Frustrated What to do? More calories?

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title015944
title015944 Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a 48 year old female 5'7 and 170. Last year was at 158. I was told by trainers that I was not intaking enough calories. So in May I changed my routine to include the following: I set my goal to 1450 calories per day which I hit most days. It is clean eating not junk. I drink 110oz of water daily, walk 1-4 miles daily, and workout with a trainer 1x/wk minimum. Since I started I have not gained anymore weight but I have not lost 1 oz. Literally not 1. My clothes are also not fitting as well. I never feel hungry. I am wondering if I need to take in more calories to fuel metabolism because if working out. Scared because I don't want to gain more that I can't get off. I'm at a loss and frustrated. Any thoughts?
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  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    I weigh everything to be accurate. I log everything including tastes of food. That is why I'm so frustrated. I even at the 4th put down a bite of cake. Nutritionally I know I need to up protein and fiber. I was at 900 calories and gaining weight consistantly. Going up at least stabalized me a little.
  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    I should also add I rarely eat back my excercise calories. If I do it is only 30% on days where I have gone above like an 10 mile hike.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    title015944 wrote: »
    I weigh everything to be accurate. I log everything including tastes of food. That is why I'm so frustrated. I even at the 4th put down a bite of cake. Nutritionally I know I need to up protein and fiber. I was at 900 calories and gaining weight consistantly. Going up at least stabalized me a little.

    If you open your diary, we may be able to help.
  • alondrakayy
    alondrakayy Posts: 304 Member
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    I'm 5ft 7 in and weight 145lbs. I started my journey at 153 lbs.. not far off from where you were at last year. ALL BODIES ARE DIFFERENT.. but I don't think it's a good idea for you to be eating at 1400 cals. I think for you, slow and steady is ideal. Lose weight at .5/weekly. My nutrition includes a lot of the 'junk' you try to avoid and I have still steadily lost weight. It doesn't seem like a lot on paper, but I look and feel so much better. I also strength train 3-4x a week. The least amount of cals I've relied on is 1800.. which is what I'm doing now to get down to 140lbs. That's as low as I'll go, too.

    So I guess I'm on the 'eat more' side. and maybe up your exercise just a tad bit. Also, make sure you're weighing all the foods. It's easy to overestimate.
  • labblb86
    labblb86 Posts: 28 Member
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    I am the same, 5'7" and weigh 151 (usually fluctuate between 147 - 149). I would like to get down to 140 - 142. I work out with a personal trainer 2x/week, 2x/week Pilates sessions & 2x/week cardio. I get 10,000 steps daily on my fit bit. My personal trainer told me I need to eat 1,625 cal/day to lose 0.5 - 1 pounds/week given my activity level. It seems like a lot of food because when I was in weight-loss mode without exercise, I was eating around 1,100 - 1,200 cal/day and losing consistently on Weight Watchers.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Do you have a cheat day or cheat meal every week? If so, it would explain a lot.
  • CMNVA
    CMNVA Posts: 733 Member
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    I'm 5'7" and started at 156 lbs. I feel pretty hefty at that weight. Since I am 53 years old and a totally sedentary office worker, I've set my caloric intake to 1650 per day. For me, it does not feel like a lot of food and I am always hungry. Not obsessively hungry, but I am hungry most times of the day. At 1200 calories (which I tried to do last year), I was out of my mind with hunger. At the 1650 range, I am losing about 1 lb a month. I'm okay with that. Sure it needs to be faster, but whatever.

    So, one of two things going on here: you are eating more than you think or you have a medical condition that is slowing weight loss down. That would be a rare thing, but it happens.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Do you weigh everything, every day? Even things like pieces of bread, pieces of fruit, scoops of protein powder and whatnot? Do you use recipes from the MFP database that sound like your own, or do you enter your own recipes? Do you account for cooking oils, beverages, condiments?

    And another thought: do you often consume food made out of your site? Food bought from restaurants, or made by family/friends: you don't really know what is there. Even if a restaurant publishes its nutritional information, you can't know if the chef is heavy handed on portion sizes or uses more oil/sauces/etc. than he/she should.

    If you are not losing any weight at all, and it has been more than 8-12 weeks eating at 1450: then either you are not eating at 1450 or there is something wrong such as thyroid issues. (Thyroid problems can affect the way in which your body burns calories, meaning it affects the CO portion of the CICO equation.)
  • DharmaGirl5
    DharmaGirl5 Posts: 2 Member
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    I don't have any super words of wisdom for you, except that I am around the same age and losing weight is a lot more difficult than it was a few years ago. I think it has to do with perimenopause.
  • pita7317
    pita7317 Posts: 1,437 Member
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    Agree with above post. I was at my highest weight 183 at age 51. Now 136 at age 58. What worked for me was portion control for the most part. As we age we just don't need to eat as much. And it sneaks up quickly late 40's /early 50's. If you are gaining ? Could be lots of reasons. But increasing calories as suggested by trainers is not working so you need to figure out what does work, for you. I am also 5'7. Good luck, hope you find success in your weight loss journey.
  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    Perimenopause is part if it for sure I really gained a lot too when I started back on the pill. It is really hard now to get it off.

