not losing at all, too few calories??

lisadbeck
lisadbeck Posts: 11
edited September 26 in Introduce Yourself
I have been watching what I eat and exercising for the last 6 months and I have only lost 7 pounds. I don't know why I cannot lose any more. How many calories are people eating? I am wondering if my body is in starvation mode and that is why?? Also, how much exercise is good a day to lose weight?? I am so frustrated and confused I don't know what to do.

Replies

  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    How tall are you, what do you weigh, how many caloris are eating and how many calories are you burning everday?
  • well your fitness pal should tell you when you made it roughly, as long as you were accurate with your requirments. cut back on carbs, LOTS of water , fruits veggies. smaller portions AND NEVER EVER skip breakfast. you'll get there
  • callipygianchronicle
    callipygianchronicle Posts: 811 Member
    If you really want help with this, you need to open up your diary. People cannot give you accurate advice without seeing what you're logging for food and exercise.
  • kylakesgal
    kylakesgal Posts: 952 Member
    Hi. It could be possible you aren't eating enough but without your diary open.....it's hard to judge. Maybe you would share your diary and we could take a look. How much are you exercising and are you eating back your exercise calories? I usually work out 1 hour day/ 7 days a week and I'm set at 1200 calories and I eat back nearly all of my exercise calories.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    Please open your diary to the public if you would like advice, I need to see it to know if it's right or wrong!:flowerforyou:
  • QueenofCups
    QueenofCups Posts: 365 Member
    interested in what other people say to this.

    For me, I started over 2 yrs ago @ 220lbs. I started out doing WW and was eating the equivalent of 1300 calories without exercise. I slowly increased activity and calories over time and was able to lose 70lbs by eating around 1500-1800 calories and trying to burn 200-400 calories. Unfortunately, my weight loss has stalled and I even gained a few pounds recently and have not been able to get back on track. I have changed up my routine, and have tweaked my calories some and still to no avail. Some people say its b/c I eat some processed food, but it hasn't been an issue the last 2 yrs so I am not completely convinced thats it. But anyway...long story short, hope someone else has better advice for you. Just wanted to say I understand. :)
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    interested in what other people say to this.

    For me, I started over 2 yrs ago @ 220lbs. I started out doing WW and was eating the equivalent of 1300 calories without exercise. I slowly increased activity and calories over time and was able to lose 70lbs by eating around 1500-1800 calories and trying to burn 200-400 calories. Unfortunately, my weight loss has stalled and I even gained a few pounds recently and have not been able to get back on track. I have changed up my routine, and have tweaked my calories some and still to no avail. Some people say its b/c I eat some processed food, but it hasn't been an issue the last 2 yrs so I am not completely convinced thats it. But anyway...long story short, hope someone else has better advice for you. Just wanted to say I understand. :)

    Honestly I would take a week off exercising, go back to the 1300 calories and see what happens.
  • lisadbeck
    lisadbeck Posts: 11
    I dont enter my exercise every day, but I do about 30 minutes of running 5-6 days a week
  • callipygianchronicle
    callipygianchronicle Posts: 811 Member
    Well, your net calories are below 1200 almost every day, even without exercise logged. So, your body is more than likely not getting an adequate number of nutrients to shed fat. Your diet is also mostly comprised of processed foods that are high in sodium and not nutritionally diverse. Finding away to incorporate some more live foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables) that are raw or cooked fresh would be a great start.
  • lisadbeck
    lisadbeck Posts: 11
    :(
  • lisadbeck
    lisadbeck Posts: 11
    Yes, I do need to eat more fruits and vegetables I guess, maybe that is part of it? I never used to have a problem losing weight so I can't quite figure out what I am doing wrong this time around.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    Hi
    I just went through your diary and your food looks good. You are not noting any beverages. None. are you not logging, or not drinking? Make sure you are not drinking empty calories. The other thing I did was I went to your home page and looked at your ticker you do not have a lot of weight to lose. I don't think you are in starvation mode, I think you should set a reasonable expectation to lose only 1/2 a lb per week, maybe even less.

    The very important thing is, you are not logging a lot of exercise calories, if you are exercising and not reporting it, then you could be inadvertently sabbotaging yourself.


    Best wishes.
  • lisadbeck
    lisadbeck Posts: 11
    Well, your net calories are below 1200 almost every day, even without exercise logged. So, your body is more than likely not getting an adequate number of nutrients to shed fat. Your diet is also mostly comprised of processed foods that are high in sodium and not nutritionally diverse. Finding away to incorporate some more live foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables) that are raw or cooked fresh would be a great start.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    you definitely need to eat more...
    Change your goal to 1/2 lb per week, and enter all your exercise and eat back those calories. I am guessing you should be at about 1500 a day NET (that's after eating back your exercise calories, so if you are at 1500 and burn off 300 running, you need to eat 300 more for a total of 1800 that day)
    I eat 1600 on a lazy day and 2000-2200 on a good workout day. I am 5'2" 107 lbs. That's maintenance. The last 10 pounds only came off when I netted at least 1500. You are only netting 1000 most days!
  • kylakesgal
    kylakesgal Posts: 952 Member
    I just checked out your diary too and have a few suggestions that have worked for me. First of all, the sodium in your diet is really high. I would take your sodium down to 2000 mg a day, mine is set at 1500 but in order to do that, you will have to really watch your labels. Sodium content in canned soups and vegetables are terrible!! Buy fresh or frozen veggies and try to avoid salty deli or sandwich meats. Unsalted almonds are a great healthy high protein snack. I do not salt anything!! For me, all this salt was making me retain water big time. Also drink lots and lots of water (at least 8-8oz glasses a day) and log it. Water is soooo important. I cook pretty much everything I eat. It takes some planning when I'm at work but worth it. Grilled or baked lean fish and chicken is fantastic, choose whole wheat everything from pasta to bread, baked sweet potato over a regular baked potato and just try to eat as clean as you can:) It sounds like you are exercising but it's very important to log it as a way to track your progress and also eat those extra calories on days you work out. I've learned to change my whole diet to healthier options and didn't realize how unhealthy my diet was until I started here. You can do this!!:)
  • rakelros
    rakelros Posts: 67
    Yes. You really should be eating more calories, but you also need to switch out some foods, so as to be eating "good calories"
    Highly processed foods like hamburgers in fast food restaurants, and pizzas qualify as such.

    Try to eat more apples, oranges, cucumbers, carrots, melons, bananas and other "raw" foods.
    Spinach is actually a wonderful thing to munch on when you feel drained of energy. (takes a bit to get used to, but after that... yum!)

    I tend to eat muesli with milk in the morning, then a snack of banana or a protein shake.
    Followed by a lunch of "skyr" which is a protein rich product (don´t know if you can find it where you are, usually in specialty stores).
    A snack of 12 almonds for boosted protein, and a dinner, usually made from chicken or fish. (a crisp bread with cottage cheese, tuna and spinach works wonders).
    If I´m still hungry after dinner, I snack on 12 pecan nut halves.

    On a workout day, I have to add an apple, a crispbread with cheese and usually a little protein power bar too per day.

    Good luck, and I hope this helps.
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