Not losing weight! Help!! :(

jgr48
jgr48 Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Over the past 7 months I've gained back 10 of the 60 pounds that I previously lost. Almost 4 weeks ago I woke up and was sick and tired of feeling like crap and not being happy with how I looked. I cleaned up my diet and started exercising 5 days a week. I've only lost 2.6 lbs. I know they say it's healthy to lose 1 lb a week but I have MFP set on 2lbs a week and I am busting my butt! Any general suggestions?

Also, I'm having a hard time eating all 1200 my calories. For the first two weeks I tried to eat back my exercise calories then I read on another forum that people were more successful not eating those exercise cals back. Last night I was looking more into it and people were saying that not eating enough calories can stall weight loss so..

Am I hindering myself by not eating enough calories?
Should I be eating back my exercise calories?
What are your suggestions for foods to eat to stay within my marcos but meet my calories?
&Snack suggestions?
Also, I'm always close to or over my sugar max but I don't eat sweets. Suggestions about that?


I NOW understand that I'm not eating enough., suggestions on what I should be eating?
Also, I shouldn't feel discouraged about asking for help on here by a grammar nazi and any negativity so keep it to yourself :)

Thanks!!

Replies

  • Squamation
    Squamation Posts: 522 Member
    How did you lose the 60lbs previously?

    Obviously you were doing something right before, have you tried just doing that again?
  • Kassandra772
    Kassandra772 Posts: 52 Member
    Do you drink lots of water each day? I know it sounds ridiculous, but the more water you drink can help increase your metabolism! BTW congratulations on your loss and you look great!
  • TiffieLand
    TiffieLand Posts: 159
    I think the 10 pounds gained made you feel that you have to lose it. Don't worry too much and work slow. If you can't eat back the calories then it is alright as long as you feel full and getting all the nutrients that you need. You don't need to force yourself to eat at all. It seem like you're losing weight but it is a bit slower but so don't worry too much about it. I suggest you get more fiber in your diet though. As it is summer, eat some watermelon :)
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Basically the same thing.. That's why I'm so confused..
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Over the past 7 months I've gained back 10 of the 60 pounds that I previously lost. Almost 4 weeks ago I woke up and was sick and tired of feeling like crap and not being happy with how I looked. I did a complete 360 on my diet and started exercising 5 days a week. I've only lost 2.6 lbs. I know they say it's healthy to lose 1 lb a week but I have MFP set on 2lbs a week and I am busting my butt! Any general suggestions?

    Also, I'm having a hard time eating all of my calories. For the first two weeks I tried to eat back my exercise calories then I read on another forum that people were more successful not eating those exercise cals back. Last night I was looking more into it and people were saying that not eating enough calories can stall weight loss so..

    Am I hindering myself by not eating enough calories?
    Should I be eating back my exercise calories?
    What are your suggestions for foods to eat to stay within my marcos but meet my calories?
    &Snack suggestions?
    Also, I'm always close to or over my sugar max but I don't eat sweets. Suggestions about that?

    I don't know if my food diary is public but on a daily basis I basically eat:

    Breakfast:
    1 cup Fiber One cereal
    1/4 cup milk

    Lunch:
    1 whole wheat thin round
    5 pieces of deli turkey
    around 10 baked doritos

    Dinner:
    1 cup brown rice
    2 cups broccoli
    Either chicken, tilapia, or shrimp


    Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help!!

    I would starve on that diet!! Sounds like you need to eat more!! You need to figure out your BMR and TDEE!!

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Good luck.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Do you drink lots of water each day? I know it sounds ridiculous, but the more water you drink can help increase your metabolism! BTW congratulations on your loss and you look great!

    Broscience, drinking water as necessary keeps you hydrated, period. It has no magical weight loss properties.
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Thanks so much!! I can probably start drinking more water. Thanks for the suggestion!
  • nikamar
    nikamar Posts: 83 Member
    Set your calories to TDEE- 15-20% and don't eat the calories back.
    Honestly, your daily menu to me looks like some hospital diet for heart patients. I couldn't live on that small amount for a longer period of time.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...
  • nikamar
    nikamar Posts: 83 Member
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    I was gonna say it should be 180, but I guess 540 is a better workout. :P
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    What?
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    I was gonna say it should be 180, but I guess 540 is a better workout. :P

    OH! Haha thanks I need to edit that. I'll also add that there's no point in commenting unless you have actual suggestions to help me with my weight loss. Thanks though :)
  • born2drum
    born2drum Posts: 731 Member
    Eating this little to lose weight then going back to normal eating is what caused you to gain weight. Find a diet/routine that you can stick to forever not just to lose weight. Once you are done dieting, slowly increase calories by 100-200 per week until you reach maintance so as to avoid rapid weight gain
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    I eat 1200 calories ( age and hight appropriate ) and eat a heck of a lot more food than the OP. Something is really wrong with the food intake.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    I was gonna say it should be 180, but I guess 540 is a better workout. :P

    OH! Haha thanks I need to edit that. I'll also add that there's no point in commenting unless you have actual suggestions to help me with my weight loss. Thanks though :)

    Well looking at the menu you posted .. I'd say that's maybe what now, 600 calories? you should certainly be losing weight on that .. if I were to eat that, I'd have no probs dropping 3-5 lbs a week. While it may be the fastest way, it's not the "best" way. As far as your diet is concerned .. I'm a big fan of eating sorta clean with a slant towards IIFYM, which is what you seem to be doing there.

    So, short story .. if that's actually a good example of how you have been eating for the last 4 weeks, then I can't see how you only lost 2.6 lbs. The math doesn't work. You might have a measuring problem, or a logging problem. But after 4 weeks of eating like that I'd expect you to be donw 10-15 lbs, easily. Are you a drinker (if so, log the drinks)? Do you tend to have a "bite here, bite there, doesnt matter" attitude towards things that dont end up getting logged? I don't trust your data because they are inconsistent with the results.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    From the example of a day of food you posted, I would agree that you need to eat more - especially if you're not eating back exercise cals.

    MFP is set up with your deficit built into you daily calorie goal. Meaning eat to goal every day, do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. That's why they add the burned cals back into your daily goal - you are supposed to eat them back. Not doing so creates a HUGE deficit in calories, which can backfire on ya in the long run.

    I would also change your settings from the 2lb loss per week goal to just 1lb at the most - if you don't have 100lbs to lose, 2lbs a week is too aggressive.

    Food is fuel! Eat too little for too long, and you're sending your body the message to store fat rather than burn it. You may lose some weight, but unless you're planning on eating super low calories for the rest of your life (which doesn't fit in very well with enjoying birthdays, holidays, vacations, dinners out, etc), it will come right back as soon as you go back to eating normally. Plus people often find, as I did, that the pounds go down, but we're left with a slimmer, yet still soft and squishy version of our former selves - definitely not what I was going for! Lose the fat, keep the muscle, and that requires proper fueling of your body.
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    I was gonna say it should be 180, but I guess 540 is a better workout. :P

    OH! Haha thanks I need to edit that. I'll also add that there's no point in commenting unless you have actual suggestions to help me with my weight loss. Thanks though :)

    Well looking at the menu you posted .. I'd say that's maybe what now, 600 calories? you should certainly be losing weight on that .. if I were to eat that, I'd have no probs dropping 3-5 lbs a week. While it may be the fastest way, it's not the "best" way. As far as your diet is concerned .. I'm a big fan of eating sorta clean with a slant towards IIFYM, which is what you seem to be doing there.

    So, short story .. if that's actually a good example of how you have been eating for the last 4 weeks, then I can't see how you only lost 2.6 lbs. The math doesn't work. You might have a measuring problem, or a logging problem. But after 4 weeks of eating like that I'd expect you to be donw 10-15 lbs, easily. Are you a drinker (if so, log the drinks)? Do you tend to have a "bite here, bite there, doesnt matter" attitude towards things that dont end up getting logged? I don't trust your data because they are inconsistent with the results.

    I log everything down to a spoon full of peanut butter to a couple almonds but all of those "bites here, bites there" vary day to day. I was giving a GENERAL idea of what I eat on the daily. I consume maybe 1000 calories and I was asking for suggestions on what I should be eating to meet 1200. I don't understand why I'm not losing weight with so few calories. That's the whole point of this post. I'm not here to prove myself to anyone I'm here to get answers and suggestions. We don't need to keep doing this. Thanks for your input. Bye.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Also, consider a complete 540 on your diet ...

    I was gonna say it should be 180, but I guess 540 is a better workout. :P

    OH! Haha thanks I need to edit that. I'll also add that there's no point in commenting unless you have actual suggestions to help me with my weight loss. Thanks though :)

    Well looking at the menu you posted .. I'd say that's maybe what now, 600 calories? you should certainly be losing weight on that .. if I were to eat that, I'd have no probs dropping 3-5 lbs a week. While it may be the fastest way, it's not the "best" way. As far as your diet is concerned .. I'm a big fan of eating sorta clean with a slant towards IIFYM, which is what you seem to be doing there.

    So, short story .. if that's actually a good example of how you have been eating for the last 4 weeks, then I can't see how you only lost 2.6 lbs. The math doesn't work. You might have a measuring problem, or a logging problem. But after 4 weeks of eating like that I'd expect you to be donw 10-15 lbs, easily. Are you a drinker (if so, log the drinks)? Do you tend to have a "bite here, bite there, doesnt matter" attitude towards things that dont end up getting logged? I don't trust your data because they are inconsistent with the results.

    I log everything down to a spoon full of peanut butter to a couple almonds but all of those "bites here, bites there" vary day to day. I was giving a GENERAL idea of what I eat on the daily. I consume maybe 1000 calories and I was asking for suggestions on what I should be eating to meet 1200. I don't understand why I'm not losing weight with so few calories. That's the whole point of this post. I'm not here to prove myself to anyone I'm here to get answers and suggestions. We don't need to keep doing this. Thanks for your input. Bye.

    Wow...Good luck keeping the weight off!!! When you don't fuel your body your body will hold onto everything, that's why your gaining weight!! JS
  • jgr48
    jgr48 Posts: 7
    Actually I gained 10 lbs because I was going through personal things and living a pretty unhealthy lifestyle. I'm TRYING to eat the right amount of calories to be healthy that's why I posted this... for suggestions to change...
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Over the past 7 months I've gained back 10 of the 60 pounds that I previously lost. Almost 4 weeks ago I woke up and was sick and tired of feeling like crap and not being happy with how I looked. I did a complete 360 on my diet and started exercising 5 days a week. I've only lost 2.6 lbs. I know they say it's healthy to lose 1 lb a week but I have MFP set on 2lbs a week and I am busting my butt! Any general suggestions?

    Also, I'm having a hard time eating all of my calories. For the first two weeks I tried to eat back my exercise calories then I read on another forum that people were more successful not eating those exercise cals back. Last night I was looking more into it and people were saying that not eating enough calories can stall weight loss so..

    Am I hindering myself by not eating enough calories?
    Should I be eating back my exercise calories?
    What are your suggestions for foods to eat to stay within my marcos but meet my calories?
    &Snack suggestions?
    Also, I'm always close to or over my sugar max but I don't eat sweets. Suggestions about that?

    I don't know if my food diary is public but on a daily basis I basically eat:

    Breakfast:
    1 cup Fiber One cereal
    1/4 cup milk

    Lunch:
    1 whole wheat thin round
    5 pieces of deli turkey
    around 10 baked doritos

    Dinner:
    1 cup brown rice
    2 cups broccoli
    Either chicken, tilapia, or shrimp


    Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help!!

    I would starve on that diet!! Sounds like you need to eat more!! You need to figure out your BMR and TDEE!!

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    Good luck.

    This. ^^^

    Figure out what you should be eating.
  • haywood87
    haywood87 Posts: 3
    Without question, it sounds like you are severely restricting your calories too much. This is harmful because your body will hold on to fat in effort to keep you from starving. We mistakenly associate eating correctly with limiting the bad things. This is true, but a BIGGER part of eating right is increasing the good things. Good foods like fruits and vegetables don't need to be counted like processed foods. Plus, you can large amounts of these foods without feeling guilty. I wrote a great article about debunking weight loss myths on my website http://www.injoymint.com/blog/article/?sid=104. Check it out if you get a chance
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    From the example of a day of food you posted, I would agree that you need to eat more - especially if you're not eating back exercise cals.

    MFP is set up with your deficit built into you daily calorie goal. Meaning eat to goal every day, do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. That's why they add the burned cals back into your daily goal - you are supposed to eat them back. Not doing so creates a HUGE deficit in calories, which can backfire on ya in the long run.

    I would also change your settings from the 2lb loss per week goal to just 1lb at the most - if you don't have 100lbs to lose, 2lbs a week is too aggressive.

    Food is fuel! Eat too little for too long, and you're sending your body the message to store fat rather than burn it. You may lose some weight, but unless you're planning on eating super low calories for the rest of your life (which doesn't fit in very well with enjoying birthdays, holidays, vacations, dinners out, etc), it will come right back as soon as you go back to eating normally. Plus people often find, as I did, that the pounds go down, but we're left with a slimmer, yet still soft and squishy version of our former selves - definitely not what I was going for! Lose the fat, keep the muscle, and that requires proper fueling of your body.

    ^^ All of this.

    Your body will not run if you don't feed it. You need to put gas in your car or it won't run at all. Your body will still continue to run but it starts shutting down some processes in order to conserve, this is not optimal for weight loss.

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