I just don't get it
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Eh, it's a learning process. Different people get hung up on different aspects of it, leading to the same lack if results.1
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I feel lucky tbh... It's going well and relatively easy
I don't weigh my food... I'm proud of that lol 
I feel lucky tbh... It's going well and relatively easy I don't weigh my food... I'm proud of that lol
I lost a significant amount of weight without weighing too. Just made healthier food choices and exercised more. It isn't hard to do in the beginning. Once you get close to goal weight and maintenance it becomes harder. I am now at the point of having to weigh food because I will lose weight if I rely on hunger alone and can't afford to lose much more.1 -
1200 Cal is too little even for smaller people. I don't know how people keep up their energy daily on 1200.. couldn't and won't do it!
Not for this shorty. At 4'11 there is no way I would have lost weight if I ate much more than 1200. I did however hate it which meant more exercise to enable more food.9 -
I eat 1600-1700 to lose a pound a week and I'm only a little over 5 feet tall for crying out loud.
Weigh your damn food properly is why they're not losing.
As if that isn't said 200 times a day on these forums.
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i think there's definitely some shenanigans that goes on with some people either they don't want to admit to themselves the amount of food they eat or they simply don't know how much calories are in things they eat. I have a friend who's larger (taller and weight wise) than me, and almost 15 years younger and she swears she only loses weight when she eats 1000 calories a day. I'm like does that include the bottle of wine you drink every day? LOL10
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Going back in my diary in the first few months of logging here and it's embarassingly innacurate! I would have sworn black and blue that i was spot on though
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Watch some Butter Bob videos. First one is "Butter makes your pants fall off". Then watch his one about exercise. Exercise and weight loss are two different things. It is not just CICO. Also watch/listen to as much as you can to Dr. Jason Fung about metabolic syndrome, fasting, and all the studies about weight loss and why what doctors have been saying about calorie reduction and hi carb low fat diets do not works. It is all about insulin resistance. It has nothing to do with willpower or exercise. Try Keto and you will not be hungry anymore.37
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Notable how few people have replied to what OP actually typed.
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chriscros63 wrote: »Watch some Butter Bob videos. First one is "Butter makes your pants fall off". Then watch his one about exercise. Exercise and weight loss are two different things. It is not just CICO. Also watch/listen to as much as you can to Dr. Jason Fung about metabolic syndrome, fasting, and all the studies about weight loss and why what doctors have been saying about calorie reduction and hi carb low fat diets do not works. It is all about insulin resistance. It has nothing to do with willpower or exercise. Try Keto and you will not be hungry anymore.
Yeah, calorie reduction doesn't work, and all the people posting success stories are paid spokespersons.10 -
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Christine_72 wrote: »
Thank you ☺1 -
chriscros63 wrote: »Watch some Butter Bob videos. First one is "Butter makes your pants fall off". Then watch his one about exercise. Exercise and weight loss are two different things. It is not just CICO. Also watch/listen to as much as you can to Dr. Jason Fung about metabolic syndrome, fasting, and all the studies about weight loss and why what doctors have been saying about calorie reduction and hi carb low fat diets do not works. It is all about insulin resistance. It has nothing to do with willpower or exercise. Try Keto and you will not be hungry anymore.
I absolutely refuse to watch any video by a guy named "Butter Bob" who promises to make my pants fall off, but that's just me.
And yeah, most people have good intentions and think they're sticking to 1200 cals, but it's really easy to fool yourself if you aren't super vigilant. People in OP's hypothetical situation think that's what you're "supposed" to eat in order to lose weight, but it's hard to stick to so they sometimes don't track that well, or they have cheat days (or weekends) and get confused when they don't lose.
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Christine_72 wrote: »
@Christine_72
I don't log but I can't do intuitive eating either. My intuitive level is always far more than I really need (the technical term is greedy!).
I'm just calorie aware and make sensible choices. Works fine, can maintain or make fine adjustments to my weight, can even make not so fine adjustments to my weight after a holiday as I'm doing now.
Try it - you might be surprised and you can always go back.4 -
Christine_72 wrote: »
@Christine_72
I don't log but I can't do intuitive eating either. My intuitive level is always far more than I really need (the technical term is greedy!).
I'm just calorie aware and make sensible choices. Works fine, can maintain or make fine adjustments to my weight, can even make not so fine adjustments to my weight after a holiday as I'm doing now.
Try it - you might be surprised and you can always go back.
I think about quitting logging all the time, but have yet to take the (scary) leap. I'm psychologically making it harder than it's probably going to be. My food diary is my little security blanket which shows me day and day out that I'm on the right path.9 -
I love how people think that automatically if you eat more calories, then you will gain weight. I went 2 weeks eating 1400-1800 calories versus 1200 and I lost 10 pounds.
And yes, I'm very meticulous when it comes to measuring every single thing I eat and I don't eat out. Some people have bodies and metabolisms that react differently to different caloric intakes. I just find it funny how some of you think you know all of it when you clearly don't.31 -
Another problem may be trusting MFP's food database. It's not their fault sometimes, just inexperience with the app and blind trust.
