What am I doing wrong?? PLEASE HELP

Autumn1206

I am so confused. It seems against the grain to eat more, dont you think? Did you really find you lost more the more you ate? I know I am working out a lot and eating around 1200-1500 calories - you think I need to eat more??

I know it seems like the backward way to go, but eating more worked for me. I lost almost three pounds the first week that I increased my calorie intake, and all I did was add about 100-200 calories per day. You can do that just having a handful of peanuts. Now obviously 3 pounds is not the healthiest, but it was like my body was just kind of hanging on to it until it felt comfortable with the level of calories it was getting. I've found that a little advance planning has helped me to ensure that I make good choices throughout the day. Planning ahead those small details will help you to stress out less during the day about what you are putting into your body.

Lpfeifer419

I see a lot of beige, processed, junk foods. I don't see a lot of healthy veggies or lean proteins. I see way too little water.

You are doing all this amazing, hard work and not seeing results. We have to think about the foods we put into our mouths. It doesn't matter if you are coming in under your calories, if you are eating crap.

I bet a lot of the problem comes from your sodium intake. While you don't have it posted, it is probably 3-4 times where it should be. I have my sodium set for 2,000mg per day, but I rarely go over 1,500. Sodium will cause you to retain fluids and bloat up.

theresa7576

I'm sorry I have to add after I went back and viewed your diary that your choices are very poor........... WAY too much food is being purchased from fast food places and restaurants. A half rack of ribs? Those are very fatty... McDonalds ? You really need to try to shop the perimeter of the store, stay away from the sweets as a main source of nutrition and realize that 100-150 calories should be allowed for snack food. If you eat 1200 calories worth of donuts everyday.... what is your body supposed to do with that in terms of building a healthy body? Yogurt for breakfast, salad for lunch with maybe some bell pepper. tomatoes... some turkey or chicken cut up in it.. a dinner of something without breading or prepared by anyone wearing a hat.... tilapia, chicken breast, cod... salmon.. 96/4 ground beef even has only 150 calories and 4 grams of fat VS McDs 350 calories and 20 grams of fat... Look at every single item before you put it in your mouth and say, "is this the best choice I could be making for myself right now?" everyone deserves snack... but your main source of calories cannot be junk. You are doing this for YOU. I always tell myself... yes you can cheat.. but you are only cheating YOU. and while I can lie to MFP, my body will know differently.

marulm

Different plans work for each person, but one thing is for sure, if what you are doing isn't working, change it. At least try having lots of smaller, NUTRITIOUS meals. Sometimes we take it for granted that everyone knows what a nutritious meal is, and on this website there are a wide range of opinions on the subject, but I believe most would agree that high sugar and/or high fat is not a component of one. Drink a big glass of water in the morning. That's 2 cups down, only three more big glasses to go to make at least 8 cups. Eat some breakfast, yogurt and fruit, or peanut butter on toast with sugar-free jam (that what I eat every day), or an egg taco, or a high quality , low sugar cereal and milk (I make an iced coffee with almond milk and stevia for my beverage). It really is not complicated if you have your supplies ready, and do not have temptations in easy reach (ie., in the house). If there are situations where you need to eat fast-food, there are a few decent options. Carl's Jr. turkey burgers ( you can order them protein style) and bbq chicken, Panda Express string bean chicken breast with the veggies as the side (they have a few other good choices also). These are probably high in sodium, and of course cost a lot more than homemade, but occasionally.... I echo the post about not doing so much steady state cardio. Google HIIT to get more info. Less time spent, more effective. Feel free to check out my food diary, I eat a lot of food for the calories. I have to do this for the rest of my life, (eat well and exercise) so it has to not be a continual struggle. OK, I've rambled on long enough. I applaud your willingness to share your struggle and let us critique your food and exercise.

divamom0122

I feel just like you do! I do not eat out that often and I RARELY eat anything like fast food, but my calorie intake does run under 1200 at times and I do not get to exercise that much... health and time issues. I think you received some really great ideas, esp upping your water intake and improving the quality of your food choices. It is such a drastic change in one's lifestyle.. but I am convinced it is worth it! :flowerforyou:
Hang in there!!

DustinReiner

Well, you need to eat more than 1200 calories. 1200 is the minimum around that number and your body goes into conserve mode. So it does whatever it can to keep those 1200 calories. It will start to burn muscle.

Take your diet up to 1400-1500 calories a day. Also what are you eating matters a lot to. Cakes and candies fried food isn’t going to do it. At a low caloric intake you need a very nutritious diet. You need to eat baked or broiled meats, not processed. Boiled or streamed or raw vegetables. Salad with ONE tables spoon of dressing on it.

You need three or four small meals a day, of good food. No fast food, no cakes or candies, no pop, no fried food, no ice cream.

Be painstakingly honest in you MFP food diary listing. I weigh most of the meat and measure the amounts of food I eat. I’ve lost around 19 pounds so far.

Good luck!

Whoever wrote the car analogy is correct, if you want to frive 100 miles, you need 100 miles of gas in it.

dragonmaid78219

Also remember you will hit a plateau as far as losing pounds. I was once told when the pounds stop, start measuring your body. You may be losing inches and not realize it.

mrdalton

THANKS for all the advice everyone. I just looked back through my diary and I guess I see the problem. I thought it didnt matter what you ate, as long as you came in at 1200 calories for the day. Guess I was wrong - really wrong. I will try to make healthier choices - (but being on the road and not having a set schedule makes it really difficult.) But it has to be done if I expect to loose weight, I know. Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.

gp79

I wasn't able to look at your diary but by the looks of your last post, you seem to have figured out what your issue was.

Here are a couple of things I'd ensure you're getting...

Rest - your body needs to rebuild itself
Water - you need to stay hydrated, 3 cups of water and 2 diet pepsi's is not adequate enough.
Calories - 1200 calories with your described workout routine is not enough and is a recipe for fat GAIN!
Mindset - The toughest part, having the willpower to overcome and stare this beast in the face. Stop making excuses for why you cannot eat balanced, nutritious meals, even when traveling. I travel 180 days per year. This equates to a week at home and then a week on the road. The morning I depart, I have 80% of my food packed in my carryon for the day. As soon as I land, I check into the hotel and find the closest grocery store. The grocery store is your friend, there you control what you eat and will never be limited to what a restaurant has on its menu. Restaurants are BAD in almost all instances. You need to maximize what you get out of your calories. I eat very well while traveling and seldom hungry. In rare instances where there are forced business lunches on the fly, I make the smartest choice possible, regardless of where we're eating. If you have MFP on your phone, plug in the restaurant's name and see if it's in the database.

Think mindset....because it seems you have the exercise part down.

JohnnyNull

Skimming along, I didn't see anyone mention your workouts.

IMO, you should include far more leg work. Squats, that sort of thing.