Help it’s not working

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,930 Member
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    bossmanbing2102 wrote: »
    So I’ve been on a 1200-1500 calorie diet for a month now. I’m eating incredibly healthy, walking much more and generally exercising more and iv put 2lbs on ! Feel like I’m loosing my mind. Anyone have any tips or suggestions of what I could be doing wrong ?

    One possibility: \Water weight masking fat loss. Possible causes of water weight are muscle repair from new exercise, healing of injury, inflammation from minor infection/virus/other, extra sodium or carbs compared go usual (even if still a healthy amount), menstrual cycle in women (different points in cycle for different women) and more.

    If you were fasted before your starting weigh-in, that could make a material difference, too.

    I usually suggest that premenopausal women give a sensible new routine 6 weeks before doing anything radical, just to get the cycle-related fluctuations accounted for. I've read women here report quite substantial (several pound) water weight gains followed by equal loss, monthly. Between that & new exercise, your 2-pound "gain" over a month could be a pound a week loss + 5 pounds of water weight + a pound related to your fasted start.

    Drink a healthy amount of water (not less), and give it another couple of weeks before making a huge exercise or eating change. Just my opinion, though . . . .
  • cprbrat17
    cprbrat17 Posts: 20 Member
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    Another suggestion for you with weighing, way daily through out the week and take averages. My weight bounces around through the week but the averages are about the same from week to week. But, you really might be eating more than you think or you should have lost weight on that calorie amount. This might also sound like an off thing to say but around my tine of the month I gain about 2 or 3 to 5 lbs, could that be what's going on for you?
  • bossmanbing2102
    bossmanbing2102 Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks guys. Iv made my food diary public now
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    tyrindor wrote: »
    dexjanelle wrote: »
    This may sound totally weird but I suspect you aren't eating enough and therefore your metabolism dropped. It is extremely important not to not starve yourself. I'd do some research beyond myfitnesspal, for a recommended minimum. And it's a NET minimum that accounts for calories consumed. That's the first thing. Do NOT starve yourself below a "healthy" MINIMUM (net). I see you said 1,200 to 1,500. That's really good if it's a net but if you fall to 900 NET due to exercising then you are sabotaging yourself. The second thing is at least some strength training. I'm not talking about some neanderthal killer stuff. Just general weights. 2 reasons for that...muscle burns fat at a higher rate and it also helps with metabolism. But you must, again, offset calories burned, that day, eating to maintain that safe minimum. Otherwise, your body will consume muscle and your metabolism will drop further. Too low a net and you WILL plateau or gain. I agree with the water gain but I don't think that would still be happening after a month. It most likely is metabolism dropping. That is VERY dangerous because I've heard that it can drop for good. I do agree with checking thyroid. Also drink water. And log absolutely everything. Watch a good mix of food. I'm not a fan of high protein diets. I am a fan of whole foods, minimal processed and minimal sugar. Also spread meals out evenly so you don't spike insulin. Finally sleep is critical. 2 things, not enough sleep creates hormones that cause your body to store more fat due to stress that lack of sleep causes. Don't go to bed starving or you won't sleep deeply. I have no concern eating just a tiny snack before bed. I do it and I have had no issues. But not enough sleep ALSO causes my hunger to spike all day as I'm tired and seeking comfort. Is THAT enough to comprehend. Just know, doing this totally works for me. Mainly, keep your metabolism up. If none of this is working, do go to the doctor and do seek out a dietician. Good luck

    I don't think 1200-1500 calories/day can trigger starvation mode. "The National Institutes of Health recommends no less than 1000-1200 calories for women and 1200-1500 calories for men." She is above this.

    I eat only 1000-1200 calories a day as a 6'1" male and losing 2-3 pounds a week. I lift weights and exercise regularly, never seen a loss of energy or anything that would imply I am "under-eating".

    This seems like a calorie counting problem to me, maybe not counting liquids? If you are dieting right (or even slightly undereating), you should still lose some pounds over a month.

