Am I still doing something wrong?

laurarose831

Hello, I'm back for more advice. I've been counting calories on MFP for over a month... Several weeks ago, I got advice that I wasn't eating enough, was eating too may carbs, etc, and adjusted accordingly. When I did that, I felt like things were working! I was losing about a pound a week (my goal) for several weeks. However, lately, I've gained back the two pounds I lost and am not losing anything once again. I'm stuck. I've checked inches and they too are not changing much. I'm discouraged and just can't tell what's going on, what I'm doing wrong. I've read all the posts about TDEE and BMR and everything makes it sound straight forward... Calories in and calories out. I'm eating clean, exercising (weights and cardio), and not seeing results. Help? Feel free to look around my diary or ask questions.

jacksonpt

How long have you been "stuck"?

2lbs is well within range for normal body weight fluctuation.

concordancia

How tall are you?

How much do you weigh now?

laurarose831

I've been stuck a couple of weeks.

I'm 5'4", weigh 127 now.

EmmaKarney

from your profile pic, you don't look like you have too much to lose - 0.5lb a week would be acceptable. Bur weight loss isn't always constant - you may not lose for a couple of weeks and then lose a pound or more in one go.

Stay patient.

NaomiJFoster

You've only been doing it a month? That's not stuck, that's just normal. Yes, you can lose a pound a week. And sometimes that actually happens. But your pounds aren't actually based on a calender. It won't always be so regulated and scheduled. It will fluctuate, it will start and stop, it will have fast and slow times.

Personally, my 'schedule' seems to be that I lose 2 pounds, then gain one back, then stay right there for a week or two. Then lose three pounds very quickly, then gain two back, then stay right there for a week or two. Also, hormonal changes play into the numbers. The main thing isn't what you lose every time you weigh yourself on Sunday morning. You might not see it every single week. But keep at it. You'll see it start to change after a few weeks. It's a slow thing, it's taking longer than you'd hoped, but you'll get there.

askeates

At a quick glance, you are still under 1200 calories a day, which is the recommended lowest daily calorie goal for a woman. You may just need to kick it up a tiny bit more.

I was doing 1200 or less a day and started gaining weight (this is just my experience). Once I kicked it up to 1400-1500 calories a day I started losing weight, and have found the weeks I lose the most are the weeks that I had closer to 1500 calories a day (again, just my experience).

I rarely eat back my exercise calories (I often times struggle to get to my 1400-1500 calories) unless I plan to have a "cheat" day and don't want to go too far out of the plan. Like I know tonight I am taking the family to dinner to celebrate the babies first birthday, I have already planned my meal so I know what I need to do exercise wise.

Good luck and keep up the great work!

golden6911

127 and 5'4" tall is pretty thin. As you get closer to your optimal weight range, it gets harder and harder to lose weight. Also, it is possible you are gaining muscle if you are working out more, especially if you have shifted to a higher protein diet.

At your weight I would just concentrate on feeling good and being healthy, not obsessing about numbers on a scale.

Good luck!

concordancia

I've been stuck a couple of weeks.

I'm 5'4", weigh 127 now.

You are at a healthy weight right now. Losing any more would require you to have your diet and exercise dialed in.

Rather than focusing on the weight, add strength training to your routine. You may find that you like your body better with a different muscle to fat ratio,even at the same weight.

laurarose831

Thanks for the advice so far. To clarify two things... I've been working on losing weight for over 6 months, I've just only been using MFP as a tool for a little over a month. I've been stuck for months, and only just saw my first progress recently, before it stopped again. That's what I meant by "stuck." And I'm trying to get back to a weight I was previously at last year (and felt great at!) so I can fit into old clothes, feel like my old self etc. I know what the BMI charts say, but for me, 127 feels just a bit too high! I'm trying to get off the 5 or 10 pounds I gained last summer so I can feel like my old self Finally, I'm already working in some strength training in addition to cardio!

LoosingMyLast15

I've been stuck a couple of weeks.

I'm 5'4", weigh 127 now.

couple weeks is not that long esp when you don't have much to loose. i've been stuck for 2 months. the less you have to loose the longer it takes to loose it. i only have 15lbs left.

jonnythan

I can't speak for others, but I expected this. I would gradually start lowering the calorie intake down while keeping the same activity level.

tamjak

Do something different with your exercise. Try sprinting, if you don't do that now. Try uphill running. Try a different machine at the gym. Take a new exercise class.

laurarose831

I'm trying to eat about 1350-1450 calories, regardless of exactly how much estimated exercise I log. Since my net goal is at a 500 calorie deficit from my TDEE, 1150, that's eating back some but not all of my exercise calories. That seems to be a good amount in terms of hunger... providing me energy without stuffing myself and eating constantly.

As for activity level, I was starting to fear I was overtraining last week. I mean, I felt fine, no "symptoms" of overtraining, but since I wasn't seeing progress, I wondered if that was a possibility. I have a lot of time in my hands, so I've been doing a bit over an hour of cardio OR less than an hour after weight training—every other day... Plus some pilates and other home calisthenics/cardio later in the day. I've been mixing up exactly what I do, but tamjak, that's a good idea, I am working on adding completely different activities (hiking, biking, exercise videos and classes) in more. Last week, I was burning (based on MFP's rough estimates, not sure how accurate they are) 600 or so calories most days last week, versus 400 or so in previous weeks. I felt fine, great even, but couldn't tell if that was screwing with my metabolism.

MinnieInMaine

I think you're still not eating enough. Not sure where you got your TDEE numbers but here's what I got from Scooby's Workshop:
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Your BMR is 1402 - you should never net below this number. This means you've not been eating enough.

I wasn't sure on your activity level so I here are your two options.

1) Moderate activity (3-5 hours/week): TDEE 2174
2) Strenuous activity (5-6 hours/week) TDEE 2420

With less to lose, your calorie deficit should be lower so instead of 20%, let's use 15%

1) daily calories 1848
2) daily calories 2057

If your activity level changes from week to week, you could even take an average of the two and go with 1952. Either way, you're not eating nearly enough. If you don't fuel your body, you will not see the changes you're looking to see, especially with strength training.

Slowly increase your daily intake by about 100 calories a day per week. You may see a temporary gain or you may see a loss right away.

I'd also suggest adding sodium to your food tracker. I know for me, a couple high sodium days can really throw off the weigh in, especially that time of the month.

Best of luck!

P.S. If you dont want to use the method above and customize your settings, at the very least, set your weekly weight loss goal to only 1/2 pound per week and make sure you eat back your exercise calories.

laurarose831

Minnie, thanks for being so specific.

I admit, eating more makes me nervous. I feel full as it is most days on what I've been eating, I'm eating every few hours and it feels like plenty! I worked hard to increase protein and decrease carbs and have felt better eating that way. It's hard to balance listening to the numbers with listening to your body when I'm so scared of gaining more... so eating more, even if that's what the numbers say, is intimidating. I've always been a small eater and in the past maintained a fine weight. But, I admit, I didn't exercise as much in the past, so maybe I just really don't have a good sense of how much I need to eat to make up for a few hours of activity each day. I guess I'm thinking out loud but I'll definitely consider this once again. I like your idea of trying this by increasing by 100 per day. It's just hard for me to always hear that I'm not eating enough when I feel fine and am trying to lose weight! But who said the what our bodies do/need has to make sense, right?

Also, I know opinions about macro ratios vary greatly, but I've been at 45 carbs / 25 protein / 30 fat... Would a switch to 45 carbs / 30 protein / 25 fat help?