Help?! 1000-1200 cal. A day plus 1 hr exercise and not loosing an ounce....

danielle71686

I am 34 yo female, currently at 218lb no health problems eat..
I have decided to get healthier... I count every item in fitness pal, I have been doing 16 fast /8Hr eating and have been eating clean, balanced 1000-1200 calories a day in that window and have been drinking between 80-120 oz water a day no sodas ext plus an hour of exercise reaching a good heart rate during and it “says” I’m Burning 250-300 cal during exercise but the scale has not moved an ounce. Every day for a week exactly since I have started this journey no movement at all and I am not sure what to do.....

RubyLou25

Are you weighing all your food on a scale?

zebasschick

in addition to RubyLou25's question about weighing everything on a food scale, do you make sure to choose accurate database listings on MFP? many are inaccurate, some very inaccurate.

btw, weighing all your food includes cooking oil, salad dressing, etc. if you add protein powder to milk, weigh the powder, measure the milk.

Geneveremfp

A week isn't a very long time to set results. It sounds like you're putting your body under a lot of new stress so holding onto water weight. Especially with an hour of exercise and very low calories.

Weigh all your food and accurately record your intake. Eat enough - 1000 - 1200 is not going to give you enough energy so it'll put your body under stress and make everything harder. Be a bit patient.

It sounds simple but the consistency is the hard bit. You'll get there.

srk369

Is the exercise new? There are many reasons the scale doesn't move (is it your time of the month?) but water retention with new exercise is a big one.

janejellyroll

A week is too early to conclude that your plan isn't working but . . . this honestly sounds very stressful and punitive. Is there a reason why you set your calorie goal so low?

moonangel12

How tall are you? What do you have your rate of loss set at?

Minimum you should be eating is 1200, plus exercise calories. Also, increased activity can throw the scales off, as previously mentioned. First sprint triathlon I ever did showed as a spike in my weight graph, but it eventually went down and I proceeded as expected with my weight loss.

Weigh everything as well, double check labels and entries, don’t rely on servings in a package or per piece measurements.

It’s really too soon to know much of anything. Weight loss done right takes time, even though we want to be done yesterday. Too much too soon can lead to some nasty and sometimes dangerous side effects.

Dogmom1978

Weight loss is a slow process. I agree with the above that 1000 is too low. The minimum you should eat is 1200, but I’m not sure why you would even eat that little. It will be easier to sustain at a slower rate. I am set to lose 1 lb per week (5’6” 42 year old female current weight 178 lbs). I have lost 25 lbs so far. It’s like watching paint dry, but it’s sustainable for me to lose 1 lb per week and get to eat 1500 calories a day.

danielle71686

Hi, thanks for the replies... I am weighing everything Grams ect on my digital scaleand also I have been trying very hard under my fitness pal to get everything 100 percent accurate as far as what I am eating. If anything I always err on the side of caution and use the highest calorie count if I’m unsure. Im not on my period either so I think bloating is not an issue. I usually find that I have ate like 600 calories by 6pm which is 300 cal breakfast eggs, toast ect and a 300 calorie lunch of 2 cups romaine some light dressing and 1.5 oz. ground 90/10 beef with veggies which is like 280 calories... I pound the water all day which is crazy filling and I workout around 5:30-6:30pm just a fast paced walk to keep my heart rate up for an hour and when I’m done at 7pm I still need like 750 calories just to get to 1200 but I’m not hungry really. I know its crazy but I’m forcing myself to eat the last bit of calories before my 8pm cutoff for 16/8 but It takes a lot of healthy eating to get a lot of calories thats for sure... my sodium has been a tad high but my husband who works out religiously swears that if my calories are lower like 1200-1500 a day and I’m working out its science and there is no reason not to loose weight. Its frustrating just not seeing even an ounce gone in a whole week I’m just wondering if besides upping my calories and shooting for like 400 a meal to make it at least 1200 if thats the only thing I should change. I’m stumped really sigh....

