CONFUSED AND MORE CONFUSED

mrshill2007
mrshill2007 Posts: 78 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so since I have started MFP (the second time around) I lost two pounds but I have been stuck ever since. I do 15 to 20 minutes of cardio a day... Went to the doctor today and he told me that MFP has me eating under my calories... Like wth? So he wants me to up my calorie intake to 1950 for a month and see what happen but I am terrified to dao so...UGHHHHH

Replies

  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    All I can say is listen to your doctor. Just accept that you are most likely to gain a little before dropping again.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    How long have you been "stuck"?
  • hofosho1020
    hofosho1020 Posts: 179
    I would also up your cardio/strength training. 30 minutes a day, maybe?
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 Member
    Well the way I see it is you don't have anything to lose. (No pun intended) What you're doing now isn't working, right? For the record, I eat 1800-2200 cals/day and have lost 107 lbs in total. So it does work if you work it correctly. Check out the 'Eat More to Weigh Less' group. Read the stickies and what your doctor is telling you will make more sense. Good luck!
  • jmcreynolds91
    jmcreynolds91 Posts: 777 Member
    i would take your doctors advice. Just give it a try and see what happens. I eat 1800 cals and i loose weight steadily.
  • laccy40
    laccy40 Posts: 136
    Sounds like your doctor knows what he's talking about. Eating a sensible amount is more likely to be successful and healthy than eating too little. I've just upped my calories to 1950:drinker:
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    OK, so what were your beginning cals?

    I would listen to your doctor... 1950 sounds about right. You need to eat sensibly for your current body weight

    Please read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    -Particularly where Dan mentions that his wife was eating 1400 or so @ 40% BF and when she upped her cals to 2000, the weight came off.
  • rosiereally2
    rosiereally2 Posts: 539 Member
    I would give it a go. I floundered at MFP's recommended 1200 cals, but started losing when I boosted my calories to 1850.
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Ok, so since I have started MFP (the second time around) I lost two pounds but I have been stuck ever since. I do 15 to 20 minutes of cardio a day... Went to the doctor today and he told me that MFP has me eating under my calories... Like wth? So he wants me to up my calorie intake to 1950 for a month and see what happen but I am terrified to dao so...UGHHHHH

    At first I set myself to 1 pound per week per the MFP canned recommendations, which was below my BMR (using MFP's own BMR calculator).

    I since set myself to 1/2 pound per week because I refuse to eat below my BMR. I'd rather not lose anything for a few weeks than set my body on a path that I'm going to have to do a 180 from later on anyway. I haven't lost anything since I did that a week ago but didn't expect to since I'm lifting also and am currently holding a bunch of water weight. It's all good. I'm going to keep this going for a couple months and reevaluate. I feel awesome though, not always hungry and cranky like before. And I'm focusing on eating healthy and drinking enough water, and I'm more active than I've been in years and have more energy than I've had in forever. That can't be a bad thing, right?

    Never ever consistently eat below your BMR.
  • arnfolly
    arnfolly Posts: 79 Member
    I KNOW it is scary and you may even gain a couple pounds, but your body is FREAKED OUT that you are starving it. You need to TRICK it back into thinking it can begin to burn calories again! That is why your doctor wants you to eat more. It takes a few weeks sometimes to get it back to burning, perhaps you could add some weight training into your routine? You do nto need to join a gym for this, or buy a bunch of stuff. Even cans (large cans) of soup will work for most weight training and simple floor exercises including leg lifts, but lifts, stomach exercies and stretching all help build muscle and muscle burns more calories. Start small, say one or two sets of 8 at first, every 2 days. Then, after a week, try 3 sets of 8, then 3 sets of 10 etc. You get the picture. Our bodies will get into a routine and we need to change our workouts to accomodate that. :) I would hike every day 7 days a week if that was allit would take to maintain/lose weight! :)
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    Your doctor is right.

    I'm also going to totally guess here that you're not eating back exercise calories, because if you were, you'd be eating likely much closer to what your doctor said. And I'd almost bet you're trying to lose 2lbs per week, too.

    I don't know why MFP continues to put people so low, and even worse is how people constantly strive to be UNDER their goal. Like, it's a target - hit it. If you run a race, you don't stop a mile before the finish line.

    I kinda think MFP is doing people more harm than good. It's hard to feel not scared about eating more when a supposedly reputable fitness app is telling you to eat like a prepubescent girl.
  • eowynmn
    eowynmn Posts: 165 Member
    I don't know how much you weigh, but looking at your pics, I can guess percentage wise your about where I'm at and I'm here to say LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR! at a minimum I eat 1700 which is my MFP target, and if I eat that for too long, I stall out. I need to have high calorie days or my metabolism stalls. The past two weeks I've been eating my mfp minimum and about half of my exercise calories (and I do an hour of zumba most days and some lifting so that's a lot) and I lost 2 lbs last week and 2.2 when I weighed in today. You need to fuel your body to fight the fat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    OP...it is a very common problem here. People want to go all out with the most aggressive weight loss approach (1,200 calories)...and then often don't even net to that with their exercise (because they don't eat back exercise calories as MFP intends for you to do) and they just stall out their metabolisms. It's simply not sustainable for many to eat so little...for most people (except for the very small, short, old...1,200 calories is below BMR level of calories which is always a bad thing.

    Listen to your doctor
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member


    I don't know why MFP continues to put people so low, and even worse is how people constantly strive to be UNDER their goal. Like, it's a target - hit it. If you run a race, you don't stop a mile before the finish line.

    I kinda think MFP is doing people more harm than good. It's hard to feel not scared about eating more when a supposedly reputable fitness app is telling you to eat like a prepubescent girl.

    I agree.. and the really sad part is that they tell you to contact a physician or general practitioner before changing your goals from the 1200 MFP sets. Totally setting up people for failure
  • sizzler0123
    sizzler0123 Posts: 55
    I agree that you don't eat enough in a day from seeing your diary. Your body NEEDS those calories. You can adjust, although I know it is hard to shift your mindset to eat MORE.
  • stephaniemejia1671
    stephaniemejia1671 Posts: 482 Member
    From what those little red letters tell me under my calorie goals.. If you don't eat enough you will put your body into starvation mode which will make it harder to lose weight. A regular diet consists of 2000 calories, and that's to just MAINTAIN your weight. I actually increased my limit because I found it too low. Just give it time.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
    You don't have to increase your calories all at once if it scares you. Stress is no good for weight loss, either. Do try to meet your doctor in the middle somewhere; maybe go up 100-200 calories and hold there for a week or two.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    I agree that you don't eat enough in a day from seeing your diary. Your body NEEDS those calories. You can adjust, although I know it is hard to shift your mindset to eat MORE.

    Agreed
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Ok, so since I have started MFP (the second time around) I lost two pounds but I have been stuck ever since. I do 15 to 20 minutes of cardio a day... Went to the doctor today and he told me that MFP has me eating under my calories... Like wth? So he wants me to up my calorie intake to 1950 for a month and see what happen but I am terrified to dao so...UGHHHHH

    Listen to your doctor. Don't be afraid of eating. Just use your food diary and log as accurately as possible. Be consistent and give it six weeks of eating as close to 1950 as possible. FTR, I'm losing a pound a week averaging 2200 a day and haven't done any cardio since October, except the occasional walk during my lunch time at work. Your doctor knows your stats and your health history, right?

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