UGH!! No loss!

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  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    If my BMR is 1331 why does MFP have my goal calories at 1200? Even if I just sat around all day isn't 1200 too low?

    Someone once described MFP as a "dumb" tool. And he was right. MFP is great, but it can only take so many things into account. It gives 1200 as the minimum number of calories for everybody, regardless of age, height, weight, gender, or activity level, because 1200 is the absolute lowest recommended intake for almost everybody. But you're right, it isn't generally a good idea to eat less than your BMR. That's where the manual settings come in. It spit out 1200 for you because you told it you wanted to lose a certain amount per week, so it's trying to help you reach that goal. But it might not be possible or healthy for you to lose as fast as you wanted. I personally like to manually set my calorie goals, as well as my macro percentages, because then I know that my MFP goals are tailored for MY life and MY optimal health, not some vague ideal for the "average" person, whoever that is.
  • Kess31
    Kess31 Posts: 27 Member
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    By you not eating back your exercise calorie did it help you lose .... My first 2 weeks i have lost 3lbs and I am working out and eating a fair diet
  • jennetters
    jennetters Posts: 16 Member
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    be patient! keep doing what you are doing. i think it took me two months before i saw any kind of weight loss and i noticed i lost inches before the scale actually moved. i started going to a muscle class once a week when i started almost a year ago. after a while i tried to do some muscle training two more days a week. i really think the muscle work helped in my weight loss. it is a good motivator too. in the beginning i didn't eat back all of my calories everyday. but weekly i was always under but not by much. i look at my calories weekly rather than daily some days are easier than others.
  • KrazyAsianNic
    KrazyAsianNic Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I would be patient. You could be losing weight but it's being replaced with muscle... which is a good thing.
  • SGT_Reg
    SGT_Reg Posts: 186 Member
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    I'm probably going to get a lot of preaching for this, but..
    Don't eat back your exercise calories, that's what I did at first.

    This depends on how many exercise calories that you have every day. You should eat most of them back if they are greater than 600. This of course is my proffessional opinion. You don't want too big of a deficit, because you are just gonna get hungry and/or tired.
  • CallyBeth08
    CallyBeth08 Posts: 50 Member
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    Also up your fiber intake. Fiber does wonders!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    If my BMR is 1331 why does MFP have my goal calories at 1200? Even if I just sat around all day isn't 1200 too low?

    So if you know your BMR is about 1331 then lets do the math. Since you are a teacher - according to your profile - we will label you as lightly active. I say this as you will burn more calories than I will since I sit behind a desk all day. So with this information alone, your TDEE or total daily energy expended (total calories you burn from metabolic functions and daily activities) would be:

    = 1331 * 1.375 = 1830 <--- how many calories you burn if you just did your daily routine.

    Now lets say you exercise and burn 300 calories, so your new tdee is:

    =1830 +300 = 2130

    So that means you burn about 2130 (give or take some based on exercise) calories a day. This is where you form your deficit. The closer to a healthy weight (not goal weight) the smaller the calorie deficit needs to be to allow your body to have enough energy to burn the fuel and prevent the release of high amounts of cortisol, which can lead to prevenetion of weight loss.

    So caloric requirements = 2130 * .8 =1704

    This means you should for 1700 calories on this day.


    Now, there are other ways to figure out calories so you don't have to chase calories. You do this by including it in your tdee. So if you workout 4 days week and are lightly active, you are around moderately to very active.


    TDEE = 1331 * 1.55 (moderately active) * .8 = 1650
    TDEE = 1331 * 1.725 (very active) *.8 = 1836

    With this method, you do NOT eat back exercise calories but rather aim for the same calorie goal. You calorie deficit is over the week. So you feed your body on rest days to repair and rebuild. For you, I would recommend around 1700 calories to start. Watch that for a month. If you dont lose but don' gain, then increase your calories by another 200 (sounds crazy right). Unfortunately, we have to find your sweet spot while still working to maintain lean body mass (muscle) as lbm is what makes you have a defined and tight body.

    Another thing, in terms of macro nutrition, I generally suggest starting with 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. This has been helpful for most people I work with. Now where you can see your largest fat losses is if you start doing heavy weight training (failing at 6-10 reps). It is proven that heavy weight training burns more fat than light weight/more reps and more fat than cardio.

    Hope this helps.
  • annoz
    annoz Posts: 68 Member
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    If my BMR is 1331 why does MFP have my goal calories at 1200? Even if I just sat around all day isn't 1200 too low?

    So if you know your BMR is about 1331 then lets do the math. Since you are a teacher - according to your profile - we will label you as lightly active. I say this as you will burn more calories than I will since I sit behind a desk all day. So with this information alone, your TDEE or total daily energy expended (total calories you burn from metabolic functions and daily activities) would be:

    = 1331 * 1.375 = 1830 <--- how many calories you burn if you just did your daily routine.

    Now lets say you exercise and burn 300 calories, so your new tdee is:

    =1830 +300 = 2130

    So that means you burn about 2130 (give or take some based on exercise) calories a day. This is where you form your deficit. The closer to a healthy weight (not goal weight) the smaller the calorie deficit needs to be to allow your body to have enough energy to burn the fuel and prevent the release of high amounts of cortisol, which can lead to prevenetion of weight loss.

    So caloric requirements = 2130 * .8 =1704

    This means you should for 1700 calories on this day.


    Now, there are other ways to figure out calories so you don't have to chase calories. You do this by including it in your tdee. So if you workout 4 days week and are lightly active, you are around moderately to very active.


    TDEE = 1331 * 1.55 (moderately active) * .8 = 1650
    TDEE = 1331 * 1.725 (very active) *.8 = 1836

    With this method, you do NOT eat back exercise calories but rather aim for the same calorie goal. You calorie deficit is over the week. So you feed your body on rest days to repair and rebuild. For you, I would recommend around 1700 calories to start. Watch that for a month. If you dont lose but don' gain, then increase your calories by another 200 (sounds crazy right). Unfortunately, we have to find your sweet spot while still working to maintain lean body mass (muscle) as lbm is what makes you have a defined and tight body.

    Another thing, in terms of macro nutrition, I generally suggest starting with 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats. This has been helpful for most people I work with. Now where you can see your largest fat losses is if you start doing heavy weight training (failing at 6-10 reps). It is proven that heavy weight training burns more fat than light weight/more reps and more fat than cardio.

    Hope this helps.

    awesome! Thanks!
  • annoz
    annoz Posts: 68 Member
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    I lost 2.5 pounds this week!!!! Came off in the last 2 days!!! Eating 1500-1600 calories
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    I lost 2.5 pounds this week!!!! Came off in the last 2 days!!! Eating 1500-1600 calories

    Awesome, I hope it stays that way.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    If I don't eat back calories then I'm only eating 1200 calories. I think I'd die on 1200 calories. I work out, wait tables, teach, and am a mom...I need food!

    The damn grape nuts that I love so much are a total carb killer for the day :(

    No way you should be only on 1200. Waiting tables is not a 'sedentary' lifestyle. You need way more food!

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