Why wont I lose...thats the BIG question!!

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shelly650
shelly650 Posts: 319
in Health and Weight Loss
Well, this is the second time for me to post about my struggle to lose weight! I joined MFP On the 6th of March and in the first week I lost 5lbs! I was so motivated by this. I am 5ft 5in and at the beginning weighed 175.2lbs. The lowest weight I ever got down to was 168lbs, but I have been fluctuating between 168.8 and 170.6 for the past month and a half!

I started off as MFP recommended, eating 1200 calories a day, but about 3weeks ago I woke up quite dizzy, it was like the room was spinning and that lasted for two days. So because of that I thought that I wasnt eating enough calories, so I decided to up my calories to between 1300 and 1400 per day. Still no movement and gaining some weeks! So this evening, I have decided im am going to try eating 1200 calories again hopefully this will help!

By the way, i always eat back my exercise calories. I upped my exercise to 50 minutes 5 days a week instead of 30 minutes 4 times a week! I really dont no what to do!!
I have no real measurement loss either!!

Does anyone have any tips!! I really would appreciate them!!
P.S. If you are checking my diary and you see a lot of red and "overeating" dont mind it because I have just changed my settings back to 1200 calories!! I was within my calories range that day!!

Replies

  • LadyT02182011
    LadyT02182011 Posts: 113
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    Try lowering your carbs to around 100g per day. You consume quite a bit of carbs. Your sodium is excellent, usually under 1500g but as long as you stay under 2500mg that will be good. I don't eat my exercise calories back but others do and it works for them. Try consuming between 1300-1400 calories and see how that works for you because 1200 may be too low (no need to get dizzy again). Try lowering the carbs for a few days to a week and see how that works for you.
  • rachaelliversidge
    rachaelliversidge Posts: 16 Member
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    Hey. Your exercise cals seem quite high some days, do you wear a heart rate monitor? If not maybe you could be over estimating? Just an idea?
  • shelly650
    shelly650 Posts: 319
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    Hey. Your exercise cals seem quite high some days, do you wear a heart rate monitor? If not maybe you could be over estimating? Just an idea?

    I was thinking that myself!! I dont have a HRM at the moment, I cant afford one but I would love to get one!!
  • shelly650
    shelly650 Posts: 319
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    Try lowering your carbs to around 100g per day. You consume quite a bit of carbs. Your sodium is excellent, usually under 1500g but as long as you stay under 2500mg that will be good. I don't eat my exercise calories back but others do and it works for them. Try consuming between 1300-1400 calories and see how that works for you because 1200 may be too low (no need to get dizzy again). Try lowering the carbs for a few days to a week and see how that works for you.

    I was aware that my carbs are quite high, I just find it hard to get snacks that are low in carbs.....do you have any suggestions??
  • happy_vegan
    happy_vegan Posts: 200 Member
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    Hey. Your exercise cals seem quite high some days, do you wear a heart rate monitor? If not maybe you could be over estimating? Just an idea?

    I was thinking that myself!! I dont have a HRM at the moment, I cant afford one but I would love to get one!!

    This is very true. The machines at the gym say that I burn around 40% more than I really do. For example, in an hour I'm lucky if I've burned 500 calories using my HRM. The machines will say that I burn around 12 cal/minute = 720. I would workout for an hour and a half burn 1000 calories and think wow that was easy! But in reality it was maybe 750. These calories add up especially if you eat all your calories back like the forums say to.

    I still eat them back but I monitor with my HRM. I never log smaller things like cleaning the house and short bike rides - things that really DONT get your heart rate up. I don't know if you were doing that but I see a lot of people logging small things and then wondering why the calories don't add up.

    It really is a science. Use measuring cups. Look up the REAL nutrition info on the USDA website. Someone else posted that manufacturers can be up to 40% off on their labeling. For example potato bags will say one potato is 100 calories, but USDA says that one potato by WEIGHT (and I weigh them at the store) is actually 284. Thats way more than 40% off. HUGE!

    http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
    http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuidanceRegulatoryInformation/InformationforRestaurantsRetailEstablishments/ucm063367.htm
    http://nutritiondata.self.com/

    A LOT of MFP entries are completely careless, cutting the calorie in half sometimes. For example one of the red wine calories is like 72 cal/glass when it's normally 125.

    It can be a long process and it's frustrating that it's not as easy to get this info as it should be, and that you'll ahve to make new habits like always measuring but you WILL get results!!
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
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    When you up your calorie intake it can take a few weeks for your body to re-adjust to eating more, especially if you weren't giving it enough with 1200 cals. I agree that getting a HRM is a good idea!

    Continue switching it up and see what keeps working for you!
  • rachaelliversidge
    rachaelliversidge Posts: 16 Member
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    Obviously everyone is different and it depend what exercise you are doing etc. But as a rough guide a generally only burn 600 cals per hour on things like elliptical etc unless I am doing interval training etc and even that is keep my hr well in the cardio zone. Also things like bike etc I find burn less. just I thought as I am 5.6 and not dissimilar in size.
    The only other things I would say is are you measuring everything? And if so just stick with it, a couple
  • pinbotchick
    pinbotchick Posts: 3,904
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    You are getting closer to your goal and so it will be harder to lose. I might suggest aiming for 1/2 or 1 pound a week vs more. This will allow you to eat more make your transition to maintenance eating less stressful. How active are you during the day? Those calories can really add up as well. I'm 5"5 1/2 and weigh 187. I'm eating 1900 to 2100 cal a week and losing. I'm very active at work and my workouts vary from 30 min light activity to running 3 times a week (2, 4 and 8 mile runs). I've heard people say several times - I skipped working out this week or only did light workouts and lost weight. I think it's because they are eating closer to their actually burned cal number vs having a huge deficit.

    How accurate are you with your food? I weigh everything. I found huge difference with 1/2 cup vs measuring in grams. It makes the cal in more accurate. A digital food scale is only $20 - it's the best tool in my arsenal!!! Good luck.
  • rachaelliversidge
    rachaelliversidge Posts: 16 Member
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    Sorry didn't finish! Yep a couple of weeks ago I didn't loose a pound for over three weeks and then I lost over 4 in a week and a half. I think sometimes your body just has to adjust and if you are doing everything right it will start coming off again. I totally know how you feel as it can be really frustrating when you are trying hard!

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