Running, walking. 1200 calories still no weight loss

brownbearsal2013
brownbearsal2013 Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I am new to this forum and wondered if anyone else is struggling to lose. I am female,aged 40, and would like to lose one an a half stone.

I am eating 1200 cals a day (1 day I may go over this especially weekend), I walk 40 minutes most days fairly brisk but it is dog walking so not intense all the time. I started 7 weeks ago the c-5k running app, which I do every other day, really enjoying this but I am not losing at all. I have read until it has driven me crazy to see what I could be doing wrong. as everyone opinion is different I have got more confused. Should I be eating back the calories I have burned or not, I am under eating? Is it turning to muscle? Do I ditch it all and do weight watchers or slimming world and just do my walking? I am at a loss with it all. I thought my running would be the end of my troubles. But seems to have made things worse. Any help would be appreciated .

Replies

  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    Although 1 week is just too short a time to come to any conclusion, chances are you are overestimating the calories you burn and also underestimate what you are eating. Opening your diary would help you get more specific advice. Also you might be expecting simply too much, losing 1 lb every couple of weeks is a realistic goal if you do not have too much weigh to lose.
  • MatthewMacG
    MatthewMacG Posts: 27 Member
    Eat the calories that MyFitnessPal recommends along with 50% of the calories you burn from exercise.

    Track everything you consume and weigh foods you aren't sure of, such as pasta and potatoes.

    Make sure to track all exercise above and beyond your activity level that you set when signing up.

    You should lose weight, usually its a case of eating too little, not too much.

    Goodluck!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    Start measuring food. You are probably over estimating your intake and/or exercise calories.

    Fat doesn't turn into muscle. Fat is used as energy and muscle is built by a calorie surplus with strength training.
  • Wiltord1982
    Wiltord1982 Posts: 312 Member
    Eat the calories that MyFitnessPal recommends along with 50% of the calories you burn from exercise.

    Track everything you consume and weigh foods you aren't sure of, such as pasta and potatoes.

    Make sure to track all exercise above and beyond your activity level that you set when signing up.

    You should lose weight, usually its a case of eating too little, not too much.

    Goodluck!

    That.
  • LoriRMcCall
    LoriRMcCall Posts: 1
    I also was having trouble losing, and I am 46. I started cutting back on bread, pasta, and white potatoes, and the weight is starting to come off finally.
  • Phoenix612
    Phoenix612 Posts: 43 Member
    Sounds to me like your calories are off, however, it's hard to tell you what you could be doing wrong without being able to see your diary. Opening your diary for public view can allow people on the forums to help you more. You need to be eating back at least 50% of your calories that you burn.

    Also sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for your body to get used to what you're doing and start losing weight. It took me about 3weeks before I started to see the scale go down.

    Everyone's different!
  • Marie047
    Marie047 Posts: 240 Member
    I agree with aggelikik, are you sure you are eating what you think you are, and are the calories you burning actually the amount you are burning?

    How are you measuring the amount of calories burnt during exercise?
    Do you weigh/measure your food portions
    Are you actually logging everything you eat ( sounds silly but trust me people don`t always log them I didn`t in the very beginning, I thought it was only 1 sweet, it all adds up)
    Are you drinking enough water? Or are you drinking lots of soda?

    It would be easier to help if you did open up your diary so people could see. therefore give me constructive advice.
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  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
    If you eat 1200 a day, for real, and are exercising you will lose weight. You will lose even without exercise. That being said, the only possible explanation is that you're overestimating what you're eating. Measure everything until you get a handle on portion sizes. Many are a lot smaller than you would think.

    As for gaining muscle in a week...nope. ESPECIALLY if you're only doing cardio. I lift regularly and it would take me weeeeeks or even a month to put on a lb of muscle.

