Losing very little weight and frustrated, I think I'm doing this wrong?
volcanogoddessan
Posts: 11 Member
I started using MFP back in November and was pretty consistent with logging my calories until about early July of this year. I'm 4' 11" and am a championship dancer so I listed my activity level as very active which put my calorie goal at 1290 a day. I've been logging my dancing in exercise as fast ballroom dancing since I believe it's about the same energy expenditure and it says that it burns a fair amount of calories. MFP adds extra calories to make up for the calories you have burned so I would plan around that and eat the final number(with added exercise) am I not supposed to do this because I'm already listed as very active? If I change it to active or less it puts me at 1200 calories which I know is too little, and if I don't eat the extra food I feel sick when I'm dancing. I lost 8 pounds since last November which is frustrating since I have been working so hard and still barely seeing results. I basically gave up about two months ago and have gained back the few pounds that I lost, I want to try again but I don't know what to do to get the results I want. I also recently started working at a pet store which involves carrying tanks, climbing ladders and cleaning for about 5-8 hours 5 or 6 days a week which I feel like should have made me lose weight(or at least not gain) as well. Any advice is much appreciated, I really want to lose weight I just don't want to feel hungry all the time and still only lose a pound a month.
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Replies
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If you set your activity level as very active, then logged dancing as well, you're double dipping. Chose one or the other.
You would put it to lightly active, then log and eat back exercise calories (dancing). Working is already included in your activity level.
Also, can you provide the rest of your stats?0 -
Are you using a food scale to weigh everything you eat? If not, you may be eating more than you think.0
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What would I do on the days I don't dance then? 1200 calories still isn't enough food for me to get through the day. I try to estimate the amount I eat and use measuring cups for sides and such, I don't have the time or ability to weigh everything I eat. What other stats would be helpful?0
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volcanogoddessan wrote: »What would I do on the days I don't dance then? 1200 calories still isn't enough food for me to get through the day. I try to estimate the amount I eat and use measuring cups for sides and such, I don't have the time or ability to weigh everything I eat. What other stats would be helpful?
NO NO.....you need to use a food scale, as cups aren't accurate. It literally takes minutes to do. What is your weight and age? I think, since you're so active, you would be better off following the TDEE method.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/0 -
volcanogoddessan wrote: »What would I do on the days I don't dance then? 1200 calories still isn't enough food for me to get through the day. I try to estimate the amount I eat and use measuring cups for sides and such, I don't have the time or ability to weigh everything I eat. What other stats would be helpful?
Log yourself as sedentary.
Add your exercise (dance and whatever else you do) when you do it.
Weigh everything you eat ... measuring cups and estimating is a good way to get the amounts wrong.
And then, eat the 1200 calories MFP gives you PLUS half your exercise calories. Some days, if you've had a particularly strenuous workout, you might even want eat 3/4 of your exercise calories.
For my first 4 months here, I netted 1250 calories. Rarely did I limit myself to 1250 calories because I am fairly active.
When I did a 1-hour walk, I burned about 200 cal, so I could eat as much as 1450 cal (but usually limited it to 1350).
When I did a 1-hour bicycle ride, I burned about 400 cal, so I could eat as much as 1650 cal (but usually limited it to about 1450 cal).
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volcanogoddessan wrote: »What would I do on the days I don't dance then? 1200 calories still isn't enough food for me to get through the day. I try to estimate the amount I eat and use measuring cups for sides and such, I don't have the time or ability to weigh everything I eat. What other stats would be helpful?
It's actually quicker to weigh everything. Basically:
Put your plate on the scale, "tare" the scale (giving a weight of 0 on the scale).
Place first food on the plate. Take note of the weight of the first food.
Tare the scale again (taking it back to 0).
Repeat until all foods are logged!
Plus, this way you don't have to wash up measuring cups. It's super quick.
