What the hell is going on?! Help Please1

sd892310

Hi all,

Getting tad frusterated now, have had several ups and downs on this weight loss journey, that have gradually truned into downs all the time! I got stuck at a plateau for ages, dropped 3lbs, then ended up gaining them back, and havent shifted from there.

I have upped my calories as i know i am meant to have a lower deficit now i am in a healthy weight range, i am eating smaller meals more often, so instead of just 3 proper meals a day i make sure i have 3 smaller meals and 2/3 snacks, i drink at least 2 litres of water a day, although recently has been more like 3 litres, i have been working out at home for 25minutes a night for the last 5 weeks, go for walks at lunch for between 20 and 45 minutes, and i cannot seem to get to goal!

What the hell is going on?

I started the 30DS on 1st July and everyone here has had such good results on it i was hoping this would help push me through my plateau and get rid of these last 7lbs, but all that has happened is yes i can see more defination/shape, but i have gained 3lbs since starting it!! :grumble: surely thats not how it is supposed to work?!

Why is my body being backwards? I have checked my BMR on various different sites/calculators etc and it is saying i should be having 1670 a day, currently my goal is set at 1420 (with the odd day where may be a couple hundred over!! :embarassed: ) Would it really make a diffrence if i upped my calories to the recommended 1670? I'm really scared to do this because i'm petrified it will make me put on even more weight!

Any help would be much appreciated as i am slowly starting to hate my body all over agian cause it just wont do what i want it to!!!!

northstar699

Bump! I'm in a similar boat. I'm close to my goal weight and I've hit a brick wall. I just upped my calories from 1200 to 1330 today based on MFPs calculations for 1 pound per week.

ozycat

Sorry, i haven't got anything constructive to say, but interested to see what replies you get.

Good luck with the journey!

BerryH

Why is my body being backwards? I have checked my BMR on various different sites/calculators etc and it is saying i should be having 1670 a day, currently my goal is set at 1420 (with the odd day where may be a couple hundred over!! :embarassed: ) Would it really make a diffrence if i upped my calories to the recommended 1670? I'm really scared to do this because i'm petrified it will make me put on even more weight!

MFP figures in a calories deficit so you lose weight, i.e. you eat a bit less than your BMR so your body burns fat as fuel. As you're close to your goal weight, why not try adjusting your setting to lose 1/2 lb a week, that's often the trick for teh last 10lbs or so.

1420 sounds high to me - I'm on less than that an I have further to go, but to be fair my activity levels are sedentary outside the MFP exercise calories, which I do eat back. Trust MFP's figures!

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating back your exercise calories back?

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

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

velvetkat

I am interested to hear your responses as I have been stuck for a couple of weeks when I gained 4 lbs like overnight for no reason as I don't have a cheat day or cheat. Then it took me all week to get those 4 lbs off and now im just stuck. I have upped my calories to 1350, then when that didnt work dropped them back down to 1200. Tried adding more protein and less carbs.. that didnt work except to make me hungrier. I still have 47 lbs to lose after losing 73 so I am no where near my goal.
I hope you get past your plateau and on the way to those last few lbs!


url=http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker][/url]
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods

McKayMachina

Maybe your body isn't meant to be 7 lbs. lighter. Have you considered that you might not need to lose anymore weight?

sd892310

MFP figures in a calories deficit so you lose weight, i.e. you eat a bit less than your BMR so your body burns fat as fuel. As you're close to your goal weight, why not try adjusting your setting to lose 1/2 lb a week, that's often the trick for teh last 10lbs or so.

1420 sounds high to me - I'm on less than that an I have further to go, but to be fair my activity levels are sedentary outside the MFP exercise calories, which I do eat back. Trust MFP's figures!

Already have my deficit set for a 1/2lb week loss and it is giving me the 1420 :ohwell: this is where i am getting so frusterated. I have my activity level set as sedentary and no planned exercises in. I then add any exercise i do on to MFP and i normally eat these caloreis back too!

Feel like i'm stuck in a rut!

Felesina1

1600 cal/day seems like a lot to me. I understand finding your maintenance calories. But it sounds like the 30D shred is giving you definition, which also means building muscle = weight gain. You might check with your health insurance to see if they cover a preventitive consultation with a nutritionist (whom can measure your resting metabolic rate accurately). If so, I'd start there and then set your intake calories to their recommended amount to loose weight. Just a thought!

claire_xox

Hm one thing to consider may be building muscle? I'm doing 30DS for July too and I've just started dieting so I am losing weight. But I have noticed I'm building a fair bit of muscle which weighs more than fat. Have you measured yourself? Perhaps your weight is maintaining but you're slimming through muscle replacing fat

ndmckeown

It might be worth checking your sodium intake. Too much and you could be retaining a lot of water.

dad106

Muscle does not mean that OP is gaining weight.. Muscle weighs the same as fat but is just denser.

