Help needed...miserable...

You aren't going to lose weight every day or even every week. When you drop a lot of weight in a week, you may not see losses the next week.

This is going to be a long process. It will require patience.

Not to sound mean or discouraging but most of that 6lbs in week one was water. Slow and steady is the key, just keep pushing and the pounds will disappear but you have to be realistic about it.

I get it. I am an instant gratification seeker, and one of the MOST difficult things about making a true lifestyle shift to a healthy relationship with food and exercise has been coming to terms with not seeing results all the time, even when I think I should be seeing them the most.

So what piece of motivation do I hold on to, when I'm not seeing progress (at least the way I used to define progress)? The fact that I feel 110% better than I used to, when I'm eating well, drinking plenty of water, and moving more. (And congrats on getting your 10K steps....it is my goal as well, and it's more difficult than some people think!) I feel happier, more energetic, and even smarter, because those healthy foods feed my brain as well!

I know you said you weren't inclined to buy into the "1200 calories is too low" school of thought, but I truly believe it IS too low - especially with your levels of activity. There are plenty of delicious, healthy, filling things you can eat that will help you feel not only satisfied but energized and fulfilled. (For example - I just ate a hearty portion of homemade hummus with a ziploc bag full of bell pepper, cucumber, snow peas, carrots and celery, plus a serving of those Blue Diamond nut thin crackers. And I'm having a couple of clementines for dessert. Delicious! I'm staying a bit light for lunch today because I know I'm having dinner at a Thai restaurant tonight with my mom and my husband, so I'm saving up. But I'll have an apple and maybe a rice cake with peanut butter mid afternoon so I won't be starving when we get to the restaurant. Honestly, as long as I get to eat peanut butter, I'm pretty much happy!)

Hang in there....this is a journey. And sometimes journeys can be as amazing as the destination. I've learned so much (and I'm still traveling, for sure). You'll start to see trends, and will become more comfortable with the ups and downs. As long as you don't give up, you've got this!

All water weight you wont be gaining back fat its just how peoples bodys fluctuate

I too am skeptical to a point about eating "too little" calories. I know from personal experience...anything under 1200 a day is a horrible thing to do to yourself. I just recently entered in a diabetes prevention class...and they said my 1300-1600 average for daily calories is too low and want me to eat 1800 calories a day! But, I am doing whatever they want me to do...and we will see what happens. 6 days of eating a lot more and I am still at the exact same weight, body fat, and measurements.

The hard part is that every person has their "right balance"...and it is a long and frustrating process to find yours. Great job on the physical activity! I've only gotten myself up to about 4-5 thousand fitbit steps so far and 15 min increments on the elliptical.

People's bodies fluctuate, indeed. Women people's bodies fluctuate even more. Your Time of Month causes fluctuations. Your sodium intake causes fluctuations. Look back over your reported food of the past few days and see if you had big swings in sodium. One day of extra sodium leads directly to additional water retention. One day of lower sodium leads to dramatic weight loss, but it's mostly water. Look at your fiber intake. Yup, it has consequences. Look at the variety of your diet. Certain foods have a mysterious (to me) ability to mess with my expected weight loss. I don't worry about that, because I know that if I'm honestly recording my food accurately and (I don't even try to eat back my calories burned in exercise) recording my exercise I will be in a 1000 calorie per day deficit and that must bear out through all the reasons things may fluctuate.

Yesterday, for instance, my food intake changed, somewhat dramatically, but was still in my target range of between 1200-1300 calories and between 1200-1500 mg sodium. This morning my weight was unchanged from yesterday. I'm not going to worry about that, I'm not going to give up and I'm not going to eat chocolate to sooth my sorrow. Actually, a Hershey Kiss is in my plan, but just one. I, a male, have fewer uncontrollable sources of fluctuation than you do, but the principles which govern fat retention are the same for both of us. Get yourself into calorie deficit and stay there for extended weeks.

ndj1979 wrote: »

ClaireLK1987 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Appreciate all your replies. So should I be eating back my exercise calories do we think?

yes, you should net 1200 a day. So if you burn 300 you eat 1500 - 300 burned = 1200 net.

caveat - you should only eat back half of your exercise calories because calories burned tend to be off on the high side...

so in the above example you would eat 1350 = 150 burned (half of 300) 1200 net

I would agree with this unless you're exceptionally short (under 5').

