Eating to few calories that is hurting my weight loss?

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  • voidofeverything
    voidofeverything Posts: 10
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    MKEgal wrote: »
    Holy cow... so much wrong here.
    You're 28 & 5'6".
    Going by BMI you should be 115-150.

    According to this calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine, at 150 lb your BMI would be 24.3 and you'd need 1540 cal/day to maintain that healthy weight if you were inactive.
    (140 lb, 22.6 BMI, 1495 cal/day.)

    So no, do NOT drop to 1000 cal/day. That's dangerously low.
    That BCM calculator will also tell you how many servings of the various food groups you'll need in order to maintain that healthy weight.
    From your comments & diary, it appears you need some help learning about healthy nutrition. Here's a resource which would help you learn: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

    This newbie help post has links to sexypants, realistic goal setting, accurate measuring of food, and other helpful things. At least read those first 2.

    .
    I have been stick very close to my recommended amount that MFP gives me, however I am not really seeing much loss. I have been working out regularly and sticking to a healthier eating lifestyle for 3 months
    McD's breakfast burrito, steak fries, Bailey's, & Crown Royal? That's all you had one day recently. Too few calories, and definitely not healthy.

    I'm seeing lots of meat, lots of alcohol, lots of processed foods, few fruits & veggies. (They're there, but not much.)
    Have one drink of alcohol once a week. (A drink is 1.5 oz of hard liquor, 5 oz of wine, or 12 oz of beer.)
    Have at least 5 servings of fruits & veggies every day.
    Eat breakfast (and no, oat bran & coffee is not breakfast).

    Also, it looks like your MFP calorie goal is 1450, but you're eating all over the place - 627, 1128, 1508, 1910, 1459, 738, 910 ... Find a healthy weight goal, a healthy calorie goal, and stick to it. Ignore net/exercise calories. Eat within 100 either way of your calorie goal.

    that calculator is WAYYYY off
  • voidofeverything
    voidofeverything Posts: 10
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    MKEgal wrote: »
    Holy cow... so much wrong here.
    You're 28 & 5'6".
    Going by BMI you should be 115-150.

    According to this calculator from the Baylor College of Medicine, at 150 lb your BMI would be 24.3 and you'd need 1540 cal/day to maintain that healthy weight if you were inactive.
    (140 lb, 22.6 BMI, 1495 cal/day.)

    So no, do NOT drop to 1000 cal/day. That's dangerously low.
    That BCM calculator will also tell you how many servings of the various food groups you'll need in order to maintain that healthy weight.
    From your comments & diary, it appears you need some help learning about healthy nutrition. Here's a resource which would help you learn: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

    This newbie help post has links to sexypants, realistic goal setting, accurate measuring of food, and other helpful things. At least read those first 2.

    .
    I have been stick very close to my recommended amount that MFP gives me, however I am not really seeing much loss. I have been working out regularly and sticking to a healthier eating lifestyle for 3 months
    McD's breakfast burrito, steak fries, Bailey's, & Crown Royal? That's all you had one day recently. Too few calories, and definitely not healthy.

    I'm seeing lots of meat, lots of alcohol, lots of processed foods, few fruits & veggies. (They're there, but not much.)
    Have one drink of alcohol once a week. (A drink is 1.5 oz of hard liquor, 5 oz of wine, or 12 oz of beer.)
    Have at least 5 servings of fruits & veggies every day.
    Eat breakfast (and no, oat bran & coffee is not breakfast).

    Also, it looks like your MFP calorie goal is 1450, but you're eating all over the place - 627, 1128, 1508, 1910, 1459, 738, 910 ... Find a healthy weight goal, a healthy calorie goal, and stick to it. Ignore net/exercise calories. Eat within 100 either way of your calorie goal.

    Also that calculator is for people ages 2 to 20. she is out of the age range for what it is specifying
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited March 2015
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    gbjess204 wrote: »
    I will start going off my Fitbit HR monitor for my workout sessions. I am going to try and do my workouts in the mornings- at least the cardio part. Since beginning of December I have only seen 4lbs loss, and 1.5 inch for hips and waist. and 1/2 inch on thighs. It is progress, but I would think I should have seen a little more by now.

    Since December 4 pounds is not a lot but it is something. I have only lost 2 pounds since the middle of January but I have also been in a slump breaking a stall. But this is something different than your situation.

    Can you loose weight at 1000 calories a day, yes. Is it practical no.

    Since you work out several times a week, increase your protein and fat on the days you exercise or you are very very active (higher calories out). This has made a huge difference in just lowering my simple carbs just a wee bit.

    Also, use Fitbit as a guide for your calorie burn and you can also get estimated calorie burns for certain types of exercises online that will give you a range you should be looking at.

