CANT LOSE WEIGHT NEED HELP!!

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ANT98
ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
I'm 5'6",
150,
18yrs old,
female,
exercise 5 days a week of 3x running and 4 days heavy lifting.
I eat 1600 calories(of quality whole food) (accurately counting) at about 40P/30F/30C.

In the past:
2yrs ago, went 4 months of undereating (800ish calories and 600 calorie burn workouts)
Then I heard you can have a cheat meal of how much of whatever you want, leading to a year of binge eating followed by strict dieting.
I no longer binge, but about 6 months ago, I joined the cross country running team and was in a swimming class eating 1800ish calories-lost all my muscle.
These past 4 months I started a program called body beast (5-6 days heavy lifting) eating below my tdee without any weight loss still. So I started to include 30 min of cardio 3 days. The last phase was considered a cut phase, I was eating 1600 and it's been 2 months without any weight loss still.

I don't want to be spinning my wheels, working my butt off and not be getting any results for the work I put in.

Should I lower calories further?
Should I maintain?
Should I reverse diet?

I will not give up, but I don't know how to lose weight anymore, please help!!!

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Do you weigh everything you eat and drink and double-check every item before logging?
  • ANT98
    ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
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    Yes, my family actually finds it annoying haha
  • drcohen12
    drcohen12 Posts: 6 Member
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    Sounds like you need to eat a lot more. 1600 calories, at your age and level of activityty, is likely way too low.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    If it's been 2 months of logging and excercise, and you aren't seeing any progress, you are eating more than you think. You should be seeing the scale move at this point. Make sure you are using the correct entries in the database, and try to tighten up your logging.
  • Coopertown3
    Coopertown3 Posts: 34 Member
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    Maybe you need more calories--I was stuck at 126 to 128 for a long time--i was eating 2150 calories an day--upped it to 2500 daily and I made my goal weight to 125--actually I went down to 124 in less than 5 days from the changes--I now eat 2650 daily and maintain 124 to 125--which is where I want to be--
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    drcohen12 wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to eat a lot more. 1600 calories, at your age and level of activityty, is likely way too low.
    Maybe you need more calories--I was stuck at 126 to 128 for a long time--i was eating 2150 calories an day--upped it to 2500 daily and I made my goal weight to 125--actually I went down to 124 in less than 5 days from the changes--I now eat 2650 daily and maintain 124 to 125--which is where I want to be--


    She isn't losing on 1600, so you think she should eat more?

    OP, do you use a food scale? Do you eat some/all of your exercise calories back?
  • dreena222
    dreena222 Posts: 34 Member
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    alexxazt wrote: »
    I'm 5'6",
    150,
    18yrs old,
    female,
    exercise 5 days a week of 3x running and 4 days heavy lifting.
    I eat 1600 calories(of quality whole food) (accurately counting) at about 40P/30F/30C.

    In the past:
    2yrs ago, went 4 months of undereating (800ish calories and 600 calorie burn workouts)
    Then I heard you can have a cheat meal of how much of whatever you want, leading to a year of binge eating followed by strict dieting.
    I no longer binge, but about 6 months ago, I joined the cross country running team and was in a swimming class eating 1800ish calories-lost all my muscle.
    These past 4 months I started a program called body beast (5-6 days heavy lifting) eating below my tdee without any weight loss still. So I started to include 30 min of cardio 3 days. The last phase was considered a cut phase, I was eating 1600 and it's been 2 months without any weight loss still.

    I don't want to be spinning my wheels, working my butt off and not be getting any results for the work I put in.

    Should I lower calories further?
    Should I maintain?
    Should I reverse diet?

    I will not give up, but I don't know how to lose weight anymore, please help!!!

  • dreena222
    dreena222 Posts: 34 Member
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    You don't seem very fat.....150 pounds at 5'6", I used to be 145 at 5'4" and I was just right.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    She isn't losing on 1600, so you think she should eat more?

    Muh starvashun mode

  • ANT98
    ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
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    malibu927 wrote: »
    drcohen12 wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to eat a lot more. 1600 calories, at your age and level of activityty, is likely way too low.
    Maybe you need more calories--I was stuck at 126 to 128 for a long time--i was eating 2150 calories an day--upped it to 2500 daily and I made my goal weight to 125--actually I went down to 124 in less than 5 days from the changes--I now eat 2650 daily and maintain 124 to 125--which is where I want to be--


    She isn't losing on 1600, so you think she should eat more?

    OP, do you use a food scale? Do you eat some/all of your exercise calories back?

