help!? eating 1200/day but no results!

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Replies

  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    Please open your diary, and make sure you are logging everything correctly.

    Provide more details on how long you have been maintaining your diet, etc. The more info the better.

    Three weeks is not a lot of time, and weight fluctuates. Try to avoid looking at the scale more than once per week. Take good measurements of yourself now, as well, as they are a better indicator of loss in my opinion. I had weeks were my weight stayed the same but I had to tighten my belt....

    Avoid pop suggestions that are based on little or no scientific research. You're definitely not in starvation mode, so long as the few details you have provided are correct.
  • rileamoyer
    rileamoyer Posts: 2,412 Member
    Can you open up your diary? Often the diary holds the key!

    This ^^^. Folks can really help you then. Also always drink at least the 8 cups of water. Walk all you can. Walking is what did it for me.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
    DEFINITELY eat your BMR, plus more if you're working out! I never believed anyone on that, but I'm in recovery for an eating disorder and have slowly been increasing my calories from 800/day-1600/day. I haven't lost weight, but my goals are to reduce body fat and increase muscle mass. I have maintained my size nicely, and my muscle definition is much more pronounced.
  • MrsODriscoll
    MrsODriscoll Posts: 127 Member
    I am in the same boat - am 5'1 and 159lbs. I have steadily gained weight over the past six months and no matter what I do I can't seem to shift it again. When I eat 1200, I stay the same or gain. When I eat more, I gain. I never seem to lose no matter what I do! Very frustrating!!
  • jfwarman
    jfwarman Posts: 6
    Open up your diary... You might be getting your calories the wrong way?!

    I'm not really allowed to exercise so I can do 30 mins walking a day, all of my weight loss is from pure, calorie controlled diet, no treats and no alcohol... I read about a lot of people stating this and that and then you look at what they are eating and their calories are coming from fat and not protein and good carbs.

    For all those in starvation mode on 800 calories good luck with losing any weight for a prolonged period... It will all go straight back on after you stop starving yourself.. You need calories to burn calories... Be patient and it will work...
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    I've now lost around 45 pounds in 4 months. It was actually quite easy (sorry). It didn't involve anything complex, or any detailed calculations, and it certainly didn't involve eating *more*.... I simply changed my diet. I ate three good meals a day, and avoided snacking. I exercised. After I joined MFP, I met my daily calorie goals religiously. And that was that.

    If you are logging your calories correctly (this is critical, no cheating and be thorough!) and meeting your daily goals, based on the MFP calculation, you will lose weight. Exercising will help a lot, too, and be sure to eat back those calories. But be forewarned that MFP seems to overestimate the calories you are losing from exercise, so be a bit conservative on how you log this.

    Most of all, be patient and stay the course.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member
    I don't understand how people can think that the BMR is a myth. Obviously your body needs energy to just exist! Your heart has to beat, your lungs have to inflate and deflate, you think and move even if you're not exercising, and that needs fuel. You wouldn't try to run a car with an empty gas tank.

    No website can calculate your personal fuel requirements, but you can work it out for yourself using sites like this as a guideline. Try eating a bit more for a couple of weeks (like 100 or 200 calories more each day) and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that you might gain a pound. If that happens, go back down again. There's no point following a rule that isn't working.

    No one's saying BMR is a myth. We're saying that 'overweight people need to eat above their BMR number' is a myth. Think about it. Research it. Our bodies don't have a timer on calories. They don't have to use today's food for today's lung activity. Our 'gas tank' is our entire store of body fat. If accessing that to fuel our bodies is dangerous, that means weight loss is dangerous.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    I don't understand how people can think that the BMR is a myth. Obviously your body needs energy to just exist! Your heart has to beat, your lungs have to inflate and deflate, you think and move even if you're not exercising, and that needs fuel. You wouldn't try to run a car with an empty gas tank.

    No website can calculate your personal fuel requirements, but you can work it out for yourself using sites like this as a guideline. Try eating a bit more for a couple of weeks (like 100 or 200 calories more each day) and see what happens. The worst that can happen is that you might gain a pound. If that happens, go back down again. There's no point following a rule that isn't working.

    No one's saying BMR is a myth. We're saying that 'overweight people need to eat above their BMR number' is a myth. Think about it. Research it. Our bodies don't have a timer on calories. They don't have to use today's food for today's lung activity. Our 'gas tank' is our entire store of body fat. If accessing that to fuel our bodies is dangerous, that means weight loss is dangerous.

    I think some of the previous posters did say it "is a myth", literally.
  • mcarter99
    mcarter99 Posts: 1,666 Member


    I think some of the previous posters did say it "is a myth", literally.

    I can't find anyone saying that BMR is a myth. Can you point it out?
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    Don't know if anyone has said it yet but I plugged your details into the BMR calculator on here and got....

    Your estimated BMR is: 1,429 calories/day*

    *BMR based on the Mifflin - St. Jeor equations. Please remember that even the best BMR calculators provide only a best guess and should be used as a guide only.

