So it's really possible to not eat enough to lose weight?
CindyLRP
Posts: 24 Member
Hi everyone! I am really hoping to hear a lot of seasoned advice and an answer to my problem.
I joined MRP only about 3 weeks ago. I lost 3 pounds the first week and only 1 the second but am at a standstill at week 3. My suggested caloric range is about 1450 and I had no problem staying under it even if I didnt eat the exercise calories. Then I started working last week (after a year) and I thought I was going to die the first day, but I realize that I felt so horrible because I really didn't eat enough that day. It literally took 4 hours after a good dinner to begin to feel normal. I consider working to be exercise (at least until it becomes second nature) but that almost feels like cheating, so I don't claim it all. I have been very honest with my food journals, but not with the "exercise". I am on my feet 7 hours a day; either behind the cash register or stocking. It really is a work out for me :P. I have only been claiming up to a couple of hours of "walking, slowly" to cover calories over 1450 because if I claimed 6-7 hours of "standing" or "walking" then I would negative calories.
BUT...in looking for answers as to why I don't lose weight OR inches (only sticking with this becuz I feel that something is going to click somewhere/somehow), I read another topic where the woman was told that due to the time she spent working out she was only netting 300 calories and the body would go into starvation mode. Now I do understand that concept, really I do, but I have a hard time accepting that weight wouldn't still be disappearing. SO....is this my problem? If I claim work days, I will have to eat 1,000-1500 more calories per day, but I am SCARED to try it.
Somebody help me figure this out, please????
I joined MRP only about 3 weeks ago. I lost 3 pounds the first week and only 1 the second but am at a standstill at week 3. My suggested caloric range is about 1450 and I had no problem staying under it even if I didnt eat the exercise calories. Then I started working last week (after a year) and I thought I was going to die the first day, but I realize that I felt so horrible because I really didn't eat enough that day. It literally took 4 hours after a good dinner to begin to feel normal. I consider working to be exercise (at least until it becomes second nature) but that almost feels like cheating, so I don't claim it all. I have been very honest with my food journals, but not with the "exercise". I am on my feet 7 hours a day; either behind the cash register or stocking. It really is a work out for me :P. I have only been claiming up to a couple of hours of "walking, slowly" to cover calories over 1450 because if I claimed 6-7 hours of "standing" or "walking" then I would negative calories.
BUT...in looking for answers as to why I don't lose weight OR inches (only sticking with this becuz I feel that something is going to click somewhere/somehow), I read another topic where the woman was told that due to the time she spent working out she was only netting 300 calories and the body would go into starvation mode. Now I do understand that concept, really I do, but I have a hard time accepting that weight wouldn't still be disappearing. SO....is this my problem? If I claim work days, I will have to eat 1,000-1500 more calories per day, but I am SCARED to try it.
Somebody help me figure this out, please????
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Replies
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Hi everyone! I am really hoping to hear a lot of seasoned advice and an answer to my problem.
I joined MRP only about 3 weeks ago. I lost 3 pounds the first week and only 1 the second but am at a standstill at week 3. My suggested caloric range is about 1450 and I had no problem staying under it even if I didnt eat the exercise calories. Then I started working last week (after a year) and I thought I was going to die the first day, but I realize that I felt so horrible because I really didn't eat enough that day. It literally took 4 hours after a good dinner to begin to feel normal. I consider working to be exercise (at least until it becomes second nature) but that almost feels like cheating, so I don't claim it all. I have been very honest with my food journals, but not with the "exercise". I am on my feet 7 hours a day; either behind the cash register or stocking. It really is a work out for me :P. I have only been claiming up to a couple of hours of "walking, slowly" to cover calories over 1450 because if I claimed 6-7 hours of "standing" or "walking" then I would negative calories.
BUT...in looking for answers as to why I don't lose weight OR inches (only sticking with this becuz I feel that something is going to click somewhere/somehow), I read another topic where the woman was told that due to the time she spent working out she was only netting 300 calories and the body would go into starvation mode. Now I do understand that concept, really I do, but I have a hard time accepting that weight wouldn't still be disappearing. SO....is this my problem? If I claim work days, I will have to eat 1,000-1500 more calories per day, but I am SCARED to try it.
