Slow Progress!

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nikkim19781
nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just (seriously) started my weight loss journey 2 weeks ago. I was 178lbs and today I am 172lbs. 6lbs in 2 weeks isnt bad! However, I havent seen much progress since then. I work out 6 days a week and I think I am eating fairly well although I DO NOT take in enough calories during the day. I am thinking about trying the TDEE method. Anyone had any luck with this method?? I simply find it extremely hard to take in more than 1100-1200 calories per day. HELP!!!

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  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    If you are 178lb and trying to lose weight and cannot get above 1200 calories a day... how did you get to 178lb?!
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
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    I just (seriously) started my weight loss journey 2 weeks ago. I was 178lbs and today I am 172lbs. 6lbs in 2 weeks isnt bad! However, I havent seen much progress since then. I work out 6 days a week and I think I am eating fairly well although I DO NOT take in enough calories during the day. I am thinking about trying the TDEE method. Anyone had any luck with this method?? I simply find it extremely hard to take in more than 1100-1200 calories per day. HELP!!!

    You lost 6lbs in the last 2 weeks, but haven't seen any more movement? Do you expect to lose every day? Not going to happen. You may lose fast by undereating in the beginning, but you'll find out soon enough that you aren't eating enough to sustain daily functioning. You'll lose fat and muscle, become cold, cranky and hungry, and your weight will stall.

    You CAN get over 1200 calories a day. Add calorie-dense foods. Peanuts, olive oil - both pack a lot of calories for a small amount of food. Plan your day and eat what you planned. You won't keep losing 3lbs per week, but it's not sustainable that way anyways.

    I've lost 20lbs since January 1st. That's almost 7 months. Does it suck to see the numbers moving so slow? You betcha!! BUT I know I am feeding my body what it needs to get through my workouts. I am losing a lot of inches though (27" since November ish)
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Ignore the first poster..

    I completely understand... I had a terrible time eating enough.. When I started tracking I was eating 800 calories a day and was not hungry., even when I started exercising, I just made myself feel less hungry. (i was amazed!)

    What you do is make a *huge* effort to get to 1200. I wasn't eating breakfast, never hungry for it then. So I started making shakes/smoothies. Didn't feel like breakfast, was easy and quick and technically I was drinking, not eating.. Somehow that make it easier..

    Add in snacks during the day. Small things. I started with apple and peanut butter. Cheese sticks. Jerky. Toast with jelly or cheese or peanut butter. Nuts. Carrots, celery etc...

    I still missed a lot in the beginning, but if you plan your day ahead and bring all the stuff in your plan to work, you're more likely to eat enough.

    After a bit I was hitting 1200 pretty easily.. and now I have breakfast everyday. Now if I skip it I don't eat enough, still. but I'm usually hungry before 9am now.

    It's very easy to not eat enough when you switch from high calories processed crappy foods to healthy low calorie low fat foods. It's amazing how many fruits/veggies/lean protein you can eat in lieu of that one fast food burger.. people seem to forget this littel fact. Technically I eat more now then I ever did before, it's just low calories, low fat healthy foods.

    It is important to eat enough. Don't give up. Just take it one step at a time. Don't eat diet food. Dont' be afraid of full fat dairy or eating an 8oz piece of chicken or fish. Don't get sucked up into the low fat, low calorie diet fads. Eat real whole raw healthy foods and eat a lot of them. You'll feel better, you'll feel fuller and you'll get what you need to be healthy.

    I don't personally do TDEE.. but I hear good things about it.. My advice is.. if you can't eat 1200 how are you going to eat at TDEE? I dont' do it because I can't eat enough. I'll fail everyday and that is not good for me mentally. I'd suggest baby steps until you get your diet under control, before trying to eat 2000 calories or whatever your TDEE would be at. (I think mine was somehwere around there)

    Take your time and learn your body and what it needs and what helps it lose weight and what hinders it and make sure you eat enough. You'll feel better too.


