Need Help!

PopsGils
PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Please will some of you kind people look at my diary. I have been tracking every bite of food I eat since mid-march and I have lost a grand total of 2 pounds, sometimes losing 2 more but then gaining it back again like a yo-yo.

I was quite restrictive of my calories a few years back and lost my period for a year even though my lowest weight was only 50kgs - i am 5foot 5 or 165cm - so it isnt super low. Anyway - I have been back on track eating 3 meals a day for almost 2 years now and had my metabolism tested and all that and its fine, I burn 1360 calories a day at rest. I add up all my daily calories for the week and divide by 7 and it ALWAYS adds up to 1100-1300. Most people are burning a kg a week min, I just dont know what to do anymore - is all this effort worth 2 pounds in 2 months?
HELP!
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Replies

  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Come on people! Please! Advice needed!
  • anniemarianas
    anniemarianas Posts: 49
    you seem like you need help so i'm purely posting in here because no one else is, but i'm no expert.
    this is really tricky. you could try creating a larger calorie deficit but by the looks of things in your diary that could be unhealthy.
    you could try doing more exercise, i find dieting on it's own is a bit of a waste of time.

    50kg for 5 foot 5 is a good weight though, are you still in the 50s range? because for someone of 5 foot 5 thats a healthy bmi.

    i realise that you may want to get slimmer than that, me too, i'm 5'3 and 114 lbs and it's still not enough for me but if you're not losing weight at the current weight maybe your body's just very stubborn and wants to stay at it's healthy natural weight?
  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
    Hi, firstly your diet is excellent, I only looked through a couple of days but you have a great amount of protein and fruit/veg. So do not worry about diet.

    Secondly you already have quite a low weight so it is going to be tough to loose large number anyway, but I would highly recommend (assuming your not doing it already) picking up a weight training program that specifically works on burning fat and exhausting your muscles. This may be the kick your body needs to break the barrier its hit.

    What kind of exercise program are you on atm?
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Thanks for replying! Dunno why everyone is ignoring me! I now weigh 63kgs, 50kgs was at my lowest a few years ago when i was barely eating, been back on track for a while now (2 years) so not sure why my body just wont give. So de-motivating!
  • StArBeLLa87
    StArBeLLa87 Posts: 1,582 Member
    Ok so I am by far not a expert only repeating what people advised me your eating to little you need to up your calories try to base them on your tdee try not to exceed a 1000 cal deficit from what I see your eating to low of protein vs carbs so try balancing that out!

    This tool may help guide you based your activity level


    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Lol I didn't know her weight I'm a stupid American not familiar with weight in kg lmao
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Your hormonal systems are seriously messed up if you're maintaining on 900-1100 calories a day. There are two possibilities that jump out at me;

    1. As above, your hormonal balance is completely screwed. Thyroid, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol. The whole schabang.
    2. You're not tracking correctly.

    With how restrictive you are, I would tend toward the first option.

    As per the stats provided, your BMR should be around 1330.

    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) should be in the ballpark of 1600 if you do no exercise at all, 1830 if you do a bit and 2060 if you do a substantial amount.

    As you're stuck not losing though, this clearly isn't the case.

    I'm no expert, but I can tell you eating under 1000 calories a day at your age is going to have long term consequences. Bone weakness and potentially hair loss, teeth falling out and, more extremely organ failure are all common side effects of long periods of malnourishment.

    What I would recommend, being that you are at a healthy weight and really need to look at your HEALTH now, as it pertains to this restrictive dieting, is that you take a couple of weeks eating around what your maintenance SHOULD be to give your body a break.
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
    I'm no expert either but I would NOT consider creating a larger calorie deficit. You're a similar height and weight to me and I think you should be eating more NOT less. I eat approx 1400 cals per day with a free day (not a binge day) every Saturday where I usually eat just over 2000 cals.

