I'm stuck!

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donnak7431
donnak7431 Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hello! I'm new to the calorie counting and I've been doing this for about 3 weeks now. I currently weigh 227 and I'm allowing myself 1200 calories a day and the scales aren't budging! Help please!?!

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  • leahcollett1
    leahcollett1 Posts: 807 Member
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    people on here will ask for you to open your diary. so they can have a little more understsanding on your entries,.
  • donnak7431
    donnak7431 Posts: 2 Member
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    Ok. Thx!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Hi! :)

    First of all, 1200 is definitely too low. Put your details in here: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/ and work out your correct calorie allowance.

    Having said that, if you were actually eating at 1200 - you WOULD be losing weight as your deficit would be pretty substantial. You need to make sure you are tracking all of your food and most importantly, WEIGHING everything on an electronic food scale to determine 100% calorie accuracy.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Did you lose anything at first and then it stopped? Or did the weight never change at al? Are you weighing yourself first thing in the morning after you go and wearing the same thing?
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    As mentioned if you are truly eating 1200 you should be losing weight excluding medical issues. So either your logging is not accurate or there could an external issue which would require a doctor's consult.
  • starling01
    starling01 Posts: 81 Member
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    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    Hi! :)

    First of all, 1200 is definitely too low. Put your details in here: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/ and work out your correct calorie allowance.
    Isn't supertracker calculating calories by TDEE? Doesn't MFP use NEAT? Wouldn't the amount be very different anyway? I'm confused.

  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    starling01 wrote: »
    PinkPixiexox wrote: »
    Hi! :)

    First of all, 1200 is definitely too low. Put your details in here: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/ and work out your correct calorie allowance.
    Isn't supertracker calculating calories by TDEE? Doesn't MFP use NEAT? Wouldn't the amount be very different anyway? I'm confused.

    Supertracker is calculating calories using TDEE - The exercise calories are already accounted for in the number given. MFP doesn't include exercise calories - you are supposed to eat a percentage of them back on TOP of the number MFP gives. I don't have any knowledge in doing it the MFP way because the exercise calorie aspect confused me a little, so I've always used the TDEE and lost consistently. Either way works :)
  • tiffanyschadow
    tiffanyschadow Posts: 20 Member
    edited September 2015
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    How tall are you? I noticed you goaled yourself to lose 27 lbs??? I am 128 lbs 5' 3" and my goal weight is 125. I am eating 800-1500 calories a day and working out 5x a week and have been "stuck" at 128 lbs for a few weeks now so it sounds like you've got a real aggressive deficit goal??? I've got a food scale on the way to ensure my calories are more accurate. Good luck....it's a lot of work but the results are so motivating!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Can you open your diary?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Opening your diary so that we can take a look or giving us some more details might help to get you more specific advice, if you're comfortable doing so.

    Otherwise, these are my really general tips. Maybe you'll find some of them useful.

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so since you saw a drop on the scale, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Especially if you've started a new exercise routine. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.

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