What Am I doing wrong????!!!??!!

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Constant_Nova
Constant_Nova Posts: 108 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Good day All!
MFP has given me a calorie goal of 1200. I weigh 250, down from 263. Its been about a month and 10 days....at first I was given a goal of 1260... ever since my calories dropped, I've hit a plateau. I work out daily, burning anywhere from 300-500 calories in 30 min to about an hour. Its been the same since I started. The only thing that's different now is that I try not to eat any of my calories back. When I first started MFP, I was eating about 1250-1450 cal per day. now its about 1163-1197 per day. I struggle with my sodium and protein macros some days though. Could it be that I am not eating enough? I have my loss goal at a rate of 2 lbs per week.... Should I change it to 1.5 lb? Or should I work out more? as of this week, I've walked 2 miles on Sunday and Monday, and did turbo jam and yoga- yesterday! please help! I'm so confused! thank you!

Grammar Police- please not today.....needing help, not judgement :)
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Replies

  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
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    You're definitely not eating enough. Think of your body as a car with food being the gas. In order to drive for a longer period of time, you have to fuel up. What you eat and what you burn is netting you about 663-897 calories for the day. Your body needs a minimum 1200 calories for nutritional purposes. Eat back maybe half of your calories and watch the processed foods to reduce your sodium intake. Drinking plenty of water will help flush out the sodium.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    my first question would be how long since you lost any weight at all.

  • Constant_Nova
    Constant_Nova Posts: 108 Member
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    Thank you! I have a scale and I rely on medical websites to track calories burned as best that I can. I cross reference with the machines and the site and choose the lower number. A week ago, I did notice that some of the seasonings that I cook with have calories that I wasn't calculating, like cinnamon!!!! I started tracking those and the scale still hasn't moved!... granted its only been about a week and a half though. But I will take your Advice and drop my loss rate and start eating some of my calories back. when I was doing so, the weight just seemed to fall off, regardless of the cinnamon, lol!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    ryahluvspink wrote: »
    Thank you! I have a scale and I rely on medical websites to track calories burned as best that I can. I cross reference with the machines and the site and choose the lower number. A week ago, I did notice that some of the seasonings that I cook with have calories that I wasn't calculating, like cinnamon!!!! I started tracking those and the scale still hasn't moved!... granted its only been about a week and a half though. But I will take your Advice and drop my loss rate and start eating some of my calories back. when I was doing so, the weight just seemed to fall off, regardless of the cinnamon, lol!

    after a week and a half no worries.

    Possibly water retention from various things like Stress...stress raises cortisol levels which causes water retention.

    my scale normally takes almost a month to move down...
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
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    I only skimmed the previous posts so I may have missed it, but do you use a food scale to weigh out your portions to track calorie intake?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    You've lost 13 pounds in ~40 days? You are doing well. You won't see a scale drop each time you step on. The body is too inefficient. Trust that the effort you're putting in will show, but understand it may take time to see results.

    If eating that low is not keeping you full and energetic then certainly a) eat back some of your exercise calories and/or b) readjust to aim for 1.5 pounds per week. Personally I could not do 1200ish long term.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    So you have lost 13 lbs in 6 weeks? That's 2 lbs per week. 1200 is hard to do. If you truly are on a plateau, tighten up. Weigh and measure your food. Try not to have extra tastes, nibbles, or bites without tracking. But it sounds like you may be on a good path. Don't get discouraged. You can do this! A bunch of us are walking it with you.
  • andreast1970
    andreast1970 Posts: 17 Member
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    Same here... Lost 18lbs in 6 weeks and then went on a plateau. 3 weeks nothing. But kept my diet all the same. I was advised to do a cheat day (which I did) and a PT says increase your intensity. (Which I did) I even started HIIT with in a week..: see there... All kick started... I was back at losing 3lbs a week.

    Also, don't rely on the calorie burner on the machines.
    You have Active Burning calories and Total Burning calories. MFP records the Active Burning calories, where as the Treadmill & cycling machine show total calories. E.g in two hours walking I lost 700cal Active but the treadmill showed 1000 cal. Using Apple IWatch the Total match up (1000)

    What I'm trying to say, if you think you lost 500 you actually only lost 350cal.

    Long story short - you have to kick start the loss by increasing the intensity. Also, I advise... Get active here with adding friends. They help - trust me!!!

    So, please add me
  • lilsailorx
    lilsailorx Posts: 5 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Your body needs energy to burn calories. Not having enough could send your body into starvation mode. Plateaus are very common. I hit mine at 30lbs. I introduced a small amount of carbs like brown rice and that gave me the boost I needed. It's also important to combine nutrients. For breakfast I make a chocolate peanut butter banana protein smoothie. It curbs cravings, fills me up, is delicious,and combines healthy fats, healthy carbs, and very little sugar! Get it girl! We're rooting for you!!!
  • scoii
    scoii Posts: 160 Member
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    I gained 4lbs in 12 hours from a burger and chips. The whole plate of food weighed less than 2lbs.

