please weigh in and MAKE me understand (help me)
Ronogg
Posts: 14 Member
I started at 280# and lost 40# in18 weeks (about 2 pounds a week) by eating 600-800 calories a day. Since I started using this app (about 4 weeks ago) it and a friend kept telling me to eat more I realized I should be eating more (according to her and the app). So for the last 4 weeks i have been eating 1200-1500 calories and am stuck at 240 still. I have been more active trying to boost my metabolism but still stuck at 240. My wife and I are going to Cancun in Dec for our 30th anniversary I really want to be at my goal of 199 by then but short of going back to 500-600 calories a day i don't know what to do. I am a very impatient person so this is very frustrating for me. It only makes sense to me that if you eat less you will weigh less. I know that metabolism comes into play but eventually my body should start to loose weight again. Is my thinking totally absurd or can you all understand how this makes sense to me? And is my goal realistic? I have 14 more weeks to loose 38# this is almost 3 pounds a week...uggggg or should I prepare myself to go to cancun with my good old beer belly? 
4
Replies
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It honestly sounds like your logging is off. You'd have lost significantly more than 2lbs per week if you were truly eating 800 calories. For perspective that's about a large baked potato, a bit of butter, average chicken breast and a protein bar.
So yes, you should be eating far more than 800 calories but your losses show you were anyway.28 -
You may want to read through this thread - it will answer most of your questions
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10569458/why-eating-too-little-calories-is-a-bad-idea/p1
Edit:
TL;DR version - eating low calories for a sustained time period causes lots of unpleasant side effects. If you want to enjoy your vacation, you're better off maintaining a reasonable calorie deficit (with accurate logging) and adjusting your expectations. You can probably drop 20+, maybe 30 between now and then, but may not get to 199, if you're in this weight loss thing for long tern health and success.3 -
1. Eating less than 1500 cal/day for a man is considered a Very Low Calorie Diet and is extremely unhealthy. Listen to your friend.
2. Losing more than 2 lbs a week is unrealistic and again unhealthy since it would involve eating too few calories for your activity level.
3. Are you weighing all solids with a food scale and liquids with measuring cups and entering everything you put in your mouth in your diary? Most times when weight loss stalls it's because people are eating more than they think they are.
4. Stick to your mfp calorie goals, lose weight in appropriate amounts and prepare to enjoy Cancun at whatever weight you are at vacation time! Life's too short to pin our enjoyment on a number on the scale
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I'm honestly new to this life style change as well but my guess would be that eatting so few calories (500-600) daily put your body into starvation mode. It's my understanding that it takes about 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust and come out of it. Your body is losing fat but it's storing extra water to replace the fat loss while waiting for starvation mode to hit again. Anytime now you will see big drops, maybe ever 2-3 pounds a day because your body will realize that you are not going to starve it again and let go of the extra stored water. You could lose even 10 pounds in 1 week but then will slow down to the regular weight loss of 2 pounds a week. Hope this helps.56
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You are eating more than you think. Set an appropriate calorie goal, for instance 2000 calories, and log correctly, and hit that goal every day. Exercise is fine, but doesn't make up the bulk of weight loss, eating less does. Focus on food intake and consistent logging.
I wouldn't worry about getting to a certain weight at a certain date - in fact, I would advice against it. You can lose up to 1% of your body weight per week if you do everything right all the time, so if you want to, you can make an estimation, but having "perfect" as a goal means that even the tiniest slip makes your whole endeavour a failure.11 -
I'm 4'11", 120lbs, 30 years old and when I was losing weight I ate net 1380. Do you really think you should eat less than a petite female?
Also since you are not losing weight are you using a food scale or how are you measuring how much you eat?11 -
I would assume this is a logging issue. Good logging is a skill that takes some practice!
- Get a food scale and start using it for everything - whole foods, packaged foods, fruit, peanut butter, stuff you are scanning... everything. If this sounds silly to you, just commit to doing it for a couple of weeks.
- Check the database entries you are using - many are user entered and flat out wrong. Try to find the actual brand name or items that include "USDA" and check what your diary says to the package. Avoid using generic or homemade entries that you didn't create yourself, as well as recipe type entries like "mac & cheese" because you have no idea what the rando MFP user who created that entry puts in their mac & cheese or how accurate they were.
