Why am i not losing!!!!!

Xaymi1908

I have been running sooo much I average 100 miles a month training for runs, I have been staying under my calorie count of 1,200 , I cant seem to drop one pound!! I'm feeling frustrated, what could the problem beeeee!!! My mother who really doesn't work out has dropped 10 pounds in two weeks, how is this possible

tessi1993

I would say your not eating enough.
1200 is very low..
however im no expert

zkjmum

1200 is way too low for your level of activity! Your body has entered starvation mode and is holding onto fat stores! The more active you are, the more you're meant to eat. Do the calculations again, and be honest. Take the advice this site gives you.

Xaymi1908

really u think, when i entered height and weight that's what it said, 1,200...

Xaymi1908

2zkjmum i will try that again

SPeffer1

I am not one to ever say ....you need to eat more to lose weight, but that is a very low number of calories for that much running! Are you eating back the calories you burn? I trained for races all last year and didn't come near 100 miles a month - I couldn't have lived on 1200 calories.

Linda09189

not eating enough....that's simple

jeffpettis

LOL! I'm going to be the odd man out and say you're eating too much... You are not in a deficit. If you are doing that much cardio and not losing weight either you are eating more than you think or burning less than you think.

lilacinfinity

Also, with only 15lb to lose, don't tell it 2lb per week. that's not realistic. 1/2lb per week, 1 at the most.

jamiesillimandunn

Agreed too low....google Tdee and BMR ...educate yourself there first then read EVERYTHING when filling out MFP ...it probably says you need to NET 1200 calories a day ....at least if your running that much your DEFINATELY leaving your body with nothing to function including burning fat

Xaymi1908

@jeffpettis Im running 7 miles daily, thats about 800 calories and eating 1,200 a day?

stephbens6

Try eating about every 3 hours.it speeds up your metabolism and also eat right and try to be as healthy as possible and stay hydrated ALWAYS

Cindyinpg

This is a excellent post to help you calculate your calorie and macro targets and it will also explain about exercise calories. Good luck.:flowerforyou: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

jeffpettis

I'll throw another one out there and agree with everyone else. 1200 calories is WAY too low for that much exercise...

But...

If you are not losing weight with that much exercise... wait for it.... You are still eating too much. You are not in a deficit. Something is off with your calculations somewhere, somehow.

_Zardoz_

Your eating more than you think.

midwestmixtape

Do you eat back the calories you burn? Do you put the exercise into the app? I.E. Eating 2000 calories a day - running 800 = 1200 Net Calories

Sometimes I have had better luck trying to lose 1 lb / week instead of 2+ per week. My body is better at slowly losing than rapidly losing. Your mileage may vary.

jamiesillimandunn

The ONLY thing I agree with here is. A POSSIBILITY of estimated burn and calorie intake being too high too low ....You can fix this by purchasing a food scale and HRM ....to get more precise ( not to a T ) but better ....and if your like me that when the reality sets in ....on WOW I'm not fueling my body for these burns let alone organ function !!

jeffpettis

@jeffpettis Im running 7 miles daily, thats about 800 calories and eating 1,200 a day?

I'm not disputing the fact that you are burning a lot of calories. Sounds like you are Wonder Woman when it comes to running, but the simple fact is if you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit.

Xaymi1908

Thank you everyone i will try and change a few things and see how it goes.

jamiesillimandunn

@jeffpettis Im running 7 miles daily, thats about 800 calories and eating 1,200 a day?

I'm not disputing the fact that you are burning a lot of calories. Sounds like you are Wonder Woman when it comes to running, but the simple fact is if you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit.

So say she was accurate in her numbers ?? How would you explain that ? 1200 calories a day - 800 excercise = 400 calories net !! Seriously dissappointed the assumption of over eating at this calorie level is even being brought up ......my advice would be get more accurate with food measuring , hrm , figure out you TDEE AND BMR and go from there ....with The numbers posted she is DEF. not over eating

GlassslippersAndFairyDust

There is no way you are overeating. I would suggest eating back some of your exercise calories. I eat on average 1500-1900 a day with little exercise (not strenuous) and I'm dropping weight on a regular basis.

tarabole

I am wondering if you are weight training?

If you ARE weight training is it possible that your body composition is changing but because weighs more than fat, the scale isn't going down?

If you are NOT weight training, perhaps that would help boost your metabolism. You may have hit a plateau. Changing up your workout routine and doing some HIIT (high intensity interval training) and trying something different may help you break out of the plateau.

jamiesillimandunn

Yes ma'am !! ....I made it all the way up to 247 pounds eating 600-800 calories a day and yes I logged with food scale readings ...slowly upped my cals to 1700-1900 a day lost ten pounds added workout another 30 on my rest weeks I can count on a loss ! I burn excercise wise 300-400 a day ...not including juggling three toddlers and house work ....stepping off my soap box

jeffpettis

@jeffpettis Im running 7 miles daily, thats about 800 calories and eating 1,200 a day?

