Frustrated

leannecnry332
leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been doing this for 6 weeks now I literally weigh and log everything I eat the app told me to have 1200 calories a day I go swimming for an hour about 3/4 days a week I started cycling 4 miles there an back to the gym 20 min each way, I started feeling tired and dizzy so I put my calories up to 1500 a day because of the exercise but I'm still not losing weight what is wrong???? Any one else had this problem I weigh 84kg an I'm only 5'2 so I should be losing weight
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Replies

  • agnewk574
    agnewk574 Posts: 1 Member
    I had this question, I haven't got a formal answer from my gym but I did get a fit bit and it tells me I should have a differential in calories. For example, I burn 2500 calories in a day, to lose 1.5 pounds a week I should eat 1800 cals to have a differential of 700. For 2 pounds a week it is a 1000 cal differential

    So everyday I do my logging to see how much I eat and use my fitbit to see how much I burnt.
  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    Read the above thread if you haven't already. Are you logging every bite- milk in your tea, drinks, fruit and veg, butter on bread etc. Rather than resetting your daily calories to 1500 it's probably better to leave them at 1200 but log your exercise as you do it. Eat back about half your exercise calories (as they are not that accurate) and see if you start losing. It sounds like you have made a good start so a few tweaks should give results.
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    Yes I log literally everything I eat or drink and weigh everything I log my exercise on this too but 1200 calories I was still really hungry an with exercise I was really tired and dizzy so I changed it to 1500 calories and I feel more energy etc and I don't eat my calories back when I've exercised
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    Hmmm. Sounds to me like you're building muscle instead! I'd celebrate!
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Do you "eat back" your exercise calories you earn?
  • AliceAxe
    AliceAxe Posts: 172 Member
    Ive had the same problem. tried all kinds of things, low carb low fat, exersize 1200 cal diet etc etc,over the past year I have very slowly and carefully tapered back my calories as I raise my exersize, and every time I do I may lose a few lbs only to gain it right back. now I am eating less than ever before killing myself with exersize and feel worse and my weight has gone up and my messurments. now im hungry all the time and exausted and feel worse off than when I started which was plenty of rest and a 2000+ calorie diet eating whatever I wanted. Im realy frustrated too and angry at my body. it has decided it wants to be the certain weight I am and nothing is going to change it. Im about realy to give up, only Im afraid if i go back to what i was doing my weight is going to go even higher now :( only thing I can figure is its some kind of genetics dictates the weight you will be and your body is just programed for that by DNA (within a relativly healthy natural diet)
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    AliceAxe wrote: »
    ..Im realy frustrated too and angry at my body. it has decided it wants to be the certain weight I am and nothing is going to change it...
    I'm sorry you're feeling frustrated @AliceAxe I hope that you can take a bit of a mental break and find some way to feel less anxiety about the process. Stress and anxiety is not a way to live a life. Try to remember why you're trying to lose weight and stress less about the pace of progress. You have an entire life in which you need to love your body. Anything that you're doing that's making you hate it should probably stop.
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
    AliceAxe wrote: »
    Ive had the same problem. tried all kinds of things, low carb low fat, exersize 1200 cal diet etc etc,over the past year I have very slowly and carefully tapered back my calories as I raise my exersize, and every time I do I may lose a few lbs only to gain it right back. now I am eating less than ever before killing myself with exersize and feel worse and my weight has gone up and my messurments. now im hungry all the time and exausted and feel worse off than when I started which was plenty of rest and a 2000+ calorie diet eating whatever I wanted. Im realy frustrated too and angry at my body. it has decided it wants to be the certain weight I am and nothing is going to change it. Im about realy to give up, only Im afraid if i go back to what i was doing my weight is going to go even higher now :( only thing I can figure is its some kind of genetics dictates the weight you will be and your body is just programed for that by DNA (within a relativly healthy natural diet)

