Can someone tell me what im doing wrong

emilyjane52

Hi, I have been of MFP for about 4 weeks now. I think im doing well with my calories but my weight isnt budging. I am a gym junkie try to go in the mornings and afternoons everyday (sometimes i cant) and always aim to burn atleast 250calories a day there. I do mostly cardio for atleast 40mins and sweat my *kitten* off and have just started weights (squats, abs and legs etc) Although i must admit on weekends my calories go up just little my boyrfiend and i will go camping, go to the pub etc but i am still under my weekly net calorie goal??? i dont get it

thursdaystgiles

are you tracking your measurements, too? If you're building lean muscle, you might not see much of a weight difference, but you can drop inches/lose sizes.

fast_eddie_72

Yeah, you're almost certainly measuring something wrong. Kind of by definition, if you eat less than you burn, you lose weight. So if you're not seeing the results you want, you probably need to eat less. Or more to the point, you may be eating more than you realize. I learned a lot when I got my food scale. If you don't have one, might look into it. You have to be really, really anal about measuring and recording ever bit. Otherwise a surprising number of calories can sneak in.

emilyjane52

i have lost about 2cm off my waist but nothing on my hips like i can see small changes but i thought you would be able to see it on the scale to. When ever i complete my log most of the time it says im eating to less. How much deficit am i ment to be running at? my natural burnt calories should be 1600 a day (what MFP says) then i eat around 1000-1200 a day then i work out aswell but on weekends i may go over it abit only because i dont really go to gym on saturday if i have something on or sunday and i might eat something bad or have a beer or two lol. Should i be looking at a daily defict or weekly

emilyjane52

is 4 weeks to early to see the differnce i want? i was hoping to lose 2-3kgs by now

Gohard09

Try eating 4 to 5 small meal at around 300 calories eat. Make your plate up with more vegetables, grill, bake or steam your protein too.

thursdaystgiles

You say you're splurging on the weekends, too. Are you tracking that splurging, or do you just figure your deficit is enough the rest of the week. Especially if you're eating out, the calorie intake can be insane. Without realising it you might be completely negating the deficit you've created in the rest of the week. I generally allow myself one splurge day, and on that day I only get one splurge meal.

mungowungo

By your profile you only want to lose about 4kg so you're fairly close to goal - the closer to goal the slower the weight loss. Just stick with it, count and measure everything.

I'm a bit confused as to one thing - is MFP telling you to eat at 1600 and you are eating 1000 to 1200 and then exercising on top of that? If so this is your answer - you need to eat 1600 - yep it does sound counter intuitive to eat more but eating less slows down your metabolism.

phoenixgirl81

Hi, I have been of MFP for about 4 weeks now. I think im doing well with my calories but my weight isnt budging. I am a gym junkie try to go in the mornings and afternoons everyday (sometimes i cant) and always aim to burn atleast 250calories a day there. I do mostly cardio for atleast 40mins and sweat my *kitten* off and have just started weights (squats, abs and legs etc) Although i must admit on weekends my calories go up just little my boyrfiend and i will go camping, go to the pub etc but i am still under my weekly net calorie goal??? i dont get it

You're eating between 1000-1200 calories per day and you're burning off 250 cal at the gym every day, which means that you are only putting 750-950 cal in your body every day! This is far from enough food. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories NETT to keep you going and to be able to lose weight. You're not eating enough food and your body is holding onto weight because it doesn't think it's going to get enough food in the long run.

DeeDeeMee

If you aren't losing weight then you are eating more than you realise. Eating too less can be a problem too, but 'starvation mode' isn't something you need to worry about short term and if you've only just started trying to lose weight you should have seen a result. Do you weigh and measure your foods, log everything upfront and include every single thing you drink (if you're drinking sodas and alcohol on the weekends that can really pile on the calories. It's also pretty shocking what we can eat after we've had a few).

You should make your diary public so that we can see if there's something in particular that might be causing the problem.

If you'd like someone to support and help you here on MFP you can add me, but know that I'm not going to go all that easy on you. If you do, make sure you send a message with the request so I know who you are.

emilyjane52

Deedeemee- I think its open now have a look and let me know. Just so you know the weekends that were bad was because i was camping at the river and again the week after lol and no i dont weigh foods i guess. maybe i should start weighing it

Mungo wungo- sorry i ment my calorie goal is 1200 and my natural calories burnt a day is 1600 so i should be in a -400 deficit if i stick to under 1200 calories a day plus whatever i do in excerise

phoenixgirl81

Your diary is not open for us to see (maybe you opened it just for friends?).

If you're not weighing your food, that's where you could be going wrong. Weighing your food is so important. It is so easy to over/under estimate what you're eating. You could be eating well over your goal by estimating your food.

