cant lose weight no matter what
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Yes I know it sounds low, but I truely believe after all I've discovered this last few months that my BMR and TDEE are way overestimated so netting 921 really isn't that low if my true BMR is 400 calories underestimated which it probably is. My BMR is supposed to be 1350 but is probably more like 900-950 in reality as I've already proven that my true TDEE is 1650 approx, not 2150 as an average of all online calculators would have me believe.
In the past I've lost weight easily by eating 850-1000 per day with very little exercise but this time I am working out a lot more so am eating more. My body is very stubborn and holds onto fat, scale weight and the only way I can lose is by eating less but I want to keep it at a sensible level.
I can't get a BMR test done at the moment due to finances but trial and error has given me a lot more answers than what people on MFP and online calculations have been able to do.0 -
i put myself on 1200, since that is the lowest reccomended cal intake for women.
Who determined this? Are there any journal articles that say this? I've been looking for where this arbitrary number came from and find it no where. I find the number to be passed along as gospel when in my ongoing search it just seems to be some number. Without taking into account the height of the woman or person for that matter there is no way to say that calories can go this low and no further.
PER MY MD OF OVER 15 YEARS, WHOM I TRUST, as well as The National Institute of Heath.
I'm glad you trust your MD and there's no need to shout. My intent is not to change your mind or anyone else's. I'm trying to find the source of this number. Would you have the studies from the NIH detailing this? I've searched and found nothing from the NIH, WHO, or anywhere else. I've found diets that use this number but no where that cites where or when this number was determined to be the lowest a woman regardless of height should go.
If anyone has any studies or info on where the 1200 calorie number came from I would greatly appreciate it. For those wondering I opine that a physically mature person can go lower than 1200 if they are morbidly obese.0 -
"besides the fact that your all going to tell the op that they need to eat more, the fact is, that if the op is honestly and accurately eating 1200 cals and even less, in the first 5 weeks, weight should have been lost. that is not even near the amount of time that would have an effect on their metabolic rate. "
I agree...I hate to say it, but anorexia wouldn't be a problem if weight wasn't lost at a low caloric intake. In 5+ weeks, something should have been lost, not gained. Calorie intake alone isn't her issue.
A trip to the doctor with your food log in hand may be in order. I, too, struggled for over a year trying to lose weight, but with no success. After a few months of logging my intake, working out 4+ times a week, etc., I lost nothing and even gained a few. (No, do NOT start the "you gained muscle ways more than fat" garbage). Then, after GAINING 30+ pounds in just under 6 months, I went to my doctor in tears. She ran lots of blood work and noticed my thyroid was all out of skew. My TSH was "within normal limits", but she ran the whole panel and my T4 was almost non-existent and while my TSH was technically "normal", it was still 2.5 times higher than it had been the previous year, meaning my body was trying to compensate for the low T4 and abnormal T3 count. I've started treatment, and while the weight hasn't come off as quickly/easily as it went on, I've STOPPED gaining now! Now I have an extra 30 pounds to take off that I didn't have before...sigh...
So, take your food diary to your doctor and have a thorough heart to heart. If he/she runs labs, please make sure COMPLETE labs are run, not just a simple one like TSH only. Check for hormones, too...those little buggers can really wreak havoc on a system.
Good luck, and hang in there! I hope you figure out what's going on soon. And always remember this...even if the scale doesn't move, it doesn't mean your efforts are useless...think of all the good eating right and moving more does for our heart, blood sugar levels, cholesterol, etc.0 -
Hi guys thanks for all your replies. The only diet I have ever successfully lost weight on is the rosemary Conley, start with 2 weeks at 1200 calories to kickstart then my allowance after that was 1480 and it worked. I am going to carry on using this app as its great but do the RC diet, I can only hazard a guess that may e my body holds on to fat. When just doing mfp I stick to calories but don't worry about fats, but the aim of RC is not to eat foods with more than 5g saturated fat per 100g. If this fails I will see my doctor, it maybe its taking my body a while to readjust after major surgery 9 weeks ago and packing up smoking, I am very impatient and want everything yesterday!!!!!!! The annoying thing is that I only really want to lose 10lbs:(0
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hi guys thanks so much for replies. I am 100% anal about tracking what i have eaten, i weigh & measure everything and am so strict on myself. i have never not lost weight like this before. i forgot to mention when i had my operation i was 10 stone, i put on 10lbs in 4 weeks due to being housebound and giving up smoking which made me eat everything in site. i am very active i am a chef (and no before you ask i don't pick, i keep sugar free gum in my mouth all day so i don't) but i do stand up 8 hours a day for work. i havent weighed in this week but if i don't lose weight on weigh in day as this week i did the 5:2 diet i think i may go and see the doctor.
