HELP! Any ideas of what is going on???

AJCM

Can anyone help? :flowerforyou:

I've been on MFP for 4 weeks, and have lost 5lbs, 1lb, 1lb, and now 0lb in each respective week! What gives! I've slowed down, and now lost NOTHING this week! Help!

My daily cals: 1200 before exercise
My BMR cals: 1400
My daily exercise cals: 400-500

My meals... yesterday for example... 1380 calories (but the computer said I could have eaten 1560 to lose 2 lbs per week)
B: banana, 1 tbl spoon natural peanut butter, coffee, light cream (210 cals)
S: apple slices with cinnamon sprinkled on top (70 cals)
S: large mug green tea (0 cals)
L: baked chicken breast on salad with light ranch dressing (350)
S: lentil soup with 4 rice crackers (190)
S: 3 pretzel sticks, 1 baby mum mum (40) (shared in the kids snacks) :blushing:
lean pork souvlaki; brown rice; steamed snow peas (420)
S: Orville Red Smart Pop, Diet Coke (100)
(water - 2.5 litres on average per day)

Do you think the night time snack is bad? I have a snack most nights, and diet coke is part of that routine most nights. By the time I get to the snack, I'm starving, and by the time I get to bed, my stomach is growling again. So I don't think I am overeating!

Thoughts? Does something look off in my diet?
Thanks,
Amanda
:flowerforyou:

AJCM

Can anyone help? :flowerforyou:

I've been on MFP for 4 weeks, and have lost 5lbs, 1lb, 1lb, and now 0lb in each respective week! What gives! I've slowed down, and now lost NOTHING this week! Help!

My daily cals: 1200 before exercise
My BMR cals: 1400
My daily exercise cals: 400-500

My meals... yesterday for example... 1380 calories (but the computer said I could have eaten 1560 to lose 2 lbs per week)
B: banana, 1 tbl spoon natural peanut butter, coffee, light cream (210 cals)
S: apple slices with cinnamon sprinkled on top (70 cals)
S: large mug green tea (0 cals)
L: baked chicken breast on salad with light ranch dressing (350)
S: lentil soup with 4 rice crackers (190)
S: 3 pretzel sticks, 1 baby mum mum (40) (shared in the kids snacks) :blushing:
lean pork souvlaki; brown rice; steamed snow peas (420)
S: Orville Red Smart Pop, Diet Coke (100)
(water - 2.5 litres on average per day)

Do you think the night time snack is bad? I have a snack most nights, and diet coke is part of that routine most nights. By the time I get to the snack, I'm starving, and by the time I get to bed, my stomach is growling again. So I don't think I am overeating!

Thoughts? Does something look off in my diet?
Thanks,
Amanda
:flowerforyou:

borjanap

your diet looks pretty good.But you have to remember all of that food adn water adds weight. What you probably need to do is weigh yourself in on one day where your carbs are kinda low and you dont drink as much water. You should also do it in the morning...

AJCM

Thanks borjanap - it was also a "bad time of the month" to weigh if you know what I mean... :grumble:

dfrei50

They say that when you drastically change your calorie intake, your body switches to "hunger mode". Which means, you do not lose weight so fast anymore. :sad:

I guess you just have to stick with it, and your body will have to "give" sooner or later.

PrincessRitty

Just a little thought, are you eating your meals at the right times, not so much all of them mainly dinner. if you go t bed say 10pm, you dont want to have eaten after 5.30-6pm. I know that gives like 4 hours till bed, but maybe thats when u can start taking your water allowance in. ater keeps you from snacking (So i heard), and what better place to have to keep running for a pee (Its better than at work lol).

If you want to snack, and other than your diet coke, you would usually have something else, keep it extra light. Such as a few veggie stix (Celery, cucumber, carrots) with a little salsa, or cream cheese. Just a few stix should kirb the hunger, and before you know it youll be in bed!

If you eat very similar for breakfast, then switch it up, and have a change! I remeber when 2 weetabix would fill me up, then after just a week, it crept up 2 three :noway: bcus as with exercise, my body got used to it.

Im not really too good at these things, but theyre just a few of my ideas!!

Ive also cut caffine out of my diet, but since iv only done this for jus over a week, so i wont comment on if thats helped lol

_-x

TamTastic

Hey! I know it can get discouraging! Trust me. I have had a rough March!! Great one week and iffy the rest of the month. It's kind of amazing how your body can mess with you!!

Anyway, your diet seems to be good and you are taking into the consideration the exercise, etc. Are you drinking enough water? Also, maybe the night before you weigh (assuming you weigh in the morning, one day a week), watch your snacks, sodium and water. Those can add up to either a maintain or even a gain. The good news is that it is not real weight, but it can mess with the scale.

I see you are only trying to lose 27 lbs. I don't mean "only" in the sense that it is not as important as anyone else but with me starting this having to lose 135, down 71 and trying to lose another 64....27 lbs would be heaven! All about perspective!

