Am I doin it wrong? Help..

fitnessmind2
fitnessmind2 Posts: 6
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
I am 208lbs, I started at 211ish and what I have lost has been water weight, since I drink 8 glasses of water a day, and no longer add salt or anything.

my BMR is 1740ish. So this is what I eat, at least.
But everyday I workout 6 days a week I burn about 800 calories, and I eat enough in the day to end up with 400ish calories left for the day. I was under the impression that was my "deficit"

Am I doing it right? Do I need a bigger "deficit"? Do I need to eat ALL my calories back?
I am trying to lose at least 30lbs.

For the past 3 weeks, my scale has not budged.. at all. No inches have been lost on my waist, arms, hips or thighs.
Nothing.

I eat almost the same thing, everday.

Breakfast: 1 cup eggbeaters Southwestern with 1/4 cup cheddar cheese

Snack: 2 brown rice cakes with 1 tbsp organic peanut butter and 2 strawberries

Lunch: 1 scoop chocolate shakeology, 1tbsp organic peanut butter, 1tbsp manatha almond butter

Snack: Half of a sweet potato

Dinner: One of the following:

4oz hamburger with 1 slice kraft american cheese, with 1 cup of brocc/caulif/carrot mix
10oz steak, with 1 red pepper in a falt out wrap
8oz chicken with greenbeans or peas, and a cup of pinto beans

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    When you signed up for MFP what did you put as your goal weight loss per week? If you entered anything below maintenance then MFP already puts you in a deficit that is why it suggests you eat your exercise calories. MFP does not use BMR to calculate caloric allowance it uses this plus your activity level minus your goal loss calories.

    If you set yourself up for 2 pounds per week MFP has you in a 1000 caloric deficit per day, if at the end of the day you still have 400 cals left that means your deficit is 1,400 which may be too much causing your metabolism to slow down, halting your weight loss.
  • la4et
    la4et Posts: 134 Member
    I started around where you are and my calorie intact was set at 1200- not 1700! I think that is too high to be on the pace of 1-2 pnds per week. I would eat only some of my exercise calories if really hungry. I suggest you go and input your goals again and see what happens
  • fitnessmind2
    fitnessmind2 Posts: 6
    When you signed up for MFP what did you put as your goal weight loss per week? If you entered anything below maintenance then MFP already puts you in a deficit that is why it suggests you eat your exercise calories. MFP does not use BMR to calculate caloric allowance it uses this plus your activity level minus your goal loss calories.

    If you set yourself up for 2 pounds per week MFP has you in a 1000 caloric deficit per day, if at the end of the day you still have 400 cals left that means your deficit is 1,400 which may be too much causing your metabolism to slow down, halting your weight loss.

    MFP says 1200 calories for me as well, but my BMR was 1600 so I thought I had to eat this or I would go into starvation mode.
    When I workout, it adds 800 calories, so then my calorie goal changes to 2,000 calories a day.
    Are you saying I have to eat those 2,000 calories and I still have a 1,000 calorie deficit?

    Im sorry, I'm just really confused...
  • VolatileChocolate
    VolatileChocolate Posts: 116
    Hi,

    On a 2lb a week weight loss MFP reduces your cals to 500 less that your BMR so should be around the 1200 mark. Mines 1280cals a day.
    You may want at varying you food so you're not eating the same thing everyday. Personally, I would change from full fat cheese to low fat option and eat more fruit n veg and less protein n carbs especially bread, that way I can eat a lot more and feel fuller for longer. But thats me and I know everyone is different when it comes to food.

    Hope you're able to suss things out and start lossing.

    Good luck.
    xUna
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I started around where you are and my calorie intact was set at 1200- not 1700! I think that is too high to be on the pace of 1-2 pnds per week. I would eat only some of my exercise calories if really hungry. I suggest you go and input your goals again and see what happens

    Actually MFP makes the mistake and will have you eat below your BMR, many people suggest that you should not eat below your BMR.

    OP you may want to continue eating your BMR but not your exercise calories to increase you caloric deficit as, if you are set up as sedentary, you BMR will only have you at about a 400 calorie deficit which means it would take you about 9 days to loose 1 pound.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    When you signed up for MFP what did you put as your goal weight loss per week? If you entered anything below maintenance then MFP already puts you in a deficit that is why it suggests you eat your exercise calories. MFP does not use BMR to calculate caloric allowance it uses this plus your activity level minus your goal loss calories.

    If you set yourself up for 2 pounds per week MFP has you in a 1000 caloric deficit per day, if at the end of the day you still have 400 cals left that means your deficit is 1,400 which may be too much causing your metabolism to slow down, halting your weight loss.

    MFP says 1200 calories for me as well, but my BMR was 1600 so I thought I had to eat this or I would go into starvation mode.
    When I workout, it adds 800 calories, so then my calorie goal changes to 2,000 calories a day.
    Are you saying I have to eat those 2,000 calories and I still have a 1,000 calorie deficit?

    Im sorry, I'm just really confused...

