Advice?

courtlosesit13

I need some help. I've been stuck around the same weight since May. I lost the weight I have through a points system and then lost interest and switched to MFP (been logging for about 90+ days now...)

But I haven't really lost anything on it despite eating pretty well (fruits & vegs, whole grains and proteins - sometimes sweets), drinking lots of water, and doing some form of exercise every day. I reached One-derland in July after upping my calories a bit when a friend suggested it (to about 1900-2000). But then I started to basically maintain there.

Recently I dropped my calorie goal back to about 1750 because my BMR is ~1720 and I know you're not really supposed to eat less than that.

But when I asked for help on a Facebook group I'm in for this app, they told me I was eating too much. So I dropped my calories to about 1500-1600. Last week I finally dropped .6 lbs. But I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I'm a preschool teacher who works 6 hours a day and my TDEE is anywhere from 2200-2700 depending on the day. I put myself as sedentary because my weekends are usually pretty lax, so I just log my exercise on a daily basis.

I hope this all makes sense. Any advice? Am I doing something wrong? Thanks!

TavistockToad

are you weighing your food with scales?

you should be losing weight on 15-1600 cals if your logging is accurate.

db121215

If you just dropped the cals in and started to lose, then that range is what puts you at a deficit. This can change. If you stall again, you maybe need to drop a tad again, to ensure you're in a deficit.

Tried30UserNames

I would say that if you were maintaining at 1900 and. you lost .6 lbs at 1600, then you should eat 1600 to lose weight. Online TDEE and BMR calculators are just estimates. Everybody is different and real world experience is more accurate than a generic calculator

I would also suggest that you ensure you are weighing all of your food, if you aren't already, so you know exactly how much you are eating. Measuring cups and spoons aren't accurate for calorie counting. Most people underestimate how much they are eating. I found out I was overestimating when I switched from measuring cups to weight.

toxikon

courtlosesit13 wrote: »

Recently I dropped my calorie goal back to about 1750 because my BMR is ~1720 and I know you're not really supposed to eat less than that.

This is a myth. As a women, you should stick to 1200 or higher to make sure you're getting all your nutrients, but otherwise, it's fine to dip below your BMR.

mmapags

TavistockToad wrote: »

are you weighing your food with scales?

you should be losing weight on 15-1600 cals if your logging is accurate.

This^
It also sounds like you are over-complicating this. Plug in your info here in MFP, set a 1 lb per week loss rate (or 1/2 lb depending on how much you have left to lose) and follow what it says for 6 weeks. Adjust based on results. Stop looking for and taking advice from all these "friends".

courtlosesit13

Thanks, guys! The one friend I talked to has lost over 75 lbs on this app so I figured she'd know what she was talking about. And her advice helped since I was able to break my plateau when I switched from points to MFP. But then I maintained. I do weigh everything with a food scale so that shouldn't be the issue. It sounds like I just need to tweak my calories until I find my sweet spot

dani_1977

I just want to say, dont give up. Dont let the scale bring you down. I was exactly where you are about 3 years ago. And after about 4 months of nothing, I got frustrated. Decided to take a break . Well the break turned into about 6 months and I have literally been struggling since then

courtlosesit13

dani_1977 wrote: »

I just want to say, dont give up. Dont let the scale bring you down. I was exactly where you are about 3 years ago. And after about 4 months of nothing, I got frustrated. Decided to take a break . Well the break turned into about 6 months and I have literally been struggling since then

I'm definitely trying to look beyond it. I use measurements too, to help show me progress when the scale isn't cooperating. And, you can do it!! We both can. Just takes a little bit of extra work sometimes.