Stuck and feeling hopeless. Eating too little?

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kellybeanxox
kellybeanxox Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I have had great weight loss success in the past and did so through diet alone and no exercise. I have added in exercise to my routine over the last few years and saw no change. Over the last 8 months I began gaining weight and have tried everything I can to lose it. I focused on eating clean foods and staying between 1300-1450 calories a day. Didn't work. I tried weight watchers. Didn't work. I tried Paleo and saw nothing but small gains. I play volleyball once a week. Run 1-3 Miles twice a week. And Crossfit (intense metabolic conditioning) 3-5x a week. This is the most I have ever exercised in my life and I don't understand why my BMI continues to be at 28 when I am so conscious of what I eat.

I have done a lot of reading about BMR lately and am wondering is I should be eating more. My BMR is between 1600 and 1700 and if I multiply that by 1.55 for moderately active lifestyle, it gives me a TDEE of approximately 2655. Should I be eating no less than 1600-1700 calories a day? The idea of eating that high calories every day when all I have seen on the scale for results lately has been bad scares me a lot. My old weight loss success was eating around 1200 calories a day, but I was also 5 years younger and not exercising at all.

Any thoughts or advice on my predicament would be helpful. I haven't been this heavy in 5 years and I just need a recipe for success. I can follow any plan in front of me, just need an effective and safe one.

Replies

  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    Have you seen these, yet?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • mate03
    mate03 Posts: 5
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    You are gaining muscle and it weighs more!!!! Check the inches you loose as opposed to the weight!!!!!!!!!!!! i lost 14 pounds adn 15 inches. I
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
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    My BMR is between 1600 and 1700 and if I multiply that by 1.55 for moderately active lifestyle, it gives me a TDEE of approximately 2655.

    The answer is in the question.

    Your body has apparently adjusted to your calorie intake, and then you added exercise on top of it without increasing your intake.

    You could at least be eating 2355, which is your TDEE with a SMALL deficit for weight loss. See how that goes.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    You are gaining muscle and it weighs more!!!! Check the inches you loose as opposed to the weight!!!!!!!!!!!! i lost 14 pounds adn 15 inches. I

    It's very hard, almost impossible to gain muscle while eating at a deficit and muscle does not weigh more it just takes up less space per lb than fat.
  • mate03
    mate03 Posts: 5
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    I exercise 1-3 hours of cardio p6 days per week plus lift weights plus swim and eat any where from 1300-1600 caleries. I am 56... post menopausal and I loosse inches mostly... not weight.
  • mwalker73
    mwalker73 Posts: 29
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    You might want to have your thyroid checked as well.
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
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    Yes, if your BMR is between 1600-1700 and you've been eating routinely less for a long time you do need to increase this. Eating only 1200 a day usually works for a while but you get to a point where your body is just done...and very hungry.

    I know it seems backwards but I would suggest eating at maintenance for a couple weeks and taking a break form dieting. get you bosy used to what a normal calorie intake feels like then go back to the weightloss goal. Do this dropping back to a reasonable deficit and upping your protein intake what is reasonable depends on how much you have to lose.
  • ont1822
    ont1822 Posts: 5
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    I'm in the same boat that you are in now...but I do know that when I lost a significant amount of weight in the past, it took about 2-3 months of hardly any cheating whatsoever (lots of salad, moderate protein, moderate good carbs etc.) I'd have a treat every so often, but maybe only once every two weeks. I was hovering around 1200-1500 a day (I alternated every few days) and I was doing two or three POP pilates videos everyday, which came out to about an hour of working out per day. That was more effective than super heavy exercise for me at least.

    That's just my experience though-I'm pretty sure the key to losing actual weight (not water or whatever) is giving yourself time and being kind to your body, giving it time to adjust. I know that in the last few months, where I've swung towards a wildly restrictive diet coupled with super intense exercise regimen in a last-ditch attempt to lose the weight, I ended up actually gaining more.

    I truly believe that if you put too much mental and physical stress on your body while trying to lose weight, it will rebel against you! A more relaxed, sustainable approach is my go to, which is what I've been trying to do :) good luck!
  • jonesin_am
    jonesin_am Posts: 404 Member
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    My feeling is that if doing what you are doing is not giving you the results you are looking for then do something different. I very recently upped my calorie intake and saw a loss almost immediately after nothing for 5-6 months. Yes, it sorta scary but you've got nothing to lose...except some weight!
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Yes, if your BMR is between 1600-1700 and you've been eating routinely less for a long time you do need to increase this. Eating only 1200 a day usually works for a while but you get to a point where your body is just done...and very hungry.

    I know it seems backwards but I would suggest eating at maintenance for a couple weeks and taking a break form dieting. get you bosy used to what a normal calorie intake feels like then go back to the weightloss goal. Do this dropping back to a reasonable deficit and upping your protein intake what is reasonable depends on how much you have to lose.

    ^^^ I agree. Sometimes it takes a little change to start losing again.
  • kellybeanxox
    kellybeanxox Posts: 5
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    You might want to have your thyroid checked as well.

    I already had it checked, it was normal
  • kellybeanxox
    kellybeanxox Posts: 5
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    You are gaining muscle and it weighs more!!!! Check the inches you loose as opposed to the weight!!!!!!!!!!!! i lost 14 pounds adn 15 inches. I

    I have certainly gained muscle, I can tell. But I've also gained fat for sure. I've gone up in inches everywhere and sizes
  • kellybeanxox
    kellybeanxox Posts: 5
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    That spreadsheet is interesting. Do you think on rest days I should eat less than the days where I exercise? I am not eating exercise calories, but I feel like I should limit myself more on rest days.
  • CelebrateLife
    CelebrateLife Posts: 247 Member
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    Since you had you thyroid checked and it's fine... Great!

    Muscle weighs more than fat -- take measurements
    You may well be losing inches ... If that's the case then it'll not show in the scale
    -- Monitor your measurements

    Change up you food intake and your exercise routine
    -- See if there are any changes

    Good Luck!!!
  • CelebrateLife
    CelebrateLife Posts: 247 Member
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    Try Eating Clean! It does a world of difference!!!
  • kellybeanxox
    kellybeanxox Posts: 5
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    I have gained inches and fat on top of muscle. All my clothes are tight. It's a pretty out of control feeling. Hard to actually stick with something when it feels like it isn't working

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