Frustrated... need a hug!

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imsahagun
imsahagun Posts: 12 Member
in Getting Started
Hey guys! I have been on here for fifteen days now. I started to get very serious about this about a week before that, so it is exactly 21 days to the day when I started exercising and changing.

I need to start by saying that I'm not terribly overweight. That being said, I can afford to be ten to fifteen pounds lighter. I have no health issues... I'm 42, perfect lipids, perfect thyroids, etc. I also lead a moderately active lifestyle (I'm a physician so I'm always running from room to room, picking up kids left and right, etc). My diet was also pretty normal, very little junk food, no sodas at all, not even diet sodas, etc.

My frustration lies in the fact that I have been extremely strict and dedicated to this cause: cardio for at least an hour every single day, counting all calories, etc... and I have seen very little result. Two pounds is nothing to be proud of. Yes, I lost a little off my waist, but the scale is stuck at the same weight. I tried "eating a bit more" so as to not induce this "starvation mode" and the scale moved up half a pound the next day. So I need to eat less. I am averaging about 800 cal a day so how is this sustainable?

I could exercise two hours a day but frankly, I am not young, my knee is already in a knee brace, and I don't want to start popping ibuprofen. I know I have to be patient. But oh, I am sooooo frustrated.
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Replies

  • 115s
    115s Posts: 344 Member
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    No, you need to eat MORE. 800 calories a day?? Are you crazy!??????
    Your counter says you've lost 3 pounds, so I'm once again questioning if this is a serious post. Is this a serious post? You need to eat more than just 800 calories a day. If you can't work out with your leg, go work out with light weights and your arms. You could alternatively swim. You do not need to walk/run/job/bike/treadmill if you are prevented to do so. Please eat more than 800 cals a day....
  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
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    The less you have to lose, the harder it seems to get off.... I would lessen the cardio, and add more of a weight training program. That might help.... I have seen from many people in a similar situation to you that were doing cardo for an hour plus daily change to heavy lifting (do a search on 5x5) and that made the difference for them.

    The other thing I suggest, eat more. If you are nervous about it, do a little research about what foods to eat.... 800 cals a day, not exactly the best way to lose from my experience.

    Be patient, I know it is hard, but don't give up if you really want that 10-15 pounds gone. It is achievable
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Would a smack on the a** and a "Suck it up soldier" work??

    If so, I got plenty of those.
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
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    Uh....

    If you are a physician, then you should know that 800 calories a day is WAY TOO LOW.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    800 calories a day is not sustainable in my opinion. That being said, if you were truly at 800 calories a day you would be losing weight, and very quickly. Your diary is not open but make sure you are weighing and measuring everything accurately. Drinks/condiments...all those little things. Good luck!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    Yeah open your diary so we can see....

    Are you logging and weighing and measuring everything??

    Methinks not....
    guesstimating won't work
  • 2013sk
    2013sk Posts: 1,318 Member
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    800 calories a day............ OMG!!!!!!!!!

    Please eat more!

    Please work out your BMR & TDEE - you can find out your own numbers from the internet & putting in your own stats.

    You really do need to eat more. Also I wouldn't stress about it too much!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    800 calories a day............ OMG!!!!!!!!!

    Please eat more!

    Please work out your BMR & TDEE - you can find out your own numbers from the internet & putting in your own stats.

    You really do need to eat more. Also I wouldn't stress about it too much!

    Don't know if she needs to eat more....
    She is prolly eating more than enough....just not logging properly
  • imsahagun
    imsahagun Posts: 12 Member
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    I lost 2.5 lbs, don't know why it says three. Yet I gained half more. So net, two pounds. Why would I not be serious?
  • imsahagun
    imsahagun Posts: 12 Member
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    And I am logging EVERYTHING. I don't drink anything except water. Nothing else. No milk, no diet drinks, not a sip of anything. I am very OCD so believe me, I am very meticulous.
  • HellaCarriefornia
    HellaCarriefornia Posts: 102 Member
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    Uh....

    If you are a physician, then you should know that 800 calories a day is WAY TOO LOW.

    This. Totally.

    ETA: Also, you don't specify, but "logging" and weighing each item accurately are two different things.
    And...2 lbs in 3 weeks when you only have 10-15 lbs to lose is great progress. Were you expecting to lose all 10 lbs by now?
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Any particular reason you're only eating 800 calories a day?
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    Uh....

    If you are a physician, then you should know that 800 calories a day is WAY TOO LOW.

    This, right here. If you are a physician, you should know that 800 calories a day is dangerously low for a healthy woman and that weight loss, especially when already close to your goal, is very slow and far from linear. Is this what you recommend to your patients that should lose weight? If so, that makes me very afraid for your patients. What you are doing to yourself is not healthy and your expectations are far from realistic.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    I lost 2.5 lbs, don't know why it says three. Yet I gained half more. So net, two pounds. Why would I not be serious?

    Because that comes out to a pound a week, which is actually quite aggressive for someone with only 10-15 pounds to lose. You're expecting it to happen too quickly.

    Set your MFP goal to lose .5 pounds a week. Eat all the calories (make sure you're measuring and logging accurately). Don't kill yourself on cardio. Accept that this is going to take a month or two.

    And maybe look into a lifting program. A bit of body recomp can go a long way in helping a person happy with how they look.
  • imsahagun
    imsahagun Posts: 12 Member
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    Hmmm. Yes. I need to change my exercise routine.
    I guess it's not as simple as calories in, calories out.
  • imsahagun
    imsahagun Posts: 12 Member
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    I am a middle aged woman with a metabolism that is slower than my patients. Of COURSE that's not what I tell my patients. My patients are kids. They have normal metabolisms. Mine is slower, obviously, and more ineffective.
  • HellaCarriefornia
    HellaCarriefornia Posts: 102 Member
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    I am a middle aged woman with a metabolism that is slower than my patients. Of COURSE that's not what I tell my patients. My patients are kids. They have normal metabolisms. Mine is slower, obviously, and more ineffective.

    Nope. Not really. You're only 42.
  • ellie0213
    ellie0213 Posts: 562 Member
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    You're right 800 is not sustainable. You probably need to steadily bump up your calories. I am at 1600 calories a day now and steadily losing. You can add me.
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    I am a middle aged woman with a metabolism that is slower than my patients. Of COURSE that's not what I tell my patients. My patients are kids. They have normal metabolisms. Mine is slower, obviously, and more ineffective.

    You are the same age as me. Yes, our metabolism is slower. Absolutely, it is! However, it's not THAT slow that you need to eat only 800 calories a day!!! I've lost over 80 pounds and have NEVER eaten only 800 calories on any one day! As a physician, I would hope you would understand what is healthy and what is not and have a little more realistic goals. Trying to lose more than a 1/2 pound a week when you are already so close to goal is nuts. What you are doing is a recipe for disaster. You are frustrating yourself with unrealistic expectations and setting yourself up for failure. Losing weight and keeping it off is a lifetime battle and what you do now will not end once you reach your goal. Are you willing to only eat 800 calories a day for the rest of your life? If that answer is no (which I hope it is), you need to learn to eat realistic portions, with a realistic goal, now.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    Hmmm. Yes. I need to change my exercise routine.
    I guess it's not as simple as calories in, calories out.






    It actually is as simple as calories in/calories out. Something does not add up. If you truly want help you should open your diary.

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