Need to help as what I'm doing is not really working

jesz124

My TDEE is including exercise calories of approx 250 per day

how did you calculate your TDEE? as 1600 when you're 5ft4 is very low to include exercise as well.

Were very similar stats and my TDEE is 1906. Are you sure you have worked it out right. I used http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

JAT74

It's definitely correct! I've done it on several calculators and AMR which is the same on Jillian Michaels recommendations. All results are very very similar. My BMR is only 1400 therefore to lose weight I HAVE TO eat less than that. Maybe things will change as I start to lose fat and re-take my measurements etc. but as it stands this is what I'm stuck with! Everyone is different and my body composition isn't in my favour!! My mum is taller than me at 5 foot 6.5 and she weighs aroudn 120 lbs. She looks skinny to those who don't know the reality but she's carrying a huge amount of fat. Guess that's where I get it from and there's not much you can do about genes except for trying to change things. I am trying to do more weight training in the hope that my metabolism will speed up and I'll start to lose fat too. Maybe then I'll be able to eat more but until that point I suppose I'll have to continue eating this way.

I will try eliminating but cutting out dairy is hard. Especially when I'm trying to eat high protein. I can normally manage 100g or so per day but I have to eat cottage cheese and other lower fat cheeses as well as meat, fish, eggs and of course protein shakes.

jesz124

You shouldn't eat below your BMR. Its a baseline number for what you need with no activity at all. Eating below BMR will not help you in the long run. You need to deduct about 20% from your TDEE for fat loss. Seriously try the scooby site. You say you've tried everything so you have nothing to lose by trying a new approach surely?

beachlover317

Not sure you need to "cut out" any specific foods. If you are not hungry and can't make it to your calorie goal, then you are probably eating a lot of low calorie foods. Try adding a few calorie dense foods (avocado, peanut butter, etc.) Smaller servings of calorie dense foods will help you meet your caloric needs without making you feel so overly full.

If you have tried eveything and you are still here and unsuccessful, you need to try something different. The advice to eat at your TDEE for 1 - 2 weeks and then make a cut is good advice. If you are wanting to lose weight fast? There are lots of unsustainging fads and junk diets to use. If you are doing this to get healthy? Do it the right way this time and you won't be posting all this again. Good luck.

JAT74

Ok I'll try the site you've recommended. I've tried to eat 1400 and I immediately start to gain again. When I was talking about cutting out foods I meant in order to eliminate possible food intolerances that's all. I usually eat everything but have been cutting down on carbs. I eat peanut butter almost daily and avocado quite often.

I think my metabolism is shot so that's why I can't eat my BMR or above.

beachlover317

Ok I'll try the site you've recommended. I've tried to eat 1400 and I immediately start to gain again. When I was talking about cutting out foods I meant in order to eliminate possible food intolerances that's all. I usually eat everything but have been cutting down on carbs. I eat peanut butter almost daily and avocado quite often.

I think my metabolism is shot so that's why I can't eat my BMR or above.

How do you think you will help your metabolism by continuing to eat the way you are? Are you planning to eat 1400 cals a day for the rest of your life? You look young and you don't have much to lose. Why not take the time to work on repairing your body so that it operates optimally? All of us know what to do to make ourselves healthy. We have to eat to fuel what our body needs, every day.

If your metabolism is "shot" as you say - and you can't eat above or at your BMR - you need an appointment with your doctor.

ApexLeader

2 weeks isn't a very large sample. keep at it for a while and then come back when you stall.

JAT74

I'm not so young, 39 this year but I've been told I look young. I'll give it a bit longer like this and see. Maybe the increase in exercise will help too because before I was only training for 3 days a week in general.

BamaBreezeNSaltAire

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/index2.html

Alderaic

make sure you do count everything you eat and write it down and add it gere,
PB+avocado daily or almost, drinks on the weekend, thats high calories stuff.
Also 5:2 will make you keep water during the week and it will take at least a month to see progress. (6:1 is better)
And you said that in two weeks and a bit you lost 2 pounds, that sounds about right to me, so maybe you are not realistic with your expectations of losing more than half to a pound a week to begin with.

As for the metabolism being shot, take on running, C25K or anything, and it will get better, if by shot you mean slow, else talk to your doctor and check that you do not have PCOS, early diabetes or Thyroid problems, these things do have a notable effect on metabolism.

Else if you want to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, go and watch the movie "fat sick and nearly dead" and do what he did, but IMO it's not healthy or even worth it as it is not sustainable.