ClaireLK1987 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Appreciate all your replies. So should I be eating back my exercise calories do we think?

Yes. To be truthful all devices that calculate calorie burns are just not 100%. HR, fitness bands and the computers on the cardio machines. Only a portion...

But..You are on medication which throws a wrench in the "norm" weight loss and you should work with your body not against it. Give this a bit more time.

I personally (you do not have to) would wait until the scale moved. This way I did not throw additional calories into the mix that you are eating not causing weight loss.

When you start loosing and you will have a better understanding what your body is doing with being at a deficit, medication and exercise and even what you are eating at the time to find the balance.

But eat the exercise calories if you feel weak or fatigued so that you're getting the right energy balance. I would never just tell someone not eat back exercise calories should they need to avoid health or medical issues...

You may have a slightly bit more a challenge with medical issues and being on medication.

ClaireLK1987 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Appreciate all your replies. So should I be eating back my exercise calories do we think?

Yes, although like others said you might want to start with 50%, as they can be overestimated (figuring them out depends on many variables and the MFP estimates tend to be optimistic).

I did 1250 net beginning in early 2014 and lost 95 lb in about 13 months, and I ate 1250 net (which means eating back exercise calories) for the majority of it. When I switched I was exercising a lot more and went to a TDEE-based goal that includes exercise upfront so you eat the same amount of calories per day, but I think it would have averaged to a similar number.

I have never regretted eating that amount for the first part of my loss, as I had a lot to lose and averaging at 2 lb/week was appropriate, and I'm 5'3 and not that young. I do regret cutting so low as I got into the healthy range, as I think I may not have preserved as much muscle as I could have.

Another thing I am happy about is the decision to eat back exercise calories. When you have a lot to lose focusing on the loss per week being maximized is a foolish choice, as it's going to take a long time anyway, and you need something you can be happy with over a period of time, to be eating a normal kind of diet not something that feels like you are "dieting" or are deprived. Allowing myself to eat those calories helped with this. Also, many people who cut too low think they are fine until they are not, and then just lose it and quit or binge. For me having some extra calories to play with helped me feel like my diet was more flexible and prevented me from getting bored of it (much as I enjoy many lower calorie foods). It also helped me be able to focus not just on weight loss, but on improving at the various physical activities I was doing, which was important to me, to have positive goals to focus on beyond just loss.

So certainly if you have an aggressive (low) goal like I did and you do, you should eat back exercise calories.

It's also good for your health, of course.

mommazach wrote: »

I don't eat my exercise calories back. EVER. I shed those damn things and want them gone for good. Make sure you are drinking enough water, and by water I don't mean sweetened with some artificial crap, just good old water. I sometimes will drink tea or coffee, but NO sweeteners. I found an app that sends me reminders and it calculates how much you should be drinking based on your weight. Make sure you flush your system regularly.

You've been very vocal in the forums about not eating back your exercise calories, but if not eating them back means that you're netting below the minimum 1200 calories per day it isn't healthy. Besides not fueling the body properly and losing more muscle mass, it's not a good recommendation for others.

ClaireLK1987 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am feeling really down at the minute. I started calorie counting (again) on Saturday 20th Feb and lost 6 lbs in the first week. I was so happy.

Then this week (into day 4) and I have not lost a thing yet, in fact I have actually GAINED a little. How is that possible?! I am on 1200 calories a day and exercising (doing at least my 10,000 fitbit steps per day and often (but not everyday) incorporating a high intensity DVD, as well as going to a bootcamp). I am considered very obese according to BMI, so I just don't get why it isn't falling off me!

I am skeptical about the whole "1200 calories is too low" thing and "going into starvation mode" but would really appreciate some motivation/support here.

I KNOW it is only the 2nd week and perhaps I am expecting miracles but surely I should be losing more?

Thanks in advance!

C

BTW I have an underactive thyroid but am on a pretty high dose of thyroxine so this shouldn't affect it.

I gain between 5-6 lbs without fail, every month due to PMS. I can easily look 4 months pregnant!lol It's just always the way my body has been. It still bums me out when I step on the scale and my pants don't fit. It could possibly just be that for you?? If you lost 6 one week and stayed at 6 the next, keep track of your cycle on a calendar, and see??
If it's not, it's still common to lose water weight the first week of training/dieting,,and then hover around the same weight for a while. If you're doing things right, you're building muscle, and it does weigh more than fat