Haven't lost not ONE pound in the last 6 weeks!

FemmeAndi

What am I doing wrong? I put my calorie intake to 1200 cals, therefore it says I will lose 2 pounds per week. I make sure that I eat back my calories that I burn from exercising. But it seems like... just to get back to the 1200 calories, I am eating when I'm not hungrey just to get back there.

I try to workout 5 times a week for sure, and sometimes add a fun cardio exercise on saturday or sunday. I do 20 mins of the 30 day shred and follow it up with about 30 minutes of turbo jam. This is what I have been doing in the last 6 weeks.

Last year I dropped 10 pounds in about 2- 2 & 1/2 months (i used to eat small breakfasts, dinners and I think I was only getting about 1300 calories in food and not eating back the calories I burned from exercise because i wasn't hungry) but now I'm going in to my 7th week and I haven't lost a thing by following this website, I mean, I did lose 2 pounds in the last two weeks because I wouldn't eat back my calories but I stepped on the scale today(i have began to eat back my calories again), and sure enough I'm back 2 where I started.

How am I going to get rid of this weight? I thought for sure I'd see some weight loss by now! I'm getting so discouraged!!

icerose137

Go much higher with your calories. You have so little to lose, you should only have a deficit that will put you at like 1/2 a lb a week. The reason being is you are so close your body is hanging on to that last bit of reserves. Add in strength training as well and work on building good lean muscles to help you consume that bit of fat.

babydull

Are you measuring your cals burned with a HRM?

Persipan

What's your activity level set at? And how sure are you that what you've recorded is accurate? Because if you've eaten a bit more than you thought, or your exercise calories are a bit off, it could make a lot of difference...

Aesop101

You have a low amount of weight to lose and that can be tough. Trying increasing your intensity a minute or two at a time and then drop down to a more comfortable level.

bluefox9er

I am platauing, too. I'd say eat MORE but don't eat 'back' all your exercise calories. also, vary your exercise routines to keep your body guessing and keep with the 8 cups of water a day minimum.
at least you havn't put on weight..but your body seems reluctant to let go of the weight, it might be that demon 'starvation ' mode?

husker_gal

you may be eating too little for your body to function properly. Try ( I know this sounds counterproductive) adding an extra 100 calories to you daily allotment. Try that for a few weeks and see if it works. Your body may be in starvation mode even with eating the extra calories. And remember that if you are already small then you may not lose "weight" but might still lose inches. Try taking your measurements and make sure your body fat percentage isn't too low already.

jeff261159

I know before i start that many will disagree but what is the point in eating back all your calories? You may as well not be doing the excercise!! You have to output in calories, more than you input!!

If your body needs a daily calorific intake of 1200 and you add 500, but then eat 1700, you have achieved nothing, the net value is still zero!! Try not eating back your calories beyond about 20% of them for a litttle while and I bet you will see a difference.

MissNombril

And don't forget that your body also needs rest sometimes, overtraining is never a good thing anyway.

FemmeAndi

What's your activity level set at? And how sure are you that what you've recorded is accurate? Because if you've eaten a bit more than you thought, or your exercise calories are a bit off, it could make a lot of difference...

well i'm not sure really how many calories i burn during exercise, I just go with what this website calculates for 30 mins turbo jam and 20 minute circuit trainining. Says about 335 for 30 mins turbo jam and about 200 cals burned with circuit traininig.
I sweat a bunch when I do the 30 day shred but when I go to turbo jam I just kinda work through the movements if i'm a bit tired and if i'm feeling energized i blast through the movements. but i don't have a heart rate monitor so I'm not sure.
Maybe I should push a little harder!

alifer

I noticed your diary isn't open, therefore it is hard to help. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Also since you only have 8 pounds to lose (according to your ticker) you should likely have your goal set to 1/2 pound per week. Sometimes when you increase your calories it is easier to lose. At least when I have hit plateaus that's what I've done and the weight started falling off again. Another question I would have is a loss of 8 pounds a healthy, reasonable goal for your height. Sometimes people think they need to lose weight, but really want to tone. That is when you would see more muscle definition and smaller measurements, but not necessarily a loss on the scale. Good luck!

FemmeAndi

you may be eating too little for your body to function properly. Try ( I know this sounds counterproductive) adding an extra 100 calories to you daily allotment. Try that for a few weeks and see if it works. Your body may be in starvation mode even with eating the extra calories. And remember that if you are already small then you may not lose "weight" but might still lose inches. Try taking your measurements and make sure your body fat percentage isn't too low already.

I'm terrified to add any more calories, just because last year when i dropped the weight from 145 to 132 I wasn't eating that much at all and I was even more active than I am now, just from walkin in the mall and shopping, that sorta thing. And now I am less activite because there is nothing to do in this small town and all I do really for exercise is my home workouts. So i don't think I wanna add on those calories :S ohhh I'm so stuck.

FemmeAndi

I know before i start that many will disagree but what is the point in eating back all your calories? You may as well not be doing the excercise!! You have to output in calories, more than you input!!

If your body needs a daily calorific intake of 1200 and you add 500, but then eat 1700, you have achieved nothing, the net value is still zero!! Try not eating back your calories beyond about 20% of them for a litttle while and I bet you will see a difference.

I think I will try this... I did this for 2 weeks and actually lost 2 pounds but when I went back to eating back my calories, my 2 pounds came back!

