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Can someone explain
JeanieWww
Posts: 4,037 Member
I'm rather new, although i've been a member for a few years, but really gave it my all last week, and buckled down to do this.
Before last week, I didn't exercise much (ok pretty much not at all), ate junk, ate too much .. you get the idea. Well, I decided to finally DO this and went cold turkey. Off the junk food, eating healthy, and working out like a crazy lady. Doc put me on meds for my hypothyroidism. Ok, so got myself on the right track, eating under my calories, was gaining energy, feeling good, doing cardio, doing strength training, and dropping the weight. Maybe it was a little too much at once.
This week I don't feel energetic at all. I want to crawl back in bed (but i haven't), weight loss has slowed dramatically (WHY????), and I'm wondering if there is something I haven't learned about yet. I started looking through forum boards (wow there are too many), and see stuff like TDEE or CICO and have no idea what all this stuff means. I'm rather confused as to if one is suppose to eat the calories they burned off or not. Am I eating not enough? I don't really want to eat more because food made me fat, so I'm slightly at a loss.
Anyone have suggestions, ideas, or actual knowledge?
Before last week, I didn't exercise much (ok pretty much not at all), ate junk, ate too much .. you get the idea. Well, I decided to finally DO this and went cold turkey. Off the junk food, eating healthy, and working out like a crazy lady. Doc put me on meds for my hypothyroidism. Ok, so got myself on the right track, eating under my calories, was gaining energy, feeling good, doing cardio, doing strength training, and dropping the weight. Maybe it was a little too much at once.
This week I don't feel energetic at all. I want to crawl back in bed (but i haven't), weight loss has slowed dramatically (WHY????), and I'm wondering if there is something I haven't learned about yet. I started looking through forum boards (wow there are too many), and see stuff like TDEE or CICO and have no idea what all this stuff means. I'm rather confused as to if one is suppose to eat the calories they burned off or not. Am I eating not enough? I don't really want to eat more because food made me fat, so I'm slightly at a loss.
Anyone have suggestions, ideas, or actual knowledge?
0
Replies
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How many calories are you eating? You should be reaching your goal after exercise, not eating less than that.1
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Congratulations on your first steps!
As for your frustrations;
-are you near your period? Hormones can mess with energy levels and water retention
-are you fully hydrated? Mild dehydration can affect energy and ironically lead to water retention
-are you eating enough? Cutting calories drastically can lead to.an initial euphoria, followed by plummeting energy
-are you getting proper nutrition? Being low in some vitamins and minerals can sap your energy
-are you getting enough rest/sleep? With a new routine, your body needs time to recover
Or, it could just be that the newness has worn off and you are now facing the drudgery of forming new habits.2 -
Because you have a medical condition, your doctor is the best person to talk to about the weight loss.
But CICO = Calories in = Calories out - If you eat the same number of calories you burn, you maintain; if you eat less, you lose; if you eat more, you gain.
TDEE = Total Daily energy Expenditure - How many calories you burn on any given day, including your BMR. If you want to lose weight, you eat less than this.
BMR = Base Metabolic Rate - What your body would burn on processes to live if you laid in bed all day. Don't eat less than this.
Your diary isn't open so it's hard to say if you aren't eating enough but because you do have hypothyroidism you will have a harder time than someone without. The meds can only help so far and aren't guaranteed to make you feel better every day. It is possible you aren't eating enough and that's the cause for feeling exhausted, it's also possible your hypothyroidism isn't controlled. As far as weight loss slowing along with it - I'd lean more towards the medical issue. .
ETA - There's a whole number of reason you might be feeling this way outside of what I listed - those 2 are just somewhere to start looking...1 -
um, Yesterday I ate a little over 800, but also burned off each one of them working out.
-not near my period, but very good point, I'll try to remember that.
-I have a water bottle beside me, but it's possible I've not drank enough. I just can't make myself drink 8cups a day.
-I have no idea. I thought one had to cut the calories to lose weight. That's what my mother always told me anyway.
-I have been taking vitamins just to make sure I don't go low ( I do have low red blood cell count and diagnosed iron-deficiency anemia and am on extra iron to help that)
-I've been getting 6 1/2 hours sleep a night0 -
Sorry, I forgot to address the direct question.
MFP works on net calories. It gives you a total that assumes normal activity. If you enter exercise, it adds the calories burned to the calories you can eat that day.
