Help weights not coming off

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AJCROWE78
AJCROWE78 Posts: 9 Member
Am I suppose to eat the calories I burn off or still just eat 1200? I have been stalled at 191-192 for 2 weeks. I have started HIIT and still no weight loss. I do 1 hr cardio 3 x's a week and 30 min 2x's weights 4 x's a week.

I have lost 25 lbs and went down one pant size

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  • ehg87
    ehg87 Posts: 430 Member
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    You're probably going to gets lots of mixed opinions. But I would recommend upping your calories to about 1500 for about 2 weeks, then drop them back to 1200 if you want. I found 1200 to always be to low for me. But anytime I hit a plateau increasing calories did the trick.
  • Christinamarie77
    Christinamarie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    You're probably going to gets lots of mixed opinions. But I would recommend upping your calories to about 1500 for about 2 weeks, then drop them back to 1200 if you want. I found 1200 to always be to low for me. But anytime I hit a plateau increasing calories did the trick.

    what she said^ sometimes to keep my body guessing I will mix up my calories for a few days without/before hitting a plateau, which helps.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Yes, eat the calories you burn. 1200 is too low for most people.
  • BrennLinn
    BrennLinn Posts: 178 Member
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    I was stuck for about 8 weeks and eating 1200 calories and my weight wouldn't budge. So I started eating back most of my exercise calories and the weight is now falling off at about .5-1 Lb. a week. I eat about 1600-1800 calories a day. But like the previous poster stated, you will get a lot of mixed opinions on this topic.
  • ThunderButt11
    ThunderButt11 Posts: 33 Member
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    Agree with all. Mixing it up (both caloric intake and exercise) keeps your body guessing and keeps you losing.
  • Gina91507
    Gina91507 Posts: 51 Member
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    Am I suppose to eat the calories I burn off or still just eat 1200? I have been stalled at 191-192 for 2 weeks. I have started HIIT and still no weight loss. I do 1 hr cardio 3 x's a week and 30 min 2x's weights 4 x's a week.

    I have lost 25 lbs and went down one pant size

    Congratulations on the weight loss! That's a big deal :)

    I personally never eat back my calories. It seems very counter productive to me. I stick to my 1200, sometimes I go 50 or so over, and sometimes I go a bit under, but NEVER eat back the calories i burned.

    I feel like- Why work out if I could do the same thing without working out". Hope this helps!
  • MrsG31
    MrsG31 Posts: 364 Member
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    I think you should add some calories, maybe gradually increase it by 100 until you start seeing results? Add some more whole fruits and vegetables, nuts, cheeses, things that will help increase the calorie intake but are good for your body.

    I don't read all the "science" and I am by no means a fitness or nutrition expert, but I believe 1200 is the set amount MFP assigns to just about everyone as the amount you need to go about life. But if you are excercising that much, it should have given you more. Did you input that when you signed up? I chose lifestyle description of sedentary because I work a sit-down desk job and don't really exercise at all and it gave me 1200. I am always over that because what little calories I do burn, I eat back. And sometimes I am just over b/c when I am hungry, I eat. And how much weight did you put in that you want to lose a week? Anything more than a pound a week is not really healthy...at least so I have been told. I set mine for .5 a week and it changed my calorie intake to 1240.
  • jondyalec1
    jondyalec1 Posts: 21
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    Eat back your calories!
  • Christinamarie77
    Christinamarie77 Posts: 50 Member
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    [/quote]
    I feel like- Why work out if I could do the same thing without working out". Hope this helps!
    [/quote]

    what?!?! and average size woman (ie: healthy weight and active) needs approx. 1200 to survive. SURVIVE. if you work out...it needs to be more. I like 1200, that's my magic number, that being said.
    If you weren't working out you wouldn't have calories to eat back. Each person is different and sometimes just sticking to your calories and not eating them back works.
    Are you small? when you are larger and hitting a "stall" on the weight loss DEF eat them back. You need fuel or you will be more likely to feel hungry and tired and binge.

    That being said, some days I will, some days I won't and some days I go over a bit....keeps my body guessing...I've never had to buy a size bigger than a 6...that works for me, may not work for others.

    You can't drive a car with no gas...in fact if you let it get too low, too often it is very bad for it...same with your body.
    and I am in no way trying to be rude at all, promise.
  • AJCROWE78
    AJCROWE78 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you all so much! I finally went down a few more pounds and am now under 190 which was a small goal...still at least 40 lbs to go. I stress over keeping it right at 1200 calories which is not good so I let my self stress for a couple days then have been eating 1200-1400 the other days it seems to have done the trick.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    IMO you are not eating enough. At all. I think you should aim for 1600cals each day, AND eat back at least 60% of your exercise calories when you work out.
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
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    Bump it up to 1500 a day for two weeks. Then go back to the 1200 plus half your exercise calories.
  • AJCROWE78
    AJCROWE78 Posts: 9 Member
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    It worries me to bump up higher than 1200 ...argh it gets almost like an obsession to stay at my calories. so 5 days later I am still at 188 so I am going to bump up to 1500 ...it is hard to imagine after months of 1200 eating more...what the heck should I eat?
  • lkrause74
    lkrause74 Posts: 37 Member
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    I know how you feel on this matter. It seems no matter what I eat or the portion size, I can't seem to loose any weight. I haven't gained that I know of this week but I don't seem to be loosing either. I've been stuck at 207lbs for months now. I dont want to eat so little that my body goes into starvation mode and holds tightly onto what fat I have but I dont want to eat too much either. What makes it more difficult is that because I have a digestive condition known as IBS (Irritable Bowel Sydrome), I never know what food I eat next will set off an attack of my condition which makes meal planning very difficult to ensure weight loss. On top of it, being overweight makes it difficult to excercise as I tire easily, but I know I need to do it...but its very difficult so I end up in this catch 22 type situation so I can totally see where you're at. If it helps any, you're not alone.