Eating under my budget and still not losing weight

emjohnston2014
emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey everyone, so last week (my first week on myfitnesspal) I had a calorie deficit of 6,968 ( I eat the recommended 1100-1200 calories but live an extremely active lifestyle) and yet the scale hasnt moved. I was always told that you needed to be at a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound...and ive almost doubled that..

HELP!
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Replies

  • tquill
    tquill Posts: 300 Member
    Are you logging exercise or just food?

    EDIT: I'll go ahead and expand on it.

    If you're logging both exercise and food, you're probably over-estimating your burn from exercise... and possibly not logging you're food accurately.

    If you're logging just food... you're probably not logging it accurately.
  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
    1. weight loss isn't linear...so even though you need a deficit, it isn't going to be exact
    2. Are you accurately logging? If you're guessing portion sizes and quantities, that makes a difference
    3.Maybe you need more calories? If you're extremely active like you say, that could be it.
    4.Give it time. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither does your body recognize the changes in a week.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Do you use a food scale?
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    I log literally everything and measure all portions using a food scale
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    It has only been a week.

    How did you come up with the calorie goal of 1100-1200? and how do you know your deficit was 6968?
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    i average between 1 hour and 2 and a half hours of excersize a day (50 minute walk to work, 50 minute walk home + hour gym workout) ive lost 45 pounds already and just joined here looking to lose the last 20.... im eating 10 times healthier than ever and working out more...hence my confusion
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    How tall are you?
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    i concluded my deficit by adding up the amount of calories I had remaining from my food diary (that could be totally wrong) and 1200 is what the app told me to eat.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    im 6'0 and 166 pounds
  • Laurenloveswaffles
    Laurenloveswaffles Posts: 535 Member
    You don't look like you have much weight to lose. So only do a deficit of 250 a day from your TDEE. That will give you a .5lb loss a week. You don't need to lose faster than that.
  • AgentOrangeJuice
    AgentOrangeJuice Posts: 1,069 Member
    Are you building muscle? did you have "weight to lose?" If you're replacing fat with muscle, you won't see a nudge in the scale, a more accurate reading would be to take a seamstress tape measure and measure the diameter of your chest, shoulder, neck, waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps and forearms. When I started my journey, I lost 14 lbs quick, then didn't move an inch on the scale for almost a month, but my body was changing shape as I was losing fat and gaining muscle.

    QCNerd.
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Just my .02 but I think you are eating way to few calories for what you are doing. Based on the info you gave us I plugged it into scoobys TDEE calculator and it says 2358/d to lose 1 lb a week. So my suggestion is to start eating more and see if your body responds.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    Thanks everyone!!
  • JenniferIsLosingIt
    JenniferIsLosingIt Posts: 595 Member
    Just my .02 but I think you are eating way to few calories for what you are doing. Based on the info you gave us I plugged it into scoobys TDEE calculator and it says 2358/d to lose 1 lb a week. So my suggestion is to start eating more and see if your body responds.


    This!!!!! ^^^Try increasing your calories by 200 and see if this helps (hint: two table spoons of PB)
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    Are you building muscle? did you have "weight to lose?" If you're replacing fat with muscle, you won't see a nudge in the scale, a more accurate reading would be to take a seamstress tape measure and measure the diameter of your chest, shoulder, neck, waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps and forearms. When I started my journey, I lost 14 lbs quick, then didn't move an inch on the scale for almost a month, but my body was changing shape as I was losing fat and gaining muscle.

    QCNerd.

    You cannot typically build muscle in a deficit (if one was eating at a non aggressive pace and doing a good weightlifting routine, getting a good amount of protien, typically 1g per pound of lean body mass and was a newbie to it, you MIGHT be able to gain a slight amount but it ends quickly).

    OP is eating 1200 or less calories. Her body is NOT going to want to put energy into muscle building, even IF that were plausible. You can lose fat and uncover muscle underneath, which can give the illusion but I certainly do not believe for a second she's built any muscle from her current routine.

