Frustrated and need advice

marybsalmon

I'm frustrated. I've been doing MFP for about 3 1/2 weeks and I've lost a total of 4 pounds. MFP states the following in my Goals section:
Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 2,110 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,200 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 910 calories
Projected Weight Loss 1.8 lbs/ week

Given this information set by MFP, I should have lost over 6 pounds by now. I try to keep it to 1200 calories with exercise. What am I doing wrong?

Forensi

This might sound a bit confusing but increase your calories to 1400 or so. Make sure if you are exercising you are eating back any calories you burn. The reason I suggest this is because 1200 is a very low target. Nobody should ever drop below 1200 for females and 1500 for males because otherwise your metabolism will shut down and go into starvation mode which means any food you eat will be stored as fat. Trust me it actually will probably benefit you more to eat that little bit extra each day. Hope that helps. Happy to chat more if you want to add me as a friend.

Rheenz

well... 1200 calories means alot of things. You need to be aware of what you are using your 1200 calories for. I mean, are you aiming for low carb? Have you looked into a ketogenic diet or some version of that? Have you looked into eating foods that are low on the glycemic index? changing to more of a HIIT work out to step up your game?... just a couple thoughts.

marybsalmon

I'm trying to eat healthy, but I have noticed that there are many times I go over my sugar limits. What is HIIT?

Elleinnz

You are not doing anything wrong - you have lost 4lbs - shows it is iworking!!......

Those of us that have been around for a while will tell you not to try and micro analyse every single half pound - some days you will be up - some days you will be down..... some weeks you will lose nothing - sometimes for more than a week.....

This can drive you crazy..... My advice - stick to your eating plan - make sure you eat good healthy calories - and good nutritious food - and the pounds will come off - maybe not at exactly the rate you calculate on a piece of paper - unfortunately nature does not work that way.....

Make sure you do some exercise - it is good for the body and the mind - and just keep at it and you will see results (might not be in an instant) - but then you did not pick up this weight in an instant either I suspect....

mrrodriguez

All kinds of things can influence your weight loss or lack therof in a short period of time. I think MFP is a bit too liberal on the estimate of calories burned. I am going to figure out how to use my Heart Rate Monitor to get a better handle on actual calories burned. I think you should be happy that you've lost four. A lot of people hit plateaus for two weeks or more. If you keep it up you will probably break through and start losing again. I would work out a bit longer if I was in your shoes.

Jenscan

OK, first off, 4.5 lbs is nothing to scoff at! You've lost over a pound a week! Just because MFP says you should have lost XYZ, doesn't necessarily mean so. We are all different.

That said, I took a peek at your diary and I'm willing to bet that you are taking in a lot of sodium. If that's the case, you might be retaining water. So, I suggest cutting back on processed foods a tad, upping water intake, and tracking sodium on your food diary. Give it a couple weeks and see what happens.

Good luck!

PS - HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training.

jamielise2

Definitely eat more, especially eat back most of your workout calories.

davidrt

remember that as you work out you will tone too so ignore the scale get a tape measure, 1200 calories isnt near enough and just because it says you should weigh this dosent really mean anything everyone loses weight at different rates and it sounds like you are in starvation mode i did that to myself too, i upped my calories and started to lose weight

marybsalmon

Thanks! That helps a lot. I didn't even consider my sodium intake & water retention. I'll also increase my exercise and see if that helps. I really appreciate all the support from everyone on MFP...

Elleinnz

Just looking at your diary....Personally I would try and get the carb and fat % down, and your protein % up.....

Nana_Anne

Congratulations on the 4 pounds!
I looked quickly at your diary at the totals. Your carbs and fat tend to be high or over and your protien is low. Maybe you could work on that end. Your doing great! Each pound and step is one day closer to your goal. Hang in there!

Daysea13

I too glanced at your diary for the past 2 wks. I would focus on all the nutritional goals...not just calories. Going over on Fat & Carbs will affect your weight loss also. Hope that helps! You are still losing...so stay positive.

NancyAnne1960

Make sure you verify all the nutrients in the foods you log in. I know it can be a pain to verify all the other entries, but I have found it a lot where all the nutrients are not filled in. Maybe because the person putting it in wasn't worried about that particular item. Sodium is a biggy. I noticed one entry that didn't have the sodium amount, and it would have been pretty high which would make a huge difference. Congrats on the 4 lbs. Keep it up!!!!:happy:

chevy88grl

First off, 4lbs isn't anything to be disappointed in. Remember you didn't put weight on in a month - you won't take it off in a month.
That being said...

Make sure you're eating enough. I see so many people on here who think they have to follow a strict 1200 calorie "diet" and don't lose weight. Weight loss isn't one size fits all - so what may work for one... won't work for another. One thing I've learned on this journey, is when something isn't working -- try something new. Yes, it is scary and I always worried I would gain weight back. But, every single time I changed things up - I started to lose again.

I'll be honest - I don't pay much attention to anything besides calories anymore (and I don't even watch them THAT closely anymore). I know some of the things are higher in sodium and when I eat them - I make sure I up my water intake to counter act it.

Make sure you're drinking enough water. Getting enough protein.

You're doing great!

mvsundberg

I agree with previous posts. 1200 is too few calories. You need to bump it to 1400. Also, be sure you have a protein and a complex carb (non starchy veggie or whole wheat pasta/bread, etc.) at EACH meal. I have 5 to 6 small meals a day. This keeps my metabolism burning throughout the day. Cut out Diet Sodas and packaged foods. Hope this helps.

marybsalmon

Thanks for all the advice. I've updated my goals to have 1400 calories per day and I'm going to really watch the carbs, sugars & sodium from now on...not just calories!

TS65

I wasn't losing on 1200 calories either (despite running for 1 hour 3x per week). It turns out, my settings were wrong.

You may want to read this, then adjust your settings accordingly: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Because of my job, I had my settings at sedentary. Turns out, that's wrong (because I also work out).

The link says:

" if you do some walking every day (or at least 4 days a week) or other light activity for at least 30 minutes cumulative at least 4 times a week, you are lightly active. If you do 60 minutes of light activity 5 days a week or do some kind of sport that requires walking or light jogging (say swimming or mailman or warehouse employee) then you are active, If you do a physically demanding activity (one that makes you sweat) for 4 days a week or more and for more than 1 hour a day, you are very active (like a coach that runs drills or you play volleyball). When in doubt, go down 1 level, you'd rather burn more than you think than less."

it also said: Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week) With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week) With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)

Since changing my settings, I've started dropping! YAY!