1200cal/daily for 3 weeks and havent lost a SINGLE POUND

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cjgillespie
cjgillespie Posts: 37 Member
in Motivation and Support
what am I doing wrong?? I have had a few days that I fell of track big time (dont judge me). Had an awful day at work and dealt with it by eating candy and oreos kind of days....but for the most part I eat very smart, make sure to eat fruits and veggies. I never skip meals. I only drink water and the occasional diet soda and skim milk.....I walk my dog every day, I chase a toddler around at home. 90% of the time I stay UNDER my 1200 cal/ day goal. Why have I not lost any weight? I feel like GIVING UP.
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  • MuddyEquestrian
    MuddyEquestrian Posts: 366 Member
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    opening your diary would be a huge help for people to give you their advice! My advice is to up your calories. If your body thinks it's "starving" you won't lose weight. For some people if you drastically drop calories it will not help weight loss. Try upping your calories and see what happens.
  • Britt_Duffy
    Britt_Duffy Posts: 40 Member
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    i have seen it argued on here that 1200 (or less) cals every day causes your body to starve, so that when you do have a bad day (no judgment, we all do!) your body grabs all of that fat and carbs, and stores it away, because it thinks you are starving for the most part.

    No idea if that's true, maybe it is for some, maybe not. Maybe try taking in like 1350 cals/day instead? Might help stop you from eating oreos if you can eat more in general!
  • mensasu
    mensasu Posts: 355 Member
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    SInce your diary is locked I can only speculate

    1) Is your sodium content high? If so you could be holding a lot of water. Try drinking extra water to see if you can flush it. Also PMS can do this ;)
    2) They say we tend to overestimate our exercise and underestimate our calories. Are you sure about your portion sizes and thus your calorie count?
    3) How close to your goal are you? If you don't have much to lose you won't see it go that fast.
    4) Is your scale digital, or does it just have a dial? Mine scale is digital so I can see even a .1 increase or drop. So maybe you have dropped a fraction and just can't read it.

    Don't despair, if you keep it up it will work.
  • cjgillespie
    cjgillespie Posts: 37 Member
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    the 1200 calories is the number that this website generated for me. Im not sure how they come up with that. I will unlock my food diary (i thought it was) and hopefully that helps...

    and to answer the last question. Im NOWHERE near my goal. I am about 5'5 and 218 pounds. I would like to lose close to 100 lbs, and so far Ive lost NOT ONE POUND after doing this for 3 weeks. I am even weighing and measuring my food to be sure of portions.
  • Ready2BHealthyNFit
    Ready2BHealthyNFit Posts: 13
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    I took a look through your diary, going back just over a week. There are several days that you didn't log anything, or you didn't complete your entries.

    If I were you I would first start with logging everything, every day. That was a huge wake up call to me when I started.

    Next is how much you eat out. I understand the convenience of fast food, not to mention the taste but those meals pack so much sodium, fat, and calories. If you cut down to eating out only 1 day a week that will help.

    Last is that you might try to consume 1300 calories a day. When I was eating just 1200 a day I wasn't dropping weight unless I was working out a lot at the same time, plus I was super moody! I bumped myslef up to 1400 calories a day and workout every other day and am losing weight. Slowly but surely. Granted, I know I don't have a lot to lose, so it will be slower for me.

    I'm no expert, but there is my 2 cents... I hope it helps.
  • NJBeth
    NJBeth Posts: 3
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    You said you had a couple of days that you fell off track big time. Were those days within the three weeks you are asking about? If you fell off track in a big way maybe it cancelled out your on track days and that is why you didn't lose any weight.

    Track everything and weigh/measure your food to make sure you are accurate. Maybe you are ingesting more calories than you think. Good luck to you.
  • ShadowChaser16
    ShadowChaser16 Posts: 40
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    YOU ARE EATING TOO LITTLE.

    I know because I had the same problem! I hadn't lost any weight for 2 months after losing around 10 pounds before on 1200! Bump up your calories to 1500-1800 and you WILL start losing again.
  • LaSutopia
    LaSutopia Posts: 1,195 Member
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    YOU ARE EATING TOO LITTLE.

    I know because I had the same problem! I hadn't lost any weight for 2 months after losing around 10 pounds before on 1200! Bump up your calories to 1500-1800 and you WILL start losing again.


    THIS! I know from experience as well....just TRY upping your cals for 2 weeks! Just give it 2 weeks and you will see. You don't have to be scared of gaining cause you are still in deficit if you up it by 200 cals....just trust us that have been here over a year and try it
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
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    i have seen it argued on here that 1200 (or less) cals every day causes your body to starve, so that when you do have a bad day (no judgment, we all do!) your body grabs all of that fat and carbs, and stores it away, because it thinks you are starving for the most part.

