Not losing - so decrease calories?
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Lola2248
Posts: 126 Member
I'm not losing. for 85 days I have lost 7lbs. Something is off. I am much more accurate with my logging now so I am thinking of lowering my Calorie allowance.
Its set at 1550 for 1lb a week. So lowering it will be tough, but what else can I do :-(
Its set at 1550 for 1lb a week. So lowering it will be tough, but what else can I do :-(
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Replies
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Do you weigh everything you eat? Do you eat back exercise calories? Can you open your diary? What are your stats (height, weight, age)?0
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I do weigh almost everything, exception being if I am starving in work, and grab an apple, or nectarine I try and gauge it.
I sometimes eat back exercise calories if I am hungry, but not religiously.
I am 5' 6", 205lbs and 35.
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Hmm, ok. Can you open you diary?0
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Done
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You've got a few things in your diary that could be weighed to get a more accurate idea of calories, things like bread and Wheetabix. I've started weighing my bread instead of just going by the what it says per slice on the packet, and the slices always weigh more than what it says. It'll only be a small difference probably, but given your actual loss and expected loss you're only a couple of hundred calories a day over (you expect 1lb/week, you're losing about 0.6lbs/week, which means you're about 200 calories a day out).
Other than that, all I can think is either the days where you're not logging/adding quick add calories possibly means you're going over more than you think and removing your deficit, or your metabolism is just lower than what the TDEE calculators say (they're only estimates, after all) and you'll need to eat a bit less to get a faster rate of loss.0 -
I'm hungry on 1550 lol. Like stomach rumbling hungry.
And there were a few days last week I logged nothing as I was ill and didn't eat for 3 days. And then on Saturday I ate anything I felt like as I hadn't eaten for o long lol.
But thank you, will note comments. Might lower for a few weeks.... See what happens
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Yeah, I know how you feel! I'm hungry all the time, too. Try to focus on eating foods high in protein and fat as they keep you full longer.
Ultimately even if you can't bring yourself to eat less, at least you are still losing weight, even if slowly. You'll get to your goal eventually!0 -
How is your water intake? I would suggest boosting water and eating few more high protein snacks/smoothies. I drink close to 100oz of water a day. I didn't look at your diary, but you could try setting up your meals with 3-4oz of lean protein and portioned out veggies. Calories arent the problem most of the time. I hardly count them and I am always very under. Just a suggestion.
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I'm not sure what you're eating, but maybe you need to add more protein to your diet. If you're stomach is growling at 1550, you may have filled up with things that you think are "healthy" and may be low in calories, but have little nutritional value. I focus more on my macronutrients than my calories.0
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Losing at a rate of a pound per week for 85 days would put you at 12 pounds lost already, so that's only 5 more than you were expected to lose. You could just be holding some extra water weight at the time that you weighed, which could easily account for those 5 pounds. Also, have you checked to make sure your starting weight and height are correct? MFP could be overcalculating your rate of loss if you tell it that you are shorter/heavier than you currently are. Also, you have to readjust for every few pounds that you lose, as your BMR will decrease with every few pounds lost, meaning that if you want to keep the same rate of loss, you have to lower your calories (although personally I would just choose to eat the same amount and lose the weight slower). These are just a few possibilities along with what everyone's already mentioned. Good luck to you!0
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Lower the aggressiveness of your goal to a half a pound a week for more calories. Tighten up your logging if you're not losing.0
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Do you get enough water? Hunger and thirst cues are hard to distinguish. I know everyone on here seems okay with it, but being chronically hungry doesn't seem right to me
Like everyone else said, you're still losing, just slowly. Which is okay.
What do you do for exercise? Do you do any strength training?0 -
And looking at your diary, you're eating a lot of calorie-dense foods that definitely wouldn't fill me up. I know everyone is different, so I feel wrong passing judgement, but here are some specific things i think you could do to be able to eat "more" (and healthier) on fewer or the same calories:
-cut out the added sugar--switch to stevia (I love love love stevia and would go crazy or be 10lbs heavier without it) or just take your coffee unsweetened
-cut the fruit juice (there a ton of low or zero-cal tasty drink options out there)
-eat waaay more vegetables and less pasta., bread, rice.
