1200 calories, exercise, but no weight loss!!
Options
Replies
-
I took a look at your diary for today, and here are a few observations, FWIW:
- You're under your calorie goal for the day, which may be working against you. If your calorie intake is too low (as I'm sure you already know), your body will start to conserve energy and your metabolism will slow down to prevent starvation.
- You didn't log how much water you drank. Staying hydrated is important for weight loss. Try this: drink 2 8-ounce glasses of water before each meal. Not only will it help you stay hydrated, but it will also help keep you from overeating, by making you feel fuller.
- The things you're eating are calorie-dense and not very filling (one-quarter of a pizza, a cappuccino, crackers, sausage patties). Try foods that are higher in protein and low in fat, and also try some lower-density filling foods like sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, bran cereal, etc. Plain greek yogurt (Oikos is my favorite) topped with blueberries and a tablespoon of honey is great for dessert, and less than 170 calories. Chicken breast marinated in Ken's Northern Italian Lite Dressing is excellent, and you could eat a very filling 8 oz of it for about what that slice of pizza cost you.
- Are you doing any strength training? Most people don't realize how much strength training helps trim fat. Not only does the workout itself burn calories (for me, about 225 for a 1-hr workout), but muscle tissue itself burns a lot of calories. If your cardio-only workout is getting boring, adding some strength training can help mix it up and keep you motivated. Plus, once the fat starts to melt away, you'll be really happy to see some nicely toned muscles start to emerge!
In my own defense regarding my food diary, weekends are not so great regarding the healthiness of my food choices, although my calories are still in line. Monday-Friday is better...not saying its great. I try to drink 64 oz of water a day and most days I achieve that or get darn close. I do a T25 workout every day. Some days are cardio, but some are more pushups/burpees, light weights. So, I do feel that I am getting a variety of workouts. I do have some nice new muscles under this layer of fat. I want to show them off, but they are buried!!!0 -
I am SO glad you put this on here! My doctor actually told me NOT to use Weight Watchers because it was causing me to gain weight due to their "free foods". If you follow the guidelines, exercise and weigh/measure your food, you WILL lose wight. If you don't, see a doctor as soon as you can because there could be a medical reason.0 -
I opened up my diary. It is not psychological....I love to eat. That is why I am where I am. I just can't eat like I once was able to eat and I have gained about 10-15 lbs over the last 2 years or so. I have read a ton on this website and that is why I know everyone will tell me to eat more, but i don't want to gain weight!! I began changing my habits about a year ago. I started doing Shaun T's Insanity Fast & Furious 20 minute workout everyday but didn't change any eating habits. It changed my body somewhat and I know some things have shifted for the better, but only a 3 lb loss. I started watching my food intake about 2 months ago and began eating yogurt and granola instead of chips and dip, for example, and thought for sure that with some slight changes such as that along with a double workout everyday of 25 minutes T25 and some pilates/sculpting I would see changes, but nothing!! I would love to eat more, but just can't believe that eating more will aid in weight loss!! Help!!
You have logged for 6 days. How were you tracking food prior to that?
When did you start exercising?
I wrote down what I ate in a journal. I have been exercising religiously for a year. Pilates or sculpting everyday. And cardio or strength every day.0 -
how bad are your weekends?
In my own defense regarding my food diary, weekends are not so great regarding the healthiness of my food choices, although my calories are still in line. Monday-Friday is better...not saying its great. I try to drink 64 oz of water a day and most days I achieve that or get darn close. I do a T25 workout every day. Some days are cardio, but some are more pushups/burpees, light weights. So, I do feel that I am getting a variety of workouts. I do have some nice new muscles under this layer of fat. I want to show them off, but they are buried!!!
two days of over consuming will wipe out any deficits real quick0 -
erm... yes eating too little in some circumstances can mean people don't loss...
No, this is false. Nonsensical in fact.
Will only accept response with peer reviewed studies in response to the peer reviewed information I have already linked to. You saying No, is not sufficient evidence.