You can also enter your usual recipes/meals into MFP, so like if you usually eat 120g cottage cheese and 50g blueberries, you weigh that amount out every day using the above method and then use the meal function to quickly add it to MFP.
And if you're making something like a stew that will last several days, you can use the above method to weigh all the components and then divide into equal portions and put in storage in the fridge. Then use the recipe builder and all you need to enter in your diary is your own recipe for "bean stew, 1 serving" or whatever and you're done!
I am also on 1200 calories and whether it's enough for me personally or not greatly depends on what those calories are made of. If I eat chocolate and a muffin and blow 600 calories on that then I'm starving. If I have a smoothie for breakfast, steamed chicken and vegetables for lunch, and split pea and rice casserole with cheese for dinner, I'm totally satisfied.
[Edited . . . dinner not dessert!]
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volcanogoddessan wrote: »What would I do on the days I don't dance then? 1200 calories still isn't enough food for me to get through the day. I try to estimate the amount I eat and use measuring cups for sides and such, I don't have the time or ability to weigh everything I eat. What other stats would be helpful?
So, if you set your activity level as highly active because your a dancer, your dancing is already part of your calorie goal. You're better off setting yourself as lightly active so you can enter the exercise calories on the day you dance and leave it alone on the days you don't.
A food scale that tares is actually easier than measuring with cups and spoons. It's also the only way to know(ish) how many calories you're consuming. At your height, you don't have a lot of wiggle room, so it's important for you to be as accurate with your logging as possible. A food scale will give you that level of precision.
ETA: Could you make your food diary public? It might be helpful to see how you're logging your food.0 -
Welcome!
If you're at 1200 calories a day, you probably set your weight loss goal to 2 pounds per week, right? The general idea is to have a weight loss goal of .5 lbs/week for every 25 pounds you need to lose. Since you have 29 pounds left, setting your goal for .5 lb/week would give you more daily calories. A faster weight loss is probably too aggressive.
Since you're so active, you need to provide your body with the calories and nutrition to sustain you and your dancing.
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Ditto re: food scale much faster than measuring cups and much less to clean. And more accurate. Ditto also re: TDEE method simplifies if weekly activity is consistent.0
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1200 Calories for a professional dancer?0
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And dont you have a coach who can help you out with this?0
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1200 Calories for a professional dancer?
In order to net 1200, when she dances she would add those exercise calories to that 1200. If she puts in a good couple hours at it, she might be able to eat 1600 cal (or maybe more, I'm not sure how much dancing burns), and still net 1200.
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The only meals I usually eat at home are breakfast and dinner, so weighing all of my food as I put it on my plate isn't an option, nor does that seem like a particularly healthy habit for me to get into. I want to eat healthy and lose weight, I don't want it to take over my life, I also know plenty of people who have lost weight without food scales so any other advice would be helpful. I am very overweight for my height(137 pounds), I know I need to lose weight to be healthy, I also know that if I eat 1200 calories a day I pass out( on a regular basis).0
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volcanogoddessan wrote: »The only meals I usually eat at home are breakfast and dinner, so weighing all of my food as I put it on my plate isn't an option, nor does that seem like a particularly healthy habit for me to get into. I want to eat healthy and lose weight, I don't want it to take over my life, I also know plenty of people who have lost weight without food scales so any other advice would be helpful. I am very overweight for my height(137 pounds), I know I need to lose weight to be healthy, I also know that if I eat 1200 calories a day I pass out( on a regular basis).
But you wouldn't eat 1200 cal if you exercise that day.
And you can change your goal to lose 1 lb/week rather than 2.
Oh, also ... chefs and bakers etc. weigh ingredients. Why not you?
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a prof dancer burns a lot!!!!
so that is why i ask
is it just some competitions? or really a prof dancer who dances the whole day as training
How much does she logs for a training session
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a 62 kg dancer needs on a high performance level diet 50 calories per kg
so in her case just over 3000...this is to maintain.
