Am I missing something?

I keep reading all these posts with people saying things like “I’m eating X calories a day and gaining weight/not losing weight” and I’m confused about why they’re even asking for advice about that. The answer seems obvious to me: reduce your intake by 100-200 calories a week until you start seeing the loss you’re hoping to see. I don’t think analyzing how the person is measuring their food or their TDEE is even really necessary. If the person is measuring their food or logging their workout calories incorrectly, fine. If you simply keep doing exactly what you’re doing but reduce your intake by 200 calories, it’s still a reduction relatively.

I think understanding your TDEE or how to measure your food properly is important as far as general knowledge about nutrition and weight loss and for more specific fitness related subjects. But as far as simply why am I not losing weight eating X calories a day: it’s because however you’re measuring or however you’re forgetting to log things or however you’re miscalculating your exercise calories burned, you’re overestimating your deficit and you need to reduce your intake a little bit.

Am I missing something? Why do I see so many people over-complicating this issue?

I think the real reason why people post these types of question is to recieve some sort of support.

I have posted said type of posts myself because some days it just feels damn hard to do it alone. A lot of time, it does feel complicated and guess what, some days I want to feel like a special gosh darn snow flake.

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

No, I'm suggesting that those people are probably not eating 1200 a day and/or are probably not burning 600 a day. I'm suggesting that their deficit is probably not as big as they think it is and so yes, they should reduce their intake.

Oh dear. So rather than encourage them to up their calorie intake/eat back their exercise calories, you would tell them to eat 200 calories less?

So let's just pretend that this person was in fact eating 1200 calories and burning 600, you would try and convince them to actually net 400 calories instead?

I really hope you never offer one of these people advice. :frown:

if they were IN FACT eating 1200 cals a day and burning 600... THEY WOULD BE LOSING, THUS NOT ASKING FOR HELP!

Are we forgetting health issues? Some people may have some health issue. I think it is important that a person consult their healthcare provider. There can be other factors involved.

I do find it funny that every week there is a thread about how someone is eating x amount of calories and does y amount of exercise and feels as if they are not losing. The standard answers on these threads are always 1.) weigh food, 2.) log EVERYTHING, 3. & 4.) reduce calorie intake or up calorie intake, and my favorite is 5.) have PATIENCE, it takes time to shed fat. I feel like MFP should have this in the beginning so everyone knows the answer.

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

No, I'm suggesting that those people are probably not eating 1200 a day and/or are probably not burning 600 a day. I'm suggesting that their deficit is probably not as big as they think it is and so yes, they should reduce their intake.

Oh dear. So rather than encourage them to up their calorie intake/eat back their exercise calories, you would tell them to eat 200 calories less?

So let's just pretend that this person was in fact eating 1200 calories and burning 600, you would try and convince them to actually net 400 calories instead, rather than encourage them to eat back their exercise calories?

I really hope you never offer one of these people advice. :frown:

If this person was REALLY netting that little, they would be losing weight. If they're not losing weight then their deficit does not exist. I don't understand why this is so complicated.

I don't understand what is so complicated about teaching people to measure their calorie intake correctly. You just want to take the lazy way out, and tell 'yep, just net 400 a day and then you'll lose weight'. :huh:

Yes, I get this. Someone who truly believes they are netting 600 a day would probably be unwilling to reduce further. That is a good point. In a case like mine, I am aware that I am probably logging something incorrectly so reducing my intake even though it already seems low does not bother me because I know I am probably eating more than I think I am.

the only issue i see with that is that you are not learning portions, or what it is that your eating thats causing your calories to be increased, therefore, when transitioning from deficit to maintenance, you may see a weight gain... the best solution is to advise better logging and accurate measuring... then you have a good handle on your food intake by the time you transition to maintenance.

I keep reading all these posts with people saying things like “I’m eating X calories a day and gaining weight/not losing weight” and I’m confused about why they’re even asking for advice about that. The answer seems obvious to me: reduce your intake by 100-200 calories a week until you start seeing the loss you’re hoping to see. I don’t think analyzing how the person is measuring their food or their TDEE is even really necessary. If the person is measuring their food or logging their workout calories incorrectly, fine. If you simply keep doing exactly what you’re doing but reduce your intake by 200 calories, it’s still a reduction relatively.