There is no peer-reviewed science showing that eating too little can make you stop losing weight. None.
dude, I linked to it
You linked to a podcast which references a handful of studies that talk about "less than expected" weight loss and metabolic slowing.
None of the linked studies show it's possible to stop losing weight if your caloric deficit is too high.
Think about it for a second. If you don't eat anything at all, you will lose weight. If you eat a moderate deficit, you will lose weight. There isn't some magic in-between value where you don't lose weight.
Which is my issue again...
this is not about literally interpreting English (obviously not reading any of the posts I made before)
I am not disputing (AT ALL) that you need to eat a deficit to lose weight
I am disputing that (All who are blanketly saying that eating less can NOT stall your weight) are not correct.
The pod cast lists a lot of information (that people attribute to starvation mode) that stagnates weight loss
So you basic pedantic literal interpretation of 'starvation mode' (as I mentioned before) is correct, but that is not what people mean when they say starvation mode, or experience it.
What they mean is all of these factors effect your losses and your body may be in a balance in the situation you are in
so these are the facts
1- There is something called starvation mode (it is only a small percentage of metabolic slow down) - but can be made far more dramatic depending on how large the deficit is, how large the BMI of the person is at their start weight and how much cardio they do in addition to restricting their calories
2 - You burn less calories by digesting your food because you are eating less food
3 - You become more efficient at exercising so your body burns less calories while exercising
4 - You subconsciously move less during the rest of the day (when not exercising) because you are tired and lethargic from eating too little - so that adds to the decrease in caloric burn
5 - You are decreasing your muscle mass so the ratio of calories you burn based on muscle vs fat body mass decreases
So all of those factors together - even though people call it just starvation mode - is what is being referred to and what it means is if you are start eating a deficit and increasing exercise and eating less food (volume) and exercising (especially cardio) you can put your body in a balance where it is not losing.
In order to break this balance
you should be trying to increase your percentage of muscle
eating more or taking a diet break - so that you are combatting the effects 1-5 above (often called starvation mode)
not relying to heavily on long term cardio or endurance exercise and rather use HIT for cardio and weight training
No I can't name the study because I can't listen to a podcast at the moment - but I pretty much think that this whole war about people on here in the 'There is no starvation Mode' and 'Eat more to lose weight' camps is more about the tag lines than anything else.
And taking one study - as gospel without using any critical thinking to read and draw conclusions from multiple studies on the same subject in the area, is not actually using critical thinking.
This line ---
None of the linked studies show it's possible to stop losing weight if your caloric deficit is too high.
-- Is not what this is about -
what it is about is comparing relevant studies in a logical matter and evaluating why at certain caloric amounts for some people their weight loss will stop or stagnate or remain constant. --- Yes they can break this - by literally starving themselves and eating less; but they can also break this by eating more.
Nobody that says you are in starvation mode(in relation to these posts), means you are going to become increasingly underweight and die - what they mean is 1-5 - which people refer to as Starvation Mode. So again stop being pedants about it and try to actually help the OP.0 -
If you are truly being honest about your intake and exercise, you should go see your doctor and have some blood work done ... For all you know, there could be a medical reason why this is happening (autoimmune issues, hypothyroidism) ... The fact that you are saying you aren't hungry eating so little, makes me wonder if you don't have some sort of metabolic issue going on ...
ETA: I love how someone (I'm leaning towards not a troll, since they've come back and replied several times, not really the troll style) asks a question and the thread inevitably devolves into an argument (debate, what-have-you) ... Go to love the InterWebz ...0 -
If you recently increased exercise, any weight loss may be masked by increased weight from temporary "water weight" gain.
Give it more time than a week...
...and trust the process. Don't start shorting your 1200 calories. Eat *at least* that amount, although honestly, it's likely you should be eating more than 1200. (I say this acknowledging that I don't know your stats...height, weight, bf%, activity level, etc...but maybe that info is in the three pages I haven't read yet...)
