Confused and frustrated

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seedrah6
seedrah6 Posts: 55 Member
edited November 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all so I’m one month in I had oral surgery on the 1st of the month and recovered very slow so I didn’t move much or eat for a week. Anyway I don’t seem to be losing much since then. I only ate 500-700 calories bc I couldn’t chew.

I’m just frustrated bc I’m eating 1200 calories a day sometimes 1100 and not seeing much progress. I’m not extremely active right now as it’s been freezing and rainy. I don’t have a gym but do try to workout at home...and slightly less active due to surgery making me weak. But I DO try to get in 5000 steps a day so I’m not like completely sedentary.

What am I doing wrong? It’s frustrating to cut out sugar, junk food, snacks, eating out etc etc and still not see progress. I did lose around 4lbs when I started like instantly. Anyway I think my maintenance calories are 1600 so I’m eating 1200. What more can I do? Trying to workout 3 times a week at 500 calorie burn each...thoughts? Help? Advice? Lol

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited November 2017
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    So overall for one month how much have you lost?

    What are your stats?

    Do you weigh your food with scales?
  • dwilliamca
    dwilliamca Posts: 325 Member
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    Its hard when you are on the lower end of the calorie scale. Maybe you are expecting too much too soon? According to your figures you only have a 400 calorie deficit per day so you would be losing about 4/5 of a pound per week. Water gain can mask that easily. Any inaccurate logging can put you near or at maintenance fairly quickly so be sure you are weighing and recording everything. As for the exercising, what are you doing at home and how are you computing the numbers? For me an hour of moderate aerobics is only 250 calories. Even at 1500 per week, that only comes out to 214 calories per day on the average (less than 1/2 pound per week if you aren't eating them back which you should be doing). My suggestions are to tighten up your logging so there is no error, increase your daily activities/exercise numbers, and give it some more time. As long as there is a deficit you will lose it eventually. I'm on 1200 with a 500 calorie deficit and usually eat back around 100-150 of my 250 exercise calories and lose about a pound a week now, although it is by no means linear. Some weeks I go without a drop at all and then will drop a couple pounds all at once. Don't get discouraged.
  • seedrah6
    seedrah6 Posts: 55 Member
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    In total I lost 4.7lbs. I am 5'0 and 139lbs currently.

    So I guess the mistake I've made is not eating back my calories and also eating too little on some days such as the days after surgery.

    I just calculated my TDEE and apparently I should be eating around 1376 a day to create a 500 calorie deficit which means I've been eating too little apparently. I am taking a class 2 times a week thats full on circuit training so I calculate it accordingly and I know MFP overcompensates burn so I use another app to calculate how much I've burned.

    I don't weigh my food as I usually eat things with a label like a packet of oats, a cup of milk, slice of cheese etc for my meals so there isn't much room for error. I don't eat sugar. I have cut drinks/juices out.

    I was thinking of cutting carbs for a week to see how I do. Mostly my morning toast and oatmeal...but that seems super restrictive at this point.

    And I totally get that the weight drops randomly. I just want to make sure I'm not messing up somehow
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    ^^^^ What she said.

    Your rate of loss is fine. Adjust your expectations. If you want to lose faster, gain some weight and then re-start your diet.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited November 2017
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    You're 1 month in and you've lost 4+ lbs.

    Your only mistake is expecting too much too fast. You're right on track, so just stick with it.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    it is your expectations that need to be adjusted.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Ummm... almost 5 lbs in a month - what's the problem? Other than unrealistic expectations. I'd start there with making adjustments.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited November 2017
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    seedrah6 wrote: »
    Hi all so I’m one month in I had oral surgery on the 1st of the month and recovered very slow so I didn’t move much or eat for a week. Anyway I don’t seem to be losing much since then. I only ate 500-700 calories bc I couldn’t chew.

    I’m just frustrated bc I’m eating 1200 calories a day sometimes 1100 and not seeing much progress. I’m not extremely active right now as it’s been freezing and rainy. I don’t have a gym but do try to workout at home...and slightly less active due to surgery making me weak. But I DO try to get in 5000 steps a day so I’m not like completely sedentary.

    What am I doing wrong? It’s frustrating to cut out sugar, junk food, snacks, eating out etc etc and still not see progress. I did lose around 4lbs when I started like instantly. Anyway I think my maintenance calories are 1600 so I’m eating 1200. What more can I do? Trying to workout 3 times a week at 500 calorie burn each...thoughts? Help? Advice? Lol

    The weight you lost "instantly" is water weight. That will happen if you lower your sodium and/or carbohydrate intake. That shouldn't set your expectations of what will continue to happen month to month because that doesn't represent fat loss.
  • BZAH10
    BZAH10 Posts: 5,709 Member
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    seedrah6 wrote: »
    In total I lost 4.7lbs. I am 5'0 and 139lbs currently.

    So I guess the mistake I've made is not eating back my calories and also eating too little on some days such as the days after surgery.

    I just calculated my TDEE and apparently I should be eating around 1376 a day to create a 500 calorie deficit which means I've been eating too little apparently. I am taking a class 2 times a week thats full on circuit training so I calculate it accordingly and I know MFP overcompensates burn so I use another app to calculate how much I've burned.

    I don't weigh my food as I usually eat things with a label like a packet of oats, a cup of milk, slice of cheese etc for my meals so there isn't much room for error. I don't eat sugar. I have cut drinks/juices out.

    I was thinking of cutting carbs for a week to see how I do. Mostly my morning toast and oatmeal...but that seems super restrictive at this point.

    And I totally get that the weight drops randomly. I just want to make sure I'm not messing up somehow

    You don't gain or maintain weight by eating too few calories. If you were truly not eating enough you would lose weight, but you DID lose almost 5 lbs so I echo the others: make sure you're logging your food intake accurately and give it more time. What is your goal weight?
  • maura_tasi
    maura_tasi Posts: 196 Member
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    Be careful with prepackaged food labels. More often than not, the calories are more than the listed amount so you would benefit from weighing it anyway. The granola bars I eat supposedly have 140 calories but when I weigh them I'm eating about 148-150 calories per bar. It may not seem like a lot for one item but it adds up if you're eating the majority of prepackaged foods and meals

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