So Frustrating!!!!

sibach
sibach Posts: 24
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been eating 1200 calories a day and losing at a pretty good rate...yesterday I stayed within my 1200 calories and worked out for 45 minutes and still didn't lose anything! I know weighing in everyday isn't always accurate, but I am really cutting my calories and still not seeing results??? I am not sure what else to do...

Replies

  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
    You're probably going to get a lot of replies that you're not eating enough. 1200 is the minimum if you do nothing - no exercise. If you exercise, you should at least eat back to keep you at 1200, perhaps more because you're working your body. And even then, day to day, week to week, sometimes you're not going to lose. Period. It's going to slow. You're going to hit plateaus. It's gonna happen. You just have to keep plugging along.
  • smaggle
    smaggle Posts: 1
    I feel you on this one, I'm actually in the same rut right now eating 1200 calories a day and busting my butt exercising. My first instinct is always to eat less but that's not healthy. Try switching up your workout routine or drinking more water during the day and see how that affects your weigh ins (I weigh in everyday too lol i know it's bad but I totally get it)/
  • Suedre
    Suedre Posts: 435 Member
    I'm a daily weigher and was through my whole journey. I think it keeps me solid and have no issue with it; however, if you're going to do it, you have to have the right expectations. You will not see a loss everyday. The closer you get to your goal weight it will likely go up here and there. For me, it really helped to keep a graph with a weekly weight. Then I could see what the over-all trends were. Turns out, my body worked in three week cycles. I would have a downward trend for two weeks then a flat or slightly up for a week. Don't panic. Manage what you can control (meaning diet and exercise) and let your body fall into place.
  • FatDadSlim
    FatDadSlim Posts: 497 Member
    Daily weighing is too often, weekly at the same time of day will be more accurate.
  • changeisgood55
    changeisgood55 Posts: 274
    Did you take any measurements when you started? If so, you should measure youself again. Maybe you are losing inches and not pounds. Just don't give up. If you are doing the right thing it will work out for you.
  • iSammy
    iSammy Posts: 8 Member
    This is EXACTLY where I am right now. I totally feel your frustration lol!!

    According to Fitness Pal I should eat 1,200 per day to lose the weight, and I'm working out about 3 times a week too (trying to tone up etc) but make sure I ALWAYS eat back up to 1,200 so I don't go under the minimum required cals and yet for 2 whole weeks now I've been stuck at 9st 5lbs.... not impressed!

    Someone I've been speaking to at work reckons that when you hit a plateau you should have a day of eating whatever junk you like in order to kickstart your body into burning the fat again.... but I'm too scared to try that.... has anyone else found that it helps? :huh:
  • deb_rn
    deb_rn Posts: 144 Member
    I am in the same boat. You start to wonder what the point is! My scale hasn't moved in over 2 weeks and I am still doing the right things. Makes you just want to go eat a hamburger and fries! I am not gonna throw in the towel yet.
  • stephallen139
    stephallen139 Posts: 3 Member
    I am at 207 and I stick to 1500 calories a day regardless of how much I workout. I've been losing about 2 pounds a week for 11 or so weeks and then for the past 3 weeks I was stuck at 210.6. I also weigh myself everyday and I keep a spreadsheet. I feel that it helps me remember that sometimes my weight will go up a couple pounds because of water and that it WILL come back down if I keep up the healthy habits. Anyhow I tried everything, I ate 2500 calories one day, I ate 1000 the next day... Nothing. I was on my cycle for part of that and that absolutely impacts weight loss during that time. Yesterday I decided I was going to up my cardio so I hit the gym twice, once on my lunch and once right after work. You know what?? It worked. This morning I was down to 207.2, FINALLY. I'm sure it was lots of water weight and it IS frustrating but keep plugging away and your body can't help but respond.
  • Reisse62
    Reisse62 Posts: 71 Member
    Did you drink enough water and did you get enough sleep?
  • amfaery
    amfaery Posts: 267 Member
    fa ew months ago before joining MFP I listened to people and ate more to make up up for calories burned during exercise an dactually starting losing agin around 1400-1600 a day. I also started doing measurements every month and noticed a big difference even if the scale was stuck
  • tbisca1
    tbisca1 Posts: 142
    I was at a rut for several months and then out of the blue from June 1st til now I have lost an additional 25 lbs. It is frustrating but our bodies have a "mind" of their own and we can't always push it along faster. Also in that month and a half I lost 5 inches in my waist so even though I was in a rut, when it ended, I lost more than I expected!
  • laddyboy
    laddyboy Posts: 1,565 Member
    a few points for everyone that's stuck.

