3 months, ZERO PROGRESS

It is confusing look up starvation mode. If you are undereating, your body thinks you are starving. Your net calories on MFP should be your goal. Example: this morning I started off with 1410 calories. OK I walked and burned 262, I had breakfast and water. My NET intake is 78 calories. I have 1332 remaining for the day. My breakfast was 320 calories but after walking, my net is only 78. If I eat my 1410 and stop, I will be under that by 262 calories. You need at least a net of 1200 per day net and when I am closer to 1300 net, it falls off. Good luck.

NO

Starvation mode is thrown around on these forums like crazy, but it's used incorrectly 99% of the time. Starvation mode is what your body enters into after 2 to 3 days of NO food. If you are truly eating at a calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

OP, I hear your frustration. For me, it was overestimating my calorie burns and under estimating my food intake that kept me from losing. But hey, think of all the fitness gains you have achieved! That alone is worth a great deal. Best of luck, and you've gotten lots of good advice here. :drinker:

Thank you! Starvation mode actually shows up on MFP if I eat under 1200 a day, which actually happened when I first started and I was eating super clean, because I had no idea how to get what I needed in a day. It was awful. I was so cranky.

Reading through the posts while I eat my lunch and I noticed:

You're still claiming the calories on the HRM are correct but as mentioned before a HRM is not accurate for lifting. Cardio yes, lifting no. There are too many rests and lifting doesn't raise you HR enough to make it accurate. 300 calories burned in a half hour is equivalent to full out running for that whole time. Either your HRM is set up wrong or you're using it for activities it isn't meant for.

You say your BMR is 1330 but from my calculations it's closer to 1700. Maybe check that all your calculations are correct. That said eating at 1500 should still have resulted in weight loss. The dreaded starvation mode has not kicked in.

You really need to weigh and measure everything and log everything, including the cheat meal. If you aren't eating at a large deficit it's easy to wipe that out with a big meal and little bits over every day.

You don't need to eat clean, you need to eat at a deficit. You can eat the same foods your family does as long as you stay in your budget. I eat crap a lot of the time and maintain no problem because I know exactly how much crap I can and do eat. You may be healthier living on organic bean sprouts but it won't affect your weight loss unless you maintain a deficit.

This isn't a weight loss plan, it's a lifestyle change. You don't lose the weight then go back to old habits. You'll always need to be conscious of your food choices or you'll put the weight back on. Make new good habits instead of going on a diet. Read everything you can on BMR, TDEE, NEAT, EAT, etc so you understand how it all works.

Reading through the posts while I eat my lunch and I noticed:

You're still claiming the calories on the HRM are correct but as mentioned before a HRM is not accurate for lifting. Cardio yes, lifting no. There are too many rests and lifting doesn't raise you HR enough to make it accurate. 300 calories burned in a half hour is equivalent to full out running for that whole time. Either your HRM is set up wrong or you're using it for activities it isn't meant for.

You say your BMR is 1330 but from my calculations it's closer to 1700. Maybe check that all your calculations are correct. That said eating at 1500 should still have resulted in weight loss. The dreaded starvation mode has not kicked in.

You really need to weigh and measure everything and log everything, including the cheat meal. If you aren't eating at a large deficit it's easy to wipe that out with a big meal and little bits over every day.

You don't need to eat clean, you need to eat at a deficit. You can eat the same foods your family does as long as you stay in your budget. I eat crap a lot of the time and maintain no problem because I know exactly how much crap I can and do eat. You may be healthier living on organic bean sprouts but it won't affect your weight loss unless you maintain a deficit.

This isn't a weight loss plan, it's a lifestyle change. You don't lose the weight then go back to old habits. You'll always need to be conscious of your food choices or you'll put the weight back on. Make new good habits instead of going on a diet. Read everything you can on BMR, TDEE, NEAT, EAT, etc so you understand how it all works.

Agreed with this^. And I'd recommend not using it for circuit training activities too. My HRM can give me a 500-800 cal burn during a 30-60min weight training session. In reality, it is closer to 250-350.

Here are links that give the technical reasons if interested:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

Thanks for the links!

Here's a question then - if the HRM is probably wrong, how do I calculate my calories burned? Do I just workout for a set amount of time and hope I did what I needed to do?

Reading through the posts while I eat my lunch and I noticed:

You're still claiming the calories on the HRM are correct but as mentioned before a HRM is not accurate for lifting. Cardio yes, lifting no. There are too many rests and lifting doesn't raise you HR enough to make it accurate. 300 calories burned in a half hour is equivalent to full out running for that whole time. Either your HRM is set up wrong or you're using it for activities it isn't meant for.

You say your BMR is 1330 but from my calculations it's closer to 1700. Maybe check that all your calculations are correct. That said eating at 1500 should still have resulted in weight loss. The dreaded starvation mode has not kicked in.

You really need to weigh and measure everything and log everything, including the cheat meal. If you aren't eating at a large deficit it's easy to wipe that out with a big meal and little bits over every day.

You don't need to eat clean, you need to eat at a deficit. You can eat the same foods your family does as long as you stay in your budget. I eat crap a lot of the time and maintain no problem because I know exactly how much crap I can and do eat. You may be healthier living on organic bean sprouts but it won't affect your weight loss unless you maintain a deficit.

This isn't a weight loss plan, it's a lifestyle change. You don't lose the weight then go back to old habits. You'll always need to be conscious of your food choices or you'll put the weight back on. Make new good habits instead of going on a diet. Read everything you can on BMR, TDEE, NEAT, EAT, etc so you understand how it all works.

Oh I don't know if my HMR is wrong, I just know what it is all I have to go by. I have no other way of knowing how many calories I burn when I work out. I took a photo of my HMR a couple weeks ago for Instagram - I did 34 minutes, burned 346 calories doing a MIX of cardio and weights. Everyone keeps thinking I am just doing weights. I swear I did not say that anywhere.

And I didn't go back and look at my post, but I know my BMR is not 1333 - my Scooby suggested calorie intake is. My BMR is like 1659.

Ok, then the general suggestion is that all of my counts are incorrect and I need to eat better/workout more. Assuming that my counts really ARE right, and I am NOT lying about anything (and really, why would I even want to), then what else? See a doctor?

Can someone explain this "eating back" business? It seems to me if you calculate your TDEE with the appropriate amount of exercise, your calorie goal for the day takes your exercise calorie burn into account. What am I missing?

And really, how easy is it to overestimate your exercise calories? "I worked out for an hour, bring on the pizza!"