Really getting irritated... No weight change in weeks...

2

Replies

  • Moxie42
    Moxie42 Posts: 1,400 Member
    I'm in the same situation so I don't have any "This WILL work!" advice BUT- what I have found is that what worked for me at first no longer works. I lost 24 lbs by simply eating better...I didn't avoid certain foods and didn't work out. That's not enough anymore. Even adding exercise didn't make much difference. To see changes again, I need to make more changes myself, so now I'm trying to eat clean, avoid alcohol, lower my carbs, up my protein, and engage in both cardio AND strength. I know I can't avoid everything forever, but I'm hoping to jumpstart the loss and learn healthier habits so I can be on a better path in the long run.

    My point is- I agree that opening your diary may help. It certainly can't hurt and you might as well try everything you can before giving up. MANY people have been in your position but eventually overcame it by using "trial and error" instead of giving up. You'll need to make changes- it just might take some time, advice, and experimentation before you know what changes will work.
  • Miche11e5
    Miche11e5 Posts: 114 Member
    If you calculate your TDEE and reduce by 20% you do not eat your exercise calories back because they are factored in the TDEE. If you use MFPs (or some other "base") number and add your exercise calories, you eat them back.

    I think that the TDEE method works well for people who either don't exercise or who exercise regularly and have weekly exercise burns that are pretty consistent because with TDEE there is a base calorie amount and then your weekly exercise calories are averaged over the 7 days and added to the base.

    For example, your base (no activity) TDEE is 1300 but over the course of a week you exercise 5 times, burning 400 calories each time (2,000 calories total). 2000/7=285 + 1300 = 1585 TDEE.
  • Angie_1991
    Angie_1991 Posts: 447 Member
    Let's see the diary.
  • squirmmonster
    squirmmonster Posts: 98 Member
    A lot of people are over-estimating the importance of eating enough. "Starvation mode" is a myth, in a sense. It's actually true, that when you're starving to death, your body gets more efficient at holding onto stuff, but dieters are NOT by ANY MEANS starving. This happens only with true starvation... not with a diet. That is not a popular thing to say around here, but it's true. I feel that some people are probably losing more weight when they eat more, out of the fact that they're not run down. Therefore, they get more impact out of their workouts (it's been studied- people who have eaten within an hour or two of a workout burn way more calories), and because eating a little bit more reduces the inclination to break the diet in the first place. I KNOW that second one is a factor for me, 1000%. A week's worth of deficit can easily be blown away by one big binge day, if you are losing by DIET ONLY. You have to find your place where you can keep your sanity with food, long term.

    I would say that if you are eyeballing your portions, it's time to get an ounce scale and some measuring cups. I find it hard to believe that you're 214 lbs while eating less than 2000 a day, as a man. Don't let these people bully you into thinking you're "not eating enough". If you are not having energy issues, and are not eating junk food, it's probably that you're under-reporting your food intake. As for macros, you may be eating too much protein. That's actually a bad thing, since you're not working out, because your body will break down extra protein to store as fat, just the same way it breaks down and stores extra sugar as fat. That's something low carb diets often fail to tell you.
  • Aquarian
    Aquarian Posts: 1,094 Member
    possible causes

    1. you are eating back your work out calories and taking MFP burn rates as a guide - they are about 30% over stating burn rates hence eating 30% more than you really burnt

    2. you are not weighing and measuring everything - you will be amazed at how bad we are a guess what something weighs.....

    This.
  • AReasor
    AReasor Posts: 355 Member
    I am a 5ft 1 female, 143lbs. and my calorie goal is higher than yours AND I am pretty much sedentary. You need to fuel your body. Eat more.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    I am 46, 5'10" and eat over 2000 calories and lose weight. I think you need to re-evaluate your eating. 1500 is generally accepted as the minimum needed for a male to receive the nutrition needed for the day. You don't have to eat at a huge calorie deficit.