    1. For some unknown reason women think you have to exercise more and eat less to lose weight. This in incorrect. You will go into starvation mode if you don't eat properly. You all should know what eating properly is.
    2. ZIG ZAG - google it. It works. I was stuck at 203lbs for 2 1/2 weeks when I was trying to hit my initial goal of 200lbs. I was frustrated. I zig zagged and reached my goal.

    So, to make a long story short...eat your food and trust MFP.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    There are several reasons why people plateau but it isn't hard to get out of. The first thing you have to know, is your body will adjust to a routine in 30 days which means, you have to change what you are doing every 30 days to HELP prevent this. Second, as someone said it before, you have to eat enough calories to net more than 1200. Third, if you provide me some basic info (in the thread or over private message) we can really determine on your lifestyle, whether or not 1200 calories is too little. There is a good chance it is. If you can go to the link below, you can estimate your body fat. If you can provide me with that and your weight, plus your activity level (how often you workout, etc) then I an do some calculations. More than likely, we will have to increase your calories.


    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html


    Also, for all those who are afraid to eat more calories remember this: Food is fuel. If you dont' get the food to fuel your body, it won't lose and if it does, you will lose muscle, NOT fat. Below is a little study I am working on current to compare people who have low body fat vs those with higher body fat and the correlation with caloric intake. In fact, I just plateau'd myself. I increased my calories last night by another 200 (at 2800 calories now) and will let you know by the end of the week if I start to lose again. The past 2 times this happened, I have lost each time i increased my intake.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat
  • Papillon22
    Papillon22 Posts: 1,160 Member
    you're frustrated after one DAY of no loss? You're gonna have to work on that because you have a long road ahead (just like me) and it's not gonna go smoothly. Seriously, do yourself a favor and start letting go of behaviors like that, which will only make you miserable and even more frustrated in the long run.

    Just trust that what you are doing is the right and healthy thing to do, and things will eventually fall into place.

    As for eating 1200 calories, have you set your goal to lose 2lbs/week? I weigh about the same, and at 1600 calories, I'm doing well.
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    I've been weighing myself daily for over 6 months. You are not going to consistently lose. There are days you do everything right and you still stay the same or even gain. I gained 5lbs once and almost had a heart attack. It was gone the next day though. It's water weight. You are not gaining fat.

    The reasons for water weight gain are; a hard workout, too much sodium, not enough water, Time of the month, undigested food, no recent bowel movements, water intake prior to weigh in, heat/ humidity. I'm sure there are many more that I'm forgetting.

    Unless you've eaten 3500 calories more than you require, you didn't gain actual fat.

    There's nothing wrong with weighing yourself everyday. As long as you don't get obsessed with it.

    Other than that, if you are not eating enough calories, you will have a harder time losing once you get closer to your goal weight. If you are within 20lbs you should be setting MFP to lose .5 lb per week and following the guidelines. ie eating back most if not all of your exercise calories.
  • deb_rn
    deb_rn Posts: 144 Member
    bump
  • hemlock2010
    hemlock2010 Posts: 422 Member
    Don't know if this will make you feel any better, but I find that I lose weight slowly (or not at all) for three weeks, and then lose a bunch all at once.