    That was using...
    Female
    160lbs
    24 years old
    5ft 2 inches

    So...why are you eating 1200? *confused*
  • lkpta
    lkpta Posts: 6
    Don't know if anyone has said it yet but I plugged your details into the BMR calculator on here and got....

    Your estimated BMR is: 1,429 calories/day*

    *BMR based on the Mifflin - St. Jeor equations. Please remember that even the best BMR calculators provide only a best guess and should be used as a guide only.

    That was using...
    Female
    160lbs
    24 years old
    5ft 2 inches

    So...why are you eating 1200? *confused*

    OOOOOK ladies and gentlemen, I see what all this BMR discussion is about now. I was thrown off by the whole "BMR is a myth" when obviously it isn't. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to carry out it's normal functions. You almost HAVE to eat below your BMR to lose weight unless you are doing VERY rigorous (sp?) exercise. If you want to lose weight without exercising, you can. It will be slower, you will burn fat and muscle (not just fat), and you will have to eat below your BMR. Weight loss is caused by a calorie defecit (sp?! LOL). So if your body needs for example, 1400 calories to sustain itself at the weight you are at, you have to consume LESS than your body "needs" to lose weight. SO, if our original posters BMR is actually 1429, and she is actually eating 1200, that's a 1603 calorie defecit in one week, assuming she does no exercise and is mostly sedentary. So that comes up to about half a pound of weight loss in a week (a pound is 3500). I know for some of you, all this is old news, BUT to our original poster (who this discussion is for in the first place, not to argue with eachother :) ) if this is the case, it would explain why you haven't really lost weight over the past 3 weeks. At this rate, it's going to take you around 3 weeks to lose a pound :( Sounds reeeeeallly slow and awful right?! Well, girl, I'm in the same boat. I have to work my butt off for every pound. I have to watch EVERY calorie. But I've added in 5-6 days of cardio and strength training, and I've lost 4.8 pounds in 3 weeks. Now, one last thought. If you start exercising heavily, you will find it almost impossible to stay with 1200 calories. You will feel weak, tired, and HUNGRY. So this is when you might be able to eat at or above your BMR and still lose weight. Because during exercise you will burn calories creating a larger calorie defecit, and it will improve your metabolism. I sure hope this make sense, because weight loss does NOT have to be difficult at all. But reading a lot of these posts make it sound that way. You just have to get into a nutrition/fitness routine that works for YOU (not anyone else!!!!) and stick with it. And sometimes that is trial and error :)
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
    Don't know if anyone has said it yet but I plugged your details into the BMR calculator on here and got....

    Your estimated BMR is: 1,429 calories/day*

    *BMR based on the Mifflin - St. Jeor equations. Please remember that even the best BMR calculators provide only a best guess and should be used as a guide only.

    That was using...
    Female
    160lbs
    24 years old
    5ft 2 inches

    So...why are you eating 1200? *confused*

    OOOOOK ladies and gentlemen, I see what all this BMR discussion is about now. I was thrown off by the whole "BMR is a myth" when obviously it isn't. Your BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to carry out it's normal functions. You almost HAVE to eat below your BMR to lose weight unless you are doing VERY rigorous (sp?) exercise. If you want to lose weight without exercising, you can. It will be slower, you will burn fat and muscle (not just fat), and you will have to eat below your BMR. Weight loss is caused by a calorie defecit (sp?! LOL). So if your body needs for example, 1400 calories to sustain itself at the weight you are at, you have to consume LESS than your body "needs" to lose weight. SO, if our original posters BMR is actually 1429, and she is actually eating 1200, that's a 1603 calorie defecit in one week, assuming she does no exercise and is mostly sedentary. So that comes up to about half a pound of weight loss in a week (a pound is 3500). I know for some of you, all this is old news, BUT to our original poster (who this discussion is for in the first place, not to argue with eachother :) ) if this is the case, it would explain why you haven't really lost weight over the past 3 weeks. At this rate, it's going to take you around 3 weeks to lose a pound :( Sounds reeeeeallly slow and awful right?! Well, girl, I'm in the same boat. I have to work my butt off for every pound. I have to watch EVERY calorie. But I've added in 5-6 days of cardio and strength training, and I've lost 4.8 pounds in 3 weeks. Now, one last thought. If you start exercising heavily, you will find it almost impossible to stay with 1200 calories. You will feel weak, tired, and HUNGRY. So this is when you might be able to eat at or above your BMR and still lose weight. Because during exercise you will burn calories creating a larger calorie defecit, and it will improve your metabolism. I sure hope this make sense, because weight loss does NOT have to be difficult at all. But reading a lot of these posts make it sound that way. You just have to get into a nutrition/fitness routine that works for YOU (not anyone else!!!!) and stick with it. And sometimes that is trial and error :)

    You are confusing BMR with TDEE.

    BMR is your basic matabloic rate, it's what your body would burn if you were in a coma.

    Then as soon as you get up in the morning, get out of bed, brush your teeth etc you burn more.

    Even a sedentary person would burn BMR x 1.2 daily, so eating at BMR would be a 20% defict.

    This may help explain it better.

    www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/512956-tdee-what-is-it-and-why-you-should-not-eat-below-your-bmr?

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