danielle71686

I guess my biggest thing is I know it takes time 1-2 pounds a week is usually average but I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything that would hinder weight loss Ive never in the past had a problem to not at least see a little movement but a whole week and being the exact same is really crazy 😜

danielle71686

I’m 5’7 btw sorry forgot to add that

janejellyroll

danielle71686 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the replies... I am weighing everything Grams ect on my digital scaleand also I have been trying very hard under my fitness pal to get everything 100 percent accurate as far as what I am eating. If anything I always err on the side of caution and use the highest calorie count if I’m unsure. Im not on my period either so I think bloating is not an issue. I usually find that I have ate like 600 calories by 6pm which is 300 cal breakfast eggs, toast ect and a 300 calorie lunch of 2 cups romaine some light dressing and 1.5 oz. ground 90/10 beef with veggies which is like 280 calories... I pound the water all day which is crazy filling and I workout around 5:30-6:30pm just a fast paced walk to keep my heart rate up for an hour and when I’m done at 7pm I still need like 750 calories just to get to 1200 but I’m not hungry really. I know its crazy but I’m forcing myself to eat the last bit of calories before my 8pm cutoff for 16/8 but It takes a lot of healthy eating to get a lot of calories thats for sure... my sodium has been a tad high but my husband who works out religiously swears that if my calories are lower like 1200-1500 a day and I’m working out its science and there is no reason not to loose weight. Its frustrating just not seeing even an ounce gone in a whole week I’m just wondering if besides upping my calories and shooting for like 400 a meal to make it at least 1200 if thats the only thing I should change. I’m stumped really sigh....

It's not at all uncommon to not be hungry on the first couple of weeks of a low calorie plan, but at some point your body is going to demand more food. That's why it's better to pick a reasonable calorie goal, it reduces the chances that you're going to get really hungry later, it gives you sufficient energy for your activity, and it reduces the stress on your body.

Sometimes people in our lives, even those who work out a lot, aren't the best guide to what we should do. They have strategies that work well for them, but they might not know what will work best for you.

For an active woman, 1,200-1,500 is very low. And you're not even getting that. If you're having trouble getting sufficient calories and you know you're measuring correctly, then add something tasty to your toast (nut butter, butter, avocado), skip the light dressing and use a full fat one, add some more vegetables to your salad, eat some fruit for snacks, have some almonds . . . these are just ideas, it can really be whatever you'd like. But the lifestyle you're describing is something that you can keep up for a few weeks, but just isn't a fun way to live, you know?

Dogmom1978

It’s also not average to lose 1-2 lbs per week. In fact, 2 lbs is the high side. Make sure you are setting a reasonable goal for yourself and remember, it’s going to take TIME.

nanastaci2020

Log everything, using food scale for solids. Slice of bread? Weigh it. Apple or banana? Weigh it. Raw meat to be cooked for dinner? Weigh it. Protein powder? Weigh it. Etc.

Do not use random 'recipes' in MFP - create your own because you don't know that the ingredients used are the same as in your recipe.

Beyond that - it has been a week. There are SO many reasons why water weight can fluctuate that 1 week is not enough to see a trend. You may retain water the week of or the week before your period. Or when you ovulate. You may retain for a few days after having particularly high sodium. Or for starting a new work out routine, or for becoming more active in general. Your water weight can change because you're stressed, because you're not getting enough sleep.

Be consistent in how, when you weigh yourself. Same scale, in the same location in your house. Same time of day, in the same level of dress or undress. Easiest is often in the morning, after using the bathroom, before eating or drinking anything.

KimberlyCapone

I'm not going to read through all the other comments, and I'm certain this has already been said but 1,000-1,200 calories is NOT ENOUGH!

Strudders67

If your exercise is new, your body is holding on to water to repair muscles. Give it another 5 weeks. Seriously. The usual suggestion is to stick to your calorie deficit for 6 weeks (which gives two weeks to adjust to new diet and exercise and four weeks to go through a complete menstrual cycle) and then compare your starting weight to your weight at that time. From that you can work out if you are losing at the expected rate or not and adjust calorie intake accordingly. A week is far too short a time to be questioning anything.

I can totally understand your frustration - most of us have been there, done that at some point - but slow and sustainable is by far and away the best course. Weight loss is not linear and there will be periods when you don't lose and periods when your body suddenly goes whoosh.

As everyone else has said, 1000 cals is far too low, especially if you're not also eating your exercise calories which it doesn't sound like you are. Hopefully you are actually eating more than that or you risk doing significant damage to your body (hair loss, brittle nails, heart failure to name a few). You'll feel fine until suddenly you're not.

You don't give your height or your goal weight but, at 218lb, unless you are very very short, I doubt MFP told you to eat 1200 calories and it certainly won't have told you to eat 1000 as 1200 is the minimum recommended for females.