- Don't give up logging a day if you go off track. Your log is your data - it's how you learn and it's how you decide what to tweak as you move forward. Log every single annoying thing - every beverage, condiment, nibble, etc. For the time being at least, log every thing, every day.
Is this really necessary? Once you are making the progress you expect to, it might not be necessary. But getting super accurate and diligent is the easiest way to see where you are going wrong and what the best way to fix it is. Good luck!17 -
With all the money you've not spent on food, purchase a scale. Use the scale to weigh everything you eat.
Use the Search tool to find the plethora of discussions about how to use a scale.
14 weeks to lose another 40 pounds is unrealistic. You would do better to learn exactly what you are eating, because obviously you have been able to do that for 18 weeks. In Cancun, your choices will be different but you don't want to eat too much because it will make you feel badly bloated. Enjoy your adventure of weight loss, and your vacation.8 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »I'm honestly new to this life style change as well but my guess would be that eatting so few calories (500-600) daily put your body into starvation mode. It's my understanding that it takes about 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust and come out of it. Your body is losing fat but it's storing extra water to replace the fat loss while waiting for starvation mode to hit again. Anytime now you will see big drops, maybe ever 2-3 pounds a day because your body will realize that you are not going to starve it again and let go of the extra stored water. You could lose even 10 pounds in 1 week but then will slow down to the regular weight loss of 2 pounds a week. Hope this helps.
Starvation mode isn't a thing the way you are using it. Your body doesn't have any consciousness of it's own and doesn't expect or anticipate anything.13 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »I'm honestly new to this life style change as well but my guess would be that eatting so few calories (500-600) daily put your body into starvation mode. It's my understanding that it takes about 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust and come out of it. Your body is losing fat but it's storing extra water to replace the fat loss while waiting for starvation mode to hit again. Anytime now you will see big drops, maybe ever 2-3 pounds a day because your body will realize that you are not going to starve it again and let go of the extra stored water. You could lose even 10 pounds in 1 week but then will slow down to the regular weight loss of 2 pounds a week. Hope this helps.
The body does often store water after any change to diet or exercise, and eventually it will come off. Starvation mode is a myth, though. That just doesn't happen.
You're right on the mark with weight loss slowing down as you go on, but it may not be a steady rate of 2lbs/week.
There is a lot of great information in the stickie threads at the top pf the page if you're still learning, or spend some time reading through the forums. Welcome and good luck! 7 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »I'm honestly new to this life style change as well but my guess would be that eatting so few calories (500-600) daily put your body into starvation mode. It's my understanding that it takes about 4-6 weeks for your body to adjust and come out of it. Your body is losing fat but it's storing extra water to replace the fat loss while waiting for starvation mode to hit again. Anytime now you will see big drops, maybe ever 2-3 pounds a day because your body will realize that you are not going to starve it again and let go of the extra stored water. You could lose even 10 pounds in 1 week but then will slow down to the regular weight loss of 2 pounds a week. Hope this helps.
No, sorry. Eating too little would not cause a 240 lb man to stop losing weight.12 -
Starvation mode might be the wrong wording for it but your body does store everything you eat as fat when it's being deprived for a period of time. It does not stop storing over night, it takes time to change. So I refer to it as starvation mode but you can call it whatever you want.46
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I started at 280# and lost 40# in18 weeks (about 2 pounds a week) by eating 600-800 calories a day. Since I started using this app (about 4 weeks ago) it and a friend kept telling me to eat more I realized I should be eating more (according to her and the app). So for the last 4 weeks i have been eating 1200-1500 calories and am stuck at 240 still. I have been more active trying to boost my metabolism but still stuck at 240. My wife and I are going to Cancun in Dec for our 30th anniversary I really want to be at my goal of 199 by then but short of going back to 500-600 calories a day i don't know what to do. I am a very impatient person so this is very frustrating for me. It only makes sense to me that if you eat less you will weigh less. I know that metabolism comes into play but eventually my body should start to loose weight again. Is my thinking totally absurd or can you all understand how this makes sense to me? And is my goal realistic? I have 14 more weeks to loose 38# this is almost 3 pounds a week...uggggg or should I prepare myself to go to cancun with my good old beer belly?
