total calories consumed + (lbs lostx 3500)/#days


    need to be accurate with consumption using a food scale of course and at least 21 days.

    Personally, I don't like to use the sites you supplied, due to lack of granularity in what data you provide. ie, how much exercise and for how long...

    But, to each their own, I suppose.

    @coreyreichle you missed the most important part of my post...how to calculate your own tdee without assumptions and websites.

    and the fact you shouldn't throw numbers at folks without really knowing the facts.

    Your simplistic formula fails to take into account the fact that your TDEE changes based current, or sloped weight, though, so it's fairly inaccurate.

    I used the facts I knew (She supplied), added some reasonable assumptions to fill out the required data, provided the source (When asked) so she could do it on her own.

    To boil is down, your simple formula doesn't work. It would work well if you limited it to a data set of 4 weeks, as weight changes don't happen that quickly.

    So, you shouldn't throw around formulas that are untested, because you don't like time tested formula/calculators.
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
    Options
    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Um, being short, coupled with activity level has a whole lot to do with it. Which is why every TDEE calculator requires your height.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    First off, I'm 5'2 and I weighed a steady 130 lbs for years. Over the winter I slowly gained weight, until I got to 144. In January I started a 1200cal diet with cardio exercise, and gained 2 pounds. Last week, I read that for some RARE women, 1200 may not be enough for weight loss, so I (maybe stupidly), restricted to 800cals. I worked out like crazy every day. I gained another pound. I feel so frustrated I want to cry. In hindsight, I know 800 was probably too little. I should have done 1000. But still! I don't know what else to do. I'm only 21 years old. I'm trying to get to 120 lbs. Please feel free to add me for Support as well.

    Assuming exercising 3 times weekly for 30 mins at a light intensity, currently 144 lbs, and a sedentary job, your TDEE is 1643 cals per day.

    You're short (No offense meant), but you're fighting an uphill battle. Any error in your logging could completely wipe any deficit you might have.

    Buy and use a food scale, to get the most accurate logging possible. I would not recommend logging your exercise in the app, as the estimates for caloric burn rate are way off. Set your daily goal to 1200, log accurately, and see what happens for a bit. I'm guessing overestimation of caloric burn coupled with inaccurate logging is what is doing you in. Very heavy individuals can error greatly in both, and still see results, because their TDEE is so high to being with. You're only 20 lbs over, have a low TDEE, so you need to really knuckle down on the logging aspect.

    @coreyreichle Where do you get 1643?

    I checked on a site that I find close to actuals and with exercise and age and other stats it calculates it at 2k....

    cut at 1610...which makes sense at her age, current weight and exercise...

    http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Bear in mind, I also made some assumptions, which I laid out, and OP didn't provide (ie, intensity level of exercise, time/frequency of exercise, and daily activity level).

    I made assumptions as well on exercise

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

    typically these are quite close.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=21&lbs=144&in=61&act=1.375&f=1

    this one is higher than yours as well....hence the reason giving out numbers is not a good idea.

    To figure out TDEE actually requires personal data and this formula

    Total calories consumed + (lbs lostx 3500)/#days


    need to be accurate with consumption using a food scale of course and at least 21 days.

    Personally, I don't like to use the sites you supplied, due to lack of granularity in what data you provide. ie, how much exercise and for how long...

    But, to each their own, I suppose.

    @coreyreichle you missed the most important part of my post...how to calculate your own tdee without assumptions and websites.

    and the fact you shouldn't throw numbers at folks without really knowing the facts.

    Your simplistic formula fails to take into account the fact that your TDEE changes based current, or sloped weight, though, so it's fairly inaccurate.

    I used the facts I knew (She supplied), added some reasonable assumptions to fill out the required data, provided the source (When asked) so she could do it on her own.

    To boil is down, your simple formula doesn't work. It would work well if you limited it to a data set of 4 weeks, as weight changes don't happen that quickly.

    So, you shouldn't throw around formulas that are untested, because you don't like time tested formula/calculators.

    @coreyreichle Interesting..untested eh.

    It is a simple formula that is correct but it has been tested numerous times by those in the Eat Train progress group and I trust SideSteel and Sara with the information they provide way over a website where one is making assumptions and throwing arbitrary numbers out to someone that they don't know much about just some info on a forum post.

