Struggling to lose a pound a week
EmmaLevy2015
Posts: 9 Member
Started off really well, but now things have really slowed down. I'm on 1200 calories a day to lose 2lb a week and I usually eat the calories back from walking which is tracked through my iPhone. I don't really get time to do proper excercise with 2 children but I do walk at least 4 miles a day doing the school runs sometimes more and usually less at weekends. Feel free to look at my diary 
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Mostly likely the inflated calorie estimates often attributed to walking burns are playing a part.0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »Mostly likely the inflated calorie estimates often attributed to walking burns are playing a part.
It pains me but I have to agree. Try eating back half the calories from walking, or none at all. What activity level did you put in your settings?0 -
Your profile shows you have 24 pounds to lose. What is your current height/weight? 1 pound a week is pretty good and might be a more realistic goal if you only have a small amount to lose.0
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I've looked on lots of sites and it usually comes up with about 75 calories a mile for my body weight plus I push a 3 year old in a pushchair so it must be slightly more0
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I'm 5ft2 and currently 136 pounds0
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With 24 pounds to lose, 2 pounds a week is going to be too aggressive for you. .5-1 pound will be a better option.
Just double check to make sure your entries are accurate (the entry you have for your banana today is different from the one in your diary from previous days under breakfast) and weigh everything.0 -
The only thing in your diary that stands out to me, and this is more for general health and not weight loss, is your daily fat goal seems oddly low.
MFP has a minimum goal of 1200/day. So if you put in a weight loss goal that is too aggressive for your stats, you end up at 1200. Example:
Let's say based on your height, weight, age, gender and stated activity level MFP thinks you will burn 1800 in a typical day. You say you want to lose 2 pounds a week, so MFP does the math: 1800 - 1000 = 800, but MFP will not recommend you eat so low. So you get a goal of 1200 to lose '2 pounds' a week. Except mathematically, your deficit is more like 600 so you'll actually be on track to lose a little over 1 pound.
This is not a bad thing, its just a matter of math & science. If you can increase your activity, you can burn more. But it sounds like you are being lightly active already.
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I'm set as active and yes I weigh everything. I couldn't find the other tool I used for my bananas last time. If I set my goal to a pound a week it's going to give me loads more calories to eat. It will end up taking even longer won't it?0
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You seem to be weighing your food which is good. I would eat back less of your exercise calories. What did you set your activity level at in your goals?
1200 calories is the lowest MFP will go with women's calories. Here's something that you can try. You can set your goal to maintain your current weight. This will tell you what your base calorie requirements are. Subtract that number from 1200 and then divide it by 500. This will be what you will lose weekly on a 1200 calorie diet. Ex. 1500-1200=300 then 300/500=0.6 so you would lose 0.6 pounds per week.0 -
It probably won't give you loads more. Test it at 1.5/week and again at 1/week just to see what calories in it recommends. When you get to a point where it does NOT tell you 1200/week, the expectations should be more realistic.
I know 'fast' is preferred, but the goal is long term health & well-being. So if it takes an extra 6-12 weeks to get there, that's not so horrible - right?EmmaLevy2015 wrote: »I'm set as active and yes I weigh everything. I couldn't find the other tool I used for my bananas last time. If I set my goal to a pound a week it's going to give me loads more calories to eat. It will end up taking even longer won't it?
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Do u think 151 calories for 2.2 miles walking is inaccurate?0
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Another potential cause.EmmaLevy2015 wrote: »I'm set as active and yes I weigh everything. I couldn't find the other tool I used for my bananas last time. If I set my goal to a pound a week it's going to give me loads more calories to eat. It will end up taking even longer won't it?
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What that I'm set at active?0
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Yes.0
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If you're earning extra calories from your iPhone app - your activity level is probably fine in my opinion. On the other hand, being in the habit of leaving 100-200 calories 'on the table' can help to offset for any errors in the iPhone app calculations.
151 cals for 2.2 miles is probably about right. I'm lighter than you, and walking at a brisk pace (30 minutes for 2 miles) I burn about 150 cals. Though part of that is accounted for in my BMR so its a net gain of about 125.0 -
One technique I find extremely helpful on a cut is Intermittent Fasting (16/8 approach). Give that a try, I did once and never looked back. Found that I eat more carbs on my cut with IF compared to cutting without.0
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Plus carb cycling0
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If you eat them all back, though, the extra calories are a wash. They net to zero and an overstated activity level could still factor in to less loss than expected.StaciMarie1974 wrote: »If you're earning extra calories from your iPhone app - your activity level is probably fine in my opinion.
