Frustrated and want to give up

Woah! You're burning 1200-1500 calories in exercise 6 days a week? Are you eating those exercise calories?

Have you tried just doing measurements instead of the scale?

Sounds like you are not eating enough.

If you only eat 1500 calories and burn off 1500 you have not given yourself any calories for day to day metabolism.

You'll make yourself sick in the long run.

I've been doing my darndest since i started using MFP. The first month, I lost 10lbs. So far this month...I don't think i've seen anything. I'm keeping my calories to about 1500 a day and exercising burning 1200-1500 off every day except on Mondays. I give myself a day off because I start planning out my school week. I eat late (after 10pm) for dinner because I have class in the evenings from 6-9pm. I don't understand what i'm doing wrong....I think I'm gaining muscle with as much walking as i'm doing, but shouldn't i still be losing weight? How long until i start to see a better decrease in weight?

Any suggestions? :frown:

You are seriously in starvation mode if you're only taking in 1500 calories, but burning 1200-1500 calories every day except on Mondays. You're killing your metabolism, your health, and any chances of losing any more weight. You need to eat your exercise calories or burn only like 500 calories during exercise. You are over doing it.

Don't give up!! You can do this!! Is there a nutritionist at the the gym where you are working out - if so see if you can talk to them. If you are burning all the calories that you quoted in your post- that is A LOT!! You might possible need to up your calorie intake since you are working out hard. Make sure your body is not going into the starvation mode. GOOD LUCK and don't give up!

Thanks Meg/Gonks I didn't know either that net should match goal number learning new things everyday!! That what I love about this site

I am with you! I began losing 10 lbs. the first month and now things are slowing down...just a loss of 0.5 lbs this week ( with no cheating).....however, when I did my measurements I lost another 1/2 inch off my hips and 1 inch off my waist. Also got into a pair of size 8 pants today that I never thought would fit ( from a tight 12). I am not thrilled about the lack of weight loss, but I am loving the smaller waist. Have you checked your measurements at all?

Don't give up! Remember that we've all been there at some point and go out and find some resources. Whenever your weight loss stalls, it's time to get into troubleshooting mode and figure out what's behind it. It is within your control and it is doable but you have to fight the instinct to throw in the towel. I say that because I did that for years, losing a little and then giving up when it stalled and then gaining it back. Here are a few of my tips:
1)Find a good podcast that you can listen to for motivation (fat2fit radio or Ask Leigh are both really, really good and you can find them in iTunes or on the web). Fat2fitradio.com has a great BMR calculator and and their advice and information is the most logical and realistic you will find.
2)Check out changing up your workouts because you body adapts quickly. Start running short bouts in your walk and work your way up to a run. I started out dying at the thought of running but now I love it.
3) Also, take measurements and set goals for yourself that you can control (I will exercise X days this week or I will eat all my calories)
4) Undereating will not help you, especially if you want to gain muscle (which you do because it will make your metabolism more efficient and you will be more effective with your cardio workouts
5) Finally (especially as a woman) set your MFP log to track your sodium intake. Sodium in itself isn't bad but if I have too much sodium, it doesn't matter if I hit or am under my calories, my weight will stay the same or go up because of water retention.
Best of luck - rooting for you in your continued success!!!

I've been doing my darndest since i started using MFP. The first month, I lost 10lbs. So far this month...I don't think i've seen anything. I'm keeping my calories to about 1500 a day and exercising burning 1200-1500 off every day except on Mondays. I give myself a day off because I start planning out my school week. I eat late (after 10pm) for dinner because I have class in the evenings from 6-9pm. I don't understand what i'm doing wrong....I think I'm gaining muscle with as much walking as i'm doing, but shouldn't i still be losing weight? How long until i start to see a better decrease in weight?

Any suggestions? :frown:

You might glean something from this post (there's really good stuff in there, in my opinion):
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/172515-frantic-about-adhering-to-the-right-calorie-intake-read-t

YOU HAVE TO BURN MORE CALORIES THAN YOU ARE EATING IN A WEEK IN ORDER TO LOSE! BUT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BURNING TO MANY CALORIES...IF YOUR BODY BELIEVES YOU ARE STARVING IT, IT WILL THINK YOU ARE STARVING IT, AND THAT CAN CREATE A BLOCK IN LOSING WEIGHT, BECAUSE MY MOM HAS HAD THAT PROBLEM IN THE PAST. MAYBE EAT A LITTLE MORE JUST TO SEE IF THAT GETS THE SCALE A MOVING, AND IF NOT, MAYBE YOU ARE EXERCISING TO MUCH...SOMETIMES OUR BODIES CAN GET OVER WORKED, SO IF YOU GIVE IT A BREAK MAYBE THAT WOULD HELP,

The thing is you burn calories (varied by age, gender, weight, etc) just by virtue of breathing, and your heart beating, getting out of bed, sitting down, and typing at the computer. Existing burns calories. For a 31 year old woman who's 5'8" and 225 (just as an example), simply existing would burn around 1800 calories. (See a BMR calculator.. there's one under tools on this site.) So if it takes 1800 calories for your body simply to exist - breath, pump blood, process food, etc - and you burn AN ADDITIONAL 1500 calories from exercise, you would need to eat 3300 to maintain your weight of 225. 3500 calories is a pound of fat, right? So you think "okay if I eat 1300 calories and burn 1500 calories, I'll have a 2000 calorie deficit (1800 BMR + 200 extra calories burned over what was eaten) each day and lose 4 pounds every week. Only problem is... our bodies aren't that exact in how they burn calories. We're designed to survive famine and scarce food so our bodies conserve energy and use less calories to carry our normal processes when we starve them. i.e. instead of the 1800 calories it would normally take to carry out breathing and pumping blood, our bodies slash that to 700 to keep from using up energy too quickly. And that workout that would burn 1500 calories for a healthy person, for you in starvation mode only burns 600... and there goes your deficit. Your body will fight with all it's got to keep you from starving to death and will reduce energy expediture as much as possible making it harder and harder to lose weight. You want a moderate calorie deficit that causes you to lose weight slowly and reassures your body more food is coming, no need to hold onto to those fat reserves.

some of us lose weight different. I tend to hang on to a weight (I drink lots of water) for like a month then the scale just drops 5 to 10 pounds that stay gone, and I start the same cycle again. If you stay consistant it will keep coming off. I lost 80 pounds before joining and MFP really helps me keep my eating in line (if I don't track I eat way too much) and makes me exercise more because I like to see high numbers. If your not weight training add it, it burns less while you do it, but keeps burning as the muscle repairs and that helps tons for body shape and toning. The mirror and clothes tell so much more than the scale. The scale says 1 pound last week, but I can get in my size 8 jeans no problem now and before I could barely button them.