    Salt plays havoc with weight as it make your body hold onto water. Add in monthly cycles and you could be 10lbs up through no fault of your diet or exercise.
  • Neanbean13
    Neanbean13 Posts: 211 Member
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    Eating wayyyyyyy too little ! Your body is probably keeping all the energy as its not getting enough nutrition. If you are already only eating 1200 plus exercise it's going into 'starvation mode' which puts stress on the body which further stops weight loss. Also being a woman there's hormones, water weight that effects us more. I know my weight is effected for about a week n a half around time I get my period. Some women only a few days or some 2 weeks of a month! Also if water consumption is not consistent that can also effect. I know some days I only get through 3/4 of a lite some days 2?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/starvation-mode/
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Neanbean13 wrote: »
    Eating wayyyyyyy too little ! Your body is probably keeping all the energy as its not getting enough nutrition. If you are already only eating 1200 plus exercise it's going into 'starvation mode' which puts stress on the body which further stops weight loss. Also being a woman there's hormones, water weight that effects us more. I know my weight is effected for about a week n a half around time I get my period. Some women only a few days or some 2 weeks of a month! Also if water consumption is not consistent that can also effect. I know some days I only get through 3/4 of a lite some days 2?
    No, starvation mode in this context is a myth. If it weren't people would never die of starvation they'd just conserve more and more energy until they went into some form of stasis. Weight loss can be masked by water retention around our menstrual cycles, it's true. I always gain a few pounds with mine that goes away a few days later.

    Yes, the OP thinks she's eating very few calories. The reality is she's either eating more than she thinks she is or she's overestimating her workouts.

    OP, if MFP is only giving you 1200 calories your weight loss goal is too aggressive. 1200 is the lowest it will go. Losing weight too quickly is a bad idea anyway because you start losing muscle along with the fat which lowers your metabolism even further and makes it even harder to lose the weight the next time around. And there will probably be a next time if you're being so restrictive with your diet....

    Lower your pound per week goal until your calories are at least 1300. Get a food scale for your kitchen and use it for everything you eat and then be brutally honest with what you are logging. If you don't have a heart rate monitor for your workouts, get one or be very conservative with what you're entering. MFP's calories counts for exercise can be really far off.

    Be extra diligent with your logging because we, as humans, are really, really bad at logging everything even when we really try. Overestimate food calories when you aren't sure and underestimate exercise calories. Eat back 50% of the calories you earn in exercise to be just a little more cautious. Try this for a few weeks and see if it doesn't start producing results.
  • B4Rachael
    B4Rachael Posts: 155 Member
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    You should calculate your BMR- basal metabolic rate; it will calculate the number of calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day. This is a good starting point in figuring out how many calories you should consume in a day.

    Remember to re-calculate as you lose weight because you will burn less when you weigh less. A good calculator that i use is https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/basal-metabolic-rate .

    To set your daily calorie limit to lose weight, you need to reduce your caloric intake below your total daily calorie requirement indicated by your BMR. Putting yourself in a 500-calorie deficit every day should result in the loss of one pound every week.
    So if your BMR says "you need 2903.12 calories to keep your typical activity level going without any weight change" than you should eat no more than 2400 if you want to lose 1lb a week, or no more than 1900 calories to lose 2lb a week. I think you are not eating enough to sustain your daily activities and your body has started storing what you eat.
    Make sure you re-calculate as you lose weight.
  • Constant_Nova
    Constant_Nova Posts: 108 Member
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    I use healthstatus.com to cross reference my calories burned, always choosing the lower amount. I am also extremely meticulous when it comes to logging in my food as well as measuring and weighing. I don't pack my measuring cups, I always level them. I have a digi scale, that I will weigh my meats on, at least 3x to make sure its correct. I never trust any of the calories listed for food in the data base. I always use my own, or go to the usda website. As I stated before, I wasn't logging my calories for seasonings but I've had that fixed for about a week now with still no change. I've recently opened my diary, please, have a look if you'd like... I think Im doing the absolute best that I can.....please understand that its only been about a week and a half at 250... with weighing in everyday at the same weight.... as if I'm maintaining.

    I know its easy to assume that I'm lying, but I wouldn't be asking for help, if I knew that I was messing up(being very sincere in this.... yes I got defensive with someones response but then I remember that this person does not know me, so I felt I should explain)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
    edited July 2016
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    No one is saying you're lying - what people are saying is you think you're logging accurately but maybe you're not. You say in your post you're using measuring cups. Use your food scale for all solids. Use the cups for only liquids. Also you're losing 2 lbs a week which is fantastic. Don't fret over normal stalls and fluctuations.

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