where the hell am I going wrong?

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carolinewhitworth
carolinewhitworth Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone I really need to know what I am doing wrong as I am not losing any weight.

It states I should be eating 1200 calories per day which I am doing (obviously ensuring I am eating healthily). I am exercising regularly and burning anything from 400 - 900 calories per work out.

This is my training schedule

Monday - swimming 1 hour (1 mile breast stroke with medium vigor)
Tues - 1 hour aqua aerobics and swimming as above
Wed - day off
Thursday - 1 hour pilates, 1 hour aqua aerobics, half hour swimming as above.
Friday - day off
Sat - at work ( I bar tend so I am on my feet for 8 hours)
Sun - swimming 1 hour as above.


In almost 3 weeks I haven't lost anything, during week 2 I dropped 2lb and in 2 days had out it back on?!

What else can I do to speed the weight los up. I am not even noticing anything coming of my measurements either?!?!

Replies

  • smithskiman06
    smithskiman06 Posts: 29 Member
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    Are you eating back your calories?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    what's your TDEE?
  • fitby2012
    fitby2012 Posts: 167 Member
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    Let me ask you this. How much do you weigh? And how much are you trying to lose? From what you are saying, you may be undereating a bit.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    If you're eating 1200, and burning off 900....300 net.

    I'm not a fan of eating all your exercise calories...but at least eat some of them!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    what is your goal set at (1 lb per week, 2 lb per week, etc..)? Whats your current weight? More than likely, you aren't eating enough calories and your body is holding onto the calories and storing as fat.
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    You are doing too much. Also you are most likely undereating.

    You need to find out what your TDEE is which is your maintenance level. It's the amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. If you can provide your stats it would make things easier. (height, weight, age, and if you know..your bodyfat%)

    Then you need to eat roughly at a 20% deficit under that TDEE level while getting your minimum protein and fat macro requirements. Also you should cut down your exercise some. It's too much, especially the days you are swimming and then doing other things. Swimming alone is enough in a day. You should be doing some type of cardio exercise a few days a week with some strength training (pilates is fine) a few days a week.

    Diet is #1 priority. Exercise is #2.
  • _GlaDOS_
    _GlaDOS_ Posts: 1,520 Member
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    1200 calories is usually not enough for most people.

    1. Are you eating back the calories your burn from exercise?

    2. Try going here: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced. Enter your numbers. Don’t include exercise. The first calorie number is your BMR. You should be eating at least that. The second calorie number is your total energy expenditure (how many calories you burn doing the things you entered below). You should set your net calorie intake below this, but not more than 500 calories below, and not below your BMR.

    3. When you exercise, eat your calories back to meet your net, since that has been set to already include your deficit.

    And yes, not eating enough can cause you to maintain your weight or even gain.
  • kevin3344
    kevin3344 Posts: 702 Member
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    Go to Settings > Diary Settings > Diary Sharing and make it Public...
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    You are doing too much. Also you are most likely undereating.

    You need to find out what your TDEE is which is your maintenance level. It's the amount of calories you burn in a 24 hour period. If you can provide your stats it would make things easier. (height, weight, age, and if you know..your bodyfat%)

    Then you need to eat roughly at a 20% deficit under that TDEE level while getting your minimum protein and fat macro requirements. Also you should cut down your exercise some. It's too much, especially the days you are swimming and then doing other things. Swimming alone is enough in a day. You should be doing some type of cardio exercise a few days a week with some strength training (pilates is fine) a few days a week.

    Diet is #1 priority. Exercise is #2.
    Why would you say cut back on exercise? You just need to make sure you factor that into your TDEE calculation. As long as you aren't working out 7 days a week, then it isn't too much. I workout 6 days a week and I can still lose.
  • Kikilicious84
    Kikilicious84 Posts: 312
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    I agree with the others that say you are probably not eating enough for the workouts that you are doing.

    I know personnally this happened to me for 7 freakin weeks straight. Last week I started using my HRM and eating about 2/3s of my exercise calories back and I lost 1lb...I know it isn't much but after seeing the scale not move at all and then start to creep up that 1lb is a game changer. I've also increased my protein.

    How is your energy level? I was a little tired and moody eating 1200 - 1300 calories a da and working out that much.
  • carolinewhitworth
    carolinewhitworth Posts: 14 Member
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    Hi all,

    I sometimes eat some of them back maybe up to 400 of them if i have burned off 900 I don't understand the acronyms like TDEE etc I am afraid?

    I weigh 152lbs and want to get to 132.

    I find it hard to find time to eat 1200 a day but I can't do any less exercise I am araid!
  • carolinewhitworth
    carolinewhitworth Posts: 14 Member
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    I am 5'2 and 29 years and 152 lb and I have no idea what my body fat is.

    it also said on here my resting calorie rate is 1400 in 24 hour period hence why it advised 1200 for weight loss

    I have shared my diary ( I still keep some of my treats as I am working hard!)