    I've been stuck and maintaining same weight at 1600, and there's my problem, should I slowly add more calories to see if I am eating to little or drop to 1300-1400? Yes I use a food scale, and no I don't eat my exercise calories back. So if I eat 1500 and exercise burning 300, I don't eat that back.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    alexxazt wrote: »
    malibu927 wrote: »
    drcohen12 wrote: »
    Sounds like you need to eat a lot more. 1600 calories, at your age and level of activityty, is likely way too low.
    Maybe you need more calories--I was stuck at 126 to 128 for a long time--i was eating 2150 calories an day--upped it to 2500 daily and I made my goal weight to 125--actually I went down to 124 in less than 5 days from the changes--I now eat 2650 daily and maintain 124 to 125--which is where I want to be--


    She isn't losing on 1600, so you think she should eat more?

    OP, do you use a food scale? Do you eat some/all of your exercise calories back?

    I've been stuck and maintaining same weight at 1600, and there's my problem, should I slowly add more calories to see if I am eating to little or drop to 1300-1400? Yes I use a food scale, and no I don't eat my exercise calories back. So if I eat 1500 and exercise burning 300, I don't eat that back.

    If you aren't losing at 1600, eating more will cause you to gain weight. Can you open up your diary?
  • M30834134
    M30834134 Posts: 411 Member
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    alexxazt, based on your numbers, your BMR is around 1,477 calories and in order to lose 1 lb per week you should eat 1,600 calories. BUT this is not including your exercises! So, burning more than 300-400 calories during your exercises dips you below your BMR: 1600-400 = 1200 and you should not eat less than BMR.

    I just posted about this here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10181297/my-guide-to-successful-weight-loss
    • Educate yourself on BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate and find out what is your number. BMR is the bare minimum your body needs to function. BMR is the energy needed for your heart, brain, kidneys, liver, digestion, breathing, sweating, hair growth, nail growth, etc. etc. If you were to lie down without any movement for 24 hours – your body will burn BMR.
    • Select your daily calories plan that is ABOVE your BMR and DO NOT eat less than your BMR (at least not by a lot and not consistently)!!!!
    • Starvation mode. I’m not sure if the starvation mode is a myth or not but I do know (it happened to me) what happens when you under eat (constantly eat less than your BMR). Our bodies are masters of adaptation. When you supply less than BMR calories to your body, at first, it will tap into the energy reserves – the stored fat. That’s why when you start dieting the pounds fly off in numbers and easy. But, if the shortage of calories is prolonged (more than a couple of weeks), your body will realize that and say “oops, looks like my supply of energy has changed, I must adapt!” and it will ADAPT. Your body will adapt to get by on what it has and it will cut energy to whatever it can – it will slow down hormone production, slow down your liver functions, slow down your kidney functions, etc., AND it WILL SLOW DOWN YOUR METABOLISM! Eventually, any weight loss will become almost impossible. For example, if you only give your body 800 calories per day – your body will bend backwards BUT it will make it work – it will reconfigure itself to run on only 800 calories per day! So, the minute you eat just a tad more – your body will say “hey, some more energy, I better store it”! That is why all who severely restrict themselves to unhealthy (below BMR) calorie allotment immediately gain weight as soon as they try to increase daily calories to their maintenance level. How to avoid this? DO NOT EAT LESS THAN YOUR BMR!

      Eating above your BMR will have less significant impact on the crucial functions but larger impact on all others, such as fat storage.

    I hope this helps. I wish you success.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    dreena222 wrote: »
    You don't seem very fat.....150 pounds at 5'6", I used to be 145 at 5'4" and I was just right.

    To each his own. At 5'4" and 145, I didn't feel "just right" at all.
  • ANT98
    ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
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    MasterVal wrote: »
    alexxazt, based on your numbers, your BMR is around 1,477 calories and in order to lose 1 lb per week you should eat 1,600 calories. BUT this is not including your exercises! So, burning more than 300-400 calories during your exercises dips you below your BMR: 1600-400 = 1200 and you should not eat less than BMR.

