What am I doing wrong?

skatesynchro

I'm thoroughly confused and in all honesty, I'm about to give up. I started back to the gym full time after being out of commission for 9 months with a hip injury. I'm been faithfully using my fitness pal to record my calories and exercise. I'm beyond frustrated with the scale that just won't move!! I've tried everything (decreasing my calories, increasing my workouts, 2 a day workouts, etc.) and NOTHING!! I know that its not all about the number on the scale, but my clothes aren't any looser and my body doesn't look or feel any different. So what am I doing wrong?

A typical day for me looks like: (I try to stay at about 1200 calories a day)

Breakfast - 250-300 calories
AM snack - 100-150 calories
Lunch - 300-400 calories
PM snack - 100-150 calories
Dinner - 300-400 calories

Cardio x 3-4 days a week for at least 60 minutes. I usually burn between 600-800 calories a session. On weekends, I usually double up workouts and burn at least 1,000 calories.

Am I workout out too much and not eating enough? Am I working out too little and eating to much? What gives?!? I currently weigh 175 (and that includes the 2 that the scale says I gained between yesterday and today ). I'd be really happy if I could get to and stay at 165, but at this rate, I'm about ready to cry and forget about it.

Uhhhhh! Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading this far

~ Frustrated with weightloss

geekyjock76

Its a combination of both - your overall deficit is too great. You are only eating 1200 which is likely 800-1000 calories less than your predicted TDEE. On top of that you are burning a whopping 1000 calories from exercise? That means you are netting 200 a day. The way MFP works is that the 1200 calories recommended is your net - not gross.

orishp

Yes, eat back your calories. Up your protein and lower your carbs.

Also, be patient, sometimes it takes a while for your body to adjust to what you are doing.

geekyjock76

I suggest that you read these three articles by Lyle Mcdonald:

How to Estimate Maintenance Caloric Intake – Q&A
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

Setting the Deficit – Small, Moderate or Large
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/setting-the-deficit-small-moderate-or-large.html

Why Big Caloric Deficits and Lots of Activity Can Hurt Fat Loss
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html