Go in to Goals - Guided Setup, enter your stats, select a sustainable rate of weight loss (you shouldn't be aiming to lose more than 1% of your body weight per week and even that can be aggressive) and see how many calories MFP gives you. You then log your exercise separately (there's a different tab) and eat those calories as well. That's how MFP is designed to work and, if followed, you will lose weight nice and slowly in a way that can be maintained.

It may be helpful if you make your food diary public so that more experienced MFPers can take a look and offer more feedback on potential areas of concern.

nanastaci2020

Ps-I often prelog my days. I've found that home-cooked meals tend to keep me full longer than similar calories in frozen meals. So I've been meal prepping on the weekends, freezing single portions. My goal is to have 4-5 options in the freezer and/or fridge to be able to grab & go for lunch or dinner at any given time.

Anyhow, because of that, my calories for today were looking a bit light due to having my own made potato soup for lunch and planned chili for dinner. (My personal agenda is to NOT be below 1400 cals, with a target of 1600ish) SO I had pretzels dipped in peanut butter for an afternoon snack. I buy the Jif to go peanut butter, each cup is 43 grams of PB which is more than I needed, so I weighed the container before snack and after snack. Difference was 23 grams gone, so I logged that. 257 calories added to my log.

kshama2001

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

kshama2001

nanastaci2020

One other thing to consider: is your scale accurate? Does it need a new battery, or need to be replaced in general? If it gives the exact same reading, down to the ounce, there may be an issue. Try stepping on holding a 10 pound weight, then back on without the weight. See what it reports.

Jacq_qui

If you are consuming only 1000-1200 cals per day, plus an hours exercise, what is MFP showing as your net cals? It sounds like you are under-eating considerably. I am also 5'7', I eat about 1500 every day, that's after exercise cals and I still manage to lose weight (albeit slowly, but sustainably, as I like to say!) When I am not losing I realise that I've got lazy at logging again!

danielle71686

Thank you all so much, hell or high water I will up my calories, I also updated my profile from private to public as well and I will keep you all posted.

jessef593

How long have you been doing this? It will take several weeks for the scale to begin to move. It's not overnight

moonangel12

At 5’4”, 143lbs, .5 lb/week, sedentary gives me >1400 calories, it’s rare to have a day where that’s all I eat. My year long tracking trend has shown I can eat back all of my earned calories as calculated by my Garmin and still lose as the expected rate. Some days that’s close to 1000 extra!

It took a couple/few weeks for me to settle into a relatively normal, predictable rhythm for daily CICO. Some were high, some low. I had to learn what the calorie value of foods was.

Maybe rethink your foods? You don’t have to eat “healthy” to lose weight. Is what you are doing now sustainable for the long haul? Is this what and how you want to eat for the foreseeable future? If not, start adding in some other options to boost the calories. Full fat dressing instead of low fat. An ounce or two of nuts or nut butter. I enjoy either ice cream or a bowl of cereal before bed every night. IF doesn’t work for everyone, if you need more time to fuel your body (because that’s what calories are) then take away the time constraints. You might feel fine and dandy now but eventually your body will protest. Hair loss, brittle nails, heart palpitations or worse!

kimondo666

you can try weighing yourself every two days. Week is too short to notice difference with water retention and intestines stuff. As you can easily have o 2 pounds difference in either way.

Strudders67

I only went back a few days in your diary and, thankfully, you're probably eating more than you think.

2 slices white bread. 3 slices white bread.
How much did they weigh? What brand? Two slices of bread, even from the same loaf, won't weigh the same.
You're also selecting a different brand every day - do you really buy different loaves daily?

1tbs peanut butter. 1 tbsp jam. 1tsp brown sugar. 2tbsp salted butter.
How much one person fits in a tbsp may be vastly different to how much you put in. Did you use a level spoonful or a heaped one? What did the database entry use? You don't know how much your pb or jam or butter weighed and you don't know how much was in the serving that you selected from the database. There's a pic somewhere on this forum that illustrates that perfectly with spoons of peanut butter.

2 cups of Special K cereal. 1 cup of pasta. 1 cup of spaghetti. 1 cup of pasta with meaballs. 1 cup cooked rice.
Too vague. As above, what I'd measure as a cup could differ to how much you fill your cup.

Chili no meat - 2.4cups. How did you measure .4 of a cup?
Generic ground beef - 2.5oz Do scales accurately measure .5oz? (certainly mine don't)
Whey double rich chocolate - 30.4g. You must have much more accurate scales than me if you can measure .4 of a gram, so use grams for everything.

