What do I do when nothing works?

GrillDaddy

I also suggest adding the intermittent fasting.

AllonsYtotheTardis

" I eat 1800 calories a day (tried 1200, but that was putting me into starvation mode according to my nutritionist)"

unless you are very overweight, 1800 cals will be too much. I would put on weight if I were eating 1800 per day too. If I've eaten 1800 cal in a day it means I've binged! Also, don't kid yourself by thinking that just because they're "healthy" calories they don't count. You need to accumulate a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound, if you are not accumulating a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. It's actually very simple.

No. It *may* be too much for her, but blanket statements like this are not useful at all. I'm 20 years older than her, much shorter, weigh less, and I'm still eating 1700 calories on an exercise day. ( and still losing)

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

How long have you been eating 1800? Do you eat exercise calories on top of that or not? Do you use a food scale?

ThickMcRunFast

" I eat 1800 calories a day (tried 1200, but that was putting me into starvation mode according to my nutritionist)"

unless you are very overweight, 1800 cals will be too much. I would put on weight if I were eating 1800 per day too. If I've eaten 1800 cal in a day it means I've binged! Also, don't kid yourself by thinking that just because they're "healthy" calories they don't count. You need to accumulate a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound, if you are not accumulating a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. It's actually very simple.

I would suggest either:
a) ignore your nutritionist- go back to 1200 as your limit, just make sure that the 1200 calories are nutrient-dense i.e. lots of protein, fibre and small amts of good fats; or
b) if you don't want to ignore your nutritionist just set your daily calorie limit a little bit higher e.g. 1400 per day and again make sure nutrient-dense.

Also suggest spacing your food intake out throughout the day e.g. have 3 meals of around 300 cal each, 2 snacks of 150 cal, leave 3-4 hours between eating. This should stop your body from going into "starvation mode" (since you will be feeding it regularly) and also should help limit cravings (if that is a problem for you).

I eat 2000 calories a day and am losing quite fine (145 lbs).

Mother_Superior

1) weigh and measure absolutely everything you eat.
2) get a good amount of protein. Aim for 1g/lb. lbm. Or at least 100 grams a day.
3) watch to make sure you're getting your micronutrients
4) eat enough fats
5) have another doctor check your thyroid, check for other medical conditions as well.
6) cut back on the cardio. You don't need that much.
7) if nothing else works, then try a mild form of intermittent fasting and skip breakfast. Consume your calories between 10 am and 8 pm. When I stalled, this worked well for me to get me going. My husband also tested it and it helped him break his plateau. And if you do cardio, do it before you eat. (It's pure bro-science, but it worked for me).

Poetry.

Annerk1

" I eat 1800 calories a day (tried 1200, but that was putting me into starvation mode according to my nutritionist)"

unless you are very overweight, 1800 cals will be too much. I would put on weight if I were eating 1800 per day too. If I've eaten 1800 cal in a day it means I've binged! Also, don't kid yourself by thinking that just because they're "healthy" calories they don't count. You need to accumulate a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound, if you are not accumulating a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. It's actually very simple.

Unless you are super short and super light and do nothing all day, you will be hard pressed to gain on 1800 cals. Like I (and a lot of others) have already posted, lots of people (including short, fairly light people like myself) lose weight easily on 1800 cals.

I can tell you that isn't the case. I am 5'6" and would not lose at 1800 calories, I'd gain unless I was exercising off 300 or more of them every day.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

" I eat 1800 calories a day (tried 1200, but that was putting me into starvation mode according to my nutritionist)"

unless you are very overweight, 1800 cals will be too much. I would put on weight if I were eating 1800 per day too. If I've eaten 1800 cal in a day it means I've binged! Also, don't kid yourself by thinking that just because they're "healthy" calories they don't count. You need to accumulate a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound, if you are not accumulating a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. It's actually very simple.

Unless you are super short and super light and do nothing all day, you will be hard pressed to gain on 1800 cals. Like I (and a lot of others) have already posted, lots of people (including short, fairly light people like myself) lose weight easily on 1800 cals.

I can tell you that isn't the case. I am 5'6" and would not lose at 1800 calories, I'd gain unless I was exercising off 300 or more of them every day.

