1 month in and no difference!!
Options
Replies
-
BonnieDundee78 wrote: »I'm sure someone will be along in a minute to post the infamous "Why aren't you losing" flowchart - but my first thoughts are that you aren't eating enough to fuel your body. 1200 calories should be the absolute minimum - and it should be more if you are doing big workouts. Your BMR is the amount needed for basic body function, i.e. heart, lungs, brain, etc. Going so far below that for a long period doesn't seem healthy.
If you're one of the ladies in your profile pic, it also doesn't look like you have much (if any) weight to lose, so that might explain why it's not coming off quickly? So.. probably not what you want to hear, but eat more and reduce your expectations?
If she's maintaining her weight, she is eating enough to fuel her body. Most likely she is not accurately tracking her calorie intake.2 -
joannalouise92 wrote: »So my BMR is 1460, and my TDEE is 1760.. which therefore recommends cutting 500 off each day so daily intake of 1260 net. But this is below my BMR.. do you think this is harming me, is it possible to take in too few calories to lose weight or should I stick to me 500 calorie deficit.. or even increase it seeing as it isn't working
No, if your BMR is 1460, 1760 could possibly be your NEAT, if your daily activity other than exercise is sedentary, but it's not your TDEE, given that you're doing two or three cardio workouts a week.
Eating below your BMR is not harming you, especially since the fact that you're not actually losing weight pretty much discounts any possibility that you're actually eating below your BMR. But even if you were, there's nothing magical about your BMR. Your body doesn't have a switch that lets it tap energy reserves like fat to fuel a workout but refused to tap energy reserves to fuel basic bodily functions.
No, it's not possible to take in too few calories to lose weight. It's possible to take in too few calories for good health and to cause your body to conserve energy by cutting back on or even stopping functions like reproductive processes, maintenance and repair of skin, immune system maintenance, etc., and to make you so lethargic that you'll use less calories than you would if you were eating a healthy amount. But you would pretty much continue to lose weight, albeit more slowly, until you died. One month in, having no net loss to show, you are not in this situation.
You should give it a couple more weeks while you focus on tightening up on your logging (weighing all your food, or at least as much as you can, and making sure that you're using accurate MFP database entries, and, obviously, logging everything, even if it's a "treat" or a "cheat" or "just one bite").
3 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »joannalouise92 wrote: »So my BMR is 1460, and my TDEE is 1760.. which therefore recommends cutting 500 off each day so daily intake of 1260 net. But this is below my BMR.. do you think this is harming me, is it possible to take in too few calories to lose weight or should I stick to me 500 calorie deficit.. or even increase it seeing as it isn't working
No, if your BMR is 1460, 1760 could possibly be your NEAT, if your daily activity other than exercise is sedentary, but it's not your TDEE, given that you're doing two or three cardio workouts a week.
Eating below your BMR is not harming you, especially since the fact that you're not actually losing weight pretty much discounts any possibility that you're actually eating below your BMR. But even if you were, there's nothing magical about your BMR. Your body doesn't have a switch that lets it tap energy reserves like fat to fuel a workout but refused to tap energy reserves to fuel basic bodily functions.
No, it's not possible to take in too few calories to lose weight. It's possible to take in too few calories for good health and to cause your body to conserve energy by cutting back on or even stopping functions like reproductive processes, maintenance and repair of skin, immune system maintenance, etc., and to make you so lethargic that you'll use less calories than you would if you were eating a healthy amount. But you would pretty much continue to lose weight, albeit more slowly, until you died. One month in, having no net loss to show, you are not in this situation.
You should give it a couple more weeks while you focus on tightening up on your logging (weighing all your food, or at least as much as you can, and making sure that you're using accurate MFP database entries, and, obviously, logging everything, even if it's a "treat" or a "cheat" or "just one bite").
You make a good point about how the OP is probably not eating below BMR if she isn't losing weight. I didn't think of that point when I replied.
But I do think true eating below BMR can be detrimental to one's health in the long run and should be avoided.