    SMH

    FYI if you use rolling data you get your accurate tdee and it's much more accurate than those sites you use, and based on your own assertions TDEE changes (correct) based on weight and activity...so your sites will have to be visited as much as the formula has to be calculated...keep in mind the formula doesn't make assumptions.
  • shortcdngirl
    shortcdngirl Posts: 56 Member
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Not using it as an excuse lol. My total calorie need is not the same as someone who is 6 foot. I opt to believe my doctor.

    Rude. Seriously :/


    truth is that a GP doesn't have enough training to suggest a calorie goal.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

    Is a study done which indicates that the average time spent by doctors studying nutrition is about 24hours in the duration of their studies and this included specialist.

    If you want to know what you should be eating talk to an up to date registered dietician.

    my doctor is pretty on the ball.

    Not.all doctors are misinformed or uninformed . Some actually care about weight loss nutrition and proper activity for their patients. Not all doctors are the same :/
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Not using it as an excuse lol. My total calorie need is not the same as someone who is 6 foot. I opt to believe my doctor.

    Rude. Seriously :/


    truth is that a GP doesn't have enough training to suggest a calorie goal.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

    Is a study done which indicates that the average time spent by doctors studying nutrition is about 24hours in the duration of their studies and this included specialist.

    If you want to know what you should be eating talk to an up to date registered dietician.

    my doctor is pretty on the ball.

    Not.all doctors are misinformed or uninformed . Some actually care about weight loss nutrition and proper activity for their patients. Not all doctors are the same :/

    Again GPs are not registered dieticians....and unless they specialize in nutrition should not be giving nutrional advice above geneic stuff like keep saturated fats down. Don't over eat.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,190 Member
    Options
    Mentali wrote: »
    RWClary wrote: »
    Case in point, I got up 2 hours ago and since then lost over half a pound just because of bathroom visits.
    Same here - 0.4 pounds lost....and I know, because I weigh everything!
    :)
    i0glw4e9hxbx.jpg

    This post is upsetting...

    nwF9D.gif

    Why?
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,039 Member
    edited April 2016
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    First off, I'm 5'2 and I weighed a steady 130 lbs for years. Over the winter I slowly gained weight, until I got to 144. In January I started a 1200cal diet with cardio exercise, and gained 2 pounds. Last week, I read that for some RARE women, 1200 may not be enough for weight loss, so I (maybe stupidly), restricted to 800cals. I worked out like crazy every day. I gained another pound. I feel so frustrated I want to cry. In hindsight, I know 800 was probably too little. I should have done 1000. But still! I don't know what else to do. I'm only 21 years old. I'm trying to get to 120 lbs. Please feel free to add me for Support as well.

    Assuming exercising 3 times weekly for 30 mins at a light intensity, currently 144 lbs, and a sedentary job, your TDEE is 1643 cals per day.

    You're short (No offense meant), but you're fighting an uphill battle. Any error in your logging could completely wipe any deficit you might have.

    Buy and use a food scale, to get the most accurate logging possible. I would not recommend logging your exercise in the app, as the estimates for caloric burn rate are way off. Set your daily goal to 1200, log accurately, and see what happens for a bit. I'm guessing overestimation of caloric burn coupled with inaccurate logging is what is doing you in. Very heavy individuals can error greatly in both, and still see results, because their TDEE is so high to being with. You're only 20 lbs over, have a low TDEE, so you need to really knuckle down on the logging aspect.

    @coreyreichle Where do you get 1643?

    I checked on a site that I find close to actuals and with exercise and age and other stats it calculates it at 2k....

    cut at 1610...which makes sense at her age, current weight and exercise...

    http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Bear in mind, I also made some assumptions, which I laid out, and OP didn't provide (ie, intensity level of exercise, time/frequency of exercise, and daily activity level).

    I made assumptions as well on exercise

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

    typically these are quite close.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=21&lbs=144&in=61&act=1.375&f=1

    this one is higher than yours as well....hence the reason giving out numbers is not a good idea.

    To figure out TDEE actually requires personal data and this formula

    Total calories consumed + (lbs lostx 3500)/#days


    need to be accurate with consumption using a food scale of course and at least 21 days.

    Personally, I don't like to use the sites you supplied, due to lack of granularity in what data you provide. ie, how much exercise and for how long...

    But, to each their own, I suppose.