Are we talking about 1800 gross or 1800 net though? Because those are two very different conversations.

cmeiron

Can you answer the very important points below:

If you are weighing and/or measuring everything and being honest....

Pssst. OP. This ^^^^

Answer? Are you actually using a food scale?

cmeiron

" I eat 1800 calories a day (tried 1200, but that was putting me into starvation mode according to my nutritionist)"

unless you are very overweight, 1800 cals will be too much. I would put on weight if I were eating 1800 per day too. If I've eaten 1800 cal in a day it means I've binged! Also, don't kid yourself by thinking that just because they're "healthy" calories they don't count. You need to accumulate a calorie deficit of 3500 to lose one pound, if you are not accumulating a calorie deficit you will not lose weight. It's actually very simple.

I would suggest either:
a) ignore your nutritionist- go back to 1200 as your limit, just make sure that the 1200 calories are nutrient-dense i.e. lots of protein, fibre and small amts of good fats; or
b) if you don't want to ignore your nutritionist just set your daily calorie limit a little bit higher e.g. 1400 per day and again make sure nutrient-dense.

Also suggest spacing your food intake out throughout the day e.g. have 3 meals of around 300 cal each, 2 snacks of 150 cal, leave 3-4 hours between eating. This should stop your body from going into "starvation mode" (since you will be feeding it regularly) and also should help limit cravings (if that is a problem for you).

I eat 2000 calories a day and am losing quite fine (145 lbs).

Also, ditto this. Except I eat about 2150 and I'm still losing at 125.

1800 calories in one day is not a "binge". That term gets thrown around way too much around here.

You won't go into "starvation mode" if you don't eat 5-6 times a day. The number of meals, their timing and spacing boils down to personal preference. Me, I like a lot of meals. Some people like 2-3. Both approaches work.

To harp on my last post, I would stick with the 1800 cal/day goal but actually weigh your food. I'm guessing that you don't since you're not saying that you are. Your main issue is probably underestimation of your intake. Once you get a sense of what you're ACTUALLY eating you can make the necessary adjustments. No sense in changing things until you have accurate data.

cmeiron

... eh, nvmd.

ironanimal

There are a lot of numbers between 1200 and 1800. It seems like 1800 is too many for weight loss for you. I would eat 1800 cals. if I wanted to weight 180 lbs. (rule of thumb).

bump! ive heard this before.. my sisters boyfriend said that.. like if you wanted to weigh 150 then you eat 1500 cals a day...160 then 1600 cals a day etc.. kinda cool

Complete ****ing nonsense.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

There are a lot of numbers between 1200 and 1800. It seems like 1800 is too many for weight loss for you. I would eat 1800 cals. if I wanted to weight 180 lbs. (rule of thumb).

bump! ive heard this before.. my sisters boyfriend said that.. like if you wanted to weigh 150 then you eat 1500 cals a day...160 then 1600 cals a day etc.. kinda cool

Complete ****ing nonsense.

Agreed. I'd be eating 1250 instead of 1900. :noway:

rwhyte12

Hi. One of the things that could be holding you up is digestion. I take about a spoonful of chlorophyll a day, instead of yogurt. I read something (not sure how true it is), that people can hold up to ten pounds of waste with inefficient digestion.
I buy it at a health food store that caters to weigh lifters.

Ed98043

No one is immune to the rules of physiology - if you're running a calorie deficit you will lose weight. If you eat low (but not starvation-level) calories, your body might respond by adjusting its metabolism to compensate and your weight would remain stable. If you're gaining weight, then you have a calorie surplus and you need to eat less or exercise more to create a deficit. The trick is to find the level at which your body metabolizes maximum fat. I have found that my best calorie level is about 1,500. Less than that and I stall, more than that and I maintain or gain.