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I think there's at least one other factor, sometimes, besides eating more than they think: I think some report that they are "eating 1200" because they truly think of themselves as doing so (and maybe even are weighing/tracking carefully).
But some of those, when asked to open their food log, turn out to have a fair number of blank or partial days.
I think some of those have their goal set so low that they fall into over-eating, followed by extreme guilt and denial (because they know they're good people, and they're trying so hard to "be good", giving up all foods they enjoy, cooking separate meals for the family, doing exercise they find unpleasant, etc. ) The guilt-laden overeating episodes are wiping out their deficits. But they're trying so hard . . . they feel like that pain & stress should be achieving something.
Compassion, folks . . . I've seen it work.
I've seen MFP old hands kindly, empathetically talk people off that low-cal ledge, convince them that reality-TV fueled loss-rate expectations are dangerous, get them to increase calories eaten to a sensible deficit level, start eating in a way that actually works in their lives, and learn to be active in more fun and practical ways.
Sometimes, because I've been here a while, I've seen those "failed" people come back in a few weeks/months & report back that the new routine is a great success, or I spot them in other threads reporting success, and helping other new peoole along. So touching!
I just love the kind, patient MFP old hands.
I am with you on this one. I have seen people too that report eating 1200 calories only, Then when you see their diary only the last three days are actually logged.
Often compounded by this effectamusedmonkey wrote: »Another problem may be trusting MFP's food database. It's not their fault sometimes, just inexperience with the app and blind trust.
You then see entries that you know are inaccurate (cross reference to reputable databases) and not logical for those of us that have been around for a while.
The reasons are often complex as @AnnPT77 points out, but are usually resolved by the infamous but very accurate flow diagram we see often.
I will happily admit that every time I hit a plateau I could bring it back to that flow diagram. My logging had become more sloppy and less accurate. I'd picked the entries that were more favourable for me and well stalled my loss.
But I always knew what the answer was and I knew how to implement it. I am still not the most accurate and best logger out there. I know that I am not always accurate, but I also know that this means getting to my goal taking a long time therefore was my own doing. Still I chose the longer road as well. My weight kept reducing albeit at <0.5 kg per month at one stage.
People are complex and things like MFP are a mirror for behaviour for many people and sometimes they don't like what they see and look away. People would love a miracle and weightloss is not a miracle but pretty boring in itself6 -
OP, you'll also notice that a lot of the "can't lose on 1100 calories" women are several inches shorter than you. Your height does give you the metabolic advantage of burning more calories to be alive than are needed by a shorter woman.3
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »OP, you'll also notice that a lot of the "can't lose on 1100 calories" women are several inches shorter than you. Your height does give you the metabolic advantage of burning more calories to be alive than are needed by a shorter woman.
So would being heavier and breastfeeding as she mentioned.
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I'm guessing most of you who say you couldn't survive on 1200 calories aren't 60 years old, lol. As you get older and closer to goal weight it is harder to lose. I'm on 1350 right now but often eating 1200 or so and losing about .5 pounds a week. I'm also fairly sedentary although I walk 5 to 6 days a week. Having said that however I'm not posting that I can't lose on 1200 calories...5
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amusedmonkey wrote: »Another problem may be trusting MFP's food database. It's not their fault sometimes, just inexperience with the app and blind trust.
I accidentally logged an entry for cream cheese that was 6000 calories for 1 Tbsp!!7 -
I love how people think that automatically if you eat more calories, then you will gain weight. I went 2 weeks eating 1400-1800 calories versus 1200 and I lost 10 pounds.
And yes, I'm very meticulous when it comes to measuring every single thing I eat and I don't eat out. Some people have bodies and metabolisms that react differently to different caloric intakes. I just find it funny how some of you think you know all of it when you clearly don't.
Your body's metabolism skyrockets when you eat more? That's a neat trick.11 -
Be careful who you follow. Keto is fatty meats and 20 grams carbs from vegetables that grow above ground... Green leafy not root veggies. I avoid fruit except tomatoes.
Hi there. Add me as a friend.10 -
Honestly it is entirely possible depending on what they are eating. I used to never be able to lose weight (except when pregnant, I only gained a pound with my girls, and was 25 lbs less than pre pregnancy after I had them, My doctor said, Ohhhh you are one of those! LOL) eating low calorie(and I was freaking vigilant) low fat diets. However I then was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis, my joints were all read and swollen. The medications they wanted to give me had horrrrrrible side affects (possibly blindness and baldness, ummmm no thanks) so I declined and researched. I found "Eat Right 4 Your Type" It's a book about eating right for your blood type. I then realized that for my blood type (type O) It is basically Ketogenic eating. So I went for it! OMG!!! The swelling and redness are GONE! The pain is GONE and 40 pounds are GONE!!! I feel fantastic. I never feel hungry or deprived, and I am losing weight! I have another 50 pounds to go to hit my goal and I am so excited!32
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meshashesha2012 wrote: »i think there's definitely some shenanigans that goes on with some people either they don't want to admit to themselves the amount of food they eat or they simply don't know how much calories are in things they eat. I have a friend who's larger (taller and weight wise) than me, and almost 15 years younger and she swears she only loses weight when she eats 1000 calories a day. I'm like does that include the bottle of wine you drink every day? LOL
Shenanigans and wine. Pretty much a guarantee.
