excited to be here but so far no progress :(

kjlamphere
kjlamphere Posts: 14
edited September 26 in Introduce Yourself
Hello all!
I was very excited when I joined this website....a friend was losing weight like crazy on here! When I started I had already lost 5 lbs on my own but since then I have only lost 2 more. The last 14 days I have been VIGILANT about working out at least once a day and staying right at 1200 (i'm not using my exercise calories) but the weight's NOT BUDGING! I haven't lost any weight in over 3 weeks, that seems like a very loooooong plateau to me. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I'm 5'4 and 154 lbs...so i'm not like crazy overweight but I'd definetely like to lose at least five or 10 more lbs. i'm tempted to cut my calories back to 1000.
I will say I think I'm eating far more healthy than I ever have so I feel good about that but sheesh...i'd like at least a little progress on teh weight loss. I'd say on average i'm eating like 150 carbs and 75 g. protein a day. Any advice/words of wisdom/been there done that??? And please friend me!
Kelly
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Replies

  • chasekilgannon
    chasekilgannon Posts: 123
    Gonna go on a limb and say that people are going to respond by saying that you need to be eating your exercise calories.
  • dancingnancies
    dancingnancies Posts: 255 Member
    how much are you burning during exercise?
  • Bridge_CG
    Bridge_CG Posts: 429 Member
    you could be building muscle as well.
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
    Gonna go on a limb and say that people are going to respond by saying that you need to be eating your exercise calories.

    Lol. Yup, Chase is right about what people are going to tell you and I'll be happy to be the first. You need to eat MORE, not less. Read the links in my signature for a detailed explanation why and feel free to message me with any questions. Good luck!
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    it depends...if i just go do cardio on my own at gym i'd say around 400-450 calories, but sometimes i do a spinning class, sometimes i lift weights.
  • xaintes
    xaintes Posts: 129
    Whenever I've dieted in the past, I've always restricted my calories to 800-1000, and the weight always came back. I joined MFP and started following their calorie recommendations (including eating ALL my exercise calories). I gained 3 lb right off the bat, but then I gave it a week and slowly but surely the pounds started falling off. Your body is an engine and needs fuel, and depriving it of fuel will only make your metabolism slow down.
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    They have a body fat percentage measuring thingy at gym and it says that I haven't lost any fat...which means that i haven't gotten any more muscle i guess...oh and i see a personal trainer once a week who kicks my *kitten*!! tons o' strength training!
  • annameeks00
    annameeks00 Posts: 46
    To be honest I wouldn't worry about it. Frustrating, yes.. I have been at this for 3 months now and I have lost 30 pounds but it looks like 45 or so. You are building muscle while working out. Try doing your measurements and I am sure you will see a difference. Your body may just need to get used to your new lifestyle.

    BTW - I do NOT eat my exercise calories.. Just do what works for your body.
  • Natalie0506
    Natalie0506 Posts: 163
    You need to be eating your excercise calories. For the last week, I've been staying at 1200, then working out on top of it. So my net has been around 600 or 700. I've gained two pounds. So you definately need to be eating back at least half of your workout calories so you are hitting 1200 at the least.
  • msdominique1
    msdominique1 Posts: 65 Member
    Hello all!
    I was very excited when I joined this website....a friend was losing weight like crazy on here! When I started I had already lost 5 lbs on my own but since then I have only lost 2 more. The last 14 days I have been VIGILANT about working out at least once a day and staying right at 1200 (i'm not using my exercise calories) but the weight's NOT BUDGING! I haven't lost any weight in over 3 weeks, that seems like a very loooooong plateau to me. I don't know what I am doing wrong. I'm 5'4 and 154 lbs...so i'm not like crazy overweight but I'd definetely like to lose at least five or 10 more lbs. i'm tempted to cut my calories back to 1000.
    I will say I think I'm eating far more healthy than I ever have so I feel good about that but sheesh...i'd like at least a little progress on teh weight loss. I'd say on average i'm eating like 150 carbs and 75 g. protein a day. Any advice/words of wisdom/been there done that??? And please friend me!
    Kelly

    I am having the same problem and postedsomething in the message board this morning... From what everyone said... They told me to adjust my food intake... eat less sodium and sugars... and exercise more...
  • strandedeyes
    strandedeyes Posts: 392 Member
    Try to bump up your cals to 1300 at least... since you are burning a decent amount.... your body needs the fuel... cutting back to a 1000 will not help you in the long run for your goals.
  • sociable15
    sociable15 Posts: 98
    Eat back your exercise cals.
  • mjmtxk
    mjmtxk Posts: 33
    For some people, it isn't easy to eat their recommended calories. I think it is important to remember that the #'s recommended are general and will not be the same for everyone. Your metabolism may be a bit different. My wife's metabolism is much slower than mine. It means she has to work harder and do different things than me. I'm blessed / cursed with a very fast metabolism, I'm fat but I'd be a LOT fatter without it. What it means for me is when I make any effort at all, the weight falls off. We are all different.

