I feel like throwing in the towel! HELP!!

skinnygurl02

OK I feel like throwing in the towel. I have been on a very strict 1200 calorie diet since feb.. Lost 26lbs then about 7-8 weeks ago it stopped and I keep gaining and losing the same couple of pounds. This past weekend I just lost my will power and ate alot. Now I feel like I can't quit eating. How can I get back with it? Is my calorie intake to low? Help!!

tomwetsel

You did not say anything about your exercise. Start walking.

phinphanbill26

You had a great start. That's typical. You have a low calorie target (1200), so you may not be eating enough to cause your weight to continue decreasing, depending on how much you exercise. That's also typical.

I know it sounds couter-intuitive, but you need to eat in order to lose weight.

Also, your body occasionally needs to be treated, once a week or so. So don't beat yourself up over it!

Embera

it might be try to re evaluate your cal goal re do your bmr and see what it says and yes you might need to up your cals because u might be in starvation mmode and storing everything aka the 1-2 lb rolercoster

lappyd425

Eat more!! No lie. I had given up on my goal weight ( was 2lbs away forever ). Upped my calories from 1200 to 1560 and boom I lost those 2lbs in the first week of doing it! I still workout 30-60 minutes a day but eating more did it for me!! Don't give up though!! We are here for you!!!

champcpa

Don't throw in the towel! Sounds like you were doing awesome, take a short rest and get back at it, good luck!

therealangd

Most people can not sustain a 1200 calorie diet for very long. It's not healthy for most people to try and lose 2lbs per week. Set MFP to lose 1lb per week and eat back your exercise calories. That is more sustainable in the long run.

AnninStPaul

Most people can not sustain a 1200 calorie diet for very long. It's not healthy for most people to try and lose 2lbs per week. Set MFP to lose 1lb per week and eat back your exercise calories. That is more sustainable in the long run.

^^THIS.

I upped my calories, got rid of the trapped feeling, and the weight loss resumed.

phoebe2488

Check out the "Eat More to Lose More" group. Lots of good info. and might be just what you need. :-)

kathyms13

can i suggest you open your diary, it helps people to give advice.

bubbles1212

DON"T DO IT!!!! You can do this!! You do need to eat more. Try increasing your cals by 100-200 starting off, then gradually increase it more until you rfind what is right for you. I did it and I am starting to lose again.. Also, I did not see anything about exercise. Maybe add that with your increased cals. Check out: eat more to weigh less. I love that group. It is what saved me when I wanted to quit!!

BigDaddyBRC

As much as we all want to help, we can only speculate as there is not enough information given. Additionally, your diary is closed which doesn't allow us to look for it.

If you'd like some honest suggestions, I say open it up, put out there your weekly routine. At the very least, FR me...and we can walk through the process.

jbella99

Check out the Group Eat more to Weigh Less. It saved my sanity

txbutterfly69

Try www.freedieting.com They give you numbers to "zig zag" your calories and a more realistic calorie intake. MFP gives you very low calories and I was stuck too when following a low calorie intake (gained some too). Now I eat more, splurge on my high calorie days and my weight is slowly coming down again, plus don't ever feel deprived.

Basically zig zig or calorie cycling is never eating the same amount of calories a day.

Trust me, been there done that...the "strict diet" and it never worked for me. Always wind up gaining. The zig zag method helps me live a more realistic lifestyle. I have hypothyroidism and it makes weight loss hard, but this is working. Not loosing weight overnight, but it's coming off. Slowly but surely. :-)

ps exercise a little everyday. I make it a goal to at least walk my dog if not anything else on a day.

pearceda

It may be you need to change your exercise routine. I am in the same boat, I am just moving around my weight point right now. I gain a couple pounds and then lose them, or lose a couple and then gain them back. I also have been doing a lot of travel lately so that hasn't helped. I am doing a lot of cardio, and have decided to add some weight training back into my program. Sometimes you just need a change to get your body to jump start the weight loss again.