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For me... Before buying a scale and weighing my foods (sometimes still difficult for certain foods) I would measure foods and use the database info with my measured food serving in. I would report most days at 1200 to 1300 calories. After getting a scale I learned 2 things... 1. I was overestimating some foods (like peanut butter) and underestimating others (like prepackaged servings). After weighing it turns out that I fall between 1300 and 1400 calories which for many is extremely low for my body size (6'1) but for me this is due to not eating well in high school and into my 20s. I was so use to only eating a small order of fries and nothing else the entire day or a cup of cucumber tomato salad and nothing else or days when I wouldn't eat at all except for my morning cup of coffee. Do that for 15 years then when you have money to eat but not time so you eat out alot but because you have an extremely active job you don't gain... But then you change jobs and go from a stockroom job to an office job and you gain 30. Ok no biggie but then after 10 years you find yourself at 35 and your metabolism slows more due to age and without changing anything you gain 5+ pounds per week for 3 months straight but the doctor can't explain why after running all kinds of tests (I would say I was eating 1800 to 2200 calories at the time) so he suggest that I reduce my calories by 100 per day each week until the weekly gain stopped. And do I did eventually stopping the gain at 1500. I wanted to start losing the 60+ pounds I had put on in the short time so I continued to reduce my calories until I was logging 800 (which due to my known inconsistencies now I figured was actually closer to 1200) and was losing 1 pound a week began Increasing my exercise and by the time I was walking 5 to 10 miles per day along with my low calorie intake I was losing between 2 and 3 pounds per week (not every week though) and in 2 years I dropped the 60 pounds plus an additional 20 of the 30 I gained when I changed jobs... Then depression hit I gained all 80 pounds back... And here I am now. Back at it only logging by weight instead of measure. But unless I fall off the wagon (here lately I have... Not logging eating too much) I keep my calories around 1400... If I'm bad I would say I can eat upwards of 1800 but feel sick when I do
Ah well back at it I am trying to stay dedicated this time and not let the sadness win.
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Someone mentioned Secret Eaters - which is hard to find to watch here in the US, but did a pretty good job of showing how people can be eating more than they think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYJrC3RTtgQ
And then I 100% agree with the point raised above about the accuracy of database entries. I've got some unlogged days (lots, lately) where I've given up on finding an accurate entry for an ingredient. I know its there, I've used it before, but it's not showing up, and what IS showing up is trying to tell me that my cup of chopped onion has 5 calories or my chicken thighs have 50 calories.
They've let so many people put personal entries into the database, and people are so stupid about math and measuring - or they have VERY individual quirks about how they handle units of measurement - that just finding a simple entry for a plain, whole food has become ridiculously complicated.4 -
Honestly it is entirely possible depending on what they are eating. I used to never be able to lose weight (except when pregnant, I only gained a pound with my girls, and was 25 lbs less than pre pregnancy after I had them, My doctor said, Ohhhh you are one of those! LOL) eating low calorie(and I was freaking vigilant) low fat diets. However I then was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis, my joints were all read and swollen. The medications they wanted to give me had horrrrrrible side affects (possibly blindness and baldness, ummmm no thanks) so I declined and researched. I found "Eat Right 4 Your Type" It's a book about eating right for your blood type. I then realized that for my blood type (type O) It is basically Ketogenic eating. So I went for it! OMG!!! The swelling and redness are GONE! The pain is GONE and 40 pounds are GONE!!! I feel fantastic. I never feel hungry or deprived, and I am losing weight! I have another 50 pounds to go to hit my goal and I am so excited!
Stuff like this is another reason people come to the forums for help when they aren't getting results. ("Blood type diet" isn't a thing.)
I feel like between this and the keto guy last night, people are taking it upon themselves to bolster usage of the "woo" button.
ETA Thanks for the "woo," whoever that was.14 -
dcristo213 wrote: »https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
This New York Times article on the Biggest Loser Show gives you a good perspective on how severely limiting your calories does not work.
Wow! Of course the sample size was small but they found after the weight loss the contestants were burning significantly fewer calories in their resting metabolism for what would be expected for their size and weight. One person over 800 fewer!! Also multiple hormones leading to increased hunger and inability to feel full while in the lower weight range. So interesting. Of course it is about what goes in your mouth but this research highlights what an incredibly uphill battle it can be against Biology not "just will power" once the weight has been lost.
Compassion means to not want suffering. Have compassion for yourself. Have compassion for others.
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