    I do agree measurements are a better way to judge than scale but muscle building requires a calorie surplus and heavy lifting. It is nit an easy feat and the gains are slow, even in a surplus.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    I understand how to muscle build, my boyfriends into weight lifting and body building and eats almost double what I do. But thats not neccesarily what im looking for right now.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    Im unfortunately allergic to PB :( as well as all tree nuts, gluten and anything with lactose...-.-
  • _Resolve_
    _Resolve_ Posts: 735 Member
    Avocado, calorie dense and yummy.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    Not a huge avacado fan (minus they make a great face mask) thank you everyone for the suggestions!
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Sigh. You are eating too little.

    MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

    Go to

    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    and enter your height/weight/activity level.

    Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    Thank you so much!! I think im probably a)way to picky b) eating way under what i should be for my activity level
  • levitateme
    levitateme Posts: 999 Member
    Thank you so much!! I think im probably a)way to picky b) eating way under what i should be for my activity level

    If you aren't losing weight, you aren't at a deficit. You are probably eating a lot more calories than you think.

    People don't stall out from eating too little. Get a food scale.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Hey everyone, so last week (my first week on myfitnesspal) I had a calorie deficit of 6,968 ( I eat the recommended 1100-1200 calories but live an extremely active lifestyle) and yet the scale hasnt moved. I was always told that you needed to be at a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound...and ive almost doubled that..

    HELP!
    Where does the recommended "1100-1200" calories come from? Certainly not MFP, because 1200 is their default calorie allowance, and that is usually way too low for anyone.

    When you say you had a calorie deficit of 6,968, do you mean that is how much your calorie count at the week was under what MFP has allowed you to lose 2 pounds a week, or that you figured out you deficit once MFP set you up to be the 6978? I'm not clear on this.

    That said, it's only been a week and you really need to give it awhile to see how it works.

    Also, in your profile picture you look very slender, and you're trying to lose 22 pounds. Hopefully this will not put you into the underweight category. I would suggest these things:

    1. Adjust your MFP settings to lose .5 pounds a week because 2 pounds a week is too aggressive. This will not be sustainable in the long run.

    2. Weigh all your solid food and measure all your liquids. Make sure you log every single thing that goes into your mouth. Ensure that you are choosing correct entries from the database. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

    3. Record your exercise calories too. If you rely on gym machines, MFP, or other internet or Iphone apps, for your calorie estimations, eat only about half of those calories back. This only works for cardio and not weight lifting sessions, because those are not steady state cardio.

    4. Patience, patience, patience, and shall I say it again?

    You must be patient and not expect quick results.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Thank you so much!! I think im probably a)way to picky b) eating way under what i should be for my activity level
    No, you are underestimating calories in and/or overestimating calories out, unless you have some medical reason that is stalling your weight loss.. You are simply not eating at a deficit.
  • summer92008
    summer92008 Posts: 202
    You're either eating too little for your weight and size, hit a plateau, or both. Don't get frustrated when you don't lose anything in a week. If it's a couple weeks, maybe be more concerned. It's harder to lose those last pounds, so I've heard, so it takes longer. Good luck.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    I got the deficit number from adding up the calories i had 'remaining' everyday for 7 days on my fitness pal. Its a guess. Like i am eating and weighing everything. For example : A typical lunch for me : 1 1/2 cups raw veggies, 2 Iogo lactose free yogurts, 2 slices fat free turkey breast and usually some sort of fruit.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    My Bmi at 6'0 and 166 pounds is 22 at 144 (my goal weight) my BMI would be somewhere between 18-19
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Are you building muscle? did you have "weight to lose?" If you're replacing fat with muscle, you won't see a nudge in the scale, a more accurate reading would be to take a seamstress tape measure and measure the diameter of your chest, shoulder, neck, waist, hips, thighs, calves, biceps and forearms. When I started my journey, I lost 14 lbs quick, then didn't move an inch on the scale for almost a month, but my body was changing shape as I was losing fat and gaining muscle.

    QCNerd.
    No, you don't replace fat with muscle, and except for newbie gains, you don't build muscle at that kind of a deficit. You need to eat at maintenance or more to build some muscle.
  • emjohnston2014
    emjohnston2014 Posts: 38
    For starters, im not 'stalling out' ive managed to lose close to 50 pounds in less than a year. Id call that significant progress. It hasnt been until very RECENTLY that ive had a harder time losing weight. Second of all i weigh and measure EVERYTHING

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