I forgot to add, the other option is to look at intermittent fasting to increase a bit your metabolism

Crankstr

Please don't eat below your BMR...I am shocked at how you are interpreting the math.

You need to eat more...how long did you give it a chance when you raised your calories?

Also, what helped me was adding a strength training program...my body looks better than it has in a long time...and I am older than you.

Trust me...I was doing 1200 when I joined last March ( i had a different profile) then I raised it to 1400

now I am 1500 on days i do NOTHING and 1800 on days I walk or SMASHHHHH things at the gym.

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-5x5-beginner-strength-training-program/
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

JAT74

Thanks Alderaic

I've actually seen that film on the recommendation of a friend and have done juice fasts before and they do work but only short term which isn't what I want now. I don't expect to lose more than a pound a week, I'm just a little nervous as I haven't lost anything this week so far and today's Friday. I'll be out with friends tonight and probably out for a meal tomorrow so I'm bound to eat more and maybe more carbs than I've had during the week. I'm just a bit scared fo putting on weight again that's all. I tried intermittent fasting and was able to do it fairly easily most days. I had an eating window of around 10 hours. I don't like to skip any main meals as I feel weak if I do so. I didn't find that an eating window of 10 hours really helped me at all to be honest.

Crankstr talking about raising calories remember that I've only been following MFP for the last couple of weeks or so. Before that I pretty much counted most of my calories without writing in in a database so I know that my daily intake was between 1400-1800 depending on the day, and it was rarely 1800. By eating like that I put on the weight I'm carrying now, generally quite slowly over the last 2 years. I have gained 19lbs in 2 years at least and I was not at my goal weight then and I was carrying way too much fat then too. Before I gained the weight I relaxed my diet and allowed myself to eat everything in moderation. Some would say my portion sizes were average sized then, but I did always eat low carb so for example even if I allowed myself bread or pasta it would be smaller than normal portions. I also had the odd dessert and sweet.

This is how I gained the weight in the first place, not by eating 3000 calories per day as I only did that when I was an unhealthy student 20 years ago!

For this reason I've decided to keep to teh intake I have on here now. I tried for over a week to eat 1300-1400 regardless since I started and saw no weight loss so I've lowered it again to 1150 if I don't train but if I exercise I'll try and eat back the exercise calories.

It's only been less than a week on my strength training programme and I have just bought more weights so I will increase the weight I'm using as appropriate. Maybe in a couple of weeks my body will start changing due to this and it's a 90day programme so we will see.

A couple of years ago when my weight gain started I was walking for 1 hour per day (30 mins to the gym and 30 back again) plus doing 1 hour in the gym. I was SO hungry when I got out that I went straight to the supermarket and ate high carb and sugar foods. I was weight traiing in the gym and doing cardio daily yet I still gained fat, not muscle very quickly. Not sure what that says about my body type, maybe an expert will know.

tutti777

I'm in the same situation as you...I started on Jan. 3 and I've only gained weight. It is very, very frustrating. I'm not able to be as active as I used to be and I know that can make a difference. But....I do think at this point the scales should be going in the opposite direction. I am also on the 1200 calorie program. I wish you the best and hope things turn around for you.

saramerrigan

Everything you need to know is here

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

You say that you realise your metabolism is shot, so surely it is better to fix your metabolism so that you can eat properly for the rest of your life. Eat at TDEE for a few weeks, which will repair your metabolism as your body starts to realise that you are fuelling it properly, then start to reduce you calories to lose weight. You will most likely gain a pound or two doing the "reset" but you'll lost that and much, much afterwards.

joyfulteach

Also you might want to look into strength training. Building muscle will lower you BF% and increase your metabolism from what I've read.

psuLemon

Can I ask why you keep creating the same threads on the same topics? I am not trying to be rude but you are asking similar/same questions expecting different results. I believe the issue is you expect immediate results. Like you said, you immediately gain at 1400 calories. There is a reason, it's your body adapting to the calorie levels that you suppressed. If you want to repair a metabolism, it takes up to 6 months or more and you have to stop freaking out every time there is an upward trend. So we all think you should probably be around 1700 calories, but here is how you would get there.


