Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

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Replies

  • hughjazz74
    hughjazz74 Posts: 64 Member
    I agree the daily weigh-ins mess me up. I'm too sensitive to the daily, sometimes hourly :), fluctuations with the scale that I've finally realized mentally I can't handle the daily weigh ins.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    MariCarrie wrote: »
    I started my "lifestyle change" a few weeks ago and it's been going so well. I have about 70 lbs to lose. I eat about 1200 calories each day and I've been exercising for two hours nearly every single day. I've been eating a healthy and well rounded diet. Lots of veggies.
    Now for the problem: If I go one day where I eat a little bit more, like 1400 calories and only exercise for one hour instead of two... I will gain about 2 pounds. This just doesn't make logical or scientific sense to me. Why do I only see progress if I go REALLY hard? This is exhausting and I'm always so hungry. I've only ever seen results when I'm super strict with the caloric intake, and exercise an extreme amount. If I falter even slighly... nearly a weeks worth of progress is lost. Am I doing something wrong?

    If your cal goal is 1,200 calories x day you are either super short (like me) or have your option set to lose 2 lbs. + per week. You want to hit that goal every day, not much under, especially if you are exercising such a large amount. If you eat 1,400 calories and exercise an hour, you will most likely still be in a deficit or break even since exercising burns calories. It isn't going to be detrimental to your progress.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    Remember, progress isn't linear. Keep working out, keep eating right, and those days when you mess up just a tad will matter less and less. I feel like a ton of people who are just starting out get in this mindset of "oh my god I messed up, I just depleted ALL of my progress." No. That's not how it works. When you're doing cardio and lifting your body needs to be fueled. It'd be different if you were sitting on your butt all day, but you aren't.
  • kayeroze
    kayeroze Posts: 146 Member
    So I see an argument about eating more won’t make you lose weight. I personally have found that I drop weight when I take a rest day and eat more to my maintenance for a day or two before dieting back down. That whole adaptive thermogenesis and our body wanting to cling to the fat body might partially be to blame (don’t quote me here just personal experience). I exercise, net between 1200-1400 calories and have 80 pounds to lose at 5’2. You oftentimes retain water for a few weeks when first working out, and what you’re doing doesn’t sound sustainable. Can you honestly say that 3 years from now you’ll be working out 2 hours a day. Going from one extreme to the other isn’t healthy. Like others said before me, trend app your weight, reduce the exercise load, and net 1200 or more calories.
  • gabriellejayde
    gabriellejayde Posts: 607 Member
    CarlsbergLewis wrote: »
    yes, yes it does..
    you are talking about WEIGHT.. you can quite easily gain weight from not eating enough and not keeping your body hydrated.
    you wont gain FAT, but you can easily gain weight

    what weight can someone gain by not eating? you mean water weight? that comes off eventually along with fat, so the solution is to not weigh every day.

    To the original poster: If you're working out that hard, I'm guessing that you're retaining some water from some sore muscles. additionally, you do need to drink a lot more water, not only to stay hydrated, but to also help flush the lactic acid from those sore muscles.

    Give it a little more time. My guess is that you will start to see a change on the scale soon and it's because of water retention (and... you may also not be eliminating waste as much as you used to, so...)


  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    edited October 2017
    This thread got me curious and so I did an internet search on it as I like to view all sides of a conversation or debate, and I notice the 'you cannot gain weight/fat unless you are eating more than you expend' argument coming up so often. Of course, these articles might be a load of nonsense, but I shall post them anyway. I believe one is written by an MD. I shall keep my own opinions on the whole issue quiet as I loathe debates and the like, lol.

    http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/goal-getter-nutrition/The-paradox-of-under-eating-and-over-exercising.html

    http://www.jenniferweinbergmd.com/eat-less-exercise-gain-weight-metabolic-derangement-overtraining-undereating/
  • bvff35
    bvff35 Posts: 74 Member
    brittneyalley wrote: »
    What are you eating daily? I have been eating ~1200 calories a day for the past 2 months. Occasionally, I’m 100 over or under. I’m almost never hungry. I eat foods that are filling and healthy. Are you eating junk? That takes up a lot of calories quick.

    Can I ask what you eat daily? I am trying 1300 calories a day, all healthy with good amouts of macros, and I still feel SO hungry. I am sure this is all in my head but I hate feeling like I'm hungry all the time. I know that nutritionally, I am meeting my body's needs but my brain feels starved.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    I just reset my goals on MFP and I am now at 1200. I will stay there until I lose 12 more lbs. (to break 200) and then I'm changing my goals to 1.5 or 1 lb. per week. I exercise at least an hour 6 days a week so I can eat more than 1200. I could not make it on 1200 without being hungry no matter how creative (which is why I keep exercising!). When I first started MFP I think my goal was about 1380 and that was good, doable without exercising. I am over 50 and short. 1200 calories sucks!
  • MariCarrie
    MariCarrie Posts: 27 Member
    I just want to thank everyone for weighing in on this matter. I've done this before and lost 45 pounds. (gained it all back and then some because I'm apparently bad at maintaining) I didn't exercise the first time and just ate at a deficit and lost the weight. This time I wanted to lose more and so I exercised every day. I tried looking up if I have to eat exercise calories back and couldn't find anywhere that said to do so. Maybe that is my issue though...? I lost 10 pounds the first two weeks and I think seeing the scale go down each day made it harder to see it go up a few pounds at random. I do like to use a weight tracker app. The science and numbers of my body really facinate me. I definitely need to make some changes because no... I can't work out 2 hours every day forever. I've been putting working out before some other priorities because I tend to get obsessive. I definitely need to find a healthier way to go about this... thank you again to all that responded. Even if some responses were harsh, I deeply appreciate them.
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Simple statement........two weeks!