FemmeAndi

I noticed your diary isn't open, therefore it is hard to help. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Also since you only have 8 pounds to lose (according to your ticker) you should likely have your goal set to 1/2 pound per week. Sometimes when you increase your calories it is easier to lose. At least when I have hit plateaus that's what I've done and the weight started falling off again. Another question I would have is a loss of 8 pounds a healthy, reasonable goal for your height. Sometimes people think they need to lose weight, but really want to tone. That is when you would see more muscle definition and smaller measurements, but not necessarily a loss on the scale. Good luck!

Mostly I want to tone, but I want to get back to where I was last year, I felt happiest then. I get the muscles but then I can't really see them because I still carry some weight right now. I'm 5'7 at 142 and want to get to 132, I looked on charts and 132 is where its right smack in the middle of my weight range for my height.

alifer

I was terrified to add more calories also. But I unintentionally did it - cheat and rest day - and saw the scale start moving again. The trick is figuring out what your body responds to. Try one thing for a couple of weeks, if it doesn't seem to change anything, try something else until you find what works for you.

RainyDayKelli

[quote}

I'm terrified to add any more calories, just because last year when i dropped the weight from 145 to 132 I wasn't eating that much at all and I was even more active than I am now, just from walkin in the mall and shopping, that sorta thing. And now I am less activite because there is nothing to do in this small town and all I do really for exercise is my home workouts. So i don't think I wanna add on those calories :S ohhh I'm so stuck.
[/quote]

I realize you don't WANT to add calories, but it sounds like the only thing you haven't tried yet. Sometimes you have to try things you don't want to for your own good.

Elzecat

I know before i start that many will disagree but what is the point in eating back all your calories? You may as well not be doing the excercise!! You have to output in calories, more than you input!!

If your body needs a daily calorific intake of 1200 and you add 500, but then eat 1700, you have achieved nothing, the net value is still zero!! Try not eating back your calories beyond about 20% of them for a litttle while and I bet you will see a difference.

Because MFP sets up weight loss plans with a calorie deficit PRIOR to any exercise calories being burnt or eaten. If you look at the goals page, it shows each person's individual daily caloric deficit and estimated possible weight loss based on the information the person entered. Exercise calories are above and beyond that deficit--not eating them can help some people, but it can also hurt others...it's totally individual and what works for one person does not work for all...

And the closer you get to goal, the harder it is to lose that small amount.

tamiesue2

Everyone's body seems to react different to calories eaten versus calories burned and food consumed. I have been monitoring my progress and have found my body does not do good when I eat back my calories. My body does best when I stick to the 1200 calories. Also, my body does not do good if I keep my carbs and sodium on the high side. But this is just how my body reacts.

We are all different. My suggestion is to monitor your results and see what you were doing when you were losing.

ladyhawk00

I know before i start that many will disagree but what is the point in eating back all your calories? You may as well not be doing the excercise!! You have to output in calories, more than you input!!

If your body needs a daily calorific intake of 1200 and you add 500, but then eat 1700, you have achieved nothing, the net value is still zero!! Try not eating back your calories beyond about 20% of them for a litttle while and I bet you will see a difference.

Wrong.

This has to do with how MFP is designed. It is different than most other counters/plans. Most plans use your exercise to create your deficit for weight loss, keeping your daily cal goal static.

MFP was designed with the idea that many people can't exercise regularly, or at all, due to physical limitations or time or whatever reason. They also recognized that most people set up an exercise plan with good intentions, but as we all know, that's not necessarily what actually happens every day. So they built the site to allow for weight loss with or without exercise.

MFP creates a built in deficit based on your loss per week goal, regardless of exercise. So when you log exercise, cals are added back in to keep that deficit stable. If you don't replace those cals, you've made your deficit larger than you (presumably) intended. A larger deficit does not necessarily mean faster weight loss; it is usually unhealthy and unsustainable. It is important to fuel the body properly.

To OP: You've chosen the incorrect loss per week goal. When you don't have much to lose, you need a very conservative deficit. Too large of a deficit may result in slow/no weight loss; and what weight you do lose will usually be largely muscle, not fat. It will also result in decreased metabolism, making it harder to maintain your weight. In your situation, your loss per week goal should be no more than 1/2 lb per week.

May help to read these:

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/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works

Atlantique

If you only have 8 pounds to lose, you should have your goals set to lose .5 pounds per week. 2 lbs per week is for people with 50+ pounds to lose. Your deficit is way too aggressive.

How are you counting your calories? Are you weighing your portions, measuring them? If you're eyeballing them, then odds are that your logging is inaccurate.

With so little to lose, you are going to have to be very accurate on your portions and also eat pretty clean.

Persipan

What's your activity level set at? And how sure are you that what you've recorded is accurate? Because if you've eaten a bit more than you thought, or your exercise calories are a bit off, it could make a lot of difference...

well i'm not sure really how many calories i burn during exercise, I just go with what this website calculates for 30 mins turbo jam and 20 minute circuit trainining. Says about 335 for 30 mins turbo jam and about 200 cals burned with circuit traininig.
I sweat a bunch when I do the 30 day shred but when I go to turbo jam I just kinda work through the movements if i'm a bit tired and if i'm feeling energized i blast through the movements. but i don't have a heart rate monitor so I'm not sure.
Maybe I should push a little harder!

It's possible (probable, even) that the figures the site is giving you aren't absolutely accurate, so maybe eat just half your exercise calories back?