Getting Highly Frustrated

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fakeplastictree
fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
in Motivation and Support
My weight loss journey started out great. Went down to 1200 calories a day with no exercise. By January I had lost 18 pounds. I started to get frustrated with staying at the same weight and figured it was time to add exercise. So now I exercise 6 times a week and walk for 30 minutes 5 times a week. Still no budge in the weight loss. I did some research and thought about upping my calories to make up for the amount lost during exercise. I have been doing that for a week now and I have to say I'm still tired and still just as fat. I am getting irritated because no matter how much i stick to 1200 calories and exercise I can't seem to get back to losing weight. I know I'm not the only one but I just had to vent. Grrrrr!!!!!!!

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    If you exercise you need more calories, at the very least you should eat 1200 plus all of the calories you burned from exercise. Your body is under fueled, you need fuel for your body for its workouts
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
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    Hard to help if we can't see your food diary. You might try scaling back the carbs and uping the protein.
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
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    I found that out. I just started making sure that I "eat back" the calories I lose working out. I also upped my daily goal to 1320 instead of 1200, since I'm tired all the time I figured that is my body telling me to eat more. Sucks though because I'm full off what I eat now.
  • Pineapples
    Pineapples Posts: 246 Member
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    how much did you up your calories by?

    I'm in the same situation.. weight not budging in. So this week I upped my calories to 1750 net. I will try that for a few weeks and see what happens. I am like you too I exercise 5-6 times a week too and sometimes twice a day. So I don't understand why the weight is not coming off.
  • Amandac6772
    Amandac6772 Posts: 1,311 Member
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    I personally eat all my exercise calories plus some most days (there is some controversy over this). I just try not to go over by a huge amount. Also take a look at the sodium you are eating. Your food diary wasn't public so I couldn't check it out for you. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day too. I had a spell from October through December and I didn't lose a thing. I am back to losing now.
  • sweetheart03622
    sweetheart03622 Posts: 928 Member
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    Definitely need to eat your 1200 + the calories you burned. It'll help with the fatigue. You've probably hit a plateau, which usually lasts anywhere from 2-5 weeks. Keep being diligent. Chug your water, log your calories, and keep up with the exercise. I've also heard of people "shocking" their metabolism with an extra couple hundred calories (plus whatever you burned off). I've never tried it, but I've heard that it works well for some people.
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
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    it does take time for your body to be reassured it IS getting the extra calories it needs now, and to stop 'hoarding' them .. give it time.. it will happen, and then the scale will start moving down again *S*
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
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    how much did you up your calories by?

    I'm in the same situation.. weight not budging in. So this week I upped my calories to 1750 net. I will try that for a few weeks and see what happens. I am like you too I exercise 5-6 times a week too and sometimes twice a day. So I don't understand why the weight is not coming off.

    I increased my calories to take in whatever I lost during exercise since going below a net of 1200 is said to be bad for you. I also went up on my daily from 1200 to 1320 today so lets see if that helps.
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
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    Thanks for opening your food diary. From what I can tell, you are heavy on the carbs and sugar. You might add sugar and sodium to monitor as well. Your insulin is getting spiked which is impacting your weight loss. Try nuts and yogurt as snacks...maybe even a protein shake in place of some of the carbs.

    Hang in there!
  • rvice2
    rvice2 Posts: 132 Member
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    I was in the same boat a few weeks ago. Here are some tips to get you off of the plateau:
    1. Eat your exercise calories back!
    2. Do intervals when you do cardio (walk or jog slowly then add 30 second to 1 minute of speed; followed by slow again)
    3. Add at least 2 days a week of weight/strength training (muscle burns more calories than fat even when you are done lifting)
    4. Increase protein and try to stick to only 200 calories or less of carbs a day and eat them early in the day.
    5. Don't eat too much fruit - it contains lots of natural sugar, but none the less - sugar.
    6. Eat lots of veggies!
    7. Try to watch your sodium intake. Sodium can make you retain tons of water!

    I was on a plateau for about 6 weeks, but have successfully lost 4 weeks in a row now by following these guidelines. Good luck!

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