1000 calorie deficit & no weight lose

irishbsun
irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
edited July 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I am frustrated. Really really frustrated. Began tracking calories and realized I was not eating a min of 1200 a day so I upped my in take. I workout with weights 2/3 x a week, kickboxing 2x and yoga at home on other days.

In order to lose weight I need a 1k deficiency, which I have been doing daily. I've lost nothing. I have actually GAINED 8lbs and no I don't believe it's muscle my clothes are getting snug. I don't eat crap. I use both this app and FitBit so I can see where I am with calories. I am really frustrated. I have 60lbs to lose and nothing is budging. I recently had my blood drawn for a hormone check & awaiting results. After my second child 3 yes ago I have not been able to lose weight. It's driving me crazy! I've never been this heavy and it literally physically hurts. I'm only 5'1 and this weight is literally weighing me down.

Any thoughts or advise? I'm about to eat a box of kitkats out of frustration.
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Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Are you weighing your food on a digital scale to know for sure you're accurate with your intake?
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited July 2015
    If you're not losing, you're not at a deficit. Period, full stop.

    If you're actually gaining weight, you're over-eating. Period, full stop.

    If you've only just started, it can take 1-3 weeks for things to kick in.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
    No I have not, I was considering getting one. I eat lots of veggies have cut back on fruit and red meat. Been sticking to chicken and fish.
  • megantischner
    megantischner Posts: 85 Member
    Are you overestimating your calories burned for workouts? Do you eat all your exercise calories back? Do you weight (not measure with cups, but weigh with a food scale) everything? How long have you been doing all of this?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    if you are gaining then you are in a calorie surplus.

    You indicated that you are not weighing your food, I highly suggest you get a food scale and weight all solids. More than likely you are underestimating portion sizes and eating more than you think.

    Do you eat back 100% of exercise calories?
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    My thought it that it's hard to imagine a scenario that involves both a gain of eight pounds and a 1000 calorie a day deficit but doesn't involved an alien baby or something like that.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    How many calories of food and drink per day ? An open diary might help.
  • Most (not all) people overestimate their exercise calories burned and or calories eaten. If your tests come back normal have your doctor run blood work for Thyroid disease. If all that comes back normal you are probably eating too much or overestimating your calorie burn. I would also suggest you find out what your Basal Metabolic Rate is, you should be eating at least that number of calories.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
    Looking for
    My thought it that it's hard to imagine a scenario that involves both a gain of eight pounds and a 1000 calorie a day deficit but doesn't involved an alien baby or something like that.

    Looking for suggestions and help, not smart *kitten* remarks. But thanks
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    edited July 2015
    irishbsun wrote: »
    Looking for
    My thought it that it's hard to imagine a scenario that involves both a gain of eight pounds and a 1000 calorie a day deficit but doesn't involved an alien baby or something like that.

    Looking for suggestions and help, not smart *kitten* remarks. But thanks
    The help is you're eating too much. Both the gain and the deficit can't be true over time, absent a serious medical condition.

  • fitchlets
    fitchlets Posts: 58 Member
    You are likely eating too much.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
    Most (not all) people overestimate their exercise calories burned and or calories eaten. If your tests come back normal have your doctor run blood work for Thyroid disease. If all that comes back normal you are probably eating too much or overestimating your calorie burn. I would also suggest you find out what your Basal Metabolic Rate is, you should be eating at least that number of calories.

    I am being tested for hypothyroidism based upon my symptoms. I've never had an issue in my past losing weight only after children.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    If you're not losing, you're not at a deficit. Period, full stop.

    If you're actually gaining weight, you're over-eating. Period, full stop.

    If you've only just started, it can take 1-3 weeks for things to kick in.

    I began eating 1200 calorie min about 3/4 weeks ago. So I have been hoping it was my body adjusting, thinking it was not in starvation mode anymore. This is never an issue I've had in the past only after havin children.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    irishbsun wrote: »
    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    If you're not losing, you're not at a deficit. Period, full stop.

    If you're actually gaining weight, you're over-eating. Period, full stop.

    If you've only just started, it can take 1-3 weeks for things to kick in.

    I began eating 1200 calorie min about 3/4 weeks ago. So I have been hoping it was my body adjusting, thinking it was not in starvation mode anymore. This is never an issue I've had in the past only after havin children.
    "Starvation mode" won't make you gain weight. At most, you'd lose a little more slowly.

