Losing the Same Five Pounds

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jas82007
jas82007 Posts: 15 Member
edited March 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Well this diet is going the same as all the others I have tried. I start out like gangbusters, then after five days and a weight loss of 3-5 pounds, it shoots back up. Then it creeps slowly back down but not as far down as at first. Then it's back up again. I have been on a calorie diet since right after New Years and as of today my net weight loss is 3 pounds. I am currently on 1200 calories a day. Am hungry often and I still keep losing the same damn weight then putting it back. I probably can get to my target weight eventually like this but at this rate it'll take a year or more and I am already at a very low calorie intake for my age, height and weight.

I just do not get why it won't come off faster. I exercise, walk for up to two miles twice daily, work out at the gym 3 times weekly. I am in my 60's, male and need to lose about 30 pounds.
Some of this is no doubt water weight - my spouse tells me I look thinner. Any ideas why I can't lose faster?

Replies

  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
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    If you open your diary, we can see what's going on. If you are a man eating 1200 calories a day it's no wonder you can't stick to your diet. I'm a 55 yr old 5'4" woman and I eat around 1450/day to lose weight (1900 to maintain). Perhaps you should pick a higher calorie allowance so that you can stick to it for more than a few days. How tall are you, and what's your weight? How did you choose 1200 as your calorie target? This information will help folks to give you solid advice.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited March 2015
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    You need to
    1) eat more, 1200 is not enough for a male
    2) log accurately
    3) move more
    4) appreciate weight loss is not linear and water weight masks a lot of scale movement

    And
    Please post your height, age, current weight, activity level (exc exercise) and goal weight loss per week
    open your diary for specific advice
  • bainsworth1a
    bainsworth1a Posts: 313 Member
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    I agree 1200 is not enough for you. my goal calorie level is 1280 per day to lose 2 lbs a week. I am only 5'3 inches and female. did MFP give you the calorie level or did you set it yourself. also you seem to be pretty active I am mostly sedentary so that should allow you more calories not less.

    If you are keeping a diary to track your food intake make sure you are weighing and measuring your food to get the right nutrition values. it is very easy to look at a chicken breast and say that looks like about 4 oz when if you weigh it it is really 6 oz. And watch out for little things like too much salt, or condiments like ketchup.

    I have lost almost 30 lbs since august of last year so i am not meeting that 2 lb a week goal but i am not beating myself up over it. I am finally making a lifestyle change

    YOU CAN DO THIS

    Good luck
  • jas82007
    jas82007 Posts: 15 Member
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    Not sure I would want to open up my diary here- but here are my specs: I am 5'9"" and weighed 213 pounds when registering last week. I think perhaps after review I may have mis-entered my activity level. I entered 'sedentary' because the next level described someone on their feet most of the day. I felt that wasn't me. However.. I'm retired but I do a lot of stuff around the house and exercise every day. I ran a test using that category and came out with 1400 as a daily level which is probably more realistic. I am 68 but look and feel much younger (even if I do say so).

    I wonder if the 1200 level wasn't triggering some sort of metabolic reaction that has been triggering more retention than usual? I think I will go with the 1400 and see where I am by mid week. Thanks for the comments.
  • kelleybean1
    kelleybean1 Posts: 312 Member
    edited March 2015
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    copied from from a poster named mymodernbabylon:
    "Have you checked out the TDEE method of losing weight? If not, it might be worth it.
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ (figure out your TDEE and take a 15% deficit). This would be how much you eat every single day. You would not "count" exercise calories as they are part of your TDEE."

    TDEE is a method for calculating target calories based on your age, size, and activity level. I use this method and it seems the easiest for me. You can also type in TDEE in the search box and a wealth of information will come up. If you do use this remember to not eat back your excercise calories as they are already included.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    edited March 2015
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    jas82007 wrote: »
    Not sure I would want to open up my diary here- but here are my specs: I am 5'9"" and weighed 213 pounds when registering last week. I think perhaps after review I may have mis-entered my activity level. I entered 'sedentary' because the next level described someone on their feet most of the day. I felt that wasn't me. However.. I'm retired but I do a lot of stuff around the house and exercise every day. I ran a test using that category and came out with 1400 as a daily level which is probably more realistic. I am 68 but look and feel much younger (even if I do say so).

    I wonder if the 1200 level wasn't triggering some sort of metabolic reaction that has been triggering more retention than usual? I think I will go with the 1400 and see where I am by mid week. Thanks for the comments.

    If you don't want to open your diary, that's fine, but it helps us determine what might be going wrong. Do you use a food scale to weigh what you eat? Are you creating/logging your own recipes or finding something that may or may not match in the database? Are you logging every single item in there, including the cream and sugar in your coffee and the oil you cook in?
  • StrugglingtoMove
    StrugglingtoMove Posts: 73 Member
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    jas82007 wrote: »
    Well this diet is going the same as all the others I have tried. I start out like gangbusters, then after five days and a weight loss of 3-5 pounds, it shoots back up. Then it creeps slowly back down but not as far down as at first. Then it's back up again. I have been on a calorie diet since right after New Years and as of today my net weight loss is 3 pounds. I am currently on 1200 calories a day. Am hungry often and I still keep losing the same damn weight then putting it back. I probably can get to my target weight eventually like this but at this rate it'll take a year or more and I am already at a very low calorie intake for my age, height and weight.

    I just do not get why it won't come off faster. I exercise, walk for up to two miles twice daily, work out at the gym 3 times weekly. I am in my 60's, male and need to lose about 30 pounds.
    Some of this is no doubt water weight - my spouse tells me I look thinner. Any ideas why I can't lose faster?

    Sounds more like its your food choices. Get a scale and weigh your food and calorie count for a week. I bet the difference will be seen.

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