    @coreyreichle you missed the most important part of my post...how to calculate your own tdee without assumptions and websites.

    and the fact you shouldn't throw numbers at folks without really knowing the facts.

    Your simplistic formula fails to take into account the fact that your TDEE changes based current, or sloped weight, though, so it's fairly inaccurate.

    I used the facts I knew (She supplied), added some reasonable assumptions to fill out the required data, provided the source (When asked) so she could do it on her own.

    To boil is down, your simple formula doesn't work. It would work well if you limited it to a data set of 4 weeks, as weight changes don't happen that quickly.

    So, you shouldn't throw around formulas that are untested, because you don't like time tested formula/calculators.

    @coreyreichle Interesting..untested eh.

    It is a simple formula that is correct but it has been tested numerous times by those in the Eat Train progress group and I trust SideSteel and Sara with the information they provide way over a website where one is making assumptions and throwing arbitrary numbers out to someone that they don't know much about just some info on a forum post.

    SMH

    FYI if you use rolling data you get your accurate tdee and it's much more accurate than those sites you use, and based on your own assertions TDEE changes (correct) based on weight and activity...so your sites will have to be visited as much as the formula has to be calculated...keep in mind the formula doesn't make assumptions.

    You do know TDEE calcs change every time you lose weight, right? And, it varies based on activity level.

    If I were to include data in an average from 1 year ago in my TDEE calcs, it would push me over my TDEE. Sure, your formula works, if your weight is stable over the period, but with someone trying to lose/gain, you're always running late, so to speak (Either over/under). Or, if your activity level increases/decreases over the time period.

    Your formula makes a critically incorrect assumption: Your TDEE is constant over the time period, which is why I said it would work better if you shortened the period to 4 weeks, rather than 12 months.

    Eat Train? Never heard of them. IIFYM? Scooby? Well accepted sources of data in the fitness community, from runners to body builders. I'll take their well tested methods over Eat Train progress groups any day. And, if SideSteel or Sara disagree with the facts I've pointed out above, I wouldn't trust their advice, as it flies in the face of basic rules of nutrition.
  • shortcdngirl
    shortcdngirl Posts: 56 Member
    edited April 2016
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    I am also 5 2 and 47 year's old. Being short we really do have a small window so logging for weight loss is extremely important and some kind of activity as this will help offset any inaccurate logging.

    I tried this last year it's the first time I had tried to lose weight. I was logging ok but not moving enough. I know for me I have keep my calorie at 1200 - 1300 a day but I walk between 2.5 - 3 miles per day.

    I have been back at this for a month and have lost 8.4 pounds. I know now I am doing it the right way for my body.

    Please stop using your height as the sole reason for eating 1200 calories. I'm 5'2", 45 y/o, and maintain on 1900-2000 calories a day. Unless you're trapped working out in a Jefferies tube, being short has no bearing.

    Not using it as an excuse lol. My total calorie need is not the same as someone who is 6 foot. I opt to believe my doctor.

    Rude. Seriously :/


    truth is that a GP doesn't have enough training to suggest a calorie goal.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

    Is a study done which indicates that the average time spent by doctors studying nutrition is about 24hours in the duration of their studies and this included specialist.

    If you want to know what you should be eating talk to an up to date registered dietician.

    my doctor is pretty on the ball.

    Not.all doctors are misinformed or uninformed . Some actually care about weight loss nutrition and proper activity for their patients. Not all doctors are the same :/

    Again GPs are not registered dieticians....and unless they specialize in nutrition should not be giving nutrional advice above geneic stuff like keep saturated fats down. Don't over eat.

    You don't know my doctor so why judge his qualifications ?

    Don't over eat? Lol. You think it's because of me over eating ? No. You don't know my medical history

    Not one sitiuation applies to everyone. Gesh.

    I really try to like this community. But it's just judgment and know it all behavior :/

    To the OP. Tigten up your logging and up your activity. Keep at it and you will see results. Good luck ❤
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    Options
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    First off, I'm 5'2 and I weighed a steady 130 lbs for years. Over the winter I slowly gained weight, until I got to 144. In January I started a 1200cal diet with cardio exercise, and gained 2 pounds. Last week, I read that for some RARE women, 1200 may not be enough for weight loss, so I (maybe stupidly), restricted to 800cals. I worked out like crazy every day. I gained another pound. I feel so frustrated I want to cry. In hindsight, I know 800 was probably too little. I should have done 1000. But still! I don't know what else to do. I'm only 21 years old. I'm trying to get to 120 lbs. Please feel free to add me for Support as well.