Do you like your hair? Do you like your heart? Do you like your muscle tissue, your strength, not having brittle nails that split and bleed? How do you feel about increased anxiety? Fatigue? Vitamin deficiencies? Gallstones?
600-800 calories a day is VLCD territory and you risk a host of long-lasting or permanent side effects. You can't just destroy your body for four or five MONTHS and expect it to bounce back when you're done with the diet. If you insist on ignoring what you already know to be sound medical advice, then see a doctor and keep your bloodwork up to date every few weeks. With luck, you might catch any problems early. You might not, but we're all adults here and no one can stop you from trying.10 -
I didn't say that, he was losing weight but increased his calories to an amount which he should still be losing but it stopped. I'm talking about when he increased his calories.15
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daisyfields79 wrote: »Starvation mode might be the wrong wording for it but your body does store everything you eat as fat when it's being deprived for a period of time. It does not stop storing over night, it takes time to change. So I refer to it as starvation mode but you can call it whatever you want.
The entire premise of what you just said is incorrect.24 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »Starvation mode might be the wrong wording for it but your body does store everything you eat as fat when it's being deprived for a period of time. It does not stop storing over night, it takes time to change. So I refer to it as starvation mode but you can call it whatever you want.
No, you can't gain weight if you are eating fewer calories than you burn. Think about that - where would the extra fat come from?11 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »I didn't say that, he was losing weight but increased his calories to an amount which he should still be losing but it stopped. I'm talking about when he increased his calories.
No, he would have been losing weight at a dangerously fast amount when he was eating so little, and probably would have keeled over anyway. There is no way he was only eating 800 cals every day for 4 months and didn't lose substantially more weight and experience health problems in the process. This is almost certainly a logging issue.
And 1200-1500 cals he switched to is still not enough for a grown man to stop losing weight.9 -
Im guessing your wife of 30 years has seen you in a swimsuit, and that the people of Mexico don't give a crap. Do yourself a favor and be patient.59
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Are you weighing your food with a food scale? If not, start7
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Your calorie counts are likely not accurate.
If your "600 to 800 calories" at 280 pounds equated to an average loss of only 2 pounds per week, I'd say your actual calorie count was likely at least triple that value.
So I'd guess your "1200 to 1500 calories" is more like 3600 to 4500 calories, which would explain why you aren't losing weight at 240 pounds with increased activity.
Invest in a digital scale and use it like a fanatic. Stop setting goals that involve losing X pounds in Y weeks - that is setting yourself up for failure.
Keep up the increased activity, though.15 -
What kind of excercise are you doing? Walking 2-4 miles a day and eating according to my fitness pal should get you to where you want to be. I've only been using this app for a little over a week and have lost 4 pounds. I don't eat as many calories as it suggests but following the info on here is helping me to reach my goals. Are you logging in all your meals?? Just a suggestion. Good luck0
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Thanks for all the advice.. yes i have a scale I am no expert at using it though.. i will read about it after reading all your replies
I usually scan my food and or look at the calories on the lable. I know for a fact in Feb when I saw my dr that i was eating 6-7k calories a day... tons of food and that is why i was 180# he told me to write everything down that i eat and try to stay at 1200 calories a day and there would be no way i would not loose weight. so since my dr visit it has been my goal to drop weight and be healthy again.. Then we decided on our trip(made plans in July) for December and it gave me more motivation. I will keep closer track of my intake and see if it is a logging issue.. and cut back more if need be. Again thanks for all the replies. sorry for any grammar issues... 
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Pop into the stickied posts here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest
The first three threads are great guides to getting your logging nailed down. You'll get there, it takes a bit of practice if you've never done it. But you'll get more accurate numbers for yourself and can see tweaks that you might need to make.5 -
daisyfields79 wrote: »Starvation mode might be the wrong wording for it but your body does store everything you eat as fat when it's being deprived for a period of time. It does not stop storing over night, it takes time to change. So I refer to it as starvation mode but you can call it whatever you want.
