Extremely frustrated // need to vent

SunnyAndrsn

Without seeing your food intake it is really hard to say what it is. What kind of exercise are you doing?

Since March 1st, I've been doing cardio 4x per week at 30 minutes each time.

Consider adding weight training. Also, take pictures of yourself from month to month to see a visual on the progress. I have a really hard time seeing progress on myself, despite the fact that some of my clothes fit better, my watch is looser, etc. Body dysmorphia can really get in the way of visualizing your progress.

photojunk

Hi i can understand why you are frustrated.

When i first started logging here a month ago I started at the 1200 calories that MFP set for me, and stuck with my normal routine.
After a week i started understanding what 1200 calories looked like, 1200 calories is hard to stick to somedays and i quickly realised that i could eat more if i worked out. By week 2 i had lost 2lbs so i knew that the calorie counting was working.

So i started exercising a little more so i could eat more food, i took everyones advise and ate back my calories, week 3 my weight didn't move. Because i don't have an Heart rate monitor i couldn't accurately measure my calories burned so i stopped eating back all my calories burned. I eat back probably 50% of what i burn through exercise.
4 weeks later i have lost 8lbs, by still sticking to 1200 calories +50% of what i burn. If i stall again i will probably start eating back 75% calories burned.

My suggestion to you is wipe the slate clean, go back to the beginning:

Start at 1200 calories a day, learn what 1200 calories looks like, let your body adjust to eating less.
then start exercising a little see how you feel eating back the calories you burn.
Stick with the 1200 calories if you go over one day don't eat less the next day, just move a little more.
If by the 4th week you are feeling tired, not losing weight, not losing inches then look at upping the calories by 250 a day.

I know that it is frustrating when the weight doesn't melt away, but i think of it as the slower to go the longer before it comes back.
I hope this helps and i hope you keep trying.

I honestly think a fresh start will be good for you.

J3NZ0R

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but are you saying that you noticed you were no longer losing weight, so you upped your daily caloric intake from 1200 to 1450 and then to 1500?
Im not a professional but increasing your daily caloric intake does not help you lose weight. Kudos to you for starting to work out in march, that should help, but maybe you should pay more attention to measurements and BMI instead of concentrating solely on weight. It might show the improvements that you have yet to realize.

Yes it does. When you're creating too large of a deficit, your metabolism braces itself for trouble and slows right down. You need to change up your diet/exercise both after while, because your body will adapt and you will no longer get results. (And this is info from a professional, for the record.)

The human body is a really smart machine. You have to keep it guessing.

To the original poster: you're more active now, so increasing calories is a good move. Find out what your BMR is so you can have a better idea of what your deficit needs to be. Personally, I was RADICALLY undereating and working out a lot, so my body basically said, "Hold the phone. WTF are you doing, girl?"

Remember, though, that not all calories are made equal. So, when you up your calories or have exercise calories to eat, continue making clean choices. (And allowing for the occasional treat.)

And the scale = whatevs. I lift weights, so I weigh the same but have lost inched and body fat %. Find a measurement that works for you.

slkehl

Bummer!! My only suggestion would be to do some strength training. You may not burn that many calories while lifting, but the muscle you build will continue to burn calories all day long. However, with this you have to keep in mind you might not lose weight in terms of numbers since muscle weights more than fat, but you should lose inches and fat.

Lolamako

I recently bought a BodyMedia Fit Core, to see what I really was burning throughout the day. I had been eating 1200-1500 depending on exercise since I started on here(July 2011) and did see great results up until December. Turns out that I am burning on average 2300 calories on REST days. As I got closer to my goal weight, I am *possibly* within 10lbs of it, my body just wasn't going to tolerate such a big deficit anymore, no wonder I wasn't losing any more weight. So yes, upping calories is the answer for some people. The "eat less+workout more=faster weight loss" is a totally dangerous LIE.

Calculate you BMR, eat that, add in exercise calories, take your measurements and ditch the scale for a month or two.

J3NZ0R

I recently bought a BodyMedia Fit Core, to see what I really was burning throughout the day. I had been eating 1200-1500 depending on exercise since I started on here(July 2011) and did see great results up until December. Turns out that I am burning on average 2300 calories on REST days. As I got closer to my goal weight, I am *possibly* within 10lbs of it, my body just wasn't going to tolerate such a big deficit anymore, no wonder I wasn't losing any more weight. So yes, upping calories is the answer for some people. The "eat less+workout more=faster weight loss" is a totally dangerous LIE.

Calculate you BMR, eat that, add in exercise calories, take your measurements and ditch the scale for a month or two.

This right here.

