Having a hard time

scaryfairy81

Ok here's my back story. I'm petite(just under 5'1") and at my highest I was close to 145, and my lowest I was 110. I feel most comfortable and healthy around 115. Currently I'm 124 and I've been using MFP for a couple of months and have gained weight. It has my calories set at 1200. When I initially went from the 140s to below 120, I was seeing a weight loss doctor who put me at 1000 calories, and I was allowed 1200 only on the days I worked out. At the time I would do 30-60 minutes on an elliptical and do weight machine exercises after. I had no trouble losing weight at the time. But this time around I am totally stuck! It's very hard for me to eat more than 1200 calories, I just don't have the appetite to eat that much. For exercise I switch up between the elliptical, Zumba classes, and kickboxing classes, along with weights. I push myself to drink water, and have Crystal Light for variety because I am not a fan of plain water when I'm not exercising. I need to push past this plateau and I don't know how to do it!!! Help!

Newfiedan

They set 1200 as the lowest because it is hard to get proper nutrition in less than that amount, but in your case being as short as you are you may require less. Eating healthier choices may help you maintain that 1200/day but get the fat loss going, if your diary is open I could take a look at it and see if there are areas which we can improve and get fat loss working for you, also try not to fixate on the weight as much as how you fit and feel in your clothes. There are posts in my blog which may help you break that plateau.

CallMeMamaBoo

Might sound frustrating but you need to EAT! You want to burn off the fat, you are going to have to give your body the fuel it needs to do that! Otherwise, it's just going to hold on to everything you give it. And water water water....I've read that the current recommendation is 80 oz a day for weight loss. G'luck to you.

A_New_Horizon

I have currently hit a plateau myself. I am trying to increase my water intake to 12 glasses vs. 8 glasses (I am not a plain water fan either; I use Chrystal light). I am changing up my workout routine. I will be completing 30-day shred level 3 by the weekend then I am starting Turbojam. Watch your sodium intake it will make you retain water. Have you taken your measurements? They are very important. When the scale is telling you one thing, your measurements could be telling you another. For example, I am up in lbs (according to the scale), but I believe I have lost another inch off my waist. If you haven't taken your measurements, I recommend that you do because they dont' lie where the scale can. Just don't give up that is the worst thing you can do!!! Keep pushing through, you can get past this plateau.

ladyhawk00

Well, look at it this way. With your stats (29, 124, 5'1"), and just a lightly active daily activity level, your maintenance cals would be about 1700. So, if you are aiming to lose less than 10 lbs, you should have NO MORE than a 300 cal deficit, for about 1/2 lb loss per week. Which would put your daily cal goal at about 1400, before exercise.

When you have been on a severely restricted diet, it can be difficult to increase intake. But undereating usually does not produce the desired results. Increasing your intake gradually, your body will adjust to a higher intake. And it takes planning. Eating frequently throughout the day, and eating nutrient dense foods high in protein, good fats and good carbs. You don't necessarily have to eat a lot more volume, just more dense foods. Adding in good fats (natural oils like canola/olive, nuts, avocado) is a great way to increase cals in a healthy way.

Often, lack of appetite is due to decreased metabolism - and the way to increase it is to eat enough to fuel the body properly.

scaryfairy81

They set 1200 as the lowest because it is hard to get proper nutrition in less than that amount, but in your case being as short as you are you may require less. Eating healthier choices may help you maintain that 1200/day but get the fat loss going, if your diary is open I could take a look at it and see if there are areas which we can improve and get fat loss working for you, also try not to fixate on the weight as much as how you fit and feel in your clothes. There are posts in my blog which may help you break that plateau.

I must admit, I am almost ashamed to open my diary, because even though I am under 1200, my choices probably aren't the best. A typical day for me is coffee and cereal(usually Honey Bunches Of Oats with Almonds) with nonfat milk, snack is Goldfish crackers(I have a 14 month old and usually snack with him lol), lunch is sometimes a Lean Cuisine, or a sandwich, or leftover dinner. And for dinners I usually have a big calorie deficit to make up and a lot of times I'll do stuff like spaghetti, or things like taco salad minus the shell, red beans and rice with turkey sausage, crock pot bbq pulled chicken breast, and usually some kind of veggies and either potatoes or rice, etc. I also have stuff like Greek yogurt for snacks, sometimes have a Nutrigrain waffle and Nutella for breakfast, or a protein shake for lunch after the gym. I also sometimes make prepackaged bag meals for convenience sake because my husband is military and never gets off at the same time 2 days in a row and I try to have dinner ready when he gets home. I know I don't make the best food choices as far as quality, but I rarely if ever overeat. I love chocolate and try to budget a little room for a treat during the day, like some Hershey's kisses, because if I don't eventually I binge and want to eat a TON of something awful!

