Upped my TDEE and am back where I started, so frustrated!

VictoriaFL84
VictoriaFL84 Posts: 37
in Health and Weight Loss
I used to easily lose weight off of eating only 1200 calories a day not exercising. I started going to the gym 4-5 days a week and realized I wasn't losing off of 1200 calories anymore. So about 3 weeks ago I upped my calories to 1400 and finally I lost a pound. I thought it was working. Now I have gained that pound back so I'm back where I started. This is so incredibly frustrating!

Stats: 5'3, 127.7 pounds, goal weight 110

Workout 4-5 days a week. Only 20 minutes on the elliptical daily and about 40 minutes of weight lifting

I am really depressed about this. In reality 17 pounds isn't that much to lose but they are not shedding :(

Replies

  • lumstead0317
    lumstead0317 Posts: 85 Member
    how many calories are you burning and what kind of weight stuff are you doing? It could be a number of things... water retention included... but I still wonder if you aren't eating enough...
  • VictoriaFL84
    VictoriaFL84 Posts: 37
    I only burn about 220 on the elliptical.. and I'm not sure how much I burn weight lifting

    *eta: weight stuff I do a mix of the machines and free weights. I alternate days on which muscle groups to work on
  • aakokopelli7
    aakokopelli7 Posts: 196 Member
    My two cents is, keep your calorie intake at 1400, switch the cardio with the weights, 40 mins cardio, 20 mins weights. Also, everyday is too much. Have at least one day in the middle for you body to rest, it needs it! It's getting too used to you doing the same thing for the same amount of time everyday.
  • GuybrushThreepw00d
    GuybrushThreepw00d Posts: 784 Member
    Have you got a good idea of what your tdee actually is?
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    You might be over-estimating the burn on the elliptical. I weigh very close to what you weigh, and I don't burn 440 calories an hour on the elliptical. Maybe 350. I estimate 175 for 30 minutes on the elliptical, and even that might be a little ambitious. At 127 pounds, what looks like a small difference in calories burned can have a negative impact on weight loss.

    I don't trust the machine or MFP's calculations on calories burned.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    My weight does that sometimes. Maybe give it another couple weeks? I gained 0.8 pounds last week but then lost 3 pounds this week.
  • lumstead0317
    lumstead0317 Posts: 85 Member
    I'm going to say if you aren't used to working out, your body might be in a state of shock. I'd try upping calories to a maintanence level for a few days then backing down some... I still feel like 1400 calories might not be enough... are you calories consisting of foods that are good for you or high sodium "crap" foods?
  • kcallas88
    kcallas88 Posts: 192
    So i guessed an age and came up with these numbers based on your body stats.

    Your BMR is 1382. So if you were to do nothing but sit around all day and not move thats what you'd need.
    Your TDEE is 2142. Meaning if you wanted to maintain the weight you were at you'd need to eat that many calories and keep up with your workouts.
    Now to lose .9lbs a week, which is a realistic goal, you'd need to eat about 1714 calories a day. Id eat this everyday, regardless of whether or not you work out.

    Now those numbers can and will change based upon your age.

    I eat about 1600 calories a day regardless of if i work out or not. This had led to successful weight loss although I'm eating more!

    If you go onto google, and type in scooby too calculator, its the first link. Thats the calculator that i used to find these numbers. Its scary to eat more but it oddly works.

    Also, remember water weight can be attributed to slight weight gain. As well, as if you are sore, your body retains water in order to help the muscles heal. This can lead to slight weight gain.
  • kcallas88
    kcallas88 Posts: 192
    So i guessed an age and came up with these numbers based on your body stats.

    Your BMR is 1382. So if you were to do nothing but sit around all day and not move thats what you'd need.
    Your TDEE is 2142. Meaning if you wanted to maintain the weight you were at you'd need to eat that many calories and keep up with your workouts.
    Now to lose .9lbs a week, which is a realistic goal, you'd need to eat about 1714 calories a day. Id eat this everyday, regardless of whether or not you work out.

    Now those numbers can and will change based upon your age.

    I eat about 1600 calories a day regardless of if i work out or not. This had led to successful weight loss although I'm eating more!

    If you go onto google, and type in scooby too calculator, its the first link. Thats the calculator that i used to find these numbers. Its scary to eat more but it oddly works.

    Also, remember water weight can be attributed to slight weight gain. As well, as if you are sore, your body retains water in order to help the muscles heal. This can lead to slight weight gain.

    if you need any more help understanding it, or once you enter a correct age, i can help! I got stuck on a weight loss plateau for 2mons and finally broke out of it by following this model and its shocking how well it works...
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
    It seems to be you don't know what your TDEE is or what your 10-20% cut from it would be because 1400 is low for working out 4-5 days a week. So let's say you burned 200 hundred calories from working out then your back down to 1200 anyway. That pound you gained is water, not fat and you will most likely pee it out later.

    IF you want to find out what your TDEE number is go here http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm. I compared a few sites and this seemed pretty much on with a few of them. You don't have much to lose so this will be a process and keep it up with the weight lifting, you don't want to be skinny fat,, http://stronglifts.com/

    Good luck!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    So i guessed an age and came up with these numbers based on your body stats.

