struggling with weight loss??

MFP expects you to log your exercise and eat the extra calories burned. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but eating a few hundred extra calories might help. I plateaued for two months when I tried to drop my calories below 1400 and eating more was what finally got me losing again.

You have to eat more. Your body is in starvation mode and will store as much as it can. EAT more protein! Eat more fat (good fats) you get more calories out of them. Follow me if you would like to see what I eat. Also, don't worry about weight, lose the inches...the weight will come with it.

You're not eating enough. You need to check your BMR. This is how many calories your body needs if you just laid comatose. I bet it's well above 1200! Follow the plan and eat what it tells you to eat and if you're not hungry, eat some handfuls of nuts or make a protein shake with lowfat milk, banana (or cocoa powder), ice, and protein powder. Tastes like a milkshake!

If you're only eating 1200 then exercising and maybe burning 3-400 or more, you're netting out VERY low. Your body is going to hang on to every thing you put in because it needs it to keep going! You can keep going like you are going and exercise as much as you want for the next 15 YEARS (not 15 weeks) and you're going to be heavier than ever. I know, I've been there. I wasn't taking time to eat for the last few years and netting out at about 900 cal a day and the flab and fat start building all over your body, hanging on to every little bite you give it.

MFP expects you to log your exercise and eat the extra calories burned. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but eating a few hundred extra calories might help. I plateaued for two months when I tried to drop my calories below 1400 and eating more was what finally got me losing again.

i have done that a few times, but it just goes against what i always was taught~~"stay within your calorie goal"!!!! this whole eating back the calories that you've burned thing is weird to me!

Your calorie goal is your net goal - that includes eating back what you exercise.

Put it this way - your body needs calories and nutrients to keep itself going during the day. Your GDA is how much energy your body needs to burn off just to keep itself going. If you become more active during this time, then your body will need to burn off more energy. But, if you're only giving your body enough energy for a non-active day, then where is your body going to find the extra energy it needs, that you've just burned off through exercise?

Sure, to begin with it'll burn off some fat here and there, a bit of lean muscle too, and you'll think that it's working brilliantly. But eventually your body starts to think "Hey! This isn't going to work out in the long run, I'll run out of reserves at this rate. I'd better slow myself down!" and before you know it your body is burning off less energy than it normally would, because it's protecting itself.

And if you find that you can't eat anymore during the day, but need a big boost of calories and fat, then a tablespoon of peanut butter is the way to go!

glad to see that I'm not the only one struggling with losing weight. I started in February and lost 5 lbs for the month. I thought that was a little slow, but continued with a 1200 calorie net recommendation from MFP. One and a half weeks into the next month and I was still the same. I read different post about 1200 calories not being enough so I decided to try upping my calories (upped my calories to 1300, then 1400.). still no change, so I went back to 1200 and dropped 3 lbs the very next day. stayed at 1200 for the next week and a half and dropped 2 more pounds. So for 2 months I had lost 10 lbs. Since I only gave upping my calories a week, I decided to try it again. This month I've been netting around 1400 and I've gained 4 lbs. So for 3months I've lost a total of 6 lbs. So frustrating. Thanks for posting because it helps me to see that I'm not the only one struggling. You also inspire me because you have not given up - you keep on keeping on! Congrats on your persistence!

You have to stick with it (eating back exercise calories) for longer than a couple of weeks - it'll get better! :happy:

Also, monitor your sodium intake as well just in case. Go to FOOD and then SETTINGS and track Sodium. I don't know why MFP doesn't automatically do this by default.

In a personal note, I lost 6 pounds in the first two weeks and then was stuck for a month at the same weight. I was burning off 800 calories a day with cardio. What was my problem? I was only eating 1200 calories a day - which was 400 net after taking exercise into account. Since then I've always hit a net of 1200-1500 a day and I've had steady weight loss - even after being out for two months after an accident over Christmas.

Thanks for your advice. Just to clarify, I have been eating back my exercise calories from the start. The post I read prior to upping my calories did say that you may first gain until your metabolism resets so I think that is what is really going on with me right now. it said to give it about 6 weeks so that's what I'm trying to do- so far I'm about 3 weeks into upping my net calories.