I'm not disputing the fact that you are burning a lot of calories. Sounds like you are Wonder Woman when it comes to running, but the simple fact is if you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit.

So say she was accurate in her numbers ?? How would you explain that ? 1200 calories a day - 800 excercise = 400 calories net !! Seriously dissappointed the assumption of over eating at this calorie level is even being brought up ......my advice would be get more accurate with food measuring , hrm , figure out you TDEE AND BMR and go from there ....with The numbers posted she is DEF. not over eating

Because if those numbers were 100% accurate and she is doing that much cardio, which I'm sure she is, then the weight would be falling off of her. I'm not jumping on her, you, or anyone else. I'm just saying that something in the math is not correct. All of us have done it at one time or another.

But are you really saying that someone can run 100 miles in a month, eat exactly 1200 calories a day, and not lose weight? She should be able to eat over maintenance and still lose weight running that much.

pdipoajayi

I agree with jeff. Her math has to be off somewhere. Unless you're 5% body fat, starvation mode is BS. Meaning, unless you're weight lifting, a calorie deficit will ALWAYS equal weight loss.

Edit: Except if you have weird crazy hormonal or thyroid crap which would suck. If your numbers are indeed 100% accurate you should go see a doctor

2spamagnet

You are not starving and storing fat. That does not happen. 1200 NET calories is a reasonable intake depending on your height. If you were "starving" and your body was using up muscle to feed itself, you most certainly could not keep up with 7 miles of running and children every day.

3,500 calories = 1 lb of fat. So, eat 500 cal/day more than you need, and in a week you will have 1 lb more fat stored on your body. Eat 500 cal/day less than you need, and you will burn 1 lb of fat in one week (500 x 7 = 3,500). Per research, you can keep doing that until you get to about 5% body fat, and then other (bad) things will start to happen.

If you have your stats in MFP set up right (always good to recheck, mine don't seem to update as I lose), it will show you what your daily intake should be to stay where you are at, and how many less calories/day you should avoid eating in order to lose weight. Add your exercise in, and that allows you to eat more in a day. It's your NET calories that is shown at the bottom of your Food Diary, and you should target a balance at the end of the day (0 "remaining"). If you go in the red one day, try to balance that another day.

Robert

katelynnsmom1978

Dont listen to that starvation mode mumbo jumbo. Are you accuratley weighing and measuring your food intake. I can almost guarantee that when you do youll be pretty shocked at how small food proportions really are.

shell_mc

I would agree to make sure you're eating the number of calories you think you are. Are you eating a lot or not tracking on weekends?

Also - if you think you're really accurate in your intake calculations, I'd go to the doctor to rule out any medical issues.

Good luck!

astrampe

WOW...a bunch of clever guys..... Eat more.....regardless of what the wiseguy trio says...

2spamagnet

Another thought on something to check into:

Go to your “My Home” tab and click the “Goals” tab. Hit the “Change Goals” button. Do the “Guided” method and “Continue”. Update your current weight (if needed) and goal weight. Now, this is the tricky part:

Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job) – 1.2
Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman) – 1.375
Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman) – 1.55
Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter) – 1.725

Disregard how much you exercise for this part. You can add workout info to your dairy daily.

I have a desk job, so I use Sedentary. My wife is a construction worker, so she would fit in under Very Active. This might need to be tweaked for you. If you checked anything more active than “Sedentary”, and you think you are doing everything else right (counting calories/portion sizes, logging exercise), then set yourself back one level and save your changes.

This is used to adjust your BMR to tell you how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Your BMR is internally calculated by MFP and adjusted per your activity level. You will notice your daily caloric needs go down. You can find more info here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Basically, BMR is Basal Metabolic Rate and is about the same for people of the same height, but varies with age. It is the number of calories you need to sustain your body (organs) if you stay in bed all day.

The activity levels above have factors that are used to adjust your Daily Caloric Needs. I added those to the descriptions above. Sedentary multiplies BMR by 1.2. If you play with those numbers, you will see they make a big difference. For me, these jumps equate to about 250 calories, or 0.5 lb/week of fat. Also see http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

I found this website numbers similar to MFP calculations. Since I started, with Sedentary as my activity level, I have set my goal as 0.5 lb/week (equal to 250 cal/day deficit). But I have averaged a little more than 1 lb/week lost over 8 weeks, and my net calories have been pretty close to meet my goals. I believe that with my other activities in life, I might be able to set my activity level to Lightly Active, as that would better balance my goals.

If you are not losing weight, your activity level may be overestimated.

Robert

NinjaMaid

Make sure you are getting enough protein. You need to make sure you are eating enough. If you don't fuel your metabolism your body stores rather than burn.