    Your BMR is 1382. So if you were to do nothing but sit around all day and not move thats what you'd need.
    Your TDEE is 2142. Meaning if you wanted to maintain the weight you were at you'd need to eat that many calories and keep up with your workouts.
    Now to lose .9lbs a week, which is a realistic goal, you'd need to eat about 1714 calories a day. Id eat this everyday, regardless of whether or not you work out.

    Now those numbers can and will change based upon your age.

    I eat about 1600 calories a day regardless of if i work out or not. This had led to successful weight loss although I'm eating more!

    If you go onto google, and type in scooby too calculator, its the first link. Thats the calculator that i used to find these numbers. Its scary to eat more but it oddly works.

    Also, remember water weight can be attributed to slight weight gain. As well, as if you are sore, your body retains water in order to help the muscles heal. This can lead to slight weight gain.

    few things here, unless she is very active, 2142 is pretty high, my calculations had her at about 1760 for TDEE assuming lightly active, even active only had her just over 2000 cals.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator

    Also, with less than 20 lbs looking to lose (FYI, 110 for 5'3" is pretty small, not sure if this is a great goal, but not my place so...) .9 lbs per week is really really high, probably not achievable on a consistent basis, If I were her trainer, I'd be urging her towards 1/3 or 1/2 lb per week max. That would depend more on her Body Fat % and activity level than her weight though.

    Oh, and OP, stop worrying about 1 lb shifts, first, the scale you are using probably isn't accurate enough to correctly differentiate 1 lb of weight, so you really shouldn't be focusing on that, and second, our bodies can fluctuate up to 5 lbs per day, so 1 lb is really what scientists would consider part of the margin for error and insignificant.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Since you are already at a healthy weight, slimming down more will require very fine tuning, as well as patience.

    Have you actually calculate your TDEE? You should be subtracting ~10%, 20% would be too aggressive for someone your size.

    Consider dedicating two or three of your workouts to a full body resistance training. Take a class or get a trainer so that you are doing it right.

    You may just need to accept that you are at your body's ideal weight, even if your brain doesn't like it. The resistance training should help mold your body and build your confidence.
  • VictoriaFL84
    VictoriaFL84 Posts: 37
    thanks everyone I'm 28 years old. I've always been 110 pounds. Now I'm trying to get back down after my 2nd child.. I did it after my first no problem, but that was just from 1200 a day and no exercising. I love going to the gym so I don't want to give that up to drop the weight
  • kcallas88
    kcallas88 Posts: 192
    So i guessed an age and came up with these numbers based on your body stats.

    Your BMR is 1382. So if you were to do nothing but sit around all day and not move thats what you'd need.
    Your TDEE is 2142. Meaning if you wanted to maintain the weight you were at you'd need to eat that many calories and keep up with your workouts.
    Now to lose .9lbs a week, which is a realistic goal, you'd need to eat about 1714 calories a day. Id eat this everyday, regardless of whether or not you work out.

    Now those numbers can and will change based upon your age.

    I eat about 1600 calories a day regardless of if i work out or not. This had led to successful weight loss although I'm eating more!

    If you go onto google, and type in scooby too calculator, its the first link. Thats the calculator that i used to find these numbers. Its scary to eat more but it oddly works.

    Also, remember water weight can be attributed to slight weight gain. As well, as if you are sore, your body retains water in order to help the muscles heal. This can lead to slight weight gain.

    few things here, unless she is very active, 2142 is pretty high, my calculations had her at about 1760 for TDEE assuming lightly active, even active only had her just over 2000 cals.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator

    Also, with less than 20 lbs looking to lose (FYI, 110 for 5'3" is pretty small, not sure if this is a great goal, but not my place so...) .9 lbs per week is really really high, probably not achievable on a consistent basis, If I were her trainer, I'd be urging her towards 1/3 or 1/2 lb per week max. That would depend more on her Body Fat % and activity level than her weight though.

    Oh, and OP, stop worrying about 1 lb shifts, first, the scale you are using probably isn't accurate enough to correctly differentiate 1 lb of weight, so you really shouldn't be focusing on that, and second, our bodies can fluctuate up to 5 lbs per day, so 1 lb is really what scientists would consider part of the margin for error and insignificant.

    fyi the top of that calculator states that it is a basic metabolic rate and caloric needs calculator. That is different from tdee.
    Maybe i messed up, but that calculator puts my tdee at 1700, and therefore to loose weight steadily, i would need to eat 1300 calories a day to loose weight which is what i was eating when i wasn't loosing any weight. It's a basic calculator, not a tdee calculator.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    One pound could just be water retention. You need to give it time. Since you don't have a lot of weight to lose, it is not going to come off fast.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    So i guessed an age and came up with these numbers based on your body stats.

    Your BMR is 1382. So if you were to do nothing but sit around all day and not move thats what you'd need.
    Your TDEE is 2142. Meaning if you wanted to maintain the weight you were at you'd need to eat that many calories and keep up with your workouts.
    Now to lose .9lbs a week, which is a realistic goal, you'd need to eat about 1714 calories a day. Id eat this everyday, regardless of whether or not you work out.