All that said, any weight loss in any one week period will be insignificant, regardless of how much/little and in which direction.0 -
You might want to go to your GP and check out your thyroid levels and make sure they are normal. Having an underactive thyroid may mean that no matter how much exercise you do or restrict your calories you struggle to lose weight. My mum has it and on meds she is slowly losing weight. Hope that helps.0
-
MFP at lightly active gives you 1460 calories. Eat between that and 1600 on days you workout and see where you end up. I don't buy starvation mode-I've never seen a study that shows more than 100 calorie or so slowdown in metabolic decrease, so if your normal TDEE is 1900 calories, you drop to 1800 calories, and 500 calories off of that is still a pound a week down. (Your body has to burn so many calories to keep your organs working, so no starvation mode will account for someone eating 1000 calories and not losing.)
I think your only issue is that you just began logging this week. Try logging precisely-it can be a pain, but since you are stalled, I agree to measure portions and not relying on counting, estimating, or even measuring. You mention the weekends being rough-you are likely wiping out your deficit and staying at maintenance. Log everything-remember that your body doesn't care whether or not you are honest in your food diary. Writing it down, even on bad days, just gives you information to work with.0 -
Yes, that is overweight. But "regardless of what the tape measure says"? You use the tape measure to track your progress. It's no different from the scale in that way.
ETA: Referring to your OP: you can eat as much as you want so long as it's under your TDEE and over your BMR and you'll still lose weight. At different rates, yes, but it's mostly about what you eat. You will not start gaining unless you eat over your TDEE.
ETA x2: You also seem to have a very unhealthy relationship with food. Feeling disgusting after eating and being paranoid about losing when you've been (supposedly) netting 600-1000 calories a day on a regular basis is not normal.
I don't feel disgusting after eating. I feel disgusting when I eat more just so I can reach 1200 or more calories when I am not hungry. I don't know why you feel I am paranoid about losing. I would like to lose weight, but I don't think I am paranoid about it.0 -
oh horse puckie! Look eat what you need. if you track calories and eat healthy ie. non sugar foods you will lose. Also if you are only burning 400 calories a few times a week up the work outs and change things. Your exercise is a toning work out. How can you tone when you need to burn fat. That is your real issue. Walkm climb stairs, swim move one to two hours per day. I burn 700 to 2000 calories per day. I lose every week, Yes sometimes I eat like crap and some time I eat very well. I always keep my body guessing. I started in July and I am down 60 plus pounds. But I work at it. You will have to as well.0
-
how bad are your weekends?
In my own defense regarding my food diary, weekends are not so great regarding the healthiness of my food choices, although my calories are still in line. Monday-Friday is better...not saying its great. I try to drink 64 oz of water a day and most days I achieve that or get darn close. I do a T25 workout every day. Some days are cardio, but some are more pushups/burpees, light weights. So, I do feel that I am getting a variety of workouts. I do have some nice new muscles under this layer of fat. I want to show them off, but they are buried!!!
two days of over consuming will wipe out any deficits real quick
I typically stay in a good calorie range. I just mean that my choices are not as great. Such as today, I had pizza, sausage, and crackers. Yesterday I had Leann Chin's chicken (high sodium!) Not typical, but my calories are still under 1200. I made an Herbalife Shake tonight just to get a few more calories but it just feels wrong to eat when I am not hungry.0 -
hmm
there has to be more food. how many slices of pizza?
are you doing veggies?0 -
MFP at lightly active gives you 1460 calories. Eat between that and 1600 on days you workout and see where you end up. I don't buy starvation mode-I've never seen a study that shows more than 100 calorie or so slowdown in metabolic decrease, so if your normal TDEE is 1900 calories, you drop to 1800 calories, and 500 calories off of that is still a pound a week down. (Your body has to burn so many calories to keep your organs working, so no starvation mode will account for someone eating 1000 calories and not losing.)
