Struggling needing advice

gwright15
gwright15 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
For the last 3 weeks I have been dieting and exercising. Eating roughly 1200 calories as advised per day and at the gym 3-4 days a week ,swimming, body pump classes, spin classes and running a lot. Been weighting myself every couple of days and seem to loose a few pounds then regain it almost instantly. Struggling to keep motivated and not giving up. Any tips ?

Replies

  • melissaann262
    melissaann262 Posts: 27
    Actually it sounds like your cal intake is way low for your activity level... have you tried bumping it up a while and seeing how things go? I'd try 1500 for a week (still eating clean). Good luck!
  • gwright15
    gwright15 Posts: 4
    Thanks yeh just feel a bit scared to do that if I'm not loosing anything just now !
  • SlimJanette
    SlimJanette Posts: 597 Member
    I was not losing anything for a couple of weeks and I went from 1500 calories to around 1950 and I have been dropping. I am not as hungry and I feel great.
  • lenamae23
    lenamae23 Posts: 60 Member
    I agree, bump up your calories. If you ever stall or find that you aren't losing, bump them up. It works.
  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
    Also, taking measurements can offer more insight into body changes than the scale can sometimes.
  • fbibaebae
    fbibaebae Posts: 2
    sometimes when you dont eat enough calories your body goes into survival mode. when that happens what your body will do is start storing fat. thats what it sounds like to me. i would at least try to bump it up to 1500 (healthy) and see what happens. also the best time to weigh yourself is in the morning after you have used the restroom. hope this helps and much success!
  • marathonmom72
    marathonmom72 Posts: 191 Member
    Agreed. Your calories are too low. Check out the Eat More to Weigh Less group and read, read, read. Once you educate yourself a little more, then you can decide what changes to make and ask for more advice if needed. Good luck! :)
  • paynebearclan
    paynebearclan Posts: 19 Member
    Don't forget...muscle weighs more than fat. You are working out 2-3 times a week. I think it is safe to say you are gaining muscle. Don't give up!! :wink:
  • gwright15
    gwright15 Posts: 4
    Thanks everyone
  • TakeTimeToCare19
    TakeTimeToCare19 Posts: 32
    Eat more 2 weight less.

    http://www.eatmore2weighless.com/
  • kat239
    kat239 Posts: 92 Member
    STOP scale hopping and just get weighed once a week at the same time same clothes, that way you won't beat yourself up.
    Good luck X
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Don't forget...muscle weighs more than fat. You are working out 2-3 times a week. I think it is safe to say you are gaining muscle. Don't give up!! :wink:

    No, OP is not gaining muscle.

    You can't gain muscle without a calorie surplus. OP, if you're eating 1200 and your weight keeps changing, safe to say you're having issues of water retention... which can be from overexercise + undereating (which it appears you're doing). You need enough fuel to run your body, let alone repair it from exercise.

    As others said, try upping your calories, mind your measurements, make sure you're being accurate with everything you do (HRM with cardio, weighing foods you eat, etc.) to be sure you're not undermining your goals, and you should be good to go.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    How does everyone automatically know that 1200 isn't the right setting for the OP and she's in starvation mode? 1200 often is too low but we don't even know the OP's measurements and whether she's eating back her exercise calories. And starvation mode? Seriously? And no. I agree the OP is not gaining muscle. At least, at risk of any newbie gains, not enough to matter.

    OP, (1) How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

    (2) Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    (3) Are you weighing and measuring all of your food or are you "eyeballing" portions? Are you counting alcohol and other tidbits?

    Keep in mind, that if you lose 1 pound a week over a 3 week period, that is still only 3 pounds, and normal weight fluctuations during the day could easily bury your progress. Eating, drinking water, urinating, etc. will all change your weight. Pick a time of day, such as just after you wake up and go, to weigh yourself. It will still vary day to day by upwards of 2-3 pounds but it will be more accurate. Besides, what you should focus on is the trend line and not the day to day.
  • gwright15
    gwright15 Posts: 4
    I'm 5ft4ins. 155lbs no I am not eating backyard exercise calories. Probably could weigh and measure meals a litter more often but don't think my potions are too big. Mainly consisting of veg and salad along with meat.
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    How does everyone automatically know that 1200 isn't the right setting for the OP and she's in starvation mode? 1200 often is too low but we don't even know the OP's measurements and whether she's eating back her exercise calories. And starvation mode? Seriously? And no. I agree the OP is not gaining muscle. At least, at risk of any newbie gains, not enough to matter.

    OP, (1) How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

    (2) Are you eating back your exercise calories?

    (3) Are you weighing and measuring all of your food or are you "eyeballing" portions? Are you counting alcohol and other tidbits?

    Keep in mind, that if you lose 1 pound a week over a 3 week period, that is still only 3 pounds, and normal weight fluctuations during the day could easily bury your progress. Eating, drinking water, urinating, etc. will all change your weight. Pick a time of day, such as just after you wake up and go, to weigh yourself. It will still vary day to day by upwards of 2-3 pounds but it will be more accurate. Besides, what you should focus on is the trend line and not the day to day.

