I've been under eating but my weight stays the same?

ainokea8

So MFP says my recommend calorie goal in order to lose 1 lb a week is 1200. I've been eating at or under this amount for the last 2 weeks. Now granted, I know you can't expect major changes in such a short amount of time but I thought I would've at least lost 1 lb. But no such luck. My weight has stayed constant. Why is this?

Could it be because I'm already at a relatively low weight? (I'm 52 kg about 114-115 lbs) and people say it's harder to lose the last couple pounds when you're already at a low weight.

Ready2Rock206

1. Stop undereating. That can have the opposite of the desired effect.
2. Yes - if you're already at a low weight it will be harder to lose weight. Half a pound a week at the most would be more realistic.

ainokea8

1. Stop undereating. That can have the opposite of the desired effect.
2. Yes - if you're already at a low weight it will be harder to lose weight. Half a pound a week at the most would be more realistic.

really? I thought it was a good thing to eat less than the calorie goal. So am I supposed to eat exactly 1200 calories, or how does this work?

ainokea8

help?

devil_in_a_blue_dress

1,200 is how much you need to eat to lose 1 pound a week, not the amount you need to be under to not gain weight.

You should read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

luckydays27

To be more helpful we need:
Height
Weight
Age
Activity Level or what you do for exercise and
You need to open your food diary so we can see what you are eating

Do you weight and measure your food?
How to you determine cals burned in exercise?

trogalicious

I put this together a while back. It seems to have helped some folks. It worked for me and tons of others.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

I'd CERTAINLY pay close attention to that last link... AND number one.

ainokea8

Wow thank you so much! this is super helpful. I'm definitely gonna check out that link.

ainokea8

I put this together a while back. It seems to have helped some folks. It worked for me and tons of others.

1. don't trust the initial setup that MFP provides. If you put in the wrong/inaccurate information, it'll tell you to eat an amount that may not be applicable.
2. Make sure you eat enough.
3. Figure out what works for you and is sustainable/healthy/long term.
4. avoid fads. don't buy in to any "Hey, try the twinkie and vodka diet"
5. Don't cut out anything now that you don't plan on literally giving up forever.
6. GET A FOOD SCALE. Weigh everything. No, seriously.
7. Get an HRM with a chest strap. You'll at least have a better idea of what you're burning. It'll be more accurate than the generic info in the exercise database.. and even more than the cardio machines. This is great for steady state cardio (run/walk/etc)
8. Don't go balls out. You'll burn out. I see 300 lb people show up here, instantly start working out and cutting their intake SEVERELY... trying to cut out all of their carbs at once.. whatever. Take it slow. Figure out how much you need to eat FIRST in order to lose.. then incorporate exercise.
9. Don't cardio yourself to death.
10. Take the information on the forums with a grain of salt. A lot of people that have been here for a while.. and have been successful, may seem jaded. They give out GREAT advice day after day, only to be met with people that refuse to listen.
11. Eat real food. Not diet food. Not "low fat, sugar free, now without X." It's easier to get/find/count.
12. don't set time restrictions.
13. measure yourself weekly. Don't just weigh. Measure and take pictures.
14 BE PATIENT.
15. Avoid forum topics that have "1200" in the title. It's just full of butthurt. Lots of it.
16. This isn't a game, it's about changing your lifestyle. Do that.

pretty much that.

...and don't fall into the "1200 calorie" vertigo of suck because of:

the typical MFP users does this:
1. I wanna lose weight, let's try MFP.
2. OH! Wow, it tells me I can lose 2 lbs a WEEK? AWESOME!
3. I just sit at a desk when I'm not working out, I guess I'm sedentary.
4. MFP tells them 1200 calories, and they don't even eat that.. then they work out on top of it.. creating an even bigger deficit.
5. Lose a lot, fast, brag about 1200 calorie success.
6. Come back in a few months trying to figure out why they're dizzy, tired, not losing weight.
7. Get on the forums, ask why they aren't losing.
8. Get two responses (I eat 1200 and lose) (I eat 2200 and lose)
9. Argument ensues about who is right.

Now. That being said. These threads happen hundreds of times per day. Most times, and I mean really.. seriously.. 95% of the time.. people get the 1200 number because they don't put the right information in when they set up the account. There are a great number of people that are trying to help. I'm one of 'em.

I'm a hardcore advocate of actually finding out what works for the individual.. by means of other calculators, averages, time, practice, and patience.

Blanket prescriptions of 1200 calories "because it worked for me" is more harmful to the generic new user than the "figure out what you need to eat." Unfortunately, one is a LOT easier to type.

Find out what you need: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

I'd CERTAINLY pay close attention to that last link... AND number one.

Question about the scooby calculator: am I supposed to be eating at BMR?

p4ulmiller

Above all, number #12

p4ulmiller

Question about the scooby calculator: am I supposed to be eating at BMR?

BMR is what you need to exist. TDEE-15% is broadly what you need to be losing weight at a healthy rate.

TDEE is the total amount of calories that you burn by living, moving, stretching, sweating, fidgeting, etc. If you eat 15% less than that, you will - by the laws of thermodynamics - lose weight.

This does rely on you tracking intake and expenditure accurately.

laddyboy

It's you goal to eat that many, not come under. The calorie deficit is already built into the 1 lb per week goal you set.

Also how you eat is important. Are you eating clean or Junk foods?

ainokea8

Question about the scooby calculator: am I supposed to be eating at BMR?

BMR is what you need to exist. TDEE-15% is broadly what you need to be losing weight at a healthy rate.

TDEE is the total amount of calories that you burn by living, moving, stretching, sweating, fidgeting, etc. If you eat 15% less than that, you will - by the laws of thermodynamics - lose weight.

This does rely on you tracking intake and expenditure accurately.

Oh I see. Then wow, have I really been undereating. My BMR is 1276 which is more than what MFP had recommended for me to eat. And my TDEE at 15% is 1516. So I guess I should actually be eating at 1500.

What happens if I continue to eat at 1200 though? I don't feel dizzy or hungry at all, I feel perfectly full and healthy. Would that be okay or would it actually be really unhealthy for me to be eating at this amount?

ainokea8

It's you goal to eat that many, not come under. The calorie deficit is already built into the 1 lb per week goal you set.

Also how you eat is important. Are you eating clean or Junk foods?

A mixture. I don't eat super clean like brown rice and veggies, but I don't eat badly either. So for example I would eat things like... Meat sauce spaghetti with salad or home made fried rice with steamed vegetables. Occasionally the fatty snack like chocolate but I don't overdo it.

COliver416

The major mistake most people make is miscounting their calories. I was working out an hour and a half a day, doing heavy weights, and eating, what I thought was a 1400 calorie diet, and I went from 264 to 273. There's no muscle weighing more than fat. There's no slow metabolism. There's no undereating.

That's all bull.

The moment I started eating foods that I knew the exact calories, and began eating 1200 to 1400 calories, I dropped 14 pounds in 2 weeks.

If you're not seeing weight loss, it's not cause you're exercising. It's not cause you're not eating enough. It's cause you're eating too much. All the information you receive is good. But, I went from working out an hour and a half, a mixture of cardio and weight lifting, 6 days a week. To cutting it down to 50 minutes 6 days a week. I went from 3 meals a day of 1400 calories (which was really 2,200 or more calories), and not seeing a pound dropped, to 5 meals a day of 1,200 calories, and down a total of 23 pounds so far.