Is there something wrong with me?

anniemal
anniemal Posts: 9
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I am twenty years old, and confused to say the least.

-On average I eat between 1,000 - 1,200 calories a day. And most of it's healthy, but I do let myself have a treat for the day. :ohwell:
-I work out three to four times a week with at least half an hour of cardio (all running) and do strength training for my arms and stomach.

A month ago, I was sooooo excited to have lost ten pounds! But now it's getting kind of old. Yesterday I ate a banana and milk for breakfast, and for dinner ate some tuna fish with a little bit of mayo and carrots and more milk and one slice of plain bread. Oh, and I had a latte for lunch. I don't get hungry to eat more than that, so I don't eat more. But this morning I stepped on the scale, and gained two pounds from the day before. I know it could be water weight, etc, etc. But does water weight usually stick around for an entire month???



Point being, I'm a pretty healthy kid, changed my life around and really trying to lose weight, but it's not coming off. I'm starting to wonder whether I have the thyroid problem that runs in my family, because this just seems really weird. I've never had problems losing weight before.

HELP! :sad:



p.s. Yes, I realize I may have gone into "starvation mode", but don't you think it's still weird I haven't lost ANYTHING for a month?
Anddddddd...it's hard to bring myself to eat more when my body's not telling me to. I don't usually get much hungrier than this!

Replies

  • jlewis2896
    jlewis2896 Posts: 763 Member
    Honestly, I don't think you're eating enough. 1200cals per day is the minimum, according to this website, that you need or your body goes into starvation mode and holds on to weight..... Make sure you eat your exercise calories, just try upping it a bit with some cheese or something healthy but high-calorie if you are not hungry.

    Good luck! :)
  • lutzsher
    lutzsher Posts: 1,153 Member
    You are not getting enough calories each day. A healthy 20 year old should be getting 1200-1400 MINIMUM.

    A latte for lunch???? That is not healthy!

    It seems weird . . . but eat more to lose more!
  • jennmcpherson
    jennmcpherson Posts: 263 Member
    Like everyone has said who commented before me and everyone will say who comments after me, you are not eating enough. You need to eat the minimum calories suggested (1200 usually) and you need to eat your exercise calories back too. It's so important!!

    I wish you a world of luck!

    Edit: Spelling error.
  • jdcole67
    jdcole67 Posts: 108 Member
    I agree with the other posters...if you are not eating your exercise calories, your body is going into starvation mode and will start storing everything it can to survive...
  • TGIBriday83
    TGIBriday83 Posts: 68 Member
    1000-1200 calories is a really really low amount of calories. throw in the fact you exercise regularly and that calorie amount is down even further. granted I can't say for sure, but it could be a case of not eating enough. you're not taking in enough calories to full your metabolism and now you body could be in starvation mode. on days you exercise you should be eating more in order to fuel your body's repair processes and metabolism. Also make sure your drinking enough water. getting adequate amounts of water will help your metabolism, prevent water retention, and cleanse your system. lastly really analyze the foods your eating. youd be surprised how quickly mayo can ruin a healthy dinner like tuna. but the biggest culprit is the calories. i know it sounds bass ackwards but in your case you need to eat more to lose more.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Nothings wrong with you, but there is with your diet. You need to eat way more 1200 cals/day plus eat back the cals burned during exercise. You should also be having a large breakfast, your diary shows next to nothing for breakfasts and many times skipping lunch, not good. You should be eating every 3-4 hours minimum and make sure you have complex carbs, protein and fiber in everyone of those meals/snacks. Do this and you will loose the weight slow and steady.
  • Samantharose8akaDebbie
    Samantharose8akaDebbie Posts: 407 Member
    Honey, you are putting your body into shock. If you don't get at least 1200 calories - your body will eat its muscle........
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    1. You don't have a lot of weight to lose, so the weight isn't going to come off quickly.