Im sorry for your frustrations, but I just wanted to congratulate you on quitting smoking. That is a wonderful accomplishment, and worth the 10 pound gain. You CAN lose weight, but you cant undo the long term effects of smoking. Kudos to you, and good luck on your jounrey!!0 -
You should be eating closer to 1500 calories a day. When you don't eat enough, your body goes into starvation mode and starts holding on to the fat you want to lose. It also slows your metabolism when your body knows you are dieting. Check out this link: http://www.biotrust.com/Shop.asp?p=LeptiBurn&sid=reorder
You don't necessarily have to buy the product, but if you read the article it explains how having low levels of leptin (a hormone that contributes greatly to weight loss) can prevent you from losing weight even when you are doing everything right. I have had the same problem as you, worked and worked and saw no results and I just didn't understand. This article was very insightful! Hope it helps you as well.0 -
I think you should ask your doctor to refer you to a dietician that specialises with endometriosis and other womb/hormonal issues. Weight gain and struggle to lose is a side effect. Also, it's only been 5 weeks- give your body time to adjust. I would also up to 1500 cals a day. Your body could be in starvation mode.
What I found best (for me) was to reduce my starchy carb intake and when I do eat it I only eat a small portion and it's whole. Also, fill up on fruit and raw veg. Sometimes it's not only about calories but also about what you are eating.
For example, if you are constantly eating too many carbs and sugar all day (even the healthy ones) you are constantly producing insulin. Insulin is the fat storing hormone. I have found Patrick Holford's Low GL diet book the healthiest, most balanced, way to reduce your insulin production.
Be patient- you'll get there.0 -
Quality of calories matter--a lot!
Eat more lean protein than suggested by the MFP and a lot less carbs [I cut mine in half]. I eat tons of organic, lean meat, organic vegies and blueberries or strawberries every day.
Avoid wheat, corn, potatoes [that might help with the endo too].
Try to get some exercise---the pool can be great if you need something easy on the joints, a gentle walk, easy cycling on stationary bike.
Try affirmations to get out of the "I Can't do it!" And get tons of support--I think you can find the support here.
Finally, 5 weeks is not that long....
Keep trying!0 -
Keep track of sodium and sugar intake! insulin spikes will hamper any chance of serious weight loss.0
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I strongly suggest reading: The Endometriosis Sourcebook by Mary Lou Ballweg. She started the Endometriosis Association many years ago. Their website should have a ton of great information about food and endo.
Good luck!0 -
sorry not on any meds anymore but had the merina coil fitted for the first time 9 weeks ago, don't know if this can cause weight gain or not
I wasn't able to find anything relating the Merina Coil to a chemical reaction that would cause weight gain. Many mistakes with calorie counting arerelated to counting the small stuff. For example, you cooked your eggs with a tsp of butter but only recorded the eggs, you added mustard to your sandwich, grabbed a small handful of peanuts, and so on. I always add about 5-10% over what I record because I don't track that stuff. Also, the amount of calories burned varies depending on your activity level. If you are very sedentary, you will not have a very high metabolism to begin with. If you are consistently eating too little, your body will adapt to that.
It also matters when and how you eat. In general it's typically best to spread out your intake throughout the day and stop eating at least 2-3 hours before going to bed. The idea is to be active from the last meal until you put down for the night. If you eat 500 cals and lay on the couch then lay in bed, that's almost the same as eating right before going to sleep.
The easiest way to kick this mule is to pick up the excising a notch and change what you are eating. After dinner drink a cup of coffee, if possible 2-3 hours before bed time (caffeine will help to suppress the appetite), and go for a fast walk. Eat something small every 2-3 hours and avoid foods that cause a large increase in glucose levels. Bread and pasta tend to really bump up glucose levels for example - absolutely no soda or juices like apple juice. Hi protein diets are also a way to force your body to go after the fat stores (i.e., Atkins).