    Second, measure your food portions carefully with a kitchen scale and measuring cups and spoons. Don't estimate or eyeball.
  • jessc4343
    jessc4343 Posts: 214 Member
    bump; great stuff here.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,331 Member
    sorry i'm pretty new to all this and been looking at my tdee calculator which says i need 2431 cals a day ( i exercise about 6-7 times a week)....so that would mean i should eat about 1900 cals per day? mfp says 1200 and then you eat your cals back.....i don't get to eat them back always when i exercise so do you change the goal in mfp and ignore exercise cals - not eat them back? sorry this is all a learning curve....thanks :bigsmile:

    If you work from TDEE including exercise to create your deficit you do not eat back exercise calories as they are already included. MFP does not include them which is why people should eat them back. I personally prefer including them, and only did not when due to a knee injury exercise was less than regular. My knee has been doing well, so I have gone back to TDEE - 15%.
  • jalara
    jalara Posts: 2,599 Member
    You're getting some great advice here, so I'm not going to step on it. But I just wanted to say:
    a) Nice damn car.
    b) I think it's great that even though you said you wouldn't, you did ask for help. That's awesome.
    c) Good luck!
  • squirmmonster
    squirmmonster Posts: 98 Member
    Also, let me clarify that I don't think you should be eating as little as 1400 calories a day. I just don't actually believe, by any stretch of the imagination, that you're actually eating 1400 right now. I think you THINK you're eating 1400.
  • BigBrewski
    BigBrewski Posts: 922 Member
    I told myself I wouldn't do this, but.... well I am...

    I've been stuck in the "two-teens" of my weight now for nearly 2 months. I was 219 for a LONG time, joined MFP and within a week lost 5 pounds. I've fluctuated between that weight - 214 - and 216 ever since. It's been another 4 weeks.

    I'm doing a combination low-carb, low-calorie diet. I'm avoiding heavy breads, but will occassionally have a tortilla shell or a hamburger bun, but never in excess.

    I've done PRETTY well staying in my 1,400 calorie range. Every once in a while I go over when the wife craves a dinner out or family comes to visit, and that's always when I pick up a pound or two. I can always lose it again, but can never seem to drop below 214.

    I exercise when I can, which isn't very often. I work two jobs as I'm preparing for our first child to be born. During the day I work a 9-hour stationary desk-job. In the evenings and weekends I work at an auto parts store, staying on my feet the entire time, lifting parts, puting batteries in cars, etc.

    When I have a free evening and I DON'T have a ton of work to do at the house, I'll either run on a treadmill or use our rowing machine. I try to lift weights at the office, I try to get up and move around, but sometimes I get swamped and aren't able to...

    Anyways, I can't figure out why I can't lose anymore weight. I've tried switching up exercises. I've tried eating more calories, I've tried eating less calories. I've been using GNC weight-loss supplements (Cinnamon, CLA, Fish Oils, Extra B vitamins, etc.) with no real evident changes.

    I haven't made my diary public because I don't think it's what I'm eating. I haven't changed my diet much since April and it's gotten me this far. I've just been cutting back on overall portions and things like cheese to drop my calories. Suffice to say it's been a lot of salads, meats, fish, and eggs.

    I'm this close to saying "F-it" and eating a big fat juicy McDonalds cheeseburger. I just don't care anymore - it's not worth the disappointment to me on top of everything else that's kicking my a&& on a daily basis.

    All I know is I've lost around 35 pounds, I still have 35 pounds to go, and at my current progress, I might get there before I'm dead...

    So, with all that information, discuss... Looking for REAL advice here, not just "you can do it."

    This has been my september except I don't have a wife. I have lost about 32lbs and have been floating around 214 for all of September. I dropped to 210 at one point but then had some vacation time and shot back up the scale today had me at 215. I lost the 30lbs eating around 1200-1400 calories but I admit I was tired at times and so in September I tried hard to up the calories to 1600 beacuse I knew I should be eating more beacause I burn about 3000 caloreis a day (I have a bodymedia fit to measure it) What I am doing to try and "fire" it up again is I am trying hard to eat 1600-1800 calories and will be making sure I drink lots of water daily. I changed up my lifting routine on Mon, Wed, Fri and I started the c25k for my cardio on Tue, Thur, Saturday. For me, I realized that I was just phoning in the excercise in September. I am hoping that the shake up will get me refocused and raise the intesnity some.

