Need advice before I loose the will to live :(

loosetorideagain

I have been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past 4 weeks working on treadmill, cross trainer and bike. Also swimming afterwards, working on my cross trainer at home at the weekends and doing my horses twice a day 7 days a week, eating less than 1200 calories a day and have not lost a single pound... What am I doing wrong?

Any advice would be great as I seem to loosing the will to live

moopants

same thing here... its frustrating... but my PT told me i need to incorporate strength training into my cardio... building muscle mass burns more calories...

give it more time.. this doesnt happen overnight. good luck!

bestmeicanbe84

I'm no expert but if you are doing all that exercise you should be eating more than 1200 calories a day.

Keep your head up! I'm sure you will find something that will work for you and have the scales moving in the right direction.

PercivalHackworth

I have been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past 4 weeks working on treadmill, cross trainer and bike. Also swimming afterwards, working on my cross trainer at home at the weekends and doing my horses twice a day 7 days a week, eating less than 1200 calories a day and have not lost a single pound... What am I doing wrong?

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Any advice would be great as I seem to loosing the will to live

nopeekiepeekie

I'm no expert but if you are doing all that exercise you should be eating more than 1200 calories a day.

Completely agree with this statement.

SmashleeWpg

Simple. You're not eating enough.

It's strongly suggested from a variety of sources that women shouldn't go below 1200 cals/day... and that's without physical activity.

You eat less than that, and your body may cling to whatever fat stores you have because it thinks you're starving it, so to speak.

You gotta eat more to lose more, easy peasy! Up your protein, healthy fats and carbs, and see what that does for you.

Don't be afraid of food. It's a great source of fuel!

Also - take a day off now and then!! Rest is just as important in building muscle and burning fat as is exercise and strength training.

jennmartin82

Sounds like you are not in taking enough calories.

hdr89

I figured out that 1200 should be your minimum goal, not your maximum goal. And take your measurements. I dropped 2 inches in a month. I can't see it in the mirror but that was very encouraging to discover yesterday.

spacey1968

Pretty sure that you aren't eating enough. 1200 calories with all of that exercise isn't even close to what your body needs. I can't imagine how tired and/or grouchy you must be. No wonder you are down in the dumps! Your body is a machine. You must give it fuel for it to work properly. It isn't going to let go of a single pound while you are being so mean to it!

Quiing

Don't lose the will to live... no matter your weight or size, be grateful that you are alive...

And for the record, you've got to eat more... working out all that much, your body is holding onto all the bodyweight you have to keep alive! If you eat more, you'll train your body to lose excess weight. Sounds crazy, but it's true.

gsager

Exactly, you need to up you calories to include the ones that you are burning during exercise. Losing weight is not the sacrifice you are making it. Try it. Good luck.

morganadk2_deleted

my guess you are eating enough

are you eating your exercise calories? are you drinking enough water?


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).

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

ZombieChaser

Simple. You're not eating enough.

It's strongly suggested from a variety of sources that women shouldn't go below 1200 cals/day... and that's without physical activity.

You eat less than that, and your body may cling to whatever fat stores you have because it thinks you're starving it, so to speak.

You gotta eat more to lose more, easy peasy! Up your protein, healthy fats and carbs, and see what that does for you.

Don't be afraid of food. It's a great source of fuel!

^^ This!

DianaJaneD

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

This link will get you a very helpful explanation on why your body is holding on to what it has and not losing

FitSid

I'm no expert but if you are doing all that exercise you should be eating more than 1200 calories a day.

yes that sounds insane amount to be eating and working out!

reasons why you MAY not be losing any weight: your metabolism has slowed down "in starvation mode" because of the amount of combined exercise and eating.

You are not getting enough sleep

or maybe the foods you are eating may well only be 1200 cal total but are down right bad for you.

Try adding lemon to your water, spicing things up with chilly (studies "believe" it speeds up your metabolism), drinking green tea regularly and having smaller dinners and larger breakfasts.

Or do a detox, PERSONALLY, now take note I said personally, I did the lemon detox for the full 7 days and followed it to the letter and it helped. A LOT. But that's just me.

I was going to suggest other things but I have since forgotten,

Best of luck

EDIT: added "may"

missjoci

I say bump up your calories or maintain for a week. Sometimes our bodies need more calories to lose weight. That may rev your metabolism up...at least it's worked for me. Also, are you measuring yourself? You may be building muscle and not seeing a scale change, but maybe your clothes are a bit looser?

MaximalLife

I have been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past 4 weeks working on treadmill, cross trainer and bike. Also swimming afterwards, working on my cross trainer at home at the weekends and doing my horses twice a day 7 days a week, eating less than 1200 calories a day and have not lost a single pound... What am I doing wrong?