No.9 -
Thanks for all the advice.. yes i have a scale I am no expert at using it though.. i will read about it after reading all your replies I usually scan my food and or look at the calories on the lable. I know for a fact in Feb when I saw my dr that i was eating 6-7k calories a day... tons of food and that is why i was 180# he told me to write everything down that i eat and try to stay at 1200 calories a day and there would be no way i would not loose weight. so since my dr visit it has been my goal to drop weight and be healthy again.. Then we decided on our trip(made plans in July) for December and it gave me more motivation. I will keep closer track of my intake and see if it is a logging issue.. and cut back more if need be. Again thanks for all the replies. sorry for any grammar issues...
If you're uncertain that your previous tracking was accurate (via weighing everything you eat), it's likely you were eating more than you think you were. Hopefully tightening up on your tracking will yield the results you're working for.5 -
You already got linked to the pertinent thread, and I hope you've read it. Meanwhile, you're going to have to learn to be patient.3
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Thanks for all the advice.. yes i have a scale I am no expert at using it though.. i will read about it after reading all your replies I usually scan my food and or look at the calories on the lable. I know for a fact in Feb when I saw my dr that i was eating 6-7k calories a day... tons of food and that is why i was 180# he told me to write everything down that i eat and try to stay at 1200 calories a day and there would be no way i would not loose weight. so since my dr visit it has been my goal to drop weight and be healthy again.. Then we decided on our trip(made plans in July) for December and it gave me more motivation. I will keep closer track of my intake and see if it is a logging issue.. and cut back more if need be. Again thanks for all the replies. sorry for any grammar issues...
That's the same scale I have. If you are not losing track better, weigh prepackaged items, use the recipe builder, and don't forget to log liquids, nibbles, and bites. Good luck4 -
I started at 280# and lost 40# in18 weeks (about 2 pounds a week) by eating 600-800 calories a day. Since I started using this app (about 4 weeks ago) it and a friend kept telling me to eat more I realized I should be eating more (according to her and the app). So for the last 4 weeks i have been eating 1200-1500 calories and am stuck at 240 still. I have been more active trying to boost my metabolism but still stuck at 240. My wife and I are going to Cancun in Dec for our 30th anniversary I really want to be at my goal of 199 by then but short of going back to 500-600 calories a day i don't know what to do. I am a very impatient person so this is very frustrating for me. It only makes sense to me that if you eat less you will weigh less. I know that metabolism comes into play but eventually my body should start to loose weight again. Is my thinking totally absurd or can you all understand how this makes sense to me? And is my goal realistic? I have 14 more weeks to loose 38# this is almost 3 pounds a week...uggggg or should I prepare myself to go to cancun with my good old beer belly?
This is a logging issue. There is no way a 240 pound male would not lose weight (fat and lean body mass) at 1200-1500 calories. I can't see water retention making up for that. 600-800 calories would have given you "crash diet" type results. You would have been losing 4.5 to 5 pounds per week, which is very unhealthy even at your size.
For reference, I was 240 in February this year. I ate 2200-2500 calories per day - over 3000 on higher cardio days and lost comfortably 2 pounds per week for 3 months. And I'm 54, not a youngster anymore. I've since slowed my loss down on purpose.
So ultimately, you were probably eating closer to 1900 calories or so per day in your initial phase, probably too little, but not dangerous like 600 calories would be. And yes, it's easy to miss by a lot if you are not logging and measuring correctly.
Your friend gave you advice based on bad data. It wasn't bad advice because if you really were eating 600-800, any sane person here would give you the same advice.
It's a logging issue. Has to be.8 -
pateljennifer wrote: »I've only been using this app for a little over a week and have lost 4 pounds. I don't eat as many calories as it suggests
Why not?
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daisyfields79 wrote: »Starvation mode might be the wrong wording for it but your body does store everything you eat as fat when it's being deprived for a period of time. It does not stop storing over night, it takes time to change. So I refer to it as starvation mode but you can call it whatever you want.
No, it absolutely does NOT store everything you eat as fat. Not physically possible.5
This discussion has been closed.
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