    Sorry I don't have any real answers but just wanted to let you know there are others of us out there in the same boat and the reality is just keep on keeping on.
  • marienaegele
    marienaegele Posts: 35 Member
    everytime i am stuck with my weight and there seems to be no weightloss at all (evethough i eat right and exercise right ) i start fasting (just water and unsweetend tea) for one to three days and when i start eating again its like my metabolism got a huge boost and i loose weight again. it has the good sideeffect of detoxing your body because theres no ''bad nutrition'' coming in and all the toxins that are left in your body from previous meals get flushed out by the big amount of liquid youre taking in instead of food :)

    hope this was helpfull :)
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    Without looking at your diary and the numbers, and blah blah blah, my guess is that you are underestimating your portion size.

    This.

    The idea to eat more is crazy. It's based on zero science. In fact, if you eat more - everything else being equal - you'll gain more.

    You may *think* you're eating 1400 calories, but you're not.

    --P
  • Colli78
    Colli78 Posts: 135
    I pretty much eat homemade dinners with fresh meats and vegetables. I don't really even do any frozen stuff except the occasional bag of vegetables. Nothing canned.

    I have seen some other sites that suggest I might need more calories. I've been trying to increase slowly, but my biggest fear is I'm still not getting enough exercise.

    I have no idea what a macro minimum is...

    Dude, am 5'3 and weigh 108 lbs and I eat 1700 cals a day plus my exercise calories back. You need to raise your calorie intake. I promise you will not gain weight but eating more.
    I was on 1200 per day for a long time and went no where, then I upped to 1400, then 1500 then 1600 and kept losing. I promise if teeny tiny me lost at 1600, then you will not gain eating that amount

    Go to this site and caculate your total daily energy expenditure, and yes, it is going to be much higher than you think it is going to be. After you get that number, subtract 500 from it and that should be how many calories you eat per day.

    I mean come on, its worth a try right? Its way better than saying eff it and going to McDonalds.

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    ^^^^ this ^^^^

    She is absolutely correct. In every post. Even those that are saying there is no way you can lose weight eating 2500 calories a day. I'm eating 2300 a day and losing weight after I bumped mine up from 1600. I simply wasn't eating enough.
  • campbellcjdm
    campbellcjdm Posts: 97
    :smile: Lots of good advice here .... MFP is great eh? Where else can you have 20 people tell you to eat more !! AWESOME
  • mbagradstudent
    mbagradstudent Posts: 29
    I've been stuck since I started this site. In 2011 I started grad school at night (work a full time desk job during the day)...and I gained 15lbs in my first year of grad school. I've been trying to lose 10lbs for months now. I eat healthy. I work out 6 days a weeks. And still I weigh 130lbs. On a good day maybe I lose a lb but the next time i weigh myself it's back to 130. My clothes are tight. And I just don't feel good about myself at this size. I'm getting tired of myfitnesspal saying I should weigh 125lbs in 5 weeks when 5 weeks later I weigh exactly the same.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Try shocking your system:
    b'fast 1 apple
    lunch 1 apple
    mid afternoon snack 1 apple
    dinner 4 oz lean steak (filet or sirloin)

    tons of water

    Uh, no.

    Everyone telling you to eat more... that's good advice.
  • 4S3v3N4
    4S3v3N4 Posts: 1
    There is a LOT of great advice here and as a newbie to MFP, I cant personally advise you on the best choices to make. My 2cents here would be to point you to the following two articles.

    http://www.reshapethenation.com/blog/comments/breaking_through_the_plateau/

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/weight-loss-plateau/#axzz28AVBUb7x

    These are nice, quick and informative reads from two sources that I hold high regard for because following their principles have yielded me some good results thus far.