    Also, if running were really the end of weight issues, everyone would do it. It helps create a deficit and it is wonderful for heart health but it doesn't make you insta-skinny.
  • Amberonamission
    Amberonamission Posts: 836 Member
    If I am eating carbs my threshold is about 1100 a day to lose. If I keep my carbs low I can eat up to 1800 and lose the same. This is just me though. There will be people who say a calorie is a calorie. That just does not work for me.
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
    It might be helpful to get a fitness/activity app on your phone, so you can measure your actual activity.

    I use "My Tracks" from Google on my Android phone (there appears to be an iPhone version as well). It provides stats such as Distance, Total Time, Moving Time, Max Speed, Avg Speed, Avg Moving Speed and Calories burned. For the Calories option, you enter your activity (walking, in my case) and your weight.

    Then, you'll be able to tell what distance you covered, what your actual moving speed was (so that you can exclude time standing with the dog), and compare it's calorie calculation to MFP's. What I do it take the lesser of the apps calculation versus MFP's calculation, and enter that in my log.

    I'm sure there are tons of other apps. I tried another one that supposedly links to your MFP account, but a) I didn't like the way it worked, and b) they flashed an "upgrade to premium version" message constantly, so I won't mention it.
  • Axanden
    Axanden Posts: 5 Member
    Eat the calories that MyFitnessPal recommends along with 50% of the calories you burn from exercise.

    Track everything you consume and weigh foods you aren't sure of, such as pasta and potatoes.

    Make sure to track all exercise above and beyond your activity level that you set when signing up.

    You should lose weight, usually its a case of eating too little, not too much.

    Goodluck!

    In addition to the above advice checkout the contents of the link:

    "Why I am not losing weight: 11 Reasons Your are failing to lose fat."

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/blog/why-am-i-not-losing-weight/

    A. :smile:
  • lefty7714
    lefty7714 Posts: 4 Member
    I've been working with a personal trainer & I've asked him the same question b/c I'm about to turn 40 & for a few weeks, weight just wasn't coming off like I had thought. He explained to me that our body has to adjust to the lifestyle change we are doing. According to him, which he's certified in many areas, says it can take 4-5 weeks of eating right & working out before the scale moves. He has also explained to me not to focus on the scale b/c its about how we feel. The scale hasn't moved much for me but I do feel much better eating healther & working out. Hang in there b/c you are on the right path.
  • wanna_b_there
    wanna_b_there Posts: 295 Member
    In with popcorn.... bring on the "starvation mode" ranters!


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  • Stephessor
    Stephessor Posts: 47 Member
    I had this problem when I first started counting calories and it was frustrating. After reading many great posts on MFP I found that I was not eating enough calories to support my level of activity.

    Here's a great link to count how many calories you should consume based on the number you burn. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    After increasing my calories, I did start to lose weight slowly (I'm older and my metabolism is shot from yo-yo dieting) but, I'm content with slow and steady.
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  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    You're eating more than you think
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
    If you eat 1200 a day, for real, and are exercising you will lose weight. You will lose even without exercise. That being said, the only possible explanation is that you're overestimating what you're eating. Measure everything until you get a handle on portion sizes. Many are a lot smaller than you would think.

    As for gaining muscle in a week...nope. ESPECIALLY if you're only doing cardio. I lift regularly and it would take me weeeeeks or even a month to put on a lb of muscle.

    Also, if running were really the end of weight issues, everyone would do it. It helps create a deficit and it is wonderful for heart health but it doesn't make you insta-skinny.


    Running IS the end of weight issues. Especially outside on real terrain. THe problem is "not everyone does it" because it is HARD and takes COMMIMENT. That is troubeling to most Americans to put down their honey buns, get out of the recliner and go out and RUN dailey.

    I'm sorry but that's BS. If I run 5 miles I burn approximately 500 calories...which is SO easy to eat back in less than 10 minutes. Have a muffin and a latte from Starbucks and it's negated...and a lot of people don't know how high in calories those are because they don't "seem unhealthy". As I said in my original post, it creates a deficit which means you can eat more than you could otherwise but it will not solve the problem.

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