Eating 1500 calories a day, exercising and still not losing

Almost all of your foods are white starches. Add more color to your diet-- fruits, vegetables, etc. This will add fiber to your diet and most importantly, nutrients! Try switching from soy milk to almond milk; soy milk can cause a lot of bloating. Also, don't forget to lift weights. Add some variety to life (I say this b/c of your majority white-starch/carb based diet and you only mentioned cardio). A lot of other good advice has already been mentioned.

I increased my calories for a few days and then brought them back down and it broke my plateau. It is definitely more difficult to lose 2 lbs a week once you get closer to your goal.

Ok - so with me wanting 2 lbs a week weight loss and therefore MFP setting my target at 1280 calories why are people suggesting I eat so much more was my question and what you alluded to in your last post.

I never realised that I was to eat my colories I exercised away - although i have always seemed to eat most of them anyway.

MFP bases your calorie needs on the amount your body needs that you expend in everyday life NOT counting exercise. So just what you need for moving around, going to work or school or whatever it is you do all day. It figures out your calorie needs for that, but then when you choose "i want to lose x amount per week", it subtracts a flat amount from that calorie need. So if you choose 2 pounds a week, it will deduct 1,000 calories per day from your projected calorie needs. And remember that DOES NOT include exercise. They call this a NEAT method calculator. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise.

People who do not have a lot of pounds to lose should not choose 2 pounds a week, because subtracting 1,000 calories a day is too much of a cut. When you then also do not eat additional calories to fuel your exercise, you are eating way too low.

So, for example, MFP calculates that your calorie needs not including exercise is 2200 per day. You say "I want to lose 2 pounds per week". It says okay, 2200 minus 1000 is 1200. Eat 1200 a day. Then you do some intense cardio for an hour and burn off say 500 calories of that. 1200 minus 500 is 700 calories. You are expecting your body to run all of its processes on 700 net calories per day. That is way too low for most people, especially a man of your size.

This is why you have to add calories for exercise with the MFP method, the person in this example should eat 1200 PLUS 500. (Assuming that losing 2 pounds per week is appropriate, but in your case, it is not).

You might be slowing down your daily activity to compensate for that drastic calorie deficit, walking less, sitting more. Maybe eating a little more, like 1800 calories, doing some strength training, and making sure that you don't exhaust yourself with cardio, would help. Also, it looks like you eat pretty well when it comes to carbs, so if you do choose to eat more, you might consider adding more protein, and meeting your minimum for fat.

Whichever you prefer
•1-5 Reps Per Set = Mostly Strength
•5-8 Reps Per Set = Strength AND Muscle Equally
•8-10 Reps Per Set = Muscle With Some Strength
•10-12 Reps Per Set = Muscle With Some Endurance
•12-15 Reps Per Set = Endurance With Some Muscle
•15-20 Reps Per Set = Mostly Endurance


Just make sure to challenge yourself. Working out should never be "easy," unless you're injured or ill at the time. There's a lot of stuff on the internet that you can search for; if you look online, make sure get your sources of information from more than one site (so the information isn't biased).

Good Luck Piggler, dedication and hard work will always pay off-- even if you're having a temporary set back.

some people are gluten sensitive, have you tried cutting down on grains??

I have chosen to follow the TDEE-20% route which for me is around 2200 calories a day at 5' 6" and 184 lbs and I am losing weight slowly but steadily. I still record on MFP and use that as a guide for the calories I eat, my exercise calories go in too but I am not concerned about the net as I am only interested in consumption.

My BMR is 1607 if I exercise 6/7 times a week my TDEE comes out as 2772 which would keep me at maintenance, to lose weight I take off 20% giving me 2218 calories per day to eat. I use MFP to keep a tally of my intake and exercise the net on MFP doesn't matter as the TDEE calculation incorporates BMR and exercise. Interestingly the net does tend to match my goal most days.

I really need help. I have been trying to just eat healthier and work out 5 days a week. Usually cardio and weights. Or a day of squats and strength training. I eat around 1500 calories a day and I am 5 foot 11 inches and use to weight 227 and now weigh 189 and can't seem to get pass this block! It's been almost 3 weeks I have been at this block. Should I decrease my calories intake? Or I am loss with what to do help

If anything I feel I need to decrease my calorie intake and work out more

I am sorry I am just so confused. Many people tell me to cut my intake then people tell me to eat more. I really don't get it and I am getting confused. All I want is to see that scale move again. It's frustrating waking up every morning at 4:30 to go workout and on top of it not see results.

I am 22 and am 5 foot 11 inches and weight 189 and fluctuate. My goal is 160. Started from 227 but I lost that over steady time. I run about a mile a day. And switch to legs or arms. Ab workout. And sometimes squats