I would definitely echo the above advice about being diligent about your intake and using the food scale. With not that much to lose, there really is little room for error. A few unlogged bites can wipe out your deficit.
Why don't you try a set calorie goal and try to be as precise as possible when eating to that goal? Try it for a month and see if you lose weight. If you do, then it was your logging that was the issue.
0 -
I feel like I am being precise even down to the amount of oil I use to cook with or the condiments I put with things.. but if it is the case I'm underestimating then surely I should reduce my goal intake and not increase it as everyone has suggested previously ?0
-
By the way - thank you all for your comments it's good to know people want to help!
2 -
can you open your diary up please that will help folks to help you0
-
General consensus, I think, is that you should improve the accuracy of your logging AND aim for a reasonable deficit which may only be ~250 calories per day based on current size. And from there, have patience.1
-
FreyasRebirth wrote: »If your BMR is 1530, your TDEE is higher than that. BMR should be the absolute lowest number of calories you consume. That is what fuels your heart, kidneys, and other parts of you that operate whether or not you ever get out of bed in the morning.
I was thinking she may be thinking her TDEE was actually her BMR. That's a very high BMR for someone with those stats.0 -
Okay so I'm happy to have a deficit of just 250 per day; but my difficulty is knowing what to take that from.. anyone have any idea what seems reasonable? Given I've been doing what I think is net 1200 per day (before gym workout calories) and not getting anywhere... is 1200 reasonable?0
-
joannalouise92 wrote: »Okay so I'm happy to have a deficit of just 250 per day; but my difficulty is knowing what to take that from.. anyone have any idea what seems reasonable? Given I've been doing what I think is net 1200 per day (before gym workout calories) and not getting anywhere... is 1200 reasonable?
Why don't you try to net 1200 and see how it makes you feel? If you are hungry and need more energy, eat more.
You should be able to net 1200 and lose weight, but you might be hungry. I have similar stats to you and I know that 1200 calories makes me quite hungry.
As for making cuts...if you drink regular milk, switch to skim. Use less cheese. Eat leaner cuts of meat. Fill your plate with more veggies so you get to eat more (volume) without eating more calories. Use things like peanut butter carefully.0 -
Yeah I have been doing (what I think I've logged pretty accurately) as 1200 net.. which is why I worry maybe I need to drop to more?
It's so disheartening and makes me frustrated to the point of almost crying when week after week I measure my stomach and it's still exactly the same... just want to be able to wear my old clothes and feel comfortable - you know?
I know there's no quick fix.. but I just don't want to waste more time doing the same thing and it keep making no difference to me0 -
Turning fat into muscle? Lol what?I think MFP has a downside in that it encourages most people to eat too little. When you are already close to your goal weight, the goal is no longer the number on the scale, but converting some of the remaining body fat into muscle. I think you might want to start paying attention to macros more than just the calorie number. It's actually one of my pet peeves about this app and the community. What works for someone who is obese will need to be tweaked a lot to work for someone who has far less to lose. Cardio alone won't have the same effect anymore. You need to add strength training if you want to see a real change in your body composition.
I am a good deal heavier than you, but here is an example of why MFP calorie numbers are not great. When I plugged my goal into MFP, it told me to eat 1200 calories. Meanwhile my BMR is 1500!!! I had my numbers done by an actual professional (after losing 60lbs on 1200 which is a VERY RESTRICTIVE DIET!!!) and now I eat up to 1800 calories a day and I'm losing on schedule. I have also lowered my body fat percent meaning that while the numbers haven't moved like they did on the restrictive diet, I am not damaging my muscles by letting them waste away like I have in the past. I am getting stronger and smaller at the same time. If you pay attention only to the scale, you WILL lose weight, but if you pay attention to fitness and nutrition, you will have far more control of your goals and results.
Now it does seem that most people here are kind of against doing these things because it's a lot of work. I believe my body, health and life are worth the work. I'll put two hours into finding a show on netflix I want to watch, I should be able to put a few hours a week into my body.