    Now those numbers can and will change based upon your age.

    I eat about 1600 calories a day regardless of if i work out or not. This had led to successful weight loss although I'm eating more!

    If you go onto google, and type in scooby too calculator, its the first link. Thats the calculator that i used to find these numbers. Its scary to eat more but it oddly works.

    Also, remember water weight can be attributed to slight weight gain. As well, as if you are sore, your body retains water in order to help the muscles heal. This can lead to slight weight gain.

    few things here, unless she is very active, 2142 is pretty high, my calculations had her at about 1760 for TDEE assuming lightly active, even active only had her just over 2000 cals.

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator

    Also, with less than 20 lbs looking to lose (FYI, 110 for 5'3" is pretty small, not sure if this is a great goal, but not my place so...) .9 lbs per week is really really high, probably not achievable on a consistent basis, If I were her trainer, I'd be urging her towards 1/3 or 1/2 lb per week max. That would depend more on her Body Fat % and activity level than her weight though.

    Oh, and OP, stop worrying about 1 lb shifts, first, the scale you are using probably isn't accurate enough to correctly differentiate 1 lb of weight, so you really shouldn't be focusing on that, and second, our bodies can fluctuate up to 5 lbs per day, so 1 lb is really what scientists would consider part of the margin for error and insignificant.

    fyi the top of that calculator states that it is a basic metabolic rate and caloric needs calculator. That is different from tdee.
    Maybe i messed up, but that calculator puts my tdee at 1700, and therefore to loose weight steadily, i would need to eat 1300 calories a day to loose weight which is what i was eating when i wasn't loosing any weight. It's a basic calculator, not a tdee calculator.

    Actually, I checked on this about 8 or 9 months ago with WebMD's support staff, it is a TDEE calculator (although I agree, it's a bit low). What the first part is stating is just that they are estimating your calories based on the BMR formulas then adding in a percentage based on the activity level you put in. for instance, I am 6'2" 190 lbs 39 year old male with an activity level of active, my TDEE (without extra exercise) is about 2900 from WebMD, which lines up correctly with other calculators. I'm ok with it being a little low though as most people underestimate how many calories they consume, and overestimate their exercise calories burned.

    for example my BMR is about 1930
    multiply by the activity multiplier of 1.55 (for active) you get 2991 (WebMD puts me at 2870, which again, about 120 low but not horribly off for that amount of calories)

    in the OP's case
    I'm assuming lightly active, but it's probably somewhere between that and active.
    her BMR by formula is 1370 (using Harris Benedict)
    multiplied by lightly active (1.375) is 1883

    which is a little higher than WebMD, but still not low enough to have it be BMR using either of the two widely accepted techniques for calculating BMR (Harris-Benedict or Katch-McArdle, although I had to estimate lean mass to get the second so it could be very far off.)

    Course, I'm really just being annoyingly nitpicky anyway, so don't take what i'm writing to seriously, if she followed either route she'd be fine in the long run.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    OP, if you'd like to figure this out on your own, check out this link by MFPer Heliotsdan - It'll give you a detailed walkthrough (with pictures even) on finding your TDEE and calculating what you should be eating.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Also, if you are worried about the calorie intake, I also suggest you read this thread that has numerous people who met their goals and are maintaining. Some for years and they also provide their calorie intake and how often they work out.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/816542-let-s-hear-it-for-maintainenance

    For more information about fitness and nutrition, I highly suggest checking out and joining this group: (Read all the stickies. It's great information to know.)
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress


    For those eating below their BMR (which I think 1200 is below your BMR to be honest), not going to preach at you, but here's something you might want to look at:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/859495-if-only-i-had-known?page=1#posts-12919931


    Yes, this is can all be overwhelming and complicated , but you are more than welcome to ask questions on the post.
    One of the things that I have found that has been one of the best methods for me to get fit is to understand fitness. To understand where all these figures, etc come from.

    The good thing is once you get the hang of it - it is something you'll be aware of constantly and you'll get a better understanding about your eating habits.

    So I HIGHLY suggest making the effort to take every chance to educate yourself. Even if you don't end up going with any of these methods, calculations, etc - at least you understand what they are, where others are coming from, and maybe they will still be able to help you figure out what is best for you.
  • jchrisman717
    jchrisman717 Posts: 780 Member
    thanks everyone I'm 28 years old. I've always been 110 pounds. Now I'm trying to get back down after my 2nd child.. I did it after my first no problem, but that was just from 1200 a day and no exercising. I love going to the gym so I don't want to give that up to drop the weight

    If you had a baby - you may never weigh 110 pounds again. That doesn't mean you can't get down to a slim size - your body changes. I was also 110 if that before I had my son. When I started working out to lose the baby weight I was a very small size 3 and healthy and curvey in all the right places - the lowest weight I could get to was 128. I would look horrible at 110. I wouldn't worry so much about actual weight - but about what your body looks like. I'm sure there are people who lose back down - but I hate to see you being so hard on yourself. So ask yourself - what size are you and what does your body Look like. The scale is not always the best way to go.

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