34 logged days and no results

grammacarrie

Can someone give me a suggestion on how to lose more than 2 lbs in 4 weeks when I log my calories and do some type of exercise every day. I am 56 and 5 ft 1 and my calories they have given me to use a day is 1200. Is this too low a number? Is that why I'm not losing?? Help!!

Calliope610

Are you weighing and measuring all your food and drink and logging it accurately?

kalmf

Actually you are losing . Half a pound a week is a sane and most importantly, sustainable rate of loss with your stats.

grammacarrie

I weigh and measure my food and I drink water through the day. Except morning when I have black coffee. 1200 cals seems low but is that because of my age? Thanks for your replies. Any help makes me feel better

ridge4mfp

I am going to guess that you set up your profile to lose 2 lbs a week. But the fact that MFP assigned you 1200, which is the lowest it will go, likely means you won't actually lose that much a week, because you cannot do so in a healthy manner at your size. Relax and go with it. A half pound a week is great at your height. I wish MFP would not even give the option of 2 lbs per week if it can't be done in healthy manner for the person's stats.

grammacarrie

Thank you! !!

Shells918

I lose at about the same rate. I would love to lose faster but my body doesn't work that way. I'm 46 and 5'4". I've lost 22 pounds in 10 months. I've also lost 22 inches, which makes a big difference. Take measurements. They can make you feel better when the scale isn't moving that quickly.

Arekha

What is your weight now? I am 5'1" as well and my calorie goal given by MFP for 0.5 lb loss/week is 1200.

KorvapuustiPossu

As @ridge4mfp said you likely put 2lbs/ week loss on your goals. However that requires a 1000 deficit... since you've been losing 0.5 lbs a week suggests that your deficit is only 250 kcal (Meaning your TDEE is about 1450). MFP won't ever put you under 1200 kcal since that is unhealthy. However you can up your activity to increase your TDEE (I suggest get a pedometer and do 10 k steps every day at least - that should increase your TDEE about 300 kcal and speed up weight loss). However be mindful to reach your macros and take care of your health first. Other thing is...if you are not using kitchen scale you are probably eating more than you think. So tighten up you logging, get more active, and be patient. Loosing slowly is better because you learn portion control and get into control over your body. If you eat in deficit you will lose weight, there is no possibility of eating too little so you don't lose weight. That's a myth...and a bad one.
Good luck!

grammacarrie

I'm 30 lbs more than I should be because I was on prednisone for quite a while. And you are right Ridge. I did put down 2 lbs a week loss because a weight watcher leader said I should be losing 2 lbs a week and that I should weigh 120

Noelarias

grammacarrie, if you want to have different results you have to do things different. Maybe you can take a walk around your neighborhood once a day, add more low impact exercise. Try to cook fat free, no oil. You have to count your calories weighting your meals, you have to even count the sugar of your coffee (try to use stevia). And so on, i'm sure that if you add a little more effort you will loose weight faster. But patience is the most important thing. It didn't take a week for us to gain weight, so, we cannot expect to lose it from one day to another. Keep up with it and keep us posted.

LivviLosing

I think the important thing to remember is that this is not a race, it's a lifestyle change. .5lb/week is an acceptable rate to be losing at, especially if you're at a lower weight to begin with. (Lower as in 150lb vs 250lb.) Make sure you're using a food scale to accurately log your meals, and don't forget drinks and BLTs (bites, licks, tastes of other food).
Basically, don't panic. The downward trend and healthier life choices are what is important here.

kgirlhart

If you are trying to lose 20 pounds then .5 pound loss per week is what you should be aiming for, not 2 pounds. Your height is a lot of the reason you are at 1200 calories. Just be patient. If you don't already use a food scale you really should get one. With only 20 pounds to lose there isn't much room for error in your logging. I don't think that at your age and height 1200 is too low (as someone already pointed out starvation mode is a myth). I am 48 and 5'4.75" and I set my goal at 1300 and eat back most of my exercise calories. You don't have to stop using oil in your cooking or putting sugar in your coffee, you just need to log it and make sure you can fit it in your calorie goal.

flaminica

grammacarrie wrote: »

I weigh and measure my food and I drink water through the day. Except morning when I have black coffee. 1200 cals seems low but is that because of my age? Thanks for your replies. Any help makes me feel better

Quick answer: Yes.

At 5'1", female and 56, even if you select .5 pounds a week you'll still get a recommendation of 1250-1290 calories max assuming you're slightly active. If you're sedentary you'll get 1200 every time. At those stats your BMR is only 1100 or so.

MFP's calculator (to be fair, everyone's calculator) is not designed to accommodate the statistics of older, smaller people. We sort of break it.

As others have said, your deficit will be so narrow that you do need to pay really close attention to accurate weighing and logging.

grammacarrie

LivviBum wrote: »

I think the important thing to remember is that this is not a race, it's a lifestyle change. .5lb/week is an acceptable rate to be losing at, especially if you're at a lower weight to begin with. (Lower as in 150lb vs 250lb.) Make sure you're using a food scale to accurately log your meals, and don't forget drinks and BLTs (bites, licks, tastes of other food).
Basically, don't panic. The downward trend and healthier life choices are what is important here.

grammacarrie

Thankyou!

australianna

The calories deducted for exercise by MFP are way too generous. I started using my hunger/fullness level as a guide. I count the number of calories by logging the foods eaten and I gauge if I am really hungry. It does take time and as a previous entry stated 1/2 lb a week is a much better rate to lose weight. This way your body becomes used to not eating as much and with exercise has the opportunity to tighten up lost fat and build muscle. Too rapid a weight loss does not instill the habit of healthy eating and it's too painful, I hate to be hungry. It took me a year to lose 32 lbs and I am glad I did it that way. Yes, 1200 calories a day is just not enough.

CChandler81

I'm 5'2" and right there with you. I started consistently tracking again 55 days ago. I've lost a grand total of maybe 4lbs on a good day. I'm currently 148 and trying to get back down to 130 as an initial goal.
I also don't eat back my exercise calories and underestimate my burns. On average I'm eating somewhere between 1100-1400 cals a day.
I know this has worked in the past (I lost 35lbs and gained back 1/2 when I stopped logging) so I just have to trust the process. Being short sucks in so many regards to weight loss, especially when you're within 20lbs of a "healthy" weight for your height.

On the flip side, in 55 days I see noticeable changes in the mirror and I've lost at least a dress size. It's hard to focus on these positives though when all I see is that scale telling me I'm overweight.