robin52077

Well, look at it this way. With your stats (29, 124, 5'1"), and just a lightly active daily activity level, your maintenance cals would be about 1700. So, if you are aiming to lose less than 10 lbs, you should have NO MORE than a 300 cal deficit, for about 1/2 lb loss per week. Which would put your daily cal goal at about 1400, before exercise.

When you have been on a severely restricted diet, it can be difficult to increase intake. But undereating usually does not produce the desired results. Increasing your intake gradually, your body will adjust to a higher intake. And it takes planning. Eating frequently throughout the day, and eating nutrient dense foods high in protein, good fats and good carbs. You don't necessarily have to eat a lot more volume, just more dense foods. Adding in good fats (natural oils like canola/olive, nuts, avocado) is a great way to increase cals in a healthy way.

Often, lack of appetite is due to decreased metabolism - and the way to increase it is to eat enough to fuel the body properly.

EXACTLY this.

Newfiedan

food is not the enemy, you can make friends with it and succeed, and in most cases do it very very well. Far to many ppl have this notion in their heads that to be "skinny" you need to eat as little as possible and nothing could be further from the truth, feel free to add me and I will do my best to help educate and teach you a better way to achieve that fat loss goal, and hey if I am wrong then whatever you lost a week or 2 at most and can easily go back to what you were doing.

scaryfairy81

I hadn't weighed myself all week, and I did this morning, after eating over 1200 on the days I exercise. I gained 2 more pounds! I am 125.5 now, 10 lbs above where I'd like to be. Yesterday I took a 45 minute long intense cardio kickboxing class, and ate 1600 calories, and drank about 80-90oz of water. I feel so discouraged.

ladyhawk00

Well, you didn't gain 2 lbs of fat by eating a couple hundred more cals. You'd have to eat 7000 EXTRA cals to gain 2 lbs of fat. It is likely water retention from too much sodium and too little water. You can also have water retention after an intense workout.

At any rate, it is quite normal to gain a bit when you increase your intake after being on a low cal diet for an extended period. If your metabolism slowed to deal with too little fuel, when you eat sufficiently you will often gain temporarily as your body adjusts and metabolism increases again. Usually it's only for a week or two and then you'll start dropping again. Especially when you only have a few lbs to lose, weight loss doesn't happen in days - it is a gradual thing that has ups and downs and happens over weeks and months. Be patient and give it time to work.

Might help to read this thread that can give you some ideas of what may be happening.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

Evjones28

HI all ... I am 160.5 and started at 166 at the beginning of March on my own just 'eat less' and no more fast foods diet but not sure of how many calories. I joined MFP on 3/23 and was put me on 1200 cal but i have only ate that much once since then and have been reaching about 800 or 900 because i wasnt really hungry. I noticed i started losing less each week so I finally grasped this concept that 'eating' helps you lose so I purposely made myself reach 1200. My goal stats are: 5'6", 40, SW166, GW 150 and wanting to lose 2lbs/wk. Well, when i reached 1200 Tuesday it said that in 5 weeks i would weigh 161.8 (more) but when doing only 8 or 900 it would say i'd weigh 147 -151 (less). I'm confused. Is 1,200 really just a MFP minimum. Should i try 1,000 calories or would this just make my body hold on to bad fat? HELP !!!

ladyhawk00

HI all ... I am 160.5 and started at 166 at the beginning of March on my own just 'eat less' and no more fast foods diet but not sure of how many calories. I joined MFP on 3/23 and was put me on 1200 cal but i have only ate that much once since then and have been reaching about 800 or 900 because i wasnt really hungry. I noticed i started losing less each week so I finally grasped this concept that 'eating' helps you lose so I purposely made myself reach 1200. My goal stats are: 5'6", 40, SW166, GW 150 and wanting to lose 2lbs/wk. Well, when i reached 1200 Tuesday it said that in 5 weeks i would weigh 161.8 (more) but when doing only 8 or 900 it would say i'd weigh 147 -151 (less). I'm confused. Is 1,200 really just a MFP minimum. Should i try 1,000 calories or would this just make my body hold on to bad fat? HELP !!!