ANYWAY, you lost the first 5, which was mostly water weight (which is the average of what a lot of people do in the first week) and then the 1 lb losses are actually very good and consistent with your current weight and what you are trying to do. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I mean, as hard as it will be, I know I will get to the point that my losses come on much slower due to my weight getting lower and lower.

Also, as much as I like diet coke, I have all but cut it and all soda out simply because it does nothing for me. There is no nutritional value or "help" when it comes to keeping me full. That is one trick I have learned. Eat and drink things that will keep me satisfied because I hate that hollow stomach feeling. I have an evening snack...and lately in the cold weather, it has been a mug of diet cocoa with a 100 cal pack or something. But the cocoa is much more filling and keeps me going. If you don't like that, try decaf green or herbal teas or something else that might keep you feeling satisfied.

I am kind of rambling on here, but just trying to help you figure this out. It could very well be a weird week where your body is holding onto water more or you had more sodium and that could account for the maintain OR if you are working out, it could be your body adjusting to that as well. Don't worry...just keep up the good work and you will be great!!

Tami

AJCM

Thanks Princess - don't take my coffee and diet coke away!!! :grumble:

Many days the snacks are veggies, and I usually do give a few hours between eating and bed (I have two toddlers, so we eat at 7, 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 5:00 and then if I have lots of cals left, I have a snack around 7:30 - 8:00 and then to bed around 11:00.

I've also heard that it's good to eat something small every couple of hours, and by the time evening snacks rolls around, my stomach is GROWLING!

I'm just going to hang in...

REB89

i was in the same situation but i stuck with it and after having a plateau for almost a month i finally started losign weight again. Read Bank's post about the stage of weight loss, you're probably in stage 2. So be patient and the weight will start comning off again soon!

REB89

this is the post i was talking about http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

TamTastic

Thanks borjanap - it was also a "bad time of the month" to weigh if you know what I mean... :grumble:

Omg, there you go girl!!! hehe That always messes with my weigh-ins!! Please! You are fine!

AJCM

Thanks Tami - I follow your posts - so I'm a fan! And you've been so successful!:flowerforyou:

I've been sworn off diet coke, until I started this, and then I thought it was a nice treat for no calories! Some nights I do use your light cocoa idea! Thanks...

I'm going to hang in there...
I've broken the 25 BMI barrier, so if I don't make it down 27 more lbs, it's no big deal, but that is my ultimate goal!

AJCM

Thanks Rebecca - I'll check out the post right now!
:flowerforyou:

TamTastic

Thanks Tami - I follow your posts - so I'm a fan! And you've been so successful!:flowerforyou:

I've been sworn off diet coke, until I started this, and then I thought it was a nice treat for no calories! Some nights I do use your light cocoa idea! Thanks...

I'm going to hang in there...
I've broken the 25 BMI barrier, so if I don't make it down 27 more lbs, it's no big deal, but that is my ultimate goal!

Thanks!! Hopefully I keep going strong!! LOL!

I do have an occasional diet coke or diet dr. pepper. It's not that it is SO bad for you and it is zero calories. It DOES have sodium in it...I don't think enough to make a huge deal but it is there, so because of that and because it doesn't keep me satisfied for long is why I drink other things. But, don't stress yourself out and give it up if it helps you out. I have my big mug of coffee every morning and I don't feel the least bit guilty, because I drink a lot of water the remainder of the day.

Congrats on breaking the 25 BMI barrier! I can't wait to reach that! Yeah, you know your body and you know what you're comfortable with. Just go with your gut and feel good, that is the most important thing. The number on the scale is JUST a guideline....it is not EVERYTHING!!

xmimikinsx

IMPORTANT

You MUST eat the calories your are given and the calories you burn. Your body NEEDS 1200 calories ok? So, if you eat 1200 and the burn 400 technically you've only eaten 800 calories in a day. That is WAY below what you should be eating and will cause your body to slow down it's metabolism and put you in stravation mode.

Seriously, if you get 1200 kcal and then 600 kcal on a treadmill you NEED to eat 1800kcal. Does that make sense?

No use thinking, ooh goody I've burnt off 400 kcal of what i've eaten today that is NOT good!

edyta

I'm in quite a similar situation. I increased my calories a bit recently and we'll see how it works.
I'm often hungry before going to bed and I try just to ignore it but I wonder if this is not slowing metabolism down a little?
I was also wondering what happens if my net calories (food - exercise) go below 1200 - is it good for my metabolism?

How much do you weight right now? Maybe you are close to your perfect weight? Maybe try to figure out how much body fat you have. I used this test http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html and it said I've got 25% body fat which is acceptable/fitness so not that bad.

Maybe you really need more calories and your body has just discovered it should switch to starvation mode?

Is your goal set to losing 2lb per week? 1lb is better and healthier, I guess.

edyta

IMPORTANT

You MUST eat the calories your are given and the calories you burn. Your body NEEDS 1200 calories ok? So, if you eat 1200 and the burn 400 technically you've only eaten 800 calories in a day. That is WAY below what you should be eating and will cause your body to slow down it's metabolism and put you in stravation mode.

