Need advice. Am I doing something wrong?

jezebellela

Hi everyone,

I recently joined, because I gained about 15 lbs after I broke my foot. I am small framed, 5'3-5'4 and currently weigh 125lbs. Before my injury I weighed anywhere from 105-110 lbs. I started to notice a difference when my clothes started ripping after I put them on! I would really like to get back to weighing what I weighed prior to feel comfortable in my own skin.

When I put my goal weight into the program it recommended I lose 1lb a week. I would be more than happy with this, but so far I'm not even close. It's been more than a week since I started and my weigh in today showed that I had lost only 0.6 lbs, even though last week it was showing more than a pound. I'm confused. I upped my exercise to 4x a week, am consistently under my calorie count and still not seeing results. I consume about 1000-1200 calories a day and work out for 30 mins on the elliptical 3-4 X a week.

Please let me know if you know something I could be doing to get better results. Thanks in advance! I would hate to keep doing this and realize so far down the line that I am doing something wrong.

hipsdontlie1

Just give it some time.. Patience is key. "A lot of people give up when progress is slow, without knowing that small progress, is progress." Just keep at it and it will happen!!

HealthyGinny

Could it be that you're not eating enough? I know many people here are divided between "starvation mode is a myth" and "only 1200 cal a day is ridiculous" and I can't pretend to really know what I'm talking about but I can just tell you that lately I've been hitting a plateau because I was eating 1200 cal a day and not eating back my exercise calories and at first, it worked great but then, I couldn't lose at all. I realized I just wasn't eating enough! I've upped my cal goal and now I eat back at least half of my exercise calories and after a week, I started losing again!

I think 1000-1200 might be too low? Even more if you exercize but don't eat any exercize cal back.

Just my 2 cents

(Also, when mfp tells you 1lb a week; it's only a rough estilmate, it won't always be that!)

foleyshirley

You're already starting at a decent weight, and don't want to lose that much, so it will go slow. That's just the way it usually is. Pounds generally drop faster if you have a lot more to lose. 0.6 lbs is a good start.

Also, you are probably not eating enough, especially given your current weight.

Read this, and see if it helps. It should help you determine how many calories you should eat. It helped me.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

hipsdontlie1

Could it be that you're not eating enough? I know many people here are divided between "starvation mode is a myth" and "only 1200 cal a day is ridiculous" and I can't pretend to really know what I'm talking about but I can just tell you that lately I've been hitting a plateau because I was eating 1200 cal a day and not eating back my exercise calories and at first, it worked great but then, I couldn't lose at all. I realized I just wasn't eating enough! I've upped my cal goal and now I eat back at least half of my exercise calories and after a week, I started losing again!

I think 1000-1200 might be too low? Even more if you exercize but don't eat any exercize cal back.

Just my 2 cents

(Also, when mfp tells you 1lb a week; it's only a rough estilmate, it won't always be that!)

This^^ do it! That happened to me as well, increased my calories and lost, twice I did this!

jezebellela

Thank you for all your input! This is what I was afraid of. I will try to increase my calorie intake. The only thing I worry about now is that it will be in the form of chocolate! I cut out the junk food and that is why my calories are low.

jezebellela

Thanks foleyshirley. I will definitely check out that link. I appreciate all of your responses (vinini91 and maurammccarth)! I learned from all of them. Will keep you all posted!

deadpool10

Weigh your self in the mornings before you eat anything and after you pre that's your real weight. As for 1000-1200 cals is a bit to low especailly when you workout. Up it to 1500-1700 the very least.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I'd also say maybe reconsider your goal weight. Perhaps 105-110 is just not feasible anymore. It was rather on the light side in the first place. I'd say consider 110-115. A similar thing happened to me this summer and instead of striving to lose it all I've been working on embracing it. Women are supposed to have SOME fat and at your current size you're still rather thin I'm sure. Just a thought. Oh and certainly don't continue eating so little--you should be able to lose rather effortlessly on 1500 calories.

Sarah_Wins

EAT! 1000 cal/day is NOT ENOUGH!

mrincredible93

Anything less than 1200 calories a day can kick in starvation response by your body and if you are exercising and not eating back any portion of those burned calories then you are certainly in starvation. Our bodies have an automatic response to too few calories and too little water. If you have too little water, your body will retain what you do have fearing that it's not going to get more to sustain vital organ functions. Same with food...if you don't train your body to know that enough high quality food is coming in, it will automatically keep all the calories you give it in storage. A key question for you is are you having at least 1 bowel movement every single day? If not, your body has kicked into starvation retention. Drink enough water and your body won't store it. Eat enough food and your body won't store that either.
You can eventually push past the starvation and lose weight but that would be bad because the weight you will lose will be muscle (Think concentration camp).
It takes 21 days to establish a new routine with your body. Most people get discouraged and quit in less than 21 days. Eat more, drink more water and push past 21 days doing this. You will be rewarded with healthy, sustainable weight loss.
Oh, and you are proportionately very close to your goal weight anyway. Your healthy loss rate will be slower than a person 350lbs. who needs to lose 150.