    If you don't want to change the calories you are eating, though a bit of an increase may actually help, try increasing the protein. Protein has been shown to actually signal your body to burn fat vs carbs, etc. I think the general idea is that our body says "oh meat, the hunting must be good. I don't need this fat". It works for me and I've seen it work for others.

    Best of luck!!! Feel free to add if you are looking for MFP friends!
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    really??? eat more? gain weight first? that is so scary to me...

    Side note...I used to be anorexic and guess what not eating DID work then! i went from 180 to about 90 lbs in a year. Apparently not working so much anymore. and i'm not going that route again...because guess what doh! it came back! thanks to my turtle metabolism (which i inflicted on myself) All this was about 10 years ago.
  • chylom
    chylom Posts: 48 Member
    Open your Food Diary so we can have a look.
  • nbauwens
    nbauwens Posts: 14
    I agree with the others you are eating too little.. For years I practically starved myself and said but I am eating the right stuff.. once I started forcing myself to eat more I have started losing the weight.. just consuming your exercise calorie adjusted goal will do it.. Keep your chin up, your off to a great start
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    how do i do that?? i will totally do that.
  • tuscaroragal
    tuscaroragal Posts: 78 Member
    I agree with the previous posters...you're not eating enough calories, which makes your body "hang on" to the weight. I typically try to stay at 1500 calories a day, which doesn't always include my exercise calories. I am losing about 2 pounds a week, 18 so far. I'm burning about 300-400 calories a day with exercise (and I am working out pretty vigorously), so I am about the same as you...I would increase your intake a bit with healthy choices such as a hard boiled egg, fruit and veggies. Good Luck! Hang in there....
  • brookeaarnold
    brookeaarnold Posts: 14 Member
    I haven't read ALL of the other posts so someone might have already recommended this but I would recommend limiting your carbs and protein. I workout 6 days a week and ate somewhat healthy for a year and a half and lost nothing then when I cut back on my carbs and fat, I dropped 12 lbs in about 2 months. I have my carbs and protein set at 35% and my fat at 30% and I always stay under that, it really doesn't matter what my calorie intake is. And, on the eating your exercise calories, you should be eating a little more probably but what my personal trainer told me that is that even if you're not eating enough, you would still lose weight, you'll just lose muscle instead of fat which could be why you haven't lost any fat and are just staying the same and not building muscle.
  • copperdave
    copperdave Posts: 146
    Sounds crazy, I know...but sometimes you have to eat more to lose more. Make sure you're getting 3 regular meals and plenty of healthy snacks in between. A good breakfast will kick-start your metabolism. I didn't believe it either until I tried. And yes...eat your exercise calories!
  • chylom
    chylom Posts: 48 Member
    My home- settings- food diary settings
  • RoseKatet
    RoseKatet Posts: 149 Member
    From what I understand as females we should never eat less than 1200 cals net, if you eat 1200 and burn 600 u should eat those back. But I completely understand, I have been on MFP for about 2 months, lost 10lbs in 2 weeks and since then nada, getting pretty irritating but I have also been told to do weight training as well as cardio and switch up the times, intensitiy and lenghts. Your body gets used to doing the same thing every day and adjusts itself to keep at that weight..Remember your body doesn't want to lose the weight which is why its so hard to get rid of it...mix it up a bit;)

    Anyone can add me;)
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    Open your Food Diary so we can have a look.

    How?
  • chylom
    chylom Posts: 48 Member
    Click My home - settings- food diary- public
  • kjlamphere
    kjlamphere Posts: 14
    got it! food diary open!
  • chylom
    chylom Posts: 48 Member
    Its open you just cant see it.
  • tcrouser
    tcrouser Posts: 5 Member
    Couple of comments
    1 Is 1200 calories your daily goal? If so I also suggest you use some of the calories gained through exercise. The body is a remarkable thing when you lowwer your calories to far it actually will slow down your metabolism and resist weight loss.
    2. ale you doing any strength exercises? Muscle burns more calories than fat. Not saying you need to muscle up here but adding strength training 2 times a week could help. Low weight lots of reps.

    Good luck
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
    I'd recommend reading these threads that may help. Been there... Fuel your body properly. :flowerforyou:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/208407-how-to-repair-a-damaged-metabolism-stavation-mode?page=1#posts-2752820
  • chasekilgannon
    chasekilgannon Posts: 123
    MFP doesn't reflect my total weight loss, since I started on March 13th. I've basically lost 8.2 lbs since starting, and I haven't started my exercise routine yet. Because I stick to where my calorie intake suggests, I keep my deficit at a point where I'm losing the correct amount per week. I've done the lower calories and more workout and those results were horribly temporary and pretty damaging. When I start my workout, you bet I'll have the exercise calories, because I know that my weight loss won't be affected by it, it will actually probably help me lose more inches and gain some muscle.

    But yay, I was right, what do I win?
  • chylom
    chylom Posts: 48 Member
    It looks like you need to eat more. Alot of days you arent even hitting your 1200. you might want to update your food diary to show sodium and sugars (they can be sneaky buggers ) maybe try getting more fiber and protien into your diet as well. Hope youre drinking lots of water.Dont give up !
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