Why cant I lose weight?!

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cindybpitts
cindybpitts Posts: 213 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My calorie intake for me to lose weight is 1200 calories a day. Some days with exercising I am under 1200 by 50-250. Some days I may go over but not by great amounts. I do Tabata 4 days a week, walk/jog, and some eliptical workouts. So I mix up my exercises. I burn more calories than MFP has recommended. MFP says my goal is 1248 a week. I have been burning 1500 -1800. I have been doing this since the 1st week of January. No weight lost and no smaller measurements! Help! Also can it be hormonal?
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  • adsaylor
    adsaylor Posts: 36 Member
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    It could be hormonal. Have you seen a doctor yet? I have always struggled with my weight. I found this awesome product my beachbody it's called Chalean Extreme and Shakeology. I am going into my third week and I have lost close to 4 pounds.
  • kkallas1
    kkallas1 Posts: 6 Member
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    It can be hormonal. I have pcos and issues with my thyroid.. I have begun to lose weight on MFP. I have learned that you have to eat the 1200 calories each day. If not your body thinks its starving and holds fat.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    How much do you have to lose, and what did you set your weekly loss goal to at MFP? 1200 calories is considered the bare minimum for women, and it sounds like you are fairly active, and likely need more than that on a daily basis. And you're saying you often come in UNDER 1200 a day? :noway:

    Eating too little, especially with a lot of hard exercise, gives the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it. Food is fuel!

    Can't see your diary, and don't know your specifics such as height, weight, etc, but I would guess that you aren't eating enough.

    Have a read through this topic - great info there with tools for calculating how much you should be eating. I've been eating according to the info there for nearly a year with great results. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • Alta2000
    Alta2000 Posts: 655 Member
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    You are not eating enough calories and your body goes into starvation and becomes more efficient with a smaller number of calories.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/804485-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12?hl=place+of+roadmap
  • NoahandPresleysMom
    NoahandPresleysMom Posts: 763 Member
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    My calorie intake for me to lose weight is 1200 calories a day. Some days with exercising I am under 1200 by 50-250. Some days I may go over but not by great amounts. I do Tabata 4 days a week, walk/jog, and some eliptical workouts. So I mix up my exercises. I burn more calories than MFP has recommended. MFP says my goal is 1248 a week. I have been burning 1500 -1800. I have been doing this since the 1st week of January. No weight lost and no smaller measurements! Help! Also can it be hormonal?

    could be a PCOS issue, or a thyroid issue. It may help to seek the help of a nutritionist/dietician
  • NoahandPresleysMom
    NoahandPresleysMom Posts: 763 Member
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    You are not eating enough calories and your body goes into starvation and becomes more efficient with a smaller number of calories.

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

    myth
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    You are not eating enough calories and your body goes into starvation and becomes more efficient with a smaller number of calories.

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

    wrong..

    starvation mode is a myth...you have to not eat for 72 hours for your body to truly go into starvation mode. Eating 1200 calories a day will not put you in starvation mode...
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    what is your current height and weight?

    Did you calculate TDEE and deduct 30%?

    I believe to lose one pound of fat you have to restrict your calories by about 3400 hundred a week deficit...you mentioned that you are at a 1500 to1800 deficit which would put you at about a pound every other week loss...

    Do you work out with weights?
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    You are not eating enough calories and your body goes into starvation and becomes more efficient with a smaller number of calories.

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

    wrong..

    starvation mode is a myth...you have to not eat for 72 hours for your body to truly go into starvation mode. Eating 1200 calories a day will not put you in starvation mode...
    ^^ But eating a healthy amount of calories and losing weight/fat does work much better than stalling and starving (not starvation mode, just bein' hungry!) at 1200 - the info in the link is legit even if starvation mode is a myth. :smile:
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    You are not eating enough calories and your body goes into starvation and becomes more efficient with a smaller number of calories.

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

    wrong..

    starvation mode is a myth...you have to not eat for 72 hours for your body to truly go into starvation mode. Eating 1200 calories a day will not put you in starvation mode...
    ^^ But eating a healthy amount of calories and losing weight/fat does work much better than stalling and starving (not starvation mode, just bein' hungry!) at 1200 - the info in the link is legit even if starvation mode is a myth. :smile:

    ummmm no - you have to not eat anything for 72 hours to go into starvation mode. That is a fact. check out the research here at www.leangains.com

    if you eat 1200 calories in a 72 hour period you will not go into starvation mode.

    Will you hit a plateau if you just eat 1200 calories? Maybe, but that is not starvation mode.

    I was not commenting on the link, I was commenting on the comment about starvation mode.

