1200 a day for a week and i have put on not lost HELP???

kayosborne

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

AntWrig

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

It's because you're only eating 1200 calories.

CaitlinFrost

Change takes longer then a week.

You should be eating what suits your stats (weight etc etc).

There is a good chance that you are actually not eating enough, your body is probably holding onto what you do eat because of this.
Figure out your BMR and go from there.

melaniecheeks

Your body can take some time to adjust to a new routine - keep at it (and 1200 is a minimum...) and dont give up!

sophiareal

A week alone is not indicative of how you are doing with your diet, it could be water retention, muscle-growth etc etc etc. going forward, jut keep up the good work with exercise (eating back those exercise calories) and otherwise staying within your calorie limit and eating good, wholesome food. If you do this, the weight will start dropping off.

jdkw

Check the sodium levels. did you drink 8+ glasses of water each day? Did you workout alot? work out hard? Muscle weighs more than fat. Have a BM lately? All things to take into account.

One week is not long enough to judge your progress. Keep going you can do it.

Possibly up your calories to 1400 for 1 or 2 days - staying within sodium - drink more water - and it may help boost your metabolism to burn more/harder.

w2bab

If you're building muscle it can take awhile for the scale to move. I only lost 2.5 lbs. the first five weeks, but I lost 17.75 inches.

gimpyfriend

Im having the same problem. Im not eating 1200 calories a day, only eating 7-900 calories daily because i cant. I had gastric by pass on Jan. 19, 2012. Im following their plan and it does have me eating alot of protien (60-70 grams a day in protien shakes in addition to food). I have lost inches, but the scale isnt moving this week (its my third week) and I too check it everyday (which is not good to do). I FIGURE ALL THE PROTIEN IS BUILDING ME MUSCLE AND IT DOES WEIGH MORE THAN FAT!!!

ashnm88

It takes longer than a week to see much change, but you are possibly not eating enough.

5 lbs of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html This will show you.

Shyloh1

Please people,muscle does not weigh more than fat!

1 pound of muscle=I pound of fat


They weigh the same,muscle is just more dense.

Shyloh1

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

I'd give it more time,you've only been doing this a week.

I would up your calorie intake and give it 2-3 weeks. See what happens.

Consider strength training as well,lifting heavy weights. Lifting weights does wonders.:)

getfitwithaimee

I have found that the calorie calculations in here are low. I had already been following an eating plan, knew how many calories worked for me in order to lose weight, etc and started using MyFitnessPal just as a tracking device. And when i set up my account it told me 1200 a day as well. My plan i had been following and losing on already i was eating 1900 calories! So i though i would try the 1200 for a few days and i too gained and felt horrible - so i'm back at my 1900 calories and just using MFP as a tracking tool and nothing else. So my point being 1200 might not be enough for you either. When we don't eat enough calories are body won't let us burn off fat - it goes into "starvation" mode. Hope that helps

run4yourlife

It's because you're only eating 1200 calories.

^^^ THIS. It probably sounds scary to increase your calories when you're gaining, but 1200 calories is just too low. Increase it for a week and continue with the exercise and see what happens. :flowerforyou:

allycat54

Put the scale away for awhile. That's what worked for me.

papastu

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

It's because you're only eating 1200 calories.

this, try eating more in my opinion

good luck

vmbourg

I'm set for 1230 calories a day. And I've lost faithfully but it consists of whole grains , lean meats , nuts , fruits , etc. 100 calories from an apple is different than 100 calories worth of bacon. And when I workout , I EAT back my calories. So some days I'm really eating about 1500-1600 calories. Keep up the good work and you'll see results ! I know I have , and I've only been here a few days over 1 month.

hottottie11

Please please please STOP saying they're building muscle...not on 1200 calories a day.

With that said, it is most likely water weight from exercise (assuming you are accurate in your calorie count). Water weight can also be cause by your monthly cycle and a high sodium diet. Nothing to fret about. Weight loss trends should really be seen month to month rather than day to day or week to week.

I doubt it's starvation mode (a term overly abused anyway by those who truly DON"T understand what it means). But I do suggest you fuel your activity level. MFP is set up in a way that doesn't include your exercise in your activity level. Once you add exercise in, you must eat at least some of those calories to avoid too large of a deficit (which can cause muscle loss, and thus a decreased metabolism)

Josee76

IMO if you want the MFP folks to give you solid advice/suggestions, open up your food diary... and make sure you are eating your BMR...

Good luck on your journey to being HEALTHY!!!!

J

natashamcn

No need to be rude I think the point the previous poster was trying to make was VERY obvious to the rest of us. AKA a pound of muscle looks denser than fat. I think we are all intelligent enough to know that a pound= a pound regardless of what we are comparing

Panda86

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

My advice- don't automatically start at the lowest calorie goal, because you have nowhere to go from there if you need to break out of a plateau. I would say up your calorie goal and eat back at least some of your exercise calories. And stick with it. The weight didn't pile on overnight, and its not going to come off overnight. Also, the #1 piece of advice I give people- generally, if you aim to be healthy (minimal processed foods, lots of lean protein, fruits, veggies, fiber, drink water; exercise regularly) the weight usually takes care of itself. Hang in there!