It would be really helpful if you could open your diary and answer some of the direct questions people have asked several times about how you're measuring your calories and if you're eating back exercise calories - and if so how you're determining what you burn. The thing is that there are people posting every single day saying they can't understand why they're not losing weight, but when prodded a bit they admit that they're only estimating what they eat, or aren't counting their midnight snacks, or didn't realize that they should be logging what they drink...so we want to rule out the obvious. We're just trying to help.

littlelady2b

It sounds like you have been yoyo dieting and what it can do is mess up your metabolism and confuse your body. Seeing as you have a nutritionist to talk to you may want to discuss that with her/him. I am surprised that she has you on such a high calorie intake though. Fad diets are very unhealthy for your body and most don't work for the long term you usually end up gaining the weight back plus more. The idea that if you want to weigh 180lbs you eat 1800 calories is interesting I have never heard of that even when I was attending university. It doesn't make sense especially since everyone is different and their bodies are in different stages of life which means following that could put weight on some people yet others would lose weight. I eat 1260 calories a day and I want to lose 90 lbs if I ate 1900 caloris a day I'd definately gain weight. Everyone is at a different fitness level as well some can't exercise enough to burn the calories to take weight off when on such a high calorie diet. One way to boost your metabolism is through exercise even if the weight isn't coming off being consistant and sticking to counting calories and exercising consistantly your body will eventually adjust, get out of the rut and start losing weight. Reprogramming your body after yoyo dieting is difficult I know I did it. Also consulting your doctor about your metabolism and maybe your thyroid and just telling him/her how you're feeling may also help you and besides consulting a doctor about dieting is a good idea anyway.

meeper123

1) weigh and measure absolutely everything you eat.
2) get a good amount of protein. Aim for 1g/lb. lbm. Or at least 100 grams a day.
3) watch to make sure you're getting your micronutrients
4) eat enough fats
5) have another doctor check your thyroid, check for other medical conditions as well.
6) cut back on the cardio. You don't need that much.
7) if nothing else works, then try a mild form of intermittent fasting and skip breakfast. Consume your calories between 10 am and 8 pm. When I stalled, this worked well for me to get me going. My husband also tested it and it helped him break his plateau. And if you do cardio, do it before you eat. (It's pure bro-science, but it worked for me).

Poetry.

hmm interesting

herhighnessvictoria

Okay, I've made my diary public. I would just like to add that the past few weeks have been weird because of finals and moving home from college, so I'm still adjusting to the way my parents do things and what I have to add or subtract from what they're doing.

Also, no I have not been measuring because I have been on the meal plan at college, since I live in a dorm and it would be very hard to cook for myself and too easy to eat microwave food. So I eat (healthily) at the dining halls. And I know the look a lot of you have right now but I go to a very large school with very nice dining halls. Trust me on ths one.

EmilyTwist1

There are a lot of numbers between 1200 and 1800. It seems like 1800 is too many for weight loss for you. I would eat 1800 cals. if I wanted to weight 180 lbs. (rule of thumb).

bump! ive heard this before.. my sisters boyfriend said that.. like if you wanted to weigh 150 then you eat 1500 cals a day...160 then 1600 cals a day etc.. kinda cool

By that logic, Michel Phelps should weigh 1200 pounds....

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I took a look through your diary. I think you need some work on logging accuracy. Read this:


http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

Weigh your meats raw. Don't use generic things like "steak," look for "beef sirloin raw." Avoid entries from the database like "generic omelet." Instead you'd enter "2 whole egg raw, 2 oz cooper cheddar cheese, 20 grams portabella mushrooms" etc. Use the entries with no asterisk wherever possible because those have been checked against the USDA database.

Try making sure you stick to 1800 calories using accurate logging and your food scale for 4 weeks. If you haven't lost anything go down 200 calories and repeat.

Ed98043

Okay, I've made my diary public. I would just like to add that the past few weeks have been weird because of finals and moving home from college, so I'm still adjusting to the way my parents do things and what I have to add or subtract from what they're doing.

Also, no I have not been meaduring because I have been on the meal plan at college, since I live in a dorm and it would be very hard to cook for myself and too easy to eat microwave food. So I eat (healthily) at the dining halls. And I know the look a lot of you have right now but I go to a very large school with very nice dining halls. Trust me on ths one.

NOW we're getting somewhere. So you don't really know how many calories you're eating because you didn't prepare the food, and don't measure or weigh it. Mystery solved, but I'm not sure how to correct it in your situation other than telling you to eat less than you are now. Or you might be a good candidate for intermittent fasting where you eat only 500 calories for 2 non-consecutive days a week, and eat normally the rest of the time. As long as you don't use the non-fasting days to pig out and make up for lost calories, it works and requires very little calorie counting.