Try keeping half a pound a week but upping you're activity level.. if you're doing 30 DS and walking, you may try going to lightly active and see what happens. Thats what I did and so far its worked for me(and I'm also on to my last 7 pounds).

propjetprop

If you open your diary you will get better advice. Could be what you are eating won't know without diary. Bump a couple of workouts up to 1 hour...

almonds1

someone weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than someone at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

SHBoss1673

check out this post

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


IMHO you're eating far less than you should be. if your BMR is somewhere in the 1600's and you're eating in the 1400's and you have less than 15 lbs to lose, and your body fat is somewhere in the low 20's or high teens, then your deficit should be about 1/4 lb or less (250 calorie deficit). Remember, BMR is NOT maintenance, it's less, so eating your BMR would be the absolute minimum in your case, probably should be a little higher, but I can't know for sure without more personal information.

In fact, as my above link suggests, I think you should probably forget your goal and start focusing on body fat % and lean mass only (muscle).

welloiledmachine

Instead of focusing so much on weight, measure your body fat percentage. A $20 caliper can save a lot of aggravation. Do you want to see your abs? Such as the 6 pack, then your bf% will have to get around 16%. You can still have a flat stomach above that, but the less definition you have.
The last few pounds will come off slowly and you will have to do a lot of tweaking with your food. If at all possible, weight lifting 3 times a week can really bump up your metabolism and burn the fat. Not sure about the 30DS, but not everything out there is going to work for everybody.
Just make sure that all your meals include carbs, protein and fat. I don't do the snack thing, I just have 5 small meals and that keeps me energized and also keeps your metabolism revved.
Good luck.

fionarama

see I don't understand - I'm 140 lbs and my calorie level has set at 1200. I would never lose weight at over that and thats with exercising a lot. Try dropping your calories for a week I bet you make progress.
Also you aren't actually exercising that much, when you get fitter and slimmer you have to work out really hard to get results 4-6 times a week high cardio for 40-60 mins.
Also I don't believe in factoring in your exercise, the whole point of exercising is to create a deficit so why eat all that hard work up again.

kje2011

check out this post

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


IMHO you're eating far less than you should be. if your BMR is somewhere in the 1600's and you're eating in the 1400's and you have less than 15 lbs to lose, and your body fat is somewhere in the low 20's or high teens, then your deficit should be about 1/4 lb or less (250 calorie deficit). Remember, BMR is NOT maintenance, it's less, so eating your BMR would be the absolute minimum in your case, probably should be a little higher, but I can't know for sure without more personal information.

bump

In fact, as my above link suggests, I think you should probably forget your goal and start focusing on body fat % and lean mass only (muscle).

SHBoss1673

see I don't understand - I'm 140 lbs and my calorie level has set at 1200. I would never lose weight at over that and thats with exercising a lot. Try dropping your calories for a week I bet you make progress.
Also you aren't actually exercising that much, when you get fitter and slimmer you have to work out really hard to get results 4-6 times a week high cardio for 40-60 mins.

without knowing your personal information, I can't say whether you would or wouldn't lose at a higher calorie range, but this is all very personal, don't look at the gross numbers (gross as in total, not gross as in disgusting), look at the numbers in relation to YOU.

I.E. 140 is fine, but if you're 5' tall then you could probably go down 25 or 30 lbs and still be quite healthy, but if you're 5'6" then 140 might be just right or even a tad low depending on your lean mass and body fat % goals. See what I mean? Everyone's different, weight is arbitrary, it's all about body fat %, lean body mass, and exercise health. All the talk about losing weight is simply because extra fat is hard on the body, and when you have extra fat, it's one of the first things to go from the body.

LAYLAH17

Bump...I'm in the same boat. I've tried numerous things for months and I lose for gain four lose it. It's a vicious cycle. Add me if you would like and if we find out something new. Iwill defintely keep you posted.

welloiledmachine

It would help a lot to see your food diary to see what you're eating as food is the biggest contributor to losing weight.

mom23nuts

I am no expert but unless you absolutely have to for health reasons....there is really no need to eat 6 times a day I could be wrong but you never give your body the chance to let you know if you are truly hungry and need food to run optimally you just give it something becasue it says it is lunchtime or snack time or dinner time.

It's ok to be unconventional and just go with your body's indicators of hunger. What is the harm in trying that for a week.

I say don't eat your exercise calories back unless you burn over 400 and even then eat half back as part of a meal if you feel you need them and not just because it is the norm.

I think we are so interested in a magic answer to get us to the ultimate goal we forget how far we have come and how incredible we have been in doing it.

Maybe it's ok to just be comfortable and not stress out about where you are and the last 5-7 lbs and just be ok with it for a while.

maemiller

i was stuck also for the longest time also. I found out that I wasnt eating back the calories that I burned during workouts and my body went into starvation mode and thus the weight gain.

