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I started at 245 probably more for a long time I would not weigh. I now weigh 192 it has taken a year to get here. My goal is 145. I am 40. A woman and 5ft 2. I used to drink Dr pepper all day then diet. I have done a low carb diet .... Not working anymore. Until the last week I have been very sedentary. I do not work. I sat or laid down most of the day. I was eating about ....1200-1500 calls a day not losing. I had cut from about 4000 or more. But now nothing. I have been walking average 3 miles a day since Monday and gonna swim at least 20 mins a day from now on. I plan to walk at least 5-6 times a week. I am doing herbalife for 2 meals 90 calls each..... How many calls do I need to eat now with all this excersize to stay healthy and lose at least 2 pounds a week? Help me

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  • florencephillips1029
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    So no one has any words of wisdom?
  • PaperDoll_
    PaperDoll_ Posts: 32,850 Member
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    I'm not sure I'm following. You cut your calories from 4000 down to 1200-1500 and still weren't losing weight?
  • kittiebittie
    kittiebittie Posts: 39 Member
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    I am 5'1 and eat roughly 1,000 calories a day. That is probably a bit low... I have medical needs that make it harder for me to eat. I have been losing about 2 pounds a week. I work out 5 days a week with 2-3 times a day.
  • PaperDoll_
    PaperDoll_ Posts: 32,850 Member
    edited June 2018
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    If you set up your goals though you can choose how many workouts you plan to do a week and for how many minutes. It should figure out the calories for you.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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  • brightresolve
    brightresolve Posts: 1,024 Member
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    Starvation mode is actually not a thing, at least in the popular sense where a person is capable of maintaining or even gaining on a number of calories that would be expected to cause weight loss. There are references to that all over the forums, and the scientific among us (not me) point out articles and studies that explain it.

    On the other hand, very low calorie diets (under 1200 for women, under 1500 for men, are the minimal guidelines I believe) are completely unhealthy because basic nutrients are lacking below those limits, so everyone has to get at least that for health.

    The most common cause of stalled weight loss is either failing to adjust one's calorie goal as one loses (calories that cause loss when one weighs 250 lbs, for example, would not cause loss at 150 lbs) or ....FAR MORE COMMONLY ... not accurately logging calories. The closer we get to goal the more little inaccuracies accumulate and stall us.

    Weighing all solids on a food scale, measuring all liquids, using one's own accurate recipes instead of generic ones on the database, weighing packaged foods because the labelled estimates can be off, taking the higher estimate of some food we went off track with (let's see, was that a 150 calorie donut? Doubt it... taking the 380 calories...) -- these ideas may help tighten up logging if you find yourself in a slump.

    Exercise calories can be slippery since they are an estimate too. I personally set my goal to lose .5 a week, made sure I estimated my food high, made sure I estimated my exercise low, and it worked.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    So no one has any words of wisdom?

    Your post was a little confusing, but my humble suggestions:

    1. Take a couple of weeks off. Take a few deep breaths and just vaguely try to eat well.
    2. Toss the Herbalife in the trash.
    3. Spend $15 on a food scale.
    4. Set your goal to lose 1 lb per week, 2 lbs is too aggressive. Eat the cals MFP gives you.
    5. Use the food scale for all solids food, as often as humanly possible.
    6. Double check that the entries you are using in the database are correct. Many have been entered wrong by other users
    7. Do a gut check and make sure you are logging everything - beverages, condiments, cooking oils, nibbles, cheat meals, bad days, everything.
    8. Log your exercise and eat back at least some of those calories.
    9. Be patient. It is totally normal to not lose weight every week. You are looking for long term trends, week to week and day to day can be a roller coaster you need to learn how to ride.