WHY? I don't understand.
Replies
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Yes, you're using lots of generic entries with suspiciously low calorie amounts. It also looks like you're estimating portions instead of weighing them.
What like? Most of the stuff I scan in but today, for example, was a mixed salad day at work. So i had a tablespoon of cous cous, 4 lumps of melon 2 lumps of feta, a teaspoon of hummus, so I have to guess weights to some extent?I thought I over-estimated if anything!
What do you think is low? I do weigh most stuff?
Kelly.
A lump is not a unit of measurement. And cups, teaspoons and tables spoons should really only used to measure liquids. When it says 5 grams....did you weigh out 5 grams of something? Or are you guessing?
Your calories are set pretty low, so even if you were underestimating by 200-300 calories per day, you'd probably still be losing weight. I think if you are not weighing food, and do not want to, give it a few more weeks and see what happens. If you still haven't lost anything after that, invest in a food scale and see if you've been logging correct portions/amount.s
No, and I mean really small cube. I can't really weigh it at work. So just have to guess what 2 small cubes of feta or 3 small cubes of watermelon might be. Sometimes I guess (like with the rocket today which was literally two mouthfulls) sometimes I weigh; or I scan and half it for example (if I am only having half the pack) all the quinoa you see is always weighed and the curry portions etc.
Hmmm. I dunno.
A "small cube" to you might be a "large cube" or indeed a "very small cube" in someone else's eyes. It's not a way to determine how many calories you've had from your food because there's no way be accurate.
Check out this thread on how to log accurately:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=how+to+log+accurately
Yeah I get ya, but I think that's a bad example from today! We're focussing on just one meal!0 -
I'm going to throw out my two cents and tell you to ignore the starvation mode crap. Eating less won't make you gain weight. But, 2 pounds a week is too much if you have less than 10 pounds left. I'd reccomend setting it at .5 pounds, if you're having a hard time sticking to 1200. If not, just make sure you get at least that amount. 1200 could be too low just because you may need more nutrients than that, and MFP will never go below that amount. But remember that weight loss isn't linear. Some weeks my weight is higher, some weeks it stays the same, but it has a losing trend. There's a nifty little chart in your profile that will show a line graph with your weight loss over time. It could make you feel better about not losing every week!
(PS, you didn't gain that much weight over two days. It was probably water weight from too much sodium!)0 -
It does work, if you're eating less than you burn. How do you know you're eating 1200 calories a day? How do you get that number? Also... when you said you had a bad day, gained 3lbs and it isn't water weight...did your bad day consist of approximately 10,500 calories more than you burned that day? Because that's around how many calories you'd have to consume OVER what you burn to gain 3lbs of fat.
Because I log everything? No, it didn't consist of that but I weighed 10st 1.4 one day and the next day 10st 4.4 and that was Sunday and I'm still the same today, Wednesday.
It still could be, and very likely is water weight. As stated the number of calories over maintenance you need to put on 3 pounds of fat is huge, and I highly doubt you ate that much. From my experience, water weight can take much longer to get rid of than to put on, sometimes a week or more depending on how your body works, how much sodium you normally consume as compared to what you are eating each day, and hormone fluctuations (especially in women). Give things time, make sure you are measuring your food consumption carefully, and if you are not using other things than the scale to measure your progress, start doing so right now. Body measurements and photos can show progress that the scale will not.0 -
It does work, if you're eating less than you burn. How do you know you're eating 1200 calories a day? How do you get that number? Also... when you said you had a bad day, gained 3lbs and it isn't water weight...did your bad day consist of approximately 10,500 calories more than you burned that day? Because that's around how many calories you'd have to consume OVER what you burn to gain 3lbs of fat.
Because I log everything? No, it didn't consist of that but I weighed 10st 1.4 one day and the next day 10st 4.4 and that was Sunday and I'm still the same today, Wednesday.
It still could be, and very likely is water weight. As stated the number of calories over maintenance you need to put on 3 pounds of fat is huge, and I highly doubt you ate that much. From my experience, water weight can take much longer to get rid of than to put on, sometimes a week or more depending on how your body works, how much sodium you normally consume as compared to what you are eating each day, and hormone fluctuations (especially in women). Give things time, make sure you are measuring your food consumption carefully, and if you are not using other things than the scale to measure your progress, start doing so right now. Body measurements and photos can show progress that the scale will not.
