Eating 1200 calories a day and not losing weight (5'2)

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  • jenevamorales
    jenevamorales Posts: 2
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    My problem is I'm eating healthy, working out and still trying maintain my ideal calorie intake of 1200. How much food can someone consume in one day!!! I'm supposed to rack up on 1,200 calories a day but so far I'm at 753 - 400 average burned working out = 847 left that I'm supposed to fit in the rest of the day so that my body doesn't store fat??? This doesn't make any sense! Help please
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    My problem is I'm eating healthy, working out and still trying maintain my ideal calorie intake of 1200. How much food can someone consume in one day!!! I'm supposed to rack up on 1,200 calories a day but so far I'm at 753 - 400 average burned working out = 847 left that I'm supposed to fit in the rest of the day so that my body doesn't store fat??? This doesn't make any sense! Help please

    You are actually supposed to rack up more than 1200 calories if you exercise. And considering the average women I know working out 6 days a week is eating 1700-2100 calories, you should probably be eating more. Eating very little calories makes is very difficult to consume all the nutrients you need, especially to maintain your muscle mass and metabolic rate. The key factors to weight loss is making sure you are accurate in your logging, which is why we would suggest a food scale. Below is a good thread to show how many women are eating a lot of food and still losing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/506349-women-who-eat-more-than-1800-calories-a-day
  • DeborahBarone2
    DeborahBarone2 Posts: 7
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    I am 59 years old and weigh 141. I started out at 150 January 20th 2014 and I am stuck. Can't seem to get past the 141. I was eating 1200 calories a day and I raised it to 1370 a day. I usually burn 200-300 calories through walking. So I need to up it more than that. 3 years ago I lost 50 pounds and it took me a year but it came off pretty steady. Now I am stuck. Any suggestions?
  • frankdcohen
    frankdcohen Posts: 1 Member
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    I weigh myself every day and then I take the average wait for that week. As I do this I look at the average weight for each we compared to the next week that's how I determine if it's working. During each week, you will see your weight take a random walk around the mean. But over the long-haul you should see the reduction. Statistics don't lie.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I have been dieting for about 3 weeks now. I have started at about 153 and am now 148. I lost most of that weight in the first week. I havent lost any weight in about 5 days. I eat exactly 1200 calories a day, weighing out all my food. I exercise about 3-5 times a week. I usually run about 2-3 miles or use the elliptical for about 30 min on my not so intense days. Is there something I am doing wrong? It is very discouraging when I put so much work into eating healthy and exercising and not losing weight. I wanted to lose about 1.5 lbs a week. So i need to lose about .2 lbs a day. WHY HAVE I STOPPED LOSING WEIGHT? Is this normal.

    Any suggestions/help is appreciated.
    Patience.

    Weight loss is not linear.

    That's it.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,082 Member
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    Ummm, OP has not been doing this for 3 weeks - if she is still around, she has now been doing this for well over a year now. :wink:
  • kljohnson2006
    kljohnson2006 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi all, I just want to add that there could be medical reasons to consider here as well. When you're doing all the right things and the weight is not budging, it's a good idea to have some tests ran to make sure all the metabolic processes are working correctly. I have both hypothyroidism as well as adrenal fatigue. It's a double whammy for me, but people out there have either of these conditions in epidemic proportions and walk around for years not knowing. Hypothyroidism grinds the metabolism to a halt. It can be tested with a simple blood test and usually, corrected easily with medication. Ask for the full thyroid panel, then go online and make sure you research and understand your results. Doctors only want to test TSH, which is not always the best indicator of an issue. Look for Free T3, Free T4, etc.

