1400-1500 calories a day and can't lose weight
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GiveHerWingsSheWillFly
Posts: 17 Member
A few months ago, I was trying really hard to lose weight on 1400-1500 calories per day. I wasn't getting anywhere and I had even cut out gluten two years ago. Oddly enough, when I cut out gluten I didn't lose weight. I'm very overweight (100 pounds overweight) so I'm worried that I won't lose unless I go under 1,000 calories.
In the last few days I've tried the new Atkins to see if that will work for me. Has anyone else had this problem starting off with this same amount of calories and not losing? I have lost about four pounds in the past week, but I'm thinking its mostly water right now.
Discouraged, aggravated but ready to figure this out.
In the last few days I've tried the new Atkins to see if that will work for me. Has anyone else had this problem starting off with this same amount of calories and not losing? I have lost about four pounds in the past week, but I'm thinking its mostly water right now.
Discouraged, aggravated but ready to figure this out.
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Replies
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If you take your calories to 1200 and go low-sodium, low-fat while pushing water you will lose!1
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If you're 100 pounds overweight there is absolutely no need to eat 1000 calories per day. Don't do it.
Why would whether or not you eat gluten matter for weight loss? Do you have Celiac? Atkins is a great plan but you still need to be eating fewer calories than you burn to lose weight. If you've gone that way, then you are right that a lot of the initial weight loss is water but even then you can't expect to lose more than a pound or two per week. Anything more is unrealistic AND unhealthy.
Usually when someone has so many pounds to lose simply logging everything and keeping under the MFP goal is enough at first. So that's the first place I'm going to look. Are you honestly logging absolutely everything you eat? Are you using a food scale to verify portion sizes? Are you overestimating calories when you aren't absolutely certain?8 -
Ive spent about 2 years trying to work out what calories I should lose at...
I started at the recommended MFP calories (1700) for 3 months, and just gained - quickly! Couldnt understand how I could gain because calorie calculators state that for me to maintain my current weight (244lbs at the time) I would have to eat 2500 calories a day - which I certainly was not doing!!
I worked down to around 1500 for 3months - and I stabilized (ie: didnt gain)
Im 100+lbs overweight , 5''2 and Ive found 1300-1500 works for me to slowly lose 1lb a week with accurate logging, and a sedentary lifestyle.
It is mostly finding out about what works for YOU - but give your body more than a week or 2 to adjust, and you should see a downward trend....
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Sounds like you're not counting calories accurately. Or being too impatient to see results and giving up before you can see any shift in the scale (weight loss isn't linear you can go 5 weeks without seeing a shift, doesn't mean what you're doing isn't working).
Either that or a trip to the doctor is needed to rule out any endocrine disorders. But you being inaccurate/impatient is far more likely.5 -
theresakruse48 wrote: »If you take your calories to 1200 and go low-sodium, low-fat while pushing water you will lose!
No this is bad advice. Do not just lower your calories to 1200. You need sodium in your diet, unless you are being see by a doctor for a medical issues. Low fat diet totally not necessary. If the idea behind this is to just loose water, this is not fat loss!
OP we need to decide on a few things:
1) When eating 1400 calories did you use a food scale to weigh and measure everything you consumed (even pad of butter, oils, condiments, dressing, sauces, etc.. were these included in your calorie intake)?
2) If you did low carb last week and lost 4 pounds this was water weight. It evens back out in about two weeks.
3) Exercise, is there any exercise in the equation?
4) Exactly how long did you try to loose weight at 1400 calories? Did you use MFP?
Did you get impatient after a short while and give up fairly quickly?
I am not sure when you will return to this thread, but if you use MFP and a food scale together, you will loose weight. You should double check to make sure 1400 calories is the right MFP calorie goal setup for your goals. If everything is setup right, you will start to see weight loss if you use the tools.