Bloomsday

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

It's because you're only eating 1200 calories.

This may or may not be accurate. I lose by eating 1200 calories and exercising every day. Sometimes I eat some of my exercise calories back; sometimes I don't.

When you first start exercising, sometimes your muscle retain some water. The 2 lbs cd be that.

Hang in there ... If you search this topic (about 1200 calories and eating back exercise calories), you will learn a lot from other people's experiences.

empoweryoufitness

If you are an average woman you are probably burning about 1700 calories a day without a bit of exercise so you are not even eating enough calories to cover your bmr. Your body can not sustain that kind of deficit. It will lower your metabolism and you will lose muscle. I speak from lots of experience. The best thing you can do is slowly increase your calories to at least basal rate and burn the rest with exercise.

Candy1973

The 1200 a day would also depend on if you have had any type of WLS. I had a gastric bypass over three years ago and was told by my dietician not to go over 1200 cals. a day. I do maintain at that amount but have to kick it down in to the 800-900 range and really do a lot of exercise to lose this far out from my surgery. But again I have had WLS and things are a little different once you add that in. How fast a person loses is always different from someone else, don't be discouraged over a week, just try it for another week and I would imagine you will see some results if you stick to exercising and eating right and stay within your calorie goals.

cutchro

When maintaining the 1200 calories a day I also did not lose when I upped my intake to between 1300 and 1500 per day I started to "melt". Try it. You will need to find where your count should be.

tking1981

Quality counts. If you are eating high quality proteins and carbs such as RAW fruits, vegetables and lean cuts of meat you will lose weight eating 1200 calories and exercising. However, if you are eating hot dogs, white breads, pastas, etc you may not lose weight due to your bodies digestion of high glycemic foods. Also, as others have mentioned you must look at water retention because of high salt intake and not eating enough food. As your body consumes far too few calories your body holds onto every calorie out of fear that it is in starvation mode. If you are doing all these things and still have problems losing weight, there could be something going on with your body prohibiting you from losing weight such as higher estrogen levels, or bloating from your period (if you're a woman)

ridge99

A diet is a life change, not a quick fix. No one should be only eating just 1200 calls per day as this will not provide a long term healthy balance. A mixed balanced diet of health food with plenty of water is sensible alongside a realistic calorie cap. I have been advised to work at my body weight in pounds x10 for a calorie cap which will lead to a realistic diet structure. I use the counter to keep track, not manage my diet plan.

Zee48

As we start a new weight loss/exercise plan sometimes we trade fat for muscle so we don’t see any change on the scale. Take your measurements and keep that as a record. Many times we see changes in our clothing and measurements when we don’t see the numbers on the scale change. You will need to 'play' with your plan to see where your healthy weight loss comes into play.

Keep doing what you are doing and make sure you are getting in enough protein, veggies, fruits, good fats/oils, - basically the daily good health guidelines. Moderation and continuation will tell the final story.
We didn’t get to my fitness pal over night and we would lose the weight overnight. Slow and easy and steady make for a lasting journey. Changing our lifestyle as far as eating and exercising is the way to go – not fad diets with quick weight loss and return quick weight gain.

Also depending on the amount of exercise and effort you are exerting are you replenishing your caloric intake to compensate for that? Our bodies need a certain amount of fuel – food just like our cars need gasoline. They don’t work without proper fuel, lubrication and loving care.

Articeluvsmemphis

Im having the same problem. Im not eating 1200 calories a day, only eating 7-900 calories daily because i cant. I had gastric by pass on Jan. 19, 2012. Im following their plan and it does have me eating alot of protien (60-70 grams a day in protien shakes in addition to food). I have lost inches, but the scale isnt moving this week (its my third week) and I too check it everyday (which is not good to do). I FIGURE ALL THE PROTIEN IS BUILDING ME MUSCLE AND IT DOES WEIGH MORE THAN FAT!!!

muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. muscle is denser than fat therefor takes up less space and looks better on the body. I feel bad for bodybuilders because they will tell anyone in a heart beat that losing weight is way easier than building muscle

Articeluvsmemphis

I have been doing my fitness pal for a week now being really good sticking to the 1200 cal and exercising 3 times a week and i have put on 2lb anyone know why ????help

also what are those 1200 calories made of. see you can eat 1200calories worth of snickers, or 1200 calories worth of the "good" stuff good=subjective but most people agree fruits/veggies whatever have you. drink plenty water

HopeytheHopester

You may be eating to much fat or carbs cause I'm on the same calorie amount as you, 1200. I've lost 6 pounds though. I think if you start out from let's say 1300, and gradually progress lower than you might start to lose weight. I hope you do well on your weight loss journey. It's difficult, but everyone can do it. :embarassed:

KLMett

Keep it up. Your body may be changing. It took me almost a month to start seeing the pounds drop but I noticed my body composition was changing daily. I've only lost 5 pounds but dropped one size (almost 2 sizes). My body is still changing but the scale is not showing a drastic weight loss. I keep focused on exercising, eating right and know that whatever the scale shows I am doing the right thing.