    2. If you eat 1000 calories, and then burn 500 working out- your body is living off of 500 calories for the day, and that's not enough. You should be eating at least 1200 nutritious calories PLUS any calories you burn working out so your body has enough energy to do all of the things it needs to do.
    __

    You'll notice everyone has the same reply, because it's true. :)
  • red01angel
    red01angel Posts: 806 Member
    Also, are you getting enough sleep? One thing that EVERYONE on this site glosses over is the important role sleep has in weight loss!
  • rkascak
    rkascak Posts: 224 Member
    I Havent lost wieght in a couple weeks now, but staying on track is just a better lifestyle and exercising keeps me in shape. So even if I dont lose wieght this week (and stay on track) ill remember that its not only about the wieght but being healthier. Someone who weighs the same amount as me and doesnt eat right or exercise is not as healthy as me and i could kick thier butt in a race :bigsmile:
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
    hey sweetie, i agree with a lot of the post before me. and it also looks like you skipping meals.
    if you skip meals. your body is literally saying where my food, where the stuff i need. then takes your left over and store it in the fat.
    so finally when you do it. your body is gonna say YES FOOD! then grab it and instead of digesting. it will store right to fat. and that one way of gaining weight. and if you think your family members have thyroids problems. you should check that out. but i doubt it would be that. if you are eating pretty healthy. also try to eat what you burn when you exercise it really does help.
    hope this helps
    and i dont think there anything wrong with you.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    Seriously, hon - one of your diary days says you ate two pieces of string cheese, a carrot and a mocha. It's a little more than "possible" that your body has gone into starvation mode. It's pretty definite in my opinion. You've apparently changed your calorie intake target from MFP's healthy recommendation down to 1000 calories and it looks like you on average eat half of that.

    Not good.

    You really need to eat more. I know it's ironic and weird that you need to eat more to lose weight, but it's true. Starvation mode means your body hangs on to every calorie and piece of fat it can get. It's preparing to survive as long as possible without proper nutrition, which means it doesn't let go of a single ounce.

    You also seem to be a little too comfortable with the idea of your body being in starvation mode. You shouldn't look at starvation mode as an impediment to weight loss that you need to just try to narrowly avoid. You need to look at it as malnutrition, which is very serious and have more negative effects than just causing you to not lose weight.

    Recalculate your calories, hit at least 1200 a day. You'll notice a change - I hit starvation mode when I first started dieting on MFP - out of habit I thought "you gotta be hungry for dieting to work." I hit a brick wall about a week in. I upped my calories to try and actually reach at least 1200 and the weight started falling off.

    Not only is it the healthier way to go, but it works for weight loss. 1200 calories - NET.

    Good luck!
  • TGIBriday83
    TGIBriday83 Posts: 68 Member
    seriously, you need to be eating more. ya you might think its weird to not lose anything in a month but think of it this way. your body goes into starvation mode so it slows its matabolism down and hold on to literally everything you eat in order to maintain itself... thus you arent going to lose anything. basically the only way to lose would be to cut out food all together and force your body to eat itself. fact of the matter is you need to intake more calories, stop skipping meals, and try to include small snacks to keep your blood sugar level all day and your metabolism moving. you may have to force yourself to eat snacks or eat a bigger breakfast. your body has adjusted to how you are now so naturally its not gonna signal you that its hungry. ingest more and on a regular schedule and eventually your body will let you know when its time to eat.
  • anniemal
    anniemal Posts: 9
    my diary isn't always accurate! sometimes i forget to log things and just keep a mental check of what i've eaten! and i never log the right time of day i've eaten anything, so my food diary isn't a very good thing to go off of! lol
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    The body is an amazing organism. It will do absolutely everything in it's power to keep you from dying from starvation. One of which is to hold on to it's fat stores for dear life (literally). You can (and will) lose weight by not eating anything at all, but you can (and will) make yourself sick doing so. And then, the instant you eat real food again, your desparate body will grab it and store it as fat in order to keep you alive. Your body will go to great lengths to keep you going, and that includes slowing down your internal organs (your brain is an organ!!) and utilizing muscle for fuel.

