Stopped eating calories back....stopped losing weight

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reneeb816
reneeb816 Posts: 60 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I lost 25 pounds in a little over two months. During that time I almost always ate back the calories (goal was 1200) I had burned. Usually I was eating them ALL.

But after looking around here and just doing what seems like simple math to me, two weeks ago I decided to keep my net calories right at 1200 instead of going over.

To my dismay though, I've stopped losing all together. It's frustrating because it wasn't hard to stick with the 1200 and it just seems scary to increase my intake.

Anyone have some advice? I'm hoping I haven't already hit a plateau, especially since I still have about 60 pounds before I'm considered healthy.
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Replies

  • DasAlbatross
    DasAlbatross Posts: 1 Member
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    If you're working out and not eating enough calories what you may be seeing is your body isn't able to add as much muscle after exercise. Adding muscle increases your base metabolic rate so you're just burning more calories all the time.

    I found this information on a personal trainer's site, so I don't know how accurate it is but it certainly makes sense to me:

    "One pound of muscle burns about 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns only 1-2 calories a day. So, if you replace five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle, you’re body will be burning 250 extra calories a day. That equals exactly ½ pound of additional fat loss each week."

    I'm sure you're still losing weight, in the sense that you're replacing fat with muscle, just maybe not at the same rate. Are your clothes fitting differently? Are you tracking any other measurements?

    You also could just be in a little plateau. Keep going and you'll see the results!
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    It's very difficult to tell what without more details. It is possible you were on a narrow deficit, and as your weight dropped, so did the deficit. It would be helpful to see the food and exercise diary.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    So things were working, and then you changed things up and they stopped working....why not go back to what WAS working? Because you were doing it right before - MFP is set up with a deficit built into your daily goal. Meaning eat to goal every day and do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. When you exercise, you are creating a much larger deficit - too large, which can backfire on ya, as you may have noticed. Eat too little for too long and you risk screwing up your metabolism, your hormones, and risk various other problems.

    This is why your exercise cals are added back into your goal - you are supposed to eat them back, bringing your daily NET cals up to, or very near, your daily goal. It was working, why change?
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,641 Member
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    If you're working out and not eating enough calories what you may be seeing is your body isn't able to add as much muscle after exercise. Adding muscle increases your base metabolic rate so you're just burning more calories all the time.

    I found this information on a personal trainer's site, so I don't know how accurate it is but it certainly makes sense to me:

    "One pound of muscle burns about 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns only 1-2 calories a day. So, if you replace five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle, you’re body will be burning 250 extra calories a day. That equals exactly ½ pound of additional fat loss each week."

    I'm sure you're still losing weight, in the sense that you're replacing fat with muscle, just maybe not at the same rate. Are your clothes fitting differently? Are you tracking any other measurements?

    You also could just be in a little plateau. Keep going and you'll see the results!
    Well first you don't build muscle while in calorie deficit. To add muscle is to add weight. And calorie deficit burns off fat and some muscle regardless of what program one is on.

    The PT's statement is broscience. The real truth is that an extra pound of muscle will burn about 6 calories a day (a pound of fat 2 calories). I'm into real science and not broscience. Source is from Claude Bouchard (obesity researcher from Pennington Biomedical Research Center).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,641 Member
    Options
    So things were working, and then you changed things up and they stopped working....why not go back to what WAS working? Because you were doing it right before - MFP is set up with a deficit built into your daily goal. Meaning eat to goal every day and do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. When you exercise, you are creating a much larger deficit - too large, which can backfire on ya, as you may have noticed. Eat too little for too long and you risk screwing up your metabolism, your hormones, and risk various other problems.

    This is why your exercise cals are added back into your goal - you are supposed to eat them back, bringing your daily NET cals up to, or very near, your daily goal. It was working, why change?
    THIS.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
  • nelinelineli
    nelinelineli Posts: 330 Member
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    First of all 2 weeks is not enough to say anything about your weight trend as a woman. You can easily "plateau" for 3 weeks due to water and hormones - most women do. Weight usually drops in "hops".
    If you have reduced your intake you're also likely to go to the bathroom less often, be a bit more bloated and so on. 2 weeks is simply not saying much.