-find low-cal treats you enjoy (swap a square of dark chocolate for the candy bars, etc.)
-I would go for whole milk over skim, even if it means using a little less--you'll feel more satisfied and less likely to grab something unhealthy later in the day
These are just what I would do, but everyone's body/dietary needs and preferences are different. And what you've been doing has been working, just slowly, which is fine.
It looks like a lot of days you get hungry and grab something convenient/tasty to eat. Do you prelog? For me, having a plan for the day and knowing when/what my next meal will be stops me from extra snacking.0 -
Looking at your logs you are very carb heavy with your calories. This causing havoc with your blood sugar and insulin levels. That's why you feel hungry. Your blood sugar spikes and then goes down. My advice would be to reduce the carb intake and replace with healthy fats and protein.
I did the exact same thing at the begining of the year and have lost 30 pounds without changing my exercise or calorie intake. When your body releases a lot of insulin your body holds on to fat. If your blood sugar (and then your insulin) are more stable then your body won't need to hold onto fat and it will burn off.
Do an internet search on the Maffetone 2 Week test. That's what I started with. It's not easy but I was amazed by the results.0 -
eyeofnewt555 wrote: »And looking at your diary, you're eating a lot of calorie-dense foods that definitely wouldn't fill me up. I know everyone is different, so I feel wrong passing judgement, but here are some specific things i think you could do to be able to eat "more" (and healthier) on fewer or the same calories:
-cut out the added sugar--switch to stevia (I love love love stevia and would go crazy or be 10lbs heavier without it) or just take your coffee unsweetened
-cut the fruit juice (there a ton of low or zero-cal tasty drink options out there)
-eat waaay more vegetables and less pasta., bread, rice.
-find low-cal treats you enjoy (swap a square of dark chocolate for the candy bars, etc.)
-I would go for whole milk over skim, even if it means using a little less--you'll feel more satisfied and less likely to grab something unhealthy later in the day
These are just what I would do, but everyone's body/dietary needs and preferences are different. And what you've been doing has been working, just slowly, which is fine.
It looks like a lot of days you get hungry and grab something convenient/tasty to eat. Do you prelog? For me, having a plan for the day and knowing when/what my next meal will be stops me from extra snacking.
Thanks for the advice! I didn't realise I was so high in carbs to be honest. As I don't eat red meat, and can't eat a lot of egg, I feel quite limited in the protein choice department. Think I need to get experimenting! And Nice idea with the milk. I might try that. I have black tea, but in coffee I have a splash of milk.0 -
For protein sources, go for fish. Salmon is high in protein and very good for you. Tofu and soy products are also high in protein. Beans/lentils will be your friends, as well.0
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eyeofnewt555 wrote: »Do you get enough water? Hunger and thirst cues are hard to distinguish. I know everyone on here seems okay with it, but being chronically hungry doesn't seem right to me
Like everyone else said, you're still losing, just slowly. Which is okay.
What do you do for exercise? Do you do any strength training?
Yes my training sessions with my PT are strength training based with about 10-15 minutes of HIIT. I then go once by myself, focussing on strength training, and another time, cardio focussed.
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I'm not losing. for 85 days I have lost 7lbs. Something is off. I am much more accurate with my logging now so I am thinking of lowering my Calorie allowance.
Its set at 1550 for 1lb a week. So lowering it will be tough, but what else can I do :-(
2 observations..........
When you are within 10-15 pounds of goal a 1/2 pound loss is good progress. I'm not sure where you are at, but perhaps 1 pound every week is a bit aggressive.
Activity level, exercise. Part of the equation is logging food. The other part is logging exercise and an assigned activity level. I use a FitBit. It's great because it gives me an honest assessment of my movement. I always thought it was more.
Cutting out carbs will help you lose WATER weight at first (so the scale will move). Vegetarians (or close to it) are typically higher carb. If you have medical issues re: carbs, then by all means lower your carbs. Weight loss is calories in / calories out. You don't need to change macros (protein, fat, carbs) to lose weight.0
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