1200 calories + exercise... no results.

kelleemayling
kelleemayling Posts: 9 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
4'11 Starting weight 175. Goal weight 115.

I have been sticking to a 1200 calorie per day diet. I workout on the elliptical 45 minutes 5-6 times a week. In the beginning I lost some weight, but for almost a week now the scale won't budge. I do not ever eat back my workout calories (around 500). Is my body going into starvation mode from only netting 700 calories per day? I read on here most people don't eat back their workout calories. When I finish my MFP diary for the day it says what I'm doing is how to lose the most weight in 5 weeks. If I delete the exercise or add more hypothetical calories then end my diary for the day it says I'll lose over 5 pounds LESS every 5 weeks. I'm getting frustrated because Im putting in so much effort with no results and my friend who is not exercising is losing tons of weight. (20 lbs in a month)


Please help! Should I keep doing what I'm doing and be patient or quit working out? I don't think I want to consume more calories just to be able to work out.
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Replies

  • misarisa0216
    misarisa0216 Posts: 2 Member
    Was having the same issue So hired a trainer. Tips she told me where
    to definitely include strength training not just cardio in my workouts.
    Make sure the foods I'm eating a day are at least 40% protein and 30 carbs and 30 fat (which the carbs and fat numbers can change up or down but protein 40% minimum).
    Try cardio before eating in the am, fasting cardio helps burn fat
    And drink a gallon of water a day. Some days I make it to the gallon others I'm very close but don't make it. On the days that I don't even do half a gallon I feel more bloated the next day.
    Good luck!! Don't give up
  • melaninmonro
    melaninmonro Posts: 6 Member
    First and most important question, why are you only eating 700 calories a day? I eat about 1500 already without even trying and lost weight like crazy. (I'm 5'8 and around 135-140 lbs) you're probably eating to low. Ive never eaten below 1200 ever and the first time around I went from 140 to 119.the only reason I gained it all back is because I went on a junk food binge 24/7. Which is why in back. Are you changing up your workouts? Are you giving yourself enough time to see results? Are you visually looking slimmer? The scale lies to you. You could be losing weight but gaining muscle.
  • KareninLux
    KareninLux Posts: 1,413 Member
    Log accurately, log accurately, log accurately. Everything!
    Eat some exercise calories back just maybe not all.
    Stick with it - it works.
    DON'T GIVE UP!
  • coboblack
    coboblack Posts: 64 Member
    I would add to make sure you are weighing yourself
    In the morning, when you first wake up, after using the restroom, and while wearing the same clothes or no clothes. Your body will fluctuate throughout the day.
  • peterbuller8
    peterbuller8 Posts: 155 Member
    I went almost a month without losing anything then it just started falling off again this happens to most people and there is no such thing as starvation mode your body burns what it needs when it needs it .
    Try measuring yourself you may find the inches go when the weight stops falling .
  • kelleemayling
    kelleemayling Posts: 9 Member
    Thanks everyone. I am logging EVERYTHING. Even my coffee grounds and gum lol

    I just want to make sure my workouts aren't making it harder to lose weight by not eating back any of the calories.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    A week is not enough time for anything to be shown. Starvation mode doesn't exist at your weight, so get that out of your head. If you think weight loss is going to happen as soon as u get on an elliptical you're in for a rude awakening. Stick with the program for minimum of 2 months and he re-evaluate. Eat the number of cals mfp gives u and eat 50% of your exercise cals. Be patient and consistent
  • joannalouise92
    joannalouise92 Posts: 49 Member
    Hi there.. I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm net 1200 and do three hour cardio sessions a week that I don't log or eat back and the scales (or my measurements) won't budge. I weigh everything, I easily drink over a gallon of water a day... it's pretty frustrating. If you find something that works, let me know!
    I'm putting mine down to the fact I haven't been able to poop properly for a couple weeks (despite eating 25g fibre on average per day) and that I skippped a period so maybe it's my hormones playing up.. who knows!! I guess I'm gonna have to wait and see
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    joannalouise92 wrote: »
    Hi there.. I'm in the exact same boat as you. I'm net 1200 and do three hour cardio sessions a week that I don't log or eat back and the scales (or my measurements) won't budge. I weigh everything, I easily drink over a gallon of water a day... it's pretty frustrating. If you find something that works, let me know!
    I'm putting mine down to the fact I haven't been able to poop properly for a couple weeks (despite eating 25g fibre on average per day) and that I skippped a period so maybe it's my hormones playing up.. who knows!! I guess I'm gonna have to wait and see

    an obvious alternative occurs to me.......

    LOL. I would hope that most people have enough brains to take a pregnancy test if they miss a period before declaring it due to hormones. Ever since I lost weight and got below 25% BF I've had times where I missed a period completely or had it come extremely early or late. I damn well knew pregnancy couldn't be a possibility.
  • crb426
    crb426 Posts: 661 Member
    kelleemayling wrote: »

    I just want to make sure my workouts aren't making it harder to lose weight by not eating back any of the calories.