    Assuming exercising 3 times weekly for 30 mins at a light intensity, currently 144 lbs, and a sedentary job, your TDEE is 1643 cals per day.

    You're short (No offense meant), but you're fighting an uphill battle. Any error in your logging could completely wipe any deficit you might have.

    Buy and use a food scale, to get the most accurate logging possible. I would not recommend logging your exercise in the app, as the estimates for caloric burn rate are way off. Set your daily goal to 1200, log accurately, and see what happens for a bit. I'm guessing overestimation of caloric burn coupled with inaccurate logging is what is doing you in. Very heavy individuals can error greatly in both, and still see results, because their TDEE is so high to being with. You're only 20 lbs over, have a low TDEE, so you need to really knuckle down on the logging aspect.

    @coreyreichle Where do you get 1643?

    I checked on a site that I find close to actuals and with exercise and age and other stats it calculates it at 2k....

    cut at 1610...which makes sense at her age, current weight and exercise...

    http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    Bear in mind, I also made some assumptions, which I laid out, and OP didn't provide (ie, intensity level of exercise, time/frequency of exercise, and daily activity level).

    I made assumptions as well on exercise

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

    typically these are quite close.

    https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&g=female&age=21&lbs=144&in=61&act=1.375&f=1

    this one is higher than yours as well....hence the reason giving out numbers is not a good idea.

    To figure out TDEE actually requires personal data and this formula

    Total calories consumed + (lbs lostx 3500)/#days


    need to be accurate with consumption using a food scale of course and at least 21 days.

    Personally, I don't like to use the sites you supplied, due to lack of granularity in what data you provide. ie, how much exercise and for how long...

    But, to each their own, I suppose.

    @coreyreichle you missed the most important part of my post...how to calculate your own tdee without assumptions and websites.

    and the fact you shouldn't throw numbers at folks without really knowing the facts.

    Your simplistic formula fails to take into account the fact that your TDEE changes based current, or sloped weight, though, so it's fairly inaccurate.

    I used the facts I knew (She supplied), added some reasonable assumptions to fill out the required data, provided the source (When asked) so she could do it on her own.

    To boil is down, your simple formula doesn't work. It would work well if you limited it to a data set of 4 weeks, as weight changes don't happen that quickly.

    So, you shouldn't throw around formulas that are untested, because you don't like time tested formula/calculators.

    @coreyreichle Interesting..untested eh.

    It is a simple formula that is correct but it has been tested numerous times by those in the Eat Train progress group and I trust SideSteel and Sara with the information they provide way over a website where one is making assumptions and throwing arbitrary numbers out to someone that they don't know much about just some info on a forum post.

    SMH

    FYI if you use rolling data you get your accurate tdee and it's much more accurate than those sites you use, and based on your own assertions TDEE changes (correct) based on weight and activity...so your sites will have to be visited as much as the formula has to be calculated...keep in mind the formula doesn't make assumptions.

    You do know TDEE calcs change every time you lose weight, right?

    If I were to include data in an average from 1 year ago in my TDEE calcs, it would push me over my TDEE. Sure, your formula works, if your weight is stable over the period, but with someone trying to lose/gain, you're always running late, so to speak (Either over/under).

    Your formula makes a critically incorrect assumption: Your TDEE is constant over the time period, which is why I said it would work better if you shortened the period to 4 weeks, rather than 12 months.

    Eat Train? Never heard of them. IIFYM? Scooby? Well accepted sources of data in the fitness community, from runners to body builders. I'll take their well tested methods over Eat Train progress groups any day.

    I am aware of the fact TDEE changes every time you lose weight as I mentioned in my post.

    Eat Train Progress Yah I am not surprised by the fact you aren't in that group otherwise you wouldn't be throwing numbers out at posters without all the knowledge required.

    You do what you want...you don't like the formula don't use it...no skin off my nose...

    My point really is this...and let me bold it for you okay...

    do not throw numbers out to posters who are new to weight loss without all the knowledge you need to give them those numbers....and since you will not have that...don't throw numbers out.

    Exits gracefully.