WTF? Barely losing weight

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businessmama
businessmama Posts: 18 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My weight started at just under 200 and I would *estimate* that I was eating around 2000-3000 calories - lots of carbs, white bread, pasta, etc. Basically I would eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.

A few weeks ago I had the flu and lost about 8 pounds. I used that as a new jumping point for reducing my calories. In the last week of November and first few days of December I was eating about 1400-1500 calories - with one or two days being under 1200 calories. The first week of December we got sick and my appetite was gone for about 5 days so I ended up losing those 8 pounds.

For the past 2 weeks I've been eating - on average - 1200 calories. I've had a 2 or so days that I've been over by 50-100 calories, and a handful of days where I've been under. The problem is ... in those 2 weeks, I've BARELY lost 1.5 pounds. I'm not eating high fat foods (breakfast usually consists of yogurt and granola, lunch is a salad with chicken breast, and dinner is usually meat and veggies. Snack might be organic salted popcorn or a half cup of frozen yogurt.

MFP set the 1200 calorie goal based on the fact that I'd like to lose 2 pounds a week, have a desk job and generally don't exercise but I do try to get in 20-30 minutes of something a few times a week.

What is going on? How can I fix this. Motivation is a HUGE problem for me ... if I'm hungry and not losing any weight I won't stick with it. I SHOULD be losing quite a bit of weight since I went from eating anything and everything to eating very little. My calorie deficit is anywhere from 500 calories to 1000 calories a day!
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Replies

  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
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    Patience.......weight loss is not linear, it happens in spurts for some people. Try to incorporate exercise, keep at around 1500 cals(if that is what the number for you is) and just be patience. You are going to have to get over your expectations of 2lbs a week, every week.....doesn't work that way.
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    Thank you for replying!

    I guess I've had this idea that in the beginning it's easier to lose weight (especially if you have a lot to lose). I do tend to look at it rather black and white ... less calories equals weight loss and since I'm eating an incredible amount less than what I did before I'm just stumped (and disappointed!)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,971 Member
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    I see a lot of "around 1200, about 1400" etc. You need to know exactly how much you are eating. Not "about". Buy a digital food scale for $20, some measuring cups and spoons, and start logging everything you eat and drink. You have to know in order to make this work. It's so easy to under or over-estimate food intake.

    The other thing is you may want to start eating more than 1200. Try 1400-1700 - anywhere in there will be fine. 1200 is too low if you have children or any kind of job or are going to school. 1200 is for people who lay in bed all day.

    Read these for a in-depth understanding:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    (a Group with good info)
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less

  • mattbell007
    mattbell007 Posts: 45 Member
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    I have been losing weight for a long time now, and I just went through a stretch where I went three weeks where I was under my calorie goal every single day. A couple of times, I ate more than my basic goal, but I hit the exercise bike to make up for it so my net available calories was always positive. Three weeks with no apparent progress. Then, over the course of two days... with no change in behavior... lost about 4 pounds. I've lost more than 60 pounds so far, but my weight loss has been exactly like you describe is happening to you the whole way. Periods where I was doing the right thing but not seeing any results. This was eventually followed by progress that was more than expected.

    Like ubermensch13 said... Patience is absolutely necessary. If you are doing the right things, you will get the results. You just have to keep going even when your body doesn't seem to be responding, because it will eventually respond. When I've looked over the whole time period (months and months) I'm losing the weight right on schedule. If I look at short time periods of a few weeks, there seems to be little relationship to my eating and what my scale says.

    There are a couple of things I've found helpful. One is to keep firmly in mind that my body records everything I eat, so I make sure to put everything into myfitnesspal. If I don't, I'm just cheating myself. Now, especially around the holidays, I eat things I don't know exactly what is in it or how many calories it has. I try to overestimate the food slightly, so that if I'm off, I'm off in the right direction.

    The other thing is that exercise, although not necessary absolutely necessary, helps me have the calories available to be able to eat to the point I'm not hungry.
  • stormystrickland
    stormystrickland Posts: 190 Member
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    I know that it's hard to hit your target calories sometimes. It is hard for me too, but don't ever TRY to eat less than 1200 calories. Trust me, it doesn't seem like it, but it will take you longer to lose weight in the long run.
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    Sorry - I should have been more clear. I have been tracking my food religiously and I have the exact numbers in the food diary. For brevity in the post I used "around 1200", etc.

    I don't have a food scale but I do measure out my food so I'm confident that my food numbers are pretty close if not exact for what I'm eating.

    I do have a child but for the most part my day is pretty sedentary as I work at my desk all day.

    I'm definitely going to read all the links you've provided (thank you!) and I can't wait to dig into the one about eating more to lose weight but I'm wondering if that's really my problem - a few months ago, I tried dieting again - I was working out for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week and reduced my net calories to 1500 per day and I lost nothing in 2 weeks (so I promptly gave that up).

    This is all what led me to venting here because I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm drinking quite a bit of water - anywhere from 4-7 cups a day (a huge increase from drinking 1-2 before). Because I don't have a scale, some of my measurements on meat may be slightly off, but certainly not enough to cause massive errors. I track seasonings I use, sauces, and everything that goes into my mouth - even the teaspoon of ice cream that's on the scoop when I give my kid his dessert.

