Stuck!! Need help

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chrisivan91
chrisivan91 Posts: 5 Member
edited April 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi im Chris. I started my weightloss journey in November started at 139kg am now down to 118kg and im slowly losing motivation to keep going as i have been stuck at this weight for a month. I am lifting weights and not doing much cardio. Any tips on how to motivate myself while im stuck? More cardio? I was walking 30 mins every second day but have stopped. Is that what is the cause? Eating around 1000 cals and i know that is not enough but not sure what to add to my foods to boost that up. Any help would be appreciated

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  • shroodle88
    shroodle88 Posts: 123 Member
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    Hi, there are lot of helpful posts around on the frustration of plateauing. - It's mean, it's not right and everyone just wants to stick their head in the sands.

    General advice seems to involve shaking up your routines: try some different workouts; mix up your calorie intake (eat over one day, then fast the next) to kick your metabolism back into gear. If you're seriously under-eating for several months, your metabolism starts to slow down and your body will try to preserve energy, hence you get stuck or lose more slowly.

    Have a look around for some of the more detailed posts on how to beat a plateau & keep fighting! You'll get through it - losing over 20kg in 5 months is awesome and super impressive!
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    ftlhom7ocn6o.jpg

    If you go through the flow chart above where do you land?

    Your progress so far has been quite impressive, looks like you are averaging about 2 lbs a week. When did you start working out, in the beginning or since your weight loss stopped?

    1000 calories for a man is quite low, but my first guess is you are eating much more than you think, but obviously I could be wrong. If you need to increase calories usually the easiest way to do it is include more fat dense foods in your diet. Nuts, avacado, full fat dairy, if you are not meeting calorie needs there is no reason to be opting for the "low calorie/diet" version of stuff.

    I find focusing on fitness goals helps me get through the weeks when the scale refuses to budge.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    First off, congratulations on dropping 21kg so far.

    Questions:
    1. Do you know how many calories you burn each day?
    2. How tall are you? Age?
    3. Do you know what your BMR is?

    I can't imagine, if you are 118kg (about 260 lbs for non-metric folks like me), that 1000 calories would be anywhere near enough. You should have a (too aggressive) high deficit. Without that info, even if I plug in an arbitrary age (40) and an arbitrary height (5'10"), your sedentary TDEE would be somewhere 2763. That means if you did nothing, you should still lose 1kg per week eating 1700+ calories.

    So that leads to another basic:
    Do you weigh and measure all of your food?

    Those answers would probably help the folks (who are far more of an expert at this than I) to help you. Generally doing more cardio would in theory allow you eat more - however at 1000 calories, you should already be able to eat more than you do and still lose. That makes me wary of how you are accounting for your calories in.




  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    It's not likely accurate that you are consuming ~1000 calories and maintaining 118 kg. The math just doesn't work that way. Are you using a digital scale to weigh everything you eat? With a scale, you get control and precision into your food log and discover truths about the assumptions you make in your habits.

    Agreed. OP can you open your diary.

    If you are really consuming 1000 calories a day and undertaking some form of exercise and not losing scale weight there is something seriously amiss.
  • chrisivan91
    chrisivan91 Posts: 5 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Hi guys thanks for the input. This is my first day logging all my food. Im 26 and 176cm. I have been working out ever since i started in november. I measure my meat out mostly so 100-120 grams of meats (chicken breast or beef steak) and around 1-2 cups of green veggies.

    Im not sure how many calories i burn in a day or what my bmr. Im still extremely new to counting macros and now sure how to open my diary. My total calories for my height and weight was around 2300 cal and all my meals added i was left with 1300
    still to go. Sorry if this does not make sense as i am still trying to get my head around it. Thanks for the encouragement also :)
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    Log everything you eat as accurately as possible using a food scale in grams, log your liquid in mls. Choose accurate database entries, double checking with package data or online.

    Weigh daily and track weight using an app like libra or trend weight.

    After a few weeks of doing so have a look at what your weight is doing and adjust calorie intake as necessary.

    Even at sedentary you should be south of 2500 calories to maintain. So maybe start aiming for 2250 calories a day and see how you go from there.

    Using this method will mean ignoring your MFP calorie goal and setting a custom one. You will also not log exercise calories as you're basing your deficit off your TDEE.

    By doing this you are using your own real world data and not messing about with calculator best guesses or inaccurate calorie burns from exercise.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 1,249 Member
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    That flow diagram is spot on.

    Feel free to ping me a message for some additional tips.

    It's 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.

    Remember that as it is sooo key!
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited April 2017
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    dazzler21 wrote: »

    It's 80% nutrition and 20% exercise.

    Remember that as it is sooo key!

    That's the single most important lesson I've ever learned regarding weight loss. The reason I never saw results from the gym? I was only working the 20% and neglecting the 80%.

    Why are my workouts making a difference now? Because they start in the kitchen!!!

  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    First off as you already know 1000 calories is not enough food for you. This is likely why you are losing motivation. Most of us who have lost substantial amounts of weight did it slowly. I understand where you are coming from because we were all there at some point. I lost and gained most of my adult life. I never got down as low as I am now because I always wanted it to come off quickly. First off you are doing the right thing by logging. That will help you immensely. Next set a reasonable calorie goal. You will find it much easier to stay on track if you aren't starving all the time. Remember you are trying to build new habits for the rest of your life. Good luck!
  • Theo166
    Theo166 Posts: 2,564 Member
    edited April 2017
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    chrisivan91 wrote: »
    Hi im Chris. I started my weightloss journey in November started at 139kg am now down to 118kg and im slowly losing motivation to keep going as i have been stuck at this weight for a month. I am lifting weights and not doing much cardio. Any tips on how to motivate myself while im stuck? More cardio? I was walking 30 mins every second day but have stopped. Is that what is the cause? Eating around 1000 cals and i know that is not enough but not sure what to add to my foods to boost that up. Any help would be appreciated

    You aren't 118kg eating 1,000 calories daily and stuck at the same weight for a month, the math doesn't work out. Either you are undercounting your calories and/or you are overestimating your exercise burn (and eating it back). You should target what MFP recommends, which will be above 1200 I expect.

    Spend a week weighing your food and religiously tracking your calories. maybe cut down the exercise to eliminate that variable, then add it back. And yes, cutting the walking certainly had an impact.
  • chrisivan91
    chrisivan91 Posts: 5 Member
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    Thanks for the responses. Have made my food diary public if anybody wants to have a look.

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