I can tell you personally, that at one point I was down to 1,200 net calories a day and could not loose weight. I increased my intake to double that and didn't gain back more than 8 lbs during the transition period. Now I generally eat about 2,000 cals a day and I'm dropping weight again. However, I exercise a lot - at least 1 hour of jogging every day and weight lifting at least 2-3 times a week. It's the combination of exercise and diet that yields results for me.0 -
What is TDEE.....or whatever the acronym is????0
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Folks there can be legitimate disagreements about 1200 vs tdee, but this is not one of them. This member has been on MFP for five weeks and is unable to lose any weight. There is no way that at least in the beginning weeks to months that she should not have seen weight come off.
You should consult a doctor. You don't say what your weight is, but I see that you are only looking to lose 17 pounds. That means there might be very little wiggle room between your maintenance calories and your weight-loss calories. And if that's the issue, exercise is probably the most logical, healthy and helpful step to increase the difference between the two.0 -
I can vouch for the fact that's for some like me and the OP it's not always that simple. I exercise daily although I lead an otherwise sedentary lifestyle and don't drop any weight unless I go low on the calories. I've been on here for 4.5 months so way longer than 5 weeks and have figured out the my TDEE with exercise is 1650 and I only lose if I get down to around 1200. I've been trying to eat more for weeks but I gained weight I'd lost on lower calories and now only lose if I go down to 1200 again. This week I've been experimenting by eating lower carbs, lower sodium and 1350 on average and it's Thursday and I've still seen no weight loss.
Like the OP i only want to lose around 25lbs so maybe that's why I can't eat more as my TDEE is lower than online calculators estimate but it's really not easy.0 -
hi guys thanks so much for replies. I am 100% anal about tracking what i have eaten, i weigh & measure everything and am so strict on myself. i have never not lost weight like this before. i forgot to mention when i had my operation i was 10 stone, i put on 10lbs in 4 weeks due to being housebound and giving up smoking which made me eat everything in site. i am very active i am a chef (and no before you ask i don't pick, i keep sugar free gum in my mouth all day so i don't) but i do stand up 8 hours a day for work. i havent weighed in this week but if i don't lose weight on weigh in day as this week i did the 5:2 diet i think i may go and see the doctor.
Your calorie allowance seems awfully low for a chef who is very active! Have you set up your activity level correctly? Just a thought!0 -
Thanks for replies. 10 weeks ago before op and giving up smoking I was 10stone size 12. 4 weeks of eating rubbish and being sofa bound and I now weigh 10.10. This hasn't changed in 5 weeks, as for exercise I had a bad knee dislocation in 2011 and am only able to walk or cycle. Due to being frustrated about lack of weight loss 2 weeks ago I went mad and completely over did it so am now in a lot of pain damaged my tendons gain and have lots of fluid so back to resting!!!!! I can't seem to do anything right at moment.0
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i put myself on 1200, since that is the lowest reccomended cal intake for women.
Who determined this? Are there any journal articles that say this? I've been looking for where this arbitrary number came from and find it no where. I find the number to be passed along as gospel when in my ongoing search it just seems to be some number. Without taking into account the height of the woman or person for that matter there is no way to say that calories can go this low and no further.
PER MY MD OF OVER 15 YEARS, WHOM I TRUST, as well as The National Institute of Heath.
I'm glad you trust your MD and there's no need to shout. My intent is not to change your mind or anyone else's. I'm trying to find the source of this number. Would you have the studies from the NIH detailing this? I've searched and found nothing from the NIH, WHO, or anywhere else. I've found diets that use this number but no where that cites where or when this number was determined to be the lowest a woman regardless of height should go.
If anyone has any studies or info on where the 1200 calorie number came from I would greatly appreciate it. For those wondering I opine that a physically mature person can go lower than 1200 if they are morbidly obese.
i wasnt shouting, i just didnt feel like retyping once i noticed my caps where on.0 -
i put myself on 1200, since that is the lowest reccomended cal intake for women.