Prettylittlelotus

A person can maintain 1200 calories for a short amount of time before their body will start to feel deprived. Try upping your calories to at least your BMR and add in some strength training and/or interval cardio. I know when I was eating 1200 calories, I was cranky, fatigued, and just didn't feel satisfied.

aNToK25

Every 3 to 4 days, plan yourself a cheat meal or time period (I usually use 4-5 hours) where you let yourself eat a higher than normal amount of carbs and calories and can enjoy some of the goodies you don't usually allow yourself. Helps reset your metabolism as well as give you something to look forward to when you feel like eating everything in sight. Plan out your cheats and don't go nuts on them and it can do wonders for your sanity as well as your fat loss.

keenabunny

When my husband left for basic training I thought to my self I am not going to let him come home to a fat wife. I limited myself on almost everything.... I did drop 20 lbs..... Then the deprivation started and I started overeating. I gained back 10 of the 20 I lost I've since list 6 of the 10 I gained from not depriving myself. I east alot, i'm small portions. You don't have to deprive yourself but you do need to maintain some kind of control of what you are putting in you're mouth. if your eating alt maybe try balding what your eating.

focus4fitness

Are you exercising?

auntiebabs

Take a deep breath and know....
The good news is you don't have to be perfect, you just have to be better.

Here's how I started:

1) tracking for a couple of weeks before I worried about losing.
(although seeing what I was eating I couldn't help but rein back a bit)

2) seeing where I could make small changes on things that weren't that important to me.
(Don't even think of taking chocolate out of my diet!!!)
--Reducing quantities where I won't notice it so much
--Swapping out things instead of eliminating them.

3) Look at my diary and started adding foods that had positive healthy effects specifically for the health issue in my family.
I found most of the things I "should" add were really yummy too! salmon, avocado, oatmeal, mango, red grapes....
(Sort of think of food as medicine to deal with family history of various health issue oatmeal is good for heart health, mango and red grapes lower cholesterol, tumeric and cinnamon good for arthritis)

4) every couple of weeks I see where I can make another couple of small changes.
If you completely revamp your diet, it's way easy to revert to old ways in times of stress. (and who doesn't have stress?)
If you make a series of small changes, food still offers you some sense of comfort.
sort of a comfort continuum, and after a while the first small changes will seem comforting in themselves.
You don't have to be perfect you just have to do better.

5) also rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me. I was happier once I gave myself a range:

ROCK BOTTOM: 1200 cal
TARGET: MFP Calories for lose 1 lb a week (when that hit 1200 I changed to lose 1/2 lb per week)
TOP OF RANGE: Maintain Calories for my GOAL Weight.

---

(SAFETY VALVE: Maintain Calories for CURRENT Weight - remember to keep updating this number as you lose)

---

I naturally tended to do 2-4 days between 1200-1300 cal then a day at about 1500-1600 cal then back to the 1200-1300 cal. (No hard science here, but I credit the zig-zagging calories with preventing plateaus.)

--As long as I stayed under the top of my range I should continue to lose, even if it is at a slower rate.
--As long as I don't go past my safety valve I shouldn't gain.

BUT... The closer you get to your goal the smaller your range. (frustrating)


6) I only worry about it 1 lb at a time.
Once I found ways to lessen the stress, I found it way easier to focus on the process and let the results follow. (It's what worked for me some people need the stress to get them motivated. Me I get scared and overwhelmed and don't see the big goal as achievable. )

Food is not the enemy.

Oddly enough on my journey here I've reduced guilt over food.
I have the occasional treat and I fully enjoy it with no guilt involved.
The thing is since I'm not eating crap all the time, now the occasional treat is just that a TREAT it's special and I enjoy it so much more than when I was unconsciously shovel junk food into my face.

I figure if I've got a good plan that I can actually maintain I can keep this off for a long time to come, without feeling deprived.

Good Luck

ChelseaM18

It's okay to feel this frustrated! I know exactly how you feel.

But just think, when you throw in the towel you ARE going to want to lose the weight you gained again. Say if you gain seven pounds by giving up, think of how hard it will be to lose that again when you decide to get back on track.

Have a cheat day and treat yourself then get right back on track maybe even add a couple hundred calories and try a new form of exercise, you'll get into a new routine then when you get frustrated with that one, change it again!

Good Luck girly

CherylGardner

I was in your shoes in February. I had a month-long plateau... and I felt much the same way you are feeling.

So I dialed things back a little -- started walking instead of doing crazy elliptical workouts; started eating more of my exercise calories; shook up my slate of meals and foods that I was eating over and over and most importantly, tried to stop stressing.

