Question about calories

kayleec2
kayleec2 Posts: 14
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm sure there are 20 other feeds out there on this topic, but they are all a little different so I thought I'd ask again.

Jan-Apr I lost 17 lbs.

Then I slowed down my progress during the month of May (decreasing exercise days but still counting calories).

In June I began strongly again and was eating 1200 calories and exercising 5-6 days a week heavily for the whole month and lost no weight. I got discouraged and quit all together and gained 5 lbs in July.

Now I've been going again for 20 days at 1200 calories with light exercise 3-5 days a week. Again I have lost no weight. A lot of things I read says I'm cheating at how I calculate and that's why I'm not losing, but I'm not. If anything I find myself under-counting to be safe. I know 3 weeks isn't really a lot of time to tell, but I'm getting a little discouraged.

I think I'm going to change my goal to only 1 lb per week from 1.5 to see if eating more calories will help. I'm afraid I'll gain though. Anyone done this with positive/negative results. Should I stick to the 1200 longer?

I'm not going to quit this time, but I am feeling unmotivated.

Replies

  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
    look up eat more to weigh less
  • GabsMommy28
    GabsMommy28 Posts: 47 Member
    I don't think 1200 is enough, especially with the workouts. You need to eat enough to fuel your body. I tried going to 1200-1300 and got really sick, sick to the point I couldn't take care of my son. I upped it back to just below what MFP suggests, I feel great and I am still losing.
  • moonfire628
    moonfire628 Posts: 56
    I had the same problem, where I was netting around 600 calories per day because I was eating less than 1200 calories but then burning off about 500-600 calories and not eating it back. Joining this site and talking to other people on here helped me realize I need to figure out what my TDEE is and to eat back my exercise calories. Think of it this way: your body uses calories to help speed up metabolism and to rebuild muscle after working out. If you don't give your body enough energy (calories) then your body can't rebuild muscle, and we all know more muscle = more fat loss. If you eat too little your body will store that energy and convert it to fat as reserves. So yes, eat more calories to lose the weight. You won't see any results for at least 2-3 weeks, since your body needs to go come out of "starvation" mode and readjust to having more calorie intake every day. In fact, you might gain a few pounds at first, but you will start to lose weight.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,571 Member
    First, congratulations for starting up again.

    Second, notice that when you're counting calories you're at least not gaining! This is good.

    Third what's your activity level and what are you eating? I had to set myself for sedentary and log my exercise to lose. And I would have sworn I wasn't sedentary. I also know that when I lower my carbs just a little (I try for 40% but really just keep it under 50%) it makes a huge difference in how much I lose and how easy it is to stick to my calories.

    You can't eat junk - even low calorie junk - and lose.
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