Having trouble losing weight -- calorie limit may be too low?

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  • animatorswearbras
    animatorswearbras Posts: 1,001 Member
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    fitgymbunny wrote: »
    I agree with those that said aim for more realistic .5 lb a week now that you are very close to your goal. In addition, I would up your calories for a bit and bounce back and forth to keep your metabolism guessing. A steady 1200 and your body knows what to expect. I know it seems counterproductive but try to read what Jillian Michaels and some other fitness/nutrition people say about plateaus and putting your body into starvation mode and how to get out of it. Also I would personally recommend weighing yourself every day. I think that will have you less frustrated with fluctuations which happen all the time so if on a wednesday is a bad weight day it will do less to your mojo. Also in my experience i tend to notice which foods/life choices (salty stuff, staying up or out late or skipping water) affect weight gain or loss on a regular and immediate basis and am able to tune into my choices better.

    There has been lots of debate on set point over the years and i'm 50/50 on it myself. But i do think from just observing people, myself & weight loss info over the years that lowering your body's natural set point happens in stages. Such as rather than commit to believing that your body has a set point and maybe you've reached it (depressing thought and completely one way on the spectrum of what could be) or that there is no such thing as a set point (hyper optimistic and completely the other way on the spectrum of what could be). I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle (grey area): a person probably has a set point range once they are nearing ideal territory, the body needs to settle into that area before weight loss efforts move the the next set point range, much like moving through the Panama canal, if that makes sense. Good luck

    you dont need to keep your metabolism guessing, it either works or it doesnt. your body does not go into starvation mode when dieting thats a myth

    Actually I believe adaptive thermogenesis is a thing and has been documented (not starvation mode) especially if you've been restricting for a year and there is evidence "diet breaks", re-feeds and calorie cycling can help to negate it. x I do think OP's biggest problem is logging accurately and needing to get hold of some tools to help (like digital scales and liquid measures) now she's nearly at goal.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    animatorswearbras wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    fitgymbunny wrote: »
    I agree with those that said aim for more realistic .5 lb a week now that you are very close to your goal. In addition, I would up your calories for a bit and bounce back and forth to keep your metabolism guessing. A steady 1200 and your body knows what to expect. I know it seems counterproductive but try to read what Jillian Michaels and some other fitness/nutrition people say about plateaus and putting your body into starvation mode and how to get out of it. Also I would personally recommend weighing yourself every day. I think that will have you less frustrated with fluctuations which happen all the time so if on a wednesday is a bad weight day it will do less to your mojo. Also in my experience i tend to notice which foods/life choices (salty stuff, staying up or out late or skipping water) affect weight gain or loss on a regular and immediate basis and am able to tune into my choices better.

    There has been lots of debate on set point over the years and i'm 50/50 on it myself. But i do think from just observing people, myself & weight loss info over the years that lowering your body's natural set point happens in stages. Such as rather than commit to believing that your body has a set point and maybe you've reached it (depressing thought and completely one way on the spectrum of what could be) or that there is no such thing as a set point (hyper optimistic and completely the other way on the spectrum of what could be). I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle (grey area): a person probably has a set point range once they are nearing ideal territory, the body needs to settle into that area before weight loss efforts move the the next set point range, much like moving through the Panama canal, if that makes sense. Good luck

    you dont need to keep your metabolism guessing, it either works or it doesnt. your body does not go into starvation mode when dieting thats a myth

    Actually I believe adaptive thermogenesis is a thing and has been documented (not starvation mode) especially if you've been restricting for a year and there is evidence "diet breaks", re-feeds and calorie cycling can help to negate it. x I do think OP's biggest problem is logging accurately and needing to get hold of some tools to help (like digital scales and liquid measures) now she's nearly at goal.

    actually I never said that adaptive thermogenesis didnt exist. I know it does, but it happens when someone diets for awhile and eats low calories (for that time period,a year or more for some) that it lowers their BMR. I didnt say diet breaks cannot help. not what I said at all. I did tell them to get a scale and start logging all her food because at a lower weight she has to be more accurate with her calorie counts. did you miss that part? but there is NO need to keep your metabolism guessing.

    your body knows what to do 24/7.unless you have a health issue and have a metabolic disorder but of course you will still have to watch your CICO. ad for salty stuff and things affecting weight gain or loss, it doesnt excess sodium can cause water retention and mask weight loss but its not going to cause you to gain fat. to gain you have to eat over your maintenance calories.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    When I ask my metabolism what's in the box, it ALWAYS guesses "pizza".

    So sometimes I get Chinese--just to fool it.

    LMAO
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Weighing food is super important, even things like bread where the calories are listed can be off
  • fitgymbunny
    fitgymbunny Posts: 8 Member
    keeping mine guessing works for me. Just proves that not everyone's body works exactly the same. You've got to change it up if what you are doing is not working. In many places, including this site, one of the recommended things to do if you get stuck on a plateau is up in calories for a little bit. That works for me every time.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    fitgymbunny wrote: »
    keeping mine guessing works for me. Just proves that not everyone's body works exactly the same. You've got to change it up if what you are doing is not working. In many places, including this site, one of the recommended things to do if you get stuck on a plateau is up in calories for a little bit. That works for me every time.

    Your metabolism isn't a sentient being that thinks or guesses. Our bodies actually do mostly work the same. Your metabolism is always running and isn't nearly as variable as celebrity trainers or click bait diet articles suggest.

    "Changing it up" or eating a little more for a few days will often work because they refocus and remotivate people.

    And yes, OP does need to change it up, she needs to use a food scale since she doesn't have much wiggle room!
  • evergreenlake
    evergreenlake Posts: 73 Member
    edited July 2017
    You can try increasing your calories some, if that's the cause you'll notice a difference within a couple weeks. If not you can always go back down.
    Also, trying high intensity interval training (or HIIT) will definitely help with those last stubborn lbs. You've come so far! You can do it!
  • Muscleflex79
    Muscleflex79 Posts: 1,917 Member
    evergreenlake wrote: »
    You can try increasing your calories some, if that's the cause you'll notice a difference within a couple weeks. If not you can always go back down.
    Also, trying high intensity interval training (or HIIT) will definitely help with those last stubborn lbs. You've come so far! You can do it!

    I guess you didn't read the rest of the responses? increasing her calories is not the solution since eating too little is not the problem
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