help please I feel like I'm going crazy

rangereight
rangereight Posts: 10
edited November 16 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm at my wit's end. I burn 700 calories a day exercising. I eat organic and healthy. Everything is fresh cooked, very little processed food. I eat 1200 calories a day. I haven't even lost a pound. What is going on? I feel like I want to just break down and cr
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Replies

  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    Can you open your diary?

    Not nearly enough information here to help you.
  • I'm at my wit's end. I burn 700 calories a day exercising. I eat organic and healthy. Everything is fresh cooked, very little processed food. I eat 1200 calories a day. I haven't even lost a pound. What is going on? I feel like I want to just break down and cr

    Sure, I haven't kept up here. But I will do it.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited April 2015
    Do you weigh everything you eat?
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
    How long have you been on your diet?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    If you're not logging do you really know how much you are eating? Do you use a food scale? How are you calculating your burns? Do you eat those calories back? You're probably just eating a lot more than you think due to not logging.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Have you read the sticky threads on this forum? Yours is probably the most frequently asked question here. Have a look at those and then come back and let us know some more info, and we'll try to help.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I'm at my wit's end. I burn 700 calories a day exercising. I eat organic and healthy. Everything is fresh cooked, very little processed food. I eat 1200 calories a day. I haven't even lost a pound. What is going on? I feel like I want to just break down and cr

    If these numbers are right you need to see a doctor. Anyone eating at the big of a deficit should be losing weight, regardless of whether you are eating organic vegetables or cookies and cake. How are you calculating your calories burned and eaten?
  • victorprocure
    victorprocure Posts: 17 Member
    Do you have a food scale?
    Do you measure and weigh everything you intake?
    Are you using a FitBit type device to measure calories burned or going purely by what the machine says?

    Need more info
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    A few questions:

    Do you weigh what you eat?
    Why aren't you logging consistently so you know you're eating 1200 calories?
    Are you eating back your exercise calories or at least a portion of them?
    And most importantly, how long have you been doing this?
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    :o start with logging everything. Then weighing everything. Portion control with measures. You are either eating too much or not enough. And be consistent with logging. And logging exercise as well could be you are not burning as much as you think.
  • kristen6350
    kristen6350 Posts: 1,094 Member
    Eating organic doesn't make the scale go down. Healthy eating doesn't either. Really, it doesn't matter what kind of food goes in your mouth. What matters is how much. Do you weigh solid food and measure liquids accurately? If you are really eating 1200 calories/day you would be losing.

    How long have you been following this plan?

    700 calorie burn is kinda high? How are you determining this? If you WERE burning 700 calories and WERE eating 1200 calories, that means you are netting 500 calories. Not cool man. But you aren't, or you'd be losing weight.

  • Dave55412
    Dave55412 Posts: 88 Member
    Try using a tape measure and use the scale less frequently. You may see results from that.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I'm at my wit's end. I burn 700 calories a day exercising. I eat organic and healthy. Everything is fresh cooked, very little processed food. I eat 1200 calories a day. I haven't even lost a pound. What is going on? I feel like I want to just break down and cr

    Sure, I haven't kept up here. But I will do it.
    Your frustration is common. The trick is to figure out which part of the weight loss equation isn't quite right hence the following questions:

    If you aren't logging your food how are you verifying that you're eating only 1200 calories per day? How are you determining portion sizes (eyeball, measuring cups, packing information, verifying with a kitchen scale)? How are you calculating the 700 calories you're burning in exercise (HRM, MFP numbers, other means)?
  • kettouji
    kettouji Posts: 16 Member
    Dave55412 wrote: »
    Try using a tape measure and use the scale less frequently. You may see results from that.
    My favorite response.

