2nd week doubts and blues

Almaleitzsey

Hello all, I'm on my second week on MFP. The first week I was eating about 1200 cal a day and dropped 6.8 lbs but then MFP yelled at me and said I was eating too little cal and would be putting my body into starvation mode. Mid week, this week, after loosing another almost 4 lbs I switched and for the last two days have been eating 1700 cal and have remained at the same weight maybe a few oz lighter but not the weight lost that I saw previously while eating 1200 cal. I don't want to be unhealthy but I liked the numbers I was seeing at 1200 cal better than what I am seeing at 1700. Any ideas???? Should I stay and wait out the 1700 cal or go back to 1200??? help, advice, knowledge, personal experiences please??? I've made my diary public now so you can see what you think. I haven't bern doing much exercise and know I need to step that up and will do tonight.

ashreynolds09

give it time!

subtractionproject

Why not drop to 1400 and see how that goes?

PhillyTD

What kind of exercise are you doing?

MonicaT1972

What is your weight right now. I have researched extensively, talked to trainers and dieticians. I am obese (almost out of that category proudly) but anyhow, they all concur that you cannot go into stravation mode if you are obese!

Do not worry about all the extra information and do what works for you. I eat 1210 daily and lose at a pace both myself and my physician are happy with. I also exercise 2 hrs a day too.

Do what works for your body as your body is unique to you!!! If you plateau then you need to re-evaluate, but till then just keep doing what works and you'll get the results you want!

ChitownFoodie

Your diary isn't public so I can't comment on the food you are eating. Are you getting enough water? What exercises are you doing? Are you weighing your food?

bluebird321

give it time!

This. Be patient and wait six months or so before making any firm judgements. Any type of calorie deficit is fine -- the important thing is that you do something you can stick with for an extended period of time

militarydreams

You need to remember that by eating more you have more waste in your system. The human bowel can hold over 10lbs of waste alone. Add to that the possible increase in glycogen stores which bind to water 1:4 and extra salt etc you may be taking on in those 500 calories and you're there.

My point is that you're not maintaining weight, you're probably losing it but holding a little extra of the good stuff. Trust in the system and give it at least 2 weeks.

jennifeffer

I find most times you lose a lot in your first week back on the wagon. Your body is adjusting, so give it a while. I would agree that 1200 cal is very low, but i don't know your stats either. You should find out what your BMR is.

sma83

When you very first start trying to lose weight a lot of it will come off very quickley. Then you will see a gradual slow down. When I first started out I cut out soda and fried foods and went for a 39 min walk every day. I dropped 11 pounds in 10 days. It was mostly water weight. Once that comes off you will see a slow down. This is normal. You need to figure out what your BMR is and try to eat that everyday. You also just need to give it time and be patient. Its not easy, I know. But you need to think of this as a life style change, not a diet. If you look at the rest of your life, this is a relatively small matter to have to wait to see that weight come off. It can be very overwhelming. I have a total of 135 pounds to lose! Stressful much?! lol I have found that setting smaller goals really helps keep me motivated. Dont look at the total amount you want to lose...focus on the first 10 pounds, then the next 10. Mini goals really do help you stay motivated and encourged and you feel great when you reach each little goal along the way. :flowerforyou:

applebobbrush

First off welcome , 2nd I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on TV. I have been on MFP for about 6 months now and have lost 23lbs. I have learned that it will take time to get the weight off in a healthy way, which leads to it staying off and this new way of being healthy a long term commitment. Even though you saw huge numbers your first two weeks, doesn't mean that if you stay at 1200 calories a day you will continue to have those numbers every week. It could be water weight those first couple weeks coming off and your body adjusting to healthy food and hopefully more water than you've ever drank before. Your body therefore isn't holding onto all the extra water wondering when it's getting more, instead it's thinking wow I have nourishment and water on a regular schedule I don't need to hoard all this extra anymore so let's get rid of it. 1200 is the lowest (per mfp) that a woman should be eating everyday. I am 5'7 174 and I started at 1500 calories a day when I was sedentary, I still lost weight. I am now lightly active and eat 1540 a day and am still losing. I sometimes eat my exercise calories, sometimes I don't. Overall hang in there and give it a try for a month on the up'd calories. You can always adjust them later.

seebeachrun

You can't be hard on yourself. Give it at least 4-6 weeks before expecting to see a difference in the mirror (and only check the scale once a week because your weight can fluctuate daily.) Keep it up!

I get frustrated about once every two weeks myself but I have kept it up for over two months now and I am really starting to see the difference. I am also seeing more "trouble spots" that I want to see a difference in. I constantly remind myself what parts are looking better and that since what I am doing is working it is only a matter of time before the other areas start looking better too. It took me two years to gain the weight and it will probably take at least 6-9 months to get back to a place where I feel comfortable with how I look.

Almaleitzsey

So good to know that about starvation! I an in that category too