I think understanding your TDEE or how to measure your food properly is important as far as general knowledge about nutrition and weight loss and for more specific fitness related subjects. But as far as simply why am I not losing weight eating X calories a day: it’s because however you’re measuring or however you’re forgetting to log things or however you’re miscalculating your exercise calories burned, you’re overestimating your deficit and you need to reduce your intake a little bit.

Am I missing something? Why do I see so many people over-complicating this issue?

I think the real reason why people post these types of question is to recieve some sort of support.

I have posted said type of posts myself because some days it just feels damn hard to do it alone. A lot of time, it does feel complicated and guess what, some days I want to feel like a special gosh darn snow flake.

You are a snowflake! We all are darn it! :flowerforyou:

Most people just don't know. I think when you've been in the game for a long time, you forget how ignorant you were when you started out. There's so much misinformation flying around out there (and in here) to top it all off.

Re: eating too little and not losing - I'm almost positive that these people are not counting properly. Some of the items in the database are staggeringly wrong. I see people logging diligently, but they choose foods that are soo off, because it's easier and you get to fit in more food. I used to (still do probably) do the same - it takes a lot of strength to choose the much higher entry, especially when you don't know what a serving of pasta really is (and if you find out, you'd cry).

I think the right approach is to do what a lot of people do - calmly let them know that their method is most likely incorrect (without belittling) and give them some time to get it right. If they stick with it, after a while and some trial and error they'll learn. If they refuse to listen it's really their problem, not anyone else's/

I spent a long weekend with an overweight friend who swore up and down that she had tried everything to lose weight but she was just that special snowflake so she was just going to be fat for the rest of her life. We spent quite a bit of time together and I rarely saw her eating to excess or eating junk.

I had knee surgery and she invited me to stay with her so she could watch all the kids and I could rest. Observing her for 3 days I could see right away where the problem was. She only had coffee for her breakfast but she finished off her son's cereal and milk he left, then she at the toast her daughter didn't want, ate the one leftover donut from yesterday and washed it down with another cup of coffee with cream and sugar.

Kids wanted a snack so she prepared apple slices and cheese. I watched her eat at least 300 calories of cheese while she was cutting it up. Another cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Lunch she had a 1/2 a sandwich but then cleaned up all the kids plates.

It went on like that all weekend. If you ask her she'd have said she didn't eat breakfast, had 1/2 a sandwich for lunch and a sensible supper so why can't she lose weight?

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

No, I'm suggesting that those people are probably not eating 1200 a day and/or are probably not burning 600 a day. I'm suggesting that their deficit is probably not as big as they think it is and so yes, they should reduce their intake.

Oh dear. So rather than encourage them to up their calorie intake/eat back their exercise calories, you would tell them to eat 200 calories less?

So let's just pretend that this person was in fact eating 1200 calories and burning 600, you would try and convince them to actually net 400 calories instead, rather than encourage them to eat back their exercise calories?

I really hope you never offer one of these people advice. :frown:

If this person was REALLY netting that little, they would be losing weight. If they're not losing weight then their deficit does not exist. I don't understand why this is so complicated.

I don't understand what is so complicated about teaching people to measure their calorie intake correctly. You just want to take the lazy way out, and tell 'yep, just net 400 a day and then you'll lose weight'. :huh:

Yes, I get this. Someone who truly believes they are netting 600 a day would probably be unwilling to reduce further. That is a good point. In a case like mine, I am aware that I am probably logging something incorrectly so reducing my intake even though it already seems low does not bother me because I know I am probably eating more than I think I am.

the only issue i see with that is that you are not learning portions, or what it is that you're eating that's causing your calories to be increased, therefore, when transitioning from deficit to maintenance, you may see a weight gain... the best solution is to advise better logging and accurate measuring... then you have a good handle on your food intake by the time you transition to maintenance.

I think many people just do not have the patience. It can take time for some people to see a weight loss or they expect 10 lbs in 2 weeks. For many it takes time. It is not a race. Of course i would love to drop all this fat on my body in a month, however, it took me several years to put it on. I think dropping a few pounds a month is fantastic!

In my humble opinion, many (not all, I know a few ladies out there that due to their height need a lower caloric intake) take the 1200 goal because they want to shed the most lbs as fast as possible. They do not understand that they need to prepare and measure as well.