    I am not sure if you eat back your exercise calories or not, so you also should take this into account. I personally do not eat back all of mine, but I do eat some back especially on heavy exercise day that include a lot of protein for recovery/muscle mass. No I am not building a lot muscle, but the muscles I work out I want to recover so I can work out the next day or on my next schedule.

    And use the data you get from your Fitbit to help you streamline and stay on track. Double check your food entries, get your calorie burn to a better estimate and keep tweaking a small amount (higher or lower as needed).
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Accuracy, honesty & consistency are the key. (Going on the assumption medical concerns are ruled out.)

    You indicated you use a Fitbit. First off, I'd assume it to be 5-10% off in calories burned, just because no device can be 100% accurate. So if it says you burn 2400 a day, assume its probably 2160-2280.

    Second, think of calories in as a budget. First priority is taking care of your bodily needs. Getting plenty of protein, fruits, veggies, whole grains, healthy fats. All else is welcome - depending on how it fits. So nothing wrong with Mcds, alcohol, etc. in moderation.

    Aim for a deficit of no less than 500 or no more than 1200 most days. (This incorporates my theory that the tracker cannot be 100% accurate. On a day that Fitbit says you have a 1200 deficit, it may be closer to 900-1000.) By most days, I mean its fine to aim for maintenance occasionally.

    For accuracy & honesty: weigh everything, log everything. Even weigh things that come in easy serving sizes like bread. You'll find they often say something like 2 slices = 41g, 1 serving. But then its 45g which is 1.1 serving. Those little details add up. If you're going to estimate, do it only on low calorie items. If you log 28g of spinach and its really 42g, its not going to affect the big picture. But if you're regularly 10-20% off on bananas, peanut butter, bread, etc.: your deficit is going to be much smaller than you think.

    For consistency: do this for the next 4-8 weeks. Compare weight to what you weighed 30 days ago, to adjust for TOM/hormonal shifts in water weight.

    You CAN do this. You've already started. You're averaging much lower than you'd like, but this likely means you just need to improve on accuracy & honesty & then your results will improve.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Don't drop your cals below your base range, just be more consistent in counting and logging.
    Exercise cals are very inflated for things like elliptical and stationary bike. Don't eat back your calories, unless you are excessively hungry on a workout day, and then only eat half.

    While you are trying to get the scale to move, give up alcohol, at least temporarily. It is hard to know the exact calorie count, you are more prone to snacking, especially on carbs while drinking, and when there is alcohol in your system, your body will not burn fat.

    Most of all, be patient and consistent. This is a life long struggle for you and you can't fix it overnight. Hang in there. You can do it.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    I think you are underestimating your calorie intake and overestimating your calories burned during exercise--you probably are not in danger of eating too few calories right now. You need to be brutally honest with what you are putting into your mouth every day, at every single meal. Tighten up your tracking--again, every day, every single meal--and weigh/measure all of your foods. Try to eat fewer processed food, fewer cookies/cupcakes, and drink fewer "adult beverages"--all of that will go a long way at helping you feel more satiety from less food.
  • ValentineNicole
    ValentineNicole Posts: 51 Member
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    I am in the exact same boat OP - trying really hard and seeing zero progress. I'm shifting to lower carb now, hoping to see a change. I really stuggle because, like you, I know I have weight to lose, but nothing seems to come off. I'm offer you encouragement, not advice, since I can't seem to figure it out either. It's worth it to start healthier eating habits, even when the scale feels like an enemy.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    gbjess204 wrote: »
    Thank you guys for your input. I will try to drop to ~1,000 cal a day

    I'm not sure I agree with this. To be frank, your logging is a bit sloppy, so I'm not convinced that the current calorie counts are accurate.

    If you want to commit to the calorie-counting path, tet rid of volume-based measurements and start using a scale. Only then will you know with reasonable certainty how much you're actually eating.

    I wouldn't bother cutting calories without doing that first.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    gbjess204 wrote: »
    Thank you guys for your input. I will try to drop to ~1,000 cal a day

    I'm not sure I agree with this. To be frank, your logging is a bit sloppy, so I'm not convinced that the current calorie counts are accurate.

    If you want to commit to the calorie-counting path, tet rid of volume-based measurements and start using a scale. Only then will you know with reasonable certainty how much you're actually eating.

    I wouldn't bother cutting calories without doing that first.

    She said she does use a scale, that her cottage cheese was 115g which is 1/2 a cup. I don't know...we don't use cups as a measurement in England.

    I'd agree with cutting down on alcohol. I know some people say you can eat what you like within calorie allowance, but you could try cutting alcohol and see if that helps.

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