1200 calories a day- not loosing

kristenoberc
kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 43 years old. I'm already small. I have a desk job. I exercise about 4x a week, treadmill for 30 minutes. I have slowly gained 5lbs, so I thought I would try my fitness pal tracking to help me lose a few of those lbs just so they didn't continue to increase.
Setting up my account on MFP, I was to do a 1200 calorie diet to lose 5lbs in 5 weeks. It has been 2 weeks, I have had no problem staying at the 1200 calorie intake and I have not lost even an ounce of weight, let a lone 1-2 pounds I should be at if I was going to hit my goal weight in 5 weeks. I wear a fitness tracker so my exercise or movement is being accounted for in my daily allowance.
I have never had to diet before so I wonder if my body just isn't adapting. I'm reaching out for suggestions or experiences. Thank you!!

Replies

  • size102b
    size102b Posts: 1,370 Member
    Are you eating exercise calories if so how are you finding how many you've burnt =

    Weigh measure all foods and drinks

    Log everything religiously

    Tape measure - are you measuring your body

    How are you only having 1200 calories are you putting into mfp you want to lose 2lbs a week

    What's your age sex height ?
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I would say that two weeks is too early to get worried, especially if you are small and don't have much to lose. If you are small, the minimum calorie level (1,200) may not be enough for you to lose 1 pound per week -- you may see slower losses.

    That said, if you open your diary we may be able to help you identify potential logging errors.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    can you open up your diarl?

    current weight and goal weight? honestly - it sounds like 1200 might be too aggressive of a weight loss plan

    are you eating back exercise calories?
  • MargotHamm
    MargotHamm Posts: 1 Member
    Up your veggie & fruit intake. Cucumbers, celery, strawberries, grapes. You need to make sure you're getting enough fiber.
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    size102b, yes gender is important, I'm female, 43, 5'5" When I set up MFP it told me I'd hot my goal weight in 5 weeks, I didn't set the time frame.
    No, I did not do measurements, good point!! New to dieting. I'll measure in the morning.
    I have measured majority of my intake, serving sizes, ect. I use food scale at home.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    You said you are already small, how small? Height and weight?
    Unless you have More than 25 lbs to lose, 1 pound per week is not an appropriate rate of loss.
    Are you logging everything accurately, using a food scale?
    Is the exercise new or part of your standard routine?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    kristenoberc wrote: »
    size102b, yes gender is important, I'm female, 43, 5'5" When I set up MFP it told me I'd hot my goal weight in 5 weeks, I didn't set the time frame.
    No, I did not do measurements, good point!! New to dieting. I'll measure in the morning.
    I have measured majority of my intake, serving sizes, ect. I use food scale at home.

    MFP seems to default to a 2lb a week loss...which is too aggressive for most folks
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    How do I open up diary?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    settings>diary settings>click on the public radio button
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    edited March 2017
    kristenoberc wrote: »
    size102b, yes gender is important, I'm female, 43, 5'5" When I set up MFP it told me I'd hot my goal weight in 5 weeks, I didn't set the time frame.
    No, I did not do measurements, good point!! New to dieting. I'll measure in the morning.
    I have measured majority of my intake, serving sizes, ect. I use food scale at home.

    MFP doesn't do really well with generating projections, especially when someone is smaller.

    You would need a deficit of 500 calories a day to lose 1 pound per week and that isn't always safely possible for smaller people (because we need fewer calories each day to start with). If I require 2,000 calories a day to maintain my weight, a goal of 1,500 should give me a pound a week. But if I need 1,500 to maintain my weight (which is possible for smaller sedentary people), then I would need a goal of 1,000 to lose a pound per week. Since that isn't safe, MFP won't suggest it. It will give you the default lowest goal of 1,200.

    This is why it can take longer to lose just a few pounds.
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    I found it, to open up diary!
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    MFP basically set me up to lose 1lb a week, which I thought was do able....
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,990 Member
    kristenoberc wrote: »
    size102b, yes gender is important, I'm female, 43, 5'5" When I set up MFP it told me I'd hot my goal weight in 5 weeks, I didn't set the time frame.
    No, I did not do measurements, good point!! New to dieting. I'll measure in the morning.
    I have measured majority of my intake, serving sizes, ect. I use food scale at home.

    Am I misunderstanding or are you saying you are 5'5" and 102 lbs? If that's the case, you are underweight and need to gain, not lose.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    current weight/goal weight?
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    no, Suzy I was responding to someone with that "call name".
    I'm 5'5" 126, trying to get down to 121, where I held for about 10 years!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    kristenoberc wrote: »
    I found it, to open up diary!

    It looks as if you're using a lot of homemade and generic entries (tuna melt, spaghetti and meatballs, etc). Those can be incredibly inaccurate. If these are meals that you're making, try using the recipe builder instead. Also, I see things like 1/3 pizza, 2 waffles, etc. Sometimes we have to use these because we don't have a better option, but they can make it really hard to tell if you're hitting your calorie goal.

    2 weeks is still too early to be impatient, but if you do find yourself continuing not to lose like you expect, tightening up your logging may help. Since smaller people have a tighter deficit window to hit, accurate logging can be even more important for us.
  • southernoregongrape
    southernoregongrape Posts: 117 Member
    Some us are really slow losers. I figure if I lose a lb a month I'm doing fine. I also have a very slow metabolism because of age and eating really low calorie when I smoked ( I just didn't get hungry).
    Dr. said it would help to get my thyroid working right so that has been ok for the last 6 months.
    You mentioned that you held the weight for about 10 years. Our metabolism slows a bit over a 10 year period. That might be part of the problem.
    Good luck. I hope you find out what works for you.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    your logging could be tightened up - lots of 1cup measures - its recommended to weigh by g/oz - since cup servings can differ vastly depending on how much you heap into a cup

    also for the homemade entries - are they recipes you put in or ones you found?
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    for a 4lb weight loss - it will not be quick and I would say 1200 is too low

    maintenance for you is about 1680 (assuming lightly active) - https://tdeecalculator.net/result.php?s=imperial&age=43&g=female&lbs=126&in=65&act=1.375&bf=&f=1

    I'd probably only go under that about 250-300cal (aim for about 1400) and see how you go

    but def. tighten up on logging
  • srk369
    srk369 Posts: 256 Member
    And also know that depending on where you are in your cycle, water weight fluctuations can hide any fat loss that you may have.
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    I thought I was doing pretty well on my logging, as I'm logging everything I put in my mouth....but I will be better, thank you! I use the recipes input if it is available and try to find recipes that do have that.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    but the problem is that how you cook spaghetti is different to how I make it - so if I use the recipe builder it could be vastly different to yours
  • kristenoberc
    kristenoberc Posts: 8 Member
    Also, I have been so tired!! I sleep 7-8hours a night.
This discussion has been closed.

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