35 days counting, only -4lbs What am i doing wrong?

marcksh
marcksh Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I've been calorie counting for 35 days. I stay within the allotted 1200 cal limit given to me by MFP. I have gone over slightly a few times. I do cardio 2-3 times a week. I generally end up eating those calories back, or most of them. Other people seem to be losing at a quicker rate. MFP says I should be -2lbs/week. I'm about 5'5" , now 155lbs. (Please don't comment re: I must be counting wrong, am I weighing food etc. I've read those posts. I'm looking for other potential issues. Thanks!)

Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Pound a week ain't bad. Nice job!

    Probably only one rather than two because you're eating most of your calories back. Most folks underestimate calorie intake and overestimate calories burned through exercise. Only takes about 500 extra calories a day to be the difference between one pound per week and two pounds.

    If you make your diary public, might be able to see something else.
  • smash820
    smash820 Posts: 22
    Find out what your TDEE and BMR is and build your deficiency off of that. 1200 calories is a very restricted diet, and for a lot of people, that isn't enough calories especially if they are working out so their body is holding onto the fat because it doesn't know when it is going to bed fed again. With all that said, you losing at a steady 1lb/week is great considering your height and weight. Progress is progress, don't be discouraged when the scale is continuously dropping!
  • omgtry
    omgtry Posts: 114
    don't get upset your matablelisum will kick in or maybe is just slower than the rest don't for get you are a lady an diets work slower on women than man why I don't know but ill be here for you if u need me ive got 100lbs to lose im 391 ...was
  • Amelia7779
    Amelia7779 Posts: 53 Member
    2 lbs a week is too aggressive when you only have a little to lose...it's really for those who have 75+ to go. What is your goal weight? Around 130-140? Tbh, .5 lbs a week is more realistic, so with that in mind you are doing great!

    To compare, I am 5'3", 162 and losing about .5-1 lb per week. I'm trying to do it slow so as to keep as much of my lean body mass as possible.

    I think it sounds like you're doing great, and I'd strongly recommend adding in a bit of resistance training so as to minimize muscle loss.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Hi, I've been calorie counting for 35 days. I stay within the allotted 1200 cal limit given to me by MFP. I have gone over slightly a few times. I do cardio 2-3 times a week. I generally end up eating those calories back, or most of them. Other people seem to be losing at a quicker rate. MFP says I should be -2lbs/week. I'm about 5'5" , now 155lbs. (Please don't comment re: I must be counting wrong, am I weighing food etc. I've read those posts. I'm looking for other potential issues. Thanks!)

    At 155 pounds you won't lose weight at 2 pounds a week ....1200 is just as low as MFP will go.....not a statement that you will lose 2 pounds a week.

    These are reasonable goals based upon a person's size.....

    Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range
  • catsandtats
    catsandtats Posts: 29 Member
    It might not be the case that you're doing anything wrong at all. If you're consistently losing 1lb/week, that means you're eating at an overall deficit. Everyone will lose/gain at a slightly different pace. Also, the closer you get to your goal weight, the harder it can be to make those last few pounds go. In those cases, either some changes in the nutrition plan should be made (and by that I do *not* mean going below 1200 or your BMR) or changes in the exercise program should be made, or a combination of both.
  • ali59oc
    ali59oc Posts: 130 Member
    One pound a week is fantastic! Keep it up!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    A healthy weight loss is .5–2 lb. per week. With only 20 lb. to lose, your 1 lb. per week loss is great! The closer you are to goal, the more slowly you lose—that's just the way the human body works. So lower your goal—the smaller deficit will also help you transfer to maintenance.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • Maleficent0241
    Maleficent0241 Posts: 386 Member
    Hi, I've been calorie counting for 35 days. I stay within the allotted 1200 cal limit given to me by MFP. I have gone over slightly a few times. I do cardio 2-3 times a week. I generally end up eating those calories back, or most of them. Other people seem to be losing at a quicker rate. MFP says I should be -2lbs/week. I'm about 5'5" , now 155lbs. (Please don't comment re: I must be counting wrong, am I weighing food etc. I've read those posts. I'm looking for other potential issues. Thanks!)

    At 155 pounds you won't lose weight at 2 pounds a week ....1200 is just as low as MFP will go.....not a statement that you will lose 2 pounds a week.

    These are reasonable goals based upon a person's size.....

    Between 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lb range
    Between 15-25 lbs to lose 1 -.50 lb range
    Less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs range

    This exactly. You aren't so far off from where you need to be, so it's going to be slower. Click on "My Home", then "Goals". On the right hand side, there is a line for "Projected Weight Loss" - even though you chose to lose 2 lbs per week, since it bottoms out at 1200 calories you may not actually be projected to lose that much. It's also just an estimate based on BMR calculators and such. Your body may be a little different. For example, my "projected weight loss" based on my calories is about 1.2-1.4 lbs per week, and I don't lose anywhere NEAR that due to health issues affecting my metabolism.

    Since 1 lb per week is a great rate, I would say keep on keeping on and not worry.
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
    Judging by your stats you're right on target. I wouldn't complain about that a bit.

    Rigger
  • marcksh
    marcksh Posts: 19 Member
    Yes, I gained quite a bit of weight the past year and a half and now I would like to be down to 135-140lbs. I don't feel the 1200 cal too restricting most days, only when out with friends weekend snacking. I use the heart rate monitors at the gym when using machines and guesstimate lower than posted in MFP for other exercises like kickboxing cardio class so I think I'm fairly realistic entering exercises. With no scientific background I've always felt my metabolism is slow. Perhaps that's part of it and from your comments I should be expecting a smaller loss per week.
  • marcksh
    marcksh Posts: 19 Member
    Day 72 and down 10 pounds.looks like you are all correct - approximately a pound a week. Slow and steady... :happy:
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    You're not doing anything 'wrong'.

    You selected a high goal (2 per week) and triggered MFP's minimum calorie allowance of 1200. At your height & weight your TDEE is probably 1900-2400 per day, depending on how active you are. You're relatively small now - someone of 200-300 pounds has a higher TDEE because it uses more energy to move a bigger body. Since you have less weight to lose it will come off slower.

    Its not impossible for you to lose 2 per week - but you'd need to be very active and even then you might not.

    FWIW I'm 5' 5.5" and now in the 153-155 range. So speaking from experience.

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