CONFUSED! Please help if you have been losing weight....

erikacole

I have been tracking my calories on and off now for about a month. I am NOT losing weight after calorie counting (albeit I am staying SOMEWHERE around what my intake is supposed to be)....

I decided to google what my calorie intake should be and I am OVERWHELMED and CONFUSED over the varying information! I have researched 5 different sites and have information ranging from 2,226 calories to 1392 (they called this one EXTREME Fat loss). MFP has me at 1300 calories.

I am 5'8 and weigh 173 pounds...I want to loose about 14-15. At this point, I just really want to see the scale move. I mean, I know that it takes 3500 calories deficiency at the end of the week to lose a pound...but if I don't know what my calorie goal should be, I am not sure if I am eating a correct amount of calories.

ANY help will be greatly appreciated

Terpnista84

1. How many calories have you been consuming. That information is needed to determine why you aren't losing weight. You may be eating too many or not enough.
2. What is your physical activity level?

The different numbers you are getting are likely your BMR and TDEE. Your BMR is the calories that your body would burn if you did absolutely nothing all day (stayed in bed, watched tv, etc). My BMR is around 1500 (I am 5'4" 162lbs). Now your TDEE takes into account all of your physical activity. If you are sedentary then your TDEE would be more than your BMR but not significantly. If you worked out, for instance, 5-6 days a week your TDEE would be in the lower 2,000 range (let's say 2,300 for the sake of argument). So you would need to eat 2,300 calories a day, plus workout 5-6 days to MAINTAIN your weight.

Now in order to lose weight, there needs to be a deficit of your TDEE. Most people start off at about a 20% deficit, so you would need to eat 20% less calories than whatever your TDEE is to lose weight. How large or small your deficit is will determine the rate you lose.

lauren3101

You don't have much to lose. Try setting your goal at either 1lb or 1/2lb a week, preferably the latter.

The less you have to lose, the less of a deficit you should have.

pengem789

MFP Is usually good with calories for weight loss if you've added your stats correctly. The most common thing I see on here is people who don't MEASURE. If you are estimating the amounts of what you're eating, it's likely that you are pretty far off with what you are consuming vs. what you are calculating. And the person above is right - you can cut your calories to starvation and not lose weight if you don't increase your metabolism by increasing your exercise a bit. Even some light walks will help if you're not an active person... I run but still gain weight when I don't measure my foods and just estimate my portion sizes...

sindikumva

Hi Erica,
It looks like you are trying to drop 15 lbs, a very reasonable goal. My suggestion is that you use TDEE - 15 or 20% as this gives you a calorie goal that is constant every day based on your weekly exercise rather than boomeranging around based on how much you exercise each day.

An example - my TDEE is 2800 so I am at 2300 kcal a day to lose a lb a week (this is about 20%. Because I eat food high in protein and with lots of whole grains, I probably only eat 2100-2200 a day on average (occasionally in the 2400 to 2500 range if I have a beer with friends).

And it works!

check out - http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

synthomarsh

Terpnista is completely right about the BMR and TDEE. other tricks that we have with loosing weight are working out making sure you are drinking enough water. I dropped 15 in the past 6 weeks or so, I am doing p90x which I attribute all of my success too. Doing any kind of strength training will raise your BMR since muscle takes more to maintain calorie wise than fat. so you will actually be burning more calories while your resting. Drinking a lot of water is important because when we are dehydrated our cells retain water for fear that we will not get enough ( like they were saying when we under eat our body goes into starvation mode and it slows our metabolism down and you will not loose) So when you do actually hydrate yourself you will flush the access water out of your body I think one week I had like almost a 6 lb lose from water alone. the good rule of thumb for that is half your weight in ounces every day. so for you at 173 that would be at least 86.5 ounces of water a day. another bonus to drinking enough water I no longer crave any kind of soda or juice that is calories that don't help at all so that cut back a ton of cals every day. Best of luck to you if you want you can add me as a friend for encouragement I am planning on trying to loose another 30 in the next 4 months we can motivate each other

Whipppets

Even though I am male, I am 5'7 and was 172 at the beginning of the year.. I want to get to 165... I have a base calorie intake
of 1800 and then I add my exercise.. I do exercise everyday and can burn as much as 1000... So if you want to lose about .1/2lb a week I think about 1600 as a base but add your exercise calories.

