Help! The scale is not moving!

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  • wyomingmama
    wyomingmama Posts: 71 Member
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    Listen up, for the scale to move with little effort... Put wheels on it. I hope a smile was provided which may have helped you burn a few calories. :wink:

    Hahahah!
    I right now throwing it out the window would give me great joy! *snicker*
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
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    You're nursing and only eating 1500 calories? How often do you nurse? Your own body may require that much calorie intake to function, and you're giving some of it away to your baby. That can throw your body into some major confusion.

    You may be eating too little, which can temporarily cause your body to hold on to the fat (to keep stores for your baby) and lose muscle instead. Are you working out?

    See if you can find out what your TDEE is while nursing. Also know your BMR. Try to avoid eating below BMR, as that can upset your body's balance. Eat between BMR and TDEE to lose weight, and make sure you're keeping enough to adequately feed the baby.

    ETA: When you up your calories, you will gain weight temporarily as your body adjusts. But don't let that get to you. Eat healthy and well, and it will eventually work out!

    How do I figure my TDEE???

    What I did was use the MFP settings wich is 1200 and then at "nursing mother" to my food wich subtracts -300 cals!

    So that is why I eat 1500!

    Here's a TDEE calculator. Be honest about the energy you expend each day. A nursing mother should expect to need an extra 300-500 calories per day, and perhaps more, depending on how often and how much you're nursing (in other words, if you're normally sedentary, up your answer to at least "light exercise" to account for nursing).

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Good luck!
  • wyomingmama
    wyomingmama Posts: 71 Member
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    You're nursing and only eating 1500 calories? How often do you nurse? Your own body may require that much calorie intake to function, and you're giving some of it away to your baby. That can throw your body into some major confusion.

    You may be eating too little, which can temporarily cause your body to hold on to the fat (to keep stores for your baby) and lose muscle instead. Are you working out?

    See if you can find out what your TDEE is while nursing. Also know your BMR. Try to avoid eating below BMR, as that can upset your body's balance. Eat between BMR and TDEE to lose weight, and make sure you're keeping enough to adequately feed the baby.

    ETA: When you up your calories, you will gain weight temporarily as your body adjusts. But don't let that get to you. Eat healthy and well, and it will eventually work out!

    How do I figure my TDEE???

    What I did was use the MFP settings wich is 1200 and then at "nursing mother" to my food wich subtracts -300 cals!

    So that is why I eat 1500!

    Here's a TDEE calculator. Be honest about the energy you expend each day. A nursing mother should expect to need an extra 300-500 calories per day, and perhaps more, depending on how often and how much you're nursing (in other words, if you're normally sedentary, up your answer to at least "light exercise" to account for nursing).

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Good luck!

    my TDEE is 1950 (for light exercise for nursing)
    my bmr is 1418 but then I need to add 300 for nursing right?
    so my BMR is 1718?

    So I should eat at least 1718???
  • wyomingmama
    wyomingmama Posts: 71 Member
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    my TDEE is 1950 (for light exercise for nursing)
    my bmr is 1418 but then I need to add 300 for nursing right?
    so my BMR is 1718?

    So I should eat at least 1718???

    Help me with this last question!
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    Try anaerobic activities (weightlifting). A lot of women may think they'll gain a ton of muscle, but actually most women can only gain 1/2 pound of muscle every 2 weeks. You won't bulk up but you will shred fat and get a hard body. Hope this helps.

    I do lite weightlifting dvd for women! 2x per week! 3.5 lbs for 20 mins. It burns my arms and full body with squats, abs pushups etc.

    Is that enough to gain 1'2 a pound???