I didn't want to quit, but I figured I would take it easier -- not go crazy, but not kill myself anymore either... and BAM, the weight loss kicked back in. If you are eating a lot of the same foods and doing a lot of the same exercises, then maybe try to shake things up a little... and don't stress over it. I think that's a key factor.

Whatever you do, don't "quit"! Honestly, you'll just feel worse if you start gaining (and not losing) those little pounds... If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll swing back around and feel better for staying true!

Hang in there!!!

SailingMike

Stop trying to loose weight and just focus on being healthy. Don't weigh yourself every day, just once a week. Your body hit a set point and needs time to settle in. It thinks there is a famine in the land and is trying to hold on to that fat to protect you. just relax and keep exercising and eating HEALTHY.

mishkat

I have the same issue, been stuck on my last 1-2 lbs to my goal. I used to be less strict about calories a few months ago and was losing weight. Maybe I do need to do a bit of calorie cycling or up my calories again a bit (im at 1200).

So I feel your pain, but do keep up. Try a few different things like workouts when you can (even if just 20 minutes) and change your calorie intake for a few weeks and see how you feel.

Juliejustsaying

Personally, I don't diet. I changed my eating habits...I watch what I eat, but I do eat chocolate, or in today's case donuts. It is important not to restrict yourself too much. Plan ahead. But for godssake don't give up now. Yeah it sucks when the scales or the measuring tape don't move..but your body is still working on things. It takes breaks, you treat yourself occassionally...**** happens.

Be kind to yourself. Eat a treat, exercise everyday, something. And eat lots and lots of green and orange stuff.

heatherterp

do you eat a good variety of foods? Are you getting enough fiber? Is your exercise the same day in day out? you need to change things up with eating and exercise. Keep it interesting. try a new food a week, try a new work out program. Back in Dec I did a 30 day program on about.com.. it was great maybe you should check it out. http://exercise.about.com/c/ec/26.htm i think i lost 9 pounds. Good luck!

BarnDogBob

Seems like the halfway point is toughest. Your body will adapt to the changes you make but it does it slowly, that's why the weight came off fast at first. Once your body figured out what you were doing (1200 calories) it adjusted to expect it. I think our bodies are conditioned to reacting to quick weight loss as an attack and will defend itself.

So now's the tricky part, and most all of us go through this. the dreaded Plateau.

Some people have had success with this method: Trick your body. Don't get into a rhythm. One day eat up another eat down. Change up your type and time of exercise. Change the types of foods you eat.

Point is, keep your body guessing and look to a weekly intake / output instead of a daily one.

Also, if it feels like a diet and you have to struggle to keep it up, how are you going to live this way once you reach your goal? Find a balance to get fit. Getting "fit" does not mean reaching a weight goal, it's what you do while getting to the weight goal.

Don't sweat the scale. Enjoy the journey.

mishkat

OK I feel like throwing in the towel. I have been on a very strict 1200 calorie diet since feb.. Lost 26lbs then about 7-8 weeks ago it stopped and I keep gaining and losing the same couple of pounds. This past weekend I just lost my will power and ate alot. Now I feel like I can't quit eating. How can I get back with it? Is my calorie intake to low? Help!!

Willpower and diet? You're doing it incorrectly. You're not eating enough, minimum a person should eat is bodyweight * 10 to lose weight, most people eat about bodyweight * 12 to lose weight.

If I did my body weight *10 that would only give me an extra 10 calories from my current 1200. XD

dansls1

Don't call it a diet, you are making healthier eating choices. That means if you have one bad meal, you just made a little less healthy choice rather than cheating on a diet. I'm not sure if you are eating enough - but either way you should look at it as a lifestyle change, not a diet and you will do better!

carrollel

DONT LOSE HOPE!!!

Check out this thread from yesterday....search for TOPIC: TIRED..PLATEAUD...SCALE NOT MOVING !!!FOUND MY ANSWER !!!!

There were a lot of people who vouched for it and a lot of people commented. Keep trying new things until you find what works for you!

Good Luck.

btb079

I was there! As recent as last week. I was eating according to MFP and had lost 20 lbs no problem, then a 6 week plateau. After a ton of reading, tears and frustration I looked at the group Eat More to Weigh Less. I upped my calories from 1300 to 1700 and in the first week (this week) I lost 2.2 lbs. FINALLY!!! give it a try for a few weeks, and yes you may see an initial increase, but you need to fuel your body!