Slowly increase your calories. Set your account to 1200 calories for 2 weeks. Start a good routine and heavy weight training and little cardio. Maybe 1 day of HIIT. After 2 weeks, increase calories by 1400. When you increase calories, minimize carb increase. This will minimize the amount of water weight. When you add carbs, you add glycogen/water. Don't worry it's not fat! After another 2 weeks, then bump it to 1600 calories and maintain this for a few months. After some initial water gain, you should be able to stay here for 1-2 months. Continue to lift heavy and eat plenty of protein (probably around 30% carbs, 40% protein and 30% fats).


This will mean you should get rid of the JM dvd's the are all HIIT or cardio. You need a program that is more conducive to getting a big EPOC effect from working out. Weight training, especially working towards hypertrophy (6-12 reps), will increase the EPOC effect, as does HIIT. In base cases you can burn calories post workout for up to 24 hours. Eating high protein will improve insulin response and improve satiety.

In the end, if you are not dedicated to recovering from your past diet, then you will continue to create this threads of why you can't make progress since you eat 1000 calories a day. Also, it's not about quantity. If you struggle to eat enough calories, eat higher caloric foods; nuts, avocado, peanut better, protein shake, protein bar, adding cheese to meals or cook meats in EVOO.

Crankstr

Can I ask why you keep creating the same threads on the same topics? I am not trying to be rude but you are asking similar/same questions expecting different results. I believe the issue is you expect immediate results. Like you said, you immediately gain at 1400 calories. There is a reason, it's your body adapting to the calorie levels that you suppressed. If you want to repair a metabolism, it takes up to 6 months or more and you have to stop freaking out every time there is an upward trend. So we all think you should probably be around 1700 calories, but here is how you would get there.


Slowly increase your calories. Set your account to 1200 calories for 2 weeks. Start a good routine and heavy weight training and little cardio. Maybe 1 day of HIIT. After 2 weeks, increase calories by 1400. When you increase calories, minimize carb increase. This will minimize the amount of water weight. When you add carbs, you add glycogen/water. Don't worry it's not fat! After another 2 weeks, then bump it to 1600 calories and maintain this for a few months. After some initial water gain, you should be able to stay here for 1-2 months. Continue to lift heavy and eat plenty of protein (probably around 30% carbs, 40% protein and 30% fats).


This will mean you should get rid of the JM dvd's the are all HIIT or cardio. You need a program that is more conducive to getting a big EPOC effect from working out. Weight training, especially working towards hypertrophy (6-12 reps), will increase the EPOC effect, as does HIIT. In base cases you can burn calories post workout for up to 24 hours. Eating high protein will improve insulin response and improve satiety.

In the end, if you are not dedicated to recovering from your past diet, then you will continue to create this threads of why you can't make progress since you eat 1000 calories a day. Also, it's not about quantity. If you struggle to eat enough calories, eat higher caloric foods; nuts, avocado, peanut better, protein shake, protein bar, adding cheese to meals or cook meats in EVOO.

:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

SARgirl

Give it more time. Two weeks isn't enough time to see if it's working or not. You need a minimum of 4-6 weeks of data to make an informed decision if something is working or not. Also, remember that the weight loss is not going to be "linear". With me, I would lose a pound one week, not lose anything the next, lose 2 the next week not lose anything for two weeks, etc. Once you figure out your body's pattern that will hopefully diminish some of your frustration.

WBB55

Also you might want to look into strength training. Building muscle will lower you BF% and increase your metabolism from what I've read.

^^do this! It's true! You might not lose weight at first doing strength training (though a lot of people do lose weight) but your metabolism will ratchet up as you build more muscle and your BF% will go down.

wahmx3

You ask about my BMR, it's 1407. My TDEE is 1680.

if your TDEE is 1680 then you can eat (net) 1680 cals per day without gaining or losing weight.

try this for a week, and then cut down to 1430 (250cals below TDEE) and eat back all your exercise calories (as i presume that TDEE is based on a sedentary lifestyle?)

aim for macros of 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fat with lean meat and plenty of fruit and veg.

^^ Good advice

Agree, this advice is spot on and please be patient. It shows you only joined in Dec 2012. I didn't start shifting weight for over a full month.

This exactly! You say you want to take the advice and lose weight and body fat but you don't seem to be getting what we are all saying! I am not trying to be rude but you are aren't losing weight because of your metabolism and trying to eat too little for too long. Never eat below your BMR.... this is the minimum amount needed just to survive.... heart pumping, organs working, brain functioning.... you need more to actually get up and move around. Help your body.... eat more.... you won't gain fat if you don't eat fat.... eat healthy fat and all the other nutrients you need. Please listen to what we are saying, we do want to help you.