    Regarding adrenal fatigue, you're going to have difficulty sleeping oftentimes due to elevated cortisol - which is the lovely hormone which makes sure we hold onto fat around our middle. Adrenal fatigue comes from all sorts of sources, but being too stressed for too long is a huge reason for it. Also with this, ask for the ASI saliva test. If results come back elevated at the wrong times (should be high in am, then taper off at bedtime, a.k.a. circadian rhythm) then more than likely your Dr isn't going to do a thing. Conventional doctors won't prescribe anything for this unless it's so far gone it's life threatening. There is a supplement called Enerphos or Seriphos (anything that is phosphorylated serine) that will lower cortisol, help you stay stay asleep, and help to lose weight if you have this issue.
    I nearly starved myself and worked my a** off in the gym for months before I found a good doctor who knew to look for all of this. Hope this helps some of you.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    Blah. Fell for an old thread again. :laugh:
  • nmvarela10
    nmvarela10 Posts: 1 Member
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    I am having the same problem but I heard I need to eat 1200 calories total period, not net? I'm confused.
  • manicautumn
    manicautumn Posts: 224 Member
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    I was stalled around 121lbs for the last 3 weeks at 5'0 eating a NET of 1200 (using FitBit, eating average of 1550), I woke up this morning just under 120lbs. Dieting isn't a linear thing in that sometimes things don't show in a nice daily fashion. You haven't been doing this too long, you will lose on 1200 with time.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Blah. Fell for an old thread again. :laugh:
    AND it's another 1200 one and resurrected by a brand new poster. I think MFP is messing with us. :grumble:
  • iefk5el
    iefk5el Posts: 2
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    I am eating 1200 calories a day and not losing weight (5'3) I drink more than a gallon of water a day and doing cycling for an hour and doing Jackie Warners video with resistant weights and doing it for about 2 weeks and not going out to eat. I prepare all my meals at home. I do not eat process foods. What am I doing wrong? HELP!!
  • kwantlen2051
    kwantlen2051 Posts: 455 Member
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    Check your measurements. Sometimes you'll stall on the scale but win with tape measure. When you exercise your muscle holds on to a bit more water. This will leave l off eventually. I'm 5'2" , small frame and started out at around 143- 145 lbs in /sept 2013. This weight was very heavy for me. But with patience and consistencyu, I'm back down to 115-116, my goal weight. Just keep going. Don't give up. You will get there!
  • Scruffbyname
    Scruffbyname Posts: 3
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    see below
  • Scruffbyname
    Scruffbyname Posts: 3
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    I was doing the same thing doing intense workouts 6 times a week, I'm 4"11' and sitting at 120lbs. I had been working out for 4 weeks and only lost 1 pound. Turn out, eating 1200 cals net, I was eating less than my BMR, which is 1300, so I put myself into starvation mode, so you won't lose weight or inches. I had to up my intake to 1800 minimum. What I suggest is to calculate your BMR, and you can find a calculator for this online, then multiply that by 1.725 because you are active, and then subtract 500 from that. I did it and I've definitely noticed a difference, not only in my energy, but in my workouts and body. It was very scary even thinking about eating that much as I admit I have some disordered thoughts about food, but it works. I'd give it a try.

    Calculate BMR (9.56 x weight) + (1.85 x height) - (4.68 x age) + 655

    That has to be one of the clearest explanations I've ever read - thank you so much!
    I'm so glad I came across it. I've now calculated the BMR and BMI plus other needs and have realised I was about a 1000 calories below my 'safety' level. I'll now be looking at how to boost my calorie intake with sensible calories in order to lose the weight I would like to.
    What a revelation. I wasn't born yesterday and I thought until now that my approach had been sensible.
    just goes to show - live and learn!
  • SeanPatrick1986
    SeanPatrick1986 Posts: 5
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    I'm finding it discouraging because I've actually been gaining weight! However my body fat seems to be dropping steadily. I'm on the stricter diet plan of losing 2lbs per week and it's restricted to 1200 net calorie intake. And I use fitbit to track my progress. What's going on!?
  • amunet07
    amunet07 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    I'm having the same problem. 5'2". Wanting to lose 60 lbs. I lost 8 lbs in a week and 1/2 and then went up .6 then up 1. back to the .6 and today up 1.8. I don't exersise yet...needing to lose some weight so my ankles don't hurt first. But I am frustrated like you just the same

    Funny think is this 1200 worked great for me from 2008 to 2010 when I had less to lose
  • JenJenG822
    JenJenG822 Posts: 3 Member
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    I just started using MyFitnessPal this past week. I am VERY confused at how it works!! I weigh 160 and would love to be anywhere between 130-140 LBS. It said that I need 1200 calories a day. Is that before all the exercise or after? Do I eat back the calories that I lose? What do I need to do to lose weight and not just maintain!?!? LoL so very confused!!!!!!!!!!!!

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