Who determined this? Are there any journal articles that say this? I've been looking for where this arbitrary number came from and find it no where. I find the number to be passed along as gospel when in my ongoing search it just seems to be some number. Without taking into account the height of the woman or person for that matter there is no way to say that calories can go this low and no further.
PER MY MD OF OVER 15 YEARS, WHOM I TRUST, as well as The National Institute of Heath.
I'm glad you trust your MD and there's no need to shout. My intent is not to change your mind or anyone else's. I'm trying to find the source of this number. Would you have the studies from the NIH detailing this? I've searched and found nothing from the NIH, WHO, or anywhere else. I've found diets that use this number but no where that cites where or when this number was determined to be the lowest a woman regardless of height should go.
If anyone has any studies or info on where the 1200 calorie number came from I would greatly appreciate it. For those wondering I opine that a physically mature person can go lower than 1200 if they are morbidly obese.
i dont know what the word opine means.0 -
You're not eating enough, period. Who told you to eat 1200 cals and then 1000 cals?0
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Yes I know it sounds low, but I truely believe after all I've discovered this last few months that my BMR and TDEE are way overestimated so netting 921 really isn't that low if my true BMR is 400 calories underestimated which it probably is. My BMR is supposed to be 1350 but is probably more like 900-950 in reality as I've already proven that my true TDEE is 1650 approx, not 2150 as an average of all online calculators would have me believe.
In the past I've lost weight easily by eating 850-1000 per day with very little exercise but this time I am working out a lot more so am eating more. My body is very stubborn and holds onto fat, scale weight and the only way I can lose is by eating less but I want to keep it at a sensible level.
I can't get a BMR test done at the moment due to finances but trial and error has given me a lot more answers than what people on MFP and online calculations have been able to do.
Because you don't eat ENOUGH!0 -
I have had a coil fitted every 5 years for the last 15 years and have never noticed any pain. However i do retain water, so use a herbal remedy to easy this. When i started using mfp i started at 1400 calories not 1200 as this is very very low. Once i started losing weight and with exercise i actually started to put my calories up and am now on 1650 a day and still losing weight. You need to change up your work out routines every 6 weeks or so, or your body gets in a rut. If you change your routine it shocks itself and uses up fat stores. However, you say you have medications etc, so you really do need to check out the side effects with your Doctor before getting stuck into a low calorie eating program anyway. Eating less then 1200 calories will only make you ill and defeat the object of what your trying to do0
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bump0
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sorry not on any meds anymore but had the merina coil fitted for the first time 9 weeks ago, don't know if this can cause weight gain or not
If you have the mirena, you're on hormones.
I'm sorry you're having problems, I'd see your doc to try to lose, hike medically supervised. But stay away from rx diet meds.
Good luck!0 -
:noway: Another MFP design fail. They need to integrate a form of TDEE into their registration process instead of giving every woman 1200 net calories when they sign up who knows how many of them don't eat their calories back when they start to try lose weight :frown:
updated version of IPOARM http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13
mfp didnt give me 1200, it gave me closer to 1470 ish... i put myself on 1200, since that is the lowest reccomended cal intake for women. im losing great and continuously on 1200, which i was having zero weight loss on 1470 ish.
I did the same. I put myself manually on 1200 some time ago when I stopped losing weight at higher calories. MFP gave me a different value.0 -
Hi, I'm using MFP ~9 months and there is couple important things you need to know:
1. Many people who add products to mfp database do it wrong
number of calories/carbs/fat/protein. For example snickers 
but there is a lot of more so I suggest before add some food to check and comapre with description od what we eat.
2. More important than calories is number of carbs/fat/protein you eat. (will expad this for a moment)
3. In my opinion when we add exercises mpf put too many calories we burned. (ofc depends on type and time ex. we did).
So i use MPF for a while and 95% I keep my calories excacly as mpf inform me but losing weight really slowly or did not at all.
After 6-7months i decided i need change sobething in my diet, and still cant belive it was so simple. I drasticly decrease number of carbs that i eat with bread, softdrinks etc. (also stop keeping under 1400 calories that mpf set for me) the results?
before ~ 101kg (223 lbs. 8.April.2013) and 95.8 kg (211 lbs. 17.May.2013), i lose 7.2kg (15.9 lbs) in ·6weeks and weight still decrasing.