    I agree with annie's suggestion of exercising even if it's just walking, but if you do this then you need to eat back your exercise calories too. Hope this helps. :smile:

    Edited after reply with weight seen.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    Your hormonal systems are seriously messed up if you're maintaining on 900-1100 calories a day. There are two possibilities that jump out at me;

    1. As above, your hormonal balance is completely screwed. Thyroid, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol. The whole schabang.
    2. You're not tracking correctly.

    With how restrictive you are, I would tend toward the first option.

    As per the stats provided, your BMR should be around 1330.

    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) should be in the ballpark of 1600 if you do no exercise at all, 1830 if you do a bit and 2060 if you do a substantial amount.

    As you're stuck not losing though, this clearly isn't the case.

    I'm no expert, but I can tell you eating under 1000 calories a day at your age is going to have long term consequences. Bone weakness and potentially hair loss, teeth falling out and, more extremely organ failure are all common side effects of long periods of malnourishment.

    What I would recommend, being that you are at a healthy weight and really need to look at your HEALTH now, as it pertains to this restrictive dieting, is that you take a couple of weeks eating around what your maintenance SHOULD be to give your body a break.

    Listen to him.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    Your hormonal systems are seriously messed up if you're maintaining on 900-1100 calories a day. There are two possibilities that jump out at me;

    1. As above, your hormonal balance is completely screwed. Thyroid, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol. The whole schabang.
    2. You're not tracking correctly.

    With how restrictive you are, I would tend toward the first option.

    As per the stats provided, your BMR should be around 1330.

    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) should be in the ballpark of 1600 if you do no exercise at all, 1830 if you do a bit and 2060 if you do a substantial amount.

    As you're stuck not losing though, this clearly isn't the case.

    I'm no expert, but I can tell you eating under 1000 calories a day at your age is going to have long term consequences. Bone weakness and potentially hair loss, teeth falling out and, more extremely organ failure are all common side effects of long periods of malnourishment.

    What I would recommend, being that you are at a healthy weight and really need to look at your HEALTH now, as it pertains to this restrictive dieting, is that you take a couple of weeks eating around what your maintenance SHOULD be to give your body a break.


    this
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    900 calories in NOT enough food... eat more, fix your metabolism and then decide if you need to lose weight or just work on body recomposition.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Hey thanks for replying, I am so anal with my tracking - if i have a bite of something I track it so thats not the issue, 63kgs is fine for my height its not obese but it certainly is not slim. I eat between 1100 and 1300 a day with a few dog walks here and there.
    I was definitely malnourished at 50kgs but 2 years of being healthy got me back up to 63. I just wanna be somewhere inbetween the 2 now. Surely my body should trust that I am not gonna starve it again and let go of some of this stored fat!
    The lab test said i had a RMR of 1360 - so at least I know my metabolism is ok! I should be losing 1 - 2 pounds a week with my healthy diet! Ahhhhhhhh
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    I dont eat only 900! some days maybe 900 but then the next will be 1600 - when i divide my weekly cals by 7 its always 1100 - 1300 per day!
  • sucg
    sucg Posts: 36
    Hi ya, I am fairly new to all this to but from the advice i have been given i would make sure you are eating all of your calorie allowence. I,d try uping your protein and lowering your carbs a bit. The only change i can see you do need to make is up your water. Good luck honey. I know how de-motivating it can be. I thought i'd really cracked it this week untill i got weighed and had only lost 0.1 pound. Su :flowerforyou:
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    With regards to the whole reducing carbs thing - I dont eat bread, pasta, rice potatoes etc EVER - not even sweetcorn cos of the carbs, I even reduced my fruit intake to lower my carbs. I eat protein veggies salad and yoghurt mostly and thats where I get my carbs from.. so reducing that is a no-go!
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
    What I would recommend, being that you are at a healthy weight and really need to look at your HEALTH now, as it pertains to this restrictive dieting, is that you take a couple of weeks eating around what your maintenance SHOULD be to give your body a break.
    [/quote]

    Listen to him.
    [/quote]

    Especially this bit.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I dont eat only 900! some days maybe 900 but then the next will be 1600 - when i divide my weekly cals by 7 its always 1100 - 1300 per day!

