Petite young woman, can't lose weight

MLEUP
MLEUP Posts: 3 Member
edited January 24 in Health and Weight Loss
I started my diet roughly three weeks ago with a weight loss of 9 pounds. I am only 5"1' and started off pretty thin, though I need to trim down a bit. I lost 2 pounds in the first few days and have stalled out since then. My MFP suggested intake is 1250, but I don't ever hit that amount. Instead, I net around 900 calories a day and do zumba and muscle building exercises. However, this hasn't worked out for me. I get the "starvation mode" messages, but I'm not so sure they apply to me. Any thoughts? Should I up my intake to boost my metabolism?

Replies

  • Broejen
    Broejen Posts: 414 Member
    Yes, definitely up your calories. Find out what your BMR is and net at least that everyday, if not a bit more. Also, don't try to lose too much weight per week if you are close to goal. 0.5-1lb per week is good.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 4,028 Member
    MFP already has a deficit built into the number it tells you to eat. You only have 9 lbs to lose so loss will be slow whether you use .5, 1, or 2 lbs as your weekly goal. I'd suggest picking the closest "Job" category and eating the amount it tells you in the "Your Daily Goal" section. If you eat that number or very close to it you're going to actually get the calories your body requires.

    Edit: Agree with the above suggestion to set at .5 to 1 lb a week as well.
  • MLEUP
    MLEUP Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you! Yes, I realize now I've been using the complete wrong approach. I appreciate your help!

    And I love the tardis on your weight loss counter, Jennilyn. Proud Whovian.
  • yksdoris
    yksdoris Posts: 327 Member
    Thank you! Yes, I realize now I've been using the complete wrong approach. I appreciate your help!

    And I love the tardis on your weight loss counter, Jennilyn. Proud Whovian.

    I would agree: find out what your BMR is first; and only then decide how much you need to eat. I'm 5'2 and according to the machine at my gym my BMR is somewhere between 1250 and 1300; add to that daily activity (which is nil as I have an office job)... and no wonder I gained weight to the point of obesity eating according to the standard suggested amount of 2000 kcal per day for females.

    also, it sounds like you're quite active, how do you measure your excercise calories? because those machines can be wildly inaccurate.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    With only 9 pounds to lose, please set your goal to lose half a pound a week. A pound a week is too much of a calorie cut for someone needing to lose only 10 pounds. Your initial weight loss was water weight, probably not fat loss.

    Also you need to eat NET calories. This is your MFP goal plus more for when you exercise. So, if MFP says eat 1200 then you burn 300 in exercise, you need to be eating 1200 + 300. (Some people only eat half those exercise calories to account for the fact that the MFP exercise database estimated calories burned could be more than you actually burned).

    If you need some healthy ideas to boost calories..... eat full fat dairy, not low fat. Avocado, nuts, seeds, peanut butter. A handful of 25 almonds is about 200 calories and is not a lot of volume of food to eat.
  • rachidamurray
    rachidamurray Posts: 1 Member
    I'm also quite petite (5"0 or 152 cm) and I noticed if I refrain my calories below 1200, I can lose a little weight quickly but I wouls soon hit a plateau and can't lose any more weight.
    I was 52 kg and now down to 46 which was my target so I only had 6 kg to lose which is not much.
    Because its little I couldn't lose more than 2 pounds per week the first couple of weeks than averaging 1 pound per week then 0.5 pound per week for the last 2/3 kg.

    Also I allow myself a binge night per week and I've noticed (as I weight myself everyday) that sometime I love more weight after a day where I eat more - I believe my body realises that I'm not short of food and stops holding on to fat!

    I completely cut carbs in the evening, which now makes me hungry in the morning and I actually now each a rich brekki (300 calories at least with 20 grams of protein).

    Just doing this, plus clean eating, cutting back on sugars (that's what makes my body store fat) and 3 sessions of exercise per week and I lost 6kg (actually 13 pounds) but it's been quite slow as it took me 4 months.

    Also as per my PT's recommendation, when I started on my weight loss diet I did clean eating and no alcohol for 3/4 weeks. It's important to have a detox phase so your body let's go of the stored Fat. Some of the toxine in our body are fat soluble so the body stores these toxins in fat cells. When you do a detox the body understand no more toxines are coming in so it's safe to let go of that Fat and toxines will be cleaned out by your body.
    If you do 900 cals a day of foods that aren't 'clean' you may have some issues and your body would try to hold on to the fat as well as hit starvation mode...

    Hope this helps
  • sooshii95
    sooshii95 Posts: 11 Member
    facing the exact same proplem!
  • MLEUP
    MLEUP Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you, everyone! It's been great to hear your perspective, and has helped me revise my diet plan. Last night, I decided to stop counting calories for today and tomorrow (eating plenty of protein and fiber) with only some light exercise to kick my body out of starvation mode (because it seems like that's what's going on), then resume my calorie counting on Thursday and make sure I'm hitting at least 1200 net. I'm going to keep my weight loss goal at 1 pound a week, though I'm considering switching it to a half pound, as per some of your suggestions. I'll wait it out another week and see what happens.

    As far as measuring calories lost, it's tricky. I have the option of using a gym at work, but I mostly work out at home using tapes and certain strength exercises, where nothing is tracking calories lost. I generally look up averages online to give myself a rough estimate of how many calories I've burned, but it's not an exact science by any means.

    As far as nutrition goes, I've been a pescarian (only meat is fish) for about a decade, so greens and nuts are definitely a staple of my diet.. I know not everyone is crazy about mostly vegetarian or vegan diets, but this one seems to work for me. Full-fat dairy and other products is something I may try though. I've fallen into the habit of buying the low-fat version of everything that offers it, but it may be time for a change.

    It's been so helpful to have this community support! I'm really grateful for all of your responses!
  • Broejen
    Broejen Posts: 414 Member
    Try that and if you find you still aren't losing weight, do NOT lower your calories, UP them! I am 5'2" and have been netting 1800 lately and am still losing.
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