Only lost 3lbs why?

"give or take"

:huh:

3 pounds is good!!!

I don't recommend starting out at 1200 calories though- doesn't give you much wiggle room. As you lose weight, you will have to reduce your calories to keep losing. Use a tdee calc or reset mfp for .5 pound/week weight loss. Then eat that amount accurately every day using a good scale.

It's possible that due to the extreme reduction in your energy intake, your body is in starvation mode. Be careful not to reduce to harshly as you can do some metabolic damage. On the bright side, if you are gaining muscle, that will help to positively affect your metabolism. ☺️

GeoffTKirk wrote: »

It's possible that due to the extreme reduction in your energy intake, your body is in starvation mode. Be careful not to reduce to harshly as you can do some metabolic damage. On the bright side, if you are gaining muscle, that will help to positively affect your metabolism. ☺️

NO. No, to all of this except the harsh reduction not really being necessary.

"Starvation mode" doesn't exist in this way. "Metabolic damage" also doesn't happen by eating at 1200 .

@greenbay0824, you haven't gained muscle in a month but you may be holding a little water if you're not used to the exercise.

It is likely you don't need to be eating 1200, 1500 is probably good - but three pounds loss in a month is right on track.

Here: read through the sticky "Most helpful posts"

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

greenbay0824 wrote: »

Yes I log everything . I work in law enforcement so it's difficult for me to get on a schedule. Sleep times are off as well as times I eat. TDEE says I should be at 1934 minus 15-20% so I'm well under what I need to be. Not sure if I'm building muscle from running and doing sprints or why I can't lose more.

Are you sure on TDEE? The most average person would be around 1500 and even if your work was sedentary, that would get you at about 1800. Add in your running and I'm thinking you're closer to at least 2100. What's your stats? (height, weight, age)

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When you start a new workout routine your body goes through an adjustment period where it's trying to prepare for the next day and repair muscles being used so the inflammation and water retention in your muscles will add pounds to the scale but it's not fat. You will not gain fat at 1200 calories so no matter what the scale is saying (as long as you are measuring and logging your intake accurately) you are losing fat and probably more than is showing up on the scale right now since you've also added increased activity. You will most likely see a drop or series of dropping in pounds once your body doesn't need to store extra water for your workouts.

Increasing your water intake is a great way to relieve water retention and keep an eye on high sodium days, they will cause you to retain water as well