Somebody help me figure this out, please????
Whats your stats?
Age
Height
Weight
Body Fat% <----most important BTW
Occupation
Workout routine0 -
Work is not exercise, you don't count it regardless of how hard you perceive that you're working. If you have to adjust your activity level to lightly active.0
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ooh, I see Dan has jumped in. Listen to him. He is awesome and knows his stuff. You are in good hands there. He will help you figure out how many calories you should be at for daily goal to lose. I am guessing the fact that you are starving means you are not getting enough calories, even while dieting.0
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Well let's say it's not the weight you want to lose. Fat is what people desire to lose, but consistent under eating and under nourishment can catabolize lean tissue. And you don't want to lose weight from lean tissue.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Here's how it works - u can drop calories a lot below BMR and youll lose fast for about 2-3 weeks. Then your body starts becomign more efficient and you wont burn as many calories as before. If you vary your calories up and down daily but keep a WEEKLY deficit you can negate this decrease - or you can just start popping stimulants
. 0 -
ooh, I see Dan has jumped in. Listen to him. He is awesome and knows his stuff. You are in good hands there. He will help you figure out how many calories you should be at for daily goal to lose. I am guessing the fact that you are starving means you are not getting enough calories, even while dieting.
Thank you Padawan!0 -
Just log every your movement. Gym, walking, everything...you can´t burn at the cash desk such a huge amount of calories...I burn every day about 1000 kcal ( about 40-60 min. walking, 70 min cardio - elliptical level 8 and stationary bike about 15 minutes + 30 day shred). I eat my burnt calories back - in average almost everything. And I´m losing...0
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Make sure your activity setting is accurate adjust calories based on how you feel as well. If you feel like crap eating under the 1400 calories then eat a bit more to compensate. 0
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Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!0 -
I wasn't able to get a good handle on my food intake till I bought a food scale. It is very easy to underestimate portion sizes.
There really isn't much of a trick, I work retail as well and I don't count it at all, only my gym exercise and walking, which I monitor with my iphone via endomondo. It takes time, I usually have a week in the month where I don't lose very much weight, then it picks up again where it left off the next week. So much is controlled by hormone levels, hydration and the like.
What I started to do was take photographs when I weigh in weekly, as well as maintain measurements of my waist, hips and thighs. I can see the changes so much easier over a stretch of time. That maintains my motivation.
I eat between 1400 and 1800 calories a day (gross calories, not net), and combined with regular exercise (nearly every day I fit in a half hour to an hour), the scale is moving ever downwards along with my measurements. It takes patience, it is going to take a while.0 -
Just log every your movement. Gym, walking, everything...you can´t burn at the cash desk such a huge amount of calories...I burn every day about 1000 kcal ( about 40-60 min. walking, 70 min cardio - elliptical level 8 and stationary bike about 15 minutes + 30 day shred). I eat my burnt calories back - in average almost everything. And I´m losing...
That is what I was wondering...if I should eat my burnt calories, but that is scary! lol. Too many years of 'dieting' breeds many wrong ideas!0 -
YEs!! THere is a great group on here called Eat More to Weigh Less. There is a ton of great info on there. If you go to Scoobys calculator that can help too.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
Whats your stats?
Age
Height
Weight
Body Fat% <----most important BTW
Occupation
Workout routine
[/quote]
Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!0 -
YEs!! THere is a great group on here called Eat More to Weigh Less. There is a ton of great info on there. If you go to Scoobys calculator that can help too.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Thanks! I will check it out!0 -
Whats your stats?
Age
Height
Weight
Body Fat% <----most important BTW
Occupation
Workout routine
Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!
[/quote]
Whats your body fat% or waist measurement?
Just from your info provided you should be eating around 1600-1800 daily but if you dont know where to look....read this....http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-120 -
Whats your stats?
Age
Height
Weight
Body Fat% <----most important BTW
Occupation
Workout routine
Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!
Whats your body fat% or waist measurement?