    No - it really doesn't work that way - genetics does not override physics. Measure and weigh your food, and accurately log it. Get a fitness tracker to get an idea of what you are burning on a daily basis, and figure out your deficit and caloric needs from there. I use a fitness tracker and don't log exercise into MFP because I think the calorie burn is very overestimated on this app. I let the fitness tracker estimate burn as its tracking my movement and heart rate, and the fitness track estimate is what I go off of for eating. I was stuck at 120lbs - 125lbs for over year and was very frustrated until I started doing the above. It is frustrating but it's possible - you just have to identify what's failing in your program which can be difficult. Good luck!
  • damienhyatt31
    damienhyatt31 Posts: 8 Member
    I've done lots of research on this topic. I'm not a notable exercise guru at any means. In fact, I am just like you, wanting to lose the fat. It sounds to me like you aren't getting enough fiber/starchy carbs. Healthy sources of carbs are the bodies primary energy source. You want to gauge this as you go, some people can take it loads of carbs and still lose weight steadily so it varies person to person. Check out this video for my reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhE0GAqS_Ws Hope this helps; be patient, listen to your body and enjoy the process!
  • catsdogsh
    catsdogsh Posts: 130 Member
    If you are really logging accurately and exercising and not losing something else is happening. First be absolutely sure your logging correctly. If so you need metobolic testing to see what's going on physically
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    MorganMoreaux wrote: »
    AliceAxe wrote: »
    Ive had the same problem. tried all kinds of things, low carb low fat, exersize 1200 cal diet etc etc,over the past year I have very slowly and carefully tapered back my calories as I raise my exersize, and every time I do I may lose a few lbs only to gain it right back. now I am eating less than ever before killing myself with exersize and feel worse and my weight has gone up and my messurments. now im hungry all the time and exausted and feel worse off than when I started which was plenty of rest and a 2000+ calorie diet eating whatever I wanted. Im realy frustrated too and angry at my body. it has decided it wants to be the certain weight I am and nothing is going to change it. Im about realy to give up, only Im afraid if i go back to what i was doing my weight is going to go even higher now :( only thing I can figure is its some kind of genetics dictates the weight you will be and your body is just programed for that by DNA (within a relativly healthy natural diet)

    No - it really doesn't work that way - genetics does not override physics. Measure and weigh your food, and accurately log it. Get a fitness tracker to get an idea of what you are burning on a daily basis, and figure out your deficit and caloric needs from there. I use a fitness tracker and don't log exercise into MFP because I think the calorie burn is very overestimated on this app. I let the fitness tracker estimate burn as its tracking my movement and heart rate, and the fitness track estimate is what I go off of for eating. I was stuck at 120lbs - 125lbs for over year and was very frustrated until I started doing the above. It is frustrating but it's possible - you just have to identify what's failing in your program which can be difficult. Good luck!

    Which fitness tracker do you use? Just curious. I'm interested.

  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Have you lost any weight at all? When you say you're not losing do you mean the scale hasn't budged since day one or?
  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
    I was using a Fitbit Charge HR but they kept breaking so I am getting an Apple Watch today. I think for a wrist tracker the charge HR is most accurate (about 80%) but it gets more accurate the longer you wear it. I just can't handle how quickly they break and don't want to spend $150 every other month on a new one.

    Initially it took some number crunching and testing as I had to find where my maintenance range was, and then do a deficit off that. When I first got the tracker I would walk nightly for an hour with the tracker and the smartphone (which calculates steps) and see how closely the matched up. It was a lot of work to figure out but it got me a lot more accurate and I am now 113lbs, so much closer to goal so I can start recomp.

    I've tried a lot of diet gimmicks to get through that rough patch and found the only thing that really worked for me was increasing my healthy fat and pairing it with carbs - it did seem to keep my energy up and kept me fuller longer.
  • aquablue_1111
    aquablue_1111 Posts: 40 Member
    To OP: how do your clothes fit? Are you keeping track of measurements? When I lost the first few pounds, it didn't really sink in until I tried on clothes that were previously tight but were now a little loose fitting. The scale may not move but if you're losing inches, that is a very good sign too.

    Also, if you went from doing very little exercise to swimming for an hour 3-4 days a week and biking to the gym, your body may be holding on to water as your muscles recover from the workouts.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    aquablue_1111 wrote: »
    To OP: how do your clothes fit? Are you keeping track of measurements? When I lost the first few pounds, it didn't really sink in until I tried on clothes that were previously tight but were now a little loose fitting. The scale may not move but if you're losing inches, that is a very good sign too.

    Also, if you went from doing very little exercise to swimming for an hour 3-4 days a week and biking to the gym, your body may be holding on to water as your muscles recover from the workouts.

    This is pretty much what I was going to say. My only other comment would be that you are on the shorter side and I'm guessing that you have a smaller deficit due to that, which can make weight changes slow to show on the scale. If your logging is not super spot on, you could end up with an even smaller or possibly no deficit.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
    I recommend getting some tests at the doctor. You may have a thyroid problem or some other issue. Especially when you say you're tired and dizzy on 1200 calories. Show your doctor your food and exercise log. Good luck. I hope you find the answer.
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    gebeziseva wrote: »
    Have you lost any weight at all? When you say you're not losing do you mean the scale hasn't budged since day one or?