The last thing is, if you believe you have a medical reason for not loosing weight, you should speak to your doctor right away.9 -
Are you completely sedentary? Do you have any physical activity at all? I was able to lose weight when I stuck to 1400-1700 calories a day years ago with 30-60 minutes of exercise a day and I was 20-40 lbs. overweight throughout the journey...i never had to go as low as 1200. however, activity definitely plays a big part. I'm not talking about running marathons. i started out on the elliptical for 30 minutes and it was challenging but as long as I didn't screw it up and binge, stayed consistent I lost pretty quickly. i eventually developed hypothyroidism when i started playing around with macros and cutting carbs too low. with thyroid medication, consistent workouts, and not exceeding the amount of calories I was burning, maintaining a deficit, i lost weight.0
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Do you have a food scale? I noticed once I started weighing my food I started to lose the weight. A food scale makes the difference.4
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theresakruse48 wrote: »If you take your calories to 1200 and go low-sodium, low-fat while pushing water you will lose!
No this is bad advice. Do not just lower your calories to 1200. You need sodium in your diet, unless you are being see by a doctor for a medical issues. Low fat diet totally not necessary. If the idea behind this is to just loose water, this is not fat loss!
I agree, don't lower your calories further and don't go low sodium or low fat. You need to buy a food scale and measuring cups and weigh everything.
Keep your sodium at healthy levels, not low or high. Skip the fast food, skip dessert (most of the time), and skip sugary drinks (Soda, sports drinks, "juices", energy drinks)2 -
If you can't lose at 1500 as you say, then when you get to your goal, what calorie level will be required to maintain it? 1000 calories for the rest of your life? A grim scenario, I would think. The most common response for "I can't lose" posts are what they always are. Because that is the only answer. Are you honestly counting every calorie that goes into your mouth? Are you accurately weighing it? Because even a comatose person would have trouble not losing weight on a 1500 calorie diet.
Well believe it or not I've been meticulous. What I mentioned is a real thing. I even went to a weight loss specialist and they couldn't figure it out. I don't think I will have to stay on 1000 calories for the rest of my life, once I figure things out. I have never been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome but if I had to guess I probably have it. Hopefully exercise will help but I've had severe planters fasciitis in both feet for 15 years and thats when I gained all my weight. Now I have tendonitis in both arms. Not going to stop though. Going to figure it out. God bless the comatose.2 -
Thank you everyone for your thoughts. I'll keep you posted. Another week should tell me something, I hope. Much success to you all
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SophieSmall95 wrote: »Sounds like you're not counting calories accurately. Or being too impatient to see results and giving up before you can see any shift in the scale (weight loss isn't linear you can go 5 weeks without seeing a shift, doesn't mean what you're doing isn't working).
Either that or a trip to the doctor is needed to rule out any endocrine disorders. But you being inaccurate/impatient is far more likely.
this.
I have like 25-30lbs left to lose and I can lose weight on 1400-1500 EASILY.
No, you don't need to cut out gluten or fat or carbs. Maybe cut sodium if you have some sort of medical need to do so. Otherwise, just be patient and get a food scale to measure everything you eat for a more accurate estimate.2 -
Im right behind you at 247 now(yay)! I had trouble losing weight on 1200. I counted every calorie meticulously and exercised daily. My issue was that I needed to eat more. I dropped my goal to 1.5 lbs per week which allowed me 1450 calories per day. I actually eat about 1500-1560 per day but I also exercise, burning anywhere from 300 to 560 calories daily. On the days that I don't exercise I eat about 1350 to allow myself to stablize and not gain any weight. I also drink a ton of water! oh, and Im 5'1!
I'm no expert but you might need to eat more, while monitoring your calorie entake accurately, and exercise!
Hope this helps!3 -
GiveHerWingsSheWillFly wrote: »If you can't lose at 1500 as you say, then when you get to your goal, what calorie level will be required to maintain it? 1000 calories for the rest of your life? A grim scenario, I would think. The most common response for "I can't lose" posts are what they always are. Because that is the only answer. Are you honestly counting every calorie that goes into your mouth? Are you accurately weighing it? Because even a comatose person would have trouble not losing weight on a 1500 calorie diet.
Well believe it or not I've been meticulous. What I mentioned is a real thing. I even went to a weight loss specialist and they couldn't figure it out. I don't think I will have to stay on 1000 calories for the rest of my life, once I figure things out. I have never been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome but if I had to guess I probably have it. Hopefully exercise will help but I've had severe planters fasciitis in both feet for 15 years and thats when I gained all my weight. Now I have tendonitis in both arms. Not going to stop though. Going to figure it out. God bless the comatose.
