1200 calories + exercise... no results.
Options
Replies
-
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!2 -
Bad advice from two posters above. Not @ritzvin but the two above hers.
Yeah, 500 may be overestimating the calorie burn. Figure it as 250 to be safe, but eat them back.
Ignore advice about the timing of your meals, it doesn't matter. Eat when you feel like, just tracking calories and probably protein. Starvation mode isn't real, so ignore that piece. A cheat day if you like, but it won't help weight loss.
Be patient. Weight comes off when it wants to but the program works and it will come off if you are logging accurately (get a food scale if you don't have one). One week is too short a time frame to judge.
Plus, how big is the person who lost 20 lbs in a month? How much do they have to lose compared to you? Weight loss is more about how much you eat than the exercises you do, although exercising helps and is still a good idea.
Anyway, keep at it.7 -
corgidogchu wrote: »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.
No to everything in the second paragraph. Meal timing is irrelevant for weight loss, as is meal size. Both of those are a matter of personal preference and won't influence weight loss. And do sit ups so your stomach is tight and won't be filled with food? I don't even know what that means...10 -
nherring_phd wrote: »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.
Pretty much no to all this as well. There's no such thing as starvation mode and if your metabolism has stopped working you are dead, you don't need McDonalds.6 -
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?
0 -
-
Patience, patience, patience. Weight loss is not linear.7
-
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.0 -
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...1
-
johnnylloyd0618 wrote: »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...
Starvation mode isn't real and she isn't adding muscle netting below 1200 calories...8 -
Not worthy, I hang my head in shame. lol1
-
kelleemayling wrote: »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.
Logging your food is not the same as weighing and measuring the food you are logging. Buy a food scale and familiarize yourself with the most accurate way of determining intake. If you are not losing weight and doing all that exercise, inaccurate logging (or an underlying health issue) is the most common explanation. If you are logging correctly you should eat back some of your exercise calories, that's how this program is designed. Most of all, be patient. You didn't gain this weight over a short period of time, you shouldn't expect to lose it any faster.6 -
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.......
You know, you can skip a period with birth control right? I skip mine every so often. That is what I took from her statement.1 -
Maxematics wrote: »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.
Nope. Just saw a post about a week ago asking for advice because she was vomiting for 3 days. Turns out she was preggers...
OP - open your diary. Are you weighing your entries with a digital scale?0 -
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.
No you are not going into "starvation mode". Please remove that term from your brain.
Make certain that you are being honest with your logging. That is by far the biggest reason that people don't lose. And give it more time. A week is nothing really. Also, are you consuming a lot of salty snacks? That will cause you to retain water like crazy. It's my worst failing.
And 500 calories for 45 min on the eliptical is probably twice what you are actually burning.1 -
johnnylloyd0618 wrote: »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...
Please no.3 -
Get off the elliptical and spend more time in the squat rack and with a barbell (not pink dumbells!) or you will lose muscle mass and end up at a higher body fat percentage once you inevitably start to put the weight back on due to homeostasis.
Then you will be complaining "I can't keep the weight off..." Sound familiar?
The less muscle you have, the lower your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
Weight lifting will also help to prevent osteoporosis and increase bone density which is a frequent problem with women.
Don't start with the misinformed excuses about getting bulky.
When your body pushes towards homeostasis the extra muscle will continue to help you burn more calories and keep the weight off; muscle increases your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Cardio does not do this; quite the opposite in fact.
Make sure you are getting at least 80 grams of protein per day to offset the muscle catabolizing from all of your cardio.
You probably aren't getting much more than 1/2 of that.
About 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight would be better once you start training properly.
Cardio should be after weight training or on days that you do not lift, for now.
Look into Thinner, Leaner, Stronger or StrongLifts5x5 if you don't know where to begin with weight training.
Log your food more accurately and open up your food diary if you want help.6 -
Definitely add some strength training in, and try mixing up your workouts in general. Your body can somewhat get used to doing the same exercise over and over and eventually it needs more to see the same results you saw in the beginning. In general, though, strength training is needed to help maintain weight loss in the long run, and helps you burn more calories while at rest.
And like someone else said, don't judge solely by the scale; weight is fluid and mine has been known to change by 4 pounds in one day, just due to water retention and the like. Track your measurements and go by how your clothes feel; you might actually be getting good results that are just not reflected in your weight.0 -
The science and trends behind weight loss are so tricky -- eat this time...eat that time...small meals...calories are all that matters. AHH. It makes my head hurt honestly.
So I won't give you all that. I will give you what worked for me. I was stuck at a certain weight for a long time, and I was doing Zumba and Spin 3-4 times a week.
What made the scale start moving again was weight training. I kept my cardio, but added 2 sessions with a personal trainer a week. It took about a month after I started to make the change, but it definitely started going down at the rate MFP said it would.
What's even better is that the shape of my body improved. I lost INCHES moreso than pounds, which made my clothes fit better. You might want to start measuring inches too, I heard it's easier to see results that way.
0 -
Oh and if you look at my page, it only says 3 lbs lost -- I put on some holiday weight (I still workout, but I also have a bingeing problem) -- I lost around 9 lbs just from adding weight training, and more importantly I went down a whole dress size -- 12 to 10.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 960 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions