not losing weight

Foodie711711

So, just like many other posts on here...I have stopped losing weight. Would upping my calories to maintenence for a little while be beneficial?

MyTime1985

Your profile is private and I have no idea what your situation is. Open it up!

Foodie711711

Open!

Foodie711711

Oh and I guess I should add that I do workout but I do not log it. Instead I upped by lifetyle setting to lightly active (even though I have a desk job) thinking that would be the same as logging my exercise. Who knows if that is true though!

Sabresgal63

I would start logging the exercise calories and then eat them back and see if that kicks your metabolism.

dare2love81

Make sure you are eating at least your BMR on a daily basis. If you go to Fat2FitRadio.com and use their calculators it will tell you what your BMR is and how many calories you should be eating in a day, depending on your activity level. Don't be alarmed if the numbers look high...I was and was like "there is NO way I'll lose weight if I eat that much!" But my weight loss had stalled so I figured, why not, I'll give it a shot. The first week I didn't lose anything, I actually gained a pound - but the second week the weight started dropping off of me, literally. Just need to give your body time to adjust and trust that you're providing the right amount of fuel for it to efficiently lose weight.

Now, if you eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio suggests, do NOT eat back exercise calories. Those are already figured in to their calculation. I think what MFP suggests is way to low for anyone to be eating in a day, and that the only way it balances out is if they exercise super intense and then eat back all the exercise calories. That's too confusing for me to have to worry about, so I just eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio told me, regardless of exercise.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Foodie711711

so by using the method you just gave me I get the number 2189. Do I eat that or is that my tdee and I take 15% to 20% off of it? Seems awfully high and scary!

dare2love81

Depends on which calculator you used...did you use the BMR calculator? Once you get calculate it, there should be a chart on the bottom that tells you how many calories to eat based on your activity level. I usually eat around 2,100 calories a day, which falls between the sedentary and lightly active - even though I do work out for an hour 6 days a week. But this chart showed me that I was eating way less than what I was supposed to be. I was eating around 1,400-1,500 before and only SOMETIMES eating my exercise calories back. But I can tell you that I was never eating more than about 1,700 calories in a day and that was rare when I hit that.

So now I shoot for around 2,000 each day, trying to stay within my macros of 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fats. And I've been eating pretty clean too - very little junk food. And again, if you follow what Fat 2 Fit tells you to eat, DO NOT eat back your exercise calories! That would put you way over.

Also, you may want to gradually increase your calories if it's a big jump from what you're eating now. I know it seems counterintuitive to eat that much, but it really does make a difference, especially if you're doing any intense exercise. Since I've been eating more, I've noticed that I can push harder through my workouts and I'm not as crabby during the day from being hungry.

dare2love81

It'll take some trial and error to see what works for you...and like I said, don't get discouraged if you see the scale go up in the first week or two, it takes the body time to re-adjust and trust that you'll continue to provide adequate fuel for your body. I'm guessing you - along with a lot of people using this website, are just plain not eating enough, because we've been taught that in order to lose weight, we should eat as few calories as possible. Little did we know that that actually does more damage than good, and while you may lose at first doing it that way, it's not sustainable and you'll end up with a very low metabolism and won't look too healthy either.

Just my two cents. :happy:

Coyla

dare2love81 has some good advice. I'd follow it and see what happens.

militarydreams

Oh and I guess I should add that I do workout but I do not log it. Instead I upped by lifetyle setting to lightly active (even though I have a desk job) thinking that would be the same as logging my exercise. Who knows if that is true though!

Did the stall in weight loss coincide with the change in your activity level?

cwatson1214

Make sure you are eating at least your BMR on a daily basis. If you go to Fat2FitRadio.com and use their calculators it will tell you what your BMR is and how many calories you should be eating in a day, depending on your activity level. Don't be alarmed if the numbers look high...I was and was like "there is NO way I'll lose weight if I eat that much!" But my weight loss had stalled so I figured, why not, I'll give it a shot. The first week I didn't lose anything, I actually gained a pound - but the second week the weight started dropping off of me, literally. Just need to give your body time to adjust and trust that you're providing the right amount of fuel for it to efficiently lose weight.

Now, if you eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio suggests, do NOT eat back exercise calories. Those are already figured in to their calculation. I think what MFP suggests is way to low for anyone to be eating in a day, and that the only way it balances out is if they exercise super intense and then eat back all the exercise calories. That's too confusing for me to have to worry about, so I just eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio told me, regardless of exercise.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

so i just checked out this site you suggested. wow i am a bit freaked out by what it tells me to eat. 2000 calories. but i am at a plateau even when i increased to 1500 calories. I was at 1200 for so long, then increased my exerise to 5 days a week.

all of this can be confusing

tomhancock

Those BMR calculators are a bunch of baloney in my opinion, unless you have an accurate body fat percentage to input. Its worth going to a gym or getting a physical to get a little more information and talking to a nutritionist. Then you might get some useful input from something like that.

