Stuck and not going anywhere. Please help

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,124 Member
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    I had a look at your diary and I agree with everyone else. You're eating too little even by MFP recommendations. I would try to hit your target calories every day, and eat back your exercise calories. MFP doesn't give you a maximum goal to eat under, it gives you a minimum goal to eat at or above. The calorie deficit you need is already accounted for in your calorie goal for the day.

    There's already been some good advice for increasing your calories without increasing the volume of food you eat. If it seems daunting, try only increasing by 100-200 calories every week until you adjust.

    Gook luck!

    I have increased my calories and I'm making myself stop what I'm doing and eat more. We shall see what happens.

    EAT those exercise calories, too. No wonder you can't lose weight. Here is the perfect tool, and you have totally ignored its advice. Really, under eating by 500-800 calories every day is causing your problem.

    Why do you have your goal set at just under 1300 in the first place? How much weight do you think you need to lose?

    *edit to fix quotes
  • jmspies_wechanged
    jmspies_wechanged Posts: 20
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    I am now down to 134 # I started at 151 when i joined mfp .I just went by what I typed in my little goal settings. my goal weight is 125-130. I am 5'4 tall. My worst areas are of course my stomach and that area right above my butt/hips. I have a very short torso. Anyway I do a lot of ab work, running. Using weights with my workouts etc. I do run a lot and love it
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I am now down to 134 # I started at 151 when i joined mfp .I just went by what I typed in my little goal settings. my goal weight is 125-130. I am 5'4 tall.

    In that case, make sure your MFP settings are set to only lose 1/2 lb per week.

    Or, if you're using the TDEE method, go with TDEE-10%.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,124 Member
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    I am now down to 134 # I started at 151 when i joined mfp .I just went by what I typed in my little goal settings. my goal weight is 125-130. I am 5'4 tall. My worst areas are of course my stomach and that area right above my butt/hips. I have a very short torso. Anyway I do a lot of ab work, running. Using weights with my workouts etc. I do run a lot and love it

    Try eating more like 1800-2000 a day, like you should be eating. Seriously. Here: read these:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

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

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

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • jmspies_wechanged
    jmspies_wechanged Posts: 20
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    Thank you all!!! I'm making some changes starting today!!! Here's to better health! :)
  • bitterhoney
    bitterhoney Posts: 5 Member
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    Hey everyone - i had this problem from the beginning of December until March. I was going nuts and everything i was reading was only frustrating me more because it was just saying "make sure you count your calories, etc" - I know ALL of us on myfitnesspal already do that! I just wanted to share what finally helped me out. I changed my sources of intake and I added a lot of juicing to my diet. This is easy if you have a juicer obviously, but there are also a lot of great recipes online for blender juices too. I'm not talking about a juice cleanse where its all you drink/eat for however many days... this was just adding a ton of fruits and veggies in a different way. I use both my juicer and my blender for different recipes but i have some really great ones if anyone is interested and when i started doing that it totally kicked my weight loss back into gear! I'm not saying it will work for everyone but it's something to try maybe especially if you have a sweet tooth like me or you really hate eating raw bland veggies. If anyone is interested in sharing some juicing recipes, I can make a forum and we can all share around. The plateau is the most frustrating thing ever - i'm glad to have this community to band together when the going gets tough.
  • MrsDrk
    MrsDrk Posts: 153 Member
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    You have little ones- are you sleeping enough? Lack of sleep can cause a stall in progression. Try to get enough uninterrupted sleep if you can!
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    Thank you all!!! I'm making some changes starting today!!! Here's to better health! :)

    Yay! :D
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,721 Member
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    I've been on a plateau since Christmas. I lost 12 kilos in my first 3 months of MFP and it took another 3 months to lose just 3 kilos. I am trying a diet break by eating around maintenance for 3 weeks in an attempt to get my metabolism back to normal speed. I have a couple more days at 1800 and then I will try cutting again to see if it helps. At least I haven't gained at 1800, but according MFP I should have been losing half a pound a week, which hasn't happened either. I'll let you know if this works. It's a scary experiment, but, hey, I wasn't losing on 1310 either.
  • bobajoul
    bobajoul Posts: 6
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    Well, that should allow you to at least maintain. the other issue is what are you eating? If it is carb heavy, water gets complexed and retained. Weight is maintained or lost via NEAT based activity- which is what you are doing-standing, walking, moving around. With your training is it possible you are gaining muscle? That is heavier than fat and connective tissue- healthier for you but it has the effect of "halting" weight loss as the body composition changes.
  • tigerblue
    tigerblue Posts: 1,526 Member
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    Want to read later.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    I'm afraid I don't have the link handy, but a thread was posted not too long ago about one girls story about having her metabolism tested and the results. I think that it might be a good read for you! I realize that you are making some changes in your calorie intake which is definitely a step in the right direction :smile: Good luck!
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    With your training is it possible you are gaining muscle? That is heavier than fat and connective tissue- healthier for you but it has the effect of "halting" weight loss as the body composition changes.

    There's no way to gain muscle on a deficit like that (other than small "newbie" gains at the start). You can strengthen and preserve LBM with good resistance training while on a deficit, but will inevitably lose some (more so on VLCDs)
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    With your training is it possible you are gaining muscle? That is heavier than fat and connective tissue- healthier for you but it has the effect of "halting" weight loss as the body composition changes.

    There's no way to gain muscle on a deficit like that (other than small "newbie" gains at the start). You can strengthen and preserve LBM with good resistance training while on a deficit, but will inevitably lose some (more so on VLCDs)

    Really? I've been in a deficit for a while and I've gotten a lot stronger through resistance training. Is this what you refer to as "newbie gains." Or maybe it is possible to gain strength without gaining muscle (that doesn't sound right)?

    I'm not an expert on this stuff, but it sounds like you're saying that the body will not use protein intake and energy from fat stores to build muscle, that it will only use energy from calories consumed that day? Please explain.
  • kdirago
    kdirago Posts: 4
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    I am having the same problem. So I need to add 300 calories to my diet. I am not hungry and I feel like I eat all day with healthy snacks and meals. Any suggestions on how to fit it another 300 calories to my day. I am at the gym 6 days a week now so I know I have to eat more. I am having trouble just eating the 1200 calories required so not sure where to come up with another easy 300.

    thanks
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Really? I've been in a deficit for a while and I've gotten a lot stronger through resistance training. Is this what you refer to as "newbie gains." Or maybe it is possible to gain strength without gaining muscle (that doesn't sound right)?


    Strength gains are neuromuscular in nature, not (necessarily) muscle mass gain. Basically, you train your brain, nerves, and muscles to work together to get stronger without necessarily getting bigger.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    I am having the same problem. So I need to add 300 calories to my diet. I am not hungry and I feel like I eat all day with healthy snacks and meals. Any suggestions on how to fit it another 300 calories to my day. I am at the gym 6 days a week now so I know I have to eat more. I am having trouble just eating the 1200 calories required so not sure where to come up with another easy 300.

    thanks

    I can't see your diary but I have some suggestions. If you eat 3 meals a day, add 100 calories to each meal. An easy way to add 100 calories is to cook your food in 2tsp of oil, or eat a piece of fruit at the end. If you're trying to increase your protein intake as well as your calories, add nuts/seeds instead of fruit. Choose cooked veggies over raw to leave some room in your stomach for some more protein rich foods.

    If your eating any "diet" foods, switch them to their full-calorie counterparts, including switching artificial sweeteners to sugar.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    Really? I've been in a deficit for a while and I've gotten a lot stronger through resistance training. Is this what you refer to as "newbie gains." Or maybe it is possible to gain strength without gaining muscle (that doesn't sound right)?


    Strength gains are neuromuscular in nature, not (necessarily) muscle mass gain. Basically, you train your brain, nerves, and muscles to work together to get stronger without necessarily getting bigger.

    Okay, sounds reasonable. Do you have sources?

    That still doesn't explain to me why your body won't build muscle during a calorie deficit.
  • Hexahedra
    Hexahedra Posts: 894 Member
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    Okay, sounds reasonable. Do you have sources?

    That still doesn't explain to me why your body won't build muscle during a calorie deficit.

    Muscle mass and muscle strength are two related but separate concepts. It is possible to gain strength without gaining mass, to some degree. I often see guys relatively smaller than me who pump more weight. To increase mass (bulk up) you can't eat at a deficit because your body uses up all the calories just to keep you functioning, so it can't spare any to build additional mass.

    My wife is very buff, like competition-level buff, but she doesn't pump very heavy. She does a great number of repetitions though, like 3-4 sets of 15 for each exercise.

    She doesn't eat at a deficit, but she eats clean most of the time.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    Okay, sounds reasonable. Do you have sources?

    That still doesn't explain to me why your body won't build muscle during a calorie deficit.

    Muscle mass and muscle strength are two related but separate concepts. It is possible to gain strength without gaining mass, to some degree. I often see guys relatively smaller than me who pump more weight. To increase mass (bulk up) you can't eat at a deficit because your body uses up all the calories just to keep you functioning, so it can't spare any to build additional mass.

    My wife is very buff, like competition-level buff, but she doesn't pump very heavy. She does a great number of repetitions though, like 3-4 sets of 15 for each exercise.

    She doesn't eat at a deficit, but she eats clean most of the time.

    But wouldn't increasing muscle mass in response to heavy lifting be PART of the calories used to "keep you functioning?"

    If you increase your caloric needs by lifting weights and requiring your body to build strength (while still consuming adequate protein, fat and water to build those muscles), your body would just tap into the fat reserves. Isn't that the whole concept behind reducing BF%

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