Think of it as diet for weight loss, exercise for overall health.
I want to add something else about hormones: if I work out intensely, especially with weights, my body fights weight loss. I have gone Biggest Loser style for up to three weeks without the scale budging, then when I go back to a more sustainable moderate exercise schedule, five pounds suddenly comes off.1 -
If I had to guess, I'd say the first week you overdid it - probably didn't eat enough calories, went cold turkey eating "clean", and exercising like a "crazy lady". That was all in week 1... plus a new med. You probably lost fat plus a bunch of water.
Now you are tired and hungry. Week 1 wasn't sustainable, your body is getting used to the increase in exercise and resetting your water balance and so the scale isn't showing a loss. You probably still lost fat in reality, but the scale doesn't show it.
You are being too impatient - 2 weeks is nothing to judge by from a results standpoint and you aren't going to get to your goal all at once just because you decide to go hard core one week.
Set realistic goals, get a plan, and stick to it for a month or two. Re-evaluate your plan vs results after 6-8 weeks and adjust as necessary. For most people, a 1 lb/wk goal is healthy which is in the realm of measurement error for 1 week on a bathroom scale.
Change your habits long term and realize that you didn't get overweight overnight, you aren't going to get fit overnight either.7 -
um, Yesterday I ate a little over 800, but also burned off each one of them working out.
-not near my period, but very good point, I'll try to remember that.
-I have a water bottle beside me, but it's possible I've not drank enough. I just can't make myself drink 8cups a day.
-I have no idea. I thought one had to cut the calories to lose weight. That's what my mother always told me anyway.
-I have been taking vitamins just to make sure I don't go low ( I do have low red blood cell count and diagnosed iron-deficiency anemia and am on extra iron to help that)
-I've been getting 6 1/2 hours sleep a night
You ate only 800 calories and worked out? That is why you don't have any energy. Yes, you need to cut calories to lose weight, but you also need them to fuel your body. You need to eat moderate calories: enough to sustain you, but less than what it takesnto maintain your current weight.
For most people, 6.5 hours of sleep is not enough, especially when building muscle.5 -
Ok, so how do I figure my BMR, so i don't under-eat this.0
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First, baby steps. Going all gung-ho is going to cause burnout.
Your calorie goal is currently set for the calories eaten without any exercise. If you exercise you are meant to replenish those lost calories since 1) your goal already contains a calorie deficit to give you weight loss and 2) to fuel those workouts so you can continue doing them. If you don't, your workouts will suffer until you can no longer do them because your body just won't have the fuel reserves to do them plus your regular daily activity, plus your vital life functions, etc. You don't want to sink yourself it getting too little calories to sustain even the important stuff, so that's why it's also important to choose a sustainable and moderate goal, rather than shooting for quick aggressive losses/goals.
CICO = calories in, calories out. How many calories are you consuming, vs how many is your body using for the entire day.
TDEE = Total daily energy expenditure. Basically, how many calories (energy) your body uses on a daily basis being you.1 -
Ok, so how do I figure my BMR, so i don't under-eat this.
you really don't need to know it right now. Use the Goals button on MFP, set your goal, set your activity level, and then eat until your "Calories Remaining" is close to zero at the end of the day.
How much weight are you trying to lose?1 -
Ok, so how do I figure my BMR, so i don't under-eat this.
The easiest thing to do is just follow the MFP guidelines. Fill out your profile and eat the amount it recommends. With medical conditions, you may have to make adjustments, but their guidelines are a good place to start.3 -
I am not hungry.
Hmm, so how many calories should I be eating. MFP says i can have 1290 a day, but if i work out, how does this change?0 -
This week I don't feel energetic at all. I want to crawl back in bed (but i haven't)
This is your hunger.3 -
Keep in mind, you burn calories all day long just being alive, not only when you exercise. MFP is designed to give you the number of calories you should eat in order to lose weight without doing any extra exercise.
If you work out at the gym, go for a jog, anything like that, theoretically it means you can and should eat more calories that day and still be able to lose weight.
1200 is usually the very minimum recommended level, and if you're burning ~800 calories working out, you should definitely be eating more than that. If you log all your food and exercise, the app should give you a good idea of how much more you can eat.1 -
I have set my goals, set my activity level, when I started. Do I need to change that now that I'm going to the Y 5 times a week? I want to lose over 100 pounds.