    Eat enough for your body to feel secure that it's NOT going to starve and that the food will keep coming on a regular basis, and it will release your fat cells to be used for fuel. You will likely need to do this for quite some time before your body adjusts to having adequate food. Then you'll lose weight.
  • TGIBriday83
    TGIBriday83 Posts: 68 Member
    then what's the point of it if you're not going to use it. theres a lot more to all of this than calories in and out. know sodium, protein, carbs, and sugar etc is all helpful in determining why you may or may not be losing.
  • Stephanieb325
    Stephanieb325 Posts: 174 Member
    Have you checked with your doctor to see if you might have hypothyroidism? I have it and I had no clue until I went in and told the doctor my symptoms. He then had my blood checked and found that I was. Ever since I have been on Meds and losing the weight!
  • anniemal
    anniemal Posts: 9
    i haven't checked! i'm hoping to go in over spring break and get my blood tested. i know my mom has it!
  • lvfunandfit
    lvfunandfit Posts: 654 Member
    Sounds like you got all the right advice! Eat more, eat back your exercise calories, choose healthier options and real foods, eat protein, fiber and complex carbs and don't skip meals! You'll get there, but you have to plan your meals and treat your body properly. There is a process to losing weight. You have to feed your body so it knows it won't starve and that way it won't have to hold onto every calorie you consume to keep you alive. Hunger means your metabolism is working. You should be hungry every 2-3 or 4 hours. And it's already been said, but you don't have much to lose, so it will take a long time and you will have weight fluctuations. Last May I weighed 149 and this week I weighed in at 127. It took me 9 months to lose 21.5 lbs.
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
    your body has adjusted to how you are now so naturally its not gonna signal you that its hungry. ingest more and on a regular schedule and eventually your body will let you know when its time to eat.

    Basically what your body is thinking is this: "Why waste my precious energy telling her I'm hungry? She's not gonna feed me anyway, so I might as well save that energy to keep my heart, lungs and brain functioning." At least that's the words I imagine coming out of MY body's "mouth"!:laugh:

    There may be other medical issues going on here, but I can assure you that the longer you stay on a super low-cal diet, the more assured you are that there WILL be medical issues going on! Have the blood work done. If nothing else, it will give you a baseline to judge from in the future. If the doc finds something off, do what you can to fix it. Then up your calories for awhile. Easy ways to do this include drinking whole milk rather than skim, using regular fat products rather than low-fat or fat-free, and eating nuts. None of those ideas are adding more food to your diet, they are just adding more calories (and LESS PROCESSING which is always good!). Try out some of these easy substitutions and see if you don't start losing some more of that weight! I know that it is hard to find that balance between losing and gaining, but it CAN be done! You just have to play with the numbers for a little while!

    You can do this!:flowerforyou:
  • Stephanieb325
    Stephanieb325 Posts: 174 Member
    Definately get that checked soon! I wish I would have checked way sooner then I did. Also I found this article about starvation mode pretty interesting and I do not think you are suffering from starvation mode. Here is the web address, just copy and paste. I found it to be very interesting. Considering my friend is from indonesia and she fasts regurlary, I am talking l ike 2 weeks at a time and she definately does not gain weight. Well just copy and paste and check it out!

    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1574882/starvation_mode_dispelling_the_myths.html?cat=51
  • mamacassi
    mamacassi Posts: 131
    One word. EAT. I wish people realized how vital it is, if you dont eat WELL or at all you gain weight or stay the same. Eat more, lose more. ugh
  • nimiry
    nimiry Posts: 20
    heyhey- I just had a topic yesterday in my profile- I couldn't eat more too... just wasn't hungry... well a friend here told me to at least eat almonds and so on.. .maybe you should look for a side in google that shows some food- so called "fat burners"- like almonds, avocados, etc. I don't know a lot more of them, because I'm also at the beginning of my healthy lifestyle... but maybe that will help you- then you can add those foods as snacks and you don't have to eat much more... =)
  • anniemal
    anniemal Posts: 9
    thanks for the article suggestion! and nimiry, thanks for the food suggestion. that was more of the type of feedback i was hoping to receive. :]
  • robbienjill
    robbienjill Posts: 456 Member
    Maybe thats an issue as well when u say that u do not always log your food because you keep a mental note. It is easier to eat more than you realize when you do not log everything. Log, Log, Log, and up your calories. Good Luck!!
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    You'd be better off foregoing the daily Latte and eating some healthy stuff. Treat yourself once a week and go with a lower calorie alternative most days. I'm pretty sure MFP isn't telling you to eat 1000-1200 cals a day with all of the exercise you do so you need to increase those, eat your exercise calories, and eat some more exciting but healthy foods. It doesn't get old if you don't eat the same thing every day.
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