    No idea if that's true, maybe it is for some, maybe not. Maybe try taking in like 1350 cals/day instead? Might help stop you from eating oreos if you can eat more in general!

    Not true, just people wanting you to eat more cause they think you are starving yourself.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    probably ought to eat more.
  • HealthyMe46
    HealthyMe46 Posts: 226 Member
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    You might also want to improve your breakfast choices. Make sure you include protein and fiber along with your carbs.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    damn girl.. 5'5 218 and only eating 1200?!? When I was that weight (i'm also 5'5) i was eating almost twice that and losing weight and most important losing fat. why eat so little when you dont need to and when more than likely once you reach your goal you'll have a hellacious time with maintenance.

    anyway beyond that, it sometimes takes a few weeks for you to start losing weight when you start something new. just give a few weeks, take your measurements and dont freak out about the scale
  • Sierra_419
    Sierra_419 Posts: 201 Member
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    your problem is that u are eating BELOW 1200... 1200 calories is not even enough for your organs to function properly.
    id suggest finding out your BMR .. then your TDEE ... then eat at LEAST your BMR but less than TDEE
    : )
    id know. i tried the whole 1200 calorie thing.. hard to keep up.. and i eventually hit a plateau .
    im currently eating around 1600+ calories a day and the weight is coming off every week.
  • Angel1066
    Angel1066 Posts: 816 Member
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    Are you working out and then eating back your calories burned. I know a lot of people on here choose not to but i was 235lbs and it worked for me.
  • KeriW626
    KeriW626 Posts: 430
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    Staying under 1200 calories, will put your body in starvation mode. You will never lose weight. Try keeping it over 1200, Even if its 1201. I dont know why the magical number for starvation mode is 1200, but it seems too be, Seems that your body needs at least 1200 just to maintain, More if you are sick. Personally I am eating 1200 - 1400. the 1200 is hard to attain due to life long eating disorder. and the 1400 is what my dr. recommended. Good luck. Do not give up.
  • aggiegrl2014
    aggiegrl2014 Posts: 1
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    i am on the same cal/day as you, and i realize i am having a hard time eating just 1200 cals. so i work out a bit more and then i can eat more and make sure to eat food that will fill you up with low cals like veggies of course but make them interesting like boil them and add seasonings, seriously ranch is not that bad for you if you use it in moderation but what ever will get you to eat your veggies. baked chicken is filling and small portion of pasta. also my big problem i realized is that i was eating the correct amount but my sugar was sky high!!!! sometimes the fruit you eat or the snack bars that are suppose to be good for you really arent!! so i would take a look at that. and the last thing is i was hoping to loose weight by just walking my dogs and casually walk on the tread mill, but i realized that it doesnt exactly work that way, after a work out you know you did well if you look terrible and are drenched in sweat! lol and one more thing that keeps me pumped i sign onto netflix or abc.com and watch extreme make over weight loss edition and chris powell is amazing and such a genuine person! he also gives work out tips and nutrition tips and dont forget to work out during the breaks or comercials! in this show you will really see how to push yourself and work out and the stories of how powerful these people become is amazing and very inspiring!
  • JBott84
    JBott84 Posts: 268 Member
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    From the last week of your diary, I don't see any exercise logged, in short...exercise more and eat back your burned calories - so your net calories are at least 1200. exercise is a great help in losing weight not JUST dieting...it really is a lifestyle change....I am sure there is more I could say but I have a child literally hanging on me as I try to type...
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    oh yeah the other really big reason why you dont want to eat so far below your calories (and sorry the starvation mode thing is an illogical idea. if it were true then please explain why people who actually ARE starving look skinny as heck?!) is that your body will catabolize your lean body mass.

    when you lose weight, you want to make sure as much of it as possible comes from FAT and not from muscle. the best way to do that is a balanced diet not too far below your maintenance combined with exercise involving weight training
  • lara1331
    lara1331 Posts: 15
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    I think you should also pay attention to the kinds of food you're eating. Even though you're staying under your calorie goal for some days, your fat levels are equal to or higher than they should be. Saturated fat is a lot harder to budge than calories and so much processed food will be harder to work off than fresh food. Try more vegetables and home cooked food and I think you'll see a difference.
  • kittyhasclaws
    kittyhasclaws Posts: 446 Member
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    I'm 5'5", and started at 204.4. I'm eating 1800-2000 cals a day and though I didn't lose weight this week, I lost 1.5" off my belly from two weeks ago. Try eating more. You might lose weight by starving yourself, but the likelihood of it staying off is slim. MFP is stupid with giving people the "1200 calorie" thing. It's not enough if you're chasing a toddler (I do that too, mine just turned two).

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