    Two fairly different schools of thought "carb cycling vs. primal" but they seem to be a close fit to how you say you eat.

    I really hope this helps and best of luck breaking that plateau.
  • Unknown
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  • LivingInPuglia
    LivingInPuglia Posts: 122 Member
    The concept of not eating enough is really scary to me ...... I'm so afraid of eating too much ... but the reality is it works. I've started to eat more, better balanced meals .... more than I have eaten in years and the weight is coming off.

    I agree with others 1400 calories for you sounds too low ..... follow all the useful info and up your food consumption to a decent level.

    I'm not an expert but, contrary to my fears, it is working for me
  • TrishBH
    TrishBH Posts: 16 Member
    Bump
  • Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim
    Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim Posts: 267 Member
    bump
  • careyannal
    careyannal Posts: 161
    You need to up your calories, 1400 is what I eat and I'm female
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Wow... I've got some reading to do...

    I'll take a look at some of these sites and come up with a plan. The truth is that I DID lose weight without counting pretty much anything at all - just being smarter with what I ate, cutting out sweets and beer (my sweet, precious beer...) and just trying to move around more. When I joined MFP and started counting - and reducing - my calories, I lost weight quickly but not for very long... So maybe I need to slowly work myself back up to where I was (which frankly wouldn't be hard) and see what happens. I guess the worse that could happen is I go back to being stuck at 219. :-)

    BUT, soon after I made this post my employer had a company-wide meeting and laid off a ton of people. Then it told us that we were all taking pay cuts... SO I kinda have some new priorities right now!

    Thanks for the responses, friend requests and private messages. I'm processing right now, and I'll get back to ya.

    Jeff
  • LivingInPuglia
    LivingInPuglia Posts: 122 Member
    Wow... I've got some reading to do...

    I'll take a look at some of these sites and come up with a plan. The truth is that I DID lose weight without counting pretty much anything at all - just being smarter with what I ate, cutting out sweets and beer (my sweet, precious beer...) and just trying to move around more. When I joined MFP and started counting - and reducing - my calories, I lost weight quickly but not for very long... So maybe I need to slowly work myself back up to where I was (which frankly wouldn't be hard) and see what happens. I guess the worse that could happen is I go back to being stuck at 219. :-)

    BUT, soon after I made this post my employer had a company-wide meeting and laid off a ton of people. Then it told us that we were all taking pay cuts... SO I kinda have some new priorities right now!

    Thanks for the responses, friend requests and private messages. I'm processing right now, and I'll get back to ya.

    Jeff

    Good luck with everything Jeff .... don't let things get you down too much
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Just thought I'd revive this thread with an update.

    I change my MFP goals from 2 pounds a week to 1 pound, and it added 500 calories to my daily intake - about 1900. I started aiming for that and was surprised to see myself quickly fall back to the 214 range. It hovered there for a little bit, so I started aiming for 1700 calories, and the weight has begun falling nicely. Down to 211.8 this morning!!!

    I REALLY want to hit 199 before Christmas...

    I just wanted to say thanks for the advice and support.
  • ejha77
    ejha77 Posts: 63
    Well done! And you get to eat more, you lucky thing.
  • quiltingducky
    quiltingducky Posts: 103 Member
    Just thought I'd revive this thread with an update.

    I change my MFP goals from 2 pounds a week to 1 pound, and it added 500 calories to my daily intake - about 1900. I started aiming for that and was surprised to see myself quickly fall back to the 214 range. It hovered there for a little bit, so I started aiming for 1700 calories, and the weight has begun falling nicely. Down to 211.8 this morning!!!

    I REALLY want to hit 199 before Christmas...

    I just wanted to say thanks for the advice and support.

    I'm so happy for you!! It does sound kind of scary when everyone tells you that you have to eat more to lose weight, but it seems to have worked for so many. Glad you took the chance :)
  • TheViperMan
    TheViperMan Posts: 235 Member
    Another half-pound gone this morning! I'm really starting to enjoy mirrors lately... :)

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