I'm 5'4" 155.6 lbs. It's taking me 1-2 weeks to lose 1 lb on a 1200 cal bal diet. Why so long?

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ha110w33nsp00k
ha110w33nsp00k Posts: 187 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
HELP!!!

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Your diary is closed, but when people don't lose as quickly as they expect it is often due to logging issues.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    What is your activity level like?

    Your BMR is ~1386 so if you are fairly sedentary and do not exercise your total daily energy expenditure is 1675. (Higher if you're more active and/or do exercise.)

    1675-1200 = 475 deficit per day, which is about right to lose 1 pound per week. So 1 pound every 1-2 weeks sounds normal.

    You can a) increase activity/exercise/calorie burn and b) be careful to log accurately and honestly by using a food scale and accurate food entries.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    khahn1031 wrote: »
    HELP!!!
    Do you weigh 100% of what you eat on a food scale? Measuring cups and tablespoons and the like are only appropriate for liquids. If you are eating solid foods and using anything other than a scale, you are likely eating more than you think. Additionally you state it takes 1-2 weeks to lose a lb. That averages to 0.75 lbs a week. That isn't a terrible rate of loss. In half a year you would have lost about 20 lbs which on a 5'4 frame makes a BIG difference in appearance.

  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
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    You have to eat -500 calories from your TDEE for 1lb loss per week. So if you are eating 1200 calories, perhaps your TDEE is ~1500, so you are losing half a pound per week.

    I think you are doing fine, don' t change to something too drastic or else you will give up. If you want to accelerate your deficit, try cutting 100 more this week and if that is do-able, cut another 100 the following week.
  • moguk
    moguk Posts: 1 Member
    edited April 2016
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    khahn1031 wrote: »
    HELP!!!

    I sympathise whole heartedly.
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Your diary is closed, but when people don't lose as quickly as they expect it is often due to logging issues.

    This may be the case for a number of participants - but it is not always so.

    As an example over 3 years ago I gained 3 stone after I gave up smoking but unfortunatley found it difficult to excercise vigorously for health reasons.

    Over the years I tried on various occassions to diet to loose weight and calorie counted whilst doing so and keeping within the 'healthy' guideline of consuming no less than 1200 calories per day - but unfortunately I found it very difficult to loose weight.

    A number of people responded to my lack of success just as you did and suggested it was a problem with my calorie counting - So a few weeks ago I decided to go on a concerted effort to loose weight and for 5 weeks daily ate nothing more than a bowl of cereal and a tin of soup with 2 slices of bread (or similar) for 5 days of the week, then a normal (but low calory) meal at weekends

    During that time I went from 113kg to 109kg.
    I roughly calculated that on that basis, as I was eating no more than 900 calories per day , in order to loose that weigh over that period my MBR must be somewhere around 1500 calories - which is low for a 6'1" male of 65.

    So I signed up here and started to record (ACCURATELY) every morsel I ate.

    The result - since starting to record my food here, and whilst slightly increasing my intake on some days but mostly keeping below 1200 calories per day - I am back up to 109.5 kg - whereas according to MFP I should now be less than 106kg heading towards 103kg after 5 weeks from the 13th April. So it looks like "back to 800/900 calories per day for me - miserable as it is to do so.

    l3oviaq6rtko.jpg

    So please, the stock answer of 'you are not counting properly' may be true in a number of instances (which is sort of implied in your reply) but it does not wash in all situations and should be used a bit more sympathetically.

    What I would like to know is why it is that TV programs have access to all sorts of equipment for monitoring/measuring calories in and out BUT the medical profession seem to have none and no clue where to source any so determining an actual BMR is impossible but would be extremely valuable.

  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,979 Member
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    It's not "so long." It's a perfectly reasonable rate of loss for someone who's only about 10 pounds over a healthy weight for her height.

    And if it takes you one to two weeks to lose a pound on 1200 calories a day, it's because your TDEE is somewhere between 1450 and 1700 calories a day--assuming your data is accurate and you haven't omitted material facts like a 3500 calorie "cheat day" every weekend.
  • evildeadedd
    evildeadedd Posts: 108 Member
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    You have about 30 pounds to lose until you are in an idea weight range for your height(if you have a small frame). With that amount to lose 1/2 to 1 pound a week is what you should expect. MFP bottoms out at 1200 calories for women. Let me guess you set it at 2lbs a week because you want to lose super fast right? 2lbs a week is not realistic, that goal is for someone who is more than 75 pounds overweight. The closer you are to an idea weight range for your height the less you can lose a week. Just keep at it, you are losing, that's the important part.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    moguk wrote: »
    khahn1031 wrote: »
    HELP!!!

    I sympathise whole heartedly.
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Your diary is closed, but when people don't lose as quickly as they expect it is often due to logging issues.