This is when she trains and have rehearsals, classes etc.
On the lower end it is 45 calories to 40 so lets say 40 makes 2480 calories to maintain...This is totally depends on how heavy she trains..which we dont know and have any inside off....her trainer/coach should know that.
It is hard to tell online what she really does. I had students who swore high and low how hard they worked/exercised..while i had meh...come back when you put 8 hours a day in.
And i had them who were 7 days a week at my place for 8 to 12 hours and they never said it was heavy or hard....
This is why i said only her trainer has inside in what she really does and need.
And as a championship level dancer i really think she has a trainer????
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I didn't say professional, I didn't mean to confuse anyone, I don't get paid, I dance in the top category of competitive dancing. I have 3 two hours classes a week, one 4 hour class, a 3 hour lesson and an hour of practice in the days I don't have class. As well as the usual core workouts and strengthening exercises(which don't burn any calories). I also work about 30+ hours a week so I have a very busy schedule. I know most of the girls I dance with eat 2000+ calories a day just to maintain their body weight so that's why I'm so frustrated over not losing weight. I can't figure out how to enter any logs in but an example of a day for me might be Breakfast: a cup of lowfat yogurt with 1/4 cup granola and 7 or 8 blueberries or 2 sliced strawberries. Lunch: either a nature valley granola bar( I know they are high in calories but often it's all I have time for) and if I'm at work a subway club with tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce. Dinner: grilled chicken breast with 2 or 3 small potatoes. If anyone can come up with a good( but also manageable) alternative to something around that idea that would be great. I tried to eat more fruit as snacks as opposed to eating the granola bar for lunch but I found I was always so hungry I'd end up eating both, I also could use a good portable alternative to the nature valley bars.0
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volcanogoddessan wrote: »The only meals I usually eat at home are breakfast and dinner, so weighing all of my food as I put it on my plate isn't an option, nor does that seem like a particularly healthy habit for me to get into. I want to eat healthy and lose weight, I don't want it to take over my life, I also know plenty of people who have lost weight without food scales so any other advice would be helpful. I am very overweight for my height(137 pounds), I know I need to lose weight to be healthy, I also know that if I eat 1200 calories a day I pass out( on a regular basis).
The top of your healthy bmi is around125. So if you weren't athletic you would be slightly overweight (about 10lb ). However you are a championship dancer so I will assume you have far more muscle than the average person. As such you are fine as you are. To test this get a bod pod or other accurate measure of bf% and see where you are at. Weight is just a number0 -
a prof dancer burns a lot!!!!
so that is why i ask
is it just some competitions? or really a prof dancer who dances the whole day as training
How much does she logs for a training session
Yes good questions.
At the moment, however, she is double dipping ... counting herself as very active + logging her dancing.
Personally, I'd count myself as sedentary + logging the dancing. Then eat whatever calories MFP gives for that. It won't be 1200 cal, I can guarantee that!
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First of all you have to weigh all your solid food...forget the cups and spoons. And you will need to learn the logging
Second i only asked if you were professional or not.
But looking at your schedule it is pretty heavy
Further a dancer needs pasta
And when you are serious about this all, you write down per day exactly what you eat and how much you train or you will never know. Obviously you eat more than you think or you would lose weight.
So start logging and weighing if you take your dancing serious. Also talk to your teacher/trainer about this.
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I advise you to use the TDEE calculator that other people have recommended. Just google scooby workshop. If you are 137 and overweight you are probably like me. I was 5'1 and 130-133 when I started. Using the calculator I labeled myself as moderately active (3-5 hrs a week) I ate about 1500-1600 cals/day and I've lost between 10-13 lbs (it changes depending on the scale I use;)) If I worked out less I ate less one a given day but I averaged about 1500-1600 cals because I hate feeling hungry. I love the way my clothes fit and the way that I feel. I weigh 118 lbs right now. Don't be discouraged just be consistent, you'll see the difference soon!0
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a prof dancer burns a lot!!!!
so that is why i ask
is it just some competitions? or really a prof dancer who dances the whole day as training
How much does she logs for a training session
Yes good questions.