    Yes, it's very, very frustrating to see no change when you weigh every day (I'm a daily weigher, too), but the body is a chaotic system, not a linear system, and so there are way too many variables for us to be able to say "calories in minus calories out will equal x weight in y days."
  • jayb0ne
    jayb0ne Posts: 644 Member

    Someone I've been speaking to at work reckons that when you hit a plateau you should have a day of eating whatever junk you like in order to kickstart your body into burning the fat again.... but I'm too scared to try that.... has anyone else found that it helps? :huh:

    I do this. One day in 6 I have a treat/cheat day. The reasons are threefold:

    Firstly, as you touched upon, the body has a starvation reflex which is when it cottons on that it's getting less calories than it needs to maintain the current weight. The body's reaction is to slow the metabolism down in an attempt to keep hold of every calorie it can get. By spiking your metabolism once a week, you can trick the body into delaying the starvation reflex, keeping the metabolism high and burning fat rather than lean muscle the following week.

    Secondly, it will aid longer term weight maintenance by keeping the metabolism reasonably high so that when you reach your target weight and increase your calories to a maintenance level, your body won't grab them all and put them straight onto your waistline in case there's another starvation period.

    Finally, having a treat day to look forward to each week does wonders for willpower and helps to avoid self-sabotage. Someone in the office offering out cakes? My response is "No thanks - but I might have one of those at the weekend completely guilt free". Much easier to decline the bad foods if you know you can have them without worry in a few days.

    It doesn't neccesarily have to be a whole day of shoving anything you can get into your mouth, even a single treat meal which is higher in fats than you'd normally have (a curry perhaps) should have a good effect.

    Personally, I only allow myself the treat day on the condition that I've done well at weigh in on Saturday morning.

    By the way, this is what I do because I did the research and decided to try the theory on myself and evaluate the effects. It's certainly not the recommended way to approach food! I'd advise reading up on this theory and making up yo9ur own mind before applying it to your own diet...
  • k8edge
    k8edge Posts: 380
    You can't expect to have a weight loss every day. It is unrealistic... You could have retained some water or simply did not loose any weight. Don't be a slave to the scale... It will drive you mad.
  • k8edge
    k8edge Posts: 380
    I was at a rut for several months and then out of the blue from June 1st til now I have lost an additional 25 lbs. It is frustrating but our bodies have a "mind" of their own and we can't always push it along faster. Also in that month and a half I lost 5 inches in my waist so even though I was in a rut, when it ended, I lost more than I expected!

    This is amazing. Congrats!
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    I am 1200 cals and always eat back the majority if my exercise cal's.

    It has worked for me thus far... but I know many, many people disagree about eating back exercise cals.
  • iSammy
    iSammy Posts: 8 Member
    Hey JayB0ne!

    Thanks so much for the info! I'm on my lunchbreak now and am reading up on this method (really pleased its been working for you!!) and also something someone else on here mentioned called ZIGZAG? Will do my homework and give myself until the weekend to decide whether to have that treat day.... must admit.... a curry sounds bloody good right now! LOL!

    Thanks :happy:
  • 30poundsofbeauty
    30poundsofbeauty Posts: 41
    I'm a daily weigher as well. I work out about 3-4x a week. My calorie limit is 1200 as well.

    Last week, I worked out 3 times and didn't eat back all my calories, I had about 150-300 cals a day left. This actually had a bad effect on my weight loss. I did not lose as much as usual. Then I had a cheat day Sunday and started eating back all my calories this week. My weight-loss has returned to normal! But i guess it depends on your body too. I know I'm going to not net less than 1100 anymore. My body just starves itself.
  • sibach
    sibach Posts: 24
    Thanks everyone! A lot of good ideas!!! :)
  • Reisse62
    Reisse62 Posts: 71 Member
    I am in this for the long haul. I am losing weight at a steady pace and will get there at the right time.

    I do typically have one blow out day a week which I keep track of the calories on that day, but I do allow myself to go over. For me this seems to keep me on track and I continue to lose weight.
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