I currently wiegh 167 and these last 2lbs are really tough..

FitNewEm

Measuring is key! I found I was grossly underestimating my intake and overestimating my exercise.
Don't guess! Measure and stay 50 calories under your daily goal for a week and see how you do.
Slow and steady wins the race!
When a small amount of weight (under50 lbs) is all that you need to lose, it is all about consistency!
Stay with it you'll see results in a week or two.
Good luck!

ChgingMe

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

cwolfman13

You don't have much to lose. Try setting your goal at either 1lb or 1/2lb a week, preferably the latter.

The less you have to lose, the less of a deficit you should have.

This^^^

You can't be aggressive when you don't have much to lose.

Also...you can't really track on and off for a month and expect results. The margin of error when calorie counting is relatively small. You have to be consistent or you'll never see results...calorie creep is way too easy to be lackadaisical about things.

Weigh, measure, log....

rduhlir

Another thing people haven't really said.....

Track everything, every day. Not here and there. Everything from that one celery stick to the dressing you put on your salad. Weigh everything. Don't guess and don't try to measure with a spoon (believe it or not it could be more or less than an actual serving). Everything you swallow you log. If you are serious about losing the weight then you will do it.

As far as TDEE...since you are only trying to lose 15 pounds I would go for -10%. It will be slower...about half a pound a week at the most but it will come off and stay off. Also, I would try weight lifting. Toning does wonders to the body. And while you might not be dropping the pounds, weight lifting will help you tone and slim down.

Rose_bee

I'd say you need to eat more!

I'm 5'2", I've lost almost 6 pounds, and want to lose another 20+. I'm losing just under a pound a week eating 1400 calories a day, PLUS eating back my exercise calories.

ereach4731

If you're not trusting the calories that MFP provides for you, I would suggest logging everything you eat and all of your exercise to get an accurate account of what you are actually doing. (Keep in mind that for exercise calories, you should get a heart rate monitor b/c the numbers on any website are just estimates.) From here you can make adjustments as needed.

You should weigh/measure all of your food. You might be surprised how you are over/under estimating your portion sizes.

Instead of aiming for 2 lbs/wk loss, try for 1 lbs since you have very little to lose.

Good luck!

j4zepedajj

Remember these facts..

1 Pound of Fat = 3000 Calories
1 Pound of Muscle = 2500 Calories

To lose weight.. you have to remove 3000 calories per week from your bodies natural calorie requirements... So

Example:

Your body needs 1800 per day to function, well
- You can't eat 2000 calories because you'll have

---

> (7 Days)(200 Extra Cal) = 1400 extra Calories

If you eat 1800 , BUT workout and remove 400 from your needed 1800, well

---

> (7 Days)(-400 burned Cal) = -2800 Calories

Which is nearly 1 Pound of fat! So diet and exercise is a the combo you'll need!

Also, watch your carb intake... NO BREADS or Sugar!
If you want to weigh 120 pounds.. eat 120 Grams of protein per day...

elyelyse

I have been tracking my calories on and off now for about a month.

there's lots of good info in the other answers... but if you don't consistently track, (almost) every single day, you can't really know what you are doing right or wrong.

cwolfman13

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

A. Lots of water weight

B. She may be very heavy (obese or very overweight), in which case large deficits and larger weight losses can be sustained. Cannot be sustained with little to lose.

C. "Starvation mode" is way over used...but yes, eventually she will stall out. A month is nothing...see where she's at in a couple months...my guess is a nice long plateau. It generally takes the body 4-6 weeks to adjust itself. Not really "starvation mode" though...just the body protecting itself by shutting down non-essential functions because it's not getting the energy it needs...think of rolling black outs in a city where the power plant can't provide enough energy...same concept.

Terpnista84

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

Everyone is different. I lost 4 lbs my first week averaging about 1400 calories and exercising about 75 minutes, 6 days/ week. The second week I dropped my calorie average, kept the exercise the same and only lost 1 lb. The best thing you can do is not compare yourself to others.

majope

Our stats are fairly close--I'm 5'7" and was at 170 when I started in mid-January with a goal to lose 15 pounds. I set MFP to half a pound a week, and have been losing steadily at a net of 1600-1800 per day (I actually upped my calories a little a few weeks ago because I was losing quicker than I wanted to). Total calories after eating back my exercise burn is usually around 2000-2400.