    ETA: Also.. log everyday. everything you eat.. good or bad. it's the only way this site works. If you aren't losing while undereating.. you aren't being honest with your food intake. I log everything but alochol. and really I should log alochol too. Don't miss a day. and dno't guess at sizes. I don't weight.. but if a pound package has 4 pieces in it, then each pieces is approx .25 pound. I do measure though. Did you eat two pieces of ice cream cake?? Log it. the only one you are hurting by not doing so is yourself.
    And as another poster said.. i don't always lose weight.. but usually when the scale doesn't move the inches are coming off. Stress for me also hinder weight loss. If i'm stressed I dno't lose anything, but when I get past it.. it drops off me like water. (currently extremely stressed out lol)
  • kellywa1179
    kellywa1179 Posts: 24 Member
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    You need to eat enough calories or your body will go into starvation mode and stall. Once you are in starvation mode, the only way to fix it is to make your body think it's getting enough calories, which also includes eating more... sooo.... save yourself the aggravation and eat the required calories. Add calorie dense food, like beef and cheese, and some healthy fat options, like avocados, olives, healthy oils and nuts in moderation. They are higher in calorie and add up quick.
  • jilly1130
    jilly1130 Posts: 52 Member
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    I started the TDEE method and I think it is awesome because I work out almost every day for an hour and this was an easier way for me personally to make sure my body is taking in enough calories everyday. I was a little nervous about using the MFP method of eating back my exercise calories because I was afraid of overestimating my calories burned (just my personal experience). You want to calculate your TDEE and make sure you subtract 20% and this will give you a number to shoot for that will allow for a calorie deficit. You should not have trouble reaching this calorie goal and your body needs at least this many calories to fuel your workouts. You can be really conservative and calculate your BMR and your TDEE minus 20% and start out with the number in the middle. This is what I do to ensure that I don't eat below my BMR which is really important and that I eat below my TDEE minus the 20% because I have wanted to increase slowly to figure out just how many calories I need to eat to lose consistently.

    Like a poster said above, there are so many higher calorie healthy snacks you can eat to increase your calorie intake. One ounce of almonds is 160 calories and that is approximately 1/4 cup which is not a lot! Have a half a cup of almonds or another nut and you would consume 320 calories! Also, there is peanut butter and avacados and olive oil -- cook your vegetables in olive oil and this will increase your calories as well.

    If you calculate your appropriate calorie goal you should be able to develop a plan to reach this number by adding in some of these snacks. Having a plan each day is so important and so is eating enough calories to provide enough calories to fuel your body. If you are not going to do the TDEE method you really need to eat back your exercise calories and MFP will calculate that for you if you input your exercise each day. That is what is there for and if you are exercising (I think you said 6 days a week) you really need more than 1200 calories a day to lose weight and be healthy.

    Good luck to you!
  • nikkim19781
    nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
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    I just (seriously) started my weight loss journey 2 weeks ago. I was 178lbs and today I am 172lbs. 6lbs in 2 weeks isnt bad! However, I havent seen much progress since then. I work out 6 days a week and I think I am eating fairly well although I DO NOT take in enough calories during the day. I am thinking about trying the TDEE method. Anyone had any luck with this method?? I simply find it extremely hard to take in more than 1100-1200 calories per day. HELP!!!

    You lost 6lbs in the last 2 weeks, but haven't seen any more movement? Do you expect to lose every day? Not going to happen. You may lose fast by undereating in the beginning, but you'll find out soon enough that you aren't eating enough to sustain daily functioning. You'll lose fat and muscle, become cold, cranky and hungry, and your weight will stall.

    You CAN get over 1200 calories a day. Add calorie-dense foods. Peanuts, olive oil - both pack a lot of calories for a small amount of food. Plan your day and eat what you planned. You won't keep losing 3lbs per week, but it's not sustainable that way anyways.

