I need help!!!!

ewc0125
ewc0125 Posts: 13
in Health and Weight Loss
I don't know if I'm doing this wrong or I'm just really this stupid. So when I first started really trying to lose weight I was at 217 pounds. I've been at it for a good 2 months and I'm only down to 209.6 pounds. I told MFP that I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week and they told me to eat 1200 calories a day. I also workout everyday. I have a heart rate monitor and according to that depending on if I'm doing cardio or weight lift, I usually do both everyday, I burn between 500 and 700 calories. Shouldn't I be losing more weight? I've heard different things from different people. You need to eat more calories. You're not losing weight because you're gaining muscle. So on and so forth. I'm getting to the point of frustration that I feel like no matter hard how i try I don't get results and that really makes me think....well...why the hell bother

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Are you weighing/measuring what you eat? If not, you're probably eating more than you think, which is what would be hindering your deficit. However, losing eight pounds in two months is excellent!
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    I do measure what I eat. That's what I don't understand. I'm eating healthy. Working out. Drinking water and eating less calories. I'm at a total loss. But thank you for your encouraging words. :smile:
  • thesoup11
    thesoup11 Posts: 72 Member
    what do you eat for your meals im tryin to get ideas sometimes you may need more calories if you workout alot
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    So you've lost 7.4lbs in two months? That's awesome!! Well done! :flowerforyou:
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you want to lose more, you must eat less and/or move more.

    But you're doing really well! :)
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    I usually eat oatmeal or egg whites with toast for breakfast. Lunch is iffy because I'm in class so I come home and try to eat something healthy. And dinner is usually chicken, fish, ground turkey or extra lean ground beef with vegetables. Snacks are usually fruit or shakeology.
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    I just feel like I should be losing more, more quickly than I am.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    I know for me I lost the inches before I lost more weight after the first initial loss. how long are you doing the cardio/weight lifting for? its possible you arent getting enough calories(like someone stated). the harder you work the more calories you need but you still need to be at a deficit to lose weight. 1200 for a lot of people is way too low especially when working out at a high intensity or often.
  • MoochieRama
    MoochieRama Posts: 71 Member
    You also have to drink a lot of water. Your body needs water to get rid of the fat, but don't give up. You have to start somewhere.
  • RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle
    RaspberryKeytoneBoondoggle Posts: 1,349 Member
    I just feel like I should be losing more, more quickly than I am.

    So, you are losing 1 pound a week is that right? What if you kept losing one pound a week for the next year? Would that be ok?
    My plan (and it worked for me), was to lose 1/2 pound a week, and I only ate back half the calories because I assumed that there could be an over-estimation. I also ate my TDEE at least a few times a week which meant an even slower loss, but I was patient and felt confident because my tracking numbers were my accurate account rather than numbers on a scale.
  • northbanu
    northbanu Posts: 366 Member
    A pound a week? I say well done.
    :happy:
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    I do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 mibutes of weight training every day. Except today. Today i walked 5 miles. I just can never get a straight answer to how many calories i shoukd be eating.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    A pound a week is excellent!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    So you've lost 7.4lbs in two months? That's awesome!! Well done! :flowerforyou:
    This.

    OP, you're doing fine. Keep it up.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    You also have to drink a lot of water. Your body needs water to get rid of the fat, but don't give up. You have to start somewhere.
    If water got rid of fat I would have never been fat in the first place because i've always drank lots of water. :wink:

    Actually, water helps you feel full, is calorie free, and keeps you well hydrated. :smile:
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    I think one pound per week is awesome. keep up the good work and don't rush things! :-)
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    Thank you to everyone responding. Im definitely one of those type A personalities. I have no patience and i can never seem to agree with something unless its perfect, and weight loss is definitely one of those imperfect things. If i follow guidelines that say, do this and youll lose 2 pounds a week, i expect it. But 1 pound a week is beeter than none. Thank you for reminding me of that.
  • MoochieRama
    MoochieRama Posts: 71 Member
    You're building muscle. One pound is steady and will be long term, you're doing great. How much are you trying to lose?
  • MoochieRama
    MoochieRama Posts: 71 Member
    Ok I read your story again. Your net calories might be too low right now. How tall are you?
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
    So you've lost 7.4lbs in two months? That's awesome!! Well done! :flowerforyou:
    Ditto!

    And you are absolutely correct, getting fit is far from a linear progression.
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    Ok I read your story again. Your net calories might be too low right now. How tall are you?

    I'm 5'7. I'm trying to lose 60 pounds. I want to get back to my pre babies, sexy military body....and feel better about myself and all that jazz. :tongue:
  • Chariotrunner
    Chariotrunner Posts: 2
    Have you taken your body measurements recently? The scale can be misleading. Trust the process; you WILL reach your goal. Besides 1 pound per week is great! Good job.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    You're doing well! A pound a week is pretty good.

    If you have MPF set for 2 pounds a week, and you're only losing a pound a week, there are a limited number of possibilities to explain the discrepancy:

    - Your RMR (resting metabolic rate) is a lot lower than the typical person's. For people who have done yo-yo dieting for a while, that's possible. But it won't account for 500 calories a day, so even if it's a factor, it's not the only one.

    - You don't move as much as the typical person. As much as 500 calories a day can be burned by fidgeting, twitching, shifting in your chair, getting up and walking around, etc. (Now, granted, 500 calories would be a lot, but a couple hundred isn't unheard of.)

    - You are logging fewer calories than you eat. This is shockingly common. One study showed that laypeople underestimated calorie intake by over 400 calories a day, and even registered dietitians underestimated by over 200 calories a day.

    - You are burning fewer calories in exercise than you think. MFP's estimates are often laughably high. I bicycled for 100 minutes today, at an average speed of 16.1 mph, including some gnarly hills. My Garmin bike computer/HRM estimated that I burned 803 calories. The Strava website (which analyzes speed, weight, and terrain) estimated 900. MFP estimated 1382. If I had logged that, I would have eaten 400-500 calories more than I actually burned, enough to wipe out my daily weight loss.

    In the end, if you're happy with your progress (which is good!), just keep doing what you're doing. But as you get closer to your goal weight, inaccurate logging will slow or stop your progress, so it might make sense to try logging more carefully, and when you log exercise, enter only 50-75% of what MFP estimates.
  • ewc0125
    ewc0125 Posts: 13
    Ive noticed that mfps calories burned are super high. I actually bought a polae heart rate monitor to give me a more accures reading. But maybe i am logging fewer calories.

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