Completely confuse . Help!

regthelittleone

Okay, MY CW is 135. I have been using this site for 11 days. I have not seen one change in my weight/measurements. I have posted a few messages about cals( and get different responses each time) I would love , love ,love to know what truely works.
So here we go.... I have heard that you need to eat your exercise cals, and then I heard some people say not to. ( I'm only 5'0 and my goal cals is 1200) so when I exercise my cals go up to 1300-1400. Now in order to lose 1 lb a week (or less I don't care at this point- just want to see the scale move a little). What should I do? I have been at this current weight since the beginning of July ? I currently have been eating just enough so the starvation mode message doesn't appear( because of the mixed advice) .

I eat pretty much the same thing every day. ( B. 1 egg, 35 lite whole wheat toast w/ butter coffee, greek yogurt. L. Salad w/ grilled chicken, tortilla strips, rasp ving dressing, 1/4 cup cheese and 35 peanuts, D. turkey, chicken, or other lean protein and 2 cups broccoli, g. beans or a salad. My snacks are Luna bars or 1/4 cup greek yogurt. So that's basically what I eat on a daily basis. ( for months)

Should I change something ( eat more /less exercise more ?) Ugh ! I'm so confused and really need help . I seriously feel like giving up and need help.

KavemanKarg

Try going off grain completely, and you can make up the calories with raw, low GI vegetables such as raw cabbage, brocoli, etc...

I think you will be surprised by the outcome after a few weeks.

Juliejustsaying

I think you just need to be patient. What you are eating sounds good, but maybe you need to change up your exercise. Honestly, it took my body about 6 weeks to adjust and start the scale moving down. Not that I'm suggesting that it will take you that long, but you just have to keep the eye on the long term. Keep doing what you know you need to be doing and eventually you will see it on the scale.

mlemonroe2

your body gets used to the same thing when you do it every day. change your exersice and maybe try to zig zag calories. like eat 1000 calories one day and 1400 the next. you end up with the same weekly calorie intake, but by zig zagging you keep your body guessing and that burns calories. good luck!

caramkoala

I think the reason you are getting different and conflicting answers is because there is no 'one size fits all' program that works for everyone.

It's only been 11 days, give it a chance.

You mention you always eat the same thing every day and I wonder if your exercise regimen is stagnant too?

Maybe try playing around with your diet or even your exercise a little bit and see what happens?

Good luck :flowerforyou:

sharonfincher1

What amunt of exercise are u doing and how often?

Dayquasar

I would try to mix it up see what happens, can't hurt, also depending on how you were eating before your body might be in starvation mode even though mfp doesn't say it is. Eat your work-out cals if you do a search you can read a lot of advise on how all that works! Could be in sort of a shock and needs to get used to whats going on and know that it's ok and not suddenly starving, also are you weight lifting? Gaining muscle? Stuff to think about but keep doin it!

d2rala

I was also confused. I was eating my correct amount of calories to lose weight but nothing ever came off. I made an appointment to see a nutritionist. I brought in a copy of my food journal. She told me to up my proteins, veggie and fruit. We also went over serving sizes and the newer "Carb Exchange".
In 2 months I've dropped a much needed 10 pounds.
My suggestion: make an appointment with a nutritionist (not a diet clinic where they want to sell you their product/program). Bring your food journal. My problem was identifying portions and looking at serving size instead of carb exchange.
Good Luck!

TavistockToad

the problem is, we cant tell you what works for you. everybody is different, i can tell you what works for me, but then that might not work for you anyway...

as someone has already said, you need to be patient, and stick to a plan for at least 4-6 weeks before deciding it doesnt work. as for tips, i would say, try and net 1200 cals, try and eat mainly clean foods and add strength training to your exercise routine.

Good luck!

regthelittleone

Thanks everyone for the great advice . Think I'll cut out grains and try switching up cals and my exercises ( I run 25-30 min in the morning using a Hiit workout and walk 3 miles in the evening). I've been stuck since July (2011) so thats why I'm so frustrated. Hopefully this will work and I'll see some results .

regthelittleone

Thanks, So last night my net # was somewhere around 928. So I should be eating until it reaches 1200?

lenwie

Thanks, So last night my net # was somewhere around 928. So I should be eating until it reaches 1200?

Yes

I agree with an earlier post that said about zig zagging your daily intake of cals, lower one day higher the next but your average weekly intake would still be equal to 7 days at 1200 cals. Also do understand about the platue, I had not moved for about 5/6 weeks, then bam out the blue 3lb down in a matter of days woop woop.

guntherma

Right - eat those burned until 1200 - also, if you add maybe a half a mile onto your walk or run for an extra 5 minutes - I was told that your body will get used to your "normal" exercise and will no longer burn the way it used to and that you have to increase the exercise again to get it to start to burn again.

tigersword

You should never NET less than 1200. Net calories are what your body see as total calories. When you exercise, your body burns calories, so if you burn 300, and eat 300, as far as your body is concerned, you haven't eaten anything.

Also, don't change everything up at once, then you'll have no idea what is working or not working, just change one thing at a time, try it for about 3 weeks, then try something else if it doesn't work. You need to try things for at least 3-4 weeks to give your body time to adapt to changes, weight loss is not linear or predictable. The goal of 1 pound per week that MFP sets is an AVERAGE. Sometimes you might lose 0 pounds, and sometimes you might lose 3 pounds. That's just the way it goes. Usually for several days after my normal weigh in day, I weigh in heavier (I weigh every morning, but only record once a week.) Yet when weigh in time comes around, I'm usually down, and my overall track over the last 90 days is down. It's not an overnight thing, it's not a regular thing, and it's not a predictable thing. You just have to stay patient, make sure you fuel your body properly, and it will happen.

kmbrooks15

Have you taken measurements? How are your clothes fitting? There's a lot more to weight loss than the number on the scale. Sometimes the scale doesn't budge, but that doesn't mean there aren't changes taking place in your body. You are not terribly overweight to begin with at 135, so you may not lose that many actual pounds. But you may see huge changes in your body (dress size, measurements, etc.). I weigh quite a bit more than you, and my scale has been stuck for 10 days, but I'm seeing big changes in the way my clothes fit and my energy level. Scale did finally budge this morning by two pounds, but it's been a week and a half.

Try changing up what you eat in addition to changing up your exercise. Also, are you doing any strength training (weights)? As your muscles get stronger, you will have more calorie burn (muscles continue to burn calories even after you stop working out for the day). Also, keep in mind that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat because it is denser tissue. So you could weigh the same but be slightly smaller due to muscles strengthening and taking up less space than the fat that was there before.

Whatever you do, DON'T GIVE UP.