    I've lost 20lbs since January 1st. That's almost 7 months. Does it suck to see the numbers moving so slow? You betcha!! BUT I know I am feeding my body what it needs to get through my workouts. I am losing a lot of inches though (27" since November ish)

    Unfortunately, yes, I do have a very very very bad addiction to my scale which I actually plan on tossing out TONIGHT! My waist is much slimmer and my thighs are slimmer too. Inches are falling off but the unhealthy addiction to my scale is beginning to give me a complex!
  • nikkim19781
    nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
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    Ignore the first poster..

    I completely understand... I had a terrible time eating enough.. When I started tracking I was eating 800 calories a day and was not hungry., even when I started exercising, I just made myself feel less hungry. (i was amazed!)

    What you do is make a *huge* effort to get to 1200. I wasn't eating breakfast, never hungry for it then. So I started making shakes/smoothies. Didn't feel like breakfast, was easy and quick and technically I was drinking, not eating.. Somehow that make it easier..

    Add in snacks during the day. Small things. I started with apple and peanut butter. Cheese sticks. Jerky. Toast with jelly or cheese or peanut butter. Nuts. Carrots, celery etc...

    I still missed a lot in the beginning, but if you plan your day ahead and bring all the stuff in your plan to work, you're more likely to eat enough.

    After a bit I was hitting 1200 pretty easily.. and now I have breakfast everyday. Now if I skip it I don't eat enough, still. but I'm usually hungry before 9am now.

    It's very easy to not eat enough when you switch from high calories processed crappy foods to healthy low calorie low fat foods. It's amazing how many fruits/veggies/lean protein you can eat in lieu of that one fast food burger.. people seem to forget this littel fact. Technically I eat more now then I ever did before, it's just low calories, low fat healthy foods.

    It is important to eat enough. Don't give up. Just take it one step at a time. Don't eat diet food. Dont' be afraid of full fat dairy or eating an 8oz piece of chicken or fish. Don't get sucked up into the low fat, low calorie diet fads. Eat real whole raw healthy foods and eat a lot of them. You'll feel better, you'll feel fuller and you'll get what you need to be healthy.

    I don't personally do TDEE.. but I hear good things about it.. My advice is.. if you can't eat 1200 how are you going to eat at TDEE? I dont' do it because I can't eat enough. I'll fail everyday and that is not good for me mentally. I'd suggest baby steps until you get your diet under control, before trying to eat 2000 calories or whatever your TDEE would be at. (I think mine was somehwere around there)

    Take your time and learn your body and what it needs and what helps it lose weight and what hinders it and make sure you eat enough. You'll feel better too.


    ETA: Also.. log everyday. everything you eat.. good or bad. it's the only way this site works. If you aren't losing while undereating.. you aren't being honest with your food intake. I log everything but alochol. and really I should log alochol too. Don't miss a day. and dno't guess at sizes. I don't weight.. but if a pound package has 4 pieces in it, then each pieces is approx .25 pound. I do measure though. Did you eat two pieces of ice cream cake?? Log it. the only one you are hurting by not doing so is yourself.
    And as another poster said.. i don't always lose weight.. but usually when the scale doesn't move the inches are coming off. Stress for me also hinder weight loss. If i'm stressed I dno't lose anything, but when I get past it.. it drops off me like water. (currently extremely stressed out lol)

    Thank you! I am going to start incorporating more snacks and veggies into my diet and try to make it to that 1200 calories per day. I know its going to take a lot of patience and determination but at this point, I'm ready and not giving up this time!
  • nikkim19781
    nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
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    Thank you! Im going to need it! I'm an instant gratification type person and I know that doesn't work well with weight loss! LOL
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    Sorry - why ignore the first poster? I'm afraid she didn't get overweight due to eating under 1200 calories. That is my point.

    If you need to make the calories, up you HAVE to make the calories up.