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The bottom line, is that gender and current weight are a big factor in how much you burn per day. A petite female is always going to have lower #s than someone who is taller & heavier. How much you burn in a day is a factor in how much of a deficit you can reasonably create & therefore how fast you lose.0
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Okay I've set my activity level to slightly active and put my goal down to 1.5lb and its given me 1200 calories again, should I just stick to this and eat half my walking calories. I obviously burn more than just the walking as I have 2 active children and housework to do0
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If you're set as active but you're counting the exercise you do normally (walking the kids to school, running around with them, etc.) and on top of that you're counting walks as part of your normal routine AND eating those calories back, you're likely overestimating your burn. It's like double-dipping.0
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Out of curiosity what happens if you put to 1 pound a week? If you get the 1200/day goal it means that your deficit is probably not as big as you hope it would be.
You're losing on average ~1 pound a week, yes? Eating as you are, activity as it is, you'll likely continue to lose at this rate. If you think you can get enough nutrition and feel satisfied eating a little less (not eating all your walking calories back) then you can probably lose a little faster. On the other hand, if you feel you shouldn't eat below what you're eating now - nothing wrong with losing 1 per week. As you get closer to goal that likely will slow down more.0 -
Perhaps you should have included my next sentence, where I suggested leaving an extra 100-200 calories on the table to account for any errors?DeguelloTex wrote: »
If you eat them all back, though, the extra calories are a wash. They net to zero and an overstated activity level could still factor in to less loss than expected.StaciMarie1974 wrote: »If you're earning extra calories from your iPhone app - your activity level is probably fine in my opinion.
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Well, you're bumping up against MFP's 1200 minimum, which kind of skews the analysis. If you're logging correctly and not losing the expected amount over a reasonable period of time -- probably at least a couple of months -- then you're moving less than you think or might have a medical issue. And the "logging correctly" will still be a big if.
I have two active children, housework, shopping, cooking, lifting three times a week, and about 15K steps a day and I probably wouldn't go past "lightly active."0 -
Bottom line at 5'2" and 136 losing 2 per week would be near impossible unless you do a high amount of exercise & activity. (I classify activity as day to day stuff, and exercise as intentional for the sake of exercise.) Losing 1.5 pounds per week would still be a stiff challenge.
*Assuming you still eat at a safe level, to have proper nutritional needs met.0 -
Perhaps you should have read the very first post in the thread in which I wrote that eating back of all the probably overestimated burns was likely to be a factor. That had already been covered.StaciMarie1974 wrote: »Perhaps you should have included my next sentence, where I suggested leaving an extra 100-200 calories on the table to account for any errors?DeguelloTex wrote: »
If you eat them all back, though, the extra calories are a wash. They net to zero and an overstated activity level could still factor in to less loss than expected.StaciMarie1974 wrote: »If you're earning extra calories from your iPhone app - your activity level is probably fine in my opinion.
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I'm 5'2" and 136# also, I started low carb on 5-7-15, and i weighed 145, its taken me til now to lose 9#. I eat 1200 cals a day. and don't eat back my exercise cals, and the only exercise I get this time of the year, is riding my horses and barn work. I think 1# a wk is fine, u don't have alot to lose. I'm gonna friend request u, we can keep in touch!0
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Ok. Here's the math.
I put your stats into this calculator and put your exercise at "light" since all you do is walk. It calculates your TDEE (the total amount of calories your body burns everyday) at 1938.
For every 1lb per week you want to lose, you would subtract 500 calories a day.
So for losing 2lbs a week: 1938 - 1000 = 938 calories a day to eat. DO NOT DO THIS! (caps for emphasis because I want it to be clear that I'm not recommending this). MFP will not give someone less than 1200 calories a day because its unhealthy and not possible to get the appropriate nutrition.
To lose 1 lbs a week: 1938 - 500 = 1438 calories a day to eat. Keep in mind that with the TDEE method, you don't eat back exercise calories because it's already built into your calorie goal. If you are at 1200 calories plus eating back exercise calories (~200 or so a day per your post above), then you are eating 1400+ change a day. This is why you are losing a pound a week. It makes sense.
To lose 0.5 lbs a week: 1938 - 250 = 1688 calories a day to eat. You could eat more food and still lose weight.
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I have seen this suggested to measure calories burned from running/walking...
http://www.runnersworld.com/weight-loss/how-many-calories-are-you-really-burning?page=single0 -
@EmmaLevy2015:
You're doing great! One pound a week (or slightly less) is perfect for where you are right now. I would keep doing everything exactly the same way. In August or September, you'll likely slow to a half-pound a week or less. And that will likely be the right loss weight also.
Keep up the good work!0
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