what am i doing wrong?

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mary1127
mary1127 Posts: 37
in Motivation and Support
I started My fitness pal on April 26. I have lost one pound in that time. I think in that whole time I have only gone over my calorie allotment one time. Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought the system was set up so I would lose one pound a week. I lost none in April or May. One pound in June.:sad:

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  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    I started My fitness pal on April 26. I have lost one pound in that time. I think in that whole time I have only gone over my calorie allotment one time. Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought the system was set up so I would lose one pound a week. I lost none in April or May. One pound in June.:sad:
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    Ok, we need more information before we can help--

    how many calories are you eating?

    What is your BMR?

    Are you exercising?

    Are you eating your exercise calories?
  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    When I do not work out I eat 1200 calories. Yes I am exercising. Yes I eat my exercise calories. I get to hungry if I do not. I am on Thyroid medication but my Thyroid is under control. I think my BMR is 29. I weight 167 pounds at 5'3"...........I want to weigh 140 pounds.
  • rheston
    rheston Posts: 638
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    I believe you should check with your doctor to see if your medication is having an impact on your ability to lose weight. I would also suggest a full physical to include cholesterol.

    The reason I make this suggestion is due to fact that many of us have genetic issues that affect our health. My wife, for example, was eating healthy and exercising 5 days a week and yet couldn't lose anything for a year. She went to her doctor had a full physical and found her cholesterol was through the roof. The doctor put her on a statin and within a month she started losing weight and is now down 29 pounds from where she was.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,784 Member
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    When I do not work out I eat 1200 calories. Yes I am exercising. Yes I eat my exercise calories. I get to hungry if I do not. I am on Thyroid medication but my Thyroid is under control. I think my BMR is 29. I weight 167 pounds at 5'3"...........I want to weigh 140 pounds.

    You're thinking BMI. Your BMR is the number of calories you need to live from day to day. Have you made any other lifestyle changes? For example, quiting smoking - something that might make it harder to lose weight. I didn't lose any for two months after I quit.

    I agree with rheston. Check with your doctor.
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    So you only have 27 more pounds to go then?

    Ok, couple suggestions---

    You need to find out what your BMR is--that is your Basal Metabolic Rate (you gave your BMI) which means how many calories it takes for your body to maintain your present weight given your age, sex, and physical activity. Once you have that, you can figure out how much you need to cut back in order to lose

    Given the basic information you gave and using the BMR calculator on this site, your BMR is about 1500 a day, which doesn't give you a lot of room to play with--but I don't know what your physical activity is, so that could go up. But 1500 calories a day is what it would take to maintain your present weight if you live a sedentary lifestyle and basically do nothing but sit or lie in bed all day. So you need to calculate it based upon your activity level, as I'm assuming you do have some physical activity.

    Also, you don't have a lot to lose, so the loss will be slow and take time--unfortunately that has been proven out by many on this site how have a small amount to lose. 1 Pound a week might be ambitious given the small amount you're trying to lose--you might need to aim for 1/2 pound a week instead.

    At your size, you simply can't get a large deficit in calories daily nor do you burn up as many calories in exercise as someone like me, who has a lot to lose and can get a large daily deficit by simply cutting back on food intake.

    1200 calories might be too little for you and your body is holding onto what it gets to keep going. Maybe try upping your calories a little a day for a while and see what happens.

    Many people have broken plateaus by changing up their routine for a week or two, so that might help, too.

    I have no idea how the thyroid plays into all this--but have you checked with your doctor?
  • thalli1
    thalli1 Posts: 332 Member
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    One other thing to check out is how many exercise calories you are actually burning. Before I got a heart rate monitor, I used the number of calories MFP said, or the number it said on the machines at the gym. When I got my HRM I realized I was overestimating the amount I was burning at the gym by quite a bit. If you were doing this too, and then eating those exercise calories, it could cause you not to lose.
  • sindyb9
    sindyb9 Posts: 1,248 Member
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    I believe you should check with your doctor to see if your medication is having an impact on your ability to lose weight. I would also suggest a full physical to include cholesterol.

    The reason I make this suggestion is due to fact that many of us have genetic issues that affect our health. My wife, for example, was eating healthy and exercising 5 days a week and yet couldn't lose anything for a year. She went to her doctor had a full physical and found her cholesterol was through the roof. The doctor put her on a statin and within a month she started losing weight and is now down 29 pounds from where she was.

    I agree, I have a tyroid issue too and have been having trouble loosing, I am having a full blood work done next week. I am thinking because I lost 20lbs the meds may have to be adjusted, I also have High cholesterol and take meds for that too. I will let you know what happens.
  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    Great advice about going to the Dr. But I all ready did that and I'm very healthy. Colesterol is fine, blood pressure, thyroid levels are all correct. I was hoping something would be wrong which would explain it but.....nadda. My hear rate monitor is alway higher than what I figure on My fitness pal...so I always go with the lower amount. I'm planning on getting a new hear rate monitor because a trainer told me to do sprints during my workouts and my current heart rate monitor is just not working right for that.
  • psuastro97
    psuastro97 Posts: 125
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    i wonder if you are eating enough then??? if your heart rate minitor says you are burning more than the MFP site, and you use the MFP site number instead, that may be the problem??? your heart rate monitor is much more in tune with your body than the estimate on this site. when you heart rate monitor does the calories burned calculation, it takes into account YOUR weight, your actual heart rate, your height, etc. so it is more specific and probably alot more accurate than the MFP site or the gym equipment.

    i too use a HRM and have found my calories burned are more than this site says. i use my HRM values and I have lost 5 pounds so far, and i too have only 21 pounds to lose. not saying this is the problem you are haiving, but it is worth a try....you may be "starving" yourself and not know it. just think - you get to eat more!!!! YEAH!
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    It's not really as much about how many calories you eat as it is about your deficit. At a BMI of 29 you should be at about a 700 calorie deficit (give or take about 100 either way), that's after everything is said and done for a day (I.E. after you exercise...etc).

    Other tweeks are, making sure you spread out your calories throughout the day and not just having 1 or 2 big meals, making sure you are eating enough healthy fat and protein, making sure you are eating the right kind of carbs in moderate amounts throughout the day, making sure you are eating enough fiber.

    As a person with a thyroid issue, you have to be very careful not to over or under eat as either can seriously affect your metabolism, much more then an average person. I.E. if you have a deficit that is much higher then 700 or so for any kind of extended period (for you specifically), It will have a greater impact. You might just be starving yourself and not know it.

    One question to ask is, are you losing inches? If you are, then you're body is probably just reconditioning itself still. It can take 3 to 6 months for your body to adjust to the new habits and really start doing wonderful things. Up until the point it does, it can be building muscle, and re-adjusting your exsiting tissue. These are good things.

    Hope this helps.
  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    How do I know if i have a 700 calorie deficit? Aren't I supposed to end up even at the end of the day? Or am I supposed to have 700 calories left over? Doesn't myfitnesspal put the deficit in automatically? Is that what I'm doing wrong? Matching calories in versus calories out?
  • gabi_ele
    gabi_ele Posts: 460 Member
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    Ok Mary I will try and explain what I do and maybe that will explain it for you.
    My BMR ( Basal Metabolic rate) is around 2500 calories a day.( that is what my body needs to funktion) I put in a sedentary life style since I am just now leaning about the joys of exercising:grumble: . In order to loose 2 pounds a week I have to not eat 7000 cal. So MPF automaticly takes away 1000 cal a day, that leaves me with 1500. Now if I exercise I get some calories back ... between 300 and 500 depending on what I do. THat's where your HRM comes in. you would put in how many calories you burnt. Then you eat whatever MFP tells you within 100 to 200 calories or so. You should eat 4 to 6 small meals so you are constantly burning what you eat, and the less processed the food the better it is for you. Your net calories BMR + exercise - what you eat should not go below 1200 calories a day or your body will go into starvation mode, that's when it holds on to every calorie it can and you will have a hard time loosing anything. I know that it sounds like if you eat less you would loose more but our bodys are not machines and will compensate when we don't treat them right. If you still have problems send me a mail with your BMR and your exercise cals and maybe I can explain it even better.
  • bayaderka
    bayaderka Posts: 53
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    Don't worry! This issue happens to most people when trying to get in shape.

    However: Have you been snacking? I don't mean have 1 solitary snack between breakfast to lunch and from lunch to dinner. I mean those little nibbles and munchies one mindlessly grazes on.
    Make sure to write everything you eat. If you don't have time to log it into MFP, just put it on pen and paper.

    I was amazed how much I was eating when I first did this, because all those little bites here and there can seriously add up!

    Also, maybe you should try to eat 1,200 calories regardless of how much exercise you may do on a given day. When you exercise, make sure you change it up, whether it be the speed on the treadmill, or the type of classes you are taking. You need to shock your body out of this plateau.

    You should also see the "plateau diet" I posted previously. It has worked successfully as well as dramatically for everybody whom I know that has tried it.
  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    my bmr is1362 and today i'm going hiking for one hour. mfp says that will burn 455 calories. if i take 1362 and minus 700 that leaves 600 plus 455 from exercise that's only 1000..........calories
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
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    my bmr is1362 and today i'm going hiking for one hour. mfp says that will burn 455 calories. if i take 1362 and minus 700 that leaves 600 plus 455 from exercise that's only 1000..........calories

    YOu can't minus 700 from a BMR of 1362; you should never go under 1200 a day. That's why it's difficult for people with a small amount to lose to lose quickly--it simply is not healthy to do that.

    Did you account for any normal daily activity in your BMR? That sounds low.

    Anyway, you are not going to be able to get that big a deficit-sorry. 1200 is pretty much the minimum recommended amount to safely lose weight.
  • mary1127
    mary1127 Posts: 37
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    so now i am back to where i started. i used the bmr calculator on this site it did not ask for an activity level.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    The BMR is not what your deficit should be subtracted from. It is the base minimum that your body uses if you stay in bed all day.

    What your deficit should be subtracted from is your maintenance calories (what you should eat to maintain your current weight.) The best way to find this is to go under goals and click "maintain my current weight" to see what MFP recommends for you. Then, subtract your 700 from that. NOT from your BMR, which is not the same as maintenance calories. The goals calculator will ask you for an activity level.
    :flowerforyou:
  • mary71225
    mary71225 Posts: 7
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    :smokin: So, you haven't lost weight, but have you measured yourself, because you could be losing inches and not pounds.
  • Fit2btied
    Fit2btied Posts: 486
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    OK, I am just getting beyond where you are now! I can soooo sympathize! Two years ago, I began to gain weight no matter how much I cut down on food and exercised. So, I went to a hormone specialist who ran some blood tests and tested my BMR. My BMR was way low at 950! So the 1250 calories I consumed minus the 300 calories burned just kept me maintained...and if I cheated at all, I really paid...in the waistband! You didn't say how old you are, but hormones could be playing a role in this. Getting my hormones balanced and my hypothyroid treated has changed the way I can eat and now I can diet according to the charts on this site. I wish you the best in getting the help and results you want!

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