Weight isn't coming off- doing everything right??? Anyone el

annavt09

YOUR PROBLEM IS SIMPLE TO IDENTIFY: TWO LEAN CUISINE MEALS PER DAY!!!! THEY ARE PURE SODIUM!!!! I WOULD SWAP THOSE FOR SOME WHOLE WHEAT PASTA AND FRESH STIR FRY AND YOU WILL SEE HUUUUUGE CHANGES!!!!

pjpj21

DRINK WATER!! and Lots of it!

KelliHarrison

It sounds like in theory you are doing a lot of things right - but I agree with what some are saying.

Some of those "healthy" meals have the right amount of calories - but their carb count and sodium counts are through the roof!
I've been told that your carbs shouldn't exceed more than 10% of your calorie intake for the day - so if you are eating 1200 calories, make sure you aren't eating more than 120 carbs (on a high day). As well you need to make sure you are eating the right combination of protein -- anyone can chime in and make sure I'm not giving inaccurate advise.

I also think you need to drink LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of water - it seems crazy - but from personal experience - if you aren't drinking enough water you aren't losing total weight. You may be losing fat, but you are probably retaining what water you are drinking.

Hope this helps! It sounds like you are doing lots of things right -maybe just need to tweek it a bit.

bodyjammin85

It sounds like in theory you are doing a lot of things right - but I agree with what some are saying.

Some of those "healthy" meals have the right amount of calories - but their carb count and sodium counts are through the roof!
I've been told that your carbs shouldn't exceed more than 10% of your calorie intake for the day - so if you are eating 1200 calories, make sure you aren't eating more than 120 carbs (on a high day). As well you need to make sure you are eating the right combination of protein -- anyone can chime in and make sure I'm not giving inaccurate advise.

10% carbs isn't enough unless you're doing atkins. Carbs are essential for your body and especially if you're working out, you need the energy to get through it. If the exercise is hardcore and you are really eating clean you can do a 40/40/20 ratio which is 40% carbs, 40% protein, 20% fat. You can set these ratios in mfp settings. I use a 50/30/20 as 40% of cals coming from protein is very high for the amount of exercise i do. Your body can only process 25g of protein at a time so you must eat very regularly in small amounts to make that work. Protein shakes will help you get enough clean protein and help to increase your calorie intake if you are finding it hard to eat enough.

I am 5ft 3in and 167lbs and i'm losing steadily with this and i'm eating most if not all my exercise cals. I'll set my diary to public so you can see mine if you like. I don't like veggies so i have to supplement with vitamins etc.

dovesgate

I saw some of my favorite links in this thread.

OP, you're just not eating enough. Your current BMI is barely in the overweight category and your goal is on the lower side of normal. Try bumping your weight loss goal to .5 and stick to it for a month or two.

Also, try replacing the Lean Cuisine for dinner in favor of something less sodium rich.

Kelli, carbs aren't bad especially for runners.

shirleyisblessed

I wish I had the answer for you. It's hard for me to lose weight too! I worked 5 days a week last year 1 to 1 1/2 hours a day and only lost 10 pounds. I need an answer to that one myself.

aliciar876

I'm having the same problem. I'm not losing weight. Any advice. I'm eating b/t 1200 to 1300 cals a day and burning anywhere from 900 to 2200 a day depending on the day. What am i doing wrong?

JenS0301

You can gain weight by not eating enough throughout the day. Think of it as putting wood in a fireplace, the less wood you have the less heat you have. Your heat is your metabolism and the more "wood" you put in the higher your metabolism gets thus making you burn more calories and loose more weight. If you are not reaching your calorie intake daily could also cause you to gain weight weather it be water gain or gas in the bowels. Some foods to try nuts, yogurt, cottage cheese 1%, silk milk, special k bars, special k cereals with high fiber. My fav meal/snack is the steamables veggies. I just recently learned this as well and the pounds are coming right off. Also make sure you are drinking COLD water, at least 8 cups a day. Good Luck!

