1300 calories and no weight loss in 10 days what am idoing wrong

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Replies

  • WJS_jeepster
    WJS_jeepster Posts: 224 Member
    You said, "My Tom is due shortly though," - meaning, you're expecting soon? If so, 1300 calories may not be sufficient during pregnancy and most woman gain (without trying) in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy due to the baby's growth - this could explain no weight loss.
    my dogs are looking at me as if I've lost my mind I'm laughing so hard.
  • ArielleMarieB
    ArielleMarieB Posts: 19 Member
    I'll buy a scale for when I expand my food horizon I bit. Thanks for the ones who helped. I always didn't mention I have hypertension do I know that can play a big part. I just didn't mention it because it's frustrating and I don't like thinking it can hold me back from this journey. Thanks y'all
  • ArielleMarieB
    ArielleMarieB Posts: 19 Member
    charlene77 wrote: »
    This was me before! After eating well and working out. I GAINED five pounds in the first threes weeks!!!!!!
    Instead if giving up I kept doing it.

    The next week I lost 5 pounds. I then went on to lose 60 pounds in five months.

    Dont give up. Eat healthy, work out. If you are at a calorie deficit you will end up losing weight!

    Sometimes we retain water and crazy stuff......just keep going. It will happen for you!

    #justdoit #dontgiveup! #itwillwork!
    Thank you!
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited April 2016
    I don't have a scale. I measure everything I eat. When my cereal says 1 cup I use one cup. When all my chicken calories is already stated per chicken breast so I use that. I measure my oatmeal. I eat the amount of peanuts it says for calories, I have Annie's gluten free granola bars and Lara bars as a lunch or breakfast which states the calories and usually always chicken wrap chicken salad chicken on a flat out or Turkey burger for dinner

    That's probably your issue. 1 cup is not 1 standard measuring cup. 1 cup of cereal can weigh vastly different amounts depend on how much you pack in the cup.

    Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGcdyfDM3oQ
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited April 2016
    I don't have a scale. I measure everything I eat. When my cereal says 1 cup I use one cup. When all my chicken calories is already stated per chicken breast so I use that. I measure my oatmeal. I eat the amount of peanuts it says for calories, I have Annie's gluten free granola bars and Lara bars as a lunch or breakfast which states the calories and usually always chicken wrap chicken salad chicken on a flat out or Turkey burger for dinner

    Invest in a scale.
    Even single serve packaging can be weigh more than it should. I had a whole box of protein bars a couple weeks ago that every bar weighed 50-60 grams when a serving size was 45 g. That took my 170 calorie bars to well over 200 calories.

    It's very easy to underestimate how much your eating with measuring cups. They are really only accurate for liquids.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI9ZSGeBkqc
    12 grams doesn't sound like a lot, but with oats that is equal to 45 calories. Making errors like that multiple times throughout a day will add up fast and potentially erase any deficit you thought you had.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    I don't have a scale. I measure everything I eat. When my cereal says 1 cup I use one cup. When all my chicken calories is already stated per chicken breast so I use that. I measure my oatmeal. I eat the amount of peanuts it says for calories, I have Annie's gluten free granola bars and Lara bars as a lunch or breakfast which states the calories and usually always chicken wrap chicken salad chicken on a flat out or Turkey burger for dinner

    "Per chicken breast" is an extremely inaccurate way to log chicken breasts. I have bought chicken breasts that weigh in (raw) at 3 oz, and I have bought chicken breasts that weigh in at 18 oz. The average I get over the counter at my grocery (not packaged, but definitely not organic) is actually about a pound (very busty chickens around here, I guess), but the USDA database average individual breast is about half that size.

    In my experience, the "standard" weights used for individual pieces of meat (as well as individual pieces of fruit or vegetables) used by the USDA for their calorie database are way smaller than what I buy at the grocery store. Not at all sure what the story is behind that -- I'm sure there's a good reason -- but it's consistent.

    A lot of people are serious scale evangelists and are adamant that you CANNOT use volume measurements. While I agree with them that volume measurements are extremely unreliable and almost always tend to UNDERESTIMATE the actual amount of food by 10%-25%, I tend to think that matters more for calorie dense food like peanut butter (or nuts -- never measure nuts in a measuring cup LOL). It's better to use measuring cups than not measure at all though.