Any advice would be great as I seem to loosing the will to live

^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is what you are doing wrong.
"I have been going to the gym Mon-Fri for the past 4 weeks working on treadmill, cross trainer and bike. Also swimming afterwards, working on my cross trainer at home at the weekends and doing my horses twice a day 7 days a week, eating less than 1200 calories a day" <<<<<

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Yes, that is the problem right there coupled with a very negative attitude.

Start over today!
MFP is a useful tool with stellar recommendations; this is a great place to get started on your wonderful journey.
Getting healthy and fit is actually very simple but it's just hard work.
But work SMART!
Just get started by going into settings to Update diet/fitness profile.
Set your goals for 1 lb weight loss per week.
NO MORE!
And eat lean meats, low fat dairy, nuts, whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies.
Do both cardio and resistance exercise.
And log in those exercise calories.
AND EAT BACK YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!
Remember, this is not a race, and you can reach your goals if you stick to a good plan as recommended on this site.

You have many people here ready to lend support, answer qustions and discuss any challenges.
You can do this.

All Is Possible!

Sabresgal63

You are not getting enough calories, nor are you giving your body any rest.................

TavistockToad

eat more, add some weights and make sure you have a rest day.

lynz507

I talked to my doctor about what my calorie intake should be instead of just using 1200. Good thing I did because he told me for my weight, 1400 calories would be my minimum, which will be adjusted as I lose weight. It is different for everyone and it takes time.

inge88

Yes, like the other people said: you are not eating enough!
I know it does not sound logical at first. And maybe after reading up on it the theory will make sense. But it will still be scary. I suggest you search the forum.. there is a lot written about this. Search for the topic called something like 'People who lost weight eating MORE'. There are a lot of people that it worked for.

Good luck! And enjoy eating a bit more, it's great!

Elizabeth_M

Hi there,

All is not lost. Keep doing what you're doing, it will show results in the end.

BUT having said that, if you are exercising that much, and still only eating 1200 calories, your body is probably in starvation mode. 1200 is the bare minimum (I think) for any BODY to eat, but if you are then expending calories through exercise, you are really only consuming a pittance to keep your body ALIVE! Start eating back at least 1/2 of your calories, and see what happens. You have to get out of the mindset that eating more = gaining weight. Not so, if done properly and mindfully.

Keep your chin up, you are doing great!

WifeMomDVM

WHAT you eat is also important - not just how much. As another poster suggested - keep it clean - lean meats, lots of veggies, nuts, some fresh fruit. 100% whole grains

chedainc

OMG you are doing a tremendous lot of exercise, you should be adding extra calories, as you are using a lot more. your body may think it is in starvation mode. also you need to realize you are that you are building lean muscle as well as getting rid of fat, so it is not going to look like that much on the scale. The question is are you checking your inch loss and how are your clothes fitting on you? How are you feeling physically? If you feel great , then not to worry as eventually it will come off , try not to watch the scale so much. That has happened to me as well, and now it seems to be coming off a little easier. Good luck and I hope I helped a little.

BeautyFromPain

you're not eating enough!!

eating not enough will slow your metabolism down making it harder to lose weight.
if you could open your diary it would be helpful to give more advice?

becjerami

I don't know all your vitals but with all that activity you should probably be eating AT LEAST 1800 cals per day.

Try the link below to work out your maintenance requirements. Be honest with your activity levels and read the descriptions at the bottom of the page (if for example you only to Heavy activity 3-4 times per week, work out total time and divide by 7 for a weekly average). You will get a BMR figure, an activity figure and a maintenance calories figure. Try to net at least as many calories as your BMR figure and you should lose weight without decreasing your metabolism too much.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

Hope this helps.

I was having the same problem as you and have just started eating a LOT more and am now losing weight (and enjoying my food at the same time!)

BeautyFromPain

OMG you are doing a tremendous lot of exercise, you should be adding extra calories, as you are using a lot more. your body may think it is in starvation mode. also you need to realize you are that you are building lean muscle as well as getting rid of fat, so it is not going to look like that much on the scale. The question is are you checking your inch loss and how are your clothes fitting on you? How are you feeling physically? If you feel great , then not to worry as eventually it will come off , try not to watch the scale so much. That has happened to me as well, and now it seems to be coming off a little easier. Good luck and I hope I helped a little.

It takes MONTHS to put on one pound of muscle.. just sayin'.

hagamivida

You are stwrving yourself with that few calories and that much exercise. Up your calories, dear, and eat back the calories you work off in exercise. Not kidding.

medicrenee

you should be eating min 1200 , and if you are exercising that much then you are prob eating too few cals.

melsy21

Your starving yourself

swimbikerun2006

I agree with other others....when you are working out that much, you need more than 1200 calories a day. It is easy to be discouraged and therefore sometimes necessitates that the focus not be on the scales but on how much better you feel with the exercising and eathing healthy.

As for losing the will to live. If that statement is from the heart, please seek professional care. Please. Your Doctor can help you with that.