not losing

Options
I am on 1200 calorie diet for 3 weeks as of now .. but not losing a single pound rather than gaining

Replies

  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    Options
    see above
  • emmylouelh
    emmylouelh Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    I am on 1200 and after a good weight loss have now reached a plateau and cant seem to shift any more. I 've upped my exercise level but still seem a bit stuck! Ideally would love to loose another 6 pounds before I go on a maintenance plan. Any suggestions?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Options
    Stalls can be frustrating! Some more details might help or opening your diary if you're comfortable with it. Otherwise these are my generic ideas:

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Options
    emmylouelh wrote: »
    I am on 1200 and after a good weight loss have now reached a plateau and cant seem to shift any more. I 've upped my exercise level but still seem a bit stuck! Ideally would love to loose another 6 pounds before I go on a maintenance plan. Any suggestions?

    Same response as to the OP...youre eating more than you think
  • dramaqueen45
    dramaqueen45 Posts: 1,009 Member
    Options
    Took me about 3 months to lose the last 5 "vanity" pounds, and I did a few things. First, change up your workouts if you haven't already. Do different things on different days. Second, add intervals to your workouts.Third, at least for me, I stopped eating back any exercise calories for those last few weeks to get to my goal. Last, tighten up your logging. BLTs (bites, licks, tastes) can really add up if you are very close to your goal because you don't have a lot of margin for error. So that cracker you ate or that Hershey kiss you nibbled on- log it. Log it all.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Options
    My first thought would be to assume you are not logging accurately. It is extremely unlikely that a person of average type height with weight to lose would not lose anything on 3 consistent weeks of 1200 calories. Start weighing all your food consistently and reevaluate in another few weeks.