In less than two months, I've lost 8 pounds--almost halfway to my goal.

So, for me it works: set a small deficit when you don't have much to lose, be active, eat back your exercise calories. That gives me enough daily calories to work in treats so I don't feel deprived, making it easy to stick to a deficit.

Best of luck!

3dogsrunning

I have been tracking my calories on and off now for about a month.

there's lots of good info in the other answers... but if you don't consistently track, (almost) every single day, you can't really know what you are doing right or wrong.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

On top of that - MFP expects you to log exercise and eat those extra calories so even if it recommends 1300 you would likely be eating more.
Or try this
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Either way, pick a number, log consistently. Reasses in a month or so.

savithny

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

No one has EVER said that in "starvation mode" you can't lose weight. The issue is that very low calorie diets slow your metabolism, sometimes to the point that it is DIFFICULT to create a big enough calorie deficit to continue to lose weight rapidly, or even to lose weight at all. Once you've done that, your choice becomes to cut calories further, even more drastically -- or to try to restore metabolism ... by eating more.

As an example, a recent study of Biggest Loser contestants found that by week 30, they were burning 500 calories less per day than someone of their current weight who was not on a reduced calorie diet. If that was you, you could be walking around thinking you were eating to lose a pound a week, and in actually be eating at maintenance.

3dogsrunning

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

A. Lots of water weight

B. She may be very heavy (obese or very overweight), in which case large deficits and larger weight losses can be sustained. Cannot be sustained with little to lose.

C. "Starvation mode" is way over used...but yes, eventually she will stall out. A month is nothing...see where she's at in a couple months...my guess is a nice long plateau. It generally takes the body 4-6 weeks to adjust itself. Not really "starvation mode" though...just the body protecting itself by shutting down non-essential functions because it's not getting the energy it needs...think of rolling black outs in a city where the power plant can't provide enough energy...same concept.

On top of that - when she is at goal she will find it very difficult to maintain. I did it. Huge calorie burns, low food intake. I consistently lost. It was really hard to keep it off.

majope

Also, watch your carb intake... NO BREADS or Sugar!

Not necessary. At all. Eat in the way you intend to eat for the rest of your life, only a bit less to lose weight. Plenty of us here have lost weight while continuing to enjoy carbs--including sugar.

ChgingMe

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

No one has EVER said that in "starvation mode" you can't lose weight. The issue is that very low calorie diets slow your metabolism, sometimes to the point that it is DIFFICULT to create a big enough calorie deficit to continue to lose weight rapidly, or even to lose weight at all. Once you've done that, your choice becomes to cut calories further, even more drastically -- or to try to restore metabolism ... by eating more.

As an example, a recent study of Biggest Loser contestants found that by week 30, they were burning 500 calories less per day than someone of their current weight who was not on a reduced calorie diet. If that was you, you could be walking around thinking you were eating to lose a pound a week, and in actually be eating at maintenance.

I do believe she is cutting them even more. I know she isn't eating more. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.. thanx

FrnkLft

Well this one is easy, just use MFP's suggestion and try your best to hit your goal. Don't eat less than 1200 calories a day.

Also, make sure you are logging EVERYTHING you consume. If you leave out a soda or candy or that last minute meal you ate before bed because you were hungry, you're literally just cheating yourself and you're going to stay confused.

If it's embarassing, then just keep your Food Diary private so noone can see that you went over. Zero judgement here, just use it as a tool and keep working at it regardless of wether or not you meet your daily goals. You'll get there.

CMcBryer

okay ive read all the comments thus far. I have a question. know a person who is doing the following. insanity, p90x and the gym. EVERYDAY. Yes you read that correctly. She is barely eating yet losing massive amounts of weight. she lost 5 pounds just this past week alone. If the body truly goes into starvation mode and hangs on. How is she down about 20 pounds in 4 weeks... Hows that work.

