I don't know what Im doing wrong!

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roz112
roz112 Posts: 77 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So basically this is my first time creating a post although I've been using MFP for quite a while. I'm 5'8 and about 127 pounds (Im quite lean but more bottom heavy). I used to be pretty consistent with my exercise regime but I haven't been going for the past 2-3 weeks because of my new job (office job, sitting for 8 hrs) and the last thing I can think about doing is going to the gym after work. For the past 2 months I've also switched over to being a vegetarian (used to only eat protein because i LOVED meat). I usually eat pretty consistently throughout the week. For example today i had..

Breakfast: Protein shake (greek yogurt, promasil protein powder, banana)
Lunch: quinoa, red kidney beans, sweet potato, lentils, and raw cauliflower salad (homemade)
and then a few hours later had a pure protein bar with an espresso
Dinner: egg whites, toast with dill cream cheese
Snack: few spoonfuls of chapmans chocolate froyo, piece of chocolate
My calories for today were about 950 which i know is quite low but i eat when im hungry and stop when im full. I usually eat more when i workout although my calories are still usually pretty low.

My question is why does my weight not fluctuate at all! When i workout pretty hard and keep up with my macro nutrients i stay the same weight as when i eat a lot (junk food)(1800 cals more) and don't work out. How is that possible. I cant seem to lose or gain weight. Can someone please explain to me how this weight stuff works (i know calories in and out but what am i missing) and why cant i seem to make a change. (i also like to search a lot about how calories and weight loss and all that stuff works during my free time)

Any advice would be great! oh and also im ganna start going to the gym saturday and sunday and 1 day during the weekday :)


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Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    roz112 wrote: »
    I cant seem to lose or gain weight.

    Which one are you trying to do?

  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    Cherimoose wrote: »
    roz112 wrote: »
    I cant seem to lose or gain weight.

    Which one are you trying to do?


    Ideally lose a few pounds
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    You're not counting your calories correctly, and are eating at your maintenance level. I'd suggest being extremely careful about your calorie counting, weighing your food, find out exactly how much you're eating and take a couple hundred off of there.
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    You're not counting your calories correctly, and are eating at your maintenance level. I'd suggest being extremely careful about your calorie counting, weighing your food, find out exactly how much you're eating and take a couple hundred off of there.

    I weigh and measure my food pretty diligently i would say. And is it not unhealthy to go below 950 cals even being sedentary?
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    edited November 2014
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    What is your age?
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    What is your age?

    22
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    With doing absolutely absolutely the bare minimum activity above what it takes to sustain life, your TDEE is between 1650-1710 calories burned per day, meaning that eating any less than that will mean you lose weight. It would be physically impossible to not lose weight for you to eat 950 calories per day.

    950 calories per day is a few hundred under even your BMR (calories burned just by being alive), so yes... that would be unhealthy.

    You are ingesting more calories than you believe you are.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Can you open your diary, Roz?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    roz112 wrote: »
    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    You're not counting your calories correctly, and are eating at your maintenance level. I'd suggest being extremely careful about your calorie counting, weighing your food, find out exactly how much you're eating and take a couple hundred off of there.

    I weigh and measure my food pretty diligently i would say. And is it not unhealthy to go below 950 cals even being sedentary?
    I think there is miscalculation somewhere because, otherwise, eating 950 calories would result in weight loss.

    950 calories is not healthy.

    I mean this in kindest way, but none of us are special snowflakes when it comes to weight loss. :smile:

    If you truly are eating 950 calories, you need to get to the doctor because something is wrong.


  • SlimMe37
    SlimMe37 Posts: 133 Member
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    Why do you want to lose? You're skinny. We are the same height and I would be skin and bone at that weight. I would say maybe tone up but definately not lose anymore.
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    Thanks for the responses everyone! i guess i am not doing something right. I weigh my foods and measure with measuring cups but i guess the calories i input in are not accurate based on the weights :(

