Haven't been able to lose a single pound in awhile...

littlejelli · April 2011

I thought that I started to plateau so I stopped exercising about two months ago. Since then, I've kept up my eating and I've been able to maintain. I eat mostly 1000-1200 calories a day and I just started exercising again by taking really long walks where I burn about 400 calories or so. Why am I not able to lose any weight???

What do I need to do to lose weight? I want to lose about 115 lbs by mid-June.

EDIT - Yeah that was a typo. My bad! I meant I want to get down to 115 by mid-June which means losing about 15 ish pounds. I'm currently 5 ft 5 in and I weigh 132 lbs.

SiltyPigeon · April 2011

You want to lose 115 lbs in two months? I hope that's a typo! That would be about 2 lbs a day! Good luck with that..... :huh:

~~~~~~~~
OK. Glad to hear that! 15 lbs is doable. 115, not so much!

UneJolieFemme · April 2011

Without seeing your diary it's kind of hard to tell. Can you try to exercise by doing something different than walking, maybe playing a sport ? Shaking your exercise routine a bit might help you.

What kind of food do you eat ? Do you keep track of your sodium intake ? Do you eat processed food ? Do you weight your food on a scale ? Do you drink plenty of water ?

meggonkgonk · April 2011

You need to eat more. 1200 is the base NET number. You shouldn't eat less than 1200+Exercise calories.

Gradually increase your cals until you are netting 1400 calories (maybe add 50 cals every few days) and then drop back to 1200-1300 range (PLUS exercise calories). You will see a small gain on the way up, but you will start losing again once you go down. Then every third week, raise your cals (to get your body used to increased cals) and then drop it back to 1300 or so.

Edit to add: If you haven't done so, you should consider discussing your final goal with a doctor you trust. IMO, 115 at 5'5" is cutting it close on the healthy end- but really everyone should have a consult with a MD about their final goals once within a healthy BMI (wouldn't your face be red to go into your next check up and be told you are underweight?)

staciekins · April 2011

You aren't eating enough...
Ok...for women, the minimum deficit is 1200 cals net/day, men is 1500 cals net/ day.
All you have to do is make sure your net is a minimum of 1200 cals.
If you eat 1200 cals, then burn 400, your deficit is at 800 cals, so you would need to eat that 400 to keep it at 1200. It has been proven in numerous studies that your body CAN, but not always go into starvation mode if you do not get your minimum. Some people hit their starvation mode after others, but it will happen. Not only can this happen, but you are also depleting your body of the nutrients it needs to stay healthy as well as fight off diseases. When your body goes into starvation mode, instead of digesting and dispelling the food you intake, it stores it because it "thinks" it needs it to stay alive. It's like your body is hoarding what it feels it isn't getting enough of.

Furrytail2310 · April 2011

It is probably because the muscle mass is more heavy than the fat mass so when we start training the weight goes a little bit up because we gain muscle mass and lose fat. The calories you eat are too few you are not supposed to eat less than 1200 and I don't know the metric system you use but you are supposed to lose 4 to 5 kilogramms per month so that your diet is adequate and so that you are helathy.

lilmami777 · April 2011

I heard on a special the other day that you should keep your calories NO less than 1200 per day, other than that your body isnt getting enough to work off of healthy. AND they also said if you reach your plateau, change your diet up some. Instead of eating the regular carrots, turkey, rice or whatever, eat chicken breast, a 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes and green veges. Good luck at reaching your goal weight.

littlejelli · April 2011

I play lacrosse 5 times a week, but its not that rigorous or anything. I have soccer three times a week. I don't keep track of my sodium intake. I mostly eat healthy foods: no soda or junk food at all. I eat some processed foods, but it's limited. I don't weigh my food on a scale, but I'll measure it to make sure how much I'm consuming. For example, I'll measure 2 cups of green beans. I drink about 32 L a day...

ajk828 · April 2011

I think that there are possibly 2 solutions:

1.) eat at least 1200 calories a day

2.) make sure you are switching up what you are eating, it's not good for weight loss to constantly be eating the same thing

good luck

UneJolieFemme · April 2011

I play lacrosse 5 times a week, but its not that rigorous or anything. I have soccer three times a week. I don't keep track of my sodium intake. I mostly eat healthy foods: no soda or junk food at all. I eat some processed foods, but it's limited. I don't weigh my food on a scale, but I'll measure it to make sure how much I'm consuming. For example, I'll measure 2 cups of green beans. I drink about 32 L a day...