    Scales cost next to nothing and are easy to get into the habit of using. At first it feels a little disruptive, but if you stick with it there's a workflow and it actually starts feeling easier than anything else. (For instance, you don't get measuring cups dirty, and often you can weigh right on your plate or in the mixing bowl or prep bowl you're using anyway).
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I don't have a scale. I measure everything I eat. When my cereal says 1 cup I use one cup. When all my chicken calories is already stated per chicken breast so I use that. I measure my oatmeal. I eat the amount of peanuts it says for calories, I have Annie's gluten free granola bars and Lara bars as a lunch or breakfast which states the calories and usually always chicken wrap chicken salad chicken on a flat out or Turkey burger for dinner

    Buy a food scale ASAP. Weigh everything...even the granola and Lara bars, as they can easily weigh more than what they say.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    The scale and patience are your only 2 issues.

    I'll say it again, it's ONLY been 10 days.
  • ArielleMarieB
    ArielleMarieB Posts: 19 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    The scale and patience are your only 2 issues.

    I'll say it again, it's ONLY been 10 days.[/quote yea but 10 days eating amazing and working out hard you would typically at least expect a pound or two. Something. I feel like almost 2 weeks of nothing when you're trying to kick *kitten* is disheartening
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    The scale and patience are your only 2 issues.

    I'll say it again, it's ONLY been 10 days.
    yea but 10 days eating amazing and working out hard you would typically at least expect a pound or two. Something. I feel like almost 2 weeks of nothing when you're trying to kick *kitten* is disheartening
    Yes, it can be a little disheartening, but you have to look at the bigger long term picture. Weight loss isn't linear. There's no instant gratification in weight loss. It takes alot of time and patience. 10 days can easily be normal fluctuations from all sorts of sources. That's why it's not linear. You can not lose weight for 3 weeks and then suddenly be down 3 lbs. You can lose 2 lbs one week and then the next be up 4. It's all normal. It just takes time and patience and looking at the bigger picture. As long as there continues to be a downward trend, you're fine. If you're not losing weight for 4-6 weeks, then it's time to reevaluate your calorie goal and what you're doing. But 10 days doesn't determine success or failure. It just means you have to be patient.
  • ArielleMarieB
    ArielleMarieB Posts: 19 Member
    Thank y'all I found a digital food scale on Amazon I'll research what I'm doing, wish me luck. And thanks for all the craziness on this thread, I thought I'd get a few responses
  • bramirez1977
    bramirez1977 Posts: 4 Member
    I ate between 1000-1200 calories daily (measuring and logging everything), and was exercising 4-5 days a week for 5 weeks and only lost 2 pounds. I was convinced that I must have something wrong with me. I came across an article regarding Basal Metabolic Rates and realized that I was basically starving myself, so my body was holding on to everything it could. Once I upped my caloric intake to around 1700 (which I calculated on shapeup.org), I lost 2 pounds that week, and have continued to slowly lose since.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I ate between 1000-1200 calories daily (measuring and logging everything), and was exercising 4-5 days a week for 5 weeks and only lost 2 pounds. I was convinced that I must have something wrong with me. I came across an article regarding Basal Metabolic Rates and realized that I was basically starving myself, so my body was holding on to everything it could. Once I upped my caloric intake to around 1700 (which I calculated on shapeup.org), I lost 2 pounds that week, and have continued to slowly lose since.

    No. Starvation mode does not exist.
  • angela3356
    angela3356 Posts: 8 Member
    edited April 2016

    .
  • ketorach
    ketorach Posts: 430 Member
    Ninkyou wrote: »
    The scale and patience are your only 2 issues.

    I'll say it again, it's ONLY been 10 days.
    yea but 10 days eating amazing and working out hard you would typically at least expect a pound or two. Something. I feel like almost 2 weeks of nothing when you're trying to kick *kitten* is disheartening
    Please don't kick kittens. ;-)
  • angela3356
    angela3356 Posts: 8 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    angela3356 wrote: »
    I won't go above 1300. Usually I'm at 1200-1250. Yesterday after I logged my 60 minute hike it told me to eat 1600 calories I ate 1350

    granted, none of us here are experts, and everyone will have their own opinion/answer, BUT did you think that maybe you aren't eating ENOUGH? If you aren't giving your body enough fuel it'll hold on to what it's already got to support itself. Think of your body like a car-you need ALL of the fluids PLUS the maintenance to make it run properly.