Seriously, if you get 1200 kcal and then 600 kcal on a treadmill you NEED to eat 1800kcal. Does that make sense?

No use thinking, ooh goody I've burnt off 400 kcal of what i've eaten today that is NOT good!

Just a though about burned calories:
When I started using a heart rate monitor I discovered that my stationary bike shows me more calories burnt that my heat rate monitor. The difference was huge! Ex. 400 and 600 calories so it's something you shouldn't ignore!!!
I weight 140lb so I guess monitor at my bike is set for a heavier or less fit person.
I think it may be important for us all, girls, because we are not very heavy :flowerforyou:

edyta

Thanks Princess - don't take my coffee and diet coke away!!! :grumble:

Many days the snacks are veggies, and I usually do give a few hours between eating and bed (I have two toddlers, so we eat at 7, 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 5:00 and then if I have lots of cals left, I have a snack around 7:30 - 8:00 and then to bed around 11:00.

I've also heard that it's good to eat something small every couple of hours, and by the time evening snacks rolls around, my stomach is GROWLING!

I'm just going to hang in...

AJCM, I love coffee as well and can't live without it!! But, sorry to say - if I don't drink it, I'm not that hungry :ohwell:
I bought myself a chicory coffee with some vitamins and I try to drink it some days instead of a real one. There's no way to give up coffee completely, however

alf1163

Don't despair, I know it is frustrating at times!! It could have been that time of the month, definitely...why don't you just let it go for this week but continue with your exercise and nutrition plan. Everything looks good to me and about the night time snacking, I don't think it is bad unless you are going over you caloric limit and you are eating too close to your bedtime. 8pm would be the latest if you go to bed at 11pm. Hang in there!!!!

AJCM

Thanks Alf!
:flowerforyou:

This is about the time I would usually quit (I've tried to lose this weight since having my daughter, and she's 13 months now!!!)... I'm going to keep going!

lietee

well i was doing the same thing and wasnt loosing at all. So now my daily diet consists of

For breakfast at 6 am
l bowl of All bran strawberry medly with 2% milke
At 10 am - bannana
Lunch is one whole wheat sandwich either tomato sanwich or egg salad sandwich no yellow has miricle whip not mayo or one lean cicken sandwich. I add mustard and lettuce to my sandwiches also around 1/2 a cucumber
pm snack oround 2 30 is usually a yogurt

Supper has been one can of tuna in water and a can of vegetables like green beans or peas yes thats a whole can of each.

i drink lots of water in the day and if i do stay up past 10 to watch a movie ill have one 100 cal bag of popcorn
I have been loosing like .5 lbs in a 3 or 4 day period its slow but its working!!

Keep it up itll come along

My exercizes are Tae Bo Amped 30 mins next day 41 mins next day 52 mins then i repeat i exercize every day

packyhj

My trainer has me cut out carbs after 4:00 AND fluctuate my calories between 1200 and 1400 per day thus keeping your metabolism constantly revved up. Try that.

astridfeline

It seems to me that if your BMR is 1400 you should not eat below that level. Read THE answers to THE questions thread, it is a great explanation.

AJCM

Thanks for all the tips guys (and gals of course)!
:flowerforyou:

pam0206

Yep. I'm with Alf. Don't change anything esp. if it's that time of month. Once you get through it, you will lose a few more pounds. I never lose the week before my period, but start losing again the week of. The week after is usually good! It sounds like your body is adjusting to your diet to lose about a pound a week after your first initial, big loss. GL!:flowerforyou:

sindyb9

Its been 3 weeks and I lost 5lbs in my first week none the second and third. I am sticking with it but is very discouraging. Instead of 5 times a week I am going to exercise 7 if it kills me and maybe I will start loosing again.

AJCM

Hi Sindy and all... thanks for the support! I'm sticking with it - and trying to stay away from that scale until Monday!!!

Edyta - ugh, that chicory coffee??? I bought the rye & chicory "Bambu" - I just couldn't do it!!! My naturopath tried to get me onto it. Coffee for me is ritual: I grind my beans every morning, enjoy the aroma as it perks, I mean, I LOVE my coffee...

(I have heard that caffeine is a hunger driver, but it is a pleasure in life...)

Eliyan

Yeah, I noticed that you said you could have eaten a lot more calories than you did to still lose 2 lbs a week. Two lbs a week is the highest end of a general healthy weight loss per week, so if you're eating even less than that, that could be slowing you down. The whole starvation mode thing.

Personally I would try to eat between the amount of calories the computer gives you for 1 lb a week and 2 lbs a week, if you understand that, just to make sure your body is getting what it needs and not stocking up on fat.

And, of course, try not to get too discouraged when it's that time of the month.

lotusfromthemud

Re-read your initial post, only translate it. "Ive lost 6 pounds in a month." That is awesome!

Our bodies hate math. And, the less you have to lose, the slower it will go. Also, I gain about five pounds one week a month, so if you didn't GAIN anything in your special lady time, that's practically a loss.

Keep the faith!:flowerforyou:

AJCM

Thanks Viviakay and all!
:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: