STUCK! What am I doing wrong?

I am 21, female, 5'3 and about 240 pounds. I have lost 40 pounds since December 1st. For the past three weeks my weight loss has completely stalled. MFP has me eating about 1460 calories per day. I exercise 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes a day, typically a DVD or the elliptical. I don't know what I am doing wrong! Suggestions?

Replies

  • crissygm
    crissygm Posts: 42 Member
    You're not eating enough calories is my guess. Try looking up IPOARM on the message boards.
  • nlewis22
    nlewis22 Posts: 107 Member
    Your body could be acclimated to your exercises too. Try a different DVD and do the stairmaster instead of eliptical.
  • ChangingAmanda
    ChangingAmanda Posts: 486 Member
    Most likely you're not eating enough. I have similar stats and net 1600 calories a day and am losing an average of 1.6 lbs/week. Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/912920-in-place-of-a-road-map-3-2013
  • Bane81
    Bane81 Posts: 40 Member
    You might have hit a plateau, change up your routine a bit.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Another big vote here for undereating for the exercise you're putting in. Too large of a caloric deficit. Use the link above and figure out your BMR/TDEE.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I'm currently 218 (started at 232 in Dec 2012) by eating 1800, plus working out at least 5xweek. Check IPOARM, you may need to up the cals.
  • violinkeri
    violinkeri Posts: 212
    you lost 40 lbs in 4 months...that's awesome!

    its only been 3 weeks, you are probably fine. weight loss comes in shifts, its not linear, and you wont lose exactly 1 lb per exactly 7 days, even if your MFP is set to lose 1 lb a week. it just doesnt work that way.
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
    This is the 4th thread I read were people seem to eat extremely low calories. I'll admit this is the highest one at around 1400. The other three were 1200 and lower. Start eating more, you'll be surprised.
  • debbiedoo1986
    debbiedoo1986 Posts: 17 Member
    you might have to change your routine up. maybe change what you eat. find more healthy recipes. that's the only thing I can think of. I'm not an expert so don't take my word for it. but you could try it if you want. My sister has a blog and a facebook page called Healthy by Choice. Her name is Sara and her name on MFP is chixdrag2. She's a very healthy person and knows a lot about nutrition if you wanna ask her about it. I'm sure she can be some help to you. good luck..and btw, it is amazingly awesome that you lost 40 lbs so far !!! congrats!!
  • I was told not to eat back my exercise calories, is this correct? Doing that would put me at about 1800 calories per day. I just upped my exercise levels and it still hasn't shown any result. I am just confused as to how many calories I should actually be eating, it seems like there is a lot of conflicting information out there.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/937712-in-place-of-a-road-map-ver-3-0

    and this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm

    Run your numbers and determine your TDEE. Then eat at a deficit by 20%. And don't eat your exercise calories. Your exercise should be considered when you select your activity level.