    I just posted about this here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10181297/my-guide-to-successful-weight-loss
    • Educate yourself on BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate and find out what is your number. BMR is the bare minimum your body needs to function. BMR is the energy needed for your heart, brain, kidneys, liver, digestion, breathing, sweating, hair growth, nail growth, etc. etc. If you were to lie down without any movement for 24 hours – your body will burn BMR.
    • Select your daily calories plan that is ABOVE your BMR and DO NOT eat less than your BMR (at least not by a lot and not consistently)!!!!
    • Starvation mode. I’m not sure if the starvation mode is a myth or not but I do know (it happened to me) what happens when you under eat (constantly eat less than your BMR). Our bodies are masters of adaptation. When you supply less than BMR calories to your body, at first, it will tap into the energy reserves – the stored fat. That’s why when you start dieting the pounds fly off in numbers and easy. But, if the shortage of calories is prolonged (more than a couple of weeks), your body will realize that and say “oops, looks like my supply of energy has changed, I must adapt!” and it will ADAPT. Your body will adapt to get by on what it has and it will cut energy to whatever it can – it will slow down hormone production, slow down your liver functions, slow down your kidney functions, etc., AND it WILL SLOW DOWN YOUR METABOLISM! Eventually, any weight loss will become almost impossible. For example, if you only give your body 800 calories per day – your body will bend backwards BUT it will make it work – it will reconfigure itself to run on only 800 calories per day! So, the minute you eat just a tad more – your body will say “hey, some more energy, I better store it”! That is why all who severely restrict themselves to unhealthy (below BMR) calorie allotment immediately gain weight as soon as they try to increase daily calories to their maintenance level. How to avoid this? DO NOT EAT LESS THAN YOUR BMR!

      Eating above your BMR will have less significant impact on the crucial functions but larger impact on all others, such as fat storage.

    I hope this helps. I wish you success.


    Thank you! Yes I think I need to educate myself more on bmr. So if my bmr is1477, and I burn 300 calories, should I be eating 1777? And if I burn 500, I eat 1977? Rest days do I just eat bmr?
  • M30834134
    M30834134 Posts: 411 Member
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    Well, generally, you are correct in your calculations. Your BMR is just the bare minimum your body needs but you do get around throughout the day, dont you? You need energy for that too.

    If you were my wife, I would have advised you to eat more. Slowly, over 2 weeks increase your calories so you never dip below your BMR (at least not consistently and not by a lot).

    Something to consider:
    See if counting your calories using Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) would be easier for you than by adding exercise calories. With TDEE you determine your BMR then you multiply it by an activity factor to get an average number of calories you need to to eat every day. Using the TDEE, you dont bother adding and eating exercise calories. TDEE stays the same.

    For example. The activity multiplier for moderately active style (exercising 3-5 times per week) is 1.55 which would make your TDEE = 1477 * 1.55 = 2289 calories. 2,289 would your maintenance lever at which you should neither lose nor gain weight. In order to lose 1 lb per week, you need to have 500 deficit daily: 2289-500 = 1789. So, if you exercise 3-5 times per week and eat around 1700 calories per week, you should lose 1 lb per week. Doing it this way, you dont increase or reduce your calories - you eat the same number of calories every day as your fitness activity has been already taken into the equation.

    While these numbers are a good start, there are way to many variables in play and each individual is different. Pay attention to numbers, try, watch your results, then adjust.

    I wish you success.
  • ANT98
    ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
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    Thank you so much for all the advice given, it's helpful to have support
  • ANT98
    ANT98 Posts: 137 Member
    Options
    MasterVal wrote: »
    Well, generally, you are correct in your calculations. Your BMR is just the bare minimum your body needs but you do get around throughout the day, dont you? You need energy for that too.

    If you were my wife, I would have advised you to eat more. Slowly, over 2 weeks increase your calories so you never dip below your BMR (at least not consistently and not by a lot).

    Something to consider:
    See if counting your calories using Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) would be easier for you than by adding exercise calories. With TDEE you determine your BMR then you multiply it by an activity factor to get an average number of calories you need to to eat every day. Using the TDEE, you dont bother adding and eating exercise calories. TDEE stays the same.

    For example. The activity multiplier for moderately active style (exercising 3-5 times per week) is 1.55 which would make your TDEE = 1477 * 1.55 = 2289 calories. 2,289 would your maintenance lever at which you should neither lose nor gain weight. In order to lose 1 lb per week, you need to have 500 deficit daily: 2289-500 = 1789. So, if you exercise 3-5 times per week and eat around 1700 calories per week, you should lose 1 lb per week. Doing it this way, you dont increase or reduce your calories - you eat the same number of calories every day as your fitness activity has been already taken into the equation.

    While these numbers are a good start, there are way to many variables in play and each individual is different. Pay attention to numbers, try, watch your results, then adjust.

    I wish you success.

    Just want to make sure this is straight, but I have half saying I should eat less and see where that goes, and half saying to slowly increase. Which should I choose first without losing a significant amount of time?