  • ♥xenawarriorprincess♥
    ♥xenawarriorprincess♥ Posts: 440 Member
    edited July 2015
    If you find you are hypo-thyroid..you will need to take medication to get your body back to it's normal working self..Also it is hard to know how to help you without knowing your dieting habits. For example, are you someone who has starved herself for so long that you cannot eat a normal amount of calories without gaining weight because your body is literally taking every calorie you put in as fat to make up for the prolonged starvation period you have put yourself through. Or maybe you have been on a fad diet like HCG and your body is really messed up due to ingesting HCG and eating only 500 calories a day. I say this because I have done both in the past and it took a good year to get my body back to a normal metabolism. No judgement here I promise. More information would be helpful. Also if you are hypo I would be happy to share stories as I have had serious Thyroid disease (think more than one and cancer) for 15 yrs and can help point you to good internet websites that will give you good information.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    If you find you are hypo-thyroid..you will need to take medication to get your body back to it's normal working self..Also it is hard to know how to help you without knowing your dieting habits. For example, are you someone who has starved herself for so long that you cannot eat a normal amount of calories without gaining weight because your body is literally taking every calorie you put in as fat to make up for the prolonged starvation period you have put yourself through. Or maybe you have been on a fad diet like HCG and your body is really messed up due to ingesting HCG and eating only 500 calories a day. I say this because I have done both in the past and it took a good year to get my body back to a normal metabolism. No judgement here I promise. More information would be helpful.
    Also, this simply doesn't happen.

  • WBB55 wrote: »
    Are you weighing your food on a digital scale to know for sure you're accurate with your intake?

    Digital scales are a must in my opinion. It takes away the overestimating completely.

  • 2snakeswoman
    2snakeswoman Posts: 655 Member
    There are only two possibilities: 1) you are not healthy; something is out of whack. The hormone check should answer this possibility. 2) You are eating more calories than you think. You can get fat on chicken and fish. Start measuring your food and logging it into your food diary. Be completely honest with yourself and your measurements, and you will likely find out where the weight gain comes from. A lot of people stress that you MUST HAVE a food scale, but I don't have one and can't get one. I just make sure that what I call, for example, 1 cup is level with the top of the measuring cup, not heaping.

    It seems too much like a chore for me to balance exercise and calories, so I filled out my goals for losing 1 pound per week and lightly active. I strive to stay under my calorie goal. I don't log exercise. I figure that fits under lightly active. I'm not training for a marathon or anything like that, so lightly should cover it (walking, wall pushups, squats, lunges, house cleaning).

    I've lost 15 pounds in 6 weeks this way. I must confess, however, that this started out with 2-4 days of anorexia. I flew from Washington state to Ohio to visit my father and found him in his favorite chair barely conscious. Turns out he had a brain tumor and died from it in 2-3 weeks. This is one of the worst things that has ever happened to me. I started back with MFP to log my food and make sure I was getting adequate nutrition because I was having such a difficult time forcing myself to eat. I was unsuccessful with weight loss for years and had all kinds of special snowflake excuses for it, but now I realize that I wasn't being honest about everything I was eating.
  • Abby2205
    Abby2205 Posts: 253 Member
    1. How long have you been doing this? If it's 3 weeks or less, be patient.
    2. How do you sustain a 1000 calorie deficit every day? That suggests a minimum of 2200 calories burned every day. That is a lot for a 5'1" woman. Weight lifting and yoga aren't major calorie burners and the kickboxing is only twice a week. Do you have a very active lifestyle aside from the exercise?
  • theawill519
    theawill519 Posts: 242 Member
    irishbsun wrote: »
    Most (not all) people overestimate their exercise calories burned and or calories eaten. If your tests come back normal have your doctor run blood work for Thyroid disease. If all that comes back normal you are probably eating too much or overestimating your calorie burn. I would also suggest you find out what your Basal Metabolic Rate is, you should be eating at least that number of calories.

    I am being tested for hypothyroidism based upon my symptoms. I've never had an issue in my past losing weight only after children.

    For what it's worth, I was tested for hypothyroidism and a few other things after "not being able to lose any weight." My results were clean. I started losing weight when I finally got honest with myself about my diet. I bought a food scale and stopped "sneaking" treats. Worked for me. Good luck.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you!
    I suppose I have been one to starve myself with out even knowing it until I logged calories. Ever since having my two kids I have had the hardest time losing weight. So frustrating. I have not done any fad diets, no pills or anything like that. Just trying to figure out what I should be doing.

    If you find you are hypo-thyroid..you will need to take medication to get your body back to it's normal working self..Also it is hard to know how to help you without knowing your dieting habits. For example, are you someone who has starved herself for so long that you cannot eat a normal amount of calories without gaining weight because your body is literally taking every calorie you put in as fat to make up for the prolonged starvation period you have put yourself through. Or maybe you have been on a fad diet like HCG and your body is really messed up due to ingesting HCG and eating only 500 calories a day. I say this because I have done both in the past and it took a good year to get my body back to a normal metabolism. No judgement here I promise. More information would be helpful. Also if you are hypo I would be happy to share stories as I have had serious Thyroid disease (think more than one and cancer) for 15 yrs and can help point you to good internet websites that will give you good information.
  • socalprincess1
    socalprincess1 Posts: 52 Member
    Abby2205 wrote: »
    1. How long have you been doing this? If it's 3 weeks or less, be patient.
    2. How do you sustain a 1000 calorie deficit every day? That suggests a minimum of 2200 calories burned every day. That is a lot for a 5'1" woman. Weight lifting and yoga aren't major calorie burners and the kickboxing is only twice a week. Do you have a very active lifestyle aside from the exercise?

