im so confused...

AprilChampion

Have you thought about getting your metabolism tested? You seem like a very active person, so it could be that your RMR (resting metabolic rate - the amount of calories that your body absolutely NEEDS to just exist) is very high. I know of at least three people on MFP (myself included) who have recently had a metabolic test performed to determine RMR and every one of us found out that 1200 was was too few calories to eat. There is also a case where one lady found that she had a lower RMR than what MFP had calculated for her.

I know it's hard to eat more calories when you're not feeling hungry (I often experience it myself, especially when I've just discovered that I have to eat about 500 more calories a day with my RMR). For me, it will be a gradual escalation of calories until I get to where I'm supposed to be.

I'm not going to tell you what to eat or why, because you've heard so much of that that you're probably ready to quit. I think that you're doing a phenomenal job and that you're probably really frustrated. Hang in there because it will get better. Despite sounding like we're all preaching to you from lofty positions of authority (which really don't exist here on MFP, since very few of us have degrees in exercise physiology or nutrition - although there are quite a few people who DO have professional expertise), I think the main thing to remember is that we all want you to succeed and we're trying to tell you what worked from our experience. So feel free to take what you consider the good from the replies and ignore what you consider the bad from the replies.

I hope that this helps you out somewhat!

By the way, your menus sound really yummy and nutritious!

Good luck to you!


Cheers! :drinker:

that just really confused me....rmr????

AprilChampion

Have you thought about getting your metabolism tested? You seem like a very active person, so it could be that your RMR (resting metabolic rate - the amount of calories that your body absolutely NEEDS to just exist) is very high. I know of at least three people on MFP (myself included) who have recently had a metabolic test performed to determine RMR and every one of us found out that 1200 was was too few calories to eat. There is also a case where one lady found that she had a lower RMR than what MFP had calculated for her.

I know it's hard to eat more calories when you're not feeling hungry (I often experience it myself, especially when I've just discovered that I have to eat about 500 more calories a day with my RMR). For me, it will be a gradual escalation of calories until I get to where I'm supposed to be.

I'm not going to tell you what to eat or why, because you've heard so much of that that you're probably ready to quit. I think that you're doing a phenomenal job and that you're probably really frustrated. Hang in there because it will get better. Despite sounding like we're all preaching to you from lofty positions of authority (which really don't exist here on MFP, since very few of us have degrees in exercise physiology or nutrition - although there are quite a few people who DO have professional expertise), I think the main thing to remember is that we all want you to succeed and we're trying to tell you what worked from our experience. So feel free to take what you consider the good from the replies and ignore what you consider the bad from the replies.

I hope that this helps you out somewhat!

By the way, your menus sound really yummy and nutritious!

Good luck to you!


Cheers! :drinker:

*CRAP...hit reply twice...sorry*

robin52077

. It sounds like you're eating well, the foods you choose are healthy and you're getting lots of great exercise. The thing is this can be a horribly long process. Some of us have been at this for years. Be strong and keep doing what you're doing. Maybe avoid the scale for a few weeks and concentrate more on how you are feeling. You'll get there.

I agree with this. Your choices seem good.
This morning you overdid it on bad advice from someone else and felt too full afterwards.
Do what YOUR BODY tells you to do and not what other people tell you to do.
If you feel HUNGRY, then eat something.
If you feel FULL, then you do NOT need to eat more just because people tell you you "have to" eat your exercise calories.

Listen to your body and not the peanut gallery.

If you feel good then you are succeeding!

robin52077

and your RMR is your "resting metabolic rate"
it is the amount of calories you need in one day just for your heart to beat and your lungs to function, and cells to reproduce...the basics of life, like the amount of calories a comatose patient would still need to consume to survive.

if you ever eat BELOW that number, you are basically killing yourself slowly.
(one day won't hurt, like if you have the stomach flu or something, but it is necessary to eat at least that amount at the bare minimum on a regular basis.)

stratdl

"BMR and RMR are estimates of how many calories you would burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. They represent the minimum amount of energy required to keep your body functioning, including your heart beating, lungs breathing, and body temperature normal.

"BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, and is synonymous with Basal Energy Expenditure or BEE. BMR measurements are typically taken in a darkened room upon waking after 8 hours of sleep; 12 hours of fasting to ensure that the digestive system is inactive; and with the subject resting in a reclining position.

"RMR stands for Resting Metabolic Rate, and is synonymous with Resting Energy Expenditure or REE. RMR measurements are typically taken under less restricted conditions than BMR, and do not require that the subject spend the night sleeping in the test facility prior to testing."


...from my understanding, eating fewer calories than either of these rates require will cause your body to think it is starving and it will hold on to every calorie it can because it needs more. This is what is usually referred to as "starvation mode". If you go below BMR and RMR too long, you can do some havoc to your body. But the good news is that, once you start eating the BMR and RMR calories, your body starts to love you again and, after a period of time during which you may gain weight (because your body isn't sure you aren't going to decrease your calories again), you should start losing weight again.

There are all sorts of calculators out there for RMR and BMR, but not everybody will be the type of person for whom the equations used will work. My RMR is calculated to be around 1340, but it's measured to be 1919. Big difference, wouldn't you say? So, if you think of it, I have to eat at least 1919 calories just for my body to exist! I'm still trying to wrap my head around that (I used to be the 1200 calorie mentality and I really wasn't all that hungry then, especially after I cut out baked goods). But I'm just going to try (and I'm doing okay, if I do say so myself) and see what happens. I'm training for a 5K in June and I don't think I'll look at the scale until after I finish the race. That way, my goal is the 5K (a certain fitness level) and not a number on the scale.