Just from your info provided you should be eating around 1600-1800 daily but if you dont know where to look....read this....http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
[/quote]
SIGH...ashamedly holding nothing back cuz I really want to lose the fat and have a trim(mer) body...Waist = 45.50 -
....read this....http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
[/quote]
WOW! This is great information that makes a lot of sense. I am going to take time to really read and understand this. Thank you SO much for the link!!!0 -
WOW! This is great information that makes a lot of sense. I am going to take time to really read and understand this. Thank you SO much for the link!!!
[/quote]
I was lucky enough to find this thread very soon after starting MFP. It helps explain a lot. Good luck.0 -
Whats your stats?
Age
Height
Weight
Body Fat% <----most important BTW
Occupation
Workout routine
Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!
Whats your body fat% or waist measurement?
Just from your info provided you should be eating around 1600-1800 daily but if you dont know where to look....read this....http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
SIGH...ashamedly holding nothing back cuz I really want to lose the fat and have a trim(mer) body...Waist = 45.5
[/quote]
Its okay! We are here to help!
HUGS!!!!!
You probably are sitting on the brink of 40-50% body fat.
Life will get better!
you will change!
Dont let all the New Years resolutionists drive you crazy!!!!!
Anywho.
Please look into some type of resistance training.
Be it bodyweight or lifting in the gym.
Take daily walks!
Get a pedometer and shoot for 10k steps a day!
Just eat and move!0 -
There is also a great blog post that makes the math of BMR/TDEE, etc. so much easier to understand. Try this as well:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mrsbigmack/view/finding-the-sweet-spot-452184
You can eat too many calories, and too few.......there is such a thing. Waiting for Dan's response!0 -
There is also a great blog post that makes the math of BMR/TDEE, etc. so much easier to understand. Try this as well:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mrsbigmack/view/finding-the-sweet-spot-452184
You can eat too many calories, and too few.......there is such a thing. Waiting for Dan's response!
Took me a long time to figure out my TDEE.
I work a retail job!
On paper I should maintain at 2100.
If I work i'll burn between 2500-3200/day.
I average when calculated on a monthly basis about 2400-2500/day.
I lose 1lb a week if I cycle cals between 1600-2800 depending on the week and my lifting schedule.
Hormones play the biggest role in fat/weight loss too.0 -
Nothing to be ashamed of, everyone starts somewhere.
If you are working on your feet, but not doing any traditional exercise, you are probably "Lightly active"
Based on your waist measurement, you are probably around 40% body fat
This puts your TDEE around 2300, so you should eat around 1800 cal to lose a pound a week.
If you go this route, you should not log work or anything else as exercise unless it is out of the norm, because your exercise is factored in.
Alternatively, you can just use the MFP default calculators and use a lightly active setting and do not log work as exercise, but do log traditional exercise and eat back some portion of those (without a heart rate monitor, it is best to only eat back half or so because the estimates can be really bad. Or try eating them all back and if you don't lose weight, switch to half.) This will probably put ou close to 1800
On that note, resistance training will help you retain your lean mass so that you lose fat instead of muscle. That's good since:
1) Fat is the squishy stuff you want to get rid of
2) Lean mass burns more calories than fat mass (albeit not a ton)
Another point: One week not losing weight doesn't mean you need to change anything. Especially at the beginning, you easily could have lost some water weight in that 3 lb loss and then got some back that canceled out your real loss of fat.0 -
It is very important to set your activity level correctly. You need to take in enough calories to sustain life, plus the activities of daily living, so a calorie intake goal based on a mostly sedentary job would leave you feeling very hungry. But if you set your regular activity level correctly you should not be hungry. And You should exercise at least 3 days a week on top of your job.0
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Age 58
Height 5'7"
Weight 221
BMI 34.5
The only exercise I did before I went to work was "running in place" (mini trampoline). Now work wears me out :P. I really look forward to your advice since another post "recommended" you!!!
