HELP!! Can't lose a pound. what i'm doing wrong?

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  • JakeBrownVB
    JakeBrownVB Posts: 399 Member
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    "you have to eat to loose" errrm this is a dumb point.. thats like saying you have to cry to be sad..
  • wannabpiper
    wannabpiper Posts: 402 Member
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    Watch that fitbit, too. It awarded me 1.5 miles for riding my motorcycle. I'm pretty sure I didn't earn that in calories! Oops - sorry - I thought you wrote that you were using a fitbit. My mistake.
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
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    what escloflowne said in a nut shell.

    I think a lot of people with 20lbs or less to lose just set up mfp to lose 2 lbs per week. This is pretty much impossible if your so close to goal weight. Also BMR TDEE and take 20%, if your that close might try 10%.

    You guys are also starting up huge cardio burns, you need to fuel these too.

    In the end, your body is trying to hole onto whatever it can. Its burning fat and muscle and anything else it can to try to keep up and try to adjust to the new situation. (some people would call this starvation mode). You need to feed yourself enough protein, fat and carbs.
  • FlowersInTheDirt
    FlowersInTheDirt Posts: 124 Member
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    Your eating too little so your body is holding on to your fat stores so that it doesnt starve. Up your calories, give your body at least 2 weeks to adjust then you should start to see a gradual weight loss.
    Im speaking from personal experience: i was eating 1100 and ended up gaining a pound or two in the first month. I upped to just over 1500 and have lost over 35lbs so far!

    Best of luck.
  • maybeazure
    maybeazure Posts: 301 Member
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    I kind of think it is unlikely that you are *really* eating only 1000 calories a day. Healthy or not, most people would lose on that unless they were bedridden. Your diary isn't open. Are you logging everything? Weighing and measuring? Most people tend to underestimate the number of calories they are eating, and overestimate the number of calories they burn exercising.

    1000 calories is probably too low, but increasing them won't help if you aren't calculating them correctly. In that case it would just make the problem worse.

    If you are weighing and measuring everything, and are not over on calories, and it's been at least a month, I would suggest checking with your doctor to make sure you don't have a thyroid problem or something.
  • Dr_Kirk
    Dr_Kirk Posts: 10 Member
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    1. You're not ingesting enough nutrients, not talking about calories. There are good calories and bad.
    2. You need to check more than just lbs. FAT is like a marshmellow, muscle is like steak.. as you build lean muscle, and tone up your body the marshmellow which weighs nothing but takes up a lot of space melts off, the lean muscle doesnt take up much space but weighs a lot!... so you could be losing inches and body fat (marshmellow) and getting more tone (steak), that could also account for your 2lbs gain. How do your clothes fit? feel? looser?

    3. If you're on the treadmill, I assume it's one that will put you in your target fat burning zone, make sure you're in that.

    Share your diet if you would like some insight and more help :)

    - DrK,
    - HoustonMedicalWellnessClinic.com
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    A very common issue around here. Only 1000 cals a day?? Not enough fuel.

    If you've set up MFP and entered all your info accurately and realistically (meaning that your goal is NOT to lose 2lbs a week if you've got less than 100 to lose), then you enter all your food and all your exercise and aim for that daily goal. And goal means GOAL - something you strive for, not to come in way off the mark, as in several hundred calories under. That also means you eat back exercise cals bringing your daily NET calories as close to goal as possible.

    MFP gives you a daily amount to eat, and that already has a deficit built in - meaning eat TO GOAL every day, do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. When you do exercise, the calories are added back in to avoid a HUGE deficit, which is no good. Eat too little for too long and you're giving your body a reason to store fat, not burn it - not to mention the damage you can do to your metabolism, jack with your hormones, etc, etc. Food is fuel.

    Eat your calories, exercise, drink water, get good rest, have patience. It works.
  • chanel1twenty
    chanel1twenty Posts: 161 Member
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    A rule I follow is overestimate calories consumed,

    underestimate calories burned.

    If I measure something out & it comes to be say 176 calories, I log it as 200 calories. Most people say to log everything 100% accurately to a T, but I've had much success with this system.

    As for calories burned, I see what MFP claims & also one or two other sources (for I do not yet have a monitor), average out those numbers, & round down.

    I agree that you're probably not eating enough. At least not enough beneficial foods.
    How do you normally get those 1,000 calories? Hot dogs, pizza, fast food, white pasta & rice, loads of condiments?
    Or are you eating kale, spinach, fish, broccoli, quinoa, fruits, whole & multi grain, slow carbs?
    Of course the calories are of utmost importance, but you have to make certain that those very few calories are very beneficial. Make all 1,000 count.
    I do recommend you eat at least 200-300 more.

    I was having trouble losing, & once I tripled my protein intake & cut my carbohydrate intake in half, the weight began sliding off much easier.

    Good luck!
    I hope you figure out what's preventing you from reaching your goal.

    Chanel
  • Megh757
    Megh757 Posts: 33 Member
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    Deff eat more
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    In the long run 1,000 calories isn't enough but that's a long term problem and wouldn't cause you not to lose weight in the beginning. You're either eating more than that or have a serious medical issue.

    Opening your diary is a good place to start if you want help.
  • grandpoobah12
    grandpoobah12 Posts: 138
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    I also can`t lose. I haven`t lost a lb since starting 5 weeks ago. I need to lose only 20 lbs. I eat about 1600 per day at 175 cm. First 3 weeks I ate 1200 as recommended by MFP. I lost nothing. I upped it for two weeks now. I lost nothing but gained nothing either. Try upping the calories, why suffer if it isn`t going to work anyway.

    My fit bit says I burn about 2800~3000 cal per day. I am considering upping it more.

    So...even if your fitbit is off by a bit, you clearly state you are consuming at least 1,000 calories less than what your body needs to survive? Per day? :frown:

    right I am going to eat!

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