I hope I haven't confused you more!

Cheers! :drinker:

stormieweather

I'm one of the people who had their RMR tested, and it came in at 1800. I've slowly increased my calories so that I am eating at least that every day and am not worrying about weight loss. No scale, no ticker, no freakouts. Just get my body used to eating healthy stuff, on a regular basis, in adequate quantities. After I've done that for a couple of months, if nothing is happening, I'll reassess my situation and possibly see a doctor.

But I could have sworn my metabolism was really low, after starving myself for so long (4+ yrs)...who knew it would turn out to be 24% faster than average??!

Time....sometimes it takes a lot of time...to get the process working properly.


<yeah I'm jealous of those people who can just drop one unhealthy habit and the weight just melts away....!!! But I'm not giving up.>

cola4surf

ok, maybe im not making myself clear.

i DO measure everything. i did the breakfast this morning the way that i did because EVERYONE keeps telling me to "add more fat, add more this, add more that, you aren't eating enough at 1200 cals and you're gonna go into starvation mode"............then of course i get the "eat your exercise calories"...then i do and i feel like a fat nasty disgusting cow because i KNOW i over did it.

the KIND of wheat bread i eat only has 80 cals per slice. i NORMALLY eat 3 egg whites ( which is roughly about 50 cals), two slices of toast (160 cals and 2 grams of fat) plus coffee with sugar and half and half. OR i eat cottage cheese with strawberries. 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and a FULL cup of sliced strawberries. OR a cup of rice krispies cereal with 8 ounces of skim milk.

for lunch i either do 7.5 cups of popcorn ( 200 cals) and water....i always drink water. i have ONE cup of coffee ( IF that in the morning and thats IT) i dont drink anything else during the rest of the day EXCEPT for water. period. i drink probably over 150+ ounces of water a day.

for dinner, i eat either what i make for my family, measured out on portions or i eat a salad. the serving on the back of the bag ( i buy ready pac garden salads ready in a bag cause i dont have time to make a salad everytime i want one.) which is 25 calories per 2 cup serving. i then add a handful of croutons, french salad dressing and eat. Sometimes Ill put whatever meat that i made that night into the salad ( except for hamburger...im not a red meat eater very much at all and i tend not to like the taste).

then ill have little snacks....wheat toast with peanut butter, an apple here or there, celery stalks with PB.....

i eat generally VERY healthy, even when im not dieting at all...NO junk food at all, barely any fast food ( the closest i come to that is subway sandwiches and i stick to turkey with a CRAP LOAD of veggies on it)...so i don't understand why its not just coming off. or changing. or anything.

my husband seems to think that i should eat less but i know that wouldn't work for me period as i would be chompin' at the bit to eat anything in sight. 1200 cals is the minimum that i can eat without driving myself crazy with hunger.

but when i cave and eat more then that, i feel like that nasty fat cow i was talking about earlier. i just really need some support and help with this or i really feel i'm going to give up. even though i feel great from all the exercise, i cant look at myself in the mirror because i cant stand the way my body looks. i even took down my mirror in my bedroom and put it behind my dresser.

i hate the way i look and i want desperately to change it but no matter what i do it seems, the scale (AND the tape measure) stay the same. they dont budge. and its making me crazy.

I am so sorry, I hope I didn't discourage you. You have to remember that what you are doing IS working. You DO look great already. You are exercising and eating right so you are on the path to success. I was trying to help you figure out why you are not seeing results from personal experience. However, we are all different so it is possible there is something physiological that is preventing weight loss.

I do have a theory, however, that you have to always feel a little hungry to loose the weight. Hunger is your body's way of telling you that you need more calories to maintain your current weight. Your body is basing your caloric needs on your current weight not the weight that you want to be so, if you are feeling full all of the time, you have taken in just the right amount to sustain the weight.

I know there is a balance because if you feel famished then you may have the tendency to over-eat later (that is what I have done in the past and still do on occasion). Now, if I know that I am eating healthy and I feel a little hungry between meals (and with a snack), then I will drink soda water to feel full or eat another apple. Maybe that helps.

You may also want to consider getting a physical: check your thyroid and hormone levels. There may be something else sabotaging your success.

I would like to add that you do look beautiful already and you should appreciate all of the work you are putting in to maintaining your health. You are better off than the majority and are a good role-model to many. Don't give up on health! That is most important.

AprilChampion

and your RMR is your "resting metabolic rate"
it is the amount of calories you need in one day just for your heart to beat and your lungs to function, and cells to reproduce...the basics of life, like the amount of calories a comatose patient would still need to consume to survive.

if you ever eat BELOW that number, you are basically killing yourself slowly.
(one day won't hurt, like if you have the stomach flu or something, but it is necessary to eat at least that amount at the bare minimum on a regular basis.)

well then i must be killing myself slowly everyday that i eat UNDER 1200 cals when i dont have time to eat due to my schedules let alone the days i work out....or days that i dont feel hungry and only eat one or two meals/snacks that day...or im out and about and dont have the money to get something WHILE im out so i wait to eat until i get home and by then its late and i only have time to eat one meal.....