That's great. What really helped me losing the last pounds of baby weight was to start jogging. It's really hard at first but now I have to admit I LOVE IT. I also eat lots of homemade soup - lots of homemade broth (chicken, beef or vegetables) and I add barley, chicken or beef for a good source of proteins. Lots of chicken salad. Whole wheat pastas only, no white rice. I also zig zag my calories and it seems like it's working for me. I don't believe in the ''never get below 1200 cal/day with exercise''. I must say tho that there are days I eat way more than I should so maybe at the end of the week it all evens out. Try different things to find what work for yourself.

MacMadame · April 2011

Read this:

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan

ETA The net calorie burn of walking is about 50 calories per mile. Are you really walking 8 miles a day? If you aren't, then you aren't burning 400 calories on your walks. Don't forget, when you calculate your net calorie burn, you have to subtract off the calories you would have burned just by existing. For me that's 60 calories an hour.

willimh · April 2011

You will have to eat more because of you exercising or cut back on the amount of time in a day you exercise. There is a such thing as over exertion of the body and I was going through that at one point.

alexmcclurex · April 2011

dont put yourself in starvation mode becase if that happens you dont lose wight

and musle wighes more then fat!!

shaunshaikh · April 2011

jackal75 · April 2011

I think that there are possibly 2 solutions:

1.) eat at least 1200 calories a day

2.) make sure you are switching up what you are eating, it's not good for weight loss to constantly be eating the same thing

good luck

Here is one that I haven't seen anyone else mention.... change what you are doing exercise-wise. The post I quote here, combined with a varied exercise regimin should get you going again. (I'm curious about the post saying you should increse to 1400 calories before dropping back to 1200 though...they may have something there too.) I have now had two trainers tell me that when I hit a plateau I need to alter my workout because my body has adjusted to doing the same thing.

ALSO... Now that I am down 75 lbs and within 10 of my goal, the trainers both tell me to up my calories, eat more protein, and do more strength than cardio. They tell me that I have lost some muscle along with all the fat by doing it mostly with diet and cardio. In order to kill off this last bit of fat I need more lean muscle mass, which will call on the fat reserves for energy when I am lifting.

So my question to you is... What is your body fat percentage? If you don't know, go get a pinch test done. If you are in the healthy range, then your goal may be unrealistic. If it's a little high, then you might try what I'm doing now.

llkilgore · April 2011

I'd add some strength training, and maybe cut back on cardio time if necessary to fit it into your schedule. In fact, that's exactly what I did a several weeks ago, and my rate of weight loss almost immediately jumped from a few ounces a week to few ounces more than the pound a week that my MFP settings tell me I should be losing. And that's with a significant reduction in total time spent exercising. I feel so much better now, in part because I no longer have to struggle to eat back the ridiculously high number of exercise calories I used to earn.

KellyBurton1 · April 2011

I tell you what I done! I was undereating. Starving myself. NO weight loss, lack of energy and motivation almost gone. I up my calorie intake and took up jogging ang lift weights 3 days a week. I am now seeing the weights go down again. Dont give up. You have to remind yourself what brought you here in the first place. Good luck!!

littlejelli · April 2011

Thanks for all the responses guys! I really appreciate it!

So I'm mostly thinking that I should up my calorie intake? Should I do this slowly or start off tomorrow by eating 1500 calories (whereas I'm eating about 1200 right now)? I'm also still planning on doing my soccer three days a week and continuing my walks. If I see results, I'll probably start turning my walks into jogs. Does this sound good?

meggonkgonk · April 2011

1) I would say slowly but consistently up your calories. 50 cals every 2-3 days

2) Are you listing yourself as 'lightly active'? If not, make sure to log soccer and Lacrosse pratice as well as your walks. You calorie goal is in NET calories, not TOTAL (so you have to eat 1200, PLUS what you burn at soccer/lacrosse/running, usually 1500-2200 would be my estimate, depending on how long practice is)

Haven't been able to lose a single pound in awhile...

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