    I haven't tried uping my calories again as suggested by the trainer. When I did go from 900 to 1450 it stabalized the weight at least and I stopped gaining.

    It was 100% not overeating as suggested by some. I literally was ao bloated all the time I didn't want to eat My day was 1/4 of almonds and apple and a salad for an entire day sometimes two days Now with the water and uping calories I at least feel less bloated and I feel hungrier more often.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,487 Member
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    You are perimenopausal. Go and get a thorough medical exam.

    Neither age nor menopause affect weight loss to any large degree (MFP adjusts calories for age as well as height and weight) so long as any medical problems have been diagnosed and are being treated.

    If your daily life is sedentary, start moving more. We do naturally slow down as we age so making a conscious effort to move is sometimes needed- especially as we have spent decades doing chores as efficiently as possible so we can fit everything in the day.

    (FYI. I speak from experience on the movement thing. My weight had been steady my whole life within a 10 lbs range. Between 49 and 54 I put on 30 lbs and couldn't understand why- I wasn't eating any differently -menopause?
    Nope, that wasn't to blame.

    Oops, I had bought a car. After years of walking, biking, and public transport, I was walking out the door and jumping in that jolly green mini and driving every where.
    It took a slight calorie deficit, upping my daily activity, and starting to exercise (first time in my life) consistently for me to lose those 30 lbs in a year, and keep them off for 7.)

    Cheers, h.
  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    Maxematics wrote: »
    Do you have a cheat day or cheat meal every week? If so, it would explain a lot.

    I sent you a PM as I didn't see the ability to reply. The short answer is no I do not.
  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    StaciMarie1974 wrote: »
    Do you weigh everything, every day? Even things like pieces of bread, pieces of fruit, scoops of protein powder and whatnot? Do you use recipes from the MFP database that sound like your own, or do you enter your own recipes? Do you account for cooking oils, beverages, condiments?

    And another thought: do you often consume food made out of your site? Food bought from restaurants, or made by family/friends: you don't really know what is there. Even if a restaurant publishes its nutritional information, you can't know if the chef is heavy handed on portion sizes or uses more oil/sauces/etc. than he/she should.

    If you are not losing any weight at all, and it has been more than 8-12 weeks eating at 1450: then either you are not eating at 1450 or there is something wrong such as thyroid issues. (Thyroid problems can affect the way in which your body burns calories, meaning it affects the CO portion of the CICO equation.)

    It has been about 8 weeks. I'm usually at or right under 1450. The Dr. Said thyroid was fine. Most of the weight came on when they put me back on the pill. Off now.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
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    title015944 wrote: »
    I am a 48 year old female 5'7 and 170. Last year was at 158. I was told by trainers that I was not intaking enough calories. So in May I changed my routine to include the following: I set my goal to 1450 calories per day which I hit most days. It is clean eating not junk. I drink 110oz of water daily, walk 1-4 miles daily, and workout with a trainer 1x/wk minimum. Since I started I have not gained anymore weight but I have not lost 1 oz. Literally not 1. My clothes are also not fitting as well. I never feel hungry. I am wondering if I need to take in more calories to fuel metabolism because if working out. Scared because I don't want to gain more that I can't get off. I'm at a loss and frustrated. Any thoughts?

    This does not matter - you could eat 1,400 calories of nothing but pure sugar and if you're below your calories out then you'll lose weight.

    For workouts where you perform at your optimum rate, you need to fuel properly. That doesn't mean eating more, that means eating nutritionally dense foods. These foods do tend to be more bang for your buck foods - as in less calories with higher volumes (sometimes) but that doesn't mean you need to consume more. If you aren't losing weight you're likely eating more than you think you are - as in consuming more than you burn in a day. That's really the science behind losing weight.

    To fuel workouts, yes you should probably make sure you eat better but not necessarily more.
  • title015944
    title015944 Posts: 10 Member
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    labblb86 wrote: »
    I am the same, 5'7" and weigh 151 (usually fluctuate between 147 - 149). I would like to get down to 140 - 142. I work out with a personal trainer 2x/week, 2x/week Pilates sessions & 2x/week cardio. I get 10,000 steps daily on my fit bit. My personal trainer told me I need to eat 1,625 cal/day to lose 0.5 - 1 pounds/week given my activity level. It seems like a lot of food because when I was in weight-loss mode without exercise, I was eating around 1,100 - 1,200 cal/day and losing consistently on Weight Watchers.

    Thanks for that. I know when I was in WW they told me that I was in starvation mode. I never ate more in my life and dropped weight. Psychologically I'm afraid to try to eat more because of the menopause it is hard to work off. I do work out a lot in the day. I find that when I travel and don't work out as often my scale weight goes down. That is why I thought I might need to up calories to offset activity and get my metabolism burning.

    Unlike the one post that suggested In overeating I know that I'm definitely not. There were days that I was so bloated and felt so awful that I would have an apple and 1/4 of almonds. She too suggested that my body was holding onto fat.

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