    "Starvation mode" is not a thing as in a point at which fat loss stops or you somehow store fat at an extreme deficit.

    What does happen -- and I don't think it's OP's issue -- is that over a period of time losing weight, especially at an extreme deficit, especially as you get leaner, you are more likely to lose muscle in added to fat (or at a greater percentage than you otherwise would) and your metabolism declines more than just the weight loss would account for. It's not like there's some number you are above and it does not happen, and then you hit a switch and it does. Instead, it's about how aggressive the deficit is, and why no more than 1% of weight per week (or a deficit of, say, 750 per day if one is around 150), with a higher deficit being tolerated if you are fatter and a lower one appropriate if you are leaner (OP does not have a huge amount to lose and is on the smaller side, so she'd probably be better off with a less aggressive deficit).

    I don't want to take this thread off topic, but 1000-1200 is generally the type of deficit that WOULD (if the calories are reported accurately) be way too aggressive for a man of 6'1 who is exercising, and cause these ill effects. On the other hand, a loss of 2-3 lb/week only for someone of your height with weight to lose who is exercising hard seems too low for a real calorie count of 1000-1200, so it's probably not so bad as all that.
  • mgalsf12
    mgalsf12 Posts: 350 Member
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    You don't drink enough water and personally, I think you should exercise more. My two cents.
  • bossmanbing2102
    bossmanbing2102 Posts: 25 Member
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    How much water should I drink a day. I thought I was drinking loads.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    I don't drink any water and manage just fine.

    It is hydration that counts, your pee colour is your best indicator. It should be straw coloured.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    Your logging is off.

    Stop using 0.5 of a cup of smoothie and start weighing each item out per gram.

    Nuts and seeds can pack a huge calorie punch and doing generic tablespoons can add 300 calories a day that you didn't know about.

    300g of pizza, 100g of chips, don't go off packet weights. They are the minimum weight in the packet. Most are between 10-20% higher in weight.
  • jaycete
    jaycete Posts: 11 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I'm going back through your diary, and being very persnickety. I've noticed some issues.

    Working backward from today to the beginning of November:
    Wednesday (November 15th) - you don't list a gram weight for your pickle; your chia seed entry uses a tablespoon. As far as I know, chia seeds aren't liquid and you should be using a gram measurement (I don't eat chia seeds so I don't know how they come)
    Monday - for Tea, you've listed kidney beans. You have both a can serving, and a gram serving. Are you definitely weighing this?
    Sunday - your Maynard Sports Mixture Gum entry does not have a gram/ml measurement.
    Saturday - several entries do not have a gram measurement (Creme Brule, Scone, Shortbread); are you weighing your Doritos or counting them?
    Friday - your steak pie doesn't have a gram measurement.
    Thursday - no gram measurements for: bread, eggs, chicken mayo sandwich; you've used tablespoons instead of grams to measure your butter
    Wednesday - no gram measurements for: bread, eggs; you've used tablespoons instead of grams to measure your butter
    Tuesday - no gram measurements for: lettuce, peppers, spaghetti bolognese
    Monday - no gram measurements for: brioche roll, bacon, overnight oats
    Sunday - no gram measurements for: bread; you've used tablespoons instead of grams to measure your butter
    Saturday - no gram measurements for: chia seeds, peppers; if you got the nutritional information for the McDonald's cappuccino off the website, it could be inaccurate so add a bit more calories to that.
    Friday - no gram measurements for: bagel, chilli, biscuit, bread
    Thursday - no gram measurements for: chia seeds, bread; you've used tablespoons instead of grams to measure your butter
    Wednesday (November 1st) - no gram measurements for: lettuce, peppers, pappadums

    This is your deficit so far for November based on how much you went over, and how much you were under: - 371

    You have consumed 371 calories more than what was allotted. This isn't a lot but it's something you should be aware of and it can add up.

    (Provided my maths is right.)