    For what its worth, I coach about two dozen people, bodybuilders, athletes and also normal everyday women as well. You have to think laterally to get where you need to go.

    Ignoring logical thinking is the worst thing you can do. Long term dieting with too low calories will slow your metabolism.

    But heck, what do I know. Ignore me, carry on a get nowhere very fast and listen to the person whose got nowhere, fast. Better to listen to someone who simply agrees with you rather than knows what he's talking about...
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    because what you said was unhelpful, non-productive and will only succeed in making someone feel like they can't do it.

    Obviously I got fat eating too much. obviuolsy I got fat by eating the wrong foods. When you switch. it's hard. i was in the same boat at the OP. People said the same thing to me you did. Not helpful and counter productive, because obviously my goal is to change what i was doing that got me fat. Plus, things change.. I never really ate unhealthy. i ate healthy foods, just 4 times as much as I should. Then suddently wasn't hungry anymore and just stopped and couldn't force myself to eat. I was so bad if I "over ate" i would throw up. (not intentionally, I didn't force myself to, it was my body rejecting "extra food") . I landed in the hospital before i realized how bad i was doing. Someone telling me "easy eat more" is not helpful cause obviuosly I know that and obviously so does OP. why else would we be here trying to change?

    You have no idea what people are dealing with. Instead of saying.. hey you got fat somehow.. perhaps offer some good valid doable advice? Even this last post.. not really helpful. Great you train people. Great we got fat by overeating (duh?) Great make the calories up. Have you ever not been hungry? To the point where the thought of eating another bite makes you ill? I have and often. It's really hard to overcome. No, no eating disorder here. (cause I was accused of that as well, and that is not the case I love food, always have)

    Oh and i've lost a total of 60 pounds since August.. so i'm not getting nowhere fast.. I'm getting where I want to be at a pretty healthy rate. I'm no nutrition/fitness guru, but I can certainly tell someone what worked for me and how I got there. Esp when I started at the same place they are at. I imagine that's much more helpful then "how did you get fat? eat more"

    My goal is now 1600 a day.. because 1200 isn't really enough.. and I know it.. but baby steps got me here. baby steps will keep me here. OP will succeed if she does the same thing. One change at a time, leads to good substainable healthy results.
  • nikkim19781
    nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
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    because what you said was unhelpful, non-productive and will only succeed in making someone feel like they can't do it.

    Obviously I got fat eating too much. obviuolsy I got fat by eating the wrong foods. When you switch. it's hard. i was in the same boat at the OP. People said the same thing to me you did. Not helpful and counter productive, because obviously my goal is to change what i was doing that got me fat. Plus, things change.. I never really ate unhealthy. i ate healthy foods, just 4 times as much as I should. Then suddently wasn't hungry anymore and just stopped and couldn't force myself to eat. I was so bad if I "over ate" i would throw up. (not intentionally, I didn't force myself to, it was my body rejecting "extra food") . I landed in the hospital before i realized how bad i was doing. Someone telling me "easy eat more" is not helpful cause obviuosly I know that and obviously so does OP. why else would we be here trying to change?

    You have no idea what people are dealing with. Instead of saying.. hey you got fat somehow.. perhaps offer some good valid doable advice? Even this last post.. not really helpful. Great you train people. Great we got fat by overeating (duh?) Great make the calories up. Have you ever not been hungry? To the point where the thought of eating another bite makes you ill? I have and often. It's really hard to overcome. No, no eating disorder here. (cause I was accused of that as well, and that is not the case I love food, always have)

    Oh and i've lost a total of 60 pounds since August.. so i'm not getting nowhere fast.. I'm getting where I want to be at a pretty healthy rate. I'm no nutrition/fitness guru, but I can certainly tell someone what worked for me and how I got there. Esp when I started at the same place they are at. I imagine that's much more helpful then "how did you get fat? eat more"

    My goal is now 1600 a day.. because 1200 isn't really enough.. and I know it.. but baby steps got me here. baby steps will keep me here. OP will succeed if she does the same thing. One change at a time, leads to good substainable healthy results.

    This this and this!!!! Very well said!!!!
  • mystiedragonfly
    mystiedragonfly Posts: 189 Member
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    Sorry - why ignore the first poster? I'm afraid she didn't get overweight due to eating under 1200 calories. That is my point.

    If you need to make the calories, up you HAVE to make the calories up.

    For what its worth, I coach about two dozen people, bodybuilders, athletes and also normal everyday women as well. You have to think laterally to get where you need to go.

    Ignoring logical thinking is the worst thing you can do. Long term dieting with too low calories will slow your metabolism.

    But heck, what do I know. Ignore me, carry on a get nowhere very fast and listen to the person whose got nowhere, fast. Better to listen to someone who simply agrees with you rather than knows what he's talking about...

    Out of all the posters here, he is the one I'd listen to. He not only is right, he knows what he is saying, AND walks the walk!

    He is also right, you didn't gain fat from eating 1200 a day, unless, of course, you ate one big mac a day and nothing else?

    If you are eating less than 1200, your body is in starvation mode and will not lose any more weight. If it does, it will be feeding on its own muscle and not the fat you want to burn.

    I, too, had very very VERY slow progress in the beginning. In the beginning, the progress came in health terms and not wight loss. First my asthma got under control. Then my blood sugar. Ya know what, in the first year of my journey, I never lost a pound. Not one! I DID, however, lose 10 pant sizes.

    In February of this year, I raised my calories from 1500 to 2000 a day. Guess what. The scale is dropping. Finally!

    I am following the meal plan in "The New Rules of Lifting For Women". Which has helped tremendously. I've cut gluten 95% out of my diet (still have an occasional slice of cheesecake) and totally cut high fructose corn syrup. Yet, I manage to get in 2000 a day.
  • nikkim19781
    nikkim19781 Posts: 45 Member
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    Great job on the inch loss! Like I said, I have a very unhealthy relationship with my scale and am putting it up for good tonight. The first posters comments were a little discouraging. Yes I know I didn't get fat (heavier, I'm no where near fat) by eating only 1200 calories a day, however, weight loss and calorie requirements at 22 are much different than they are at 35! I'm sure I ate 1200 calories worth of all the WRONG stuff at that point and now its creeping up on me.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    I don't agree with cutting out foods unless you are allergic. I firmly believe that cutting out say.. dairy.. or gluten.. leads to yoyo dieting. Because in reality no one is going to stick to that sort of diet for life. I don't eat shellfish because I am severly allergic to it, everything else is game. I may choose to not eat certain foods, but I never advocate cutting out an entire group. I dont' follow meal plans because I live in the real world and I want to eat like I do. I never want to go to a party and have to fogo the party food because I'm on some restrictive diet. I'm here to learn how to eat properly and to make the good decisions so I don't have to pay as close attention for the rest of my lfe. I think that should be everyones goal.

    There are other ways to meausre loss besides weight. I don't think i've lost much at all this month. But I am stronger then I was a month ago and my pants are looser. Which means I am doing something right.

    I can get in 2000 calories some days as well.. when I really really try or I get taken out to eat. more often i'm still between 1200-1600. Esp because I usually cook almost everyday and i'm a veggioholic. more veggies = less calories but a fuller plate.

    Congrats on losing 10 pants sizes. That's a really good feeling :~)


    op: 1200 calories is probably too little for you honestly. But we all have to start somewhere. all these BMR calculates says I should be around 1800. So I am trying to get to at least 1600, which is still low according to that. but you have to start somewhere.
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    If you can't get to 1800, eat something calorie dense. Nuts, nut butters, heck even nutrient dense protein bars will help. Nothing is really that bad if you need to get your calories UP because you'll be burning it off as you'll be on BELOW your calorie maintenance level, hence you dropping weight.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    eat more. got it.

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