HELP!?!?!?

jenlee74

I am new to MFP, and I need help!
I have not seen any change in the scales and have stuck to my 1200 a day
I do Pole Dancing for 2 hrs a week - Sometimes 3 (before crude comments are made, its Pole Fitness) - so cardio and strength all in one
For work I am an Administration Assistant & do the mail and banking each day 10 min walking (5x week)
for extra $$ I am also a waitress nights after work and weekends.
I am 21 years old, 160cm and 80kgs.

Do I have to eat back the calories I burn?
Because I have just started waitressing from sitting down all night watching tv - can I count calories from it?

GuruOnAMountain

Well you say you are new but how new? How long have you been doing this?

jenlee74

Been logging my food diary for the last 2 weeks sucessfully.

lovinmysoldier

Try increasing your calorie intake and see what happens.
Everyone is different and it may be what your body needs, then again it may not be. In my opinion, if you truly have been good about tracking for 2 weeks and no change then try something else for 2 weeks and see if that works.

Jo2926

What settings did you enter? i.e. did you say you were sedentary or active? What goal weight loss did you put in?

3dogsrunning

First, read this -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/350212--why-scales-lie?hl=why+scales+lie&page=1#posts-4730712

Second - two weeks isn't a long time. As noted in the above article, water weight fluctuations can easily mask smaller losses. At 1-2 lbs loss a week we are only looking at 2-4 lbs which can easily be masked by water weight. Also keep in mind that when you start exercising, your muscles tend to retain water as they heal.

Third - go back and re-do your setting for MFP to reflect your new job as a waitress with higher activity level and don't count it as exercise.

I am a firm believer in eating at least some of your exercise calories back.

jenlee74

I have it set at lightly active, and am waniting to get down to early 60kgs - 63kgs to make Pole easier on my body.
I have just started waitressing and its maybe 6hrs per week, but for them 6 hours I am on my feet never sitting and walking 60% of the time.
Would my muscles still be holding water as they heal, if I am 12 weeks into Pole Dancing?
Would it be an idea to get a tape measure and do them every two weeks to see if muscles building is the weight problem?

Also Interval training,not sure if it would work, but could you use the beep test beeps to break up your intervals, for example:
The first run, run it, but the second rest (where you normally run) as the levels get higher the intensity would be higher and the breaks smaller would it work?

Jo2926

yes - very good idea to take measurements, as exercise will change your body shape.

I would add in calories for the pole fit, but lightly active should cover your job (I think, but obviously depends on what else you do)

Also make sure you drink enough water and count EVERYTHING you eat.

jenlee74

yes - very good idea to take measurements, as exercise will change your body shape.

I would add in calories for the pole fit, but lightly active should cover your job (I think, but obviously depends on what else you do)

Also make sure you drink enough water and count EVERYTHING you eat.

Water intake is good 8 glasses per day, during our summer days was sometimes 2.5-3 L ( our office gets warm)
And eat back at least some of the calories i burn on the pole??

RyanPerry2012

Search on Google for a "RMR" or "BMR" calculator. At 80 kg (176 lbs) I'd imagine yours is higher than 1200 calories. Your RMR is the minimum amount of calories your body needs per day to keep from entering survival mode, in which it thinks you're starving and holds onto fat for survival that it ordinarily wouldn't. This is extremely important as I can attest; I've attempted weight loss programs before without knowing much about RMR and I was eating WAY too few calories, and actually gained weight because of it.

Edit: Plugging in your numbers I got an RMR of 2109 calories for lightly active and 1841 for sedentary. You might be eating way too little and your body thinks you're starving.

mallory3411

Try increasing your calories. Not sure what your weekly loss goal is set at but since you don't have a ton to lose it should be set no higher than 1lb a week for healthy and lasting weight loss.

jenlee74

I have re-evaluared and it is coming up 1320/day using MFP calculations, well see how it works.

Ill also try weight myself on my wii board rather than the bathroom scales.