    Thank you both for responding and for your help. I feel great after having lost nearly 10 pounds (even if it was mostly the flu's doing) and I don't want to give up!
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
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    Ok let me get this straight...

    I understand that you were sick the first week of December, lost 8 pounds and then another 1.5 pounds over the next two weeks?

    9.5 pounds is amazing for three weeks!!

    My guess is that you lost 5-6 pounds of water while you were sick, gained it back and the lost the 4 pounds of real weight after that by sticking to your diet. You are still ahead of the game.

    And in all honesty, don't be discouraged over not enough of a loss...ANY loss is better than nothing! You will feel better in general just sticking to a healthy eating plan even if you dont lose an ounce.

    Stick with it! You are off to a great start!
  • Retiredmom72
    Retiredmom72 Posts: 538 Member
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    Your diary is closed so can't be sure. Make sure you are watching the sodium in foods and that you are drinking water. You lost 8 pounds by hardly eating anything. Your body is trying to retain your weight continue to eat your calories and try to eat healthy. Good luck.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    When I was losing, I remember going for weeks with no change, and then suddenly, I'd drop 3 or 4 overnight. So it can go in spurts. Be patient. Maybe 2 pounds per week is too extreme for you. Try bringing your cals up to 1 pound per week and see what happens. Also, I agree with the others who say you need to weigh and measure things so you know how much you REALLY are consuming. :flowerforyou:
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    @Cherbapp - that's right ... but for the 5 days I was sick, I was lucky to have 300-500 calories during the day. But your thoughts and @retiredmom72 's thoughts does make me feel better about the results over the past 2 weeks! I truly never thought of it like that ... I was beginning to think my body was a dud!

    @retiredmom72 - how do I make the diary public? (NEVERMIND - I FOUND THE SETTINGS) I never gave too much thought on the sodium (see comment below). I don't always track my water content but I know I can up the intake there too.

    Another question: do you trust the details of what's in the database for foods? EG ... there was one food earlier this week that the calories seemed to be OK but the protein seemed to be out of this world.
  • cherbapp
    cherbapp Posts: 322
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    @Cherbapp - that's right ... but for the 5 days I was sick, I was lucky to have 300-500 calories during the day.

    Ok this makes perfect sense then....take the total three weeks...

    Say you need 2100 calories a day to maintain....thats 44,100 calories for three weeks.

    Now 5 of those days you had 400 calories average...sick days...(5 days x 400 calories= 2000 calories) and the other 16 days you averaged 1300 calories (16 days x 1300 calories = 12,800 calories) for a total intake of 14,800 calories.

    So over three weeks, 44,100 calories were burned, and 14,800 calories went into your body. So you had a deficit of 29,300 calories.

    A pound is roughly 3500 calories, so in those three weeks, you should have lost about 8 and a half pounds. You are still missing an extra pound in there! So really if you only lose one pound this week, you are right on track!
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    This is not a race. 1.5lbs is a lot. Make judgements when you haven't made progress for over a month.

    Also 1.5lbs IS PROGRESS.

    Chill. Its all good.
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    Also just looked at your diary.

    McDonalds...?

    Pizza Hut....??
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    Also, a beef stew at 193 cals must have been very very healthy and a tiny portion...
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    I know it's all progress ... believe me! Being able to put on two pairs of my jeans without a struggle is a definite win in my books. I just want to thank EVERYONE who took a moment to read and respond ... thank you thank you!

    I want to find out my TDEE ... silly question - should I just wear my heart rate monitor all day long and see what it says at the end of the day? Or is there some other way?

    I followed one of the links provided (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12) and I did get my BMR number too. It was:

    sedentary - 1859
    light activity - 2130
    moderate activity - 2401

    Under the Harris Benedict Formula it said 1549 calories and the Katch McArdle formula said 1293 calories.

    >> should I set my caloric intake based on this number or based on the TDEE?
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    Also just looked at your diary.

    McDonalds...?

    Pizza Hut....??

    Yep, we were out and my son wanted to eat, so I grabbed a grilled chicken wrap as well.

    They don't have anything listed for our pizza place, so I figured PIzza Hut would be a good comparison.
  • businessmama
    businessmama Posts: 18 Member
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    Also, a beef stew at 193 cals must have been very very healthy and a tiny portion...

    Not really tiny - it's a bowl full but it's filled with more carrots and celery than potatoes and the like. I guess that's why I asking too about the database of food. I built the recipe based on what I came across in the database.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Oh my gosh you are going to have people looking at your diary, even if you were at the correct weight (my advice is only open it to your friends)

    Will post again soon ok??? but go with my advice cos you will get slated (sadly)
  • leilaphoenix
    leilaphoenix Posts: 839 Member
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    Oh my gosh you are going to have people looking at your diary, even if you were at the correct weight (my advice is only open it to your friends)

    Will post again soon ok??? but go with my advice cos you will get slated (sadly)

    If someone is asking for advice then "slating" their food diary can be helpful. I certainly opened mine up when I first started on MFP for criticisms.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    When you get the flu and lose 8lbs, it's mostly due to umm bulk and water weight due to not being able to eat. You'd be surprised how much that 'stuff' weighs. If you have lost weight since then, you have probably put back on weight to make up for the empty stomach, colon, etc. and lost fat after having the flu. Don't worry about it. You're doing fine. Just make sure you eat enough calories, especially if you're exercising.

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