Have you been working out more and not eating your calories back?

shelly650

Well from my experience, i wouldnt eat back ALL of your exercise calories, unless you have a HRM! Because you are not entirely sure if you are burning as much as the treadmill etc is saying! Also, it may not be you calories, but your carbs! Try reducing them and i guarantee you will shift this weight!! Feel free to check out my diary if you want!!

Message me if you have any questions!!

sd892310

Thank you all for your replies, it helps to see everyone elses views and try and give me some ideas.

My body fat is 24.9% currently, and ideally would like to get it to 20%.

I am going to try and up my calories to 1550, and try not to eat back all my exercise calories and see if this makes a difference. The exercise i do is circuit training but i hadnt thought about upping that as i do it everyday so i am also going to up my exercise each day, try and do maybe 45 minutes a day and see if this helps!

I keep my food diary closed only because i have suffered from bulimia and anorexia in the past and still battle with people seeing me eat/watching me eat/knowing what i eat etc and i just cant quite bring myself to opening my diary up to everyone...sounds lame i know!

Really do appreciate everyone's advice though and going to take some on board and try and bust through this last hurdle!

welloiledmachine

One other thing about your food diary. I respect your wishes as I dealt with bulimia a long time ago. I would recommend that you try and eat 5 small meals a day with each meal containing carbs, protein and fat. Each meal will be about 300 calories which will bring you to 1500 by the end of the day. You'd be surprised out how much you can eat and still lose weight. Doing this keeps your energy levels high, boosts your metabolism and keeps you feeling full all day long. Adding in your exercise will help speed up the process.

sd892310

One other thing about your food diary. I respect your wishes as I dealt with bulimia a long time ago. I would recommend that you try and eat 5 small meals a day with each meal containing carbs, protein and fat. Each meal will be about 300 calories which will bring you to 1500 by the end of the day. You'd be surprised out how much you can eat and still lose weight. Doing this keeps your energy levels high, boosts your metabolism and keeps you feeling full all day long. Adding in your exercise will help speed up the process.

Thank you, this does help, as i have been having:

breakfast: 160cal
lunch: 185-285cal
dinner: 450-650cal

2/3 snacks: 80 - 200cal each

so maybe evening out the calorie intake for each meal/snack would make a difference? will try and do this, my only question is, i struggle adding in the snacks now, and making my cals net 1420 after exercise, how do i up my calories by an extra 100, and find things to eat to use up this allowance? do you have any suggestions for low cal meals snacks?

melsinct

I agree with SHBoss...it doesn't sound like you are eating enough. remember MFP builds in the calorie deficit for you. I am 5'7" and started MFP at 175 and was eating 1200 calories. I got stuck for 2 months when I hit 160 pounds, then was bouncing around the same 3 pounds (158-161) because I wasn't eating enough. I am in the "normal" BMI range when under 160.

I upped my calories to 1400- no change. After reading the message boards I realized with only 15 pounds to go until my goal, I needed to lose weight less aggressively and should be targeting 0.5 pounds/week instead of 1-2. So I changed my MFP settings to lose 0.5 pounds/week which put me at 1700 calories a day and I started losing again. However, I am now losing very slowly, but losing! I am only losing about 1-2 pounds per MONTH now. I have accepted that no one loses 1-2 pounds per week once you get close to your goal. I knew if I didn't accept the slow and steady route I would get frustrated and give up, so here I am losing at a snail's pace!

I know it is scary to up your calories but no one gains 5 pounds overnight from upping their calories a few hundred a day. After I upped my calories I kept a watchful eye on the scale to make sure I didn't start gaining again.

welloiledmachine

One other thing about your food diary. I respect your wishes as I dealt with bulimia a long time ago. I would recommend that you try and eat 5 small meals a day with each meal containing carbs, protein and fat. Each meal will be about 300 calories which will bring you to 1500 by the end of the day. You'd be surprised out how much you can eat and still lose weight. Doing this keeps your energy levels high, boosts your metabolism and keeps you feeling full all day long. Adding in your exercise will help speed up the process.

Thank you, this does help, as i have been having:

breakfast: 160cal
lunch: 185-285cal
dinner: 450-650cal

2/3 snacks: 80 - 200cal each

so maybe evening out the calorie intake for each meal/snack would make a difference? will try and do this, my only question is, i struggle adding in the snacks now, and making my cals net 1420 after exercise, how do i up my calories by an extra 100, and find things to eat to use up this allowance? do you have any suggestions for low cal meals snacks?

To start with, you could just eat more of what it is your eating at the time. Always look for more protein. I try to set my macros at 40-30-30 or very close to that. Try to get out of the snack mentality. Just try to find the right combos of carbs, protein and fat. Not sure if you are aware of all the great options out there.

Watch your sugars and sodium as well. They can hinder your progress.

Olivia1977

How tall are you and what is your current weight?

sd892310

How tall are you and what is your current weight?

I'm 5 ft 4 and 129.6lbs