    How can i ensure the calories i input are accurate?
  • miche_smash
    miche_smash Posts: 131 Member
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    If you eat 950 cals one day and 1800 the next, over time that averages out you're probably ending up right around your TDEE and you don't lose or gain weight. Weigh loss and gain happens over time. If you eat less consistently over a couple months you'll lose weight. If you overeat consistently over a couple months you'll gain weight. Since you're probably already at a healthy weight you aren't going to see huge fluctuations in your weight day to day or even week to week.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Make sure you're logging everything you drink other than water also. People tend to miss that.
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    miche_smash wrote: »
    If you eat 950 cals one day and 1800 the next, over time that averages out you're probably ending up right around your TDEE and you don't lose or gain weight. Weigh loss and gain happens over time. If you eat less consistently over a couple months you'll lose weight. If you overeat consistently over a couple months you'll gain weight. Since you're probably already at a healthy weight you aren't going to see huge fluctuations in your weight day to day or even week to week.

    So would eating i dunno about 1300 consistently cause weight loss? Another concern i have is that i usually get full pretty quickly and lets say hypothetically i logged my calories correctly could my metabolism be super slow due to extensive calorie deficit?
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    peachyfuzzle wrote: »
    Make sure you're logging everything you drink other than water also. People tend to miss that.

    Thank you for your help. I only drink water, and sparkling water occasionally. I hate juice and soda (shocking i know lol)
  • roz112
    roz112 Posts: 77 Member
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    roz112 wrote: »
    miche_smash wrote: »
    If you eat 950 cals one day and 1800 the next, over time that averages out you're probably ending up right around your TDEE and you don't lose or gain weight. Weigh loss and gain happens over time. If you eat less consistently over a couple months you'll lose weight. If you overeat consistently over a couple months you'll gain weight. Since you're probably already at a healthy weight you aren't going to see huge fluctuations in your weight day to day or even week to week.

    So would eating i dunno about 1300 consistently cause weight loss? Another concern i have is that i usually get full pretty quickly and lets say hypothetically i logged my calories correctly could my metabolism be super slow due to extensive calorie deficit?

    *eating
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Metabolism doesn't matter. What matters is Physics. If calories expended are greater than calories ingested, it would be physically impossible to not lose weight.

    Since your TDEE is right around 1700, and you don't have very much you're trying to lose, you'd likely be safe at even 1500cal/day, but you're not going to lose the couple of pounds very quickly. Expect it to take a number of weeks. 1300 is just above your BMR, so it is at least better than 950.

    If you drink alcohol, that counts too. Anything with calories at all counts, even gum.
  • nina07111
    nina07111 Posts: 25 Member
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    Your TDEE is between 1650-1710, if you consume 1300 consistently, you will be able to lose weight at a rate of approximately 0.7 lbs/week.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    roz112 wrote: »
    Breakfast: Protein shake (greek yogurt, promasil protein powder, banana)
    Lunch: quinoa, red kidney beans, sweet potato, lentils, and raw cauliflower salad (homemade)
    and then a few hours later had a pure protein bar with an espresso
    Dinner: egg whites, toast with dill cream cheese
    Snack: few spoonfuls of chapmans chocolate froyo, piece of chocolate
    My calories for today were about 950.

    I stopped reading your post at this point above. I don't think that's accurate for the calories. I'm also vegetarian and I've logged most of the above, something about that just doesn't seem right to me.

    I'd try to look more closely at my logging to make sure there aren't any errors.

    Good luck!

  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited November 2014
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    roz112 wrote: »
    Breakfast: Protein shake (greek yogurt, promasil protein powder, banana)
    Lunch: quinoa, red kidney beans, sweet potato, lentils, and raw cauliflower salad (homemade)
    and then a few hours later had a pure protein bar with an espresso
    Dinner: egg whites, toast with dill cream cheese
    Snack: few spoonfuls of chapmans chocolate froyo, piece of chocolate
    My calories for today were about 950 which i know is quite low but i eat when im hungry and stop when im full. I usually eat more when i workout although my calories are still usually pretty low.



    Any advice would be great! oh and also im ganna start going to the gym saturday and sunday and 1 day during the weekday :)


    Purchase a food scale. I love me some sweet potato - but they can be pretty calorie dense. How did you log it? And when you say 'a few spoon fulls' of froyo, how did you calculate the calorie amount?

    I hate hate hate saying this, but maybe you are eating more then you think you are.

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