  • Thanks everyone. I calculate my calories from my elliptical trainer which counts calories for me. I also use one of those step counter/calorie counter things in my walk. I also do yoga. I haven't kept up here but I have a notebook that I use everyday for my food journal. Plus
  • Plus I drink one gallon of water a day. I also do 5 minutes of planks every other day. I eat the same meals everyday so that I don't have to think about food planning. So everything has been pre weighed and calculated and one day of my diary is like looking at my whole week.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    Thanks everyone. I calculate my calories from my elliptical trainer which counts calories for me. I also use one of those step counter/calorie counter things in my walk. I also do yoga. I haven't kept up here but I have a notebook that I use everyday for my food journal. Plus

    How long has it been since you started?
  • It's been about 2 weeks, officially. But actually 3-4. Haven't lost one pound. I don't expect rapid weight loss. Just one pound a week :(
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    It's been about 2 weeks, officially. But actually 3-4. Haven't lost one pound. I don't expect rapid weight loss. Just one pound a week :(

    You could just be retaining water from all the new exercise. But if your profile is correct and you only have 25 lbs to lose, you really are undereating at 1200 calories. Even if you are very short that is very low if you are burning as much as you think from exercise.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited April 2015
    Plus I drink one gallon of water a day. I also do 5 minutes of planks every other day. I eat the same meals everyday so that I don't have to think about food planning. So everything has been pre weighed and calculated and one day of my diary is like looking at my whole week.
    Keep in mind that drinking water won't make you lose weight. It'll keep you hydrated but not make you burn more calories.

    It sounds like you think you have everything down... but you aren't getting results. Doesn't that mean that it might be time to try something different? Take another look at what you're eating, for instance. Also, if you're eating back the calories from your elliptical sessions perhaps it's giving you too high of a calorie burn and you should eat less. Just something to think about.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Plus I drink one gallon of water a day. I also do 5 minutes of planks every other day. I eat the same meals everyday so that I don't have to think about food planning. So everything has been pre weighed and calculated and one day of my diary is like looking at my whole week.

    Do you eat your exercise calories back?

    If so, machines and MFP and phone apps WAY overestimate burns.
  • How do I calculate then? I exercise 50 minutes a day on the elliptical at an incline of 12 and resistance of 7.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,304 Member
    edited April 2015
    Aiiii Chihuahua! Why don't we start from the beginning?!

    OP: how tall are you? what is your current weight? what is your goal weight? what is your activity level during the day? How many minutes of additional exercise do you perform every day? Since you eat the same thing every day... what is it that you eat? How long have you been doing all this?
  • transparentenigma
    transparentenigma Posts: 565 Member
    edited April 2015
    With what you are describing you SHOULD be losing weight. Not very healthy mind you, but you should be netting as another poster said 500 calories which would make the scale move. This may sound kinda gross, but how's the bathroom activity? Is what's coming out adding up close to what's coming in? You need to make sure you are eating enough fiber and drinking enough water to push your food through and making sure the body isn't storing excess fecal matter.
  • nancyjay__
    nancyjay__ Posts: 310 Member
    edited April 2015
    .
  • I've been reading and maybe my elliptical is overestimating my calories. But I have no money and cannot afford a continuous heart monitor right now. I can't afford health insurance. I'm spending all my money on organic foods and fish everyday to lose weight. So how can I tell how many calories I burn? I'm under 5 feet tall, I'm 38. I do 50 minutes on the elliptical every morning at an incline of 12 and a resistance of 7. I also go for a 45 minute walk. That is everyday. I also do yoga everyday, alternating a calming 12 minute sequence one day with 5 1 minute planks, and the next day do 30 minute cardio yoga shreds. How can I tell how many calories I'm burning?
  • I'm 143 pounds and want to lose at least 20 to begin with.
  • nancyjay__
    nancyjay__ Posts: 310 Member
    Organic and fancy foods won't help you lose weight. If that's what you want to eat that's fine if you're doing it for the sole purpose of losing weight I suggest you save your money. Just stick to the calorie deficit and you'll be fine. The only thing you can do is estimate how much your burning :/ sorry. I suggest you go online search three different calorie burning calculators find the average and plug that in. You can never get an exact there are just too many variables
  • Bigkmc
    Bigkmc Posts: 25 Member
    Forget about the calories you're burning when exercising for the moment - the main thing is that you're burning calories. Make sure you are calculating the right calorie content for your food and stay below your daily target (personally I think 1200 cals isn't enough for a 1lb per week weight loss). Weigh EVERYTHING. Any cals you're burning with exercise will just increase your deficit :)
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