Thank you0 -
You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.0 -
It's easy for water weight to cause a 3 pound shift in weight - I've seen as high as 10 pounds of water weight retention when recarbing, and cycling on/off creatine is a solid 5 pounds of water weight for me. Pay attention to long-term trends in weight loss and your recorded lows and don't sweat the day to day shifts.0
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You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.0 -
Hi all
I've been using MFP for a few weeks now. At first the weight loss was good. But now I seem to have stalled. I haven't lost any weight in 2 weeks? I had a bad day on Sat and put on 3lb by Monday, which hasn't come off and now it's Wednesday - despite me drinking 4lts of water a day ( so can't be water weight). So I just weighed myself and I'm the same as I was 2 weeks ago.
Apart from this one day I have STUCK to my 1200 a day, sometimes less. Why has it not shifted in 2 weeks? I don't get it?
Very depressed. What's the point in dieting and exercising every day if it doesn't work?
Boo
Kelly x
4 Litres of water weighs approximately 8 lbs. You move 8lbs of water through your system every day. Rather than make me think "It can't be water weight", that makes me think "It's highly likely it's water weight"
Eat something salty, and a lot of those 8lbs don't exit the system in a timely fashion.
I can gain 5 lbs overnight by eating chinese takeout. and it's gone again an a day or 2 ...0 -
I have a scale at work. You really can weigh at work. My coworkers have seen me use it but only one has asked about it.0
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You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. It's WATER weight. It's not permanent. Chill.0 -
Hi all
I've been using MFP for a few weeks now. At first the weight loss was good. But now I seem to have stalled. I haven't lost any weight in 2 weeks? I had a bad day on Sat and put on 3lb by Monday, which hasn't come off and now it's Wednesday - despite me drinking 4lts of water a day ( so can't be water weight). So I just weighed myself and I'm the same as I was 2 weeks ago.
Apart from this one day I have STUCK to my 1200 a day, sometimes less. Why has it not shifted in 2 weeks? I don't get it?
Very depressed. What's the point in dieting and exercising every day if it doesn't work?
Boo
Kelly x
4 Litres of water weighs approximately 8 lbs. You move 8lbs of water through your system every day. Rather than make me think "It can't be water weight", that makes me think "It's highly likely it's water weight"
Eat something salty, and a lot of those 8lbs don't exit the system in a timely fashion.
I can gain 5 lbs overnight by eating chinese takeout. and it's gone again an a day or 2 ...
I ate a load of gin and tonics and a massive piece of cake on Saturday - otherwise it was all normal and healthy stuff!0 -
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
I put your info into this calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ and here's what it says to me.
You should eat as close to 1600 calories every day. No matter what you think, and no matter what some BMI chart says (BMI charts are useless, by the way. You should go by body fat%, in my opinion.) This will put you at approximately 3500 calorie deficit per week.
What you're doing right now is not a rational way to lose weight. You are stressing your body out. When you stress your body, it creates stress hormones that interfere with the weight loss signals. You WILL lose weight if you keep eating 1200 every day, but you will probably continue to be an emotional wreck and continue to have days where you binge because you're starving yourself.
Please don't starve yourself to lose weight faster. Change your settings to lose 1 lb or lose 0.5 lbs per week. You will be much happier. I promise.0 -
You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. It's WATER weight. It's not permanent. Chill.
It's not what it is it's the fact it hasn't shifted in 4 days since, so if it was water weight I would assume at least *some* of it would have gone? I fear now it will take another 4 weeks just to get back to what I was after one day of badness, which is crappy really.0 -
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
I put your info into this calculator. http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ and here's what it says to me.
You should eat as close to 1600 calories every day. No matter what you think, and no matter what some BMI chart says (BMI charts are useless, by the way. You should go by body fat%, in my opinion.) This will put you at approximately 3500 calorie deficit per week.
What you're doing right now is not a rational way to lose weight. You are stressing your body out. When you stress your body, it creates stress hormones that interfere with the weight loss signals. You WILL lose weight if you keep eating 1200 every day, but you will probably continue to be an emotional wreck and continue to have days where you binge because you're starving yourself.
Please don't starve yourself to lose weight faster. Change your settings to lose 1 lb or lose 0.5 lbs per week. You will be much happier. I promise.
That's all cool. But just to say I'm not in an emotional state and I didn't binge just to binge - it was a birthday party - so just a normal part of life where one would drink a bit and eat a bit of cake! It wasn't because I am starving. I don't find myself suffering too badly or feeling that hungry. What I do eat is pretty healthy and wholesome clean and lean stuff.