Medically I was told to increase iron, eat more red meat and ease up on carbs/ sugar. That's it.0 -
um, Yesterday I ate a little over 800, but also burned off each one of them working out.
-not near my period, but very good point, I'll try to remember that.
-I have a water bottle beside me, but it's possible I've not drank enough. I just can't make myself drink 8cups a day.
-I have no idea. I thought one had to cut the calories to lose weight. That's what my mother always told me anyway.
-I have been taking vitamins just to make sure I don't go low ( I do have low red blood cell count and diagnosed iron-deficiency anemia and am on extra iron to help that)
-I've been getting 6 1/2 hours sleep a night
No, you are doing it wrong.
Your body uses calories 24/7 (way more than 800). Your heart, lungs, kidneys, etc use calories and your fat stores aren't going to provide 100% of everything needed. Your body needs fuel.
So if you ate the minimum calories allotted for women, 1200 and did ZERO deliberate exercise.....you should lose weight. 1200 is the minimum based on nutritional guidelines. If you add exercise.....you eat more than 1200.
Now, 1200 is a one-size-fits-all. Plenty of women can eat more than this & still lose weight. Because of medical issues for you.....maybe not so much.
800 in exercise (?).....maybe. Calorie burns are hard to estimate. On-line calculators are guesses, some are better than others.
Instead of an all out balls to the wall effort......try something more sustainable. Eat less food.....you don't need to be super strict and eliminate foods you love. Just be accountable for your portions. Move more......exercise is for fitness & health. Use exercise to improve your health.....not double a deficit.
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I am not hungry.
Hmm, so how many calories should I be eating. MFP says i can have 1290 a day, but if i work out, how does this change?
working out burns calories, so MFP gives you those calories back to eat. The 1290 calories already has your deficit built in based on your body stats, activity level, and weight loss goal.
You create a deficit to lose weight. You exercise to retain muscle mass. Two very different things. So, you eat back the exercise calories so you can have a chance at retaining muscle.
I prefer to set my activity level to sedentary and log all my exercise. Some people do it a little different, but that is the safest way to stay in a caloric deficit.2 -
um, Yesterday I ate a little over 800, but also burned off each one of them working out.
-not near my period, but very good point, I'll try to remember that.
-I have a water bottle beside me, but it's possible I've not drank enough. I just can't make myself drink 8cups a day.
-I have no idea. I thought one had to cut the calories to lose weight. That's what my mother always told me anyway.
-I have been taking vitamins just to make sure I don't go low ( I do have low red blood cell count and diagnosed iron-deficiency anemia and am on extra iron to help that)
-I've been getting 6 1/2 hours sleep a night
How many pounds total do you want to lose?
Women need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories, and only eat that low if you are very very short and old.
MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such this system is designed for calories earned from exercise to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.
So you should have eaten at least 1600 calories yesterday. (1200 floor plus 50% of the 800 calories you burned from exercise.) However, depending on how tall you are and much you want to lose, 1200 calories is likely too low a floor.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p11 -
Ok, so I do have to consume the calories I burn. That was not explained. *sigh* Ok. Thank you for the knowledge! I will try to get a little more sleep too and drink more water.1
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I have set my goals, set my activity level, when I started. Do I need to change that now that I'm going to the Y 5 times a week? I want to lose over 100 pounds.
Medically I was told to increase iron, eat more red meat and ease up on carbs/ sugar. That's it.
for a 100 lb loss, you can go up to 2 lbs/wk no problem.
like I said previously, I would set it at sedentary and then log the exercise as you do it.
So, eat more iron - I assume they did bloodwork for that?
Carbs and sugar do not keep you from losing weight. Eating less calories than you burn does that. If you like carbs and sugar, eat it as long as it fits in your calorie goal. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of protein - about 1g/lb lean body mass.0 -
I'm rather new, although i've been a member for a few years, but really gave it my all last week, and buckled down to do this.
Before last week, I didn't exercise much (ok pretty much not at all), ate junk, ate too much .. you get the idea. Well, I decided to finally DO this and went cold turkey. Off the junk food, eating healthy, and working out like a crazy lady. Doc put me on meds for my hypothyroidism. Ok, so got myself on the right track, eating under my calories, was gaining energy, feeling good, doing cardio, doing strength training, and dropping the weight. Maybe it was a little too much at once.
