Help it’s not working
bossmanbing2102
Posts: 25 Member
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 ?
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Replies
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There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
Also, what's your height, current weight, and goal weight?0 -
Im 5.2 and nearly 10 stone. My goal is 8.5. That’s when I’m normally at my most comfortable but was about 4 years ago. I log everything I eat and whilst 1200 calories is not a lot I’m not particularly struggling cuz I eat lots of healthy slow energy realising foods.1
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For anything to work properly, it has to be used correctly. Are you weighting everything you eat (and drink that has calories)? Do you log the exact amount you take in? Do you check all database entries before you log? Do you log everything you take in? Do you have cheat meals? Do you use the recipe builder?
You also have to measure your results properly. Do you weigh yourself regularly? How often? Do you use the same scale every time? Same spot, same time of day, same clothes? Have you started a new exercise? Are you constipated?
There is no such thing as an incredibly healthy diet - a healthy diet is balanced and varied and flexible. You can eay anything you want as long as you eat less. Exercise is good for you, but you don't really burn that many calories from exercise.4 -
Logging the food you are eating doesn't guarantee weight loss.
Exercise does not guarantee weight loss.
Eating healthy does not guarantee weight loss.
Calorie deficit does.
Logging food is the first step...logging accurately and consistently is the actual step to ensure you are in a calorie deficit.
I expect if you are gaining you are either eating more than you think or retaining fluid...
or a combination of both...but without seeing your food log it's all a guess.6 -
bossmanbing2102 wrote: »Im 5.2 and nearly 10 stone. My goal is 8.5. That’s when I’m normally at my most comfortable but was about 4 years ago. I log everything I eat and whilst 1200 calories is not a lot I’m not particularly struggling cuz I eat lots of healthy slow energy realising foods.
you are logging, but are you weighing your food???1 -
bossmanbing2102 wrote: »Im 5.2 and nearly 10 stone. My goal is 8.5. That’s when I’m normally at my most comfortable but was about 4 years ago. I log everything I eat and whilst 1200 calories is not a lot I’m not particularly struggling cuz I eat lots of healthy slow energy realising foods.
More useful to us than seeing your stats is seeing your diary
Please change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings2 -
Yeah I’m weighing everything and I’m fairly sure I’m being accurate. I’ve not eaten store packaged food for ages so I’m doing stuff from scratch. Maybe I have a very slow metabolism. I do suffer with constipation always have since being little so that prob doesn’t help. Argh6
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I have an office job where I am desk based for 3 days which doesn’t help because I feel like I hardly move. I only reach about 6500 steps but on my 4 days off I’m going over the 10,000 steps.0
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In addition to the diary, a useful bit of information would be how often you weigh yourself, how often you had weighed yourself before starting, and what kinds of exercise you've added and how recently. For me, weighing every day or two is better than going long periods in-between, because fluctuations can make any particular time on the scale an aberration. Time of the month can make a difference (what time of the month specifically varies by woman, I tend to be high the week before and low the week of); being dehydrated can make a scale weight low (you may have been unusually low when you started, masking progress); and new exercise especially something like hard cardio or weight training can lead to some water retention, and usually a weigh-in when sore will be a high one, IME. You also need to have been using the same scale under the same conditions -- if one is later in the day, it will likely read high. Stuff like this is why you don't really know results without a trend.3
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I find it interesting how people are so concerned about their weight when they are trying to lose it. For me it took 25 years to put on over 50lbs and I know it is going to take time for it to come off.
What kind of exercise are you doing? For me I am doing strength training at the gym. I know that building muscle will help burn more calories. However, I also know muscle weighs more then fat so weight loss and gain can vary.
This might sound a bit crazy, but try weighing yourself several times a day for the next week and I think your going to notice just how much your weight fluctuates. My weight can swing 5lbs in a day, if I get busy and dont drink enough fluids.
Depending on how many calories you need if you were to just be sitting in a chair all day or doing regular activities BMR, you could be cutting your calories to much. Then your body thinks it is starving and stores anything it gets for future use.7 -
That’s really helpful. Now I think about it when I got weighed last I had just done a 16 hour fast for blood tests4
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If you are accurately logging and being honest with yourself I would consider speaking to a registered dietitian. Also, consider having your hormones checked. I battled for about two years trying to lose weight and no matter what I did, I was slowly gaining. It took me going to a registered dietitian who urged me to talk to my doctor, who then sent me to an endocrinologist. But I learned a lot about my body (thyroid and PCOS) and with some tweaks, some slight changes in foods I was eating that are normally considered healthy, but not processed as well in my own body, and I'm finally seeing the weight coming off.
So, be honest with yourself, and if you are truly logging accurately and honestly, you may want to speak to a professional.2 -
Generally I tend to lose a few pounds, then my weight shoots up about 3 pounds and stays there for about a week before going to back down. It's frustrating but I know it's going to happen so I just keep plugging along. Not saying this is your issue, but it could be1
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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 luck54
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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
While you can have metabolic changes from chronic undereating, it isn't going to happen after one month.
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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
Many of your recommendations are solid, but based on faulty reasoning and a fundamental misunderstanding of basic human physiology regarding metabolism. You've been doing a lot of internet research, which is great but you don't yet understand enough about the subject to give such advice. It can lead the OP down the wrong path. I know it's not intentional, bit still.
Basically, if metabolism was that sensitive, the human race would have died out many, many generations ago.21 -
You can lose weight eating almost anything regardless of whether or not it's considered healthy what matters is the deficit.
While it's true that it's dangerous to have too low net calories you would still lose weight, it just wouldn't be safe, sustainable or healthy for your body in the long haul.
If you don't mind me asking what are your stats? Height? Weight? Do you exercise? Do you weigh your food with a scale? Digital is typically more accurate.
Are you checking to make sure that the options you're logging from the MFP database are correct?
Lots of the entries are entered by users and therefore can be incorrect, I've found entries that grossly understated the calories for the food I was eating. I'd recommend googling the calories per ounce or gram for the food prior to logging just to make sure you're finding the right cal/per serving entry.0 -
Your diary isn't open.3
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Your diary isn't open.
Yeah, if we can look at it, we may be able to spot issues.
@bossmanbing2102 - click here: (FOOD/Settings) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings
scroll to the bottom and click "Public."0 -
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 ?
How are your clothes fitting? Any looser? Did you take measurements before starting? If not, start now.
Scales lie! Just joking...but they are just machines and can be defective. Don't give up! If you still have not lost any weight and your measurements haven't changed, or you've gained inches also, then you need to take another look at the foods you are consuming. You might be eating more than you think.1 -
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 . . . .0 -
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.15 -
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?1
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Thanks guys. Iv made my food diary public now
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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.4 -
You don't drink enough water and personally, I think you should exercise more. My two cents.0
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How much water should I drink a day. I thought I was drinking loads.1
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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.1 -
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.1 -
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.2
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