What works?

mprosenbalm

I have realized that what works for some of us may not work for all of us. I have to lose weight by consuming less calories. According to my height and weight , I need to take in 1200 calories a day. I cannot do it. I lost 70lbs beginning in June of 2009 and started maintaining it this past spring of 2011. It was a slow process. I had to cut calories and fat intake to do it. In the last 2 months or so, I have begun to gain right at 10lbs now. I cannot gain this weight back. I just seem to not be able to get satisified. So I eat lots, but it is low calorie and low fat. I do not know what is up with me. Something is out of whack and it just happened in the last 2 months or so. Any advice?

ruggedBear

Congratulations on your loss! Maintaining without reverting to old habits is harder than losing in the first place (from experience). I lost 70lbs as well, only to gain it all back over 10 years. During those 10 years I didn't exercise and all the good muscle I had built withered away. Without all that good muscle, your metabolism slows down and you need less calories to maintain the weight. If you're already keeping the calories in line - it may help to build some muscle to help burn the overage. In reading your profile, I see that you have arthritis, so I am guessing that weight-bearing exercises are painful. You might try to work with your rheumatologist, or get a referral to a physical therapist who can guide you with an exercise plan that's appropriate. Best of luck to you!

Runnermadre

I personally never did well with less than 1500 calories per day. Unless you're very sedentary, I would say that 1200 is just too low. When I started to hit a plateau, I pushed the water, changed up the exercise, and added calories back into my diet. It worked for me. :-)

morganadk2_deleted

As you only have so little to lose, i don't think you are eating enough, you would not drive your car around all day with only a little fuel in it why do it to your body? 1200 is the min for a small sedentry woman.

Are you eating enough? Are you eating your exersise calories?

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

Go to the tools section and figure out your BMI:

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)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle building, and reducing fat. This means it is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode).

This is just a part of it! please read the link above

stylistchik

Don't view your weight loss as a "diet" view it as a "lifestyle change" if you know you can't stick with the minimal calories because you're hungry, eat more. If you know you don't want to work out 2 hours a day for the rest of your life, don't. I'm not saying give up by any means but find solutions that you can stick with in the long term and it will be easier to maintain. If you can only walk for 30 minutes a day, then do it! And if you do things like deprive yourself of your favorite foods you'll only binge once you've reached your goal. Try to find healthier solutions to your temptation foods (pizza, cookies, etc.) and enjoy them in moderation rather than cut them out until you lose those last 10 lbs. Most of all celebrate what you've done so far and focus on how much better you feel and all the things you can do now that you're a healthier person.

MB_Positif

If you are not feeling satisfied, your body is hungry. Try focusing on eating satisfying whole foods instead of going straight to low fat and low calorie. Please feel free to add me and/or look at my diary. I have a hungry day only about once per week where I feel like I can't get enough food. I don't eat perfectly, but I just really try to focus on eating things that I know will keep me full. One thing that works great for me is having a good serving of protein in the morning!

dls06

Losing is almost easy compared to maintaing over time. I am having the same problem but it all comes down to me falling back into old habits. I am never giving up and never going to stop logging though.

konerusp

I do not know your stats, but 1200 is too low, ive been there and terribly tortured my metabolism, it took me pretty much 6 months to re-trigger my metabolism.Unless you are above your healthy bmi- do not do more than 500 calorie deficit a day.

To put it i simple terms- please look for a BMR calculator online and make sure you eat that much no matter what.

There are online apps to help figure out your metabolic type(i think you are a balanced oxidizer,check that out). eating per your metabolic type helps you have sustainable energy through the day.Good luck,do let me know if you have more questions.