This week I don't feel energetic at all. I want to crawl back in bed (but i haven't), weight loss has slowed dramatically (WHY????), and I'm wondering if there is something I haven't learned about yet. I started looking through forum boards (wow there are too many), and see stuff like TDEE or CICO and have no idea what all this stuff means. I'm rather confused as to if one is suppose to eat the calories they burned off or not. Am I eating not enough? I don't really want to eat more because food made me fat, so I'm slightly at a loss.
Anyone have suggestions, ideas, or actual knowledge?
Likely, your weight loss has slowed dramatically because you are trying to do too much too soon, which has increased your stress level incredibly, and that surge in cortisol is causing you to retain water.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/
...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.
They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.
And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).
When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, let’s cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.2 -
May I recommend that you spend a little time and read through these posts stickied at the top of this forum section:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest4 -
If MFP told you to eat 1290, then this is your goal if you were to do no exercise. Try to aim for +/- 50 calories, so 1240-1340. If you're a little high, a little low - it balances out. But do not go as low as 800! (Note the low energy you're feeling now, that is a side effect of lack of nutrition.)
If you exercise, you eat additional. The 1290 goal already has a deficit built in. Meaning you could lose weight eating 1290 and NOT exercise. But exercise is good for heart, lungs, body in general. And it burns additional calories. It is hard to know exactly how many. If you're logging exercise here at MFP consider eating 50% of the calories you log. That way, if they are overestimated, you're covered.
Then there is patience. Others have explained water weight. The scale won't go down every day/week. But in the long term, the trend should be downward. Mar 1 you should weigh less than Feb 1. Apr 1 you should weigh less than Mar 1 and so on.1 -
GauchoMark wrote: »I have set my goals, set my activity level, when I started. Do I need to change that now that I'm going to the Y 5 times a week? I want to lose over 100 pounds.
Medically I was told to increase iron, eat more red meat and ease up on carbs/ sugar. That's it.
for a 100 lb loss, you can go up to 2 lbs/wk no problem.
like I said previously, I would set it at sedentary and then log the exercise as you do it.
So, eat more iron - I assume they did bloodwork for that?
Carbs and sugar do not keep you from losing weight. Eating less calories than you burn does that. If you like carbs and sugar, eat it as long as it fits in your calorie goal. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of protein - about 1g/lb lean body mass.
That is how I am set, so at least I did that right. Yes, they did blood work
It isn't a permanent thing, so I'm working to correct it. 0 -
What are your stats?
Age: 45
Height:
Weight:
Goal weight:
Activity level (as set in MFP):
pounds per week goal (as set in MFP):
Do you log every bite eaten?:
Do you weigh and measure your food?:
How do you track exercise? (i.e. how do you determine how much you've burned):
Are you willing to open your diary?
With this info, we could possibly help you... but I agree with everyone else... 800 calories NET is WAY TOO LOW.
That's why you're not hungry, why you have no energy, why you have no motivation... and it will also be why your nails will get brittle and why your hair will start falling out (if you keep it up).
At a minimum - you should be eating 1200 cals (unless prescribed otherwise by a doctor who is closely monitoring your situation)... and that 1200 should be AFTER you eat back whatever you burn by exercising.1 -
Even 1290 might be too low, how much weight are you trying to lose?
When you set up your goals you tell MFP your activity level along with other personal details and then it will figure out how many calories you need to eat to meet your goal if this was all the activity you were to do each day.
Purposeful exercise means burning more calories on top of this which means you get to eat more calories while still meeting your goal.
The lowest recommended calorie goal for a female is 1200, no one is expected to go below this, this is to ensure you meet your nutritional needs. 800 is way too low and definitely will not be endorsed by any responsible person using this site.
You will have lost a lot of weight in week 1 for a variety of reasons, not much of this weight will have been fat, it is normal to see this slow in week 2 and beyond.
Try eating at your suggested calories, give it a reasonable period of time, about 4 weeks and you should see yourself lose weight as planned. And the good news is this should be easier than you think, you say 800 cals has you full, if that's true it will be because you are eating 'healthy', but on this journey no food should be ruled out, eat what you like, not what you think you should (aiming for a balanced diet), just count your calories and keep within your calorie limit.0 -
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kshama2001 wrote: »I'm rather new, although i've been a member for a few years, but really gave it my all last week, and buckled down to do this.