    this week so far your average intake has been 1015 cals.... so you're planning on eating 1600 for the next 3 days to balance it out?
  • akonrath76
    akonrath76 Posts: 3 Member
    Looks like you are low on your protein each day. Maybe try to increase that and your daily water intake.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    Yes, I ate low because I have a big weekend ahead of me! So I wanted to balance it all out! Instead of feeling awful and guilty on Sunday night
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
    I dont eat only 900! some days maybe 900 but then the next will be 1600 - when i divide my weekly cals by 7 its always 1100 - 1300 per day!

    But if your RMR is 1360 why aren't you AT LEAST eating this every day? And that's if you do nothing all day, so you want to eat more than that.
  • sharon_moyer
    sharon_moyer Posts: 177
    It seems to me that you may want to take this up with your doctor or maybe even a dietitian, but I believe that exercise is just as important so maybe you need to focus on the exercise part of all this.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    I am OVER on my protein pretty much every single day! Why do you think I am under?
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Your hormonal systems are seriously messed up if you're maintaining on 900-1100 calories a day. There are two possibilities that jump out at me;

    1. As above, your hormonal balance is completely screwed. Thyroid, leptin, ghrelin, cortisol. The whole schabang.
    2. You're not tracking correctly.

    With how restrictive you are, I would tend toward the first option.

    As per the stats provided, your BMR should be around 1330.

    Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) should be in the ballpark of 1600 if you do no exercise at all, 1830 if you do a bit and 2060 if you do a substantial amount.

    As you're stuck not losing though, this clearly isn't the case.

    I'm no expert, but I can tell you eating under 1000 calories a day at your age is going to have long term consequences. Bone weakness and potentially hair loss, teeth falling out and, more extremely organ failure are all common side effects of long periods of malnourishment.

    What I would recommend, being that you are at a healthy weight and really need to look at your HEALTH now, as it pertains to this restrictive dieting, is that you take a couple of weeks eating around what your maintenance SHOULD be to give your body a break.


    this

    yup
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    I am not eating 1360 because I am trying to create a 3500 calorie deficit to lose around a pound a week! I dont want to maintain, I want to lose!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I dont eat only 900! some days maybe 900 but then the next will be 1600 - when i divide my weekly cals by 7 its always 1100 - 1300 per day!

    But if your RMR is 1360 why aren't you AT LEAST eating this every day? And that's if you do nothing all day, so you want to eat more than that.

    agreed.

    i am 5ft5 and i NET 1800 cals (so eat about 2200 on exercise days) and am losing bodyfat....
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    I am OVER on my protein pretty much every single day! Why do you think I am under?

    because your protein is set really low. Aim for closer to 100g a day.
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    HOW are you losing weight if you are not creating a deficit one way or another?! So frustrating!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I am not eating 1360 because I am trying to create a 3500 calorie deficit to lose around a pound a week! I dont want to maintain, I want to lose!

    you have confused TDEE with BMR.... you need to eat OVER your BMR (so over 1360) but UNDER your TDEE to lose weight.....
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    I am not eating 1360 because I am trying to create a 3500 calorie deficit to lose around a pound a week! I dont want to maintain, I want to lose!

    I think you're misunderstanding.

    1360 is NOT the amount you need to take the deficit OFF OF. 1360 is the MINIMUM healthy amount you should EAT. That IS a deficit.

    Your TDEE, which you take the deficit off of, is more like 1800-2000 depending what you did that day.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    HOW are you losing weight if you are not creating a deficit one way or another?! So frustrating!

    if that comment was aimed at me, i NET 1800 calories which is 200 cals less than my maintenance figure of NET 2000 cals....

    plus i am not losing weight, just fat!
  • PopsGils
    PopsGils Posts: 68 Member
    my BMR is 1360 and my TDEE around 1600, so if i take 500 cals a day off my TDEE i am left with 1100 which is roughly what Ive been doing to no avail!

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