    It's not that hard...eating at a deficit of 500 cal daily, and doing 500 cal worth of exercise gets it done. Or burning more through exercise, and eating a lower deficit. I'm 5'3", 155, wear a HR Monitor, and go on a 75 min hike and burn 900 calories. Maybe my heart sucks and hers doesn't...but point is, a 1000 cal deficit is not that hard to achieve.
  • irishbsun
    irishbsun Posts: 12 Member

    I have my Fitbit connected to my fitness pal. I walk 10k steps a day at work and then work outs. I do run a couple days a week, 3-6miles.
    Abby2205 wrote: »
    1. How long have you been doing this? If it's 3 weeks or less, be patient.
    2. How do you sustain a 1000 calorie deficit every day? That suggests a minimum of 2200 calories burned every day. That is a lot for a 5'1" woman. Weight lifting and yoga aren't major calorie burners and the kickboxing is only twice a week. Do you have a very active lifestyle aside from the exercise?

  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    edited July 2015
    irishbsun wrote: »
    I am frustrated. Really really frustrated. Began tracking calories and realized I was not eating a min of 1200 a day so I upped my in take. I workout with weights 2/3 x a week, kickboxing 2x and yoga at home on other days.

    In order to lose weight I need a 1k deficiency, which I have been doing daily. I've lost nothing. I have actually GAINED 8lbs and no I don't believe it's muscle my clothes are getting snug. I don't eat crap. I use both this app and FitBit so I can see where I am with calories. I am really frustrated. I have 60lbs to lose and nothing is budging. I recently had my blood drawn for a hormone check & awaiting results. After my second child 3 yes ago I have not been able to lose weight. It's driving me crazy! I've never been this heavy and it literally physically hurts. I'm only 5'1 and this weight is literally weighing me down.

    Any thoughts or advise? I'm about to eat a box of kitkats out of frustration.

    I have this issue but then again, I'm in an extremely hypothyroid state due to a thyroidectomy. Maybe it's cancer? It's good you're getting yourself checked out by a doctor if this is legitimately happening to you. But if there's even a chance you're underestimating your intake or overestimating your output, you might want to investigate those possibilities as well. A scale and not eating back all of your exercise calories is a great place to start. The odds are, it's the latter. And I hope for your sake that it is the latter. Sure, the former is a great excuse but it's way less fun than being honest with yourself about your intake and output.
  • Abby2205
    Abby2205 Posts: 253 Member
    edited July 2015
    So you have an active lifestyle, plus exercise, eating 1200 calories a day, but have gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks. Water retention maybe? Which wouldn't be good either. Yep, see a doctor.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Hypothyroidism may cause an initial increase in weight due to increased cellular uptake, but this is about 10 lbs and rapid gain over a small amount of time. The rest of the gain is Calorie In/Calorie Out.

    Very simple - you are underestimating calories in or overestimating calories out.

    Internet diagnosis are worthless - if concerned request a hormone panel, specifically TSH, Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, and RT3. If this comes back in range you've eliminated this possibility. Review what you have control over first and get a digital food scale.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    You are eating way more than you think. As in more than 1000 over what you estimate. Get a scale, you will be surprised.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    Hypothyroidism may cause an initial increase in weight due to increased cellular uptake, but this is about 10 lbs and rapid gain over a small amount of time. The rest of the gain is Calorie In/Calorie Out.

    Very simple - you are underestimating calories in or overestimating calories out.

    Internet diagnosis are worthless - if concerned request a hormone panel, specifically TSH, Total T4, Free T4, Total T3, Free T3, and RT3. If this comes back in range you've eliminated this possibility. Review what you have control over first and get a digital food scale.

    Unregulated hypothyroidism can slow down the metabolism. The CI/CO equation can be affected by it. It's not just short term water weight gain.

    "Thyroid hormone regulates metabolism—the way the body uses energy—and affects nearly every organ in the body. Without enough thyroid hormone, many of the body’s functions slow down. About 4.6 percent of the U.S. population age 12 and older has hypothyroidism."

    http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/endocrine/hypothyroidism/Pages/fact-sheet.aspx

    It's unlikely to be OPs issue but giving out false info doesn't help anyone.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    As they all said you are eating way more than you think. The fact you arent weighing supports that.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    Abby2205 wrote: »
    So you have an active lifestyle, plus exercise, eating 1200 calories a day, but have gained 8 pounds in 4 weeks. Water retention maybe? Which wouldn't be good either. Yep, see a doctor.

    It's not water retention, and being active and exercise can't fix overeating. OP isn't eating 1200 calories a day. OP has admitted not using a food scale to weigh all solid foods, so has no way of knowing how many calories she is actually eating.