Eating 1200 calories a day and not losing weight (5'2)
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At 48 it is a nightmare. I don't understand why people say not eating enough when eating more than enough is what got me here. I am not falling for that again. It is simple math, take in less calories than your body burns. I found that lying to myself by not properly measuring portions and eating out even one day kills everything I did that week. Someone here said just wait for your body to catch up if you are doing everything correctly, I believe that.2
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You aren't factoring in metabolism. You have to zig zag. To confuse your body. See, you may not notice it, but when you eat X amount of calories a day, your body adjusts your metabolism. When you also do x ambling of exercise, your body adjusts more. You may not notice it, but you sit a little longer, move a little slower, move a little less, all in micro phases throughout your day. Because after a few days your body slows you down to match your calories. It also slows down on burning calories during exercise, by making you ache more.
Randomly change what parts of your body you are going to exercise. Legs one day, arms the next, stomachs another time. Include your exercise in your calories. Randomly change your total calorie intake(including exercise). 1000 one day, 1500 the next. Then 1100, 1600 1800 1000, 1300, 1100. Etc.7 -
Also, women are going to retain water before her cycle. But, it's like water in your stomach. If you drink a pound of water, then step on the scale, you will be a pound heavier. But, you've gained no actual fat. As soon as you empty your bladder, you'll be a pound lighter again. It has no staying power and no work to eliminate. It's not in your bladder, but it is in your muscle/fat. #1 rain why or stomachs gets bigger at that time. That water will simply go away on its own when the cycle is over.
There are other reasons we retain water. Men have testosterone cycles too. Too much salt can make you retain water. So can caffeine and numerous other things.
We can't separate measuring water weight from fat weight. What we can do is look at our monthly weight. That gives us a clearer view.2 -
You aren't factoring in metabolism. You have to zig zag. To confuse your body. See, you may not notice it, but when you eat X amount of calories a day, your body adjusts your metabolism. When you also do x ambling of exercise, your body adjusts more. You may not notice it, but you sit a little longer, move a little slower, move a little less, all in micro phases throughout your day. Because after a few days your body slows you down to match your calories. It also slows down on burning calories during exercise, by making you ache more.
Randomly change what parts of your body you are going to exercise. Legs one day, arms the next, stomachs another time. Include your exercise in your calories. Randomly change your total calorie intake(including exercise). 1000 one day, 1500 the next. Then 1100, 1600 1800 1000, 1300, 1100. Etc.
LOL, no.
Also, how many times does this poor thread need to be resurrected??2 -
Mathlete22 wrote: »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.
Are you lifting weights, too? That will really help you lose weight. 1200 calories is not very much at all to eat! Is that a number you were prescribed? Did you get tested? Because when you don't eat enough, your body holds on to fat because it needs it to survive.
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I think it is unrealistic that you will to lose 5lb per week. You always lose more weight in the first week as you lose a water. I started at 170lb back in April and have been exercising at least 5 times per week 2x PT session with weights, 2 Spin classes and 1 GRIT class per week. My base calories are 1200 but when I exercise I will take myself up to 1400 as on these days as I am burning 2000 calories+ I am now at 141 lbs. I have lost an average of 1lb per week. At least one week every month, I have stayed the same weight then the next week I would lose 1 1/2- 2 lbs. Also are you measuring yourself and taking progress photos. This is key, especially if you are doing any weights. Muscle is denser, so the same weight of muscle will take up less room in your body. I have shifted from being a size 14 to a size 8 but technically I am still overweight, which is ridiculous! Be patient and keep consistent and the results will come. And make sure on the days you have exercised that you up your calorie intake if you are hungry.1
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natashashepherd1 wrote: »I am having the same problem. I workout 5 times a week, and burn 400 calories at least each time I go to the gym. I am eating 1200 calories a day, and I eat back the calories I burn to make it an overall 1200 calories a day. I have been doing this for a month, and I have lost 1 lb. I have noticed that I am always hungry though, and I feel like I am not eating enough. My body will even wake me up in the middle of the night because I am soo hungry. I calculated my TTDE which is 2179 calories a day. I think I may be eating too little, but not sure. I am 5'2, 136 lbs and 28 years old. Its so discouraging to be working so hard at this, and not seeing any results. From reading these posts I am going to up my calories to 1500 a day and see how that goes. Let me know if anyone else has any other ideas or tips for me! Thank you so much
There are ways to make food satisfying. First, cut out artificial sweeteners. They increase your appetite. I also can't sleep when hungry. I found a cure. 2/3 cup of plain oatmeal (200), 1 scoop of Nido powdered milk (60) 1.5 cups of water. Salt to taste. Eat it runny. I save 260 c for bedtime just because of the hunger.
There are other ways to stay satiated during the day.. Aunt millies 35 calorie bread is awesome.
I buy Progresso lite Creamy potato with bacon and cheese soup. 200 call per can. I eat half the can (100) and do 2 slices of bread in it (70) and I'm full. That soup literally tastes like bacon. It's so good.