Conclusion: decrease number os carbs you eats = success. MPF gave me ~190grams carbs per day after changes I eat less than half of this and dont look at fat and protein (very often they are red :P) also I dont have to keep calories. Befre mpf set 1470kcal per day now I eat ~2000kcal and its ok.
I hope that help someone! 0 -
I expected a thread about Parker Lewis.
Really you should be eating more. a lot more. Also with the surgery. don't take advice here, consult your Dr. Really.
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bump0
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Hi guys thanks again for advice and I do agree with you all I am not eating enough:) I have upped my calories to 1400 so will see what happens. I also spoke to doctor who is going to do some bloods. Will keep you informed x0
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What type of exercise have you been doing?
I also suffer from Endometriosis, I've had 7 surgeries so, I know how that is. Sometimes I feel like it stunts my weightloss as well.0 -
Hi, I'm using MFP ~9 months and there is couple important things you need to know:
1. Many people who add products to mfp database do it wrong number of calories/carbs/fat/protein. For example snickers but there is a lot of more so I suggest before add some food to check and comapre with description od what we eat.
2. More important than calories is number of carbs/fat/protein you eat. (will expad this for a moment)
3. In my opinion when we add exercises mpf put too many calories we burned. (ofc depends on type and time ex. we did).
So i use MPF for a while and 95% I keep my calories excacly as mpf inform me but losing weight really slowly or did not at all.
After 6-7months i decided i need change sobething in my diet, and still cant belive it was so simple. I drasticly decrease number of carbs that i eat with bread, softdrinks etc. (also stop keeping under 1400 calories that mpf set for me) the results?
before ~ 101kg (223 lbs. 8.April.2013) and 95.8 kg (211 lbs. 17.May.2013), i lose 7.2kg (15.9 lbs) in ·6weeks and weight still decrasing.
Conclusion: decrease number os carbs you eats = success. MPF gave me ~190grams carbs per day after changes I eat less than half of this and dont look at fat and protein (very often they are red :P) also I dont have to keep calories. Befre mpf set 1470kcal per day now I eat ~2000kcal and its ok.
I hope that help someone!
I know you're just trying to be helpful, but you're saying what worked for YOU can be a solution for everyone. Unfortunately, that's just not true.
Your first point is correct, sometimes people put things in the database wrong so it's always important to read your nutrition labels and make sure you're logging accurately.
Your second point is not accurate. Don't get me wrong, macros are important. But when it comes to pure weight loss, calories are the most important factor. This has been shown time and time again. Can you INCREASE your weight loss success by altering your macros? Maybe. But are macros MORE important than calories? Absolutely not.
Your third point depends entirely on the person. For me personally, MFP tends to UNDERESTIMATE how much I burn (my HRM says I burned 300 calories, MFP says I burned 250). You're correct that it overestimates for some people, but I think it's wrong for people to just assume it's overestimating for them, when in fact it might not be at all. This is why we have people on here scared to eat back their exercise calories, because people keep telling them that MFP wayyy overestimates. This may be true for some people, but not for everyone.
It's also true that some people find success with low carb diets. It's great that it worked for you!! From what I've seen, women in particular seem to be rather "sensitive" to carbs. Could you have PCOS or some other underlying issue? I know a condition like that can require carbs to be lowered for weight loss. My friend doesn't have PCOS, but she does have some hormonal disorder (I forget the name) and she has to eat low-carb to lose weight. However, this is the exception, not the rule.
The reason people see fast/better results with low-carb diets is because you'll lose more water weight, more quickly. From what I understand, carbs cause your body to store water, so when your carb stores are depleted, you lose water as well. This can cause a drop on the scale and cause you to look leaner almost instantly. I speak from personal experience; I was in a pageant a few months ago, and started doing low-carb a couple weeks before the show. It's amazing how much leaner I got in those couple of weeks. However, that was almost completely water-related, not fat loss. As soon as I started eating carbs again, my body filled right back out.
Please do not think I'm trying to discredit what you said, because I am not. I'm glad you found something that works for you, and who knows, it may work for OP too! (I definitely think she should see a doctor and determine if there's an underlying issue stopping her from losing weight, like PCOS). I just wanted to provide an alternate explanation to some of the points you brought up.0
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