HELP eating 1200 calories and working out with no weightloss?
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zzyar
Posts: 3 Member
I'm 5'1 and 135lbs so I still have 20-30 lbs to lose but have hit a plateau. I started cutting about a year ago and dropped about 10 lbs in the first few months, stopped during summer due to vacation plans and restarted in September. I work out 4 times a week with about an hour of weights and 20 minutes of cardio. On non workout days I stick strictly to the 1200 calories and on days I workout I only eat about half of my extra calories burned back. However, I still haven't lost any weight. I don't really know what to do. Does anyone have any advice???
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Replies
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do you weigh everything you eat on scales?6
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I weigh my protein. Not really my veg because I figured it wouldn't matter but could something that small be the reason?
I've heard that diets lose effectiveness and you have to go back to maintenance for a while, but since I'm already not losing weight I'm afraid of gaining weight if I up my calories at all9 -
I weigh my protein. Not really my veg because I figured it wouldn't matter but could something that small be the reason?
I've heard that diets lose effectiveness and you have to go back to maintenance for a while, but since I'm already not losing weight I'm afraid of gaining weight if I up my calories at all
and you only ever eat protein and veg? really?!6 -
fruit and tortilla wraps/ microwave rice but all those have the calorie info on the package5
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There definitely are answers to be found both in diet breaks AND in accurately measuring your fats, starches & sugars, and proteins.
Yes enough fruit and vegetables can make a difference. I have an MFPeop who eats ~1500g of fruits and vegetables a day. Ya think they count for her?
But, if you don't count your vegetables because it doesn't make a difference.... how many more times a day do you not count something else because it would hardly make a difference?
How accurate are you with your dressing, or peanut butter, or coffee cream, or the oil or butter you cook with? The bite you stole, or sample you tried? What about that half gulp of wine you tasted?
So yes, you probably need to look into both diet breaks and logging.
Including being mentally able to eat at a healthy maintenance level!9 -
I’m 5’ tall 140lbs and want to loose 20lbs also, I’m almost in your same situation. I’ve tried loosing weight about 2-3 years ago, was consistent for a few months about eating healthy and working out and lost nothing so got frustrated and gave up. Decided a week ago to try again and hoping maybe something will click this time or that I’ll come across a magic tip that will help me loose the 20lbs.8
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Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!41 -
Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!
no, no, no. none of this is true - if this were true no one would starve to death - have you not seen or heard of the millions that die of starvation each year?
OP, as others said - you have no idea how many calories you are eating if you are not weighing ALL your food - not just the ones you have decided matter. start there.11 -
Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!
I see this posted often on the forums....that a person is not losing weight because they aren't eating enough food. That's just not going to be the reason someone isn't losing weight. Think about it logically. Eating more food is going to cause you to gain weight. The OP in this thread has stated she isn't weighing and logging all of her food, and is only logging protein. Properly accounting for the calories she is eating is the starting point for her.
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I'm 5'1 and lost from 130 to a maintenance of 100-205 and have maintained it for over 7 yr.
It took a year to lose the 30 lbs eating 1200 cals plus 200 in exercise cals.
You need to measure all your food, prepackaged, single serving, veg, oils, butters, sauces, peanut butter,
e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
Being petite, and only just overweight, means your calories have to be spot on.
I found an hour of most exercises burnt around 200 cals (Zumba a little more, walking a little less), so my average intake was 9400-10000 a week.
It will be slow, expect .5-1 lbs a week until you reach about 120, then .5 or less for the remainder of your loss.
Find a way to eat that suits you. That includes timing and frequency, and including food you like.
I always think my success was because I didn't change what I ate, just ate a little less of almost everything. (Sweets things were a little less so protein could be a little more
)
It takes believing in the method, and being consistent over time (even when things don't move for a couple of weeks).
Cheers, h.14 -
It might be any white carbs that are holding you back. Try to limit those if you can.42
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you are probably eating more than you think, and being short, a missed 50-100 calories a day can really add up and completely blow your deficit for the week.
start logging everything BEFORE you put it in your mouth. measure, don't eyeball things. do this consistently for ~2 weeks, you'll be better able to see the patterns and see where to cut out calories to ACTUALLY hit that 1200 goal.8 -
Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!
Starvation mode is a myth.
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kcn2bluesky wrote: »Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!
I see this posted often on the forums....that a person is not losing weight because they aren't eating enough food. That's just not going to be the reason someone isn't losing weight. Think about it logically. Eating more food is going to cause you to gain weight. The OP in this thread has stated she isn't weighing and logging all of her food, and is only logging protein. Properly accounting for the calories she is eating is the starting point for her.
The problem with this linear type of thing is that the body doesn't maintain a standard TDEE. So often, by eating greater amounts of calories, one will increase the EE through a variety of means: spontaneous increase to NEAT, TEA (burn more calories through exercise), and TEF. In fact, this happened to me by going from 1800 to 2300 calories and I can't show you others who have increased as much as a 1000 calories and still seeing weight loss.
And while I agree that the OP should weigh her foods, she also really shouldn't be aiming for 1200 calories since she is not very over weight and workouts about 5 hours a week. If anything, she would benefit from a higher calorie diet and potentially incorporate refeeds every so often.10 -
Here is another thought for you - are you sure you are eating enough food? I know when I don't eat enough I don't lose. Than get me going on eating less and less and than my body goes in starvation mode until I eat enough. Be honest with yourself and make sure you are eating the proper amount of food and the right foods.
It is a tough struggle I hear you, don't give up, look at others diaries and get food choices that way. Just maybe it will help, but maybe you also need more calories especially on work out days!
I agree!!
I tried to eat 1200 calories a day, and I wasn't losing weight. I was in a plateau for 3 months.
I went to see a dietitian, and she told me, for the exercise I was doing, that I wasn't eating enough. She increased my calories to 1600 a day, and include healthy carbs and fats, and aim for 90 g of protein.
Within a month, I started to lose again. So far, I've lost 95 lbs, and I've been on this journey for over a year.
I have tried many different diets and ideologies, and I find sensible eating and not depriving myself (within reason, of course) works the best.18 -
Food packages can underestimate 20% possibly more. Some people on here even weigh food that have a food label. You're eating more than you think.
You're only a few pounds overweight if I were you I would set my goal on here to lose 0.5 pounds a week, and use a food scale for everything that is solid that you eat. Make sure you also have a progressive strength training routine as well.
Good luck!3 -
Just dropping this in for reference.
You're very petite, so don't have a lot of room for error. Veg adds up, enough to close down any deficit you might be maintaining. Packages are often pretty far off. Weigh your packaged food too. I weigh my cheese slices, bread slices, etc., and they're RARELY what they say they're going to be.
Weigh EVERYTHING. Grams are best.6 -
Can you please open your food journal?1
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I suggest never eating exercise calories at all. Simply pick a calorie intake level and eat that everyday.
Estimating calories burned can be wildly inaccurate or difficult to do consistently.
IMO, people who eat exercise calories tend to have more problems losing weight.11 -
terrencebrown313 wrote: »It might be any white carbs that are holding you back. Try to limit those if you can.
"White carbs" are not going to prevent weight loss if someone is in a deficit. Avoiding "white carbs" won't create weight loss unless someone is in a deficit. It's irrelevant.8
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