Your stats are very similar to mine. However, in order to lose weight I had to eat 1800 cals pers day. As I am close to goal #1 I have adjusted my cal level to 1400. I am mostly a sedentary person. I am still losing weight, 16 lbs so far, 4 needed to reach Christmas goal. Then another 15 to reach Easter goal. After that, I'm not sure. But I had to eat 1800 to start a weight loss; this is way more than I have ever eaten in my life. I did find out that I was not eating enough to sustain my body, starvation mode, so anything I ate stayed as fat.0 -
Your stats are very similar to mine. However, in order to lose weight I had to eat 1800 cals pers day. As I am close to goal #1 I have adjusted my cal level to 1400. I am mostly a sedentary person. I am still losing weight, 16 lbs so far, 4 needed to reach Christmas goal. Then another 15 to reach Easter goal. After that, I'm not sure. But I had to eat 1800 to start a weight loss; this is way more than I have ever eaten in my life. I did find out that I was not eating enough to sustain my body, starvation mode, so anything I ate stayed as fat.
[/quote]
Wow! I would feel so guilty to eat so many calories, but I am willing to try anything to get the weight loss on the move and the inches going down. Thank you for sharing!!0 -
Just log every your movement. Gym, walking, everything...you can´t burn at the cash desk such a huge amount of calories...I burn every day about 1000 kcal ( about 40-60 min. walking, 70 min cardio - elliptical level 8 and stationary bike about 15 minutes + 30 day shred). I eat my burnt calories back - in average almost everything. And I´m losing...
This seems like crazy info...but everyone seems to concur with eating more!0 -
bump* I love the positive encouragement here and am going to check out the links/info0
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Nothing to be ashamed of, everyone starts somewhere.
If you are working on your feet, but not doing any traditional exercise, you are probably "Lightly active"
Based on your waist measurement, you are probably around 40% body fat
This puts your TDEE around 2300, so you should eat around 1800 cal to lose a pound a week.
If you go this route, you should not log work or anything else as exercise unless it is out of the norm, because your exercise is factored in.
Alternatively, you can just use the MFP default calculators and use a lightly active setting and do not log work as exercise, but do log traditional exercise and eat back some portion of those (without a heart rate monitor, it is best to only eat back half or so because the estimates can be really bad. Or try eating them all back and if you don't lose weight, switch to half.) This will probably put ou close to 1800
On that note, resistance training will help you retain your lean mass so that you lose fat instead of muscle. That's good since:
1) Fat is the squishy stuff you want to get rid of
2) Lean mass burns more calories than fat mass (albeit not a ton)
Another point: One week not losing weight doesn't mean you need to change anything. Especially at the beginning, you easily could have lost some water weight in that 3 lb loss and then got some back that canceled out your real loss of fat.
OK...Good information!!
Lightly active makes sense even tho it is quite an adjustment for me...for now.
I have heard 1800 calories quite a few times now.
Yes, resistance training would be more what I need to do.0 -
bump* I love the positive encouragement here and am going to check out the links/info
I know! Aren't these people great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
OK...Good information!!
Lightly active makes sense even tho it is quite an adjustment for me...for now.
I have heard 1800 calories quite a few times now.
Yes, resistance training would be more what I need to do.
1800 cals is a good starting spot. If you are going with lightly active, it will be conservative. Give it a couple weeks, eating at that to see how your body responds. You can slowly up or lower your cals by 50 or so a day. You may see an initial gain but don't panic! Especially if you are starting to resistance train. Remember your scale weight will vary with what you have eaten, whether your retaining water, etc. The end result will pay off, though. If you add some resistance/weight training, you'll add lean muscle mass, while losing fat. You don't just want to lose weight.........you want to lose fat. Remember that subtle point when you jump on that scale. If you can get some calipers (you don't need an expensive pair.....amazon has some for around $20), get some measurements of you BF% and track that. You might surprise yourself. Also pay attention to how you break out those calories. A calorie is not a calorie. Incorporate protein (usually about 1 gram per lb of body weight), then carbs (4 - 6 servings veggies and few servings of complex carbs), and some healthy fats.
Remember it's a process, and the slower the weight loss, the better in the long run. Measure (the number of inches I lost surprised me more than the number of lbs!), take pictures, BF% do a lot of other things that will help you to measure your loss, other than just scale weight so that you have a true indicator of you body changes. It wil comel!0
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