    So just keep that in mind.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
    You do understand what the benefits of exercise are besides contributing to weight loss?
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    weight loss is not linear. i can lose one week, and the next, then nothing for three weeks, then boom, a huge loss the following week. it takes a little more time to get an idea of how your body is going to shed its weight. i now know, that i will only see a good drop in my weight once a month...
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
    You do understand what the benefits of exercise are besides contributing to weight loss?

    what??? theres benefits???
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!

    Not a good idea. The problem with this plan is seen countless times on these very forums. You'll hit your goal weight and still be flabby and wonder what went wrong.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
    You do understand what the benefits of exercise are besides contributing to weight loss?

    Yeah, but my goal is to lose weight, and I'm pretty healthy overall, so it's not a priority. I'll start exercising AFTER I lose all the weight I want to lose, just to move everything into the shape I want. I'll probably just do yoga or something, I don't do the frantic sweating thing.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    Options
    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
    You do understand what the benefits of exercise are besides contributing to weight loss?

    Yeah, but my goal is to lose weight, and I'm pretty healthy overall, so it's not a priority. I'll start exercising AFTER I lose all the weight I want to lose, just to move everything into the shape I want. I'll probably just do yoga or something, I don't do the frantic sweating thing.
    ladies dont sweat, they glisten...
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Options
    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!

    Not a good idea. The problem with this plan is seen countless times on these very forums. You'll hit your goal weight and still be flabby and wonder what went wrong.

    I'm not flabby now. I'm 5'8" and 144 pounds, my goal is 135. I'm a size 6 at that weight, and my fat is just a skim coat of softening. My legs are usually toned enough even without exercise, I'd really just need to do arm and core work. But again, I'll wait until I'm where I want to be weight-wise. One goal at a time!
  • NavyKnightAh13
    NavyKnightAh13 Posts: 1,394 Member
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    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!
    You do understand what the benefits of exercise are besides contributing to weight loss?

    Yeah, but my goal is to lose weight, and I'm pretty healthy overall, so it's not a priority. I'll start exercising AFTER I lose all the weight I want to lose, just to move everything into the shape I want. I'll probably just do yoga or something, I don't do the frantic sweating thing.
    ladies dont sweat, they glisten...

    This. As much as I still hate exercising, I still see the benefits. In for the science and comments.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
    Options
    This is why I don't exercise. I'm losing just fine without it, it seems like more trouble than it's worth!

    Not a good idea. The problem with this plan is seen countless times on these very forums. You'll hit your goal weight and still be flabby and wonder what went wrong.

    Exactly, resistance training now will work wonder for body composition.

    I'm not going for the "ripped fitness lady" look. I don't mind a more slender, less gymmy look.
  • mrsduke2924
    mrsduke2924 Posts: 104 Member
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    bumping to read later
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    If you're working out and not eating enough calories what you may be seeing is your body isn't able to add as much muscle after exercise. Adding muscle increases your base metabolic rate so you're just burning more calories all the time.

    I found this information on a personal trainer's site, so I don't know how accurate it is but it certainly makes sense to me:

    "One pound of muscle burns about 50 calories a day, one pound of fat burns only 1-2 calories a day. So, if you replace five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle, you’re body will be burning 250 extra calories a day. That equals exactly ½ pound of additional fat loss each week."

    I'm sure you're still losing weight, in the sense that you're replacing fat with muscle, just maybe not at the same rate. Are your clothes fitting differently? Are you tracking any other measurements?

    You also could just be in a little plateau. Keep going and you'll see the results!
    Well first you don't build muscle while in calorie deficit. To add muscle is to add weight. And calorie deficit burns off fat and some muscle regardless of what program one is on.

    The PT's statement is broscience. The real truth is that an extra pound of muscle will burn about 6 calories a day (a pound of fat 2 calories). I'm into real science and not broscience. Source is from Claude Bouchard (obesity researcher from Pennington Biomedical Research Center).

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Actually, Niner. Your statement is broscience, too. "You don't add muscle at a calorie deficit" should be "you don't add much or you don't add optimally" but if you stress the muscles, even in a deficit (of "reasonable" size) you are providing sufficient amino acids for some tissue turnover and accumulation. Think of micro equilibrium being shifted throughout the day. Especially for someone with 60 lbs to lose.

    The 6 cals per pound should be 6-9 (based on - you can quote me or just do the math from MacArdle) of BMR! So actually it's 9 to 18 per lb per day.

    Science challenges science.

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