PikaKnight

is 4 weeks to early to see the differnce i want? i was hoping to lose 2-3kgs by now

Whoa yes. According to your ticker you are looking to lose 4kg (about 8lbs). Ideally, you're looking at about 0.5lbs/week loss. (about 0.22kg/week)

But if your measurements are going down, then I wouldn't worry about the scale. The scale fluctuates a lot with water retention, menstrual cycle and food intake. Focus on measurements or/and body fat % (depending if you can get it measured via dexa scan or hydrostatic testing - something like that).

PikaKnight

Some links with helpful info/tips:

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

http://body-improvements.com/2013/05/24/undiet-your-diet/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1122891-9-reasons-fat-loss-is-always-slower-than-you-d-like

emilyjane52

Thanks pikaknight

Diary should be open now...

mungowungo

Deedeemee- I think its open now have a look and let me know. Just so you know the weekends that were bad was because i was camping at the river and again the week after lol and no i dont weigh foods i guess. maybe i should start weighing it

Mungo wungo- sorry i ment my calorie goal is 1200 and my natural calories burnt a day is 1600 so i should be in a -400 deficit if i stick to under 1200 calories a day plus whatever i do in excerise

Ahh got you now - yes you need a scale and to weigh and measure everything - it's amazing how underestimating here and there really adds up.

fast_eddie_72

You're eating between 1000-1200 calories per day and you're burning off 250 cal at the gym every day, which means that you are only putting 750-950 cal in your body every day! This is far from enough food. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories NETT to keep you going and to be able to lose weight. You're not eating enough food and your body is holding onto weight because it doesn't think it's going to get enough food in the long run.

I've seen this a LOT on this board. I did a good bit of research on it today. I guess everyone can make their own decisions about it, but I don't think there's generally a very good understanding of this on this board. If you eat too little, you may start consuming muscle, which I don't think any of us want to do, but you'll lose weight.

I thought this was really interesting:

http://www.nowloss.com/starvation-mode-myth.htm

If you don't eat enough, looks like all kinds of bad things can happen. But you'll lose weight. Wikipedia on the experiment referenced in the link above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

I'm not advocating a super low calorie diet. Just saying this idea that lower calories will prevent you from losing weight, or as I've even seen suggested on here, GAIN weight doesn't really seem true. Not advocating a really low calorie diet. Just think we all need to know how it really works.

Mr_Knight

I think im doing well with my calories...

I have no idea what that means, and your diary isn't open.

From the rest of it, it sounds like you're simply eating too much and not tracking very accurately.

Good luck!

janetdebeer90

i have lost about 2cm off my waist but nothing on my hips like i can see small changes but i thought you would be able to see it on the scale to. When ever i complete my log most of the time it says im eating to less. How much deficit am i ment to be running at? my natural burnt calories should be 1600 a day (what MFP says) then i eat around 1000-1200 a day then i work out aswell but on weekends i may go over it abit only because i dont really go to gym on saturday if i have something on or sunday and i might eat something bad or have a beer or two lol. Should i be looking at a daily defict or weekly

2 cm off your waist is fantastic progress! This means you have lost FAT. The scales don't know the difference between fat and muscle. The tape measure shows you are getting smaller - this is what we are trying to do. Well done!

mungowungo

You're eating between 1000-1200 calories per day and you're burning off 250 cal at the gym every day, which means that you are only putting 750-950 cal in your body every day! This is far from enough food. You need to eat a minimum of 1200 calories NETT to keep you going and to be able to lose weight. You're not eating enough food and your body is holding onto weight because it doesn't think it's going to get enough food in the long run.

I've seen this a LOT on this board. I did a good bit of research on it today. I guess everyone can make their own decisions about it, but I don't think there's generally a very good understanding of this on this board. If you eat too little, you may start consuming muscle, which I don't think any of us want to do, but you'll lose weight.

I thought this was really interesting:

http://www.nowloss.com/starvation-mode-myth.htm

If you don't eat enough, looks like all kinds of bad things can happen. But you'll lose weight. Wikipedia on the experiment referenced in the link above:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Starvation_Experiment

I'm not advocating a super low calorie diet. Just saying this idea that lower calories will prevent you from losing weight, or as I've even seen suggested on here, GAIN weight doesn't really seem true. Not advocating a really low calorie diet. Just think we all need to know how it really works.

There's actually a really good discussion about the concept here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss?hl=adaptive+thermogenesis

Blokeypoo

Deedeemee- I think its open now have a look and let me know. Just so you know the weekends that were bad was because i was camping at the river and again the week after lol and no i dont weigh foods i guess. maybe i should start weighing it

And there lies the flaw - not tons to lose but guessing portions/weights is NEVER going to work. On the plus side this is easily remedied by buying scales and then you'll get results provided you eat enough to cover your activity levels!