Probably eating too little but not losing weight!

eat more... shock your body... you will start losing.. sounds strange.. but it works..

I think I have too many carbs per day, so I'm not sure what else I should eat. I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry, and am worried that if I eat more I'll gain. I'm lightly active, exercising daily, have loads of energy and feel good. I'm not sure if my metabolism has slowed, as surely I would feel rubbish and have no energy, which isn't the case.

you aren't losing weight because you're starving yourself. you don't eat enough....of anything!! you need a whole heap more fat and protein to get your body to perform optimally...

for a vegetarian, you don't eat many vegetables. you need the nutrients for good health.

add beans, quinoa, eggs, full fat dairy for protein. nut butters, avo, good oils, butter, ghee etc for fat.

I'm not consciously starving myself, but I was surprised when I tallied up my calories to find what I naturally eat is too little. And no, I don't have enough vegetables. I need to find a way of cooking vegetables so they taste good, but I will make a conscious effort to have more vegetables.

Thanks for the tips! I realised I wasn't having enough protein but didn't know where to get the protein from. Much appreciated!

Our body is smart and can adapt; a state of homeostasis, so shocking your system by adding more calories might not be a bad thing to do. Also make sure you've got a well rounded diet, as a vegetarian make sure you get enough fats a protein. Protein will help retain your muscles while being in a deficit and fat will help regulate hormones. MFP sets protein pretty low, so you might find upping your protein might help you get a leaner physique.

I'm willing to give it a go! I had no idea I was eating so little calories, but I guess it explains the plateau. I'll add more beans, lentils, and other protein sources, and more vegetables. Thanks!

so what you are saying is that you eat (according to your diary) between 800-900 cals a day and then you work out every day like you state and you don't feel tired or exhausted or sickly or anything. Both your intake and your excise level combined would scream ED to me, but the fact that you are not losing weight would say you are not logging something and your intake is actually bigger.

http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/

I log every single thing I eat. Cups of coffee, a few nuts - everything. I eat when I'm hungry., and I don't restrict meals. If I eat small meals it's because that's enough to fill me up, I certainly don't consciously restrict. I read up on starvation mode some more, which I'm probably in. How long would starvation mode last for before you lose weight? Or would it never stop and people continue to plateau?

First off, looking at your diary - you are not weighing your food. Your calorie estimations (those perfect 100 g bananas?) are likely off a bit. Weigh your food to get a better estimate on how much you are eating. Get that dialed in.

Second - your macros are very poor - protein levels are low and you arent even meeting them. You can forget about gaining LBM if you don't get that right. As a vegetarian it is going to be a little harder but google or search here protein sources for vegetarians there is lots of info out there. I know Sara here posted an excellent list. Get your macros dialed in.

Third - Your TDEE is likely somewhere around 1600+ so when you say you are not losing weight - is it this week, this month or this year? How long have you been in a cut and how persistent are you? Are you really not losing at all or is it just slow?

Fourth - your diet does not seem to vary much. I'd be concerned about deficiencies in vitamins from a low cal, low variety diet. Please read up about vegetarian diet and nutritional needs.

Fifth - is your exercise regime of 30 kms every day without fail? Every single day? Or is this a slight exaggeration and it's most days?

What do you mean by saying your diet is all over the place?

Forget "starvation-mode" answers - these are mostly cookie-cutter responses without looking in depth to the issues.

Lots of questions to answer. No worries.

1. You're right about the bananas. I didn't think of that. I weigh/measure all foods such as cereal or similar, but for things like bananas I'll fix that up as of tomorrow. Thanks.

2. Yes, I need more protein. I'll look up that list or similar lists and work on that too.

3. I've been using MFP for 25 days, so barely anything. But I got the app as I had never worked out my calorie intake and was curious. I haven't changed how much I'm eating since May when I started working out more. But then I never recorded calorie totals. I just know the types of food, and the vague amounts, haven't changed since May, and I haven't lost any weight since then. Before May I didn't weigh myself, so I don't know.

4. I've been vegetarian for 13 months now, and before MFP I used to eat a lot of vegetables. I need to get on that again. I had a blood test a month ago and voiced my concern I would be low in vitamins, etc, and I am not. Not to say I won't be one say if I don't fix my diet up, but at the moment I've been given the all clear from the doctor.

5. I exercise every day, but I use the bike 5 days a week on average. Some days I log 30kms, some 15kms. But the days I log 15kms or don't use the bike at all, I at least walk the dog or do squats/push ups/lunges/sit ups, etc. which is obviously different to cycling 30kms, but it's not sedentary.

Thanks for the help.