At the moment, however, she is double dipping ... counting herself as very active + logging her dancing.
Personally, I'd count myself as sedentary + logging the dancing. Then eat whatever calories MFP gives for that. It won't be 1200 cal, I can guarantee that!
i do the same...sedentary ( because i am) exercise..(dancing or swimming) on top and eat back what i need.
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When i used to train and teach everyday i did TDEE But since my injury and not always be able to train i use the NEAT option of MFP0
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The numbers don't add up.. The weight should be falling off you eating only 1200 calories a day and doing all that exercise /dancing.0
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indeed..something is wrong here.
And my guess it is the guesstimate of the food intake
On the other hand dont forget she is not heavenly overweight she lost 8 pounds so that is a little bit less than a pound a month
Not bad for a dancer you want to keep your muscles as strong as possible. So slow weight loss. I wouldn't mind if i train that much. lol But that is me
I train atm everyday again and my weight loss slowed down. I upped my calories a bit and will up it more.
The stronger i can stay the better. I dont want to lose any more muscle mass than i have to.
But repeat it again
We have no idea how much she consumes because she doesn't weigh her food on a food scale.
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Very true Trish
@volcanogoddessan My only advice would be to get yourself a food scale, and honestly and accurately log everything you eat and drink here in your diary. Set yourself to lightly active and then log your exercise in your diary. Even better, get yourself a fitbit and let it work it all out for you, this will take away any guess work or inaccuracies where your exercise is concerned. It also has the added benefit of working out your TDEE for you.
Getting back to the food scale... When I first started here I thought "there is no way I'm going to be one of those obsessive people who weigh everything that passes their lips pppffffttt"...
But here I am 12mths later doing just that
I have become a well oiled, efficient machine when it comes to weighing and logging my food. It seriously takes but minutes a day. I get up in the morning and the first thing I do is Prelog my day, I can then tweak things if need be.
If you are going out to eat or having take away for lunch, then jump on the restaurants website to see if they have calorie counts for their meals. If not, there is usually something similar in the data base that you can use.
A food scale is not a prerequisite for losing weight, unless you are actually NOT losing weight. When you're in a stall or a plateau then the number one reason is usually inaccurate logging/calories in.
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a prof dancer burns a lot!!!!
so that is why i ask
is it just some competitions? or really a prof dancer who dances the whole day as training
How much does she logs for a training session
Yes good questions.
At the moment, however, she is double dipping ... counting herself as very active + logging her dancing.
Personally, I'd count myself as sedentary + logging the dancing. Then eat whatever calories MFP gives for that. It won't be 1200 cal, I can guarantee that!
i do the same...sedentary ( because i am) exercise..(dancing or swimming) on top and eat back what i need.
Yep ... exactly what I do. Except mine is walking/hiking or cycling.
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My sisters and better halfs are on their way to here...Arriving the 20th and one of them is a very active hiker..
Now i love my walking too, but she want to go hiking with me...in Red Rock...we have a heat wave...116F today
oh boy
But i am sooo looking forward to it. 0 -
It is possible to lose without a scale! I have lost almost 16lbs in 70 days, 5 feet 135lbs down from 156. You have to be very very honest about the portion sizes. Put your settings to sedentary and to lose 1lb per week. Only enter you workouts, dancing, jogging, swiming, walking etc and be very honest about how long worked out. Don't log you work or cleaning, that is normal daily activity. Only eat back a portion of your burned calories. Pick healthy small meals and snacks and in the morning plan what you are going to eat for that day (that what you won't find yourself eating high calories foods). 1200 calories a day is possible if you plan your meals.0
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but 1200 is not healthy for a competitive dancer!!!
Its too low and you lose muscle!0
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