    I don't feel tried, only in the mornings after a work out but my energy levels are good when i exercise.
  • Erica0718
    Erica0718 Posts: 469 Member
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    It is like a silly math game, and it sounds funny but I was not losing any weight eating 1200 a day then I upped my calories and have seen some progress. 1200 day is a default setting and works for those with lots of weight to lose but I read on a forum that if you have 20lbs or less to lose you should set your goal to lose .5 to 1lb per week and that gives you more calories. Eat more lose more is a hard concept but it works.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I didn't lose anything at all for more than 3 weeks. Then the weight just started falling off. I was only trying to lose 20 lbs (have lost almost 25). I don't know why it took so long to kick in, but I knew if I kept burning calories the weight woud have to come off, and it did.

    I wasn't counting calories at the time but I was eating pretty much the same as I am now (about 1400 - 1500 per day usually).
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Hi all,

    I sometimes eat some of them back maybe up to 400 of them if i have burned off 900 I don't understand the acronyms like TDEE etc I am afraid?

    I weigh 152lbs and want to get to 132.

    I find it hard to find time to eat 1200 a day but I can't do any less exercise I am araid!

    TDEE is total daily energy expended.. It's the amount of calories you burn based on lifestyle and exercise. This is a multiplier on top of your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you slept for 24 hours. My BMR is 2000 calories (195 @ 12% body fat). That means if I slept for 24 hours, i woudl still burn 2000 calories. And since I workout I would multiply my BMR by 1.55 (moderately active) to get my TDEE. Once I get that, I have to form a deficit. Since I am within 20lbs of my goal (actually only want to lose 5 or 10 lbs), I shoudl aim for .5 lbs per week lose (250 calorie deficit). I have utilized this approach (called the Katch McArdle Formula to bring my body fat down from 18%.

    Based on your information, you shoudl be eating around 2100 calories to lose weight. Seems like a lot but it works.Also, using this approach, you don't have to track exercise calories or eat them back. Even on days you don't work out, you still eat 2100 as over the week, it will average. Also, below is what I ran for you on Fat2Fit.com . If you have your body fat percent, then it becomes a bit more accurate.



    Harris-Benedict Formula

    There are a few different methods to calculating yourbasal metabolic rate (BMR). One of the most popular, developed in the early 1900's is called the Harris-Benedict formula. Based on this formula, your current BMR is 1480 calories.


    How Many Calories Should I Eat?

    Based on your goal weight, the following chart was generated. The chart shows the number of calories that you should eat on a daily basis to reach your goal weight. At Fat 2 Fit Radio we advocate eating like the thin, healthy person that you want to become. The calorie levels you see in the chart are not extreme, but they do create that all important caloric deficit that is required to get you to your goal weight in a safe manner. Once you reach your goal weight, you will continue eating the same number of calories for the rest of your life to maintain that weight. You'll never be on a diet again.

    Based on how much activity you do on an average day, the calories in the right column will be the number of calories that you will be able to eat at your goal weight. If you start eating those calories right now (eating like the thinner you), you will eventually become that thinner person. As you get closer to your goal weight, your weight loss will start to slow down. It is OK to eat a few hundred calories less per day (200-300) to speed up your weight loss at this point.

    Activity Level Daily Calories
    Sedentary (little or no exercise, desk job) 1676
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk) 1921
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk) 2165
    Very Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk) 2410
    Extremely Active (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.) 2654


    http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • carolinewhitworth
    carolinewhitworth Posts: 14 Member
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    Wow great help from everyone! thank you so much!!
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    psulemon: If there was a rep scheme here, I would rep you for that :smile:

    carolinewhitworth: I would personally be incorporating more resistance training into your workouts. Also, your protein seems quite low.
  • ji225
    ji225 Posts: 89 Member
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    1200 calories is usually not enough for most people.

    1. Are you eating back the calories your burn from exercise?

    2. Try going here: http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced. Enter your numbers. Don’t include exercise. The first calorie number is your BMR. You should be eating at least that. The second calorie number is your total energy expenditure (how many calories you burn doing the things you entered below). You should set your net calorie intake below this, but not more than 500 calories below, and not below your BMR.

    3. When you exercise, eat your calories back to meet your net, since that has been set to already include your deficit.

    And yes, not eating enough can cause you to maintain your weight or even gain.

    Thank you so much for this link - Its amazing and I think I may even be eating too few cals from this..... so am upping to what it says - and Im goign to send the lin to everyone i know trying to lose! :)
  • sugarbone
    sugarbone Posts: 454 Member
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    Eat less carbs and WAY more protein lady! Try for 50g a day to start, and later 100g. Eating less than 100g of carbs a day can help with weight loss, but it's not nearly as important as some people portray it to be. But you definitely need more protein in your diet.

    Try to count your sodium & sugar on your main page too, as sodium excess can cause bloating (why your measurements may not be changing) and too much sugar can trigger and effect all sorts of food responses in your body (though the main one is making your hungry or unable to tell when you're full, which isn't an issue if you aren't overeating).

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