Most people just don't know. I think when you've been in the game for a long time, you forget how ignorant you were when you started out. There's so much misinformation flying around out there (and in here) to top it all off.

I think the right approach is to do what a lot of people do - calmly let them know that their method is most likely incorrect (without belittling) and give them some time to get it right. If they stick with it, after a while and some trial and error they'll learn. If they refuse to listen it's really their problem, not anyone else's/

this.

A lot of people here have this high and mighty stance like "Well it is just SO easy! How come you don't just do it? Look at me, I did it so obviously everyone else can do it" If that were truly the case, none of us would even be here in the first place. We all started somewhere.

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

No, I'm suggesting that those people are probably not eating 1200 a day and/or are probably not burning 600 a day. I'm suggesting that their deficit is probably not as big as they think it is and so yes, they should reduce their intake.

Oh dear. So rather than encourage them to up their calorie intake/eat back their exercise calories, you would tell them to eat 200 calories less?

So let's just pretend that this person was in fact eating 1200 calories and burning 600, you would try and convince them to actually net 400 calories instead?

I really hope you never offer one of these people advice. :frown:

if they were IN FACT eating 1200 cals a day and burning 600... THEY WOULD BE LOSING, THUS NOT ASKING FOR HELP!

WERE THE CAPS NECESSARY?!

Yes, you are right, they would no doubt be losing. But what commonly happens, is that these people basically starve their bodies, and then end up binging on say 3000 calories one day a week, therefore cutting out all their deficit, and not losing weight.

So, the obvious solution would be to educate these people on eating back their exercise calories or at a percentage below their TDEE, so that they fuel their body properly and therefore stop feeling the need to binge. Not cutting another 200 calories a day!

1) YES!
2) this thread is not about people who eat 1200 cals and then binge, its about people who swear they are eating 1200 cals and not losing... therefore, advising them to measure or log more accurately would be the solution, since if they were truely eating at 1200, they would be losing.
3) you asked if these people should be advised to eat even lower, i said no, since they are not even really eating at 1200, because a loss would be present, why advise them to eat lower, when the simple solution is to measure and log accurately. if these people were truely eating at 1200 cals a day, they would be losing, and not asking for help...

1. *rolls eyes* - sorry, I mean - *ROLLS EYES*
2. Actually, this thread is about giving people apparently 'complicated' advice.
3. You have either completely misunderstood the point, haven't read my post properly, or don't understand how MFP works.

Even if these people given in the examples were to 'measure and log accurately', the point is they are still not eating enough to compensate for their exercise, so are bingeing, right? Even if they were to log their binges and see that they aren't losing the weight because of said binges, simply telling them to accurately log it, as you say, is not going to solve the problem. The simple fact is, they need to eat more.


To be honest, I actually can't believe there is a thread moaning about people taking the time to give others advice. :huh:

It's not always as simple as that. I used to eat 1800 calories a day, I stopped seeing losses. I lowered it to 1500 - 1600 a day, I saw a little loss, then stopped again. I finally read the EMTLW and upped it to 2000 - 2200 and started losing again. It's not always that they eat too much.

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

Or the people that eat at a healthy deficit, yet when you look at their food diary they are eating triple the amount of recommended sodium a day?

Or the people that have started a new exercise regime recently and can't work out why they have gained weight?


You are correct, there are a lot of people that do simply eat too much or not weigh things, and weight loss IS generally simple - when you know what you are doing. And people don't always know what they are doing, which is why more experienced MFP members are kindly there to give them some advice.

Nope. It's pretty much calories in, calories out. If you really upped your calories by that amount and are losing weight, you must have increased your exercise. Because. You know. Physics and stuff.

Perhaps you should pop over to the EMTLW forum and speak to some of the people on there. I did not up my exercise. Too large a deficit can be detrimental to weight loss, it all depends on your bodys stress levels.

Yes, a VLCD will cause dietary stress. But you were eating 1800 calories a day, which is far from a VLCD. But, since you are sticking by your mantra:

It doesn't have to be VLC. Everyones body has different levels of stress. :huh:

When I finally worked out my TDEE to be around 3000 calories a day, it was apparent that a 1200 calorie a day deficit made me lose initially, and then I plateaued. Too much stress on MY body.

We might not be special snowflakes, but although it may be difficult for you to comprehend, our bodies are not all entirely the same.