Your friend's body is using whatever it can for fuel, which means that fat stores will be used, but there is a danger that muscle is also being broken down to fuel the body as well.

erikacole

1. How many calories have you been consuming. That information is needed to determine why you aren't losing weight. You may be eating too many or not enough.
2. What is your physical activity level?

The different numbers you are getting are likely your BMR and TDEE. Your BMR is the calories that your body would burn if you did absolutely nothing all day (stayed in bed, watched tv, etc). My BMR is around 1500 (I am 5'4" 162lbs). Now your TDEE takes into account all of your physical activity. If you are sedentary then your TDEE would be more than your BMR but not significantly. If you worked out, for instance, 5-6 days a week your TDEE would be in the lower 2,000 range (let's say 2,300 for the sake of argument). So you would need to eat 2,300 calories a day, plus workout 5-6 days to MAINTAIN your weight.

Now in order to lose weight, there needs to be a deficit of your TDEE. Most people start off at about a 20% deficit, so you would need to eat 20% less calories than whatever your TDEE is to lose weight. How large or small your deficit is will determine the rate you lose.

1. On average I have been consuming 1300 per MFP (at the set rate of 1.5 lbs a week).
2. My physical activity level is I usually exercise 30 minutes 4-5 times a week. I have been adding that activity and allowing myself to consume those calories.

Ok, so thinking out loud now.... my TDEE is 1,677 calories a day (BMR x 1.375 light activity). If my goal is 1lb./week I need to have an average 500 deficiency per day--thus 1,177 (even less than MFP allows!).

Wow....maybe I am over eating.....

pilk32

Do not get overwhelemed with numbers, and what the Internet says. It will just keep your head spinning.

Use common sense, and utilize MFP as a loose guideline for what YOU want to do. trust YOUR instincts, and do what YOU feel is right. Tweak what isnt working, and leave what is working alone.

As others have said, make sure you log EVERYTHING. Even a little 5 calorie Crystal Light packet. These things all add up, and you can start to see trends as to why you may not be getting scale victories. It is very telling.

Bottom line is, trust yourself, and do not get bogged down with too much research in front of a computer. Instead, spend that time on a treadmill WORKING on YOUR goal, rather than just researching it...

erikacole

MFP Is usually good with calories for weight loss if you've added your stats correctly. The most common thing I see on here is people who don't MEASURE. If you are estimating the amounts of what you're eating, it's likely that you are pretty far off with what you are consuming vs. what you are calculating. And the person above is right - you can cut your calories to starvation and not lose weight if you don't increase your metabolism by increasing your exercise a bit. Even some light walks will help if you're not an active person... I run but still gain weight when I don't measure my foods and just estimate my portion sizes...

Well I recalculated and am in agreement with you....MFP is right...I think I am over eating (which completely freaks me out as I am starving already! ha!-- I feel that way some days). Doesn't help right now that it is lunch time and I am PMSing!

I am lightly active (30 mins/4-5 days a week).

Thanks for your help!

erikacole

You don't have much to lose. Try setting your goal at either 1lb or 1/2lb a week, preferably the latter.

The less you have to lose, the less of a deficit you should have.

I have it set at 1.5 because I have 15 to loose and thought 10 weeks were a good amount.....I would hate to drop that and add 5 weeks to the course!

Thanks for your help!

sarah6336

The different calorie amounts suggested, I assume, are depending on exercise. I went with mfp's suggestions and lost 27-28 lbs over six months. For me, it was really slow at first. It is really key to measure and weigh your food while trying to diet. That, and accurately enter in your exercise. I hope this helps. Hang in there!

erikacole

Hi Erica,
It looks like you are trying to drop 15 lbs, a very reasonable goal. My suggestion is that you use TDEE - 15 or 20% as this gives you a calorie goal that is constant every day based on your weekly exercise rather than boomeranging around based on how much you exercise each day.

An example - my TDEE is 2800 so I am at 2300 kcal a day to lose a lb a week (this is about 20%. Because I eat food high in protein and with lots of whole grains, I probably only eat 2100-2200 a day on average (occasionally in the 2400 to 2500 range if I have a beer with friends).

And it works!

check out - http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Well I thought I figured my TDEE out qand it was 1,677 (my BMR 1220 x 1.375 light activity)., if I drop that it is down to 1,177.....MFP says 1,300 so maybe I am over eating?