Not sure how you got to 1600 calories a day? I work out every day by the way (apart from Sundays) mixture of body weight training, circuits, spin and running. I'm 35 years old.0 -
You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. It's WATER weight. It's not permanent. Chill.
It's not what it is it's the fact it hasn't shifted in 4 days since, so if it was water weight I would assume at least *some* of it would have gone? I fear now it will take another 4 weeks just to get back to what I was after one day of badness, which is crappy really.
So if it's 3 lbs of fat, it means you had 10,000 calories worth of Gin and Tonics and Cake on Saturday
For reference, that's an entire cake and about 25 gin and tonics.0 -
You are not obese. Only obese people can hope to lose 2 lbs. per week. If you don't have the excess fat of an obese person, your body can't function properly on a 1000/day deficit. It simply can't. Yes you'll lose... eventually... but it messes with all the hormone signals that your body makes.
My advice, change it so you're only in a 3500 calorie per week deficit. No more. Preferably a little closer to 2000. If you do this, you will start losing at a sane, rational, reasonable rate for your body to handle at a steady pace, and if you stop starving yourself, you'll be much less likely to "binge" and have "bad days" that are obviously frustrating you.
Good luck, ok? Eat more. Stop aiming for the 2 lbs. per week. You're setting yourself up for frustration.
Nope, but I am over my recommended BMI so am overweight! I'm only 5ft 2 and 10stone 4. I really just want to get to 9stone 7 and I'll be content. It feels SO counter-intuitive to go over my calories as the day that I did (saturday) I put on 3lb by Monday! So, I just don't get it.
You did not gain 3 pounds of fat. It's WATER weight. It's not permanent. Chill.
It's not what it is it's the fact it hasn't shifted in 4 days since, so if it was water weight I would assume at least *some* of it would have gone? I fear now it will take another 4 weeks just to get back to what I was after one day of badness, which is crappy really.
So if it's 3 lbs of fat, it means you had 10,000 calories worth of Gin and Tonics and Cake on Saturday
For reference, that's an entire cake and about 25 gin and tonics.
Ha ha ha. I had about 10 G&Ts max and one big slice of cake.0 -
Sounds like you may be metabolically damaged.
(search Reverse Dieting) then try to get your metabolism healthy and running again0 -
bump for the link0
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It does work, if you're eating less than you burn. How do you know you're eating 1200 calories a day? How do you get that number? Also... when you said you had a bad day, gained 3lbs and it isn't water weight...did your bad day consist of approximately 10,500 calories more than you burned that day? Because that's around how many calories you'd have to consume OVER what you burn to gain 3lbs of fat.
this about covers it...
Do you own a food scale OP? Weight , measure, log everything?
^this
Also...
Why are you consistently eating so much less than your 1200 net calories?
How certain are you that 1200 net creates an appropriate and sustainable deficit for you? (Hint: it isn't for *most* people).
Two weeks isn't very long. I understand that you want to see results and you want to see them right now, but it doesn't always work like that.
Are you weighing and measuring everything or just guessing?0 -
You are getting a lot of consistent advice that you seem to be dismissing out of hand - there is a lot of weight loss experience behind a lot of these posts!!
My take on it is:
You have set a far too aggressive weight loss goal for the amount of weight you have to lose.
Your logging isn't accurate.
You are being far, far too impatient.0 -
Where you are in your menstrual cycle has probably got a lot more to do with this than what you ate at the weekend. Some weeks it's just not worth getting on the scales because they lie. Eat back your exercise and don't go under your deficit would be my advice. 4 litres of water a day seems a little excessive!0
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You are getting a lot of consistent advice that you seem to be dismissing out of hand - there is a lot of weight loss experience behind a lot of these posts!!
My take on it is:
You have set a far too aggressive weight loss goal for the amount of weight you have to lose.
Your logging isn't accurate.
You are being far, far too impatient.
THIS ^^^^0 -
Please don't starve yourself to lose weight faster. Change your settings to lose 1 lb or lose 0.5 lbs per week. You will be much happier. I promise.
That's all cool. But just to say I'm not in an emotional state and I didn't binge just to binge - it was a birthday party - so just a normal part of life where one would drink a bit and eat a bit of cake! It wasn't because I am starving. I don't find myself suffering too badly or feeling that hungry. What I do eat is pretty healthy and wholesome clean and lean stuff.