    Yes, otherwise your deficit would be 1800 (1000 from you goal plus the 800 from exercise)
  • fitnessmind2
    fitnessmind2 Posts: 6
    Thank you very much, you have helped it make sense!
  • mekhala
    mekhala Posts: 123 Member
    it sounds like your weight thingies are set wong, mine says i can have 2030 and still be a 500cal deficit, and i am much larger than you, around 80lbs larger.

    I would reset your goals and make sure the units your weight is entered is what you think, kg's or lbs. I would also have more vaiety in evening meals, as i couldnt stick to a diet as restrited as yours for any length of time.

    Good luck and dont loose heart! x
  • fitnessmind2
    fitnessmind2 Posts: 6

    You may want at varying you food so you're not eating the same thing everyday. Personally, I would change from full fat cheese to low fat option and eat more fruit n veg and less protein n carbs especially bread, that way I can eat a lot more and feel fuller for longer. But thats me and I know everyone is different when it comes to food.

    I have overcome a problem with cravings (being an emo-eater and all) and eating the almost exact same thing every day except for supper has helped me with the cravings or impulsive eating. I know what to expect and I don't have to think about it, it just goes in my mouth ;)

    I don't eat bread :)
  • fitnessmind2
    fitnessmind2 Posts: 6
    it sounds like your weight thingies are set wong, mine says i can have 2030 and still be a 500cal deficit, and i am much larger than you, around 80lbs larger.

    I would reset your goals and make sure the units your weight is entered is what you think, kg's or lbs. I would also have more vaiety in evening meals, as i couldnt stick to a diet as restrited as yours for any length of time.

    Good luck and dont loose heart! x

    Really? I put 208 in there, sedentary and lose 2lbs a week it sets me at 1200. /shrug
  • JMun
    JMun Posts: 409
    keep at it. I went for about 9 days without loosing anything and then BOOM went down 4lbs seemingly overnight.

    My solution was just to go 3 days of high cals (1700-1800) just getting under my maximum allowed and then bringing my cal count as close to starvation as I could handle (1200-1300) AND upping my exercise from 20mins to 40mins.

    I dunno if this is reccommended or not and its certainly not something that I'll do all the time but, it was enough to jolt my metabolism back into weight loss mode. I'm eating 1400 cals a day again and plan on keeping up the 40mins of exercise.

    I don't eat my exercise cals
  • pchristie
    pchristie Posts: 38
    As I look at your food intake I noticed two things immediately - it looks like you are consuming a lot of fat with the full fat cheese, peanut butter, and meat, and I didn't see a lot of veggies.

    I saw that a couple of other people said this, and I agree that you should change the cheese to either low-fat options or omit it completely. I also think you should add more veggies. I have found with my body, and I struggle with making the scale move as well, the more veggies I eat and the more water I drink, the more I lose.

    I also have huge problems with cravings especially when I am PMSing, but when I was drinking protein powder drinks, I wasn't really losing weight.

    Also, you biggest meal is at night. Could you perhaps swap out lunch and dinner? I notice that with me, if I eat more earlier and less later, I lose more. Just a few ideas. Stick with it - you will lose eventually.

    One last thing that people tell me that I don't know if i necessarily buy, but here it is - muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are burning 800 calories a day, you are probably building a lot of muscle.
  • sweet4keeps22
    sweet4keeps22 Posts: 291 Member
    Now that you've got the number of calories sorted out, I wanted to reiterate something mentioned previously, and add to it. It might be beneficial to you to focus on getting in more fruits, veggies, and lean proteins, and to change up what you're eating, so that you're not eating the same thing every day. MFP tracks many things, not just calories. When I got my calories in check, I made a goal of focusing in on another nutrient each week, first macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein) then other important stuff (iron, sugar, fiber). All of these things play a vital role in health and weight loss, and getting each of them within the allotted amount recommended will help. :flowerforyou: Best of Luck!
  • mekhala
    mekhala Posts: 123 Member
    is it set to kilo's or lbs?

    i have mine at sedentry, and at 1 lb a week, i dont want all that skin people have when they loose too quickly!! it frightens me more than being overweight does!! xx
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    here's something I posted the other day. Please take a look, it may clear some things up for you.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/108362-eating-to-fuel-your-body-very-long


    As to your BMR, two things. 1) the calculation for BMR is a rough estimate and really shouldn't be used as a hard floor, not unless you've had your BMR tabulated by a metabolic lab that does direct measurement. 2) For people who have a lot of available body fat, your BMR isn't always as low as you can go, sometimes you can go below that. I'm not saying to go so low that you don't receive your required nutrients (vitamins, minerals, protein...etc.) but depending on your amount of body fat (which I don't know so can't determine what an acceptable deficit would be) it is possible to go below your BMR for relatively short spans without causing a problem (like starvation mode).


    side note: you are way low on your veggie intake, you should be eating 3X as many veggies as you are. Don't focus so much on the amount of exercise you do, focus on your food, exercise is great, and it's super important for a healthy lifestyle, but it WILL NOT be the way you lose large amounts of weight, it's more of a supplement for that process. The food you eat will determine how much fat you lose, at least that's true until you reach a more healthy weight for your height, age, and sex.
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