    Nope, this is impossible

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/why-undereating-wont-actually-help-you-lose-weight/
    Here's an article right from MFP
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    edited April 2016
    angela3356 wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    angela3356 wrote: »
    I won't go above 1300. Usually I'm at 1200-1250. Yesterday after I logged my 60 minute hike it told me to eat 1600 calories I ate 1350

    granted, none of us here are experts, and everyone will have their own opinion/answer, BUT did you think that maybe you aren't eating ENOUGH? If you aren't giving your body enough fuel it'll hold on to what it's already got to support itself. Think of your body like a car-you need ALL of the fluids PLUS the maintenance to make it run properly.

    Nope, this is impossible

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/why-undereating-wont-actually-help-you-lose-weight/
    Here's an article right from MFP

    That article says nothing about your body "holding onto what it already has".

    It does state your metabolism will slow (true to an extent, but not enough to make you hold onto fat)
    It also states your body will start breaking down muscle and organs as well as fat (also true)

    directly from the blog you linked to:
    To meet basic energy needs, your body ramps up breakdown of muscles and organs in addition to fat.

    Body breaking down those things for energy would result in weight loss.
  • brendaobrien2013
    brendaobrien2013 Posts: 1 Member
    Wow, judging from the 6 pages of comments, I think that you have struck a common nerve. Hang in there! You're doing all the right things and you will see results. Personally, I need to see some signs of success in order to stay motivated, so I really appreciate your frustration. Try, try, try to take a long term view - - because, really, you haven't even finished your second week. You could experiment with the exercise part of the equation...like change up the type of exercise, or the time of day, or mix in some double workout days. Everyone has been where you are, so take the advice here that makes the best sense to you and keep looking forward.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,336 Member
    also don't skip breakfast. I gained most my weight by not eating at proper times. I used to hold off eating until noon. And now I force myself to eat small meals through out the morning-by the afternoon-I am not as hungry and don't need to stuff my face.

    I haven't lost weight BUT I have stayed at the same weight for 2 months-but I only started logging my food the past week. And see where I could have made better choices. But I definitely consume more than 2000 calories a day. I workout hard daily with weights. In the past walking or cardio hasn't really helped me. Once I started lifting heavier weights-everything else falls into place. I am still at the beginning like you but I love how I feel like accomplishing something when I push myself to go higher on my reps and weights. I use tools around the house as I don't have any weights but soon I have to go to the gym-I am running out of heavy things to lift.

    Don't give up. We all are in the same boat.

    Meal timing, as long as daily calories are kept the same makes no difference for weight loss. It can make a difference for people sticking to their calorie goals, but in and of itself it does not make a difference. If a person eats more later if they don't eat first thing in the day, thus going over their calorie goal, then they should eat shortly after waking. Others find if they eat shortly after waking, they will keep eating all day and go over their calories. They are often better served by not eating until noon or later so they can stay within their calorie goal. I am of the later group. If I eat right away after getting up I am hungry all day, not to mention I like bigger meals, so if I put off eating until later in the day I can have bigger meals and enjoy them and feel satisfied. I have a friend here who would be miserable doing that and eats every 3 hours or so. That sort of plan would make me miserable and always hungry. It is all about maintaining a calorie deficit. If one is counting calories, meal timing or frequency does not affect weight loss.
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
    edited April 2016
    Someone needs to sticky "Starvation Mode Is Not Real". I know it's in one of the sticky threads, but obviously no one reads it. I have only been on this message board a short time, but if I had a dime for every time some ignorant person has said "oh you might not be eating enough and probably in starvation mode!" I could retire!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    Someone needs to sticky "Starvation Mode Is Not Real". I have only been on this message board a short time, but if I had a dime for every time some ignorant person has said "oh you might not be eating enough and probably in starvation mode!" I could retire!

    There are two stickies about it already. No one reads the stickies anymore.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    mom22dogs wrote: »
    Someone needs to sticky "Starvation Mode Is Not Real". I know it's in one of the sticky threads, but obviously no one reads it. I have only been on this message board a short time, but if I had a dime for every time some ignorant person has said "oh you might not be eating enough and probably in starvation mode!" I could retire!