Not sure how you got to 1600 calories a day? I work out every day by the way (apart from Sundays) mixture of body weight training, circuits, spin and running. I'm 35 years old.
The 1600 is about 500 calories below your reported TDEE. It's just a guess. It's just an estimate. I'm giving you my suggestion. My recommendation. A lot of people here are giving you the same advice. But take it or leave it, we're just people on the internet who've successfully lost a lot of weight. But honestly, we're not you. We're not your doctor. Only you and your doctor can make the right choices for you.
I'm sorry you aren't finding the success you were hoping for. I believe you will be more successful and feel less anxiety about gaining some waterweight if you ate at a deficit that was more rational for your bodyweight. Which, according to this website, is to change your settings to "lose 1 lb per week" or "lose 0.5 lbs per week."
Best of luck, ok?0 -
Hi all
I've been using MFP for a few weeks now...
...I haven't lost any weight in 2 weeks?You are being far, far too impatient.0 -
Hi, I'm new to this myself but I noticed that you don't seem to be eating back any of your exercise calories either. I know MFP can overestimate them, but with such a low cal diet setting (1200) if you don't eat back at least some of your exercise calories then your net calorie intake will be really quite low. It will put your body under strain to eat too little and exercise.
hope this helps a bit!
K x
Thanks Katie - thanks for replying; I appreciate it! You're right, I do avoid it. For two reasons. Firstly I know that MFP overestimates (although running seems to quite spot on) and secondly I worked out my TDEE and to lose 2lb a week I should be aiming for 1182 a day so 1200 including exercise seems the right goal for me. I don't *really* buy the whole starvation mode theory... I don't think the science backs it up! If you eat few calories and burn more off, you should lose weight!
Hope you're getting on well with it!
Kelly x
The issue is not starvation mode, it is losing muscle mass which will result not only in not having a fit looking body, but simply one that is still fat but smaller, and will result in much easier weight gain once you start eating normally again. Frankly for 10 pounds to go, 2 pound a week to too aggressive. I know the getting to your goal in 5 weeks is probably what it motivating you, but slower is better in this case. Frankly I would suggest more of a focus on body composition at this point than weight eating higher protein and lifting heavy weights as I will have more effects on how you look than 10 pounds lost will.0 -
Your BMR is around 1400, so you should at least be eating that every day especially since you only have 10lbs to lose.0
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You are getting a lot of consistent advice that you seem to be dismissing out of hand - there is a lot of weight loss experience behind a lot of these posts!!
My take on it is:
You have set a far too aggressive weight loss goal for the amount of weight you have to lose.
Your logging isn't accurate.
You are being far, far too impatient.
There's also conflicting advice! I'm not dismissing anything out of hand. Just probing, asking questions, understanding. I've lost weight before too (through slimming world) so not exactly a novice. Just trying to understand why this happened and I'm not someone who just takes the first answer. I like to understand the answers, especially when they're all different!.
I don't see how 2lb a week is aggressive? This is normal for diets and the recommended healthy amount? This is average on slimming world for example. Not dangerous. Perfectly normal. Not dismissing it but also not just accepting it although that's fine if it's true. I'd be happy with half a pound loss this week... not a 3lb gain!
I'm going to be extra careful with logging but even so I don't think I'm eating enough to GAIN weight if it's not quite accurate.
But thanks for the help!
Kellyh0 -
Thanks everyone. It sounds like you're all getting a bit eggy because I'm not praising you all for your advice! I am truly grateful for your responses and I'm ever so sorry I questioned them... but that's part of understanding questioning. The irony is you say I'm dismissing answers but then those questions are being dismissed so there's a lot of dismissing on all sides. Ha.
Thanks anyway,
Kelly.0 -
Also, I just changed the goals to 1lb a week and it's still saying 1200 calories a day!0
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Also, I just changed the goals to 1lb a week and it's still saying 1200 calories a day!
Keep in mind MFP's recommendation doesn't take into account exercise calorie burns. So your goal is 1200 (providing you selected the right activity level) + exercise calories
TDEE method takes into account your exercise calories already. So when you take a % off of your TDEE, then you don't need to eat exercise calorie burns back.
If you eat follow MFP's 1200 + eating at least 50% exercise calorie burn, it will average out to approximately the same number of calories that you were allotted with the TDEE method.0
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