nicolemariedwyer

increase your protein and fiber, reduce complex carbs and sodium

thelowcarbrecipes

Try low carb / keto

AmyjoyHa

Hey,
My sister has had major issues losing little bits after lots of work only to pig out ONCE and have it all come back and having to fight it off all over again. She was diagnosed with PCOS, or Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. It makes it VERY difficult to lose and very easy to gain, the bigger you are the worse it gets. The funny thing is if you can get (and stay pregnant to full term as it also affects your fertility) they symptoms seem to go away. I dont know if this is the answer for you but it is certainly worth checking out.

dovesgate

I'm having the same problem. I'm not losing weight. Any advice. I'm eating b/t 1200 to 1300 cals a day and burning anywhere from 900 to 2200 a day depending on the day. What am i doing wrong?

Unless you're eating NET 1200-1300 per day you aren't eating enough. Eating 1200 calories then burning off 900 means you're only getting 300 calories of fuel for your body. Use the car analogy - you can't go long distances when you only put a 1/4 of a tank in right? So fill up your tank and your body will perform the way you want it to.

Yanicka1

I'm having the same problem. I'm not losing weight. Any advice. I'm eating b/t 1200 to 1300 cals a day and burning anywhere from 900 to 2200 a day depending on the day. What am i doing wrong?

Well you are trying to kill yourself and your body won't let you? So you are netting 300 to minus 1000 calories? and it does not sound crazy to you? Step back on the exercise, feed your body properly.

heybales

I'm having the same problem. I'm not losing weight. Any advice. I'm eating b/t 1200 to 1300 cals a day and burning anywhere from 900 to 2200 a day depending on the day. What am i doing wrong?

Not reading the available info already posted.

luvgreen25

Yes, you can gain weight by eating too little. But a lot can change in 5 years. Go get your thyroid checked again. But in the meantime, I'd bump up your intake a bit. A few months ago, I went on vacation and totally ditched the diet (not recommended, but it worked for me THAT time) while I was on the cruise and when I came back, I had only gained 1 lb and the following week, lost 6 lbs. It was just the "shock" my body needed because I was on a constant losing cycle from that point forward. I stalled out again a few months ago and it's been up and down and slow going, but I'm trying to get back on track now. For a short while, I'd lost my motivation, but it's back now - I just realized that my birthday is 6 months away and I want to be at goal (15 more pounds) by my birthday. 15 pounds in 6 months is totally doable - I just have to do it.

lacharp

I second what others have been saying about having your thyroid checked and seeing a dietician. This past fall I had my thyroid checked when my doctor detected a rapid heartbeat and enlarged thyroid... my bloodwork came back normal, but she wasn't convinced things were okay and sent me for a thyroid ultrasound, then a thyroid uptake and scan. As a result, I was just diagnosed with Graves' disease (autoimmune hyperthyroidism) last week. So despite normal-appearing bloodwork, something was definitely wrong with my thyroid! Thyroids are tricky things...

In the midst of this I've also started seeing a nutritionist, who did a bioimpedance analysis which showed I have a way more dense/athletic frame than I thought. It turned out that while I was eating enough calories they weren't the right ones and I'm on a diet that's higher in protein now. It's definitely helping.

aliciar876

okay I get that I'm not netting enough calories.. but I thought in order to lose weight you had to burn more calories than you ate? Is that not true b/c that's what I've been going by, which would make sense why i'm only losing a pound a week.

heybales

okay I get that I'm not netting enough calories.. but I thought in order to lose weight you had to burn more calories than you ate? Is that not true b/c that's what I've been going by, which would make sense why i'm only losing a pound a week.

You are skimming the posts then and not really reading them.
Several posters have stated pretty concisely why.

And no, you cannot burn more calories than you require day after day. Just think about that for a minute, and go read the posts talking about what BMR is.

dovesgate

okay I get that I'm not netting enough calories.. but I thought in order to lose weight you had to burn more calories than you ate? Is that not true b/c that's what I've been going by, which would make sense why i'm only losing a pound a week.