    I have lost 2lb in 6 weeks so not a lot considering I cut my calories in half
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    aquablue_1111 wrote: »
    To OP: how do your clothes fit? Are you keeping track of measurements? When I lost the first few pounds, it didn't really sink in until I tried on clothes that were previously tight but were now a little loose fitting. The scale may not move but if you're losing inches, that is a very good sign too.

    Also, if you went from doing very little exercise to swimming for an hour 3-4 days a week and biking to the gym, your body may be holding on to water as your muscles recover from the workouts.

    My measurements are still exactly the same I'm just getting fed up of seeing nothing an working really hard
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    leannecnry332 wrote: »
    gebeziseva wrote: »
    Have you lost any weight at all? When you say you're not losing do you mean the scale hasn't budged since day one or?

    I have lost 2lb in 6 weeks so not a lot considering I cut my calories in half

    You shouldn't be comparing current calories to previous calories...if you were in a 2000 calorie surplus and you cut 2000 calories, you'll still be at maintenance. You have to compare current calories to maintenance levels.

    I suspect you may be mismeasuring. I am not a huge fan of weighing food, but I think sometimes it's necessary to learn what portions looked like. It's pretty shocking!
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I've lost nearly 80 pounds without heavy exercise, just walking. I lost more than half of this in a year, went on maintenance for about a year, then started up again last November. So it's taken about three years to get within 10-15 pounds of my goal. I'd suggest patience. It's not a contest.

    Are you really going to keep up that level of exercise for the rest of your life?
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    leannecnry332 wrote: »
    aquablue_1111 wrote: »
    To OP: how do your clothes fit? Are you keeping track of measurements? When I lost the first few pounds, it didn't really sink in until I tried on clothes that were previously tight but were now a little loose fitting. The scale may not move but if you're losing inches, that is a very good sign too.

    Also, if you went from doing very little exercise to swimming for an hour 3-4 days a week and biking to the gym, your body may be holding on to water as your muscles recover from the workouts.

    My measurements are still exactly the same I'm just getting fed up of seeing nothing an working really hard

    (1) Are you "eating back" exercise calories?
    (2) Are you using a digital scale to weigh your intake?
  • DaniCanadian
    DaniCanadian Posts: 261 Member
    Hi op, 2lbs is a weightloss! I think you're expecting a weightloss goal that is too aggressive. Half a pound per week is a very good, sustainable way to reach your goal.
    Also, exercising will make you retain water to help repair the muscles. You may have lost a few more lbs but it could be masked by that, time of the month, too much sodium in your diet, etc. There are a lot of things that can hide a change on the scale. And 6 weeks is not long at all in the terms of sustainable weightloss.
    Reset your mfp to .5lbs per week and just keep up your good work!
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    Yes I use digital scales an I wasn't eating back my exercise calories at first but then I starred to an still made no difference
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    leannecnry332 wrote: »
    Yes I use digital scales an I wasn't eating back my exercise calories at first but then I starred to an still made no difference

    Digital scale in grams or ounces? How many exercise calories did you start eating back?
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    I normally weigh in grams but can change to ounces on the screen, Id only eat 50% back as the calories on here don't seem very accurate for what I've burnt
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    leannecnry332 wrote: »
    I normally weigh in grams but can change to ounces on the screen, Id only eat 50% back as the calories on here don't seem very accurate for what I've burnt

    It sounds like you're doing everything right, and the new exercises are making you retain water. DONT CHANGE ANYTHING. But, maybe double check that the entries you're using are accurate (compare to the USDA website or http://nutritiondata.self.com/) and for instance you're using a "raw" entry for the weight of your foods when raw and not accidentally using a cooked entry.
  • leannecnry332
    leannecnry332 Posts: 31 Member
    Yes I always do everything raw, so why shouldn't I change anything? 2lb in 6 weeks is nothing. I'm classed as obese for my bmi an height an weight so its not like I don't have the fat there to lose so why am I not losing? I've read quite a few things an some say to work out my BMR which is 1569 then your tdee which is 2300 an then if u want to lose 2lb a week take 20% off the tdee an it will put me in a defecit which comes out to 1700 calories so now I'm confused do I go off 1200 calories, 1500 calories or 1700 calories
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I'm getting around 1400 cals for someone with your BMR to lose 2lb/week. You might want to get someone you trust who's more experienced at this to go over your program with you because the numbers don't add up. At this point I don't think anyone here has enough information to be able to provide you with advice on changes.

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