Frustrated! What am I doing WRONG???

LucieJean

I started counting my calories 1 year ago this April. And I have only lost 20 pounds. This is so frustrating. What am I doing wrong? I eat 1000 calories a day/ per my doctors recommendation measured and weighing everything, and exercise 3 to 5 days per week. What am I doing wrong? I am SO FRUSTRATED.......

ShellyShuey

If you're exercising, I think you need more protein.

katie133

I have no clue really.. but with my experience when i was eating only 1200 cals a day i didnt lose much, and then stoped losing all together.... Now that im eating around 15-1600 a day i am consistently losing...but if your doctor reccomends your eat 1000 who knows, that is very low

boggsmeister

Umm, maybe you should consider firing your doctor, or at the least getting a second opinion. 1000 calories is pretty low for just about anyone. Congrats on having what it takes to stick with that though. I can't even imagine.

dlwyatt82

Plug your age, height and weight into the BMR calculator under Tools on this site, and let us know what it says.

Odds are, you're eating far too little. 1000 calories a day isn't enough even before you figure in your workouts. You're forcing your body to react as if it's starving, storing as much fat as possible.

I've seen lots of different advice on this, but as a start, make sure you're eating your BMR calories (and an absolute minimum of 1200) per day. Some people even say to NET more than your BMR, so after tracking your workouts, eat some more on those days. That should keep your metabolism working normally while still keeping enough of a deficit to have consistent weight loss.

That said, I'm not actually following that advice myself. I was referred to MFP as a resource by my physician, who has me on a 2400 calorie/day plan (my BMR is just over 2500). I have had some problems with the weight loss levelling off, and I have been adding a "cheat day" where I try to eat close to 3000-3100 calories (my "maintenance level") to keep the metabolism from slowing down through the rest of the week, and that seems to be working for me.

veganbaum

Maybe you should see an actual dietician for their opinion. 1,000 is very low for most people, and doctors aren't trained in nutrition, so it might be beneficial for you to get another opinion. On the other hand, your weight loss is a little under .5lb/wk which isn't terrible, at least you're losing. I would still see a dietician, though.