    People throw around starvation mode on these threads and have no clue what they are talking about. I used to by into that too, but I started reading more about it and found out that skipping a meal will not put you in starvation mode...
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Yes, the term does get kicked around a lot in topics here - I posted the link, but am not the one who used the starvation mode term, but since the person you quoted also posted the same link, I just wanted to clarify that the link info is indeed legit. :tongue: Is that confusing? LOL

    And 1200 is below coma calories for most people - my view was why suffer on 1200 when I can eat 1800 and still lose the fat? :drinker: For me, that was the best argument out there!
  • cindybpitts
    cindybpitts Posts: 213 Member
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    I started Shakeology again about 3 weeks ago. I stopped drinking the shakes in Sept and gained 15lbs. I didnt lose any weight last year until I did the INSANITY and TAP OUT workouts. I only lost 5 lbs. They are tough workouts! I did tone up.
  • millerll
    millerll Posts: 873 Member
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    My calorie intake for me to lose weight is 1200 calories a day.

    No, it's not. Your profile says you only want to lose 20 pounds. Unless you're 4 feet tall, 1200 calories isn't enough, especially since you're working out. With only 20 pounds to lose, you should aim for 1/2 to 1 pound a week loss, no more. Faster isn't better. In fact, as you've found out, it's not possible to do healthily. Reset your MFP goal for no more than 1 pound a week loss. That will raise your daily calorie allotment. Eat those calories! Give it a couple of weeks and you should start seeing slow, but steady loss. Good luck!
  • tpfoodie
    tpfoodie Posts: 148 Member
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    Yes, the term does get kicked around a lot in topics here - I posted the link, but am not the one who used the starvation mode term, but since the person you quoted also posted the same link, I just wanted to clarify that the link info is indeed legit. :tongue: Is that confusing? LOL

    And 1200 is below coma calories for most people - my view was why suffer on 1200 when I can eat 1800 and still lose the fat? :drinker: For me, that was the best argument out there!

    :drinker: Cheers to you!
  • MelWhiskey
    MelWhiskey Posts: 3
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    I highly recommend the Shred Revolutionary Diet by Dr. Ian K. Smith - his book is a 6 week cycle that is aimed at the plateau. His theory is that your body reacts to foods the same way that your body reacts to working out the same muscles over and over again. So, he switches up the menu's daily and weekly as well as the amount of cardio, etc... to "confuse" your body and help burn fat and lose weight. Good luck!
  • cindybpitts
    cindybpitts Posts: 213 Member
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    I am 5'7" and weigh 170. When I was eating alot I was 170 and now exercising & eating less I still weigh 170. I do hear the starvation mode used alot and I also hear the "maybe it is muscle". I drink all water now. No diet drinks. I am doing the 1200 calorie because that`s what MFP calculated for me to lose 1.6 lbs a week. I do lift weights but not on a regular basis. We include some light - medium weights in our Tabata class. I dont see any kind of change. Clothes still fit the same too. TIGHT!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I am 5'7" and weigh 170. When I was eating alot I was 170 and now exercising & eating less I still weigh 170. I do hear the starvation mode used alot and I also hear the "maybe it is muscle". I drink all water now. No diet drinks. I am doing the 1200 calorie because that`s what MFP calculated for me to lose 1.6 lbs a week. I do lift weights but not on a regular basis. We include some light - medium weights in our Tabata class. I dont see any kind of change. Clothes still fit the same too. TIGHT!


    how old are you and how many days do you work out per week?

    also, muscle weighs the same as fat so it is not muscle...
  • cindybpitts
    cindybpitts Posts: 213 Member
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    I am 41. I do Tabata (30 minute high intensity interval training) 4-days a week, usually walk/jog 4 miles or eliptical fat loss 30 minute workout. Always do 4 days but sometimes I do up to 6 days a week. In the Tabata my heart rate gets up to 180 and on the eliptical too. I dont care how slow I lose as long as I lose but I havent lost an ounce yet!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Your 5'7" do your intense physical activity and often net below 1200. I think you might have answered your own question.

    For a long time I didnt believe in starvation mode, but the more and more posts I see like this the more I'm starting to change my mind.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    I am 41. I do Tabata (30 minute high intensity interval training) 4-days a week, usually walk/jog 4 miles or eliptical fat loss 30 minute workout. Always do 4 days but sometimes I do up to 6 days a week. In the Tabata my heart rate gets up to 180 and on the eliptical too. I dont care how slow I lose as long as I lose but I havent lost an ounce yet!

    based on your height, weight,age, and an activity level of "moderately active" = 3-5 days activity level which puts your TDEE at 2351 cals a day so 30% deficit = 705 calorie deficit = 1645 calls a day. You could try this for four to six weeks and see how it goes..or bump up to 1450 and try that and then go to 1645 if you are still plateauing...

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