You already are burning more than you eat if you use MFP's food diary and calorie count to lose weight because MFP builds the calorie deficit in for you. Giving yourself between 300 and -1000 calories is not healthy by anyone's standards. You will not lose faster by starving yourself which is essentially what you are doing if your intake balances the way you say it does.

shelly77320

I guess it is true what they say about once you pass 40. I am 41 and my weight loos is at a snails pace.

Larida

Train hard sounds good. And lift heavy... hope that's good for you. I'm quite a bit older and it gave me hemorrhoids... just so you know; if that condition should start for you, it may be because of the lifting. (If your gym has a pool, ending your workout with fifteen minutes of swimming works well for me and is a great overall exercise.)

Jo2926

My only downfall is alcohol on the weekends.

OP - How big a downfall is this? Are you talking a couple of glasses or a couple of bottles? That could be the culprit if its every week and large quantities.

Also, I high recommend you stick with the strength training, especially when you don't have a lot to lose this can make a really big, visible, difference.

Good luck!

To the others on thread looking for advice - read all the links posted! Burning more calories than you eat is key, but these do not all have to be burned by exercise, you burn calories by existing!!

aliciar876

Okay so I've been reading alot of the post and about BMR. So I think I have this right but just asking if my BMR is say 1200 cal a day and I burn 1200 cals a day I actually need to eat 2400 cals?

Jo2926

Okay so I've been reading alot of the post and about BMR. So I think I have this right but just asking if my BMR is say 1200 cal a day and I burn 1200 cals a day I actually need to eat 2400 cals?

If by 'burn' you mean calories used for everything other than existing (daily activity plus exercise) then yes, thats how much you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

heybales

Okay so I've been reading alot of the post and about BMR. So I think I have this right but just asking if my BMR is say 1200 cal a day and I burn 1200 cals a day I actually need to eat 2400 cals?

If by 'burn' you mean calories used for everything other than existing (daily activity plus exercise) then yes, thats how much you need to eat to maintain your current weight.

And to add to that, that is what the deficit would come out of to lose weight.

So alicia, that means NOT out of the 1200.

So imagine BMR 1200, and you ate 1200. And all your activity calories was 1200.

How many calories you giving your body to live on?

aliciar876

I believe the correct answer is zero.

So for today I my food cal were 1698 my exercise was 1449 leaving a net of 249. So from this I should be eating more, however i'm trying to lose 2 pounds a week.

Apazman

before bed, *kitten*/have sex, then hot bath, then peanut butter toast and a glass of milk, all just before bed and aim to sleep 10 hours a night.

dovesgate

I believe the correct answer is zero.

So for today I my food cal were 1698 my exercise was 1449 leaving a net of 249. So from this I should be eating more, however i'm trying to lose 2 pounds a week.

Alicia, what's your weight/height and how are you calculating these calorie burns?

aliciar876

298/ 5'7 I'm using myfitness pal exercise tool to track my calorie burns. they seem high sometime so i sometimes use what the treadmill says

dovesgate

298/ 5'7 I'm using myfitness pal exercise tool to track my calorie burns. they seem high sometime so i sometimes use what the treadmill says

For me, MFP's calculations are way higher than I actually burn. I didn't know this until I got a HRM. You might want to invest in one to get more accuracy. I've also seen posts where people say the burns counted on treadmills etc are off as well. Because of this, I am going to hazard the guess that you aren't getting as much of a deficit as you think you are. You're still burning great calories but probably not over 1000 every day. So maybe just try eating a quarter to half your calories burnt until you can get a monitor.

To lose 2 pounds per week you would start off eating 1200 calories. Then you work out for X numbers of calories. You eat those calories that you've burned so that your body will have the nutrition it needs to be happy. If you go below the numbers your body needs, your body can choose to hold on to your fat because it thinks you are starving.

With your calories set at 1200, MFP has ALREADY calculated your calorie deficiency for healthy 2lbs per week weight loss so you don't have to worry about attempting to burn 1200 calories every day to lose weight. Heck, you're still at a weight that if you chose to not work out, you could still lose 2lbs just through your food intake.