Steak frites - the portion says "about 2 pieces". So was it two pieces or not? does three small pieces count as two? What if one's a bit bigger?

I didn't see any mention of cooking oils, but maybe you didn't use any in the last few days.

You could continue as you are but, as I said before, give it 6 weeks then compare your weight then to your weight now and see what rate you've been losing at. That'll tell you how much of a deficit you're really in.

Or, weigh anything solid, preferably in grams. Anything calorie dense should definitely be weighed. When you're accurately logging what you're eating, you'll know how many calories you're actually consuming. But remember thta it's your net calories (what you've eaten - exercise calories) that should be 1200 or above.

dragon_girl26

danielle71686 wrote: »

I guess my biggest thing is I know it takes time 1-2 pounds a week is usually average but I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything that would hinder weight loss Ive never in the past had a problem to not at least see a little movement but a whole week and being the exact same is really crazy 😜

I think everyone else has pretty well covered the calorie goal problem. Additionally, though, I think one thing you're missing here is patience. You didn't gain all your weight in a day and you won't lose it that quickly either. The closer I got to my goal, sometimes the scale would only move about once a month (it would reflect the correct weight loss when it did, but all I'm saying is that the scale doesn't necessarily move once a week like clockwork.) A week is nothing...give it a few more weeks. Patience, grasshopper...

missysippy930

For nutrition You need minimum of 1200 Calories. Why so low?
One week? Not enough time to get a trend. Patience, and eat more.

sijomial

Interesting statistics from The Office of Made up Numbers.....

93.2% of posts where people report they aren't losing weight as expected despite low reported calorie intake feature the use of measuring cups.

87.5% of posts where people report they aren't losing weight as expected despite low reported calorie intake feature a timescale far too short to establish a trend.

tassiaocalla

I was doing the same sort of thing, having 1000-ish cals per day, eating only between 1pm-9pm, and found I wasn't losing anything.

I'm now eating more (still healthy things, obvs), but making sure to eat breakfast as well, and snacking on veggies during the day, so I can properly reach 1200-1400 calories, with exercise, and now I'm losing more steadily. So it could be that you're not eating enough, so that's why your body is plateau-ing - it's not getting enough energy, so it's storing whatever food it can as fat.

I'm not a nutritionist, but eating a bit more worked for me when I was plateau-ing.

Muscleflex79

Strudders67 wrote: »

I only went back a few days in your diary and, thankfully, you're probably eating more than you think.

2 slices white bread. 3 slices white bread.
How much did they weigh? What brand? Two slices of bread, even from the same loaf, won't weigh the same.
You're also selecting a different brand every day - do you really buy different loaves daily?

1tbs peanut butter. 1 tbsp jam. 1tsp brown sugar. 2tbsp salted butter.
How much one person fits in a tbsp may be vastly different to how much you put in. Did you use a level spoonful or a heaped one? What did the database entry use? You don't know how much your pb or jam or butter weighed and you don't know how much was in the serving that you selected from the database. There's a pic somewhere on this forum that illustrates that perfectly with spoons of peanut butter.

2 cups of Special K cereal. 1 cup of pasta. 1 cup of spaghetti. 1 cup of pasta with meaballs. 1 cup cooked rice.
Too vague. As above, what I'd measure as a cup could differ to how much you fill your cup.

Chili no meat - 2.4cups. How did you measure .4 of a cup?
Generic ground beef - 2.5oz Do scales accurately measure .5oz? (certainly mine don't)
Whey double rich chocolate - 30.4g. You must have much more accurate scales than me if you can measure .4 of a gram, so use grams for everything.

Steak frites - the portion says "about 2 pieces". So was it two pieces or not? does three small pieces count as two? What if one's a bit bigger?

I didn't see any mention of cooking oils, but maybe you didn't use any in the last few days.

You could continue as you are but, as I said before, give it 6 weeks then compare your weight then to your weight now and see what rate you've been losing at. That'll tell you how much of a deficit you're really in.

Or, weigh anything solid, preferably in grams. Anything calorie dense should definitely be weighed. When you're accurately logging what you're eating, you'll know how many calories you're actually consuming. But remember thta it's your net calories (what you've eaten - exercise calories) that should be 1200 or above.

yup - this is exactly what I noticed.

OP - your diary is full of "pieces," "cups" and "slices" without any mention of weight. start there - it will be eye opening!