Before last week, I didn't exercise much (ok pretty much not at all), ate junk, ate too much .. you get the idea. Well, I decided to finally DO this and went cold turkey. Off the junk food, eating healthy, and working out like a crazy lady. Doc put me on meds for my hypothyroidism. Ok, so got myself on the right track, eating under my calories, was gaining energy, feeling good, doing cardio, doing strength training, and dropping the weight. Maybe it was a little too much at once.
This week I don't feel energetic at all. I want to crawl back in bed (but i haven't), weight loss has slowed dramatically (WHY????), and I'm wondering if there is something I haven't learned about yet. I started looking through forum boards (wow there are too many), and see stuff like TDEE or CICO and have no idea what all this stuff means. I'm rather confused as to if one is suppose to eat the calories they burned off or not. Am I eating not enough? I don't really want to eat more because food made me fat, so I'm slightly at a loss.
Anyone have suggestions, ideas, or actual knowledge?
Likely, your weight loss has slowed dramatically because you are trying to do too much too soon, which has increased your stress level incredibly, and that surge in cortisol is causing you to retain water.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/dietary-restraint-and-cortisol-levels-research-review.html/
...a group of women who scored higher on dietary restraint scores showed elevated baseline cortisol levels. By itself this might not be problematic, but as often as not, these types of dieters are drawn to extreme approaches to dieting.
They throw in a lot of intense exercise, try to cut calories very hard (and this often backfires if disinhibition is high; when these folks break they break) and cortisol levels go through the roof. That often causes cortisol mediated water retention (there are other mechanisms for this, mind you, leptin actually inhibits cortisol release and as it drops on a diet, cortisol levels go up further). Weight and fat loss appear to have stopped or at least slowed significantly. This is compounded even further in female dieters due to the vagaries of their menstrual cycle where water balance is changing enormously week to week anyhow.
And invariably, this type of psychology responds to the stall by going even harder. They attempt to cut calories harder, they start doing more activity. The cycle continues and gets worse. Harder dieting means more cortisol means more water retention means more dieting. Which backfires (other problems come in the long-term with this approach but you’ll have to wait for the book to read about that).
When what they should do is take a day or two off (even one day off from training, at least in men, let’s cortisol drop significantly). Raise calories, especially from carbohydrates. This helps cortisol to drop. More than that they need to find a way to freaking chill out. Meditation, yoga, get a massage... Get in the bath, candles, a little Enya, a glass of wine, have some you-time but please just chill.
ahhh. Went over kill. Ok, so chill, let it happen on it's own. Eat the calories i burn off and almost up to the 1200 they allow me.0 -
I have set my goals, set my activity level, when I started. Do I need to change that now that I'm going to the Y 5 times a week? I want to lose over 100 pounds.
Medically I was told to increase iron, eat more red meat and ease up on carbs/ sugar. That's it.
MFP's activity level should be based on your job. I sit at a desk all day, so I put sedentary. Then workouts are logged separately....just like you log food. These workouts give you additional calories. HOWEVER, calorie burns are estimates. Many people eat back 50-75% of exercise calories to make up for "generous" estimates.1 -
GauchoMark wrote: »I have set my goals, set my activity level, when I started. Do I need to change that now that I'm going to the Y 5 times a week? I want to lose over 100 pounds.
Medically I was told to increase iron, eat more red meat and ease up on carbs/ sugar. That's it.
for a 100 lb loss, you can go up to 2 lbs/wk no problem.
like I said previously, I would set it at sedentary and then log the exercise as you do it.
So, eat more iron - I assume they did bloodwork for that?
Carbs and sugar do not keep you from losing weight. Eating less calories than you burn does that. If you like carbs and sugar, eat it as long as it fits in your calorie goal. Also, make sure you are getting plenty of protein - about 1g/lb lean body mass.
That is how I am set, so at least I did that right. Yes, they did blood work It isn't a permanent thing, so I'm working to correct it.
It's pretty common in women. Spinach is also a good source of iron.
I lost 125 lbs to get down to my current weight, so speaking from experience, you have a long road ahead. Come to terms with that and know that it takes long term commitment and consistency to get there - so, relax a little and enjoy the ride.3
This discussion has been closed.
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