DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM DOING WRONG

tania2287

Hi, l have been workout for 3 hours a day and eating around 1200cals a day and l have gain 600g this morning. I am not happy at all with all the work l am putting into it.


Not sure what l am doing wrong with my diet and exercise. I don't eat junk at all and everything is home cooked.

PLEASE HELP!

Nicola0000

You're working out loads and hardly eating anything. Your deficit each day must be huge. I would eat more cals. Your body has probably slowed down your metabolism, so eat normally for a week to kick start it again.

Tourney3p0

See the sticky threads at the top of the thread list. Particularly, "Newbies Please READ ME (2nd edition)" was written specifically to address this issue.

tania2287

Ok l will give it a go. But l was told to not eat so much to loss weight.

But l will try to eat more if that is the problem

ladyraven68

Hi, l have been workout for 3 hours a day and eating around 1200cals a day and l have gain 600g this morning. I am not happy at all with all the work l am putting into it.


Not sure what l am doing wrong with my diet and exercise. I don't eat junk at all and everything is home cooked.

PLEASE HELP!

Your calorie goal should be a NET goal - you need to get the green "Remaining" numbers as close to zero as possible.

you set a deficit when you chose your weight loss goal, by exercising you are making that deficit larger, and so you need to eat some of the workout calories back to maintain the original deficit you set.

This is especially important if you are already on a low intake like 1200 calories.

rkennedy54

I think your body has gone into starvation mode as you have not maintained an intake of your net calories. Therefore, the body will keep onto all it has for a while and therefore no weight loss. It isn't a good idea to try and lose to much weight each week either. Slow and steady is better. You need to maintain all the nutrients at optimal levels also to remain healthy.

FrancineC514

Everyone is right! You're not eating enough. This is the BIGGEST mistake most make. The less you eat the more fat your body will store thinking that it won't be fed again. There is so much behind not eating enough and how your body will respond. Stay POSITIVE and MOTIVATED and eat more

tgzerozone

Why are you exercising 3 hours a day? I think you are overdoing it. Do 30 minutes of HIIT 3 times a week.

EDIT: And looking at your diary, you somedays don't even eat 1000 kcals?

jaabee11

What on earth do you do for 3 hours a day? That is some dedication to workout.
Great effort but yeh make sure as everyone is saying you get it covered in what you eat.
You must be so hungry at times.
Good luck

Pebble321

Ok l will give it a go. But l was told to not eat so much to loss weight.

But l will try to eat more if that is the problem

Sure, you need to eat less than you have in the past.... but not so little that your body isn't getting enough energy (remember, calories=energy) and nutrition.
Your body needs well over 1000 cals a day just to keep your heart beating and our basic body function going (I weigh about 156 and I need nearly 1400 cals just to stay alive) so cutting too low is not good for you.

And exercising for 3 hours a day just isn't necessary. If that's your job or you love it soooo much, then keep it up, but you really have to be eating a whole lot more to sustain that much movement and stay healthy.
If you're doing that just to lose weight, then stop! Try 30 - 45 mins a day with a rest day once a week. You'll still get the benefits with a whole lot less risk of burnout or injury.

eschwab855

WOW just plain wow

llkilgore

Hi, l have been workout for 3 hours a day and eating around 1200cals a day and l have gain 600g this morning. I am not happy at all with all the work l am putting into it.


Not sure what l am doing wrong with my diet and exercise. I don't eat junk at all and everything is home cooked.

PLEASE HELP!

Your calorie goal should be a NET goal - you need to get the green "Remaining" numbers as close to zero as possible.

^^^This^^^ but be careful. If you eat back your exercise calories, and I agree that you should, it's not a good idea to log things like "Cooking or food preparation" or "Cleaning, light, moderate effort."

eschwab855

I did not write this it is a sticky thread at the top of the Diet message board under READ THIS FIRST I dont think anyone reads on how this works or there wouldn't be so many asking stuff like this and getting so frustrated..........." OK, this will be long. Please read it if you are confused. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or a doctor, just a successful loser and maintainer, who has consulted both doctors and dieticians.

Question #1:

Should I eat all my calories?

Yes. MFP is already figuring a deficit for you to lose weight. This deficit is based on what you need to eat based on your everyday activity, not counting exercise. In the end, it's all about "net calories" (you can view yours under reports)

Example: you need to eat 2,000 calories to maintain your current weight (random number)
MFP will tell you to eat 1,500 to lose one pound per week (500x7=3500=one pound loss).

Let's say you exercise, and burn 500 additional calories.
UH-OH, now you are at a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. You need 2,000 calories to maintian, are already restricted to 1500, so now your net calories are a 1,000 a day. This is starvation central. Your body, which is very good at keeping you alive, will store and save calories. You WILL stop losing weight. You WILL want to throw your scale out the window.

Eat your exercise calories. At least eat most of them.

Question #2:
I'm eating 1200 calories, I feel like crap and I'm not losing weight. What gives?

Answer:
Run, don't walk, to "tools" and use the BMR calculator. Please, please, please, eat at least your BMR calories every day. You might lose weight more slowly, but you will still lose, and you will not longer feel a sudden urge to fall over every time you do, well, anything.

Question #3:
I'm doing "everything right" and the scale won't move.

Answer #1: The scale is the devil. Step away from the scale. Buy a tape measure, notice how your clothes are (probably) fitting better. Muscle is more dense than fat, and takes up less space on your body. More muscle on your body will make the scale freeze or (gasp) move upward.

Answer #2: You're not being honest. In order for this to work, you must record every morsel of food that goes in your body. Also, if you ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes and barely break a sweat and can still chatter on your cell phone (OK, that's my personal gym pet peeve) then you're probably not working "vigorously". Don't overestimate your exercise calories. (this was a big mistake I made in the past.)

Answer #3: Your body might be re-adjusting. How you feel is the most important mark of progress. It's very easy to fixate on numbers, but feeling better really should be its own reward.

Question #4:
So, if I'm eating my exercise calories, what's the point of exercise?

Answer: (warning: extremely opinionated answer ahead)
You don't. You can lose weight through diet alone. But, then you will be skinny and flabby. Is a model skinnier than me? OH, YES! Is she healthier than me? probably NOT. She couldn't survive the hour-long spin class that I take three times a week. Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person. (this is a generalization. I don't hate models, but this is their lifestyle. . .I used to be a "dresser" at shows, and I saw a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff.

TanyaCurtis

Ur in starvation mode, up ur calories, keep it up and u will lose weight most definitely, it usually takes me 2 months for things to start moving! Good job on the workouts though.... Wow!

Mawskittykat

I agree with the others...Either eat a whole lot more than you are eating or exercise a whole lot less. Usually 1 hr is plenty and for some only 30 to 45 minutes is enough.

ashtonvv

3 hrs a day and 1200 cals? HOW ARE YOU FUNCTIONING? If you are working out that much, you are not netting nearly enough. Your body is probably wondering what the heck you're doing to it. I would suggest you figure out your BMI and TDEE and stick to the math of it. Calories in Calories out. Do not be scared to eat, I didnt start loosing until i upped my calories (1660-1800 per day. net more after I work out) Your body will reward you. What are you doing for workouts? Alot of strength training will cause a standstill or gain, (in a good way). Start measuring, inches lost are always good vs pounds!

bloodbank

What you're doing 'wrong' is eating next to nothing and doing a bananas amount of exercise.

The ticker on your profile says you only have 8kg to lose. When you've got so little to go, it'd be wise to dial back your weekly weight loss goal to 0.5 lbs per week and eat back at least 75% of your exercise calories.

You don't have to work out for hours on end each day and you don't have to starve.