    I know right! it comes up at least 5 times a day :tired_face:
  • betuel75
    betuel75 Posts: 776 Member
    I ate between 1000-1200 calories daily (measuring and logging everything), and was exercising 4-5 days a week for 5 weeks and only lost 2 pounds. I was convinced that I must have something wrong with me. I came across an article regarding Basal Metabolic Rates and realized that I was basically starving myself, so my body was holding on to everything it could. Once I upped my caloric intake to around 1700 (which I calculated on shapeup.org), I lost 2 pounds that week, and have continued to slowly lose since.

    more misinformation...
    and its your first post.
    There is no starvation mode, your body will not hold on to everything it could. You can starve yourself to death.
  • Nicklebee93
    Nicklebee93 Posts: 316 Member
    edited April 2016
    I know a lot of people keep giving you advice but i've not seen anyone ask this: do you measure yourself? A new workout can cause you to lose inches without the scale budging. And it can add as a second aid. If both inches and scale doesn't move then its a problem in your diet.

    So i'd recomend you start measuring too. There was a month i fluctuated between 5 pounds, i would of lost my mind wondering what i was doing wrong if i hadn't measured myself! It took a whole month to permentaly drop those 5 pounds! And i had just started my weight loss.
  • JonnyJonny5555
    JonnyJonny5555 Posts: 21 Member
    Hmmm. My view is that the body adjusts to a lower intake of calories quite quickly, and it would be a surprise if it didn't because it doesn't know how much food it is going to get tomorrow. The problem with this site's calculations is that they are very inflexible.

    When I started I put my goal as losing 2lbs a week, which was the maximum weight loss available in the software and probably the maximum target while remaining healthy. I also added the least active option because I wanted to make sure that the calculations would not include daily routine exercise I might not be able to complete.

    For me, this translated into 1650 calories per day. I have been weighing everything and filling in all the meal/snack boxes accurately for the whole of June (when I started) and have been well below 1650 on most of those days (including one day when I had to lie to the computer and add one biscuit which I had not eaten because my total was less than 1200 and it would not save it - telling me under 1200 was dangerous to my health).

    I lost almost a stone (14lbs) in three weeks, but since then my weight loss has stalled for the last ten days. My theory is that 1650 is now too high for a daily total, and have tried to get it to recalculate me down to 1400 (which now I have got used to, and cut out, the high calorie foods is very achievable for me), but I can't change my target below 1600 - which at least is a step in the right direction.

    I don't care what the theory says about 2500 calories for men and 2000 for women, it all depends on metabolism. I used to work with a person who had been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and he was told he could eat almost as many calories as he liked. In addition to normal meals he used to eat three chocolate bars per day which were at least 250 calories each, and regularly munched through four cheese sandwiches; he remained as thin as a rake.

    And if I was cheating myself there would be no point in me writing all this, so despite the charts I am going to do a month on 1400 calories a day and see if I can restart the weight loss. If this works and there is another stall later in the month, I will drop to 1300.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Could it because I eat late? Not bad food but say 900 calories is from 9-5 and the last 300 are always late after the kids fall asleep

    It's not about the time you eat. How do you measure your healthy food? Portion sizes can be pretty shocking.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    edited July 2016
    Hmmm. My view is that the body adjusts to a lower intake of calories quite quickly, and it would be a surprise if it didn't because it doesn't know how much food it is going to get tomorrow. The problem with this site's calculations is that they are very inflexible.

    When I started I put my goal as losing 2lbs a week, which was the maximum weight loss available in the software and probably the maximum target while remaining healthy. I also added the least active option because I wanted to make sure that the calculations would not include daily routine exercise I might not be able to complete.

    For me, this translated into 1650 calories per day. I have been weighing everything and filling in all the meal/snack boxes accurately for the whole of June (when I started) and have been well below 1650 on most of those days (including one day when I had to lie to the computer and add one biscuit which I had not eaten because my total was less than 1200 and it would not save it - telling me under 1200 was dangerous to my health).

