extremely slow weight loss??

MrsTaraDStringer
MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there everyone,

I'm 23, I've had 2 children, I intake 1350kcal a day, and I exercise 3+ days a week! Yet since February I have only lost 9.5lbs!

HELP! Am I in taking too little calories? Or any other advice!?

Replies

  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    I know how you feel. I have been doing everything I'm "supposed to", working out 6 days a week, and have only lost 2 lbs in a month. *sigh* Just trying to be patient and not get discouraged...I might try to increase my exercise duration, or start doing more strength training.
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,543 Member
    Could be your diet, could be that you need to be more intense in your exercise, could be a lot of things.

    What types of exercise are you doing and what does your diary look like as far as food goes?

    9.5lbs is around 1/2 pound a week on average (I think) and that's not too shabby at all. Did this come off all at once in February or have you been consistently losing, just little by little?
  • amwbox
    amwbox Posts: 576 Member
    Could be your underestimating what your taking in. Are you weighing your food? Accounting for everything, including sauces, coffee creamer, etc etc?

    A lot of people swear by eating more if they aren't losing weight, paradoxically enough. You can experiment with that. My personal experience however has been that when I eat less I lose more and when I eat more I lose less. Which seems logical enough to me.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    .5 of a pound a week considering you have a relatively small amount to lose is a good loss. Just keep doing what your doing as it's working
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    its likely you are actually eating more than you think.
    Weigh/measure everything.
    religiously log every morsel.

    but 1/2lb a week is actually not bad at all, especially if you have less than 20lbs to lose.

    So keep on keeping on and you'll get there :)
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    I'll be the first to admit my diet isn't the best, I don't eat rabbit food. However it's not that bad either, I don't eat pasta or chocolate and rarely eat bread; I don't often eat fast food and we don't often eat out at restaurants.

    The first 6lbs came off in the first month and the rest after.

    I don't drink tea or coffee or fizzy drinks, I weigh everything, even any butter I have! I don't cook with salt or add sugar to anything.

    If I go over my calories I don't go over 1400.. and exercise wise I do spinning (45mins to 1hour a time) and weight loss bootcamp (45mins hia impact aerobics) and walks (if an exercise walk 2hours at a medium pace) and cross trainer/eleptical trainer at home 30-45 mins a time)!
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    And if I want a treat like cake or crisps etc ill have it instead of a meal so it's not on top of my proper food
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    I eat all of the things you mentioned not eating and have still consistently lost weight. Everyone is different, but eating those foods won't hurt your progress as long as you stay in a deficit. Do you eat back your exercise calories? You're either overestimating your burns or underestimating your intake.
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    My burns may be a little overestimated as I go by mfp as I don't have a heart rate monitor but I weigh and log all my food, if I get stuff out I find the thing closest to it or if it has packaging I save it and scan it when. I get home
  • novembersuse
    novembersuse Posts: 77 Member
    Don't be too discouraged. When I was sticking to 1200 calories for about 3-4 months, I dropped from a UK hefty size 16 to a size 12, and according to the scales I'd only lost 3lb. If you don't like measuring your progress by weight, try using a particular pair of jeans as a yard stick. Or take measurements to see where you're losing inches. You could be building muscle as you loose fat which is distorting your achievements...
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,543 Member
    Try bumping calories up to 14-1500 for a month, see what happens
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    My burns may be a little overestimated as I go by mfp as I don't have a heart rate monitor but I weigh and log all my food, if I get stuff out I find the thing closest to it or if it has packaging I save it and scan it when. I get home

    That's it, then. If you use MFPs burn estimates, you might want to try eating back half, since they tend to be inflated.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    If weight loss stalls, just do more cardio. Don't drop calories imo.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Eat back half your exercise calories :) MFP over estimates grossly so eating half back will keep you right.
    The body does sometimes stall as it gets used to our eating and exercise. Up your calories by 100 to see how that goes.
    Any time when I was eating fairly low (like you are now) when I stalled I would up cals by 100 and found I got a loss again.
    Mixing up things works too, a different workout. Try some strength training, I highly recommend that for losing inches :)
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    Surely if I'm correctly logging in all my calories I'm intaking and not going over (or if I do then not by much) my calories; then no matter whether I burn 300 or 600 kcal, I should still be loosing weight consistently?
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    Surely if I'm correctly logging in all my calories I'm intaking and not going over (or if I do then not by much) my calories; then no matter whether I burn 300 or 600 kcal, I should still be loosing weight consistently?

    If your deficit is 1350 and you eat back 600 calories for exercise when in reality you only burned 300, you only have a deficit of 200 calories (assuming your deficit was 500 calories in the first place). Overestimating burns and eating them all back means less weight loss. So in this scenario you should only eat 1650 calories instead of 1950. It's really difficult to tell with only using MFP's exercise method, so I would play it safe and use common sense (an hour of walking probably won't burn 1000 calories, etc, depending on the person).
  • aarnwine2013
    aarnwine2013 Posts: 317 Member
    Surely if I'm correctly logging in all my calories I'm intaking and not going over (or if I do then not by much) my calories; then no matter whether I burn 300 or 600 kcal, I should still be loosing weight consistently?

    From my limited experience, it's a process. Some weeks are better than others. What I have learned is not to trust just the scale and keep at it.

    I would up my workouts or add intensity. Keep eating and logging and see if that helps. Sometimes the scales take a little more time to reflect the progress we are making.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    HAVE PATIENCE!

    You are losing just not at the instant gratification speed most are hoping for. Your diary isn't open so can't see your logging.
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    If your deficit is 1350 and you eat back 600 calories for exercise when in reality you only burned 300, you only have a deficit of 200 calories (assuming your deficit was 500 calories in the first place). Overestimating burns and eating them all back means less weight loss. So in this scenario you should only eat 1650 calories instead of 1950. It's really difficult to tell with only using MFP's exercise method, so I would play it safe and use common sense (an hour of walking probably won't burn 1000 calories, etc, depending on the person).
    [/quote]

    I eat 1350 then I exercise I never put in my workouts until I've finished my food for the day so I'm not eating back any calories
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    My diary is set as open so you should be able to see it.. admittedly I did have peanut butter on toast for lunch
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
    My diary is set as open so you should be able to see it.. admittedly I did have peanut butter on toast for lunch

    It's not open, you need to go to your settings and open to public
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    What's wrong with peanut butter on toast?
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    [/quote]
    QUOTE;
    {{I eat 1350 then I exercise I never put in my workouts until I've finished my food for the day so I'm not eating back any calories
    [/quote]}}



    that means you are netting say 750 cals which is TOO low. You should be looking at netting a minimum of 1350.
    I still say keep doing what you're doing, eat some exercise cals back, give it some time and the scales will move. If you eat in deficit you lose :)

    Have you worked out your BMR/TDEE?
  • bobbyguns
    bobbyguns Posts: 33
    If weight loss stalls, just do more cardio. Don't drop calories imo.

    NO. DEFINITELY not this^^^. Possbly thw
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Try this site

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    What does it tell you with a 20% deficit for lightly active? I'd try and eat that, keep logging properly and see if it helps.
  • MrsTaraDStringer
    MrsTaraDStringer Posts: 51 Member
    What's wrong with peanut butter on toast?

    lol I don't think anything and is meant to be a fat burning food, though there's a lot of calories etc in it :/
  • hig17
    hig17 Posts: 159 Member
    Tara do you do any strength training? I would suggest to add some strength to your cardio routine. That is when I started seeing a faster loss. Jut a thought, I was told I was doing too much cardio and to add some strength and in the month of April I lost 4.5lbs!

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