    OP - listen to this. You need to answer these questions before getting any meaningful advice.
  • jingwersen
    jingwersen Posts: 7 Member
    I know the sound of taking in more calories doesn't seem to make sense when we are told to eat less in order to lose weight. But what is happening, is you are eating too little and your body is going into "Starvation mode" and your metabolism is slowing down. Basically what is happening is your body is "Hoarding" calories because it thinks you are starving.

    By going to 1500 calories, your body will get the nutrition it needs and your metabolism may speed up and cause your body to burn calories faster thus causing the scale to move down. You want to eat a little more but not enough that the weight will come back on.

    I hope this helps.....
  • Mattandleila
    Mattandleila Posts: 2
    I am in the same boat, was just whingeing about it then actually, apparently give it a month and go by measurements not weight for the first few weeks.hang in there, i am right by you too! :)
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I'm 5ft4ins. 155lbs no I am not eating backyard exercise calories. Probably could weigh and measure meals a litter more often but don't think my potions are too big. Mainly consisting of veg and salad along with meat.

    If you are using the MFP calculator please keep in mind that it is designed such that you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories. Most of my friends only eat back about 1/2 of their exercise calories when using the MFP estimates (because those estimates seem a bit high for most) and they have had good success with that. The idea here is to make sure that you are getting enough nutrition on a daily basis to maintain good health and lean body mass, but at the same time lose the fat. This is why you see a lot of recommendation to increase your calories. This isn't a race. You want to lose slowly and be very happy with the way you look when you hit that goal.

    Which is why you will also see so many of us pushing strength training. Strength training in a deficit won't allow you to build much in the way of muscle (if any at all) but it will, when combined with a higher protein diet, allow you to maintain the muscle mass that you have. This is important to give you the lean but curvy look that many women want. It's not the fat that gives the firm base for those curves, it's muscle.

    Okay and time for me to eat a little crow. You should be eating more. I used the Scooby calculator at http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to come up with this but your BMR is about 1521 and your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is the total amount of calories you use is about 2357. At a 20% deficit this is about 1886. Now, this may be a bit high (I've found that Scooby overestimates for me and some others, but not for others, you have to experiment a bit with yourself). Play around with these numbers on Scooby and MFP a bit and settle on something around this number. Keep in mind that the number of Scooby INCLUDES your exercise while MFP EXCLUDES your exercise (so you'd eat back your exercise calories using MFP but not for Scooby). If you use MFP start with targeting a 1 pound loss per week but check it against these numbers. It could be that 1200 plus exercise puts you at about 1500 which may very well work.

    Finally, I promise you that if you are not weighing and measuring your portions that they are too big. They were for me before I bought a food scale and they were for many of my friends. We're conditioned to see a portion as far more than one any box gives as a portion. Most cereal portions are somewhere around 55-60 grams. Weigh that out sometime and you will be shocked as how little that is.

    I know this is a tad TL;DR but I hope it helps!
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    I'm 5ft4ins. 155lbs no I am not eating backyard exercise calories. Probably could weigh and measure meals a litter more often but don't think my potions are too big. Mainly consisting of veg and salad along with meat.

    If you are using the MFP calculator please keep in mind that it is designed such that you are supposed to eat back your exercise calories. Most of my friends only eat back about 1/2 of their exercise calories when using the MFP estimates (because those estimates seem a bit high for most) and they have had good success with that. The idea here is to make sure that you are getting enough nutrition on a daily basis to maintain good health and lean body mass, but at the same time lose the fat. This is why you see a lot of recommendation to increase your calories. This isn't a race. You want to lose slowly and be very happy with the way you look when you hit that goal.

    Which is why you will also see so many of us pushing strength training. Strength training in a deficit won't allow you to build much in the way of muscle (if any at all) but it will, when combined with a higher protein diet, allow you to maintain the muscle mass that you have. This is important to give you the lean but curvy look that many women want. It's not the fat that gives the firm base for those curves, it's muscle.

    Okay and time for me to eat a little crow. You should be eating more. I used the Scooby calculator at http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to come up with this but your BMR is about 1521 and your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is the total amount of calories you use is about 2357. At a 20% deficit this is about 1886. Now, this may be a bit high (I've found that Scooby overestimates for me and some others, but not for others, you have to experiment a bit with yourself). Play around with these numbers on Scooby and MFP a bit and settle on something around this number. Keep in mind that the number of Scooby INCLUDES your exercise while MFP EXCLUDES your exercise (so you'd eat back your exercise calories using MFP but not for Scooby). If you use MFP start with targeting a 1 pound loss per week but check it against these numbers. It could be that 1200 plus exercise puts you at about 1500 which may very well work.

    Finally, I promise you that if you are not weighing and measuring your portions that they are too big. They were for me before I bought a food scale and they were for many of my friends. We're conditioned to see a portion as far more than one any box gives as a portion. Most cereal portions are somewhere around 55-60 grams. Weigh that out sometime and you will be shocked as how little that is.

    I know this is a tad TL;DR but I hope it helps!

    Spot on. I got the same #'s. This is your best advice OP.

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