    This may be the case for a number of participants - but it is not always so.

    As an example over 3 years ago I gained 3 stone after I gave up smoking but unfortunatley found it difficult to excercise vigorously for health reasons.

    Over the years I tried on various occassions to diet to loose weight and calorie counted whilst doing so and keeping within the 'healthy' guideline of consuming no less than 1200 calories per day - but unfortunately I found it very difficult to loose weight.

    A number of people responded to my lack of success just as you did and suggested it was a problem with my calorie counting - So a few weeks ago I decided to go on a concerted effort to loose weight and for 5 weeks daily ate nothing more than a bowl of cereal and a tin of soup with 2 slices of bread (or similar) for 5 days of the week, then a normal (but low calory) meal at weekends

    During that time I went from 113kg to 109kg.
    I roughly calculated that on that basis, as I was eating no more than 900 calories per day , in order to loose that weigh over that period my MBR must be somewhere around 1500 calories - which is low for a 6'1" male of 65.

    So I signed up here and started to record (ACCURATELY) every morsel I ate.

    The result - since starting to record my food here, and whilst slightly increasing my intake on some days but mostly keeping below 1200 calories per day - I am back up to 109.5 kg - whereas according to MFP I should now be less than 106kg heading towards 103kg after 5 weeks from the 13th April. So it looks like "back to 800/900 calories per day for me - miserable as it is to do so.

    l3oviaq6rtko.jpg

    So please, the stock answer of 'you are not counting properly' may be true in a number of instances (which is sort of implied in your reply) but it does not wash in all situations and should be used a bit more sympathetically.

    What I would like to know is why it is that TV programs have access to all sorts of equipment for monitoring/measuring calories in and out BUT the medical profession seem to have none and no clue where to source any so determining an actual BMR is impossible but would be extremely valuable.

    You should probably go see a doctor.

    OP, you're probably eating more than you think. /thread
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    Options
    moguk wrote: »
    khahn1031 wrote: »
    HELP!!!

    I sympathise whole heartedly.
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Your diary is closed, but when people don't lose as quickly as they expect it is often due to logging issues.

    This may be the case for a number of participants - but it is not always so.

    As an example over 3 years ago I gained 3 stone after I gave up smoking but unfortunatley found it difficult to excercise vigorously for health reasons.

    Over the years I tried on various occassions to diet to loose weight and calorie counted whilst doing so and keeping within the 'healthy' guideline of consuming no less than 1200 calories per day - but unfortunately I found it very difficult to loose weight.

    A number of people responded to my lack of success just as you did and suggested it was a problem with my calorie counting - So a few weeks ago I decided to go on a concerted effort to loose weight and for 5 weeks daily ate nothing more than a bowl of cereal and a tin of soup with 2 slices of bread (or similar) for 5 days of the week, then a normal (but low calory) meal at weekends

    During that time I went from 113kg to 109kg.
    I roughly calculated that on that basis, as I was eating no more than 900 calories per day , in order to loose that weigh over that period my MBR must be somewhere around 1500 calories - which is low for a 6'1" male of 65.

    So I signed up here and started to record (ACCURATELY) every morsel I ate.

    The result - since starting to record my food here, and whilst slightly increasing my intake on some days but mostly keeping below 1200 calories per day - I am back up to 109.5 kg - whereas according to MFP I should now be less than 106kg heading towards 103kg after 5 weeks from the 13th April. So it looks like "back to 800/900 calories per day for me - miserable as it is to do so.

    l3oviaq6rtko.jpg

    So please, the stock answer of 'you are not counting properly' may be true in a number of instances (which is sort of implied in your reply) but it does not wash in all situations and should be used a bit more sympathetically.

    What I would like to know is why it is that TV programs have access to all sorts of equipment for monitoring/measuring calories in and out BUT the medical profession seem to have none and no clue where to source any so determining an actual BMR is impossible but would be extremely valuable.

    I don't know, but suspect, that if you are in fact being very accurate with your logging/intake then you may have an issue with low muscle mass and/or low testosterone.

    In your shoes I would be getting my lean mass assessed (not using bio-impedance...Dexa scan is generally considered best), and asking my doctor to check hormone levels.

    Why? Because most often a low BMR is related to a lack of lean mass. That is why we are given fewer calories a day for maintenance as we get older; it is assumed that we lose a certain amount of lean mass as we age.

    Good news...if you can increase your muscle mass you can eat more without gaining. Just the exercise (resistance training) will give you a bump up.

    BMR/RMR testing is available here (US), but from your post you may be from the UK or Canada. Even here it isn't something that is usually prescribed by a doctor...it is a cash out of pocket kind of thing. Try using google for "BMR testing near me/RMR testing near me/metabolic testing near me" to see if there are any testing facilities in your area. Here a local university does the testing for $150.

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