    I lost almost a stone (14lbs) in three weeks, but since then my weight loss has stalled for the last ten days. My theory is that 1650 is now too high for a daily total, and have tried to get it to recalculate me down to 1400 (which now I have got used to, and cut out, the high calorie foods is very achievable for me), but I can't change my target below 1600 - which at least is a step in the right direction.

    I don't care what the theory says about 2500 calories for men and 2000 for women, it all depends on metabolism. I used to work with a person who had been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and he was told he could eat almost as many calories as he liked. In addition to normal meals he used to eat three chocolate bars per day which were at least 250 calories each, and regularly munched through four cheese sandwiches; he remained as thin as a rake.

    And if I was cheating myself there would be no point in me writing all this, so despite the charts I am going to do a month on 1400 calories a day and see if I can restart the weight loss. If this works and there is another stall later in the month, I will drop to 1300.

    Maybe you should start your own thread and ask questions so we can target our replies.

    However, I would bet money that if you're weighing your food as accurately as you can, you are not at maintenance at 1650 calories. I don't know your current weight and height, but 99.99% of males would lose weight at that level of intake.

    1400 total calories is too low for a man, in my opinion. I urge you to give us more information in a new thread. And I urge you to not eat under 1500 calories per day unless you're under the care of a medical professional.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Hmmm. My view is that the body adjusts to a lower intake of calories quite quickly, and it would be a surprise if it didn't because it doesn't know how much food it is going to get tomorrow. The problem with this site's calculations is that they are very inflexible.

    When I started I put my goal as losing 2lbs a week, which was the maximum weight loss available in the software and probably the maximum target while remaining healthy. I also added the least active option because I wanted to make sure that the calculations would not include daily routine exercise I might not be able to complete.

    For me, this translated into 1650 calories per day. I have been weighing everything and filling in all the meal/snack boxes accurately for the whole of June (when I started) and have been well below 1650 on most of those days (including one day when I had to lie to the computer and add one biscuit which I had not eaten because my total was less than 1200 and it would not save it - telling me under 1200 was dangerous to my health).

    I lost almost a stone (14lbs) in three weeks, but since then my weight loss has stalled for the last ten days. My theory is that 1650 is now too high for a daily total, and have tried to get it to recalculate me down to 1400 (which now I have got used to, and cut out, the high calorie foods is very achievable for me), but I can't change my target below 1600 - which at least is a step in the right direction.

    I don't care what the theory says about 2500 calories for men and 2000 for women, it all depends on metabolism. I used to work with a person who had been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and he was told he could eat almost as many calories as he liked. In addition to normal meals he used to eat three chocolate bars per day which were at least 250 calories each, and regularly munched through four cheese sandwiches; he remained as thin as a rake.

    And if I was cheating myself there would be no point in me writing all this, so despite the charts I am going to do a month on 1400 calories a day and see if I can restart the weight loss. If this works and there is another stall later in the month, I will drop to 1300.

    Ten days without losing is normal. You won't lose every day/week. And the site will not let you change your goal to 1400 because it is below the recommended minimum intake. As long as you're weighing and logging everything and using the correct entries, all you can do is be patient. If it doesn't get going in another couple weeks while you're doing this, then it's time to see a doctor to check for any potential medical issues.
  • sxkett
    sxkett Posts: 3 Member
    ---This thread pretty much has it all. Only thing missing is the "you are working out now and muscle weighs more than fat" argument.---

    Oh, I thought we covered that!

    When you work out, your fat cells go into a Metamorphosis Phase and then they turn into muscle cells, which weigh 27% more. But as a woman, you have to be careful---it's very easy for women to accidentally go from a 'curvy' to a 'bodybuilder' physique. It's probably best if women don't even stand close to the free weights.

    THIS IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE.
    ▪︎▪︎▪︎
    It's difficult for women to attain a "Body Builder's Physique." Ask any woman who competes in the Body Building World what she has to go through to gain all that extra muscle.
    ▪︎▪︎▪︎
    It involves eating "Clean" as well as eating much more protein than in a normal diet. There's also the HOURS spent in the Gym every single day targeting specific muscle groups in an effort to sculpt their physiques.
    ▪︎▪︎▪︎
    Please stop spreading "Old Wives Tales" that scare women away from going to the gym.
    Strength Training is an important part of any well rounded Fitness Plan for both Men and Women.
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