I think your only issue is that you just began logging this week. Try logging precisely-it can be a pain, but since you are stalled, I agree to measure portions and not relying on counting, estimating, or even measuring. You mention the weekends being rough-you are likely wiping out your deficit and staying at maintenance. Log everything-remember that your body doesn't care whether or not you are honest in your food diary. Writing it down, even on bad days, just gives you information to work with.
When I said weekends are rough, I meant the quality of my food choices. My calories are still the same.0 -
oh horse puckie! Look eat what you need. if you track calories and eat healthy ie. non sugar foods you will lose. Also if you are only burning 400 calories a few times a week up the work outs and change things. Your exercise is a toning work out. How can you tone when you need to burn fat. That is your real issue. Walkm climb stairs, swim move one to two hours per day. I burn 700 to 2000 calories per day. I lose every week, Yes sometimes I eat like crap and some time I eat very well. I always keep my body guessing. I started in July and I am down 60 plus pounds. But I work at it. You will have to as well.
She doesn't have to change her exercise, though adding cardio is a way to earn some extra calories. She can lose weight without exercising at all if she wants to. (Your burns will be higher than her burns, because she's female and you probably weigh more than her. It's true that she can hit 700 calories if she wants to, but if she isn't in to that much exercise, she won't sustain it. It would take me a couple of hours a day to hit 700 calories burned. I'd rather just eat less.)0 -
how long on your diet?0
-
I opened up my diary. It is not psychological....I love to eat. That is why I am where I am. I just can't eat like I once was able to eat and I have gained about 10-15 lbs over the last 2 years or so. I have read a ton on this website and that is why I know everyone will tell me to eat more, but i don't want to gain weight!! I began changing my habits about a year ago. I started doing Shaun T's Insanity Fast & Furious 20 minute workout everyday but didn't change any eating habits. It changed my body somewhat and I know some things have shifted for the better, but only a 3 lb loss. I started watching my food intake about 2 months ago and began eating yogurt and granola instead of chips and dip, for example, and thought for sure that with some slight changes such as that along with a double workout everyday of 25 minutes T25 and some pilates/sculpting I would see changes, but nothing!! I would love to eat more, but just can't believe that eating more will aid in weight loss!! Help!!
You have logged for 6 days. How were you tracking food prior to that?
When did you start exercising?
I wrote down what I ate in a journal. I have been exercising religiously for a year. Pilates or sculpting everyday. And cardio or strength every day.
Sorry if I missed the answer, but:
- how long have you been at this intake level?
- do you have any metabolic issues such as hypothyroid or PCOS?
- do you use a digital food scale for non-liquids and measuring cups for liquids?
- what has your weight done over the last 4 and 8 weeks?0 -
When I said weekends are rough, I meant the quality of my food choices. My calories are still the same.
Ok, then just give it time with the consistent food logging. Don't allow yourself to skip any days, any amount of food. Do you pre-log or log after you eat? Studies show that many of us forget food items when we log after we eat instead of before.0 -
oh horse puckie! Look eat what you need. if you track calories and eat healthy ie. non sugar foods you will lose. Also if you are only burning 400 calories a few times a week up the work outs and change things. Your exercise is a toning work out. How can you tone when you need to burn fat. That is your real issue. Walkm climb stairs, swim move one to two hours per day. I burn 700 to 2000 calories per day. I lose every week, Yes sometimes I eat like crap and some time I eat very well. I always keep my body guessing. I started in July and I am down 60 plus pounds. But I work at it. You will have to as well.
What do you mean by "toning work out"? Yes, I do pilates or sculpting every day, but I also do a workout by Shaun T called T25 which kicks *kitten*. I also do a Fast & Furious Insanity workout a few times a week. I workout for about an hour almost everyday. Dripping sweat. What I am doing has got to be better than going for a walk and the T25 feels similar to climbing stairs for 25 minutes straight!!0 -
Very simple answer to your question. You are not getting enough calories. I'm sure if you go by the T25 guidelines and figure your required calories you'll find you are aiming way too low.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 390 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 921 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions