Dazed and Confused... And FAT!

Evilmuffin666
Evilmuffin666 Posts: 132 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been on MFP since 06 Jul. It went well for the first couple of weeks..... lost 5 pds. Then I quit smoking on 23 Jul. I have been very careful not to replace the cigarettes with food...... I haven't gained but I am not losing either. Neither by the scale or in measurements.

I looked at my profile. I have it set to Sedentary but I am pretty active almost all day. I also have it to lose 2 pd per week. It does the little calculation and it says on 1200 cal per day I will lose 0.8 lbs per week and 4 lbs by 02 Oct.

Then I do my food diary, update it and if I keep it that way, I will be 140.5 lbs in 5 weeks, which will be close to 02 Oct, and it would be an 18 lb weight loss.

So I don't get it... why does it say one thing and then another.

I do exercise daily as well.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Because you don't have much to lose and the 2 lb a week goal is too aggressive so MFP has set you at 1200 calories which is as low as you should go to be healthy. You only use the 2 lb setting if you need to lose over 100 lbs. You should be set at 1 lb a week or possibly even only .5 lb per week. MFP only does math, it expects you to supply the common sense.
  • appifanie
    appifanie Posts: 95 Member
    If you're pretty active all day but set it at sedentary then you probably aren't allowing yourself enough calories. How tall are you? Are you entering your exercise?
  • cboydmorton
    cboydmorton Posts: 1
    I agree....Sounds like you are not eating enough calories to burn fat and 2LBS a week is unrealistic for a small amount of weight. Remember less is not always better for your body! GOOD LUCK!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Yup, the calculators are only as good as the information you give them.

    With less than 20 pounds to lose, 1/2 a pound a week is a much more reasonable goal. And if you're pretty active during the day, maybe lightly active would be a better setting. Starving yourself to lose weight is an old fashioned approach that is really not good for you. Better to be healthy and take in the appropriate amount of fuel your body needs.

    P.S. You're not fat...you're justa little overweight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Because you don't have much to lose and the 2 lb a week goal is too aggressive so MFP has set you at 1200 calories which is as low as you should go to be healthy. You only use the 2 lb setting if you need to lose over 100 lbs. You should be set at 1 lb a week or possibly even only .5 lb per week. MFP only does math, it expects you to supply the common sense.

    this, plus if you arent sedentary, why set your activity level to sedentary?!
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    Fat? Puh lease. Give your body a little credit here.

    I copy what others say about eating more and adjusting your goal/expectation.

    PS Open your diary for more help.
  • InForBacon
    InForBacon Posts: 1,508 Member
    I'm just popping in to say that OP's name is a little scary. Also, make sure you are measuring all your food and tracking accurately.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    While I do agree that you will have better success if you correct your settings and eat more. Eating too little does not prevent weight loss. Over time it can slow your metabolism so that you have to eat even less to create a deficit, but one month is not enough time to that.

    Your body is probably just adjusting to you quitting smoking. Also, weight loss is not as linear as it is on paper. With so little to lose you may see weeks with no loss, and weeks with a couple pounds loss. This is just the way the body works.

    Set realistic goals and stick to them and you will get there. As we get older it's common to lose muscle and bone density. Eating too little can exacerbate that. Eat enough calories, protein, vitamin D and calcium and do resistance (strength) exercises to prevent that.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member
    Yeah I quit reading at 1200 calories a day.

    Good Luck with your 2lb loss per week at 1200 cals.

    :flowerforyou:
  • Evilmuffin666
    Evilmuffin666 Posts: 132 Member
    I didn't realize that 2lb per week is for someone needing to lose 100 pds.

    I am 5 ft 0 inches.... 160 pds.... so I do have a lot of weight to lose.

    I set it to sedentary because I don't work. I don't sit on the couch all day but I don't have a regular job. I did have it at Lightly Active at first, but since I wasn't losing anything I thought that maybe that was where I was making the error.

    I will open my diary......

    Thanks....
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I didn't realize that 2lb per week is for someone needing to lose 100 pds.

    I am 5 ft 0 inches.... 160 pds.... so I do have a lot of weight to lose.

    I set it to sedentary because I don't work. I don't sit on the couch all day but I don't have a regular job. I did have it at Lightly Active at first, but since I wasn't losing anything I thought that maybe that was where I was making the error.

    I will open my diary......

    Thanks....

    You are eating WAY too little. If your diary is accurate, you rarely even hit 1200 calories. Honestly, my advice is use MFP as it is intended and clean up your diet.

    Since you are short, 1200 + exercise calories may be enough for you. But, you need to hit that number. Not below, you should eat a minimum of 1200 and more on days you exercise. If you don’t follow the plan, don’t complain it’s not working.

    Your diet is mostly processed high calorie low volume foods. I’m not suggesting you “eat clean”, but you can eat a lot more food if everything you eat is not pre-prepared packaged foods. Vegetables are good for you. Eat a lot of them.

    And be more realistic. You’ve lost 5 lbs in a month and you are looking for ways to increase that. That is a good loss rate, whether it’s all in one week or spread out over 4 weeks.

    Assuming you want to keep whatever weight you lose off long term, you need to learn how to eat to do that. Going very low calorie as a short term "diet" rarely works for long term weight management.
  • appifanie
    appifanie Posts: 95 Member
    I didn't realize that 2lb per week is for someone needing to lose 100 pds.

    I am 5 ft 0 inches.... 160 pds.... so I do have a lot of weight to lose.

    I set it to sedentary because I don't work. I don't sit on the couch all day but I don't have a regular job. I did have it at Lightly Active at first, but since I wasn't losing anything I thought that maybe that was where I was making the error.

    I will open my diary......

    Thanks....

    I didn't realize either! That's kind of reassuring to know that I can't achieve that while eating healthily. And I'm 5' and 149 so we're close.

    And yeah, if your diary is complete, you aren't eating anywhere near enough and you're eating crap. A LITTLE crap is good for us, but not too much :) Your body needs food, real food. Vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, some kind of protein (I'm vegan so my protein is mostly beans and tofu) - you'll feel so much better and then you'll be more energetic and it'll seem less bleak.
  • Evilmuffin666
    Evilmuffin666 Posts: 132 Member
    Thanks for your input and help.

    So what does it mean by eat "clean"?

    I know that from my diary, my eating sucks. But it's a lot better than before. I used to go one or two days and then eat one meal. So I have improved. After 48 years of bad eating habits, it is hard to break. And I smoked for 30 yrs and just quit that on 23 Jul, so it has been a big adjustment.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Thanks for your input and help.

    So what does it mean by eat "clean"?

    I know that from my diary, my eating sucks. But it's a lot better than before. I used to go one or two days and then eat one meal. So I have improved. After 48 years of bad eating habits, it is hard to break. And I smoked for 30 yrs and just quit that on 23 Jul, so it has been a big adjustment.

    People on MFP have many definitions for eating "clean", but generally it means eating natural whole foods. The less involved man is in the food, the "cleaner" it is.
  • mab33
    mab33 Posts: 242 Member
    Thanks for your input and help.

    So what does it mean by eat "clean"?

    I know that from my diary, my eating sucks. But it's a lot better than before. I used to go one or two days and then eat one meal. So I have improved. After 48 years of bad eating habits, it is hard to break. And I smoked for 30 yrs and just quit that on 23 Jul, so it has been a big adjustment.

    Just try to eat more whole, unprocessed foods that aren't pre-packaged, and fewer pre-made items. Apples, whole grains like quinoa, roasted veggies, etc.

    I'm 5' too, so I understand the struggle. I used to eat very little and it takes time getting used to eating more calories. But work out, lift heavy things, and try to eat a little better and you should be fine :)

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