    That is not weight lifting...and you are eating at a severe deficit, so no way can you build 1.2lbs of muscle... Eat more and lift heavy...
  • jazzyscoob
    jazzyscoob Posts: 1 Member
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    Some people do not lose any weight when nursing. I was one of the unlucky few. I worked out and ate right when nursing my son. Did not lose a pound. Once I stopped nursing the weight started to melt off. Keep exercising and stick to measurements the scale will catch up at some point. :)
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    Eat at least your BMR every day plus extra for breast feeding. I'd probably start at around 1800-2000 calories per day and see how your body reacts to that. If, after a month of eating at that level you have maintained your weight or gained, then consider decreasing your calories.
  • kristinL16
    kristinL16 Posts: 401 Member
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    How old is your baby? If your baby is still exclusively nursing you probably need closer to 500 extra calories, not just 300. When I was figuring out my daily calorie goal I used a number of methods/information. I found sites that said nursing mothers should eat at least 1700-1800 calories. My BMR is about 1200 (I am short and over 35) and am usually sedentary on days I work. When I calculate my TDEE, take 20% off that and then add 500 for breastfeeding I end up close to 1750, which is where I set my goal. I typically lose .5 lb per week. I would like it to be more, but I'm hoping that now that my son is eating more solids (he is 9 months) that my body will let go of weight faster. I will re-evaluate my calorie goal in the next month or so depending on how things go. May need to adjust it down as my body doesn't need to produce as much milk. Also, many people will tell you that a .5-1lb per week loss is all to shoot for when nursing, since you don't want to stress your body too much. The closer you are to goal the harder it is to pull off those higher numbers, too.

    That being said, some weeks we lose, some weeks we don't. A 5lb loss is in one month is good!
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
    Options
    You're nursing and only eating 1500 calories? How often do you nurse? Your own body may require that much calorie intake to function, and you're giving some of it away to your baby. That can throw your body into some major confusion.

    You may be eating too little, which can temporarily cause your body to hold on to the fat (to keep stores for your baby) and lose muscle instead. Are you working out?

    See if you can find out what your TDEE is while nursing. Also know your BMR. Try to avoid eating below BMR, as that can upset your body's balance. Eat between BMR and TDEE to lose weight, and make sure you're keeping enough to adequately feed the baby.

    ETA: When you up your calories, you will gain weight temporarily as your body adjusts. But don't let that get to you. Eat healthy and well, and it will eventually work out!

    How do I figure my TDEE???

    What I did was use the MFP settings wich is 1200 and then at "nursing mother" to my food wich subtracts -300 cals!

    So that is why I eat 1500!

    Here's a TDEE calculator. Be honest about the energy you expend each day. A nursing mother should expect to need an extra 300-500 calories per day, and perhaps more, depending on how often and how much you're nursing (in other words, if you're normally sedentary, up your answer to at least "light exercise" to account for nursing).

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    Good luck!

    my TDEE is 1950 (for light exercise for nursing)
    my bmr is 1418 but then I need to add 300 for nursing right?
    so my BMR is 1718?

    So I should eat at least 1718???

    I would say start with that, yes. Remember, you will likely put on some weight in the first two weeks as your body adjusts. You'll have to let yourself do it longer than that. Then reassess in a month or two.

    Losing weight takes time if you want to do it right. Make it a habit, a new way of looking at eating and exercising. And don't worry about what you're doing weight wise. You're doing fine. If you want to try to increase your weight lifting, look into a good body weight routine. Pushups, squats, lunges... and if you want to add weight to it, keep your milk jugs and fill them with sand or kitty litter for cheap weights that are heavier than 5 pounds. But don't stress it. Just keep moving every day if you can, and that will help, too.

    Have fun with it. You'll be fine. Just be patient with your body.
  • LMiller81
    LMiller81 Posts: 94 Member
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    So... based on all that has been said... up your calories and... set those NSV 'carrots'... go get that pedicure, girl. 5 lbs and that many inches (and all the math you just did) deserves a pedi~!
  • shivles
    shivles Posts: 468 Member
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    Yep 1700 at least! I'd say your body is probably slowing down because it thinks you're starving. Up the calories and the weights, do some proper weight training and you'll shred the fat and gain lovely lean muscle. Chuck the scale out and make friends with the tape measure :)

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