Does "meticulous" mean you use a food scale?4 -
GiveHerWingsSheWillFly wrote: »If you can't lose at 1500 as you say, then when you get to your goal, what calorie level will be required to maintain it? 1000 calories for the rest of your life? A grim scenario, I would think. The most common response for "I can't lose" posts are what they always are. Because that is the only answer. Are you honestly counting every calorie that goes into your mouth? Are you accurately weighing it? Because even a comatose person would have trouble not losing weight on a 1500 calorie diet.
Well believe it or not I've been meticulous. What I mentioned is a real thing. I even went to a weight loss specialist and they couldn't figure it out. I don't think I will have to stay on 1000 calories for the rest of my life, once I figure things out. I have never been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome but if I had to guess I probably have it. Hopefully exercise will help but I've had severe planters fasciitis in both feet for 15 years and thats when I gained all my weight. Now I have tendonitis in both arms. Not going to stop though. Going to figure it out. God bless the comatose.
OP any chance of you opening your diary?
'Diary sharing- Public' http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings0 -
Forty6and2 wrote: »SophieSmall95 wrote: »Sounds like you're not counting calories accurately. Or being too impatient to see results and giving up before you can see any shift in the scale (weight loss isn't linear you can go 5 weeks without seeing a shift, doesn't mean what you're doing isn't working).
Either that or a trip to the doctor is needed to rule out any endocrine disorders. But you being inaccurate/impatient is far more likely.
this.
I have like 25-30lbs left to lose and I can lose weight on 1400-1500 EASILY.
No, you don't need to cut out gluten or fat or carbs. Maybe cut sodium if you have some sort of medical need to do so. Otherwise, just be patient and get a food scale to measure everything you eat for a more accurate estimate.
I had to give up gluten two years ago because it was making me sick and rash out.0 -
MissusMoon wrote: »GiveHerWingsSheWillFly wrote: »If you can't lose at 1500 as you say, then when you get to your goal, what calorie level will be required to maintain it? 1000 calories for the rest of your life? A grim scenario, I would think. The most common response for "I can't lose" posts are what they always are. Because that is the only answer. Are you honestly counting every calorie that goes into your mouth? Are you accurately weighing it? Because even a comatose person would have trouble not losing weight on a 1500 calorie diet.
Well believe it or not I've been meticulous. What I mentioned is a real thing. I even went to a weight loss specialist and they couldn't figure it out. I don't think I will have to stay on 1000 calories for the rest of my life, once I figure things out. I have never been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome but if I had to guess I probably have it. Hopefully exercise will help but I've had severe planters fasciitis in both feet for 15 years and thats when I gained all my weight. Now I have tendonitis in both arms. Not going to stop though. Going to figure it out. God bless the comatose.
Does "meticulous" mean you use a food scale?
I have one. I pretty much eye ball my portions and try to measure it out as well. Like protein, I look to see that its the size of a deck of cards and go with that, but I should weight it.
Got diagnosed with Fibromyalgia today at the doctors office, so that explains the years of fatigue I've had. A few health issues to deal with but I'll muddle through it. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll feel better and have some more energy. I'll play around with the calories I'm on for a few weeks, then go lower, and if that doesn't work I guess I could up the calories. I have never been a yo yo dieter. This is actually the second time I've even tried to diet because I didn't have the mental energy to do it.
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Eyeballing your portions isn't meticulous. You could EASILY be off by several hundred calories at the end of the day. Even cup measurements aren't entirely accurate. The only way to be meticulous is to use a food scale.7
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I got a food scale and have noticed a big difference. It is a pain but it definitely makes a difference.0
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If you're 100 pounds overweight there is absolutely no need to eat 1000 calories per day. Don't do it.
I would be surprised, at 100 lbs overweight, that you even need to be as low as 1400 to lose effectively, unless you are very short or very sedentary. But that being said, you are likely eating more calories than you think, especially since you say you tend to estimate. We've got to know our real numbers- every bite, lick, & taste- for the math to work.2
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