1 -
You realize a half an inch here and an inch there is a big difference for someone who is already slim, right? That's tremendous.
Also, your body is going to hate you for what you're doing to it. While there is no such thing as starvation mode, there is such thing as "doing it wrong" and not seeing great results (so scientific, I know). Eat, log accurately, chillax with the cardio.0 -
OP, if I'm converting to pounds correctly, you want to lose @ 15-20 pounds. When you don't have much weight to lose, you don't have much wiggle room, so progress will be slow and any weekly loss can be easily masked by fluctuations in water weight. So you can go 3 weeks or so not seeing any results and then see a pound drop off. You have to be super patient. Having said that, double check your logging. Try not to use "generic" or "homemade" entries you find in the database, as they were probably added by other users and are probably wrong. Use your scale for as much as you can, including packaged foods.
You shouldn't have to eat less than 1200 cals unless you are super short or super sedentary. I had to become more active to buy myself a few more calories. I found increasing the protein and fiber in my diet helped me to feel full on fewer calories, so I could "fit in" a few more treats and nights out. Hang in there 2 -
A couple of notes:
1. I peeked back through about a week of your diary, at in the last week anyway, you didn't average 1200 calories. That's okay, but it makes it difficult to determine what you should change if your feeling about what you're doing isn't the same as what you're actually doing. If you go back and average the last 30 days of your diary, what are you really eating?
2. You have a lot of "homemade" entries in your diary. Are these your recipes that you build with the Recipe Builder? If not, they're guaranteed to be inaccurate for what you're eating.
3. You have a lot of entries that read "1 pear" or "0.9 apples." If you already have a food scale and you're using it for some things, you should be using it more often.
Taken together, it seems like your logging is a little off and your interpretation of how much you're eating may not be completely accurate. If it were me, I'd take a step back and find the real average of my intake for the last month, then I'd look at improving my logging. That would be the easiest way to get back on track.5 -
Hi there. Yes I've opened up my diary now..
When I say homemade they are based off my own recipe where I have weighed the individual components previously.. same with saying 0.6 apples, because I know how much the average apple in my packet weighs and I need to x0.6 to get to that weight.. for example. So please i know people keep assuming I'm weighing wrong but honestly I'm already driving myself crazy with it!! Haha
In terms of my last week, yes this is a good example of where I had two bad days where I went out with friends and logged way over net 1200.. but as I say I haven't added my cardio here, I actually had an hour long cardio session on Monday Wednesday and Saturday.. in my mind I think this evens out but .. am I wrong?0 -
joannalouise92 wrote: »Okay so I'm happy to have a deficit of just 250 per day; but my difficulty is knowing what to take that from.. anyone have any idea what seems reasonable? Given I've been doing what I think is net 1200 per day (before gym workout calories) and not getting anywhere... is 1200 reasonable?[/q
Sorry if I missed it, do you make exercise?1 -
joannalouise92 wrote: »Okay so I'm happy to have a deficit of just 250 per day; but my difficulty is knowing what to take that from.. anyone have any idea what seems reasonable? Given I've been doing what I think is net 1200 per day (before gym workout calories) and not getting anywhere... is 1200 reasonable?[/q
Sorry if I missed it, do you make exercise?
Yes 3 hour long cardio sessions a week (which I haven't logged or counted in my daily calorie intake)0 -
Also in the interest of openness, I suppose it could be contributing to the weight issue that I've been constipated for a couple of weeks now.. even though I'm eating way more fibre and drinking more water I have in the last couple of years.. tips on how to alleviate this whilst maintaining my weight loss plans?0
-
joannalouise92 wrote: »Also in the interest of openness, I suppose it could be contributing to the weight issue that I've been constipated for a couple of weeks now.. even though I'm eating way more fibre and drinking more water I have in the last couple of years.. tips on how to alleviate this whilst maintaining my weight loss plans?
all the answers on your other thread....0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 392K Introduce Yourself
- 43.6K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 402 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 998 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions