Please tell me I am making a mistake by doing this...

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em3120
em3120 Posts: 154 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
…but I am 5’4” 123 lb with a goal of 115. I have a small frame and feel much better at that size. Anyways, I lost a lot of weight by myself 2 years ago but have gained some of it back. I joined MFP at 136 lb and MFP put me at 1200 calories. I lost weight and inches quickly combining this with doing the 30 day shred and cardio. Then my weight loss stalled and I realized with the advice of some other MFPers that I needed to up my calories to 1400. My weight loss started again up until the beginning of November. However, I have not lost a pound or an inch since November 8. I am desperate to lose these last few pounds! I went out to eat last night and am up another 2 pounds! My goal was to be under 120 by Christmas but I can’t even lose half of a pound! I really feel like I should be eating at 1200 calories again, but I’m afraid I will mess up my metabolism or something. Anyone else experience this problem? How can I be eating in between my BMR and TDEE and still not be losing weight?
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Replies

  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
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    if it was from one night, it's probably water weight. Give yourself a break. Stop stressing about the last couple of pounds.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    …but I am 5’4” 123 lb with a goal of 115. I have a small frame and feel much better at that size. Anyways, I lost a lot of weight by myself 2 years ago but have gained some of it back. I joined MFP at 136 lb and MFP put me at 1200 calories. I lost weight and inches quickly combining this with doing the 30 day shred and cardio. Then my weight loss stalled and I realized with the advice of some other MFPers that I needed to up my calories to 1400. My weight loss started again up until the beginning of November. However, I have not lost a pound or an inch since November 8. I am desperate to lose these last few pounds! I went out to eat last night and am up another 2 pounds! My goal was to be under 120 by Christmas but I can’t even lose half of a pound! I really feel like I should be eating at 1200 calories again, but I’m afraid I will mess up my metabolism or something. Anyone else experience this problem? How can I be eating in between my BMR and TDEE and still not be losing weight?
    Your TDEE calc could be off
    You could be retaining water (added cals and carbs could increase glycogen in the muscles which retains water)
    You may be eating more than you think you are (should weight all solids and measure liquids)
    May be burning a lot less than you think you are.
    BMR may be over estimated
    etc.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I don't have advice about what your calories should be, but don't worry about those 2 pounds. Restaurant food tends to have more sodium than you need for an entire day. I've gained 5 pounds overnight from Panera! Drink lots of water and watch the sodum the next few days, and those 2 pounds will disappear.
  • nhradeuce
    nhradeuce Posts: 168 Member
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    Ignore the scale. Measure your body and take pictures to compare. If your clothes are getting looser and you look better in the mirror, what difference does it make what the scale says?
  • FelicityEliza36
    FelicityEliza36 Posts: 253 Member
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    I go by..... trial and error.

    I've been counting now for 184 days straight and have gone weeks with changing my calories. I tried 1800 for awhile, 1500 for awhile, now Im at 1300. I have gone up and down with my calories to see what works better for me. At 1300 I consistently lose and that is what works for me.

    Although I will see 2-3 weeks with NO drop in lbs., I will drop 5-6 lbs toward the end of the month, every month. So strange. So now I am used to it and expect thats what happens every month.

    Everyone's advice is clearly helpful and can sometimes point us in the right direction, but not one particular things works for everyone. Good luck girl.....

    ( PS why did you want to lose it by Christmas though? I think that you should just focus on not losing weight so fast cause its not healthy and committing to this being a life style change and not a fast, easy, way out - just stay patient & persistent )
  • Princess41463
    Princess41463 Posts: 39 Member
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    Are you making sure that you are drinking enough water every day? Seriously - no less than 8 glasses. You might also want to try a detox bath. Hot bath, add 2 cups of epsom salt, 2 cups of baking soda, as much ginger as you can stand (fresh is better, but I also use ground ginger - I just use more of it when it's ground and less when it's fresh). Sit in the tub for 40 minutes. You are going to sweat. After the 40 minutes get out and wrap yourself in a nice warm robe and slippers and keep sweating.

    Make sure you are drinking water during the whole thing, you want to sweat out the toxins but not dehydrate yourself. For some people, this will break a weight loss stall.

    Other things you can try -
    Eat nothing all day until dinner time. Eat a large, lean steak and an apple. (make sure to drink water all day)
    Have an apple day - eat nothing but apples and drink water all day.

    One explanation I got for stalls was that your body has rid itself of the excess fat in the cells, but has replaced it with water. You will stay in a stall until your fat cells release the water - so these are a few ways to get the water to release - but they don't always work for everyone and it's said that when the stall breaks it was usually going to break anyway.

    The first time I did the bath I had a 2 lb. weight loss. The 2nd time I did it I didn't have any. So, who knows, but it doesn't hurt to try.

    Good luck. Let us know how it goes!
  • HypersonicFitNess
    HypersonicFitNess Posts: 1,219 Member
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    I never weigh myself after eating out at a restaurant b/c their food is always OVERLOADED with sodium something my home food is NOT. You cannot gain 2 lbs in one evening out 2 lbs = 7,000 calories....so unless you had 7,000 more than what you burned yesterday...you didn't actually gain 2 lbs...just water from all the sodium intake. Don't sweat that or maybe you should "sweat it" literally...go get some exercise and you'll be rid of those extra 2 lbs of water in an hour.

    The other part...I cannot say; try adjusting your calories a bit. Drop them 50 and then give it 5 weeks. It can take time for your body to adjust to calorie intake. The other thing you can try is calorie zig zagging:

    Monday: 1300
    Tuesday: 1300
    Wednesday: 1500
    Thursday: 1300
    Friday: 1300
    Saturday: 1500
    Sunday: 1300

    Per the a dietitian on a paid site...this is supposed to rev your metabolism and get it going again and help you get over a plateau. It has worked for me in the past.
  • liesevanlingen
    liesevanlingen Posts: 508 Member
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    You may also not be losing weight due to adding some muscle from working out. From the sound of it you are pretty small already. It's always harder to lose the last few pounds and you are very close to your goal weight. I find that a good way to reduce sodium bloat is to drink lots of aloe vera juice. it's a natural diuretic and will help flush the excess sodium out of your body quickly. I lost an inch off my belly overnight after a high sodium meal, from drinking lots of aloe (the sugar free kind) You can get it in most grocery stores in the International foods aisle, or a Korean grocery store--it's very popular with Korean people, in all sorts of flavours.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    I'm not sure what your exercise routine is like or your age, but I am the same height and weight and with a moderate level of activity, my TDEE is 1950. It may seem backwards but I would say up your calories again if you are regularly exercising. You may not be giving your body enough fuel! I workout 5 days a week, eat around 1800 most days and am maintaining at 115. With as little as you want to lose though, it's going to take time and patience. Those last few pounds are the hardest, especially if you want them to stay off.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    First, if anyone says you are gaining muscle, you are not. You are on a calorie deficit and doing cardio which makes it 100% impossible to gain muscle. You need a surplus and heavy weight lifting to create new muscle.


    Second, as you get closer to your goal, you need to eat more. Upping your calories worked once, it will probably work again. Your estimated BMR alone is 1402 and you are lightly active with 30DS. That alone will put you around 1600 calories a day (if you want to see the math let me know). If you are active outside of your workout, then you will need more calories. I woudl recommend eating 1600-1700 and adjusting your maro's to around 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.


    Also, there is a reason you failed and stopped doing 1200 calories. So why would you go back to something that in the end didn't work?
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    If your body is like mine it WANTS to keep some of that fat! Every time I gain and lose weight I get a higher set point (where I stop losing). Try changing up your activity or zig zagging diet (does not work for me, I do better with more consistent calorie counts). Be patient and don't let it get you down, you are in a better place now than you were 33# ago.
  • BethanyRTS
    BethanyRTS Posts: 47
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    The two pounds are most likely water weight from the amount of sodium in restraunt foods. Drink tons of water today and flush it out :-)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    Also, if you are really concerned with fat loss, then you should start a weight training program and drop the cardio based workouts. HIIT is good for sustaining muscle during cardio, but it's not as effective at fat loss as weight training.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    Look at your shape rather than the scales. Are you happy with your shape? If so, who cares if you're 2 tonnes overweight.
  • lesita75
    lesita75 Posts: 379 Member
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    First, if anyone says you are gaining muscle, you are not. You are on a calorie deficit and doing cardio which makes it 100% impossible to gain muscle. You need a surplus and heavy weight lifting to create new muscle.


    Second, as you get closer to your goal, you need to eat more. Upping your calories worked once, it will probably work again. Your estimated BMR alone is 1402 and you are lightly active with 30DS. That alone will put you around 1600 calories a day (if you want to see the math let me know). If you are active outside of your workout, then you will need more calories. I woudl recommend eating 1600-1700 and adjusting your maro's to around 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.


    Also, there is a reason you failed and stopped doing 1200 calories. So why would you go back to something that in the end didn't work?
    ^This
  • Rays_Wife
    Rays_Wife Posts: 1,173 Member
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    Are you making sure that you are drinking enough water every day? Seriously - no less than 8 glasses. You might also want to try a detox bath. Hot bath, add 2 cups of epsom salt, 2 cups of baking soda, as much ginger as you can stand (fresh is better, but I also use ground ginger - I just use more of it when it's ground and less when it's fresh). Sit in the tub for 40 minutes. You are going to sweat. After the 40 minutes get out and wrap yourself in a nice warm robe and slippers and keep sweating.

    Make sure you are drinking water during the whole thing, you want to sweat out the toxins but not dehydrate yourself. For some people, this will break a weight loss stall.

    Other things you can try -
    Eat nothing all day until dinner time. Eat a large, lean steak and an apple. (make sure to drink water all day)
    Have an apple day - eat nothing but apples and drink water all day.

    One explanation I got for stalls was that your body has rid itself of the excess fat in the cells, but has replaced it with water. You will stay in a stall until your fat cells release the water - so these are a few ways to get the water to release - but they don't always work for everyone and it's said that when the stall breaks it was usually going to break anyway.

    The first time I did the bath I had a 2 lb. weight loss. The 2nd time I did it I didn't have any. So, who knows, but it doesn't hurt to try.

    Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

    Absolute rubbish.
  • jennylee813
    jennylee813 Posts: 9 Member
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    Maybe this is where your body is most comfortable. You're already in the lower end of a healthy BMI for your height.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    You're already at a healthy weight for your height, which makes it even harder to lose more. Personally, at this point I'd focus less on the scale and more on body composition with more resistance training.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    Because your goal weight is stupid. No offense. You decided on it without taking into account overall body recomposition.
  • TazzytheMotivator
    TazzytheMotivator Posts: 646 Member
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    Try switching up your calories intake (zig-zagging) . You trick your body in thinking you are going to feed it . Eat 1,200 calories for 7 days . Next week add 200-300 calories more the second week . 3 rd week add 200-300 calories more . Don't load up
    On processed foods or fast foods . High sodium context . You will see results . But you must stay on track. Start the processed all over again . I wish you the best .

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