I do a lot of tv dinners. Smartones meatloaf and mashed potatoes are only 220 and so filling. Think about it, you could have 4 of those a day, and your oatmeal, and only hit 1140 calories. They also have a turkey dinner, 170 calories. Lean cuisine and cafe steamers have a lot of meals for under 280. I stock up on them. I don't buy any meals over 280. When I find a meal under 200 I but several. I also keep canned green beans. They are an almost calorie free filler.
Oranges are very low calories for how good they taste. They cure a sweet tooth too.
Also for sweet tooth i use pure honey. I measure a tablespoon and set it out. It's 60 calories. When I desire i use a toothpick to get just a taste, and my sweet tooth is relieved throughout the day.
Also, there's a routine to make your meal more filling. At meal time first drink 12 ounces of water. Cut every part of your meal in half. Wrap half up and put it away. Get another 12 ounces of water. Eat the other half slowly. Sip water after each bite. When your done set a timer for 30 minutes. Finish your water, and when the timer goes off, reevaluate if your still hungry. If so, eat the other half. But you will find that often you're not. You can literally eat 8 times a day like this. I'm never very hungry, and that didn't used to be the case.
Good luck. Hope some of that helped.5 -
OP I am curious to know what happened and if you finally found success and if so what you changed or found out.1
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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.
First of all, she hasn't hit a plateau, it has only been 5 days.
- You should only be weighing yourself once a week, so the last 5 days means nothing. Your weight will fluctuate every day, throughout the day.
- You are not eating enough. I don't know where you got the 1200 calorie number - but I'd bet money it is too low. Then you are working out on top of that and not eating those calories - you are probably netting like 600 a day. Way too low. You are not fueling your body. You won't lose weight - and it is unhealthy.
Use one of the many calculators out there to figure out your TDEE - 20% and eat at that number.
I got the 1200 calories a day from my dr. because I am in menopause and menopausal women only need 1200 a day.
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LisaHillFaw wrote: »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.
First of all, she hasn't hit a plateau, it has only been 5 days.
- You should only be weighing yourself once a week, so the last 5 days means nothing. Your weight will fluctuate every day, throughout the day.
- You are not eating enough. I don't know where you got the 1200 calorie number - but I'd bet money it is too low. Then you are working out on top of that and not eating those calories - you are probably netting like 600 a day. Way too low. You are not fueling your body. You won't lose weight - and it is unhealthy.
Use one of the many calculators out there to figure out your TDEE - 20% and eat at that number.
I got the 1200 calories a day from my dr. because I am in menopause and menopausal women only need 1200 a day.
There is no singular calorie amount that menopausal women need -- it's going to vary according to lifestyle and size. If someone is telling you, without taking anything else into account, that menopausal women only need 1,200 a day, I wouldn't trust their advice.4 -
You don't have much to lose change your goal from 1.5 pounds 0.5 pounds. Secondly, you haven't lost weight in 5 days that's normal sometimes it takes time. Change your goals and relax your mindset. good luck!
Just noticed this thread is from 2013. Zombie thread!0 -
LisaHillFaw wrote: »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.
First of all, she hasn't hit a plateau, it has only been 5 days.
- You should only be weighing yourself once a week, so the last 5 days means nothing. Your weight will fluctuate every day, throughout the day.
- You are not eating enough. I don't know where you got the 1200 calorie number - but I'd bet money it is too low. Then you are working out on top of that and not eating those calories - you are probably netting like 600 a day. Way too low. You are not fueling your body. You won't lose weight - and it is unhealthy.
Use one of the many calculators out there to figure out your TDEE - 20% and eat at that number.
I got the 1200 calories a day from my dr. because I am in menopause and menopausal women only need 1200 a day.
Oh laawd I am gonna be so doomed in the calorie depart very soon.
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This thread keeps getting bumped lol1
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LisaHillFaw wrote: »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.
First of all, she hasn't hit a plateau, it has only been 5 days.
- You should only be weighing yourself once a week, so the last 5 days means nothing. Your weight will fluctuate every day, throughout the day.
- You are not eating enough. I don't know where you got the 1200 calorie number - but I'd bet money it is too low. Then you are working out on top of that and not eating those calories - you are probably netting like 600 a day. Way too low. You are not fueling your body. You won't lose weight - and it is unhealthy.
Use one of the many calculators out there to figure out your TDEE - 20% and eat at that number.
I got the 1200 calories a day from my dr. because I am in menopause and menopausal women only need 1200 a day.
If your doctor didn't indicate that that calorie goal was specific to YOUR weight loss goals, height, and activity level, you should get another doctor.0 -
It's possible that 1200 is too low. Have you been eating at that for a while? Because when you're in too much of a deficit for your body, I think it tries to hold onto weight. It's a safety mechanism. Maybe try increasing calories a little?4
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MyEvolvingJourney wrote: »It's possible that 1200 is too low. Have you been eating at that for a while? Because when you're in too much of a deficit for your body, I think it tries to hold onto weight. It's a safety mechanism. Maybe try increasing calories a little?
No.3
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