    Burning calories from working out will not force your body to do the opposite by gaining weight. That doesn't make sense.

    Just stick to what you're doing. One week without weight loss could just be your body settling in before another big loss. You may also be retaining some water from the working out, which will also flush away as your muscles adjust.
  • perfectjewel
    perfectjewel Posts: 15 Member
    First, stay positive, clear on your intention and patient! I personally have gone up and down weight a lot in my lifetime - I am 49 now. In the last year, I've lost 70 pounds (currently 165). I used to be a fitness instructor, teaching an average of 12 classes a week, and weighed about 190. I know a lot about over-training! Over the past year, I don't work out a lot - I walk and started doing a dance class 1-3x a week about 5 months ago. I lost 5-10 pounds a month, averaging about 1850 calories a day. I eat popcorn with lots of coconut oil and steal my husbands chocolate. I eat 90% vegan and clean whole foods - this was the primary shift in the past year. This month, since I reached my goal weight but created a new goal weight 20 pounds less a couple months ago, I've eaten more like 1900-1950 cal a day and not much exercise due to our new puppy keeping me busy. I've still lost 4 pounds. I say INCREASE YOUR CALORIES - TAKE A CHANCE, even just for a couple of weeks. Also you can try alternating days - say 1200 cal one day, 1800 cal another for example. Check out the NIH weight loss calculator. Seems accurate to me, and backed by a lot of research. https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/bwp/
  • boothekm1
    boothekm1 Posts: 60 Member
    When I hadn't seen a scale drop in a few weeks, I started HIIT training on the elliptical and upped my calories a bit. It worked!!
  • corgidogchu
    corgidogchu Posts: 26 Member
    I use the elliptical for 30 mins a day and burn around 250-280cal for 30 minutes so I don't thi k you are burning 500cals for 45mins.

    when is your last meal? if I were you I would stop eating after 7. If you already are, I'd eat smaller portions than you are more frequently throughout the day and try doing some sit ups and other strength workouts to tighten your stomach so it feels like your stomach is very tight vs being filled with food.
  • nherring_phd
    nherring_phd Posts: 1 Member
    Increase your calorie intake between 1500 and 1200. Make sure that you take multivitamins as well. It is not healthy for you to stay on such a low calorie intake for weeks considering you're doing cardio everyday. Your body needs fuel to keep your metabolism revved up and burning fat. So make sure you're eating 4 to 6 meals a day. Its easy for your body to go into starvation mode if you're not fueling it properly and burning way more calories than you consume. When I ran into this issue I went out and had a cheat rest day. ( cheat meal was two double cheeseburgers from McDonald's large fry and strawberry sundae ).Then was back at the gym the next day and it worked to get my metabolism going and burning again. Hopefully this will help.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    [1] At 1200 net, you really really should eat exercise calories back.
    [2] Weight stalling (or even increasing) for 1 week is nothing.. weight will fluctuate several pounds due to just water weight - and monthly cycle will affect that a lot.
  • FaileBashere
    FaileBashere Posts: 27 Member
    kelleemayling wrote: »
    4'11 Starting weight 175. Goal weight 115.

    I have been sticking to a 1200 calorie per day diet. I workout on the elliptical 45 minutes 5-6 times a week. In the beginning I lost some weight, but for almost a week now the scale won't budge. I do not ever eat back my workout calories (around 500). Is my body going into starvation mode from only netting 700 calories per day? I read on here most people don't eat back their workout calories. When I finish my MFP diary for the day it says what I'm doing is how to lose the most weight in 5 weeks. If I delete the exercise or add more hypothetical calories then end my diary for the day it says I'll lose over 5 pounds LESS every 5 weeks. I'm getting frustrated because Im putting in so much effort with no results and my friend who is not exercising is losing tons of weight. (20 lbs in a month)


    Please help! Should I keep doing what I'm doing and be patient or quit working out? I don't think I want to consume more calories just to be able to work out.

    wow I am in an incredibly similar boat. I am also 4'11", i weigh 164 and i'm aiming for 135lbs. Also been working out about 8 hours a week and doing the 1200 calorie diet (although haven't been as successful with it). I get confused as to how many calories I should actually be eating given i'm working out. But like I said, you're not alone!
  • str8bowbabe
    str8bowbabe Posts: 712 Member
    Have your tried varying your workouts? You may have just hit a plateau. Are you doing the same intensity, time etc in your elliptical workout?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll lose. Women tend to retain water like crazy, and in my experience it's even worse when I skip a period.

    After that, just log as accurately as possible and trust the science. Do you weigh your food? If not, I don't really suggest eating your exercise calories back, but if you are, definitely eat back at least half.
  • johnnylloyd0618
    johnnylloyd0618 Posts: 303 Member
    this may be more simple than you think, and I apologize if someone has already mentioned it...two thoughts, one you aren't eating enough and your body is hoarding every calorie it can, basically you have gone into starvation mode. Secondly, you may be dropping weight in terms of fat but adding muscle, so its a wash (this week). Try taking measurements so see if you are losing inches...
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