    The new lifestyle, tons of exercise and a different diet will make different people react differently. It will come off but I would recommend less cardio (2 hours is a lot and going to be hard to maintain) and find a happy medium that allows you to eat without feeling starved.

    Upping the calories may in fact be in the works, but not because it is slowing down weight loss but just because it might be a more sensible amount for you
  • katjustkat
    katjustkat Posts: 754 Member
    MariCarrie wrote: »
    I just want to thank everyone for weighing in on this matter. I've done this before and lost 45 pounds. (gained it all back and then some because I'm apparently bad at maintaining) I didn't exercise the first time and just ate at a deficit and lost the weight. This time I wanted to lose more and so I exercised every day. I tried looking up if I have to eat exercise calories back and couldn't find anywhere that said to do so. Maybe that is my issue though...? I lost 10 pounds the first two weeks and I think seeing the scale go down each day made it harder to see it go up a few pounds at random. I do like to use a weight tracker app. The science and numbers of my body really facinate me. I definitely need to make some changes because no... I can't work out 2 hours every day forever. I've been putting working out before some other priorities because I tend to get obsessive. I definitely need to find a healthier way to go about this... thank you again to all that responded. Even if some responses were harsh, I deeply appreciate them.

    Maybe you're over training and have adrenal fatigue/ spiking your cortisol? Do what worked so well for you the first time. Add some enjoyable walks to keep up your strength. Good luck & here's a link to adrenal fatigue:
    https://www.shapefit.com/exercise/adrenal-fatigue-overtraining.html
  • Goober1142
    Goober1142 Posts: 219 Member
    Personally, I would back off on the exercise if it's cardio and concentrate on the calorie deficit. It sounds like what you're doing isn't sustainable long term. What are you doing for two hours a day? My two cents anyway. Lose some weight and then start exercising but don't kill yourself with it.
  • NorthernLights1985
    NorthernLights1985 Posts: 16 Member
    :worried: 1200 a day!! oh my, oh my... that is way to little even with no exercise. Im eating 1774 at the lowest, working out 3 hr a week and loosing. Im never hungry.
    If you want advise from me you can send me a message.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    edited October 2017
    katjustkat wrote: »
    MariCarrie wrote: »
    I just want to thank everyone for weighing in on this matter. I've done this before and lost 45 pounds. (gained it all back and then some because I'm apparently bad at maintaining) I didn't exercise the first time and just ate at a deficit and lost the weight. This time I wanted to lose more and so I exercised every day. I tried looking up if I have to eat exercise calories back and couldn't find anywhere that said to do so. Maybe that is my issue though...? I lost 10 pounds the first two weeks and I think seeing the scale go down each day made it harder to see it go up a few pounds at random. I do like to use a weight tracker app. The science and numbers of my body really facinate me. I definitely need to make some changes because no... I can't work out 2 hours every day forever. I've been putting working out before some other priorities because I tend to get obsessive. I definitely need to find a healthier way to go about this... thank you again to all that responded. Even if some responses were harsh, I deeply appreciate them.

    Maybe you're over training and have adrenal fatigue/ spiking your cortisol? Do what worked so well for you the first time. Add some enjoyable walks to keep up your strength. Good luck & here's a link to adrenal fatigue:
    https://www.shapefit.com/exercise/adrenal-fatigue-overtraining.html

    adrenal fatigue does not exist https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997656/ but adrenal insufficiency does. but she could be stressing her body causing cortisol levels to rise
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Scale fluctuations are normal and can be caused by many things. Try not to worry about it unless you know you have eaten way over maintenance - it takes 3500 calories to make a pound of fat, so you did not gain 2lbs by eating 1400 calories.

    I didn't read the whole thread, so I don't know if anyone has said this yet, but what may be happening is glycogen replenishment. Glycogen, your body's source of energy, is stored in your muscles along with water. When you eat at a deficit and work out a lot, it gets depleted. When you eat a few more carbs than usual, it gets replaced, along with the water that goes with it. This is a good thing which will help you in your workouts.

  • rachie25half
    rachie25half Posts: 16 Member
    I agree with those who say you are probably eating too little for your exercise amount. Have you checked what MFP thinks your calorie level should be? What I've done is set a weight goal that is about 25 lbs, even though I need to lose much more than that. Once I get to that goal, then I will set another. That allows me more calories at first to get used to losing and then I'll gradually drop more calories each day. I don't know how old you are, but usually you shouldn't go from not exercising at all to exercising two hours a day all at once. I'd cut to an hour unless you are doing something that isn't very strenuous like walking slowly. If you are exhausted and hungry all of the time, something is wrong. I also agree with those who say don't weigh yourself daily. There is too much water-weight fluctuations. You seem to be pretty motivated, so that's good. Just dial it back a bit at first and see if you feel better.
  • NorthernLights1985
    NorthernLights1985 Posts: 16 Member
    edited October 2017
    rachie25half wrote: »
    I agree with those who say you are probably eating too little for your exercise amount. Have you checked what MFP thinks your calorie level should be?.
    uff.. not probably, you are eating way too little.

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