frustrated...scale going in the wrong direction!

spennisi1
spennisi1 Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Motivation and Support
hello
I am really frustrated. I have a fitbit and use fitnesspal daily. I have for over a year and love it. I work out daily (at least 30 min of cardio) and watch what I eat. I don't eat more than 1350 calories on my worst day and most days stay within my calorie limit of 1200. I gained two lbs over the holidays and have been trying to lose them but the scale is going in the wrong direction. I've heard about the starvation effect - not eating enough and exercising too much can make your weight plateau but that doesn't make any sense to me. if that were true no one would starve to death. any suggestions?

Replies

  • Tmannmama
    Tmannmama Posts: 3 Member
    I feel your pain it's becoming clearer to me the older I get the harder it's been plus I'm pre diabetic since I've had my daughter 4 yrs ago n my scale hasn't moved for 2-3 weeks now. The only thing I can think for me is I need to have a harder workout n longer since I only been doing at most 20-30 min 3x week.
  • CatherineElizabeth13
    CatherineElizabeth13 Posts: 212 Member
    Do you lift weights? Or do strength exercises?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    If you're actually gaining weight then you're eating more than 1200 calories...and more than 1350. This would suggest that your logging is off.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    It's true. When you deprive your body of a reasonable amount of calories it goes into starvation mode. But at 1200 and 1350 you're not in starvation mode so perhaps you're eating a little more than you realize? Cardio will not increase muscle mass but typically stops weight gain. When I was doing 30 minutes of cardio I could actually eat basically anything I wanted and never gained. Maybe you're stressed and you don't realize that you're eating more than you think? Good luck:).
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    edited February 2016
    bellabonbons wrote: »
    It's true. When you deprive your body of a reasonable amount of calories it goes into starvation mode. But at 1200 and 1350 you're not in starvation mode so perhaps you're eating a little more than you realize? Cardio will not increase muscle mass but typically stops weight gain. When I was doing 30 minutes of cardio I could actually eat basically anything I wanted and never gained. Maybe you're stressed and you don't realize that you're eating more than you think? Good luck:).

    Starvation mode as it is being refered to here is a myth.

    OP, you are likely eating more than you think. Are you weighing all solid foods? Using a measuring cup for liquids only? What about prepackaged foods (those things can be way off)? Are you eating back exercise cals as determined by FitBit? Are you selecting the correct database entries? The database is mostly user entered and has many incorrect entries. I know it may seems crazy to state that you are eating more than you think, but there are many ways this happens without you realizing it.
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