FitForLife81

Yup EAT more!! I still lose at 1600-1700!!!

jezebellela

Thanks guys! I will definitely up the calorie content. As I stated it went down when I cut out the junk food I eat regularly. Is it ok if I eat junk food again? I eat pretty healthy, but that is mostly forced. I don't crave healthy food and could see myself having trouble adding calories that way. Also what should i increase the calories to? The site recommends 1200. Is that good or should i do more?

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Thanks guys! I will definitely up the calorie content. As I stated it went down when I cut out the junk food I eat regularly. Is it ok if I eat junk food again? I eat pretty healthy, but that is mostly forced. I don't crave healthy food and could see myself having trouble adding calories that way. Also what should i increase the calories to? The site recommends 1200. Is that good or should i do more?

It will only recommend 1200 calories if you set your weight loss per week too high. 1/2 pound is more than fast enough. Also, if you exercise log it and eat those calorie in addition to the calorie allotted without exercise. Yes, you can have "junk food"...I do all the time.

HealthyGinny

Thank you for all your input! This is what I was afraid of. I will try to increase my calorie intake. The only thing I worry about now is that it will be in the form of chocolate! I cut out the junk food and that is why my calories are low.

There are many healthy foods that you can eat to up your cal: a handful of almonds, avocado, banana, eggs, fresh figs, mixed nuts, etc. But some dark chocolate now and then won't hurt you either (moderation is the key)

angelinabarnes

i think the less u have to lose the slower it comes off..up ur exercise and water intake and have patience.. xxx

jezebellela

Thanks mrincredible9! That is very good advice. I upped my calories yesterday and am trying to up them even more, but I'm not sure what to get them to. The confusing thing is that when I am a little under my calorie count MFP tells me that if I keep doing the same thing I will lose 10 lbs in 5 wks. That is very encouraging so it's hard to not listen! The other thing is that I don't think I'm in starvation mode, because I have regular bowel movements everyday. I just want to figure out how many calories to consume. Is there some online calculator that can help me?

jezebellela

Also have you guys seen this?

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php

It says that 1lb of fat is 3500 calories and to lose a lb of fat a week you must have a calorie deficit of 500 each day. So does that mean I should be eating 3000 calories? That doesn't sound right.

jmoldmixon

There is a lot of misinformation out there. I would be careful with anything which suggests starvation as a viable option.

The article you mention looks at your diet from a calorie-reduction strategy. If you reduce your intake by 500 calories a day, you would burn off one pound of fat in seven days. I have found that this sort of logic is usually tragically flawed. There is much more to the human body than simple calories in and calories out. What you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how much you exercise, etc. all have an effect on weight loss/gain.

I have found that increasing my protein intake to 24 oz each day along with protein-based snacks two or three times a day is a good way to ramp up my metabolism. The weight fairly well melts away under these conditions, and I can usually enjoy a nice piece of dark chocolate every couple of days without hurting my weight loss. :-)

jezebellela

Hi,

I have been eating more as everyone suggested and I weighed myself this morning only to find that I gained all of the weight back. I gained back the 2 lbs that I lost when I was eating 100 -200 calories less. This is really discouraging.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

18 days, 200 calories more a day-- that's 3600 calories more than you were eating MAX--you're not gaining fat. I wouldn't cut back. Food has mass--more food = more mass.

nicleed

Hi,

I have been eating more as everyone suggested and I weighed myself this morning only to find that I gained all of the weight back. I gained back the 2 lbs that I lost when I was eating 100 -200 calories less. This is really discouraging.

Hi, unless you ate 7000 excess calories in that time, the extra weight IS NOT fat, likely water weight. Don't panic.

And what others have said - it's harder the less you have to lose, I'm on my last 10 pounds and it's TOUGH!

Aviva92

Are you sure that it really is set at 1 lb a week? My goal is also 1200 calories, but I think that it only said I would lose 0.6 lbs a week on that. If you go to "My Home" and then click on "goals" it tells you exactly what you're set to lose. Even if you click on 1 lb a week at the beginning, it might not ultimately give you that if you're a low weight already. Losing 0.6 lbs in a week sounds fine to me when you're already starting at 125 which is pretty low.

Aviva92

oops, just noticed that this thread is 3 months old. nevermind.