If you are going to eat 2000+ calories and try to lose weight, try to make sure as many of those calories as possible come from protein and fiber, and as few come from non-fiber carbohydrates and saturated fats.

If you eat 2000 calories of junk food for example you can work out a lot and still not lose.

In my opinion experience its easier to get over a plateau changing what you eat and when than it is eating extra calories to try to speed your metabolism back up.....

just my opinion.

dare2love81

Make sure you are eating at least your BMR on a daily basis. If you go to Fat2FitRadio.com and use their calculators it will tell you what your BMR is and how many calories you should be eating in a day, depending on your activity level. Don't be alarmed if the numbers look high...I was and was like "there is NO way I'll lose weight if I eat that much!" But my weight loss had stalled so I figured, why not, I'll give it a shot. The first week I didn't lose anything, I actually gained a pound - but the second week the weight started dropping off of me, literally. Just need to give your body time to adjust and trust that you're providing the right amount of fuel for it to efficiently lose weight.

Now, if you eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio suggests, do NOT eat back exercise calories. Those are already figured in to their calculation. I think what MFP suggests is way to low for anyone to be eating in a day, and that the only way it balances out is if they exercise super intense and then eat back all the exercise calories. That's too confusing for me to have to worry about, so I just eat what Fat 2 Fit Radio told me, regardless of exercise.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

so i just checked out this site you suggested. wow i am a bit freaked out by what it tells me to eat. 2000 calories. but i am at a plateau even when i increased to 1500 calories. I was at 1200 for so long, then increased my exerise to 5 days a week.

all of this can be confusing

Agreed, it sure is confusing, but my guess is you're still not eating enough at 1,500 calories. (Side note: when I first joined MFP, they told me to eat 1,400 a day, which I thought was way too low. Upped that to 1,500-1,600 per day and it turns out that was still too low) Are you doing any intense exercise? Your body needs the food as fuel to get you through them. Try to eat as clean as you can, and gradually increase the calories. It'll take some time for your body to adjust. And if you've given it a few weeks and you're still not seeing any changes on the scale, then try adjusting it down by 100 calories and see what happens. It's all about trial and error and finding what works for you.

Foodie711711

I've been eating anywhere from 1500-1900 normally however I would not eat my exercise calories and then only be netting anywhere from 1200-1500. I did actually increase my workouts lately. Now my workouts include:
Monday- jog 5k and JM body revolution dvd
Tuesday- JM body revolution dvd
Wednesday- Jog 5k and JM body revolution cardio dvd
Thursday- JM body revolution dvd and zumba
Friday-JM body revolution dvd
Saturday- JM body revolution cardio dvd
Sunday- rest
I guess with that workout I should be eating a lot more food. My diet does include some "naughty" stuff but the majority of the stuff is healthy. right now my macros are set to 40% carbs, 35% carbs and 25% fat.

dare2love81

I've been eating anywhere from 1500-1900 normally however I would not eat my exercise calories and then only be netting anywhere from 1200-1500. I did actually increase my workouts lately. Now my workouts include:
Monday- jog 5k and JM body revolution dvd
Tuesday- JM body revolution dvd
Wednesday- Jog 5k and JM body revolution cardio dvd
Thursday- JM body revolution dvd and zumba
Friday-JM body revolution dvd
Saturday- JM body revolution cardio dvd
Sunday- rest
I guess with that workout I should be eating a lot more food. My diet does include some "naughty" stuff but the majority of the stuff is healthy. right now my macros are set to 40% carbs, 35% carbs and 25% fat.

Just keep in mind that if you decide to follow the Fat 2 Fit calories...do NOT eat back exercise calories as they are already figured in to the calorie count they recommend. Unless for some reason you run a marathon or do some extremely intense workouts.

pnut80

i think im in the same boat...and i dont understand the calculators AT ALL! the TDEE is throwing me way off. ive been tryin to figure out why i am stalling out and im starting to think that im eating too few calories as well. i just posted a topic about my situation...i guess i should have read this first! :-)

dare2love81

i think im in the same boat...and i dont understand the calculators AT ALL! the TDEE is throwing me way off. ive been tryin to figure out why i am stalling out and im starting to think that im eating too few calories as well. i just posted a topic about my situation...i guess i should have read this first! :-)

All the calculators sure are confusing!! I needed something simple that would tell me how many calories to eat and this website did just that. Here's another forum that does a good job of explaining it all - and quotes from people who've followed this line of thinking and are successfully losing weight- not just me.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/586298-if-you-are-scared-to-increase-calories

Foodie711711

Thanks dare2love for all your help and thanks to the others who responded as well. Im now trying out 1950 calories which is apporximately 20% from my tdee. Hopefully over time it will work. Im definitely scared to see the initial increase on the scale though since I've worked so hard to lose the weight that has already come off. Wish me luck!

dare2love81

Good luck! And you might not see the scale go up...some people do, and some don't. I just wanted to warn you not to be alarmed if it does- it's only temporary.