Am I Losing Weight Too Quickly?

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Chloe9218160
Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, pounds aside, I think I might be losing weight too quickly. I have noticed that my muscle mass has gone down(I feel smaller and more doughy), and my skin is getting looser(again with the more doughy feeling plus wrinkling/folding in ways it never did before). I am losing weight to become more healthy, and I don't want to lose muscle or form bad habits of not eating enough. I am 5'4", female, 137 pounds last time I checked, and MFP has set me on 1200 calories a day. I set myself to lose two pounds a week, and now I realize that may be too much, especially since I also want to gain muscle and speed up my metabolism. I have 75 minute swim practices 4 times a week, plus running about 2-5 miles twice a week when I am not swimming and feel like I need the exercise. Is there any way you guys could look at my food diary and tell me if I should be eating more? Also is there any way I could lose fat, gain muscle, and speed up my metabolism? Thanks :)

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  • thismamarox
    thismamarox Posts: 105 Member
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    Your food diary is blocked
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    Set yourself to lose half a pound a week. Eat plenty of protein. Do some strength training.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Are you logging your exercise here and eating back any of the extra calories MFP adds?
  • mrsmcmo
    mrsmcmo Posts: 109 Member
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    I would say yes, you are most likely losing muscle by limiting yourself to a 1200 cal/day diet. I am 5'2 (f), and started out at 130, so slightly smaller than you but not nearly as active, and I think my first cal goal was at 1510/day, which I lost very well on. I think you should up your calories (perhaps select 1lb a week to lose for now), and make sure you are getting an adequate amount of protein so that you keep the muscles you do have, and can easily build new muscle. :) Keep in mind that if you are building muscle, it may seem like you're not losing or not losing as much as you would like, but if your goal is to lose fat/gain muscle, try not to worry too much about the number on the scale. Just stick to your calories and focus on getting lots of protein into your diet.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
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    I don't need to look at your diary. Yes, two pounds per week is too much, and yes, with that activity level, you should be eating more.
  • MyF1tMe
    MyF1tMe Posts: 3 Member
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    Just for thoughts::: MFP sets you up on 1200 calories to maximize your losing capacity... If you are doing alot of cardio you're burning calories. If you input your cardio into MFP it will show you approximately how many calories you burned and adjust the remaining calories you should consume for the day EXAMPLE.... 1200 calorie day I've eaten 1100 of my caories... I've also burned 500 caories from running... to get in all my calories to balance out at 1200 i need to consume 600 calories...

    In addition to cardio (running lots of miles) are you also weight trailing as well?? Are you consuming a nice amount of protein??
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    Set yourself to lose half a pound a week. Eat plenty of protein. Do some strength training.

    This.

    You aren't going to gain muscle on a deficit, but you will get stronger, which will help you gain muscle when you aren't on a deficit any more.
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    I do log my exercise, and try to eat back my exercise calories. If I set it on 1/2 a pound a week, would my metabolism already be too slow from the 1200 calorie a day thing and cause me to gain fat? Also, how do I open my food diary?
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    In addition to cardio (running lots of miles) are you also weight trailing as well?? Are you consuming a nice amount of protein??

    I haven't been weight training, but I was thinking about trying calisthenics(body-weight exercises). How much protein do you think I need?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    I do log my exercise, and try to eat back my exercise calories. If I set it on 1/2 a pound a week, would my metabolism already be too slow from the 1200 calorie a day thing and cause me to gain fat? Also, how do I open my food diary?

    Doubtful, How long have you been eating 1200 calories?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    In addition to cardio (running lots of miles) are you also weight trailing as well?? Are you consuming a nice amount of protein??

    I haven't been weight training, but I was thinking about trying calisthenics(body-weight exercises). How much protein do you think I need?

    .8 grams of protein per pound of your body weight.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    I do log my exercise, and try to eat back my exercise calories. If I set it on 1/2 a pound a week, would my metabolism already be too slow from the 1200 calorie a day thing and cause me to gain fat? Also, how do I open my food diary?

    If you're worried about gaining fat by going up to 1/2 pound a week weight loss, then what do you plan to do when you reach your goal and are ready to transition to an even higher calorie level for maintenance?

    You can open your diary by going here, and selecting Public at the bottom of the page: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    About a month, give or take a week
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    Whoa, I have DEFINENTLY not been eating enough protein... 0_0
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    About a month, give or take a week

    I highly doubt you have a metabolic slow down so that you will gain weight by increasing your calories to a more reasonable deficit.
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    You might want to check out this thread:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1428309-what-can-calisthenics-do-for-you-let-me-show-you
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    Yeah, that sounds pretty ridiculous when you think about it... I'll set my deficit to 1/2 a pound :)
  • Chloe9218160
    Chloe9218160 Posts: 61 Member
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    That's what made me consider calisthenics :)
  • AquaticQuests
    AquaticQuests Posts: 945 Member
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    ...MFP has set me on 1200 calories a day. I set myself to lose two pounds a week, and now I realize that may be too much, especially since I also want to gain muscle and speed up my metabolism. I have 75 minute swim practices 4 times a week, plus running about 2-5 miles twice a week when I am not swimming and feel like I need ...

    With that level of exercise, 1200 calories is way too low unless you are eating back the exercise calories!
    Way too low!
    It will negatively impact the exercise ability and your body generally!
  • anzi888
    anzi888 Posts: 102 Member
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    I just looked at your diary... you had your goal set at 1200 but you were eating about 900 cals. Try to reach your goal not eat below it. Make sure you have lots of protein and veggies. Don't forget to eat some healthy whole grains which is as important when building muscles (research glycogen & muscles).

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