    For your liquid measurements, you mostly use cups. Maybe try using a measuring cup that measures in ml instead? I find them more accurate versus a set of cup measures.

    Some of your entries have both a can/cup/oz measurement and a gram measurement. Are you definitely weighing these? Weigh everything that is solid or that includes a gram measurement such as condiments. Measure in ml everything that is liquid. If you're building a smoothie, weigh or measure each item as you add it to your smoothie.

    How are you measuring your caloric burn? You seem to be eating back all of your added calories. Try eating back half only.
  • bossmanbing2102
    bossmanbing2102 Posts: 25 Member
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    Thanks that’s really helpful. For most things it says on the box i.e steak pie what the calorie is per pie or per slice of bread so I go off that instead of measuring. I measure everything with electronic scales either per gram or once depending on how it’s logged on MFP. For the smoothie iv weighed it all out individually as I add to the blender and then saved it on my fitness pal as half a cup. I think for some things like at the weekend when we was away it was a bit of a guess as we were at a hotel so I couldn’t be 100%
  • jaycete
    jaycete Posts: 11 Member
    edited November 2017
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    bossmanbing2102 wrote: »
    Thanks that’s really helpful. For most things it says on the box i.e steak pie what the calorie is per pie or per slice of bread so I go off that instead of measuring. I measure everything with electronic scales either per gram or once depending on how it’s logged on MFP. For the smoothie iv weighed it all out individually as I add to the blender and then saved it on my fitness pal as half a cup. I think for some things like at the weekend when we was away it was a bit of a guess as we were at a hotel so I couldn’t be 100%

    For prepackaged food, the measurements can be off a fair bit; some are lower, some are higher. So always weigh each item and go by the gram weight, not per slice/piece.

    Guess work can make things quite difficult but if you tighten up everything else and do not have to do too much guess work, it shouldn't affect things much.

    93pear93 wrote: »
    First thing, did you cut your calories to 1200 immediately?
    If so, thats huge mistake.
    Another thing 1200kcal is a starvation mode, even if you dont feel hungry,
    it only means that your system used to it now.
    Pretty sure metabolism is very slow as well.
    If you do not see any progress in 1, 2 week time you should do some changes, and you saying its been a month!

    Do you do any cardio, tabata, HIIT trainings?
    Personally, I would recommend add up healthy fats at least up to 60-70g and sources of protein to 90-100g
    Even carbs to 150g, u need to go gack to at least BMR kcal, otherwise you will mess up your hormones system.

    Starvation mode is a myth. OP's metabolism and hormones are most likely fine; they just need to tighten up logging.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i only looked at a couple of days but do you use food scales? everything is in cups or tablespoons or exactly 100g portion sizes?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
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    bossmanbing2102 wrote: »
    How much water should I drink a day. I thought I was drinking loads.

    Somewhere between zero and lots.
    There is no set amount or formula that applies to everyone under all conditions.
    Unless you have a suspicion you are dehydrated it's an irrelevance.

    All you need is enough hydrating liquids (that's just about anything) to stay hydrated.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,078 Member
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    My money is on on combination of the constipation OP states she experiences and normal fluctuations.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited November 2017
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    A month isn't very long - especially if your first day was a day when you were unusually light.
    Tracking your weight over an extended period of time will reveal your personal normal fluctuations, day to day, weekday to weekend, monthly......

    You can improve your food tracking accuracy a lot by ditching spoons and cups as measurements. You also have a lot of suspiciously round numbers of grams for your entries.

    Ignore the wild speculation about metabolism or "starvation mode". Facebook science at its very best!

    Be patient and be a bit more accurate - the results will follow. It really is just as simple as eating a bit less than you need for an extended period of time.

  • bossmanbing2102
    bossmanbing2102 Posts: 25 Member
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    What does OPs metabolism mean?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
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    bossmanbing2102 wrote: »
    What does OPs metabolism mean?

    OP = original poster (you) or original post (your initial post).

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