In regard to medical conditions - I don't think there is blatant excuse. I say this because I have a rare thyroid disorder (subacute thyroiditis) that has left me cycling hypothyroid/hyperthyroid for 13 years. I gained 50lbs just because of this. As my medications would get my levels in order, the cycle would start - I currently have synthroid prescriptions ranging from .05mcg to .2 mcg. I have to adjust as needed (either up or down).

Now after 13 years, thing are stabilizing and I am under the care of an endocrinologist (yay me!) for the first time. So with that, I DO have a medical condition; however, I am losing now. I had to find my own sweet spot to do it because my body won't react like someone else's and I have to adjust it as my thyroid goes haywire.

I think people just need to learn their bodies - someone's perfect spot isn't the same as others. I eat anywhere from 1500-1800cal per day. I have a tendency to OVERESTIMATE in my log just to give myself wiggle room if I want/need it. I eat alot :bigsmile: and now started lifting. If I stop losing, I will have to evaluate everything (food intake, exercise and thyroid) and adjust accordingly (up or down).

I just think people want it easy and while it can be there are times (like me lol) where it isn't... now I am that dam special snowflake :bigsmile:

well for me it was different I tried this in 2010 (by my join date).. I can alway lose the first 10lbs but then I couldn't. I was left swept under rugs by doctors (military and otherwise) so not a whole lot was done about thyroid. When they finally tested my TSH levels elevated above 30 .. now that it has stabled - weight loss has been easier.

I am currently on .175mcg of synthroid so even a very high dose for someone with a thyroid still present. The problem with my particular case is that this won't last long and it will cycle either into hyperthyroid or more hypo where I have to adjust meds - I have now learned how to detect and have stashes of the meds in all levels lol

It is just different circumstances is all if I can keep it in check (for the most part) then I should be able to lose weight pretty easily otherwise it is just a longer road ...

I agree - deficit will yield results and I wasn't arguing that at all - just wanted to throw in the circumstance in case someone else has the issue and can know that it will be a constant adjustment (in deficit). I couldn't live on 1200 a day - I would be an angry girl

It's not always as simple as that. I used to eat 1800 calories a day, I stopped seeing losses. I lowered it to 1500 - 1600 a day, I saw a little loss, then stopped again. I finally read the EMTLW and upped it to 2000 - 2200 and started losing again. It's not always that they eat too much.

I also see plenty of 'I eat 1200 calories a day and exercise off 600, why am I not losing weight?' threads. Are you suggesting these people lower their calories even more?

Or the people that eat at a healthy deficit, yet when you look at their food diary they are eating triple the amount of recommended sodium a day?

Or the people that have started a new exercise regime recently and can't work out why they have gained weight?


You are correct, there are a lot of people that do simply eat too much or not weigh things, and weight loss IS generally simple - when you know what you are doing. And people don't always know what they are doing, which is why more experienced MFP members are kindly there to give them some advice.

Nope. It's pretty much calories in, calories out. If you really upped your calories by that amount and are losing weight, you must have increased your exercise. Because. You know. Physics and stuff.

Perhaps you should pop over to the EMTLW forum and speak to some of the people on there. I did not up my exercise. Too large a deficit can be detrimental to weight loss, it all depends on your bodys stress levels.

Yes, a VLCD will cause dietary stress. But you were eating 1800 calories a day, which is far from a VLCD. But, since you are sticking by your mantra:

It doesn't have to be VLC. Everyones body has different levels of stress. :huh:

When I finally worked out my TDEE to be around 3000 calories a day, it was apparent that a 1200 calorie a day deficit made me lose initially, and then I plateaued. Too much stress on MY body.

We might not be special snowflakes, but although it may be difficult for you to comprehend, our bodies are not all entirely the same.

What is apparently difficult for you to comprehend, is that actually our body's are all the same. We lose weight during calorie restriction. What is likely is that you hit a normal plateau while eating 1800/ day, decided to up your calories because you were convinced that the plateau was caused by not getting enough calories (sigh) and then continued to lose weight, because 2000 is still enough of a deficit for you to do so. If you had stayed at 1800, you still would have continued to lose weight, because of...you know. Physics, thermodynamics and calories in, calories out. Because I assure you, those starving people in Africa did not reach their state by INCREASING their calorie consumption.

The simplest explanation is really the only one required. Occam's Razor, etc.