Destined to be overweight forever???

Hold on a second. Maybe I went too far with saying starvation mode. What I meant to say was her metabolism may be slowing. We have already established that she is eating more than she is logging and her exercise is way up. It could just be a dip in metabolism that could be the reason she isn't losing consistently. OR she isn't working out as much as she thinks.

What I do know from experience is that when I am super strict on my caloric in take and go consistently lower than 1400 cals I lose less.

In any event, everything I have said is based on my own experiences over the last 4 months and 1 week. Hopefully that experience can help. Obviously my body and physiological makeup are different from yours. You have to find out what makes your body burn the best.

Mark

A reduction in metabolism would correspond to about 10-15% maximum change in metabolism. It's called Adaptive Thermogenesis and while it might be a factor in some weight loss - it isn't the thing to look for until one has truly locked in the other issues related to logging, weighing calories consumed.

Here is the thread on that...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1077746-starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss

Edit: if the OP is still just getting the basics of macros then she's not yet tracking properly.

No, you are not destined to be overweight forever. First of all, you need to change that mindset. You can do it and you will succeed if it is what you really want.

I have looked at your Food Diary and the sad reality is that you cannot have undereaten your calorie allowance for the last 2 weeks without losing any weight at all. You are not recording honestly. What you eat does not make any difference to your weight, only how many calories you consume in a day/over a week. You need to weigh and measure everything that you eat and drink with 100% honesty, if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.

Don't give up hope, just start afresh. I have slowly and gradually lost 24lb over the last 18 months without doing any exercise (other than normal activity - fairly busy) and without giving up the foods that I love.....but if I want pizza and a glass or two of wine, then that's pretty much it for that day!

You can do this and you can do it right now. Good luck.

Please do not say I am being dishonest. I will admit I am not always 100% of weighing the food but I swear that I log everything baring sugar free gum and sugar free cordial. I use the barcode scanner on my phone and the only thing I do not weight accurately is veg and fruit.
Even that teaspoon of nutella that shovel in whilst watching tv at night goes in my diary!
This is why I am so frustrated

You can't always trust MFP database. I just typed in a search for buttered toast and came up with an entry for 2 slices at around 150cals. However, my lovely homemade white bread weighs in at 100 cals a slice and even if I only scrape 10g of butter on that would add up to 350 for 2 slices of my delicious toast. (Although, frankly, I would never put as little as 10g butter on - that would be a waste of my lovely bread.) Maybe you have been relying on MFP data, maybe that is an explanation. Also, please do weigh fruit and veg - you may surprise yourself with the outcome! And finally, one teaspoon is about 5g whilst a tablespoon is 15g. See how easy it is to make mistakes - although obvs better when it is in your favour! Keep at it, you will succeed.

No, you are not destined to be overweight forever. First of all, you need to change that mindset. You can do it and you will succeed if it is what you really want.

I have looked at your Food Diary and the sad reality is that you cannot have undereaten your calorie allowance for the last 2 weeks without losing any weight at all. You are not recording honestly. What you eat does not make any difference to your weight, only how many calories you consume in a day/over a week. You need to weigh and measure everything that you eat and drink with 100% honesty, if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.

Don't give up hope, just start afresh. I have slowly and gradually lost 24lb over the last 18 months without doing any exercise (other than normal activity - fairly busy) and without giving up the foods that I love.....but if I want pizza and a glass or two of wine, then that's pretty much it for that day!

You can do this and you can do it right now. Good luck.

Please do not say I am being dishonest. I will admit I am not always 100% of weighing the food but I swear that I log everything baring sugar free gum and sugar free cordial. I use the barcode scanner on my phone and the only thing I do not weight accurately is veg and fruit.
Even that teaspoon of nutella that shovel in whilst watching tv at night goes in my diary!
This is why I am so frustrated

You can't always trust MFP database. I just typed in a search for buttered toast and came up with an entry for 2 slices at around 150cals. However, my lovely homemade white bread weighs in at 100 cals a slice and even if I only scrape 10g of butter on that would add up to 350 for 2 slices of my delicious toast. (Although, frankly, I would never put as little as 10g butter on - that would be a waste of my lovely bread.) Maybe you have been relying on MFP data, maybe that is an explanation. Also, please do weigh fruit and veg - you may surprise yourself with the outcome! And finally, one teaspoon is about 5g whilst a tablespoon is 15g. See how easy it is to make mistakes - although obvs better when it is in your favour! Keep at it, you will succeed.

Thank you I fear I have relied too much on the database and inaccurate logging of calories in.

So glad I posted now otherwise I would have just be plodding along!

As much as I love the scanner feature, it doesn't always mean that the calories that come up are accurate. I usually will double check the nutritional information listed on the label to make sure that it matches what MFP says. Sometimes the ingredients change and it will change the calories.

I only joined this site today, but have experience of losing fat in the past. Based on what I see in your diary, these would be my points:

1. I agree that if you are in a calorie deficit you should be losing weight (notice I said weight, not fat).

2. You started logging food about a month ago. 4 weeks is not a long time. A couple of bad meals here and there per week and you can undo your progress for the week.

3. Most people on this site seem to be into weighing everything 100% accurately using scales. I don't have anything against this, but I don't believe it is necessary for everyone. For some, it works mentally and makes a diet easier to comply with, for others it doesn't. Also bear in mind that a) nutritional information on packaging is not 100% correct b) if they are, they are based on burning foods in a lab, not a human body. My point is, even if you weight things, chances are you will still be off. Again, I'm not bashing those who do. It can be a useful exercise, but always expect a variance.

4. Your protein intake is extremely low. If you are engaging in HIIT for 45 minutes 4x per week (sounds like BMF?) AND you are only eating 1200 calories per day, chances are your body is cannibalising muscle (although I can't explain why your weight is not decreasing). This will lower your BMR and eventually you will have to lower your calories even more to continue losing weight. I STRONGLY recommend you eat as many grams of carbs as you do protein to prevent as much muscle loss as you can.

5. I don't see any drinks in your logs. Do you drink anything else apart from water?

6. Whilst it is not essential to 'eat clean' to lose fat I do recommend it. Why? Because the human body is a complex thing. The nutrients found in vegetables play an active part in allowing amino acids (proteins), glucose (carbs), and fatty acids (fats) in and out of your fat and muscle cells. When you eat, a complex set of chemical reactions have to happen to turn break it down into the smallest molecules your body runs on (ATP - Adenosine triphosphate. It's what powers your cells, being non technical about it). If you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency you are making it more difficult for the chemical reactions that break down fat and build up muscle to occur. It short - eat more vegetables and take a good multivitamin daily.

7. Are you sure you are not losing fat? Again, notice I said FAT and not WEIGHT. Do you clothes fit any better? Do you look better in the mirror?

8. Personally, and I have no evidence to back this up, 1,200 calories seems too low. I don't know your height or weight, but I WOULD NOT GO LOWER in the hope that it will jump start your fat loss. If you are accurately recording your calorie intake, then it would seem there is another issue at play here.

What ever you do though - stick with it You will find a way through.