I have a question

suzzeeb
suzzeeb Posts: 1 Member
in Motivation and Support
I have been using my fitness pal for a few weeks and even though I meet my calorie goals every day (or almost every day and maybe go over a couple days a week by under 100) I am not losing weight. It said I would lose 1.5 pounds a week if I ate 1200 calories a day but am not losing. Not sure what to do now.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    How many weeks is "a few"? It usually takes 4-6 weeks to see a valid trend, because water weight fluctuations can distort things over shorter time spans, especially if you've changed eating style/schedule, exercise, or things like that alongside. For women of the relevant age, it's best to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least two different menstrual cycles, to get a more realistic average.

    1200 is the lowest MFP will give a woman. How much total weight do you have to lose? Sometimes people ask for too aggressive a loss rate for their current size, get 1200, but don't lose that fast because the loss rate was unrealistic for their starting size. (One common general rule of thumb is not to try to lose more than 0.5%-1% of current weight per week, with a bias toward the lower end of that unless so overweight that weight itself creates an acute health threat. To lose 1.5 pounds per week, that would mean being 150-300 pounds. It can make sense to lose even more slowly for the last 10 pounds or so.)

    The point keeping loss rate moderate is to limit health risks and make the process more sustainable for long enough to lose a meaningful total amount of weight.

    Food logging is a surprisingly subtle skill. Many of us have some face-palm "learning experiences" along that learning curve. If you're willing to make your food diary MFP-public, and say so here, some of the old hands could take a look at your diary, see if anything jumps out that could be causing an issue. (This is an offer, not a mandate!)

    Best wishes!
  • laurenthecarts
    laurenthecarts Posts: 41 Member
    That must be really demotivating but stick at it! I'm sure it won't be long before you see some change!

    How much weight do you have to lose? (No need to divulge the specifics!) But if it's only a small amount then it'll likely be slower.

    Also, the age old rule/question - are you logging accurately using a scale and specific grams? This really is crucial to getting an accurate log and people who use 'cups' instead of grams etc. Or who may 'eyeball' something's quantity, don't tend to have the same results as the (yes tedious, but you get used to it) rule of only eating a item after it's touched the kitchen scales.

    Hope that maybe helps a little! As I say, stick with it and well done on the achievement of making these first steps to a healthier you :) x

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