Pfauxmeh

Eat back your exercise calories. Can't stress it enough.

tinaruby

I would really lean towards looking at what foods you are eating as the culprit.

What is your average sugar intake a day? Sugar spikes your insulin and causes your body to yoyo. One minute your body thinks its got plenty of food and the next all the sugar and simple carbs have been processed and your body thinks you are starving, causing it to store more food. Keeping insulin levels rolling rather then spiking can help you feel fuller and boost metabolism.

Eating the right kind of foods can make all the difference. :-)

BakedBlonde

I recently bought a BodyMedia Fit Core, to see what I really was burning throughout the day. I had been eating 1200-1500 depending on exercise since I started on here(July 2011) and did see great results up until December. Turns out that I am burning on average 2300 calories on REST days. As I got closer to my goal weight, I am *possibly* within 10lbs of it, my body just wasn't going to tolerate such a big deficit anymore, no wonder I wasn't losing any more weight. So yes, upping calories is the answer for some people. The "eat less+workout more=faster weight loss" is a totally dangerous LIE.

Calculate you BMR, eat that, add in exercise calories, take your measurements and ditch the scale for a month or two.

Ok so I eat exactly what my BMR is?

BMR is 1658.

So do I eat that exactly? OR do I subtract 500 calories from that so I can lose 1 lb a week?

(pardon my ignorance)

kschmi24

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but are you saying that you noticed you were no longer losing weight, so you upped your daily caloric intake from 1200 to 1450 and then to 1500?
Im not a professional but increasing your daily caloric intake does not help you lose weight. Kudos to you for starting to work out in march, that should help, but maybe you should pay more attention to measurements and BMI instead of concentrating solely on weight. It might show the improvements that you have yet to realize.

Increasing your calorie intake helps for a lot of people. To find the amount of calories you need to maintain your current weight, you take your weight times 14. For me, its 204 times 14 = 2856. That is how much I need to eat per day without burning any off to maintain my weight of 204. So to cut 2lbs per week, I would subtract 1000 calories. That means I need to net about 1800 per day to lose weight.

MFP told me to eat 1240 originally, which is not nearly enough for me. Meaning, calories were scarce and so my body was hoarding. It 1240 worked for the first couple of weeks, but then I stayed put for weeks. Until I started eating more. Then the scale started moving down again.

Maybe it doesn't work for everyone, but staying between 1400 and 1700 for me has me continuing to lose weight, were at 1240, I stalled.

So to the original poster, try that formula above: your weight times 14, minus 1000 if you want to lose 2lbs per week, -500 for one. Then eat that many calories and eat back the exercise calories too. Good luck!

rockerbabyy

Ok so I eat exactly what my BMR is?

BMR is 1658.

So do I eat that exactly? OR do I subtract 500 calories from that so I can lose 1 lb a week?

(pardon my ignorance)

eat 1658. plus exercise calories..
BMR is what you would need to stay alive if you were in a coma, so its not good to take a deficit off of there.
if you want to do more math, you can figure out your TDEE (BMR+daily activity) and take a deficit from THAT, but eating at BMR is easier and still works great

0EmmeNicole0

I'm sorry girl! That is the worst when you are trying so hard and seeing no improvement. The only two cents i have is to make sure you are drinking lots of water. I gained 5 lbs in the first month i did MFP, and once i started to drink at least 64oz of water a day, i lost 5 of the lbs i gained and an additional 3 lbs in like 2 weeks. So make sure you are getting water only because you could be retaining. And i know this may be TMI but are you going #2 regularly?? I got very constipated at the start of MFP and had to detox (with tea) to make myself go, now i usually go everyday but i've never been one to go that often. That also has helped me lose weight in addition to the water. I also upped my calories when i started to see stalls in my weight loss and that seemed to work, so upping calories should work as long as you are eating somewhat close to your BMR. I also eat SOME of my exercise calories. I'm not really for or against eating exercise calories so my only rule about that is eat if you are hungry, don't eat if you aren't.

KeriA

I am glad you are getting good advice so soon. I lost 30-35 pounds on here with MFP settings very slowly stalling every time I really upped my exercise. Yes I ate exercise calories or most and especially when hungry. I then stopped losing. I now set my calories goals to just a bit above my BMR and I eat most of my exercise calories since I have been eating below it for more than a year. I want to get my metabolism going again. So don't listen to lowering to 1200. Exercise is good too. Inches lost is important so track them as well. Estimate your bodyfat percentage too. Once you get cardio going add some strength training in. Once you do that try som HIIT. I did lose body fat because I exercised alot. Go slow and healthy. Keep at it. Eat quality, healthy foods. Avoid sugars and simple carbos. Best wishes.