First, do not get discouraged. There are a couple of issues here. The first is that you do NOT have enough to lose to have a 1000 cal deficit. The 2 lb per week loss goal is for people who are obese (75+ lbs to lose). When you have very little fat stores, it takes MUCH longer for your body to access them and burn them in a healthy, safe way. If you undereat, the weight you do lose will be MUSCLE, not fat. Go back right now and choose the 1 lb/week loss goal at most. You didn't put the weight on overnight, and you won't lose it overnight. Be patient and go slowly. Slower weight loss is MUCH more likely to be kept off long term.

1200 is the amount recommended by experts as the minimum for the average woman to receive adequate nutrition. At your height and weight, you should NOT go under 1200 NET. Eating less will only hamper your progress and make you unhealthy.

I would recommend reading these threads that explain how MFP works, metabolism and why it's important to fuel the body properly. The first one also discusses appetite. It may be hard to eat more at first, because your body is not used to it - but it is necessary and you will adjust within a week or two.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

If you have other questions, please let me know.

Evjones28

Thanks a bunch Ladyhawk, Great info ... It was very helpful and answered my questions :-)

I changed it to 1lb/wk and now it says 1270 :-( ... but I'm okay with that. I just really don't see myself continuing to eat this much 'everyday' but will try. I also put in that I ate 1270 calories today and it said i would weigh 154.8 in 5 weeks (less) :-). I'm not a big fan of the 5 week thing so have been paying very little attention to it but it scared me when it said i would gain weight if i continued to eat the 1200 that MFP suggested. Thanks again for your help ... :happy:

ladyhawk00

Thanks a bunch Ladyhawk, Great info ... It was very helpful and answered my questions :-)

I changed it to 1lb/wk and now it says 1270 :-( ... but I'm okay with that. I just really don't see myself continuing to eat this much 'everyday' but will try. I also put in that I ate 1270 calories today and it said i would weigh 154.8 in 5 weeks (less) :-). I'm not a big fan of the 5 week thing so have been paying very little attention to it but it scared me when it said i would gain weight if i continued to eat the 1200 that MFP suggested. Thanks again for your help ... :happy:

Quite welcome.

Regarding eating more - you don't have to increase volume a lot to increase cals in a healthy way. Increase cals just 50 per meal/snack. Eat frequently, 3 meals and at least 2 snacks per day. Stay away from "low cal" or "low fat" stuff (typically has far too much sodium anyway). Try to use things with healthy fats, like natural oils (olive/canola), nuts (almonds, pistachios, walnuts), avocados. And get some healthy carbs, with whole grains. Milk is good, as is peanut butter. Just keep working at it and I bet you'll get used to it pretty quickly.

scaryfairy81

Ok, so according to MFP and a few other calculators, my BMR is right around 1200(1212 on MFP to be exact). That is MUCH lower than most people I am seeing on here, because I am quite a bit shorter than the average person. I've tried to stay around that on the days I don't work out and eating some of my exercise calories back on the days I do work out, and I've gained weight. I've been on MFP for 2 months and gained 7lbs. This week I thought the first few lbs were because it's that time of the month, but that's over now and I gained 2 more lbs this week. I am most definitely eating more calories than I should when I am closer to 1500.

ladyhawk00

Ok, so according to MFP and a few other calculators, my BMR is right around 1200(1212 on MFP to be exact). That is MUCH lower than most people I am seeing on here, because I am quite a bit shorter than the average person. I've tried to stay around that on the days I don't work out and eating some of my exercise calories back on the days I do work out, and I've gained weight. I've been on MFP for 2 months and gained 7lbs. This week I thought the first few lbs were because it's that time of the month, but that's over now and I gained 2 more lbs this week. I am most definitely eating more calories than I should when I am closer to 1500.

Without seeing your diary, there isn't much more advice I could give. There can be a lot of things that could be influencing it. Change in exercise, foods, water retention, readjusting metabolism, and on and on.